A CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT IN
REMEMBRANCE OF PENNSYLVANIA
AS IMMIGRANT-FAMILY DETENTION CENTER
SHUT DOWN, ALLEGED NEWS
[1]
[2]
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
TEXAS IS TRYING TO CLASSIFY IMMIGRANT DETENTION CENTERS AS CHILD-CARE FACILITIES; ALLEGED NEWS
IN AUGUST 2015 LUMIERE REFLECTED THE NEWS THAT JUDGE DOLLY GEE SAID DETAINED IMMIGRANT WOMEN, CHILDREN WHO WERE DETAINED AFTER CROSSING THE US-MEXICO BORDERS SHOULD BE RELEASED BECAUSE THEIR DETENTION VIOLATED A 1997 COURT SETTLEMENT THAT PROHIBITS MINORS FROM BEING HELD IN UNLICENSED, SECURE FACILITIES; ALLEGED NEWS. [1]
Reclassification
Texas is trying to classify Immigrant Detention Centers as Child-Care Facilities; Alleged News. [2]
A new rule submitted to the State's Health and Human Services Commission would create a new category of child-care license that would keep family detention centers open in Karnes City and Dilley that house migrant women and children caught crossing the Mexican border; Alleged News.
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
In February 2016 it was reported that the rule has been in the works since September, as the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services dealt with a decision from federal Judge Dolly Gee that came down in July of last year; Alleged News.
Judge Gee ruled that the country's three detention centers release the children they were holding in 'deplorable conditions' that 'failed to meet even the minimum standard' for a safe and clean environment for children; Alleged News. [2]
Subpar Conditions
Judge Gee wrote that the subpar conditions violated 1997's Flore v. Meese settlement agreement, a class action suit that set standards for how unaccompanied migrant children stopped at the border should be treated, namely, that they must be held in licensed facilities; Alleged News.
Judge Gee's decision applied that standard to children apprehended with their parents, too; Alleged News.
At the time, there were about 1,400 children and parents in the country's then three detention centers; Alleged News. [2]
Since that time, Pennsylvania shut down its Immigrant-Family Detention Center, Alleged News. [3]
What Are The Children Fleeing From?
Drugs and Gangs. In 2014, it was reported that Anthony O. Castellanos disappeared from his gang-ridden neighbourhood in Honduras; his younger brother Kenneth got on his bicycle to search for him; Alleged News.
They were found within days of each other, dead; Alleged News.
Anthony, 13, and a friend, had been shot in the head; Kenneth, 7, had been tortured and beaten with sticks and rocks, Alleged News.
These young innocents were among seven children murdered in the La Pradera neighbourhood of San Pedro Sula in April 2014 alone; part of a wave of gang violence that is claiming younger victims; Alleged News.
The killings are a great factor inspiring the migration of Central American children to the United States, which has sent an unprecedented number of unaccompanied minors across the Texas border; alleged News. [4]
How the Children Flee
In December 2014 and August 2015, Lumiere wrote of the dreadful plight of Little Innocents.
Stories of the torture and massacre of children abound.
One of immense pathos is that of a young girl resisting being robbed, was clubbed over the head and dragged off by two men who cut a hole in her throat, stuffed her panties in it, and left her body in a ravine; Alleged News. [5] and [6]
In Honduras, a young boy was gang raped after refusing to join a local drug gang; Alleged News. [5]
Further documented stories can be found at this link;
http://ignatiansolidarity.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Unaccompanied_Children_Real_Stories_of_Central_American_Children__Families.pdf
US Southwest Border
An 11 year old Guatemalan boy was allegedly found dead in the brush a mile from the Mexican border. This little lad was found with no shirt, only a white rosary. [7]
This child, and others, represent the horrendous massacre of the Holy Innocents that is taking place in our own age.
What mute suffering have these children gone through, mewling for help that never ever came.
THE LUMINOUS 38th VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 1965 TO 1969, HUBERT HUMPHREY JR, WROTE;
'IT WAS ONCE SAID THAT THE MORAL TEST OF A GOVERNMENT IS HOW THAT GOVERNMENT TREATS THOSE THAT ARE IN THE DAWN OF LIFE, THE CHILDREN; THOSE WHO IN THE TWILIGHT OF LIFE, THE ELDERLY; AND THOSE THAT ARE IN THE SHADOWS OF LIFE, THE SICK, THE NEEDY, THE HANDICAPPED.' [8]
IN THE SPIRIT OF LUMIERE, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP?
