A Dreamer: Book 1

By Jess Hartley Litton

"There are Three Fundamental Truths that all must know, and will help you on this journey. The first is this...From the Mystery all came forth. All manifestation is in harmony with that sacred law; nothing is outside of it." 

I felt her words deep, deep in my bones, echoing. Her words were as powerful as her whale song, an

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vera Hawk Press
• Release date: Oct 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798989220915

Book preview

A Dreamer

Book 1

Channeled by, Jess Hartley Litton

Copyright © 2023 Jess Hartley Litton

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Vera Hawk Press—Grass Valley, CA

ISBN:ISBN 979-8-9892209-0-8

eBook ISBN 979-8-9892209-1-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023918263

Title: A Dreamer: Book 1

Author: Jess Hartley Litton

Digital distribution | 2023

Paperback | 2023

This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my sweet baby sister, Natalee, my dance partner for life, who is forever in our hearts.

I also dedicate this series to my two incredible daughters, Jade and Sage, who are my greatest teachers and inspirations, my gurus.

For them, I hope this book inspires a more livable, healthy, loving world. A life of healing and compassion and recognizing the sacred gift of being here on planet Earth. To create a healthy beautiful ecosystem that is respected for countless generations to come, so that all beings may know peace.

Contents

A Dreamer

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Hawk

Whale

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Raven

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Rabbit

Turtle

Chapter 8

Hummingbird

Chapter 9

Fox

Chapter 10

Owl

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

One

Works Cited

Additional Credits

About the Author

Prologue

T

heir silver strands of flowing energy harnessed them in an intimate embrace of sacred connection. They were The Protectors. The protectors of love. The protectors of the ability to experience love. Without them, love was left vulnerable to the miseries of life that were in constant lust of destruction. Without The Protectors, without unconditional love, life was in danger of collapsing into darkness. The threats were always there, pulling, pressing, tearing at the seams of strength, but as long as The Protectors were connected, their bond was unsurmountable and the preciousness of love could exist. The Protectors were held in a floating embrace and perpetual dance above The Nest of Joy. Rested in the highest peak of the highest mountains, in the tallest and oldest Tree, the Tree of Life, they protected the sacred Seed of Life. Untouched and untouchable, for it could only be seen by the eyes of those that knew their true nature and felt genuine unconditional love for all of life. So it was that The Nest remained unseen, and The Protectors protected by and from man’s ignorance. They were only allowed to be seen by the Chosen One, sent to deliver the sacred medicine of healing, once every 1000 generations.

Chapter 1

Whale

"W

ake up, honey, you’re going to be late for school!"

Uhuhuh, I’m up, I’m up!

The morning began as all mornings do, dishes clanking in the kitchen, my mother whistling, and my groggy mind lusting after the vivid dreams I was just jolted away from. If it weren’t for the institutionalized ways of society, I could remain in my deep place of ultimate awareness until I was meant to be awakened into the real world. Although, dreams were always more real than life to me.

