Ruby Modesto grew
up on the Martinez reservation in
southern California . Her dreams
called her to become a pul, or shaman, introducing her to the eagle that
became her ally, giving her wings for flight. She did not need the medicine
plants used by some shamans among her people, the Cahuilla, because she had her
dreams. She learned that there are successive levels of dreaming, and that you
achieve increasing clarity and get closer to the really good stuff when you go
to level three or beyond. Her uncle was a dream shaman, and he taught her about
"setting up dreaming" in order to get to those interesting levels. She
explained the practice to anthropologist Guy Mount in their book, Not for Innocent Ears: Spiritual Traditions of a Desert Cahuilla Medicine Woman. Click here to learn more.