[1] Breaking News; Judge says Detained Immigrant Women, Children Should Be Released; Alleged News
http://lumierecharity.blogspot.ie/2015/08/breaking-news-judge-says-detained.html
[2] Texas is trying to Classify Immigrant Detention Centers as Child-Care Facilities; Alleged News
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/02/11/texas_is_trying_to_classify_immigrant_detention_centers_as_child_care_facilities.html
[3] Pennsylvania Shuts Down Immigrant-Family Detention Center; Alleged News
http://articles.philly.com/2016-01-31/news/70203856_1_family-detention-undocumented-immigrants-facility
[4] Fleeing Gangs, Children Head to U.S. Border; Alleged News
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/10/world/americas/fleeing-gangs-children-head-to-us-border.html?_r=0
[5] Real Stories of Central American Children & Families, Alleged News.
http://ignatiansolidarity.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Unaccompanied_Children_Real_Stories_of_Central_American_Children__Families.pdf
[6] The Unwelcome [and Unacknowledged] Refugees Closer to Home; Alleged News
http://www.latinorebels.com/2015/12/10/the-unwelcome-and-unacknowledged-refugees-closer-to-home/
[7] US Southwest Border - Dreadful Plight of the Little Innocents, Alleged News
http://lumierecharity.blogspot.ie/2014/12/children-facing-deportation-us.html
[8] Hubert Humphrey, Alleged News
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hubert_Humphrey
With thanks to slate.com, philly.com, nytimes.com, ignatiansolidarity.net and latinorebels.com
Monday, March 28, 2016
SHACKLING IN INDONESIA, ALLEGED NEWS. WHY NOT JOIN THE CAMPAIGN?
LUMIERE HAS RECEIVED REPORT THAT PEOPLE WITH PSYCHOSOCIAL DISABILITIES [MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS] IN INDONESIA ARE SHACKLED OR PLACED INTO INSTITUTIONS; ALLEGED NEWS.
In the Institutions they often face physical and sexual violence, involuntary treatment including electroshock therapy, seclusion, restraint and forced contraception; Alleged News.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch examined how people with psychosocial difficulties often end up chained or locked up in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, without their consent, due to stigma and the absence of adequate community-based support services, including mental health care; Alleged News. [1]
1977 Ban on Shackling
Despite a 1977 Ban on Shackling - known as pasung - in Indonesia, the practice continues; Alleged News.
More than 18,000 Indonesians with perceived psychosocial disabilites [mental health conditions] are tied down by chains - to beds, cement blocks and or in animal pens - and lack access to mental health care; Alleged News.
They are confined, sometimes for decades. [2]
Human Rights Watch is urging the Ministry of Health to provide mental health medication in local health centers and support services for all who seek them; Alleged News. [2]
Why not join the campaign, and tweet and email the Indonesian Health Minister at the following link -
https://www.hrw.org/breakthechains
See the video at
https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/video/2016/03/20/indonesia-end-shackling-people-disabilities
[1] Indonesia; End the Shackling of People with Disabilities; Alleged News
https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/video/2016/03/20/indonesia-end-shackling-people-disabilities
[2] #BreakTheChains : End Shackling in Indonesia; Alleged News
https://www.hrw.org/breakthechains
'Living in Hell': 18,800 Indonesians shackled for mental health conditions; Alleged News
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/indonesia/12199886/Living-in-hell-18800-Indonesians-shackled-for-mental-health-conditions.html
With thanks to hrw.org and telegraph.co.uk
FOX NEWS REPORTING "SEE NO EVIL" - THE CASE OF KERMIT GOSNELL; ALLEGED NEWS
FOX NEWS REPORTING "SEE NO EVIL" - THE CASE OF KERMIT GOSNELL; ALLEGED NEWS.
WARNING; NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=kermit+gosnell+documentary+&view=detail&mid=DFA93E506861217BED50DFA93E506861217BED50&FORM=VIRE3
With thanks to Bing.com and FoxNews
OVERTURNING ROE V WADE. WHY NOT SIGN THE PETITION?
THE PLANNED PARENTHOOD VIDEOS SHOWED THE TRUE HORROR OF ABORTION.
Why not join Care Net in standing up for the unborn by signing the petition, 'I Support Overturning Roe v Wade.'
