“It’s not just a dream.” – Liz Neves, Founder of Gathering Ground
Meet Liz Neves, dream weaver, herbalist, author and the founder of Gathering Ground, an organization that curates interactive, educational experiences that marry herbalism and nature to personal healing. This is my second time filming with Liz. We first met in 2012, when I profiled her popular smokable tea blend for a story about using psychoactive tea ingredients to de-stress and relax. Since then, she’s deepened her connection and relationship to plants, becoming an expert in plant use and identification. Through Gathering Ground, she is helping more people learn to heal themselves through herbalism courses, plant walks…and dream circles.
Harnessing The Power of Dreams
Truth be told, Liz has a fondness and enthusiasm for exploring one’s dream life. Her monthly dream circle workshops at MINKA brooklyn aim to create awareness and understanding around the messages we receive while asleep. According to Liz, dreaming is an active, not passive, experience – an important time that we can control and nurture if we just do a little work. In her small group classes, you learn how to activate your dreams with the help of medicinal plants and herbal elixirs. Safe, ancient ingredients – like rosemary and damiana – that have proven crucial for building a fruitful dream ritual.
“Anyone can dream.”
The truth is, many people out there dismiss their dreams as just dreams. But, Liz believes they deserve more credence and attention. Dreams might, in fact, be part of a bigger collective unconscious that we can all tap into – a part of us that participates and intermingles with a source greater than ourselves. This is the reason why dreams might offer insight and spiritual growth that applies to our waking life. Something else is trying to poke us into action. Liz likes to think of them as a download of instructions or hints, so to speak.
However, the only way to know that reality is to approach our dreams with an open mind. To develop a relationship with our dream time, and be consistent with the work…see what comes up. The problem is that most people give up before they ever get anywhere. I certainly can attest, it can be frustrating when you can’t remember or properly interpret your dreams.
Patience & Repetition
As encouragement, Liz emphasizes patience when in the process of learning to recall and understand your dreams. Elixirs and dream tinctures can sometimes take a few tries, sometimes even weeks, before seeing any returns. Also, certain herbs work better on others. Therefore, be diligent with your commitment to dreaming and try different herbs to understand their effects. Over time, you will see progress. So, be patient as you train your brains to dream more consciously. Most importantly, keep a journal beside your bed to record your dreams. In the middle of the night, it can be easy to forget the details.
Unpack & Follow the Thread
All in all, dreams fascinate Liz because she feels they are keys to understanding ourselves. The messages, images or symbols we receive are all important. She urges dreamers to “follow that thread”. If signs keep coming up, look harder. Question yourself. Seek out the connection. Talk to others about it in a dream circle. It’s amazing what you can discover about your life and purpose with these practices. And through handcrafted elixirs and various dream rituals, she helps people become attuned to glaring signals, unlocking hidden messages, and opening eyes to things that life is asking us to pay attention to.
I highly encourage you to feed your dreams. To understand that there are tools for a more awakened dream life. There’s so much to gain in exploring your life through different modalities. Herbs and lucid dreaming can help one achieve that wholeness we all seek.
Enjoy Liz’s story. Please head to her website for the latest classes and dream circles organized monthly. ❤️
Thanks for watching food. curated.! Happy dreaming! xx SkeeterNYC
#eatmorestories