Writers Unbound

“One night about eleven years ago I had a dream, more like a vision, so real and stunning in clarity I never forgot it. Although I knew it was extremely important I didn’t at the time know what it meant in terms of my life. I’ve shared this dream with only three close friends. However I now feel a need to more fully claim it as I begin to understand how it relates to my life path.

THE VISION: It’s a late night, very dark and quiet outside, peaceful. I’m sitting cross legged before a warm fire inside a small teepee. It’s barely big enough to hold four people, but I’m alone. My hide dress is adorned with paint and beads and my hair runs in two braids down my shoulders. I cuddle into the warmth of the fire and watch its orange glow dance over the teepee walls. I know, without being told, that I’m supposed to wait. Something life altering is about to happen, something private and sacred. I feel at ease, as if I’ve known all my life that this moment would happen.

Suddenly the entrance flap is pushed aside and the oldest woman I’ve ever seen enters. She too is dressed in soft hide. Thick dove-white hair hangs in two braids tied with leather thong. Her ancient face is creased by thousands of emotions that tell the history of humankind. As she kneels on the ground beside me I notice a glowing white hoop held reverently in her weathered hands. I gasp in awe and instantly feel the beauty of the world passes through me. I’m overcome with love. The elder slowly shakes her head knowingly and extends the hoop towards me, watching my face with her black raven eyes. She speaks: “For as long as I can remember I have been the Keeper of the Circle, but my time has come to an end and I go on a different journey. Now you are the Keeper of the Circle. Never let it be broken. I am counting on you.” Before I could respond she rose and vanished into the night. I sat holding the glowing circle and asked, “But what am I supposed to do? What does this mean?” I heard her voice, “You will know when the time comes. You will know.”

The dream ended and when I awoke I felt energetically altered, filled with love and compassion so expansive it encompassed the entire world. I was so in love I wanted to weep for all of humanity, all life. However, it was only recently that I began to grasp what this vision means in terms of my life path. Last month I gave a talk about my life in the Australian rainforest at the Institute of American Indian Art (which was videoed). A few days later, while editing the film clip I share below, my vision of eleven years ago came hurtling back to me, out of nowhere. I was stunned that I had called this part of my talk “The Great Circle of Love”. Pieces of a puzzle began to fall into place. I still have a long path to walk, but then I have seen myself living as long the elder in my vision. And I see more clearly where I’m headed. Robin Easton www.nakedineden.com

This week I have posted a portion of video about my music. Many of you already know I can’t read or write music, but dream it at night, as well as often hear it in my head while going about my day. It is all original music that just overcomes me and demands to be expressed. I’m compelled to sit at the piano and play what is moving through me. I’ve no idea what keys I’m playing; my fingers just seem to have a life of their own.

When I was four years old my mother sent me to take piano lessons, but after the first lesson the teacher told my mother that I had no “aptitude” for it. Then my mother tried again when I was eleven and on the first lesson I refused to play and the teacher became angry, called my mother and said (through clenched teeth Lol), “Do…NOT…send…Robin…back.” (With the word EVER silently attached to the warning. Lol! ) However, I must have had a good ear because when I reached high school I’d occasionally play something on the piano that I’d heard on the radio. I was proficient enough that friends thought I could read music, but that only happened a handful of times, and there ended my piano playing days until I started to dream music in the Australian Rainforest.

Music is one of the truly great gifts in my life. It came to me after much deep personal growth and has stayed with me every since. I still don’t read or write music and have had no training (and still have no desire to), yet I play piano or flute almost every day. I believe that music isn’t something separate from us; it’s who we are. We must be aware of a culture (especially USA) that tends to “can” music and consign it to stereo-types, professionals, “famous” people (chuckles) and those with music degrees from Robin’s blog www.nakedineden.com