ABORTION IS MURDER.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR ABORTION TO STOP!
SUPPORT OVERTURNING ROE V WADE!
Sign the Petition at
With thanks to care-net.org. Image courtesy of care-net.org
PETITION HANDED IN TO WORLD BANK GLOBAL HQ, WASHINGTON D.C., ASKING FOR LOANS TO BE SUSPENDED TO THE UZBEK GOVERNMENT; ALLEGED NEWS
ON 9th MARCH 2015 WALKFREE.ORG - ALONGSIDE THE COTTON CAMPAIGN TEAM, ILRF AND ANTI-SLAVERY INTERNATIONAL - HANDED IN PETITION WITH 136 109 NAMES TO THE WORLD BANK GLOBAL HQ, ALLEGED NEWS.
The Petition is a Call on the World Bank to suspend loans to the Uzbek Government.
Although the World Bank formally condemned the use of forced labour upon receipt of the petition, it has yet to suspend its loans to Uzbekistan, Alleged News.
The fate of Elena Urlaeva was to be drugged, beaten and detained by police when she documented state-sponsored slavery in the cotton-fields of Uzbekistan, Alleged News.
In Uzbekistan, the whole country suffers because of the government's dependence on revenue from the cotton harvest, Alleged News.
The government operates the world's largest state-run system of forced labor where activists such as Elena are repressed, pensioners are required to pick cotton or submit 50% of their pension, and education and health care are affected for two months annually due to the mass mobilisation of teachers and doctors, Alleged News.
The World Bank is funding projects totalling $500 million in Uzbekistan that are documented to be using forced labour, Alleged News. [1]
The World Bank has signed a contract agreeing to suspend loans if evidence of forced labour was uncovered, Alleged News.
Walkfree.org needs our help to hold them to their promise. Why not sign the Petition?
https://www.walkfree.org/uzbek-slavery/
SEE THE VIDEO
Ordered into the Fields
Hundreds of thousands of students in Uzbekistan are pulled from their classrooms every Fall and ordered into the fields to pick cotton for little or no pay, Alleged News. [2]
A mother was recorded on video saying that if she didn't send her child to pick cotton, she faced a fine equivalent of two weeks pay, Alleged News. [2]
Rights groups say students are threatened with losing their seat in the classroom, Alleged News. [2]
Government and private sector employees are also forced to join the harvest and meet quotas knowing that if they don't, they face losing their jobs; Alleged News.[2]
Detained
In September 2015, two human rights activists were detained as they documented forced labor in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan, Alleged News.[3]
Dmitry Tikhonov was detained as he was documenting people being sent to the cotton fields; Alleged News. [3]
Elena Urlaeva and her companions, including her young son,were detained while Urlaeva documented people picking cotton; Alleged News. [3]
UN Human Rights Committee
In July 2015, the UN Human Rights Committeee reviewed Uzbekistan, Alleged News.
Among the issues discussed by the Committee's experts, serious concerns were raised regarding the use of forced labor in the Uzbek cotton industry, Alleged News.
Uzbekistan is one of the world's largest cotton exporters, Alleged News. [4]
Who buys Uzbekistan's cotton?
Europe buys almost a third of Uzbekistan's cotton, Alleged News. [5]
[1] Suspend loans tainted by Uzbek Forced Labour, Alleged News
https://www.walkfree.org/uzbek-slavery/
[2] Cotton exporters using child labor, Alleged News
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/21/cotton-exporters-using-child-labor/
[3] Activists beaten, detained for documenting forced labor in cotton fields; Alleged News
https://www.ifex.org/uzbekistan/2015/09/24/forced_labour/
[4] Forced labor in cotton industry in Uzbekistan, Alleged News
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=video+on+uzbekistan+forced+cotton+picking&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=6A33896BA68A59756AA76A33896BA68A59756AA7
[5] The cost of cotton; Funding exploitation, Alleged News
https://peopleandplanet.org/redressfashion/briefing/uzbekistan
Cotton slavery in Uzbekistan, Alleged News
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=video+on+uzbekistan+forced+cotton+picking&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=D4713719F3BD12B07AB0D4713719F3BD12B07AB0
With thanks to walkfree.org, thecnnfreedomproject. blogs, ifex. org, peopleandplanet.org and youtube
Saturday, March 26, 2016
HAPPY EASTER TO ALL LUMIERE CHARITY READERS
HAPPY EASTER TO ALL LUMIERE CHARITY READERS.
