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The World Is As You Dream It:

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REVIEW

The World Is As You Dream It: Shamanic Teachings From the Amazon and Andes

By John Perkins

Published by Inner Traditions International Ltd

US$ 10.95 pbk. ISBN 0892814594

According to Webster's Dictionary, a dream is "ideas imagined during sleep." This highly specific, cut-and-dried definition is one many people would probably agree with, but are dreams truly limited to somnolent nighttime fantasies? In The World Is As You Dream It, author John Perkins asserts:

Dreaming is the most powerful thing we do in life. It forms the bases for our perceptions, attitudes, emotions, motivations and actions. It occurs all the time, at both conscious and subconscious levels: while we are working, driving our cars, preparing food, reading, and watching television — as well as during sleep. Individual dreams affect the courses of our lives; collective dreams determine the futures of civilizations. (Page XIII)

The ability to dream is present in all humans, but the educational systems of "developed" countries focus on science, rationality and materialism, dismissing dreams as subconscious debris or wishful fantasies. Within some cultures, however, the awesome power of dreaming is recognized and nurtured. Many indigenous societies are shamanic, aware of the fragile strands present in the web of life and humanity's relatively small place in that web. A shaman is one who can undertake Otherworld journeys in order to effect changes in the visible world and to achieve healing. These people are knowledgeable in ways the modern world has little use for, but there is a resurgence of interest in their wisdom. John Perkins' The World Is As You Dream It chronicles the teachings of several shamans from the Amazon basin and the Andes Mountains, but it is far from a detached account. Perkins lived and worked among these native peoples, and studied with the shamans. His purpose in writing The World Is As you Dream It is twofold: to present the individual experiences of Perkins and his students, but also to document the role of dreaming in creating profound change within the larger world.

Perkins distills the United States' prime proficiency as a nation down to one word: construction. Domination of the earth, creation of more buildings, more highways, more visible evidence of human control of the environment —these are obvious goals. These goals have been exported worldwide and have become hallmarks of "modern," "developed" societies. Unfortunately, pursuit of this artificial dream has resulted in pollution, ravaged natural resources and the denigration of "primitive" indigenous cultures. It is Perkins' belief that the United States' collective dream of secular materialism must be changed to a more spiritual, Earth-honoring vision, and that this can only be achieved when people learn to recognize and empower their dreams.

John Perkins first visited the Andean and Amazon regions in the late 1960's. After an absence of many years and a successful career as a businessman, he returned to that area in 1992, hoping to find direction for his life and a way to correct some of the environmental destruction he had witnessed. A Shuar shaman called Numi not only instructed Perkins in the power and practice of dreaming (and of bringing those dreams to fruition), but instructed him to bring Americans "willing to learn" so that the collective dream of destruction could be altered. Within a year Perkins led three groups of students into Ecuador, actively promoting study with the shamans. Many chose to use ayahuasca, a native psychoactive plant, to achieve a deep connection with the Earth during otherworld journeys, while others used more conventional psychonavigation techniques. All were profoundly changed by their experiences, including Perkins is personal visioning instructed him to work for the annihilation of the automobile, a symbol of greed and inequality as well as a pollutant. Shamans also physically or psychically healed several group members.

Among the teachings of the South American shamans several concepts stand out: the practice of Camay, the difference between fantasies and dreams, and the power of dreams to manifest in the visible world. First, to Camay someone or something is to breathe unity into it, to restore balance. There is nothing complicated or difficult about this process, and it is crucial to all types of healing. Second, fantasies and dreams are very different things. Fantasies are things people feel strongly and wish to experience vicariously, but do not really want to "come true." Dreams, on the other hand, change lives. They are invested with energy, energy strong enough to make them become reality. When fantasies are believed to be dreams and invested with energy, they can be incredibly destructive. Discernment is necessary — the careful evaluation of what is fantasy and what is dream. Last, when dreams are empowered, both individually and collectively, they are realized. If our American society can change our dream from ruinous materialism to realization of our connection to Mother Earth, we can make it happen. We have the energy, but we all must learn to change the dream.

The World Is As You Dream It is a thought-provoking, hopeful book. While John Perkins describes modern culture and practices in painfully graphic terms, he also emphasizes that the situation is not irreversible. Shamans from Ecuador's indigenous cultures (and possibly many more worldwide) are willing to teach, to help alter the dream that will lead to extinction. Perkins' writing style is crisp and dramatic; the text flows smoothly though the author tends to linger over personal anecdotes. Regional mythology and cosmology are briefly discussed, providing a framework for the ideas introduced. The personalities of both shamans and students are very well drawn; they appear as ordinary people united into something extraordinary by their concern for the future of our planet. It is disappointing that specific psycho-navigation techniques (except for ayahuasca ingestion) are not specifically discussed; Perkins has written a separate book detailing these practices but has allowed no informational overlap.

The World Is As you Dream It offers a positive, proactive method of combating the environmental destruction taking place all around us. It also celebrates shamanistic ways of knowing and healing, encouraging respect for societies rooted in them and challenging us to recapture the talent for dreaming that is buried in all of us. Recommended.

Reviewed by Janet Dugan