The Dreaming and Traditional Aboriginal Spirituality
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The Dreaming and Traditional Aboriginal Spirituality
Traditional Australian aboriginal religion is a cultural belief system among indigenous Australians, and a key aspect of aboriginal spirituality is the Dreaming. There are many different aboriginal groups and languages, but the Dreaming is a common characteristic in all these societies, although they may have different names for it. Thus each aboriginal group has its own way of connecting with the Dreaming.
The Dreaming affects all life. It is the beginning of all things and it is the recording of the origins of life and places and past events. The dreaming is the leading source of the principles that aboriginals use to guide their day to day activities. It tells of how the creative ancestors intended for humans to function upon the earth. The dreaming and dreamtime stories keep aborigines informed about the creation of the world, determines their values and morals, and the practice of the dream-time teachings strengthens their beliefs, their spirituality, and their ties with the land.
The dreaming has great meaning in aboriginal spirituality because they see it as the root of our life and experiences. The Dreamtime continues as the “Dreaming” in the spiritual lives of aboriginal people today. The dreaming is seen as reality itself, and thus it is the basis of all aspects of life in traditional Aboriginal societies. The Dreaming gives aborigines understanding of the world, of its creation, and its great stories. The Dreamtime is the start of knowledge, and it is where laws of existence were derived from. These laws must be observed to ensure their survival.
The significance of the dreaming in aboriginal spirituality is best shown in the way indigenous Australians use precedent in the way they conduct daily activities. In the dreamtime, the ancestral beings took the form of many different creatures and engaged in various human activities. By doing this, these spiritual beings became a model for living. The dreaming is also important because it explains to aborigines the concept of birth, it helps them relate to and connect with the spirit world, and it tells them what happens during and after death.
The dreaming is significant in how aborigines view themselves and the world. It is why they do not place importance on race, but instead view all humans as people. The dreaming also explains the relationship between people and animals and land and spirit beings, and this no doubt played a large role in the conservation of different plant and animal species. Sacred sites in aboriginal religion are places where significant events took place during