Last night’s dream was one of the most surreal I’d had in a while…

…My eyes opened to darkness. The ground was cold and damp. The air was moist, and stuck to my face. A layer of small goosebumps crawled up my spine and eventually covered my entire shell of skin. It was just so dark. Only the slight silhouette of trees, and the thick fog that fills every nook and cranny, could be seen.  Being pulled forward, down what felt to be a path, my bare feet seemed to know where they’re going. Despite my eyes and the unrelenting darkness that was trying to blind me, I knew the way. There was a light up ahead. It was an opening from the thickness of trees, to the sky. A bright sky of stars shined through the canopy opening. Something else caught my eye up ahead, a reflection of light coming from the ground. I started walking faster towards it, already beginning to feel a warmth in my body. The goosebumps were gone and my feet felt as though I could run five times faster. So I started running, faster than I ever imagined I could, almost flying through the dark forest toward the light that reached out and pulled me to it. It was close now. Then it appeared to be getting closer still without the change of my speed. I realized it was coming towards me and I started to slow down. I came to a stop, my heart pounding loudly in my ears and almost out of my chest. Then I saw it. It was water, slowly moving down the path, towards me. I watched it as it trickled down and made contact with my toes. My toes went numb, and then my feet. Unsure of being barefoot in cold water in a dark forest at night, I stood there motionless, contemplating moving away from the water. But then I realized that the water wasn’t cold at all. It felt amazing. In fact, the tingling was spreading slowly up my feet and into my ankles and I could feel a subtle excitement rising with it, beginning to mimic the pounding of my heart. But this was different, not just in my blood, it was beyond that, something more. I burst into a run again, still forward, now full-forced into a stream of crystalline water, led by an overwhelming drive I had little control over. I moved even faster than before. The stream now more of a creek, ever growing just as my speed through it. We were growing together. The force was growing stronger, and harder it became to fight against the current. Still exhilarated, I trudged on as much as I could, clutching to rocks with my toes, branches with my arms, resisting the persistence of the ever-growing pressures of the flood. The light was very close now, just up ahead. Using all of my body’s strength, all of my mind’s ideas, all of my soul’s will, I gave it my all. But the current grew to be too much and I lost my footing and started to drift backwards with the flow. My grip was slipping. I let go, too tired to fight back, too comfortable in the soft flow to try to resist it. I gave myself to what was now a river. But as soon as my eyes closed and my hands flew back in complete surrender, I felt something below me. It was something large, something strong, pushing against the flow of the water, pushing me with it. I shifted into a new place of comfort, this one supported. Something was below me, aiding me forward. The light was just in front of us now. I could feel its glow. As we reached the light, it opened up into a circular bay of water surrounded by a row of mountains, green and rich browns. The sky was filled with stars, more than I’d ever seen in my life, barely any of the black of night was perceivable. Suddenly, a loud ‘CHHHHHHH’, like a steam engine train, and a shower of water blasted in my face. I looked down, now able to see the outline of a large mass below me. To my blessed surprise, it was a Whale, a magnificent, gigantic, beautiful Orca Whale. We glided toward the middle of the lake, the water not warm, not cool, just perfect, silk against us. Then I heard a sound I will never forget as long as I live; a song deeply emotional and sincere, a song from the heart of all hearts. It rippled through the waters, the air, the spaces in between the cells of life, at least those spaces of my body. I was blown back in astonishment and tears streamed down my face. My heart couldn’t help but sing back. It came naturally somehow. I began to vocalize the song; a quieted, unsure version. It seemed to flow from me more naturally than any other sound ever had though. I felt the flow growing, and then it burst. I sang out from the very depths of my being, even deeper than I knew was a part of me, deeper than I ever knew was possible. Our songs met and danced, spiraling around the circulating mountains around us and the sacred waters we glided through. The stars even twinkled in response. I felt completely alive, completely whole, I felt loved and protected and ultimately connected. I felt like I was home, with my family, where I was supposed to be. I reached down to hug her and realized that we were no longer in the water but hovering above it, flying actually, gliding now through the air just as we had through the water. Then I saw the others, there were four, no five, six of them total, including the sacred beast beneath me. They were all rising from the waters, flying through air with the same elegance they graced the water with. I stared bedazzled at the site, then let out my loudest bout of song yet. This time outside of myself, from the depths of existence, a song so rich it might have made def any untrained or unwarned ear. I sang so deeply that my body seemed to disappear, consumed by sound...

When I woke up that morning I didn’t exactly feel like going to school, as you can well understand. As cool as eighth grade seemed to be, it’s hard to beat something like flying with a pod of celestial whales around a starlit bay. I laid there wide-eyed, staring at the white ceiling, trying to recall all that had just happened, sorely confused at how it wasn’t real, and utterly sad for this fact. I closed my eyes and attempted to retreat back.

Lila, time to get up, honey. You have to catch the bus in 20 minutes.

Ughh. Alright, I’ll just have to wait until tonight, I thought.

The dream had completely consumed me, trying to make sense of it all. Most of the details I wouldn’t understand for years to come, but I was lost in thought anyway. I was mesmerized by it and left with a feeling of awww, awww at the simplistic joy and beauty of it, awww of the song and the flying, and the magnificence and grace of the sacred animals that had visited me in my slumber. I was also filled with disappointment at the drabness of the mundane world I awoke to. A world focused on the nicknacks of convenience and the sparkling illusion of the ‘joys’ of money and power. A judgmental world full of unhappy and scared people who point at each other and laugh, and then secretly cry. A petty world lost from the true nature of reality, ignorant of what it is to be truly alive and in a precautionary state against the sacred gift of life. I regularly got upset about the harsh realities of life and suffering, and thanked my lucky stars for the love and comfort I was given, my amazing Mom and friends, my health, and my understanding. But I was almost angry that the entire world didn’t or couldn’t thank the stars for these things. I felt small and insignificant, unable to change the misunderstandings of life. But this dream had me thinking. If everyone could have this kind of reality in their dreams, then maybe they too would wake feeling the way I felt, that there’s something magical about life, that it is worth protecting, and that means the entire planet…the universe at large. Then I thought, if we can have the same dream and wake with the same feeling, then we could also just have the same waking dream and feeling. Yeah, these were the kinds of thoughts I had regularly.

Lila? What’s up? You're in outer space today.

Huh? oh. Yeah, I’m sorry, Lina. I had another dream last night.

Another one? What was this one about? Were you in a jungle again?

No, this was a little different. I was in a coniferous forest this time, but it was just as real and vivid as the others have been, I said.

Maybe it’s something you’re eating? My mom said that gluten sensitivity can cause all kinds of crazy symptoms in your body, Alina toted with confidence.

Yeah, I’ll look into that. I gotta go. I’ll see ya tomorrow.

Alright, well I’d avoid wheat tonight, if I were you. No one should be that dazed and confused from their dreams. Don’t slip into a state of psychosis where you can’t distinguish what’s real or not…Where are you going, anyway? The busses are here. I heard her still calling from behind me.

Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. See you tomorrow. Have a good night, I said as I pulled up my hoodie and walked away, rolling my eyes a little. I know she meant well, but she was a worry wort and never seemed to understand that I Loved my dreams. I would Never do anything to prevent or disturb them. I looked forward to them every day. SO yeah, I wouldn’t be avoiding gluten. Ha! Ohh man, now all I wanted was pizza.

Normally, I took the bus home, but today I decided a good walk would be nice. It was only 1.5 miles, and The Kokiba Trail would cut off a 1/4 of one. It wasn’t even very cold out, considering it was nearly the end of September. A walk would be just the ticket to get me out of my head space…or really to allow me the time and space to relive every second of my epic dream in hopes that it may inspire me to sink right back into it tonight.

The trail head looked particularly dark today and I got a little hiccup in my belly as I imagined, for one split second, all the horrible things that could linger in this 1/4 mile of dark damp danger. But then I put my headphones on and turned up my favorite tune of the moment, and felt my superhuman powers surging up. It was only a 1/4 mile.

The thump of the bass was loud, but I could still hear the beat of my heart thumping louder in my ears. A girl named Amara was harassed here only last month, and of course the good ‘ol town ghost story of Clay Dearil, who was last seen entering this dark and twisted tunnel, but never seen again.

I clicked the volume up a few times and quickened my pace a little. Maybe a run was a good idea today. I don’t do enough cardio after all. I turned around to check if anything was following me and then decided I better take off my hood for better peripheral vision. Nothing there. Good. Still, this was a great little downslope of a hill, a run was way more fun anyway. I was starting to get into it.

Suddenly, I was having flashes of my dream, running through the woods, following the light up ahead. I felt that familiar excitement and adrenalin surge even more through my body, this time bringing a smile to my face though. Then a laugh. Woooohooooo I screamed, as I torrented through the trail, twisting through thick brush of tall Manzanita and even taller Pine, Cedar, and Madrone. My superhuman strength surged again and I felt like I could literally jump into the air and karate chop kick something. Hiiiiiaaaaaaaaa, I heard myself say, as a ninja warrior expression suddenly overcame my face.

I saw the end of the trail ahead, as a cliche glowing orb, and felt my pace quicken. I was at a full sprint. A flashback of my dream once again, of the point before the water took me, and I was at a full moment of surrender to the flow, when suddenly..

Hey, there! Where are you going so fast? A dark figure jumped in front of me and stood not 50 feet ahead, blocking the entrance to the end. I jolted to stop and my legs felt a sharp sting as I was neither prepared to halt at that speed nor run at that speed to begin with. I was dumbfounded, stunned, caught completely off guard, filled with utter fear while also still filled with superhuman strength and adrenalin. So I did what any nearly 13 year old girl would do. I screamed a shrill cry as loud as is humanly possible.

Lila, it’s me… Acarya. I didn’t mean to scare you. You just seemed like you were in a hurry, I thought I’d miss you, if I didn’t jump out and stop you from your hyper-speed.

Acarya! You scared the crap out of me! You know this trail gives me the ebigeebies, I said, gasping for air.

I’m sorry, I know. I couldn’t resist. I didn’t want to miss you either. You were hauling! You should come over, and hang out. My mom will make you some tea. I think there’s still some of those Ojas balls you love.

That sounds really great, but I have to get home. I have a paper to write and I really just feel like being alone today. Let’s hang out tomorrow, k? I replied.

Are you sure you’re ok?

Yeah, I’m fine… I had another dream last night.

Another one? Were you swimming in the ocean again?

Not exactly. Kinda. No. But yes. It was different. I just want to get my stuff done and go back to sleep. It was pretty epic and I kind of want to know what the heck it was all about.

Well, don’t be bummed out if you don’t go back to it. I’ve never had the same dream twice. You got really pissed last time when you didn’t go back into the same dream.

Yeah, I know. It’s all good. I just, I just want to go be at home. I’ll see you tomorrow, k? I leaned in for a semi hug. Physical touch wasn't really allowed in his culture much I guess, or he was just always scared to hug me, even though we’d been friends since the first day of kindergarten, and he knew everything about me. He was probably my best friend, but we always had a barrier between us, a small fissure of some sort.

Alright, well take it easy. I’ll see ya tomorrow, Acarya said, as he turned to continue down his street, dropping his skateboard and gliding away.

When I got home, no one was there as usual, and I whistled for Jo. She’d probably come find me right when I snuggled up with a warm blanket to do my homework, that’s what she seemed to do best. But still I called for the sneaky feline to let her know I was home, and make me feel less alone in our empty, quiet house.

Joooooo?! Here kitty kitty kitty. I’m home.

I heard the message machine beep and pressed it to check who’d called.

Beep!! "Hi. This message is for Tihana Hickey, calling from Dr. Cassidy’s office. Please call us at your earliest convenience, for your lab results, and to set up another appt with the Dr. You can call us