Tony Crisp Interpretation:
The Australian native peoples are divided into more than five hundred tribal groups. These tribes are also of two major types—those who live inland, and those who live along the coastline. The separation of tribes and the division provided by the environment led to differences in views about the nature of human life and death, and the part dreams played. But some beliefs, such as reincarnation and the “Dreamtime,” were universally held. “Dreamtime” refers to an experience and to beliefs that are largely peculiar to the Australian native people. There are at least four aspects to Dreamtime—the beginning of all things; the life and influence of the ancestors; the way of life and death; and the sources of power in life. Dreamtime includes all of these four facets at the same time, being a condition beyond time and space as known in everyday life. The aborigines call it the “all at once” time instead of the “one thing after another” time. This is because they experience Dreamtime as the past, present, and future coexisting. This condition is met when the tribal member lives according to tribal rules, and then is initiated through rituals and hearing the myths of the tribe. The aborigine people believe that each person has a part of their nature that is eternal. This eternal being preexists the life of the individual, and only becomes a living person through being born to a mother. The person then lives a life in time, and at death melts back into the eternal life. See altered states of consciousness.