Excerpt from "The Tao of Tarot"

Dreams in Crisis: My Dad A Hostage In Iraq

It is in our darkest moments that we have the greatest opportunity to grow beyond our comfort zone. It is particularly in difficult times that guidance dreams appear to help us. I found this out personally back in the spring of 2005 when returning from a relaxing Saturday morning walk around the neighborhood with my kids and dog I heard the phone ring. It was a call from a hysterical family member telling me that my father, who had been working and living in Bagdad, Iraq, had been taken hostage. His whereabouts and condition were unknown. I would later verify the truth with my own eyes hours watching CNN on the television. I watched the beaten image of my father, head shaved and face badly bruised, with guns pointed to his head on a video clip filmed by his captors. They demanded the removal of foreign troops from Iraq or he would be executed.

Later that night I had the following dream:

Dream 1: We are in a time of war. I am looking serious as I approach the skyscrapers of a downtown city. Watching the buildings in front of me I know that if twelve bombs go off that everything will be fine. With bated breath, I carefully observe the buildings counting the eleventh then final explosion. I sigh, feeling a sudden wave of relief. The critical moment over, I begin walking home. I pass several people who are joyfully celebrating this new era of peace.

Having followed my dreams for many years I assessed this latest dream, putting it in context with my dad’s current situation. My analysis was that I had been given a spiritual message of reassurance. My dad would be all right though certain events, signified by the succession of bombs, were needed before things would resolve successfully. I would need to be particularly mindful of my thoughts and actions, not falling into anger, blame or other ego trappings over the international conflict that affected me personally. Rather, I would do everything I could to be constructive while my dad was in danger, trying on a personal level to remove all levels of separation (those tall sky scrapers needing to be removed in the dream) within myself that may on some level be blocking a positive resolution.

Despite this first dream of hope, however, the weeks ahead were filled with mental challenges and emotional turmoil. About four weeks into the hostage situation, I went off to take my dog walking through the park to re-center myself. It was then that I had my second intuitive dream experience related to my dad.

Dream 2: I experience an inexplicable lightness of being as I walk amongst the trees. An unknown intelligence silently communicates through the wind that everything will be fine and a positive outcome was imminent. I could feel this message reverberate deep within my heart.

This second dream experience, though hopeful, initiated a deep personal crisis within. I wondered as I continued my walk back home if I could trust my intuition as it sharply contrasted with my current reality. Contact from the people who held my dad captive had dwindled and my extended family was preparing for a funeral. The situation seemed bleak and I could hear it in the sober updates of government officials. But I had to ask the question of myself, if I couldn’t believe in my own internal guidance system and the collective universal dreaming I was tapping into, what could I believe and trust in? It was a deep soul searching moment for me and a true test of faith.

My dad had been a hostage over six weeks and I was exhausted and losing hope once again. The prolonged emotional and physical hardship was lowering my spirits so I went to be alone in my room. With eyes closed, I called upon God as I went within and began dreaming…

Dream 3: Dark clouds begin to roll in the sky. At first my body and mind resist the approach of dark clouds; I am then able to let go and surrender to the uncomfortable feelings and images that appear. So bone tired I could not fight and resist anymore. Without thought I entered a state of open hearted being. Suddenly, the energy shifted, rippling outwards like a sonic wave, and I watched as the clouds in my dream vision separated creating a circle. Where the clouds parted, beautiful blue sky and the central image of the sun appeared.

I did not know the significance of this dream, but it felt like something very powerful had just occurred. Hours later, the phone rang and I woke up, racing out of habit to answer the call in case there was any new word or updates about my dad. My primary government contact was on the other end of the phone. With a newfound lightness in his voice he told me my dad had been rescued by Iraqi troops after an unexpected tip off by a local Iraqi civilian. It took a while for the good news to finally sink in and to realize that my dad was once again safe. The horror of the past six and a half weeks was thankfully over.

People tell me that I was helpful in the release of my dad. All the work writing letters, working on international blogs, helping prepare press releases, finding pictures and medical histories, government planning

and family strategizing or peacekeeping were nothing compared to that one final small act of spiritual surrender. I feel deeply that we each need to learn, as I did through this difficult time, to trust our intuitive selves. When we keep faith and follow our dreams, we create miracles through our own spiritual potency.

How do miracles work? It is the great mystery of life...But I have learned that inner promptings of awareness through dreaming come when we most need them. They remind us of the unity of existence (dreaming is a universal experience after all), help us spiritually mature, give us peace in moments of suffering and expand our concepts of ourselves and our own inner potential.

Christina Bjergo, LAc is an inspirational teacher and author of The Tao of Tarot “The Way” to Health, Happiness and Spiritual Illumination through Qigong Dreaming by O Books Publishing. She is Qigong Grand Master of Sacred Serpent Spiral Qigong and Qigong Dreaming. Christina is a Body Dream Work Practitioner who enjoys helping people develop their intuitive skills and follow their dreams through qigong, meditation and yoga. For upcoming classes and more information visit www.taooftarot.com.

The Tao of Tarot can be ordered at most local bookstores or purchased online at www.taooftarot or Amazon.com.