The Invitation

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Oriah is, first and foremost, a storyteller and spiritual teacher. Raised in rural Ontario, her transcultural upbringing nourished an early calling to explore life’s deepest mysteries. Oriah studied social work and philosophy but found her passion in sharing stories that uplift our spirits. In 1984, when she was thirty years old, she was diagnosed with encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome or ME/CFS. The illness had a great impact on her life as she has to deal consistently with the new limitations on her activity. In the midst of her illness, a dream inspired her to change her name to Oriah. imagine, it makes you question all this trying, this dark certainty that everything... More The Invitation Because she first shared the prose-poem " The Invitation" (in 1994) with those who had come to participate in ceremony with her, the poem and her subsequent books first appeared under the name Oriah Mountain Dreamer. This led to all kinds of interesting misunderstandings (Eg.-people assumed she was an elderly or deceased Native American man.) Interviewers often begin conversations with, "Now that's not a real name, is it?" Oriah, while deeply honouring the spiritual tradition from which she has received her name, understands that in our modern culture such a name is bound to prompt reactions. She even admits to sometimes sharing the prejudice of thinking that people using names like Mountain Dreamer might be a little flaky! So, she good naturedly explains, when asked, that Oriah Mountain Dreamer is indeed a "real" name, although not her birth name, and reflects on the fact that in our culture what is considered “most real” is that which indicates familial association (inheritance rights, marital status and/or patrilineage) while some other cultures would consider a spiritual name more “real.” The power of this piece of poetry comes from its list-like format. As a reader moves through the lines the previous statements build off one another until one is able to imagine the mental, emotional, and spiritual outline of the speaker’s ideal lover.

I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children. Oriah is the author of several best-selling books: The Invitation (now translated into more than fifteen languages), The Dance, and The Call: Discovering Why You Are Here. Her book, What We Ache For: Creativity and the Unfolding of Your Soul, explores the challenges, rewards, and necessity of doing our creative work. Opening the Invitation is a small book that shares Oriah’s story of writing and sharing her much-loved poem, “The Invitation.” All five of Oriah’s books are published by HarperONE, San Francisco. Using story and sharing meditations Oriah’s writing explores how to follow the thread of our deepest heart's longing into a life where we can choose joy without denying the difficulties we each face. Facing the challenges and finding the joy of living who we are is further explored on her Sounds True CD, Your Heart’s Prayer. Oriah has shared her insights and stories with audiences throughout the world at conferences and retreats and through radio and TV appearances (CBC, TVO, Oprah, NPR, PBS, Wisdom Network.) It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. The syntax of the piece is very straightforward but made more impactful by instances of enjambment. The technique can be seen between the first and second lines of each stanza as the speaker reveals one thing she does or does not care to know about her lover. She is known today as an inspirational author who seeks to help others find joy in their own passions. The focus of her life is looking into the Sacred Mystery. Her teachings on this topic have moved beyond writing and into audio. She released a CD titled, Sounds True, Your Heart’s Prayer.It shares her own thoughts and beliefs about the struggles everyone faces in life. Mountain Dreamer considers herself to be, at heart, a storyteller who uses words to change one’s beliefs about themselves and the larger world. Raised in a small community in Northern Ontario, Oriah’s family encouraged her to bring her quest Oriah is first and foremost a story-teller, a lover of words and symbols and the stories that lift our spirits, open our hearts and offer us ways to see patterns and create meaning in our lives. The focus of her life and work has been an on-going inquiry into the Sacred Mystery. Her writing, teaching and personal journey all explore how we can each become the individual we are at the deepest level of being and how we can co-create meaning together in the world. Blending humor, insight and compassion for our human struggles Oriah encourages herself and others to be ruthlessly honest and infinitely kind toward our own strengths and our weaknesses.

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare dream of meeting your heart's longing." Looking again into the listener’s mind, the speaker tells them that their education does not interest her. Nor do their cultural interests. What does matter is “what sustains” them when there is nothing else left. This desire of the speaker to see deeper into her listener shows that she does not care if they have the same passions she does, as long as they do have passions. It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

Mountain Dreamer attended a social work program and became a graduate of Ryerson University in Toronto. She also studied in the University of Toronto’s philosophy program. Mountain Dreamer now holds classes for various groups, as well as retreats focused on writing and the practices of First Nations people. In this capacity, she appeared on a number of television networks. These include Oprah, NPR, and PBS. She also contributed to a weekly blog on Green Bough. It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. doesn′t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart′s longing. She continues on to develop another important aspect of the text, how the listener stands up to scrutiny, loss, and disaster. Her lover’s strength mentally and emotionally is crucial. They must not flinch from the “flames” and be willing to stand up to their own, and even her, failures. As for the author’s recipe for happiness, well, it veers from the courageous embrace of life in all of its messiness to the irresponsible pursuit of whatever impulses may be attempting to drive us in the moment. I buy the former, but reject the latter: it’s narcissism posing as actualization.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments. At its heart, Oriah’s poem calls us to connect to our core being rather than getting caught up in superficial identities. She asks what we ache for beneath social roles and expectations. Oriah emphasizes being real over appearing impressive, prioritizing inner truth over external validation. She challenges us to feel, express, risk, and live completely without self-imposed limits stemming from shame or fear. About the Author Oriah Mountain Dreamer Source: PoemAnalysis.com Oriah is first and foremost a story-teller, a lover of words and symbols and the stories that lift our spirits, open our hearts and offer us ways to see patterns and create meaning in our lives. The focus of her life and work has been an on-going inquiry into the Sacred Mystery. Her writing, teaching and personal journey all explore how we can each become the individual we are at the deepest level of being and how we can co-create meaning together in the world. Blending humour, insight and compassion for our human struggles Oriah encourages herself and others to be ruthlessly honest and infinitely kind toward our own strengths and our weaknesses. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

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Her bestselling books and teachings blend honesty, compassion, and humor to encourage sacred self-discovery. Having faced her own adversities, Oriah urges infinite kindness toward our own and others’ imperfections. Her insights help readers embrace their full humanity in all its rawness – fears, failures, passions, and purpose. Lessons from the Poem