I have just finished the final edits to The Lioness Calls: A Dream Message on Authenticity – my short film submission for Scorpio Games 2, an art contest within The Dharma Artist Collective, an online community for artists. The theme for this month’s contest is to share in video format a piece of art created from a dream. Today’s post shares that video and more about the process of creating this art. Voting will take place after November 21st and winners are usually announced a couple of weeks later. Wish me luck!

---

100 Liminal Days is an experimental project of embracing my current transitional season after exiting my business by sharing an honest, real-time account of my self-initiation experience in daily posts. I’m using The Artist’s Way as a guiding tool, and sending shorter weekly recaps only via my newsletter. Visit Day 1/100 to learn more and sign up in the footer of this page to get the weekly recaps delivered to your inbox.

---

The Assignment

The rules for the contest are simply to create a piece of art from a recent dream (song, poem, story, film, anything), then to share the final piece and tell how you created it, how you interpreted the dream, and what you learned about yourself in the process. The only limitations are that it must be submitted in a video format and be no longer than 30 minutes.

The Dream, Interpretation, and Ritual

As soon as I saw the theme for this year’s Scorpio Games, I knew I’d share a small painting of a lioness skull I created earlier this summer. The dream and the art led me through months of preparation culminating in a big moment in my life: the day I preached a Sunday sermon at my church.

The dream was short but potent. A calm male lion saunters around outside with confidence. A female lion approaches a flimsy glass door, peering at me through the glass. As she sniffs the door, it moves and I am afraid of her power. She was pressing her face up against this fragile glass door with gentle curiosity, not force. And then the dream ends.

This Lioness dream scared me at first, but when I used my dream interpretation process, I realized this dream was not a warning or anything to fear. It was calling me into courage. It was calling me to speak my truth without apology. This lioness represented me showing up with power, curiosity, and fierce truth.

The process I use to interpret dreams was developed by American Jungian analyst and author of Inner Work, Robert A. Johnson. The final step in any dream interpretation process is to perform a single subtle and solitary ritual. It can be as simple as stepping outside and saying a few words. For this dream, I chose to play my djembe drum. It felt appropriate to make a tribal sound, a sound calling all within hearing range to take heart and be courageous.

The Art

This dream resonated deeply with me, so after interpreting the dream and performing the ritual, I also painted a lioness – sticking to the skull and feather motif that I have been creating over the last year.

I started with a sketch on tracing paper, and I wrote words that came through my interpretation around the outline of her skull.

This was just a small painting, but she holds a lot of power for me. Little did I know how much I would need her guidance within a few days after finishing the piece.

The Practice Run

Just days after finishing the painting, I faced a situation that required me to embody everything the lioness showed me. A difficult conversation. Pain and conflict with people I love, and a temptation to defend myself, to shut down, to hide my power.

Noticing the painting at the precise moment, I called on the lioness spirit, to help me embody my power gently and openly. Not to roar with aggression, but to show up with gentle curiosity and fierce truth.

And I chose vulnerability. I chose to be seen.

This dream had prepared me for something I couldn’t see coming. It was helping me practice trusting myself.

The Roar: I Am the Lioness

Fast forward to August 17, 2025. Three months after the dream, the day had come for me to preach my sermon. The night before, I barely slept. Anxiety dreams. Somatic fear of rejection, of being seen.

That morning, I moved through my daily practices: qigong, meditation, and prayer. My heart was pounding but I was ready.

And then came the pivotal moment: As I prayed, I zoned in on the Lioness sketch with the words all around her skull. Every single word was relevant for this exact moment. I prayed through the words one by one. Then I realized: I am not being chased by a predator. I AM the predator. I am the lioness.

As I walked up to the pulpit, and the applause died down, I felt the hundreds of eyes on me.

Wow. It is such an honor and a gift to bring the word and share my personal story.

As I said it, the truth sank into my soul. I felt a deep sense of inner calm. As I began to speak, I felt as if I was both in my body and floating above myself, all at the same time. This was the moment I realized this is what my dharma feels like.

After preaching, the response to this was overwhelmingly beautiful. I spoke with half a dozen teary-eyed people who approached me. The first was a dad who said his teenage daughter who identifies as pansexual wanted to meet me. This kid shook my hand and looked at me like I was a hero as I encouraged her to be authentically herself. In a church!

I heard later that one woman left three minutes into my sermon – gripping her thick Bible tight as she marched out the back door. But another woman also left three minutes into the sermon. She went back to the youth class to bring her daughter back to listen.

This wasn’t just my story. It was an invitation for everyone in that room to stop hiding their power.

Dreams Are Messengers If We Listen

Dreams speak in symbols preparing for us for what we can’t yet see. When we give our attention to these symbols and work with our dreams, we say yes to another level of our becoming.

The ritual matters, to activate and integrate the dream into our real life. As I took each step, it created the path. Taking those steps in faith ensures that when the moment comes, we’ll be ready if we are listening. The lioness was a mandala for me, a prophet. She came to prepare me. She gave me the words to describe the energy and openness I would need to consciously embody for this major dharma moment.

The Lioness Calls: A Dream Message on Authenticity

Watch the film for the full story and clips from the sermon. To see the full sermon, visit The Vine Austin Church YouTube channel.

---

Weekly recaps of 100 Liminal Days are emailed on Tuesdays only to my newsletter subscribers. If you want the summaries, share your email here to get on the list. You’ll also instantly receive a free Notion template I use every single day to track my habits and reflect on the day.