http://realitysandwich.com/1261/how_shamans_dream_world_being/

What's even more baffling is the fine tuning of the parameters of the universe that occurred, particularly here on the surface of the earth, which has maintained a perfect temperature balance between the freezing and boiling point of water for more than a billion years. The unlikelihood of these ratios that permit life to appear suggests the presence of an intelligent force. The Earthkeepers call this the Infinite Source, or Infinity.

The shamans with whom I have studied in the Andes and the Amazon believe that we can only access the power of this force by raising our level of consciousness. When we do so, we become aware that we're like a drop of water in a vast, divine ocean, distinct yet immersed in something much larger than ourselves. It's only when we experience our connection to Infinity that we're able to dream powerfully. In fact, it's our sense of separation from Infinity that makes us become trapped in a nightmare in the first place. If this sounds like circular thinking, you are right. Which came first, the nightmare or the sense of separation from Infinity? The answer is that they occur simultaneously.