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Electric Dreams Volume 01 Issue 10
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| Electric Dreams |
| Volume 1 Issue 10 |
| 10 July 1994 |
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| Please send suggestions, contributions, mailing list and back issue |
| requests to cbeattie@uwspmail.uwsp.edu or cbeatty@worf.uwsp.edu |
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Dedicated to sharing and exploring dreams
__________________________________________________________________________
Table of Contents
line
Message Center 30
Dreams and Comments 42
Getting Home 44
A Lesson Learned 59
Dream from June 23 66
Musicians and Lost Boys 127
Unamed 176
New York City Dream 224
Val's Serial Dream 544
Dream Project - Problems and Suggestions 624
Articles 687
Book Recommendation 689
Tarot Dream Experiment 702
Questions and Answers 963
__________________________________________________________________________
Message Center
Well, hope everyone likes the new format. I've tried hiding all the
email addresses that normally appear in the header. Let me know if it
worked. If so, thanks go to Skyweasel.
Welcome aboard to all the new members. Feel free to jump in any time
with comments or contributions.
Chris (cbeattie@uwspmail.uwsp.edu)
__________________________________________________________________________
Dreams and Comments
======Getting Home, Issue 7===============================================
Thank you for the comments in issue 7 on my getting home dream
in issue 6. In reading and thinking about them and the dream, I think
the women may represent for me, the spiritual aspects of life, such as
dreams, and/or, life itself. I was struck by the description of her
house as beautiful, rich, and imaginative. Also mentioned was soaring
and creativity. I was also struck by the comments about being prevented
or frustrated in the dreams. I do indeed feel that i have been unable,
or unwilling to make the effort and commitment, and take the risks
involved in embracing life fully. No answers in this dream, I think,
but rather a pointing out of my situation.
Jay E. Vinton
======A Lesson Learned, Issue 7===========================================
I also really liked this dream. the thing that intrigued me was
that the word guilt was twice mispelled as quilt. just a typo?
Jay E. Vinton
======"Dream from June 23" by dahven@aol.com, Issue 9=====================
This dream has several basic elements:
1) forgetting something so important that you would steal and break laws
to cover up or render unimportant the forgetting
2) fleeing from authority, fear of being caught at something wrong
3) painful damage to the dreamer's body
4) need for help from others
The dream seems to fit a basic pattern of indulgence/punishment.
You break the law to protect yourself, ignoring the needs of others
(potential medical emergency, injuring someone in the building, the
cries of the receptionist, the baby) then punish yourself by making you
need help as well (foot problem). The dream seems like a classic
anxiety dream. Do you have too much to do and are in danger of forgetting
important meetings, etc.?
Cathy Decker
I can't help but notice how you felt you are "missing" something
during the intermission at the theatre. You were obviously enjoying
yourself, but this "missing thing" is so important, it drags you away
from what you are enjoying and you find this white car (used for medical
emergencies) to get you home (where your "missing thing" is)--you are so
desparate that you even drive down the stairwell of a building to get to
it!
Then you have this receptionist with a child in her arms running
after you. The receptionist is a working mom. She and her child could
be symbolic of responsibility and parenthood. She's gaining on you
because you are getting older and are perhaps thinking more and more
about such things. When you let her in, you tell her that there's no
room for the baby--no room for new growth or responsiblity? This stings
you so _bad_ that it becomes an insect burrowing into your skin. Your
mistake was letting others take care of what was "bugging" you. You
leave the hospital barefoot with a welt on top of each foot--perhaps a
reminder that it would be in your best interest to not run from
responsiblity in the future.
When you dream you are late for a history exam and can't find a
place to park your scooter--you are caught in a rock and a hard place.
Some decisions have to be made. Will you leave your scooter (your means
of freedom and transportation) behind to make it to your exam (something
that will test your knowledge of what you have learned)?
It could also be the stress of real life eating into your dream
life. The themes are responsibility, feeling you've left something
behind, you need something from home but need to get it, you're late for
something, and you can't find a place to place something. Ouch! No
wonder that insect was getting under your skin! I'm starting to feel
something like it right now...
My two-cents worth tells you that perhaps you should sit down
and organize things, but remember to schedule some time out--sounds like
you need it! (It's summer so I hope you'll get time to have a vacation).
Stay cool!
Val, the Dream Shaman (ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu)
======Musicians and Lost Boys, Issue 9====================================
The descriptions of the musicians and the activist young men has
a flavor, for me, of an earlier, freer time, back before you were
married, perhaps, as opposed to the more conventional wealthy older man,
your husband perhaps.
Jay E. Vinton
This is really funny, I had a simular dream on the fourth of
July (check it out in this issue) but the singer was Trent Rezner of
Nine Inch Nails, except he was hanging on a rope right side up... don't
know what it has to do with your dream, just thought it was worth
mentioning.
Anyway, on with the commentary! Since the singer is on a rope
(swinging confidently) I'd say he is a symbol of flexibility and
esteem. The other musician is seated next to him; was he singing as
well? He seems to be the stable one, more calm and less "acrobatic."
The car in the foreground could be a symbol of potential--these two
singers have the potential to leave in this car whenever they want to,
they're just having too much fun swinging from a rope and sitting around.