LET US CONTINUE TO JOIN HANDS AND
TOGETHER MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
117 COUNTRIES ARE FOLLOWING
LUMIERE CHARITY BLOGS.
LET US, UNITED, BRING
PEACE, JOY AND JUSTICE
TO A HURTING WORLD
Friday, March 25, 2016
CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT BY LUMIERE IN REMEMBRANCE OF BRUSSELS
A CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT IN
REMEMBRANCE OF BRUSSELS.
The recent tragic events have taken
a great toll in life and suffering.
Our thoughts are with all those who have lost their lives,
for those injured, for families
and for all who have assisted
in caring for the injured.
The recent tragic events have taken
a great toll in life and suffering.
Our thoughts are with all those who have lost their lives,
for those injured, for families
and for all who have assisted
in caring for the injured.
Brussels stories; Grief for the lost, hope for the missing; Alleged News
Sunday, March 20, 2016
DIGNITY4REFUGEES; OPEN LETTER PLEADS FOR HELP FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN TRAUMATIZED BY RAPE, ALLEGED NEWS. WHY NOT SIGN THE PETITION?
AN OPEN LETTER HAS BEEN WRITTEN BY WOMEN 'DIGNITY4REFUGEES' PLEADING FOR HELP; ALLEGED NEWS.
"An open letter to the public and to the competent authorities of the states with respect to the women in the Westerwaldstraße", Alleged News. [1]
The women from the refugee shelter Westerwaldstraße 92a in Cologne Humboldt-Gremberg, have spoken out about the difficulties which they are facing; Alleged News.
The letter speaks of unacceptable living conditions, Alleged News.
The women also speak of various serious issues, Alleged News.
The women name the following;
They experience no privacy or refuge on the property; Alleged News.
Mothers cannot breastfeed their babies alone, pregnant women have no rest or special care; Alleged News.
Mothers are unable to provide their children with healthy food and education; Alleged News.
Rape of women and underage girls, filming of women while breastfeeding, showering and sleeping is claimed. Those responsible are named as "Die Security-Crew der Unterkunft" [The Security Department of the Accomodation], Alleged News. The group consists of nine men according to the letter, Alleged News. [1]
Women have been raped by the guards at the toilets and the showers; Alleged News. [1]
Protect Women and Children
Protect Women and Children being raped in German Refugee Camps; Alleged News. Why not sign the Petition?
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/takeaction/252/604/484/?z00m=27562355&redirectID=1996028932
Rape and child abuse, Alleged News
Rape and child abuse are rife in German refugee camps, Alleged News.
Unsegregated conditions are blamed as women are seen as 'fair game' in overcrowded migrant centers, Alleged News.
Makeshift centers in Germany have seen men, women and children having to sleep next to each other in tents, halls and corridors, Alleged News.
Showers and toilets are often not separated by gender, and some reportedly do not have a curtain for privacy, Alleged News.
In September 2015, around 5,000 asylum seekers overflowed old US military bases in Giessen, western Germany; Alleged News.
A letter addressed to the Minister of Integration and Social Affairs in the State of Hesse, where the center is based, from four women's organisations, described a 'culture of rape and violence'; Alleged News. [2]
The letter, written August 18th 2015, stated; 'It is a fact that women and children are unprotected. This situation is opportune to those men who already regard women as their inferior and treat unaccompanied women as 'fair game'. As a consequence, there are reports of numerous rapes, sexual assaults and increasingly of forced prostitution. These are not isolated incidents.' [2]
IN THE SPIRIT OF LUMIERE,
IS THERE ANYTHING
YOU CAN DO TO HELP?
[1] Offener Brief an die Öffentlichkeit und an die zuständigen Stellen über die Zustände bezüglich der Frauen in der Westerwaldstraße; angeblichen Nachrichten
https://dignity4refugees.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/offener-brief-an-die-offentlichkeit-und-an-die-zustandigen-stellen-uber-die-zustande-bezuglich-der-frauen-in-der-westerwaldstrase/
[2] Rape and child abuse are 'rife in German refugee camps', Alleged News
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3247831/Rape-child-abuse-rife-overcrowded-asylum-centres-huge-surge-migrants-pushes-Germany-s-services-breaking-point-claim-womens-rights-groups-politicians.html
With thanks to dignity4refugees, thepetitionsite.com and dailymail.co.uk
NEW HOPE AS KITCHEN BUILT IN SANGHAMITTA SEBA SANGHA - LUMIERE CHARITY, MAKING A DIFFERENCE
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| The Children of Sanghamitta Seba Sangha |
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| RCC Grade Beam for the New Kitchen |
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| RCC Pillar and Grade Beam Work for New Kitchen |
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| Sand and Chips Concrete for Kitchen House |
Early in September 2015, we reported that Sanghamitta Seba Sangha, Children's Orphanage and Shelter in Bangladesh, was devastated by a landslide after a deluge of rain.
