When the heart of Liberty was torn open

On the anniversary of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, I am remembering a dream that vividly conveyed both the depth of the national trauma and the hope of a gift that might come through the wound.
    A couple of days after the terror attacks, I flew to California to lead a workshop on shamanic dreaming at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur. In the opening session, people were eager to share dreams and deep emotions relating to 9/11. We heard a number of reports of possible dream precognition of the event, confirming my impression that mass events throw a shadow before them.
    However, the most powerful and moving dream shared that day was a night vision that came to the dreamer after the tragedy, when she was struggling to understand the terrible enormity of what has taken place in New York.
    She saw the Statue of Liberty as a living goddess. She saw the great goddess savagely attacked, torn open from the crotch to the throat. Sobbing and gagging as she watched the Manhattan sky filling with blood and ashes, the dreamer was amazed to see that the heart of Liberty, now clearly visible, continued to beat. As it went on beating, the heartbeat seemed to go out in all directions, touching people, stirring them to open their own hearts.
    This powerful vision, in its terror and its beauty, is seared into memory, along with the literal scenes of 9/11. It gives hope that our society may come through trauma and sectional hatred to return to the heart.

I'll be talking about the continuing national trauma of 9/11, and about how to heal the trauma of our wounded warriors, with psychotherapist and educator Edward Tick Ph.D, the author of War and the Soul, on my "Way of the Dreamer" radio show today. You can hear the interview live from 12:00-1:00 PM Eastern (9:00-10:00 AM Pacific) via www.healthylife.net, or download from my archive after the broadcast.