Gas stations...I hate gas stations, even in my dreams (I worked
two years out of my life at some). A gas station is where you buy fuel
and you are looking for your car there. You get inside someone else's
car which looks like yours (it's dark red--the color of passion or
another heated emotion like anger or agression) but it's luxurious and
bigger--better then what you have. You sit in the driver's seat, but
you aren't driving? Perhaps this is a symbol of power--you are in the
seat of power, but aren't using it because you feel it is someone else's
power.
When the two boys show up, they ask you for directions. You
sponsered one of them in RL. You take out a map, clearly guiding them
"by the book" even though the streets on the map are fragmented... In
any case, the boys go off on their own, with or without your help.
That's when you realize that the power you've taken on (the car you're
sitting in) is not your own. The "power" symbol is owned by the wealthy
man inside the gas station.
Next, you look for your husband and "your" van--could be you are
seeking out his comfort and advice in the handling of power and
knowledge. Also, a van is a lot roomer than a big, fancy car. Perhaps
the key to guiding these boys better is to use a different "vechile" of
"power."
Val, the Dream Shaman (ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu)
======Unamed by
author====================================================
I believe the path you are on is leading you somewhere, instead
of you following it (hence, the feeling of you being "drunk" and walking
like you're "drunk"). The path is straight, so it is the right one for
you (there are no nasty curves or dead ends, yet). The path leads you
into the other part of your dream...
The white room, for me, seems to be a symbol of isolation. The
"evil" things you see outside represent your anxieties, fears, and
worries (that's why they're soooo "evil"). The evil, since it's green,
could be representing jealousy. Have you wandered off your path? Or
did the path lead you to this white room to show you what you need to
take care of? The "wicked" witch in the Wizard of Oz was trying to
destroy Dorothy because her house fell on her sister, killing her.
Plus, Dorothy was wearing _her_ sister's ruby slippers! In a sense,
Dorothy "stole" the slippers from the "wicked" witch's sister's dead
body--can you see how the "wicked" witch wanted revenge? Then, you see
a mask...someone's behind it, someone you fear, someone covered up. A
symbol of unknown forces at work, perhaps someone who lies (since you
compare it to a demon) or it could be symbolic of your fears of someone
lying to you and stabbing you in the back. The dead man falling could
be an image of failure. You say "it almost had no soul," in other words,
it still had some flicker of a soul left, but is _losing_ it?
To review, the three images you saw were: a) the "wicked" witch
of revenge, b) the mask of lies, backstabbing, and unknown forces
working against you, and c) the fallen "dead" man of failure. You think
you see an illusion of someone you "hardly know"--could this be
yourself? This person is not an illusion, you just don't want to admit
this person is for "real." This "illusion" of yourself (or someone
else) told you that "since (you) both saw the three forms, we shall
die." Death, in this case, is _change_. After seeing those images, you
will change, you will become stronger knowing who your real enemies are
(not the imagined ones), and you will leave your old self behind.
As for your friend being "pulled" into this dream--he has his
back toward you. Perhaps he has been ignoring you lately? When you try
to get his attention, he turns into a dragon/gargoyle. Dragons and
gargoyles are guardians (for the most part) in mythology. You were
probably reacting to the way this friend may have been treating you--he
may not be pushing you away, but I definitely got the sense that he is
"guarding" himself or is "on guard" whenever you come near. I'd say,
give the person some space and eventually this friend will open up to
you on _their_ terms.
Val, the Dream Shaman (ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu)
======New York City
Dream=================================================
{This is the first dream/commentary combination entry for the newsletter.
Thanks to all the members of the commentary core group. Everyone getting
this newsletter is invited to send in their own opinions on either the
dream or the interpretations. If you would like to comment on dreams on
a regular basis should send email to the usual address for more
information.}
I came to the conclusion that this is a stress dream. A dream
where the subconscious is trying to expose her to her stress. It is
also either work or school related. As I wrote the interpretations I
also started to see a time frame here. Not so much as in hours and
minutes, but more like past and present .
The numbers in parenthesis will coordinate with the
interpretations at the bottom of the dream.
New York City Dream
This was the last of four dreams I had one night. I was driving
a big rental car, blue, like the one my husband and I had rented for our
vacation this June.(1) I was traveling from upstate New York to my
parent's house in a small suburb in PA were I grew up.(2) I was lost
in New York City--the name was present in the dream but the dream city
was more on the size, scale, and shape of Rochester or Syracuse, two
towns in New York in which I've lived. At first I am scared but then I
suddenly saw the turn for 490 (a road in Rochester but in the dream the
road I would take to my parent's house)(3). But instead of taking the
road, I feel in control and now I decided to stop in the city to go to
bookstores and window shop on fifth avenue.(4)
I parked the car in a large grass lot and started towards a
grassy bank away from buildings covering two adjacent sides of the
square lot. My brother, younger than he is now and unmarried (now has
wife and son) was there. This part is fuzzy. I don't think my brother
and I meet, but we may hug.(5) Something about black(6) shoes in the
grass occurs--I can only recall that image and have no such shoes and
no idea what they mean. The shoes have soft sides and are sort of
loafer-men's bedroom slippers--Chinese(6). Then I came down off the bank
and tried to get back to my car and get in it. A man in black(6)
clothing who looked sort of Hassidic(6) without the curls--attacked me
from behind to get my car. I was so annoyed my mace and keys were taken
away and that I was such an ineffective fighter. I was mad because I
had prided myself on being a hard target for such crimes.(7)
Then I was by the buildings with big boxes of books, trying to
decide which science fiction to dump or abandon and which to drag along
with me. I got rid of a trilogy and then took it back, unsure and
unhappy, wondering if I was wasting money and time on bad books of no
value.(8)
Then I was racing across the field towards a bus going to a town
next to my home town dragging a big box of paperback books.(9) I was
aware I should have gone to a Friendly's near by to buy a bus ticket (in
real life I always try to avoid Friendly's and dislike the chain
greatly). As I reach the bus it gets dark, and I am unsure if right
bus(10). I see route 22 on the front of the bus (in dream reassured is
route 202, a highway 1/2 hr by car away from parents' home)(11). I
plead to get on bus without a ticket with the driver who is loading
baggage. All the seats are full(12). I offer people $80 for the $40
bus ticket, feeling despair and also that the desperate situation,
having to sleep in field alone at night in New York City is my own
fault(13). I wake up feeling anxious, tense, and with low self-esteem.
