DREAM-

SHIFTING
101
1 Pachamama Alliance
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101

John Perkins
2 Pachamama Alliance
We each use dreamshifting
every single day, but most of us
have no idea that were doing
it. This ancient, revered tradition
impacts our destinies, our
relationships, and our legacies.
It allows us to tap into untold
power, mystery, and magic,
but it also has a direct physical
manifestation in our every-day
world.This magic isnt reserved
for only the most holy shamans
and mystics; it is available to
you and me and anyone with
the heart to understand.
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101
3 Pachamama Alliance
Changing Consciousness
We live in the most revolutionary time in history. Greater than the agricul-
tural or industrial revolutions, it is a revolution in consciousness, a time for
us to wake up to our true potential as human beings, free ourselves from
unconscious stories of lack and limitation, and release the false values, loves,
hopes, and expectations that have kept us stuck in dysfunctional patterns.
It is by no means insignicant that this time in history is one of universal
communication. We can talk and work together across national boundaries,
language barriers, and generational gaps instantaneouslyin ways that have
never been possible before.
For the rst time in human history, we are waking up to the fact that were
all facing the same crisessuch as climate change, species extinction and
declining resources. In the past we experienced individual geographic
criseshurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, civil wars, among others. Today,
the global crises challenge all of us together, and we understand that we live
on a very fragile space station that has no shuttles. We cant get off; we have
to take care of our home.
The moment weve now entered is a magical one. Its a time of changing
consciousness and a time when we are called on to take appropriate actions
to also make it a sustainable, just, peaceful, spiritually fullling world thats
thriving for all living creatures. Understanding and harnessing the power of
our dreams, of dreamshifting, is the key to unlocking the future we desire.
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101
4 Pachamama Alliance
So what is Dreamshifting?
Dreamshifting, simply, is a mindset, a choice, a way of seeing and feeling
that results in actions which create change. Its fundamental to all of us as
human beings. We use it everyday, in even the mundane activities of our
daily routine. Lets say you have a pencil sitting next to you. In order to pick it
up, you have to rst have the dream, the desire, the vision that you can pick
it up. You have to want to pick it up and know that you can before your brain
will send any messages to your muscles and nerves to physically move. The
dream, the desire, initiates the energy that causes movement.
Our physical bodies are made of energy; science used to say that were
99.999% air. Some people say were made of water, but H2O is really
mostly air. That other 0.001% was thought to be subatomic particles, but now
quantum physics tells us through string theory that its just probabilities of
energy. Everything is energy, including ourselves. When we apply energy
to our dreams, shifts occur in us and in the world. Energy is driven by our
dream of the physical world; reality is a function of how we choose to
direct our energies.
Connecting The Authentic Self
Anyone can use dreamshifting. You dont have to be initiated or certied
in order to connect to your authentic, deep self and to have a dream for
your life and for the world around you. If your dream is harmful or negative
or impotent, you can change it. You can dream a new dream for a new life.
Tapping into and deeply understanding your own dreamshifting ability in
this way is incredibly powerful on a personal level as well as collectively. It
will result in a re-wiring of how you see the whole world, including how you
see the self that is deep inside you. Make no mistake, what you dream about
yourself and the world can make you ill or heal you. It can also set you free
to accomplish things you had thought were impossible.
5 Pachamama Alliance
Were air and were probability
of energy. The energy is what
makes all the difference. Where
do we focus that energy?
What do we want to do? Who
do we want to be? What is our
mission? Asking these questions
helps us guide our dreams.