New Kitchen
The news that the kitchen had been left in ruins proved a severe blow to the devoted carers of the Orphanage. The happy news is that a new kitchen is well on the way to completion.
Help Still Needed
The Sanghamitta Seba Sangha Orphanage continues to care for more than 177 boys and girls.
Ongoing assistance is needed for food, clothing, shelter, medical expenses, transport for the children.
Further areas of the Orphanage, as previously reported, are in need of rebuilding and/or refurbishment.
Depend on Charity
The children and His Venerable Ven. U Wee Shudha Mahathero continue to face harsh conditions, as there is no regular funding.
The Orphanage depends heavily on the charity of the poor population living in the same area.
Children in Desperate Need.
Lumiere Charity came to hear of this deserving Orphanage some years ago. We heard the tale of two tiny children whose parents had died. The youngest was a toddler who had just learned to walk.
The eldest - a child - arrived at the Orphanage with the toddler, looking for help. They were welcomed with open arms.
Everyone in the area knows that where there is a need, there will be help.
Taking in so many children without a steady income is an inspiration and opportunity for others to help with this worthy cause.
PERHAPS DIVINE PROVIDENCE HAS
LED YOU TO READ THESE WORDS.
IN THE SPIRIT OF LUMIERE
CAN YOU HELP?
Contact Details;
M Paimong Marma Executive Director
Mobile +8801713622667
Ma Ning Ning
President
Ph: 0088-036163055, Mobile 0088-01713622100
Email; sanghamitta@gmail.com
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| Cement bags for New Kitchen |
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| Bricks for Kitchen Reconstruction |
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| MS Rods for New Kitchen |
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| Left Side Elevation of New Kitchen |
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| Back Elevation Cami Pucca Kitchen |
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| Wood for new Kitchen Reconstruction |
Sanghamitta
http://sanghamitta.blogspot.ie/2013/08/a-bout-sanghamitta-seba-sangha.html
Sanghamitta at Worldwide Orphanages Dot Com
http://www.worldwideorphanages.com/join_wwo.htm
Orphans in Desperate Need of Help; Sanghamitta Seba Sangha
http://lumierecharity.blogspot.ie/2014/02/orphans-in-desperate-need-of-help.html
Orphans in Desperation; Sanghamitta Seba Sangha
http://lumierecharity.blogspot.ie/2014/06/orphans-in-desperation-sanghamitta-seba.html Breaking News; Children's Orphanage and Shelter Devastated by Landslide, Bangladesh
http://lumierecharity.blogspot.ie/2015/09/breaking-news-childrens-orphanage-and.html
With thanks to sanghamitta.blogspot. Photographs per kind courtesy of Sanghamitta Seba Sangha
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCH SEMINARY; DOCTOR OF HEALING MINISTRY LESSON NINE - DREAMWORK HEALING[ PART TWO]
Abraham Lincoln, the great President and believer in God, said; "How much there is in the Bible about dreams!
There are, I think, some sixteen chapters in the New Testament and four or five in the New in which dreams are mentioned; and there are many other passages scattered throughout the book which refer to visions.
If we believe the Bible, we must accept the fact that, in the old days, God and His angels came to humans in their sleep and made themselves known in dreams." 1
God and His Angels continue His healing work through dreams today.
Many followers of God followed His call to them received through dreamwork.
In the times of the early Christian Church, early followers of The Way followed their dreams.
They did this in order to find out God's Will for them, and to understand how God was working in their lives.
Dreamwork was commonly and openly practised.
As time wore on, however, the dream fell into disrepute and dreamwork became almost a thing of the past.
Discernment of dreams
Dreams are given to everyone. Dreams function as ongoing orientation.
They act as reminders of the universal call to journey towards personal wholeness, healing and ultimate holiness.