Cathy Decker
1) Comfortable. Everything here points to familiarity. A (new?)
position a work or with school. At ease with it.
2) Again Familiar with the surroundings. It's not home but awful
close.
3) Lost in New York, could be a new assignment or project. She
hasn't done anything like this before and becomes scared.
Probably more nervous than scared. She starts to focus on the
project and confidence steps in. Ideas evolve. A direction to
go in comes to play upon seeing a street sign.
4) She now has a plan of action and can view alternatives. Comfort
again sets in and she can take some time.
5) The project is going as planned. Her younger brother may
represent some one being assigned to help out on a part time
basis. But as younger brothers or sisters go more time was
probably spent explaining what was needed, though the help is
appreciated (hug).
6) Note the reference to the color of the shoes, clothing and type
of man that attacked her. I get the feeling that her job or
school may involve minorities. Please don't get me wrong here,
I don't see her as a racist but maybe uncomfortable working
around minorities when the minorities out number her.
7) Work gets a little rough here. Tools to get the job done have
been either taken away or she fails to use them.. New
constraints may be added to the job or project. Or a review
didn't go quite as well as expected. Flaws in not being able to
work with others may have been pointed out. She was annoyed
that she couldn't use or convey to others how the project must
work. She was mad at herself and not the attacker.
8) All that time spent, all the labor that went to the project.
Confidence at its lowest. Stress builds. Questions about the
job or school. Do I continue? If I do, what's next? Can I be
happy doing this? Will I do a good job? Had I done my best?
All this points to one thing, stress.
9) A deadline. With all this stress comes a deadline.
10) Corners being cut to meet deadline. She knows what she needs to
do. She has a personal code she lives by and it has been
compromised. Stress.
11) A review of the project. Stress.
12) Requesting to her boss or teacher for more time and is denied.
Stress.
13) Again she blames herself for the outcome. It's that personal
code she lives by. High standards as represented by the $80.
Those she is working for aren't looking for such high standards.
A "C" grade ($40) type of work is acceptable to them but not to
her.
Jim Hunter
It sounds to me like something in your real life is making you
feel anxious and threatened and feeling like you need to retreat to your
family of origin. what are your feelings, associations, etc., with
science fiction, science fiction books? what do you think they represent
for you?
Jay E. Vinton
Books to me have a strong connection to possesing something of
great importance. I hate borrowing them because I eventually have to
give them back again, I prefer to keep them all in my bookshelf as a
collective expression of my personality.
As for the trilogy Freud claimed that anything that comes in
threes should be suspected of being phallic in some way. With this
interpretation it could symbolise a relationship (taking the books to
symbolise something of great important) or it may be a power symbol
related to the previous part of the dream where you are attacked. Your
uncertainty on whether to keep or dump the books may represent feelings
of powerlessness in those situations.
Matthew Parry
C's dream begins with her literally in the driver's seat (i.e.
in control) in a blue rental car, and being in control reminds her of a
carefree situation when she and her husband rented a blue rental car
while on vacation, Since both a vacation and a rental car are
associated with temporary situations, there may be a concern in this
part of the dream that a peaceful situation cannot last.
As the dream continues, C is moving from an "upstate" (NY) to
what may be a "downstate" (suburban PA). Arriving in NYC, C loses her
bearings, and experiences NYC as smaller than it really is, on the scale
of Rochester or Syracuse, NY, cities in which she lived at an earlier
time in her life.
This may indicate that while C knows she is "bigger" in many
ways than when she lived in Rochester or Syracuse, she still (at least
at times) feels smaller. It also appears she is conflicted about going
to PA, back to her past, because in the dream, as soon as she knows that
she recognizes the road back, C again feels "in control" and
procrastinates by going window shopping and visiting bookstores.
Window shopping and browsing in bookstores may be a way for C to
let herself be open to temptation. The next segment of the dream,
however, indicates C is "parking herself" in a field. A field can mean a
career area, and possibly C may feel she is stymied in some area of her
career. She walks away from two blocks of buildings that are at adjacent
angles. The question here is whether the arrangement of the buildings
is similar to a location in C's conscious life. Whatever the buildings
represent, C is walking away from them to a grassy bank. apparently,
to get "on top of" the bank, which may indicate that the dream is
concerned in part with a financial matter. As the dream continues,
there are indications that C does not feel "on top" of the situation.
The vague brother image and the possible hug may be signs that emotional
support is desired, perhaps support she felt she had at a younger age,
since her brother in the dream is younger.
