I had the strangest dream, one of those that change your life, or at least how you view your life. I won a lottery--millions upon millions of dollars. It wasn't a lottery where six numbers come up and someone gets a nice wardrobe, a personal trainer, and a new car (although I might have liked that) This lottery was won with words. They lined up just right and I was suddenly in control of MILLIONS--with one catch. I couldn't use the money for myself. This money had been assigned to me by the collective soul of our planet somehow. I could use a small amount to cover my true personal expenses but the rest was to go for guardians. I had to spend all this money to protect and heal Earth!!!! And that brought me joy. Pure, simple, dance-in-circles laughing joy.

I was to find a guardian for each task who would pass the guardianship on to the next generation, and the next, etc. Without financial struggle the guardians would be able to focus on their soul assignment, or sole assignment, in the dream I couldn't see the spelling of the word. No matter, on to the dancing.

First I had to find a guardian of agriculture. This guardian would keep pure seeds of all food and healing plants--all oxygen-making trees, all weeds, all ocean plants the world over, and only in their proper place. This guardian would stop the destruction of food-growing areas and oxygen-producing areas, for humankind and all our relatives. Anything that has DNA. But especially for me, and for intensely personal reasons, this guardian would give me a gift in my own yard: the Tropicana rose and cilantro in a beautifully scented circle around a natural stone bench. An Eden I have never had, but often dreamed of.

Second I had to find a guardian who could also be a warrior. A pacifist warrior? What?? Aaah, I understand. To keep EVERYTHING nuclear from being used. To keep hell out of the hands of humans. To protect those living beings who have had no say in the matter of destruction. I saw them raising their hands, beautiful, interesting faces intent, bringing energy from their very souls to surround and negate the evil they faced. And they DID. Praise God they DID. They reached across religious, political, ethnic, gender, socio-economical barriers and touched hands and they DID. And they gave me a single night of restful, undisturbed sleep without fear of the dark as a gift.

Third I had to find a guardian of "medicine." A shaman, a voodoo priestess, a Jonas Salk, a wiccan, a grandmother, a Jung--all in one group. Guardians who would teach us without using poison to attack the illnesses from our bodies. Who could recognize that sometimes death IS the healing. With an innate understanding of the plants and foods and communion that not only heal but prevent illness. Who would not judge one soul as more worthy than another for healing. And they gave me a watercolor of my soul, a spiral of colors from the mango as a gift.

Fourth I had to find a guardian of religion One who had the open mind and heart to accept and adore the differences and similarities each faith shares. One who would embrace reincarnation and the flight of a soul to its maker in the same thought. AMEN. Guardians who would attend the cry of a three-year-old wanting a cookie with the same wisdom as they would attend the cry of a mother whose child is dying, recognizing that all pain hurts. Even if we bring it upon ourselves it hurts. And they gave me three drops of ocean water in a tiny glass ball on a silver chain as a gift.

Fifth I had to find a guardian of the travelers of the earth, water, and sky. One who could recognize the worth of a mosquito as well as the cow, the charm of a warthog as well as a puppy. One with the wisdom to see that although the animal's life work may be to become food, it still deserves to be treated well and with the future-thinking to recognize cloning and altering as the abominations they are. And they gave me a carving of a capuchin monkey as a gift, bringing me a flood of joy memories.

Sixth I had to find a guardian of justice The wisdom of Solomon with the heart of Mother Teresa. One who could understand that murder can NEVER negate murder, that abuse can NEVER negate abuse. That evil can only be conquered by surrounding it with grace and love--not by letting it continue but by containing it and treating it with dignity, grace, and love. And they gave me a deep red glass key as a gift.

Seventh I had to find a guardian of politics, the most difficult task for me. One who is able to see honesty in a soul. One who is able to resist the negative side of power and revel in the good. Who can recognize that the needs of the collective soul are infinitely more important than corporate greed and the hideous perversion of medical care the world over. Who can look at the homeless man clothed in filth and rags and see his needs as equal to the high-placed executive. Who hears the voice and ideas of the 36-year-old "nothing much" woman as valuable as the voice and ideas of the 41-year-old "big wheel" male CEO of a major company. Who realized that all people are most sacred of all. And they gave me a document, signed and witnessed, legal the world over. And it read only-FREEDOM. A gift I cannot imagine but did.

As I use the word guardian here, I do not mean a single person. I mean a unity of people. Maybe families, that hand down the guardianship like some hand down the family business, the guarding being their only work. I must say that I woke crying, so much hope tied up in this. laughing, God help my neighbors.

Questions for discussion, writing:

What is your calling as a guardian? Is it in one of the categories named in this dream or an unnamed one? Does it cross several categories?
How does the dream’s description of your kind of guardianship reflect the work that you do or hope to do? If you do not find yourself in this dream, how would you describe your kind of guardianship?

The dream says guardians are “a unity of people.” Is there a community of fellow guardians for you (whether or not they call themselves guardians)? If not, how would you form such a community?

The dream speaks of passing responsibility from one generation to the next. What responsibilities and passions have been handed down to you by family or mentors? What responsibilities and passions are you passing on to your children or younger people?

The dreamer says this dream changed her life. Have you had profoundly influential dreams that relate to your calling or to the future of earth and humanity?