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101
5 Pachamama Alliance
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101
6 Pachamama Alliance
For example, when I was living with indigenous people in South America in
the late 1960s as a Peace Corps volunteer, I became deathly ill. I lost a great
deal of weight in a very short time. A shaman led me through a dreamshift-
ing journey. I saw that I had a negative mind-set around the foods I was
eating and the local beer I was drinking (made by women chewing and
spitting manioc and allowing it to ferment; we could not drink the water due
to pollution). I also saw that the local people were very healthy and lived
long lives. I understood during that dreamshifting journey that the food and
drink were not killing me; my illness was generated by a mindset, a dream,
implanted in me by my parents and the culture where Id been raised. After
that I was totally cured and lived with these people for three years in good
health. As payment for healing me, the shaman requested that I become his
apprentice. This experience changed my life in so many ways.
When I use the word shaman I am referring to the wise people of indigenous
cultures, but also to dreamshifters in our modern world. My favorite short
denition of a shaman: a man or a woman who journeys to other worlds in
order to obtain power, energy and wisdom to create change in this world.
Although various traditions and forms of shamanism involve intense and
specic training around healing techniques, ceremonies, the use of plants,
and other rituals the above denition describes the common thread that
unites them. We are joining that legacy when we engage in true dreamshifting.
The shamans teach us that our dreams are not imprisoned in our sleeping
minds, but that they live in our waking minds as well. Whatever we give
energy to, whatever we dream, whatever we really aspire to, our greatest
hopes and our greatest desires, manifest when we give energy to them.
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101
7 Pachamama Alliance
Focusing Energy
Were air and were probability of energy. The energy is what makes all the
difference. Where do we focus that energy? What do we want to do? Who
do we want to be? What is our mission? Asking these questions helps us
guide our dreams.
If dreamshifting is powerful, where does this power come from? The root of
your power and the root of dreamshifting is the divine, authentic YOU. Our
core self is connected to the whole universe, both the physical world and
the spiritual. Shamans tell us that our core self, also known as the divine
self, is innite and immortal; it has lived many lives. We are all connected to
each other, and therefore our understanding of that core self is helpful in
creating our dream for the world. We impact each other on all levels,
physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Indigenous cultures have known this
for generations; they see themselves as a collective, not as individuals. This
gives them a greater sense of accountability and community. They suffer
together and prosper together. Their dream for the world is stronger
because it is collective and not merely individual.
Emotions feed energy and are therefore powerful for dreamshifting; instead
of avoiding things that make you feel sad or angry or frustrated or helpless
you can use those very emotions as the energy for changing your dream of
the world. For example, I have channeled my feelings of anger and sadness
about what our government and corporations are doing to the Earth into
energy that empowers me to fulll my dream of creating a just, peaceful,
and sustainable world for all creatures. I personally do this through writing
and public speaking because I have a passion for and experience in these
areas, but each individual must choose his or her own path. In any case, our
emotions transform into powerful actions. For me, living in this way is also a
lot more satisfying, a lot more fun, then wallowing in anger and frustration.
8 Pachamama Alliance
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101
8 Pachamama Alliance
By using dreamshifting, we
understand a lot more about
ourselves and how we can
move away from things we
want to get rid of: addictions,
bad habits, and dysfunctional
patterns. We also nd out
how we can go forward
toward doing and becoming
what we truly want.
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101
9 Pachamama Alliance
Turning Dreams to Actions
Its important to know the difference between dreams and fantasies. From
a shamanic perspective, a fantasy is something we can enjoy in the world of
imagination, but would not want to have really happen in the physical world.
A dream is something we actually want to manifest in reality. For example, a
student of mine once expressed a dream of winning the lottery so she could
devote herself to writing; she did win the lottery, but afterwards she discov-
ered that it had major negative consequences and completely derailed the
dream of becoming a prosperous writer. Her real dream might better have
been expressed as writing a book proposal that would earn her an advance
and enable her to complete the book. Its important to give energy to your
dream, not to your fantasy, and to be clear about what your dream truly is.
Your dream may be on a grand scale, and if you break it down into individual
steps and milestones, absolutely anything is possible. By using dreamshifting,
we understand a lot more about ourselves and how we can move away
from things we want to get rid of: addictions, bad habits, and dysfunctional
patterns. We also nd out how we can go forward toward doing and
becoming what we truly wantbeing a better writer, a better dancer, a
better parent, a better spouse, or a better anything else that we desire.