Among the many connotations for the color black is the fear of
loss, which may tie in somehow with the image of getting on top of the
bank.. There are also many possibilities for the symbols in black;
shoes enable us to walk (mobility), they support the entire body
(foundation) and in the dream they are "loafers" or "Chinese" shoes,
perhaps indicating an issue concerning work or fear of a strange,
foreign or unknown danger. The man in black could also be a symbol of
the last type of fear. C loses her ability to get back in the driver's
seat (i.e. get back in control) when the man in black takes her car and
keys. She loses her means of protecting herself from loss (i.e. her can
of mace.). She has become vulnerable. She was also attacked from
behind, so possibly C has a concern that she will not be able to defend
herself against an attacker she doesn't know, and/or an attack she
cannot see coming, thus increasing her sense of vulnerability i.e.
vulnerable to the strange and unknown. In a confrontation with the
strange and unknown, C fears losing her control, protection and
mobility. The strange and unknown could be a new job, a new home, a new
friend, etc.
The big box of "science fiction" books appears to be an oxymoron.
Science is usually made up of facts, fiction is fabrication, and science
fiction can be considered as either fantasy or future possibilities. By
fearing that she is wasting money and time on books of no value, C may
actually be concerned that she is wasting those resources on fantasies
or possibilities of no value.
Next C is racing across a field dragging a big box of paperback
books to get to a bus that is going to a town next to where her parents
live. This appears to be another symbol of ambivalance toward returning
to a part of her past. The books are paperback, perhaps a symbol of C's
concern that whatever the books represent, perhaps lessons learned,
values, possibilities, fantasies or hopes, they are not meant to last.
Friendly's may symbolize that C feels she should have sought help from a
friend sooner, although the fact that in her conscious life she dislikes
the Friendly's chain may indicate that seeking help even from friends,
or being dependent upon others, is very distasteful to C.
As the dream ends it's "getting dark," which may mean that it's
getting late for the dreamer to take some decisive action. Although
route 202 runs near her parents home C cannot get on the bus. The bus
driver, who is in control of the means of C getting to her parents'
home, is busy loading baggage. If C goes in the direction of her
parents, she'll be riding with a lot of baggage that is not hers.
Nevertheless, C feels desperate because she is trying to pay twice what
the tickets are worth to travel near to her parents home. It's getting
late, and even though she is willing to pay the price, and more, she
can't get where she wants to go. This may be because C is not really
sure where she wants to go. Additionally, she can't put herself back in
the driver's seat and drive herself to PA, or anywhere else, because of
the attack upon her and the theft of her car.
In summary, it appears that C feels: 1) she cannot get where
she wants to go, and in fact may not know where she thinks she wants to
go (her parent's house/the past/security/nurturing situations) because
she avoided going there both at the beginning of the dream (she went
window shoppiing instead) and at the end of the dream (her dream mind
has devised the destination of going to the town next to her parents;
2) C is feeling very vulnerable, unprotected and powerless; and
3) C feels it is getting late and she must do something or she will be
left to "sleep alone" (abandoned?) The dream ends with C not on the
road to anywhere and still in the field. The ending may be the most
important clue as to what the dream means.
As always, if C disagrees with the above interpretation, that my
interpretation is wrong. Only the dreamer knows....
Bob
You are lost in the two towns you've lived in--they resemble New
York City--a big overwhelming place filled with many people/strangers
(rude ones, I mightadd) and tall buildings. New York City is not an
ideal place to live, not even to visit sometimes. Perhaps the old towns
in which you've lived are no longer comfortable to you--they resemble
places where you are unsafe and alone in a crowd of strangers. But
soon, you see a way out...the road which will take you back to your
parents.
But, then you decide to go visit some bookstores and a window
shop. Perhaps a search for knowledge? You park your car in a grass lot
and encounter your brother who is not grown or married. There is some
sort of physical contact, but you're not sure if you "actually meet."
Are you in much contact with your brother? The bond between you seems
strong, but you aren't "meeting" on common ground or seeing eye to eye.
The black shoes are a frightening image. I'd say they are a
warning--that something dark and dangerous is walking your way--yet they
are soft, like bedroom slippers; a warning that the danger will come on
"soft feet," or perhaps an attacker (physical or emotional, seems more
emotional at this point) will come for you when you least suspect it.
I believe the man in black is directly related to the black
shoes. He attacks you to get your car. The car is your key to freedom
and your ticket to get back to your parents. He wants to prevent you
from going or escaping. You are angry with him because you didn't think
he would get to you the way he did. What does this man in black have to
do with your brother?
Then you're back at the books. You're deciding whether to keep
or dump some. A symbol of trying to decide what information/stories
from your past, what you've learned, experienced, etc. to take with you
in your adult life. The books are science fiction which could be that
they are either unimportant or for your enjoyment. You wonder if you
are wasting your time. Perhaps you are. You should take the stories at
face value, get what little entertainment you can get out of them, and
move on.
Next, you're racing to catch a bus, dragging that box of
paperback books with you. When you reach the bus, it's dark, things are
obscure, you don't know if it's the right bus. You're still trying to
get back to your parents. You beg the driver to take you to the right
route by offering him double bus fare. You don't want to spend the
night alone in a big city like New York. Did something happen between
you and your parents? Or between you and your brother? Why is it so
important for you to get to your parent's home? Are you trying to
recapture something out of your past which you lost?