From ancient times, peoples from every culture and spiritual belief have responded to dreams with respect and veneration. The ancients constantly endeavoured to find their true meaning.
Dreams are thus common to all. What is not common, however, is knowledge of whether a dream is truly from God.
The answer to this puzzle is that discernment of dreams is the key.
Dreamwork Tradition
According to Luke in the Book of Acts, dreams and visions occurred often and at important moments in the life of the early Christian community.
Dreams occur when the corporeal, the body, is asleep; and visions when the body is awake.
Peter's dream-vision at Joppa directly guided the transformation of the new Church's attitude towards non-Jews [known as Gentiles], and the Hebrew dietary laws.
Paul's dream redirected his missionary travels from Asia to Europe.
Early disciples - such as the deacon Stephen who lost his life in witness to Jesus Christ - reported dreams and visions.
Dreams and visions were treated seriously and given much authority in the germinating church.
The conviction that God often speaks through dreams and visions are found in the writings of Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, Athanasius, Augustine, John Chrysostom, Anthony, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzen, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose, Jerome, Gregory the Great, John Cassian and many others. 2
Dreamwork
Synesius of Cyrene, a fifth century Bishop of Ptolemais, wrote, "Dreams, more than any other thing, entice us towards hope. And when our heart spontaneously presents hope to us, as happens in our sleeping state, then we have in the promise of our dreams a pledge from the divinity." 3
Origen and other writers clearly recognized that dream images were not simple physical perceptions such as when we perceive animals, trees, people and other objects in ordinary working life.
Dream images were instead images and symbols that revealed the nature of the spiritual world.
Synesius emphasized that dream imagery was essentially personal, and that symbolic dream material is best understood by the dreamer in terms of his or her personal life. 4
Dreams thus form a very personal experience. Repressed emotions or issues may burst forth through them, sometimes in embarrassing or surprising ways.
The early writers were aware that we have dreams which we might not be able to publicly share, containing unusual and embarrassing activities.
In dreams the dream ego may manifest unusual capacities which transcend usual bodily capacities.
Dreams may reveal inner working of personality that the rational mind is not in touch with.
Dream images are thus a way of expressing inner and spiritual dynamics.
Dreams are a way to express what we are not dealing with in our daily lives.
If we repress our anger because we believe anger is wrong, we repress a perfectly natural emotion which will surface in strong ways.
Anger is a healthy and normal emotion which gives the person experiencing the emotion the energy to confront a threatening, disrespectful or exploitative situation.
When this emotion is not owned and repressed, the owner will start experiencing certain manifestations.
Difficulties in sleeping, nightmares, headaches, stomach aches can occur.
Or once in a while the person will emotionally explode over one issue, and the rage and unresolved grievances of years will pour out.
Over time anger which has not been dealt with can turn inwards and attack the inner person.
Quite literally, illness can result. 5
Unresolved anger can express itself in dreams, such as using dream violence when this is out of character with your daily persona.
Dream Journal
The best way to discern dreams is to keep a record of our dreams over a period of time.
We will see almost everything about ourselves revealed.
Keep a dreamwork journal, and document your dreams.
Keep this journal safe; it is a personal document and thus merits privacy.
The journal is a tool for personal growth. When you have an especially vivid dream that strikes you and somehow infuses you with a sense of purpose, a sense of the 'Other' - God; record the happenings of the dream in your journal, and date the entry.
If God is sending you a message, as time unfolds you will discern that message.
I have read notes I made of dreams which occurred many years before, and have been startled by the accuracy with which God prepared me for certain events in my life which came to pass.
Dreamwork techniques
We work with dreams as giving us invitations and challenges.
No matter what our dream ego does or chooses, our conscious waking ego still needs to make choices on how it will actualize or not actualize the potentials of the dream.
Those who are deeply related to God are likely to receive revelation from God in their dreams and dreamwork. 6
Various dreamwork techniques can be used. Objects, animals, locations, colors and other images can mean different things to different people based on their associations and impressions of those things which are unique to each person.
Concentrate on developing your own individual dream vocabulary by discerning the meaning of recurring symbols in dreams.
For example, in my own dreams the symbol of the cloak of the Master symbolizes vocational call.
Dreams. They possess powerful energy.
After years of dreamwork journal discernment, you will come to find your personal symbols God creates uniquely for you in order to encourage you on your life path and vocational call towards Him.
God Communication
When you do dreamwork, keep in mind that dreams are a form of communication used by God.
