Hi, I’m Jean Sumrall and I have a confession to make.
I’m a dreamer. Yep, that’s right! I was born to dream, imagine and believe that my dreams would come true. Some of them have and some of them are yet to be.
My father never believed in my dreams or my ability to bring life to them. When I would share them with him, he would shake his head saying, “you’re just dreaming, Jeanie.” Those words always made me shrink inside and I stopped sharing my dreams with him.
Most people, like my dad, believe that the dreams we hold in our hearts are mere fantasies, but the truth is, our dreams are gifts from our Creator and in the physical manifestation of them, we meet challenges that cause us to discover and expand our ability to change the world we live in.
In 2004, my husband and I bought 20 acres in Oregon. For me, it was a life-long dream come true. I had always wanted to live in the country. When I first walked onto the property, I felt as if I had come home. There was a house, a garage, a large shop for my husband and the water-skiing lake was only ten minutes away. Our intent was to move there, semi-retire and live the good life. We even named it – Flying Free and Clear.
I went to our property every chance I could, escaping a job I hated and a mediocre marriage. I felt free there, doing what I wanted when I wanted to do it. I even had my own forest, 10 acres of Douglas fir trees. Many were so big I couldn’t put my arms around them. I loved walking among them, listening to the wind singing as it blew through their branches. I explored the year-round creek that flowed on the back of the property. I followed the trails the previous owner had made. It was the home I always dreamed of.
On one occasion, when I left later in the day, I arrived on the property about 1am. I was tired from the 12-hour drive, but I wasn’t quite ready to go to bed. I fixed myself a cup of tea and sat on the front porch enjoying the view. A soft mist had settled in on the meadow before me, creating a magical scene. I half expected to see fairies peeking out at me from behind the ferns. I was enchanted and sat transfixed, not wanting to move for fear of breaking the spell. I felt so blessed by the land as it revealed itself to me.
As I explored the property, a vision began to grow in my mind. I imagined meditation grottos in the forest, places where women could come and meditate in nature in a safe and secure space. The vision grew in my heart. I saw a large yurt there, a place for classes to be taught in belly dancing, raw food preparation, how to massage your dog and so much more. I allowed my imagination to run as freely as I did on the land. Smaller yurts for women to spend a night, a weekend or more, as they reconnected with themselves and nature on this special land. I saw weekend retreats for women to attend with other like-minded women with hikes, stargazing at night and bonfires for songs and story sharing. I saw women coming with their mothers and mothers coming with their daughters, friends bringing friends to share in the freedom and wisdom of this land.
But, unfortunately, this dream of mine never manifested. After eleven years, we sold the property and paid off our house in San Luis Obispo. It hurt my heart as I realized that my husband and I didn’t share the same dream, that of living in the country. I accepted this fact and tucked my dream back into my heart where it would safely wait for me. Over the passing years, I have taken out this dream and holding it carefully, lovingly, saying, “it’s all right. I’ll make you real one day.”
I was recently reminded of this dream and why I have it. I want to give women, just like you, an experience of the land with all its wisdom and a connection to the deep magic contained within your dreams. A place of forgetting for a while, of the life you live in the reality of societal culture. I want you to feel the freedom of stepping into your authentic self, with all the wonder of a child once more. Of moving beyond what is considered normal into the transcendence of connecting with nature and your own inner knowing. To walk fearlessly in the dark of the night, without a flashlight, trusting that your feet will remember the earth you walk upon.
I envision women sitting around the bonfire, toasting marshmallows for some-mores. Young women are listening to age-old stories filled with women’s wisdom. Steaming mugs of hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon fend off the chill in the air. Small groups of women are sharing stories that all can relate to with their own life experiences. Other women are dancing in the firelight to the pulsing rhythms of women drumming, connecting to the heartbeat of Mother Earth and themselves. Can you hear the drums? Would you like to join the dance? It is a scene of freedom, relaxation, inner peace and love.
This is the gift I want to give back to the world, for all the amazing women I have had the pleasure to know and walk beside on this crazy journey of life and to all the women I have yet to meet; a return to unity in community, a return to the earth, a return to authenticity and a remembering of who we are.
I now consider myself to be a visionary, a visionary on a mission to bring this dream into reality, for the benefit of all women. I don’t know where it will end up being. I am trusting in the Divine to show me the perfect place for it. I know that when all is aligned, the money I need for it and the land will be presented to me. At times, I still hear my father’s voice saying, “You’re just dreaming, Jeanie.”, but his words no longer make me shrink inside. Now I answer him, “Yes, dad, you’re right. I am dreaming, only now I believe in my power to manifest my dream.”
You may wonder why our dreams are so important and what is the magic that is held within them. Our dreams inspire us to become greater than we are. They challenge us in ways we cannot foresee. And when we follow our dreams, we open space for other women to follow their dreams, too.
But most importantly, our dreams are gifts from our Creator. We wouldn’t have them if we weren’t meant to bring life to them. Let that sink in: We wouldn’t have them if we weren’t meant to bring life to them. Creator can’t come down into this dense energy of planet Earth, so our manifested dreams allow Creator to experience them through us. This is the deep magic of women’s dreams. Creator gives them to us and as we manifest them, we return them to our Creator.
So, I ask you, what dreams have you been hiding in your heart, tucked away far from ridicule and negativity? How long have you kept them safe? Isn’t it time for you to bring them out into the light so they can be manifested into the material realm? What you want also wants you. Don’t allow fear to keep you from your dreams, as they give needed courage to other women to follow theirs.
There is nothing wrong with being a dreamer. Let’s celebrate ourselves and our dreams, because along with our voices, our dreams are changing the world. Let’s do this! The time is now! Our dreams are needed.