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Electric Dreams Volume 01 Issue 09
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| Electric Dreams |
| Volume 1 Issue 9 |
| 26 June 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
__________________________________________________________________________
Message Center
I have gotten a few contributions from people over the weeks
with notes at the end stating the contributer didn't think I would put
their contribution into the newsletter. Remember, this newsletter
belongs to all of us. I do not judge contributions to see if they are
"good enough" for the newsletter. As long as what you send is about
dreams, it _will_ be printed.
Chris Beattie (cbeattie@uwspmail.uwsp.edu)
Dear Chris et al,
First, let me tell you how much I like Electric Dreams and
appreciate the work you put into it. I was also grateful for the
extensive comments on my Florida Dreams.
I am always eager to receive feedback on my publication so I
would like to offer you some suggestions for yours. If you find them
impertinent, then please disregard them and continue to put out what is
already a fine newsletter. I notice that the subscription list is
growing weekly.
1. It is too much material for me to receive each week. Finding even
the time to read it is difficult and I would like to be able to
participate more actively. Perhaps if it were once or twice a month, it
would give people a chance to look forward to its arrival. Also, a
table of contents would help me to find the things which are of most
interest to me if I don't have time for the entire newsletter. There
are clearly different departments but it has taken me a while to
understand the structure of the whole.
{Note from Chris: I like the idea of printing this every other week,
and will begin doing so unless there is a large vote against it. