I started my dreads on May 6th, 2007 while at a music festival. I remember walking around, taking in the good vibes from all around me, feeling more at home and connected with the world than I had ever been. Suddenly (for no apparent reason), I stopped and began to stare into the sun. I believe I was visited by the divine on that day, and I was told to immediately begin working on my hair.

I had no previous knowledge of dreading or any of the methods used to gain them. I was simply told to start rubbing my hair in circles constantly, fight through the pain, never wash or brush it, and dreads would come. At this time my hair was short, extremely short, about 1 inch on the top and 1/2 inch on the bottom and sides. After about a week, a nice set of dreadling spikes adorned the top of my head, about 1/2 inch each, I was instructed to leave the back and sides alone for the time being, that their time would come, and to only worry about the top dreads, as this is the area of the head in which the body connects with the divine.

As for what my dreads stand for, they are a symbol of my spiritual growth. Allow me to explain:

In the beginning, my hair lacked true purpose, existing merely as a symbol of vanity and conformity. In the same way, before divine intervention, I too lacked any true purpose, my soul merely wandering about the earthly plain, not accomplishing anything in terms of spiritual evolution.

After some time, my locks began to take shape, they had been instilled with a sense of purpose, and were working towards an ultimate goal. Still were not quite sure what their true place was, almost seeming confused at times as to what they should do. At the same time, having just been instilled with a sense of purpose, I too was confused, but knew that the path ahead of me was right. I pushed through the unknown and ventured further into the depths of my consciousness. Working on my locks was the key I realized, it allowed me to slip into a deep meditative state for hours at a time, making it possible to contemplate the everything and unlock the hidden mysteries of existence.

More time passed, and as the months went by, my dreadlocks grew longer, tighter, and had settled into place quite nicely. They had found their place, and accepted who they are and what they need to do. Much the same, I had found my place and accepted my purpose as a shaman/energy healer. I knew that it was my purpose in this life to help people by healing them physically, spiritually and emotionally and helping them find their place and begin their own spiritual journey.

My dreads are now about 6 inches in length, and still growing. I still haven't done anything with the back and sides, as spiritually they would be useless. My hair (at least the back and sides) now somewhat resembles that of Jim Morrison, the dreads on top blend extremely well with the straight hair below. Most of the time, I simply pull the loose hair back into a pony tail and allow the dreads to hang down. It amazes me how much a person can learn, change, and grow in just 10 months time, I'm a completely different person now, and am eternally grateful to the divine for inspiring me to begin my spiritual transformation.

One interesting thing I have noticed is that if I do something or perform some action in my life that is counter productive to my ultimate goal of spiritual oneness with the divine, my dreads will begin (very quickly) to fall apart. This continues until I realize my wrong and I bring myself back to my path. If, however, I come to have a spiritual epiphany of sorts, one that causes my consciousness to significantly grow very suddenly, my dreads seem to follow suit (with little or no help from me working on them) by significantly progressing themselves seemingly overnight.

There is also a significant amount of prejudice directed toward a person with dreadlocks. While it does sadden me that most people can't get passed their fear of differences, I see this as a blessing in disguise, I believe that prejudice is something everyone should experience. It forces you to become more self reliant, and helps you shed yourself of the vanity that exists within yourself, which directly feeds one's ego. It also instills deep within us the ideal that to conform is to surrender your freedom. Freedom of thought, choice, expression, speech, and everything else disappears the second you choose to conform to someone else's way of doing things. To quote Maynard James Keenan of the band Tool, you have to "Think for yourself, question authority". The prejudice others direct towards you allows you to think this way quite easily, and also grants you much more time alone to be used for inner reflection.

As your dreads continue to develop, they will pick up the grit and the grime of your daily grind. Every experience, every problem, every celebration, every heartache you will ever have in your life is and always will be deeply embedded within the intertwining knots slowly spilling from your scull. They literally become a part of you, more than anything else possibly could.

Cherish your dreadlocks. Love them, care for them, watch them grow fat, tight, and long. Allow them to guide you onward, learn from them, for they have much to teach. And above all else, never let anyone persuade you into cutting them. Of all hair choices, I believe dreads to be the most (if not the only) spiritual/divine choice. If the choice is made to destroy your locks, please think carefully and make sure that it is of your own choices and of your own free will and accord. If (and I hope you do) you do decide to keep them, wear them with pride and honor, they are part of you after all, and you should always carry yourself with pride.

I believe my dreadlocks to be directly connected to my soul and the divine, forming a bond, a channel if you will, between the two, allowing them to communicate with one another more easily than without. They are not only a symbol of my spiritual growth, but also a reminder to myself to stay on the path that was chosen for me.