There is another aspect to dreamshifting that we cannot ignore or minimize:
action. Its very important that we identify the specic actions we need to
take. As an example, if I want to write a book, I must rst have the desire,
the dream, and then I have to sit down to write every day. Ive got to dream
about the book. Ive got to meditate about my book. Ive got to visualize the
book. And I have to actually write the book. Energy must be applied to my
dream for change to happen.
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101
10 Pachamama Alliance
Changing The Old Dream
As a culture, in the West weve created an incredibly difcult and destructive
dream of the Earth and of the human role upon the Earth. Its a dream that
is not succeeding, a dream that has resulted in a global Death Economy,
an economy that breeds warfare and the pillaging and raping of the Earth
and our resources.
We need to change that dream now and evolve into a world thats based
on a Life Economy. Its not just about economics; its based on passion, on
cleaning up the polluted parts of the planet, helping starving people feed
themselves, and creating better transportation systems, energy systems,
banking systems, and marketing systems. This can be a vital, growing,
full-employment economy. Some people suggest that we should cut back
on growth but the truth is we need growth in institutions that make a better
world. Its time to change that old dream and move into the new one.
In the decades that I have spent traveling, studying, and living with indigenous
people on nearly every continent, I have seen people around the world
waking up. We are beginning to understand that in this revolutionary moment,
we can and must apply our individual and collective energy to shifting our
dream for the future. Let us dream our grand, impossible dreams as a
community of people and our intimate, personal dreams as individuals. Let us
unlock our potential to thrive in a just, peaceful, and fullling reality. By har-
nessing the power, mystery, and magic of the timeless legacy of shamans and
dreamshifters, we are impacting and taking care of each other and the world.
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101
11 Pachamama Alliance
About the Author
John Perkins work with shamanism began in 1968 when he was an apprentice
to a shaman deep in the Amazon. Since then, he has studied and lived with
shamans on six continents. His books have sold over 1 million copies, spent
more than 70 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists, and are published
in more than 30 languages. As Chief Economist at a major consulting rm, his
experiences advising the World Bank, United Nations, IMF, U.S. government,
Fortune 500 corporations, and heads of state convinced him to devote the
rest of his life to facilitating changes in consciousness and in social, political
and economic systems. He was founder and CEO of a highly successful
alternative energy company and is a founder and board member of Dream
Change and The Pachamama Alliance, non-prots dedicated to creating a
sustainable, just, peaceful and thriving world.
John has lectured at universities around the globe, and is the author of
Shapeshifting, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, The World Is As You
Dream It, Psychonavigation, Spirit of the Shuar, Hoodwinked, The Secret
History of the American Empire, and The Stress-Free Habit. He has been
featured on ABC, NBC, CNN, NPR, A&E, the History Channel, Time, The New
York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Der Spiegel, and many
other publications, as well as in numerous documentaries including The End
of Poverty, Zeitgeist Addendum, and Apology of an Economic Hit Man. He
was awarded the Lennon-Ono Grant for Peace 2012, and Rainforest Action
Network Challenging Business As Usual Award, 2006.
To learn more about John Perkins, visit johnperkins.org
12 Pachamama Alliance Copyright 2014 The Pachamama Alliance. All rights reserved.
Sponsored by The Pachamama Alliance
The Pachamama Alliance is a non-prot organization based in San Francisco.
Its mission is to empower indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest to
preserve their lands and culture and, using insights gained from that work,
to educate and inspire individuals everywhere to bring forth a thriving, just
and sustainable world. To learn more, visit pachamama.org
Pachamama Alliance
Presidio Bldg #1009, 2nd Floor P.O. Box 29191 San Francisco, CA 94129 +1 415 561 4522
DREAM-
SHIFTING
101