God uses a number of different forms for dreams;
1) Warning dreams
2) Prophetic dreams
3) Vocational - [call to vocation or call] dreams
4) Confirmation dream
5) Answer to request dreams
God uses dreams to warm global leaders of future events [Gen 41;1-8].
God also uses the warning dream to warn us against certain decisions [Matt 27;17-19].
God uses prophetic dreams to provide revelation to His prophets [Num 12;6].
Vocational dreams are used by God to reveal His Divine Plan for our lives [Gen 37;5-8].
God answers our requests, confusion, pleas, petitions and prayers with dreams of answer
[1 Kings 3;5-15].
The warning dream is meant to warn us about some future attack from an enemy or some difficult time ahead.
The warning often helps to avert a disaster.
The confirmation dream confirms the truth concerning what you intuitively discern about a person or situation.
This dream gives you the impetus to act on what you already know on some deep level to be true, but have thus far been unresponsive towards.
The prophetic dream reveals the future concerning yourself, or another, or a nation.
The vocational dream is sent by God to give us clear direction as to the life path He has chosen for us to reach our divine destiny by the straightest life road.
We are free to accept or decline His divine invitation.
However, if we decline, we might always be beset by emotions of regret, of what might have been.
Divine guidance and leadership may lead us into previously unchartered spiritual waters; but they will never be dull.
Relationship with God grows ever more steady and close with each successive symbolic processing in dreamwork.
The challenge is for you to find out what God is saying to you through the symbol; and sometimes to accurately understand the symbol may take years.
Sometimes the words, images or actions in a dream sent by God can be taken literally. An example of this is when the Angel clearly gave Joseph the direction to 'Arise, take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.' 7
There is clear direction here.
Sometimes the words, images or actions in a dream sent by God need to be taken symbolically.
For example, if in a dream your dream ego is changing employment, do not assume the dream means you must immediately change your employment or career.
You cannot assume to know what the dream means without first doing discerning dreamwork.
Dreams don't usually give literal commands to act; rather, dreams ask questions, invite responses, reveal issues, open up new possibilities and suggest alternatives.
And every once in a while dear Reader, God may choose to take the direct route and give you clear guidance in a dream.
The art to discernment is that we always realise that the initiative for messages in dreams comes from God alone.
We can pray for guidance, and humbly ask God to send us a dream or vision to help us.
We cannot command it.
Relating to dreams
In Matthew 1;20, God did not order Joseph to marry Mary through the intercession of the Angel in Joseph's dream.
When we use discernment of dreamwork, we find the Angel told Joseph not to be afraid to marry Mary.
God - Emperor of the Universe and Angels - seldom commands through dreams.
Rather, He invites and confronts.
Joseph's dream thus confronted Joseph with his attitudes and feelings towards Mary.
God's dream to Joseph opened up years of discernment process for Joseph.
The information God gave through the dream to Joseph about the Baby growing within Mary opened up new possibilities and alternative plans for them.
For Joseph to respond adequately to the dream, he would have to open up his inner self to a great degree.
He would have to do much more than simply take Mary into his home, and marry her.
He would have to deal with his feelings, attitudes and values - towards Mary, towards her unborn Baby, towards His own self-image, towards the other villagers in Nazareth, and to the Mosaic Law.
So when we deal with a symbolic event or image in a dream, we don't try to define or translate it.
We need to relate to it. Symbols, which form the usual language of the unconscious and of the spiritual dimension, function at a level more primary than words or even concepts.
When we are in the discernment of dream process, we need concepted thought - words and sentences - to make the symbolic dream experience conscious; to give it perspective, to release the energy it contains, to bring it into daily life.
Joseph's dream held symbols. The Angel, messenger of God, symbolized God Himself.
Joseph had the choice whether to accept the symbolic messenger as symbolizing God and God's Word Himself.
He could have chosen to argue to himself that a messenger is not the One sending the message. Joseph was too humble and authentic a man to turn down a message sent through a mediator.
The angelic dream told him symbolically in essence to disobey the Mosaic Law. The Mishnah prescribes stoning for betrothed women and their lovers who are adulterous.
Joseph had to symbolically accept that the centuries of tradition, devotion and fidelity to the Law of God was to be disregarded.
That meant going against everything he had been taught at his father's knee, in the synagogue and in the Nazareth village.
