Sydney

Elise Brooks is Animal Dreaming's Sydney Representative

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Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Tillicans

Web           : www.serenitylifecoaching.com.au

Elise attended the 3-day Animal Dreaming Certified Course in 2007, 2008 and 2010 at both Taronga Zoo and Sea World

“Scott Alexander King became a part of my life when I was in a negative frame of mind searching for answers. He has taught me to become conscious of the different parts of my personality and to experience consciously the forces within me that competes for expression. I soon learnt that I had many choices to make in my life and when I started to put aside blame things were clearer and what the consequences were of each conscious choice I would make in my life. I thank God for opening the door so I was able to meet such a generous,caring and loving human being. Namaste.”

Today, it is not uncommon to hear people speak of trying “to get back to nature”, to “get in touch with the earth once more.” The truth is, we have never been out of touch. We are always connected to the Earth and it to us. Everything we do causes repercussions, and everything within it has repercussions for us. Unfortunately, most choose to ignore it or are unable to recognize it. The saddest part is that when we fail to reverence any aspect of nature and our intimate connection to it, we are failing to reverence intimate aspects of our own self.

My intention for the Sydney Animal Group is to hold a women’s circle that will strengthen the participants through rituals and story-telling. The purpose of ritual is to wake up the old mind, to put it to work and to change the mindset of the people. It is a form of ‘sacred drama’, in which you are the audience as well as the participant, and the purpose of it is to activate parts of the mind that are not activated by everyday activity.

Ritual is the act of consciously opening ourselves to the presence of Spirit.

I would like to organize a meeting where women can choose a topic and focus the evening on simple activities and rituals. The topic can be picked by two women who have volunteered to be conveners for that meeting they may choose something of interest to them or allow themselves to be guided by group members’ requests.

Ceremony can be ours to play with rather than remaining remote and out of reach. We can approach it in different ways, use different tools, and experiment with different settings and see what happens. We can borrow from tradition, throw in a little of our own imagination, and cook up a ceremonial concoction that fits just the occasion we have in front of us. And it can be lots of fun.

There are many, many gates to the sacred and they are as wide as we need them to be.

Each daily act performed with attention and respect sacralized the objects of daily use, so that living itself could become a ceremony.

Samples of Ceremonies that can be created are:

•    Weaving a Web
•    Seeking Wisdom
•    Birthday Ceremony
•    A Blessing Way
•    A New Year’s Ceremony
Endless adventures are to be had through ritual. I hope that we can inspire each other with our imagination to create ceremonies that fit the occasion and mood exactly.

When we learn to speak with the animals, to listen with animal ears and to see through animal eyes, we experience the phenomena, the power, and the potential of the human essence, and it is then that the animals are no longer our subordinates. They become our teachers, our friends, and our companions. They show us the majesty of life itself. They restore our forgotten childlike wonder at the world, and they reawaken our lost belief in magic, dreams and possibilities.

We also plan to celebrate ‘IADD’ (International Animal Dreaming Day). For this special day, we plan to offer a breakfast-style sausage sizzle at the park in Manly.

Please make contact with Elise if you’d like more information or to get involved in any of the exciting things she’s offering in Sydney.

If you talk to the animals
They will talk with you
And you will know each other.
If you do not talk to them,
And what you do not know
You will fear.
What one fears one destroys.

-Chief Dan George.