The number on the front of the bus is "route 22." The
numerlogical symbolism of the number 22 is Universal Sharing,
acceptance, working with others, martyrism, sacrafice of the self, and
doing things for others. It is a power number--the number 2 is
basically one of cooperation, double that 2, you get 22--the number of
Universal Cooperation. Perhaps the family you are trying to get back to
is the Human Race as a whole? In any case, the key is to drop your
concerns for the time being and care more for the lives of others
involved in your situation.
Yet, you wake feeling anxious and low on self-esteem. It seems
that things would've gone better for you if you had a little more
cooperation from others. Perhaps the symbolism of the 22 suggests you
could be giving too much on your end and others aren't giving you their
share. What do you think?
Val, the Dream Shaman (ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu)
======Val's Serial Dream==================================================
"I'm Death, BJ's the Crow, and We Hunt Down a Serial Killer"
VMK
DREAM JOURNAL ENTRY #84
Vol. 5, March 25, 1994
Part Seven: "Underground"
I was underground with BJ at the graveyard. Before us was a
mass of tunnels and plots where graves had been, but they were long
emptied. Tom left back up the stairs and we were alone in the dark.
BJ's body began to shine with green light. I felt weird and looked down.
I, too, was glowing green and somehow...growing!
"We're seeds!" I told BJ.
"No...no we're not," he answered, "at least...I'm not sure."
Suddenly, I heard the sound of doors closing--dozens upon dozens
of doors closing. That's when I noticed BJ wasn't growing. He was
stuck in the dirt. I was getting bigger and bigger, greener and greener.
I felt sad because I could see BJ shake, as if trying to grow, but his
green "light" wasn't getting any brighter. I stopped growing.
That's when Terese came (Terese is a ghost, or "dead friend" of
Tom's--she has actually materialised serveral times in the apartment I
share with my roomate Tom, usually during times of crisis or whenever
there's someone "new" entering our little family of close friends--Terese
was Tom's girlfriend before she died back in 1988, since her death, she
has been a constant spiritual companion of mine and Tom's)... Terese
was dressed in the garb of a druid priestess and her blond hair was
plaited in two long braids. She looked very beautiful and was glowing
with her typical green light (whenever Terese has appeared, she has
always been "bathed" with green light).
"It's about time you got here," Terese scolded me, "I've been
working on your little problem and it's getting aggravating! Just don't
push anything further. There _isn't_ any serial killer...you're just
running from yourself. No one's the enemy--both you and BJ have to
understand that--stop running and don't be so afraid!"
I wasn't bound to argue with a ghost.
"Happiness is your reality," Terese continued, "it is a reality
we all have, you people just supress it! Don't bury it now. Force your
heads up through the earth. You have been watered and fed by dreams.
This Spring you have been given a most wonderous gift. Take it..."
Then she had a message for me to hear and for me to give out to
everyone else to hear _and_ listen:
"_Love is yours--take it and give it unfalteringly_."
With or without BJ (by then I didn't care), I grew out of the
underground and broke earth. Next thing I remember was seeing the Sun
and I was cradled in the arms of the Green Man. His whole body was a
fertile field of soft moss and moist green leaves. I had white roses
blooming out from my fingernails and two white doves were nestled in my
hair. My hair was wild and it flowed over the Green Man like a dark
river. From my waist down, I was the roots of an oak tree. Above me was
the Crystal Oak Tree from earlier dreams.
The Green Man purred like a mountain lion and I felt safe
hearing his heart beat. I don't remember much else, just that sensation
of safety, expecting nothing more spectacular to happen or not to happen.
I just didn't care about waking up or dreaming or doing anything. I was
at rest and I was happy.
"I was with you when you were in the arms of your friend, BJ,"
the Green Man whispered into my ear, "and I am with you everywhere and
always..."
After hearing that, I slowly woke up, but I kept trying to get
back to the dream. I wanted more of it!
Val, the Dream Shaman (ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu)
__________________________________________________________________________
Dream Project
After reading the first two instalments of the dream project I have
to question whether any conclusions can be drawn from it at all. The
main problem is that people have an uncanny ability to see connections
where there are none, so when the dreamer is reading through the
depictions of thier personality they'll be able to find some connection
to thier life regardless of what is said.
Another problem is that peoples discriptions of the dreamers
personality can be so general that mixed with the ability to see even
the smallest connection the discription becomes completely meaningless.
A good example in the first set of dreams was where I predicted from the
dreams that she was concerned about having children at that time. Now
when I posted that I thought it was a pretty clever interpretation but
when I saw the reply saying that yes she was thinking about that recently
it occured to me that everyone is concerned about having children. The
prediction was destined to be correct because it applies to everyone.
This is the sort of thing that you get in astrology, If for example
you take one star chart at random and give it to a group of people everyone
will give it a good accuracy rating whether it is thier chart or not. It rates
so well because it says either things that apply to almost everyone or
things that people generally like to beleive about themselves or hope
will happen soon.
Setting up a rigorous experiment may go a bit against the general
friendly meeting place character of Electric Dreams but I really don't
think that there is any point in continuing the dream project if you
can't make any conclusions from it at all. If it is to be rigorous then
I think it should be managed in the following way.
Groups of dreamers and interpreters are set up beforehand. Five recent
dreams are collected from the dreamers and sent to the interpreters who
then try to give a picture of each dreamers personality without giving away
which set of dreams it applies to. If the coordinator thinks that a
particular interpretation gives away which dreams it refers to then it should
be sent back to the interpreter for rewording. All of the interpretations
are then sent to each dreamer without them knowing which ones apply to them.
