The Woman Who Planted Dreams, 2014

To coax a dream into existence takes months of walking, hours of meditating and high altitude dreaming, but when one grows it forms a canopy for all. In the spring of 2014, I am headed out on a 5-month pilgrimage to the realm of Artemis, to the untouched Wilderness, to petition the Divine. The Woman Who Planted Dreams is a 2600-mile journey with a book of dreams (yours). The Persian word Monajat means telling a secret, an intimate dialogue with the Divine or fervent prayer. This is my offer, to carry your Monajat to the Divine.

I aim to plant 200 Monajats, or dreams, in a long furrow from Mexico to Canada, in the high, fertile soil of the Sierras and Cascades. The concept of changing our landscape by seeding it is as old as Johnny Appleseed. Here's what a dream seeding looks like. Each night, I'll open my book, fix one dream in my mind, breathe it out upon the land and fold it into the soil along with a real seed (a conifer in the mountains, a wildflower in the meadows, a cactus in the desert). Then I'll catapult a glass crystal to the sky to mark the occasion and put on a dream cap to invite the dreams to grow in me while I sleep. With ample sunlight, fresh air & proper nourishment, our dreams just might reach full height. Look to the stars, listen to the earth. We carry the seeds of greatness in us, the roots of happiness too.

You are such an integral part of my work. You help me make meaning in the world and I want you on this journey. I need you. Please look. Is there a dream in your heart? If so, consider sending it to me. I'm inviting one dream per person and a donation of $10. In exchange, I'll dedicate one night of my journey to you. Mail your dream and offering to: Mimi Allin, 117 E Louisa St #201, Seattle, WA 98102 or e-mail: mimiallin@gmail.com and donate online (click the yellow DONATE button at the top right of this page). Anything over $10 goes to the project. And if you find you can't donate at this time, it's fine to just send your dream. I'd much prefer your good dream to any bad feelings about not being able to donate. Deadline: 1 April 2014. Dreams received after this date will take a long time to reach me, but when they do I'll plant them in line with the others.

Follow this journey online: The Woman Who Planted Dreams. Updates will be sent bimonthly from the field, starting in May 2014. Many thanks to project partners Laura Musikanski and Clinton Bliss of The Happiness Initiative for their  encouragement and in-kind contributions.

Watch the film that inspired this work (below). The Man Who Planted Trees is a French film based on a short story about a man whose constant generosity brought a barren landscape to life. Elezeard Bouffier had a dream about life and beauty and work. I have a dream about life and art and how they're really one thing. Thank you for creating this world with me.