Discerning the dream meant that Joseph had to make the choice. Was his dream an authentic vision from God with a clear command to act contrary to all he had ever deemed real? In which case, he would need to follow the command and accept Mary with her unborn Child into his house, and give him his name. He would need to be full father to the Child.
Joseph's other choice was to dismiss the dream as a figment of his imagination, a possible dream springing from his unhappiness in discovering Mary has become pregnant by Another.
Joseph unhesitatingly discerned and dismissed centuries of Torah certainty for the uncertainty of a future charted by God.
The rest is history.
Dreams and Healing
The need for healing implies that there is a conflict, a wound a brokenness.
We need healing when our bodies suffer from illness, our minds are in turmoil and our spirits experience guilt.
Sickness, whether physical, spiritual or psychological, happens to everyone.
Individuals, communities and countries experience conflicts which require resolution and healing.
Healing itself refers to an ongoing action. Healing is a continuous process which brings resolution of conflict and woundedness.
Healing leads to the founding of a new unity or wholeness. When a couple whose marriage is on the point of breakup begins marriage counselling, they are assisted to face up to the source of their marital conflicts.
Upon healing - resolution - a stronger and deeper relationship often results.
Healing has led to a new wholeness [holiness] and strength.
Our woundedness and need for healing often reflects in our dreams.
Sigmund Freud published his book 'The Interpretation of Dreams' in AD 1900.
Freud saw in dreams a means of approaching the realm of humanity's unconscious thought.
Freud's work on the interpretation of dreams paved the way for a new field of study and research.
Psychology, psychoanalysis and psychiatry all have fields of study bearing on the use and interpretation of dreams. 8
Synesius of Cyrene's treatise 'On Dreams', written 405 AD, remained perhaps the most spiritually and psychologically sophisticated treatment of dreams and dreamwork until the work of Carl Jung in the twentieth century.
Synesius believed that the entire universe is a unity, and dreams express the meaning of the universe, including our relationship to it and each other.
Anything we do in life can gradually be integrated and harmonized so that we are not at war with ourselves. 9
Doing dreamwork helps us thus towards healing, and integration of our unique inner selves.
Dreamwork also helps us ground our relationship with God, our heavenly Father, in increasing strength, respect and love.
In the next and final lesson on Dreamwork, we will look at spiritual and dreamwork journalling, and explore varoius Dreamwork techniques.
Questions for the Heart and Mind
1. Have you every discerned the voice of God to you in your dreams?
2. Explore a dream from Holy Writings. What does this say to you?
3. Why do you thing God often makes use of symbols in drams in order to communicate with us?
4. How can discernment of dreams lead to my dreams becoming a gift to my community?
Footnotes
1. Lewis, Lloyd. 1957. 'Myths after Lincoln', p 24. New York; Grosser & Dunlap
2. Kelsey, Morton. 1974. 'God, Dreams and Revelation' pp 102-161. Minneapolis; Augsburg &
Rader, Rosemary. 1981. 'The Martyrdom of Perpetua; A Protests Account of Third Century Christianity' in Wilson-Kastner, Patricia, et al., 'A Lost Tradition; Women Writers of the Early Church'
pp 1-32. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America
3. Fitzgerald, Augustine. 1930. 'The Essays and Hymns of Synesius of Cyrene' p 345. London; Oxford
4. Savery, Louis et al. 1984. 'Dreams and Spiritual Growth: A Judeo-Christian Way of Dreamwork'
pp 38-40. USA; Paulist Press
5. Raymond, Jeanette PhD. 2010. 'Melanoma: How Repressing Anger Can Cause Cancer'
www. goodtherapy.org.blog/stress-due-to-repressed-emotions-leads-to-melanoma
6. Savery, Louis et al. 1984. 'Dreams and Spiritual Growth: A Judeo-Christian Way of Dreamwork'
p 45. USA; Paulist Press
7. Matthew 2;13
8. Schnarr, Rev Frederick L. 'Sleep, Part 1; Introduction' p 2. http: //www.swedenborgstudy.com/articles/bible/fls80a.htm
9. Savery, Louis et al. 1984. 'Dreams and Spiritual Growth: A Judeo-Christian Way of Dreamwork'
p 40. USA; Paulist Press
Good Shepherd Church Seminary
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Rev Catherine
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Disclaimer; The information on this post is meant for information only. The information is not meant to replace your Doctor of Health professional or Herbalist care.