They rate each one for accuracy and if there is any significant difference
between the rating for those that applied to them and those that didn't then
you can say that you can pick a persons personality from thier dreams.
When the results are published the dreamers could comment on where
they thought the interpretations were right or way off so we get some
interesting reading out of it as well.
Matthew Parry
'What we do in dreams we also do when we are awake: we
invent and fabricate the person with whom we
associate - and imediately forget we have done so.'
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, Beyond good and evil
From Chris: So, do we have any volunteers to coordinate this project?
I would be more than willing to alter the "project" as Matthew suggests
for greater scientific control. Of course, if we were to adhere strictly
to scientific method, we would need a lot more poeple, but then again,
this is just a friendly newsletter, not a scientific journal. If anyone
knows of a scientific journal that might be interested in this though...
__________________________________________________________________________
Dream Articles
======A Dream Book
Recomendation==========================================
A book on dream work that I liked very much is 'Dream Work,
Techniques for Discovering the Creative Power in Dreams', by Jeremy
Taylor, Paulist Press, Ramsey, N.J., 1983.
It talks about techniques for recalling dreams, working on them
by yourself or in groups, lucid dreaming etc. It is very practical and
insightful and full of wonderful examples. It also has an extensive
bibliography.
Jay E. Vinton
======Tarot Dream
Experiment==============================================
This fourth of July weekend, Chris, BJ, and I did an impromtu
dream experiment involving Tarot cards. We each shuffled the deck and
picked a single card. Before settling down to sleep, we each
concentrated on our cards, setting our minds to dream about what the
card's imagery/symbolism meant and what it had to say about us or
whatever else.
The following is what Chris, BJ, and I dreamt (Well, actually
what Val dreamed, Brett and Chris have yet to catch up), based on the
cards we picked--complete with description and title before each of our
dreams.
Afterwards, there will (hopefully) be some commentary from each
of us or (if any) from you out there. If there is anyone else out there
that will like to try out an experiment/project like this one, send
_Electric Dreams_ your ideas, requests, suggestions, past projects/
experiments you or others have done (complete with results), etc., etc...
July 4, 1994
Val's Tarot Card: The Heirophant
Description of The Heirophant card:
A big man in a priest's attire with a Tarot card in his hand.
Golden light is shining out of his eyes and he is pointing to the left,
looking off into the distance. There is a crowd of worshippers/followers
behind him, they seem to be giving The Heirophant their undivided
attention. In the background, there is a crumbling cathedral.
Universal interpretation of The Heirophant card:
A spiritual guide;a member of the clergy; advice from a counselor
/therapist; being looked up to as a provider of inspiration and
enlightenment; looking to someone for all the answers; general spiritual
partnership and leadership; an interpreter/teacher of mystical arts; a
philosopher; other-worldly wisdom (the seeking and teaching of...).
Now, Val's Heirophant Dream:
I was busy preparing for the first meeting of a comic book club
I'm going to be starting in September. I was very nervous and just
finished a poster to advertise the club, it said: LOOK NO FURTHER! THE
GRAPHIC STORY-TELLING TASKFORCE TEAM IS HERE... A picture was inbetween
the bold print lettering; it was an illustration of a model woman and
man both smiling REAL BIG with portfolios, pencils, pens, and other art
supplies in hand--a sort of parady of those posters you'd see
advertising the Marines or the Peace Corps. On the bottom of this
illustration was the caption, in smaller letters, reading: BOB AND
CONNIE _REALLY_ ENJOY ART!!! JOIN US...
Afterwards, there was this list of stuff about THE GRAPHIC
STORY-TELLING TASKFORCE TEAM that went like this:
"Are you a graphic artist looking for: indepth peer critiques
and projects to do outside of class... a way out of artist's block...
more comic art appreciation... experience in illustration and
cartooning... a way to combine your art -and- writing skills...
collaborative fun between creative people... more field trips to
conventions/museums... an opportunity to publish your art in a new
"home brew" magazine... or just a way to get to know your fellow
artists better? Then we're looking for you! Meet us in Room A104,
September 20 at 8:00 pm ...WE'LL BE EXPECTING YOU."
The poster was on yellow paper and I realized I was the one who
designed and produced it. I walked into Room A104 dressed in a
Victorian bridal gown. The room was filled with all my "artsey-fartsey"
peers from my illustration/painting classes. I didn't expect so many
people would be interested in the group! They were all looking to me to
tell them what to do, how to do it, etc. So I started things out with,
"So, what's everyone's favorite artists, writers, titles, etc. in comic
art?" And that's how things took off. It was a fun meeting, a lot of
people laughing, joking around, and planning things. I felt just like
the blushing bride I was dressed as!
Next thing I knew, I was facing the black board, writing out
everyone's suggestions for projects, contacts, etc., when the board
became a window and suddenly I was watching myself--outside myself--no
longer in Room A104. I was in the hospital waiting room at ST. Micheal's
here in Stevens Point. Some sort of "mental" emergency happened. There
I was, just sitting there looking at an old Vogue magazine and this
doctor dressed in black comes by to tell me I have to go to the Mental
Ward because of the "mental" emergency.
"Did something or someone break down?" I asked, frightened as
we took the elevator to the 3rd floor. The doctor just shook his head
solemly. That's when I was able to see his face and I noticed he was
Neil Gaiman.
"No," he said, "people are just running out of ideas and, when
they have gotten ideas, there is no where to store them. You have to
write them out, you see, it doesn't matter how or where... you have to
do it with _space_ and stability. Just get an idea and stick it
somewhere where you can _use_ it. There's just too many people out
there leaving me dangling..."
I follow him into one of the rooms of the mental ward. There's
a blond woman in a pink tank top and black jeans sitting hunched over on
a bed with a red blanket. Her hair changes from blond to white. She's
weeping. When she looks up, her eyes are deep blue. I look deep into
her eyes and the blue pupils are actually those "round" windows you look
out at the sea from (if you were on a boat)--the blue pupils _are_
windows looking out to a rocking sea. My stomach growls and I hear
someone breathing hard, as if they needed to blow their nose. I sit
next to the weeping, "sea"-eyed woman, and put an arm around her. She
reacts violently to my touch and I back off.
"What's wrong with her?" I ask *Dr. Gaiman*.
"She's just confused," he said, "bad plot...good idea, but bad
plot. Plus, she's tired...I have to give her an ending. We all have to
solve our identities and create our realities..."
Then his eyes get really, really dark and his voice deepens
sinisterly.
"WE ALL HAVE TO CREATE OUR OWN REALITIES...VAL, YOU MUST DECIDE
WHAT REALITY OF YOURS IS MORE REAL...THE DREAM OR THE DREAMER...THE
DREAMER OR THE DREAMED...CHOOSE YOUR REALITY AND IT WILL BE THE
REALITY..
.WE---"
His voice broke back down to its normal level.
"---we all have to find the "happy ever after" ending...and
begin again...yet another reality...a chosen one...soon...coming soon...
the end."
In the next part of the dream, I find myself locked in my
apartment. It's sweaty inside, but I have to keep all the windows and
doors locked because there is a National Street Crime Wave going on
outside. I turn on the news to keep myself updated. Dan Rather's on
the air, reporting from L.A. where, for the 56th time, riots have broken
out and this time they're over the O.J.Simpson trials. Next, I turn to
MTV and Nine Inch Nails has a new album out called: F**K YOUR REALITY!
and their new video, THE DREAM THAT BITES is on the air. Some of the
lyrics went like this:
<<<<<Got a new design/something I can't find/turned to look into my mind/
I read it's something I couldn't sign/this facist thing/this elegant bone
smashing sin/my new design/stand the test of time/buy my design...by my
design..._buy_ my new design...!>>>>
Trent Rezner's voice ends with this really cool scream. He's
hanging off a rope dropped from the sky and an anchor's taking him down
into the sea. I hear a splash and don't see him anymore. The video
ends before it ends with Kurt Loeder announcing, "There's no future for
youthful reality...next on MTV News..."
I turn off the television. Someone outside is smashing my
roomate's car windows. I look out the window. It's some kid dressed
in a blue jumpsuit stained with motor oil and wearing a red Marvel
comics hat. I decided to lure this kid into my home so I can kill him
for wrecking my roomate's car. I lure him into the apartment by
offering him some water and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I
unlock the front door and he comes in. I wait til he closes the door
behind him...and prepare for my attack (I'm hiding scissors behind my
back).
But then, I feel sorry for the little hood. He looks sad and
hungry. I decide to let him into the house all the way, let him think
I'm his friend, _then_ I'll kill him with the scissors. He walks into
the living room and I notice his hands are bleeding and, instead of
fingernails, he has shards of glass stuck into the bloody stumps that
were his fingertips. He's bleeding all over the carpet. I no longer
feel sorry for him, because that's when I notice he's Brandon and now
I'm going to stab him with my scissors!
He doesn't say anything to me as I rush out at him, slashing and
tearing at the air. He disappears before I can hurt him or even cut him
off! I feel a sense of great loss and there's no closure. I start
looking for him, but there's no sign of him anywhere in the house. I
give up, realizing within the dream that this was all a dream and I'm
still not able to find or face him again in my real life. That's when
something started dripping from my living room ceiling...
I look up. Brandon has been stabbed through the heart by a Zulu
spear which has him attached to the ceiling. He's hanging there with
this frozen expression on his face...a look of horror, yet deep sorrow.
Eventhough I don't remember it, I know that somehow I've just killed
him...perhaps by giving up? I start gathering stuff to cut his body
away from my ceiling and clean the place up. There's a cemetery (for
real) down the corner, I could bury him there...
Niel Gaiman appears on my television. The sound of bird wings fly
by my head. "REaliTY...PERCIEVE iT..." he says, and I wake up.
My Own Commentary on my Tarot Dream:
To me personally, The Hierophant card is a symbol of a
"designer", someone who is more of a spiritual designer, actually, where
material and etherial meet...
I have been thinking more and more lately about career issues
and it's made me decide to leave some of my personal relationships
behind. In the beginning I've got a bridal gown on at the start of the
GRAPHIC STORYTELLING TASKFORCE TEAM meeting. This is symbolic, I
believe of "marrying" my career instead of deciding to "marry" another
person or thing.
Being at the black board, I'm trying to plan things out, end up
in a hospital (where else would I go to when there is a flaw in one of
my plans or something wrong with me?) and I run into Neil Gaiman who is
in the guise of a doctor. He's there to give me advice (Neil _is_ my
favorite comic writer and who better to go to since, in this dream, he
_is_ also a doctor--a person who cares for the sick and you can tell
anything to him because he's a _doctor_).
When I am led to see the "weeping woman," I believe I am meeting
one of Neil's characters in my dream. BJ and I were looking over the
latest issues of SANDMAN before going to sleep and in the recent
storyline, "The Kindly Ones", there is a character who fits her
description but I was getting her mixed up with one of my characters in
a story of my own (hence she had blond hair before her hair turned white
like Neil's character does). As for Neil's comments about "bad plot...
good idea...but bad plot"; I believe that was my way of saying to
myself: "Good ideas are only good when you have a good plot to match
them..." In other words, I should take a break from gathering ideas and
talking about ideas and get down to work! I've done way too much
planning and worrying lately...it's time things should get done.
As for the Riots going on and the stuff on MTV, that just
enhances my feeling that _I_ should be doing something--yet, I lock
myself in my apartment where it's safe and I'm isolated from all the
goings on outside. Then I let in someone I believe to be my enemy--a
friend who betrayed me--and I'm going to kill him, yet, I feel sorry for
him because he is "hungry"--I don't know what that's all about.
I have a lot of images of bleeding hands in my dreams and
Brandon's hands were just awful! You see, to an artist, hands are
valuable things. An artist's hands are his/her livelihood. Stabbing
shards of glass into them would just be unthinkable! Bleeding hands to
me means that something is hurting my livelihood...or _his_ livelihood
in this case. I still want to kill him, though, and he disappears.
When I find him, he's dead long before I get to kill him and I'm
disappointed. There's no ending to the plot. He's hanging there like a
story ended without an ending. This is why I am sad and angry. This
image also reminds me of all the stuff in my home and around the
community that reminds me of him--no matter how hard I try to "kill off"
his image, it's everywhere to be seen. His "image" as a comic book
artist makes my self esteem _sore_ because he's been illustrating a lot
more than I have and getting into that business is going to be torture
because it means dealing with him again...
When Niel appears on my television telling me to percieve
reality, perhaps this is the way my subconscious is telling me to not be
afraid, stop being so hesistant, and just go start that club and get
things going for myself (hopefully enemies like Brandon will keep their
distance).
Oh, one more thing, the sound of bird wings was (I later found
out) a parakeet flying over my head while Chris, Tom, and BJ were trying
to wake me up for breakfast! (I'm a late sleeper...shoot me).
>>>>If anyone would like to comment on this dream experiment, send it
in, I'd really appreciate it. Just because I gave myself my own doesn't
mean I'm going to be close minded to others' opinions/interpretations.
Val, the Dream Shaman (ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu)
__________________________________________________________________________
Questions and Answers
From Chris: From now on, when you answer a question from a previous
issue, please include a copy of the original question for me to paste in.
It makes my job a little easier.
Question: People in dreams insisting your name was not your real name.
Yes, Jim, I've had quite a few dreams where my "christain" name
was not my "real" name. I'd say the woman in your dream is a guide who
is trying to get you to find a "name" for yourself. It was through a
dream that I got my Craft or "Spirit" name: Moonserpent. I was given
this name by spirit guides who just kept calling me by that name _and_
by others in real life. I sometimes turn into the form of half-human,
half-snake, part hawk or crow/raven; pretty much a potpourri of my
guardian animal spirits.
My other dream names are Angelique (from a past life spent in
18th century France; found out more about it during a Regression and
first had that dream being le belle Angelique when I was five--the very
first dream I've ever remembered!), Morningstar (which is my "Indian"
name), and DreamHawk (another "spirit" name I've accumulated recently).
Sometimes I'm called "little hawk" because my last name,
Kaquatosh, means "little hawk" in Menominee.
--Val, the Dream Shaman
Question: What sort of themes can we pursue in Electric Dreams?
List of Dream Themes:
1. First Dream You've Ever Had
2. Pet (or Animal Companion) Dreams
3. Public Figures and Celebrities
4. Visits and Conversations with the Dead in Dreams
5. Spiritual Dreams
6. Precognitive Dreams
7. Cross-Gender Dreams (although we've already had it, I think...)
8. Nightmares
9. Dreams About War
10. Past Life Regression Dreams
11. Food Dreams
12. Dreams of Creative Inspiration
13. Apocalyptic Dreams
14. Erotic Dreams (whoa, baby...!)
15. Astral Projection Dreams
16. God/Goddess Dreams
17. Reoccuring Dreams
18. Life-Altering Dreams
19. Dreams About Traveling to Other Dimensions
20. Dreams of Metamorphisis (also called Transformation Dreams)
Any others to add to the list? Which ones would you like to do first?
--Val, the Dream Shaman
What would you like to see?
What I would like to know is what people would really like to
see in the newsletter. For example, when I started Electric Dreams, my
plan was really only to exchange dream descriptions over email with
other people who had become exasperated with having to read J_-_Winston
posts. I get my Usenet access through gopher, so I can't use kill files.
Other people seem to have more interesting dreams than I do, and I
wanted to see what I might be missing in my dreams. I also admit to
more than a little interest in lucid dreaming and other strange dream
effects, even though I have had very little experience with them.
When I got 20 responses to my first post, and they weren't
slowing down, I could see the free form mailing weren't really going to
work, and so moved to the more organized newsletter format. Now I have
started the commentary core group, which reaches back to the format I
had originally imagined, with a few adjustments.
So, I wonder what other people want to see here. Remember, you
should be willing to share examples of what you want. If you want dream
articles, be ready to send in some articles.
Chris
__________________________________________________________________________
Electric Dreams is an independent electronic publication, and is not
affiliated with any other organization.
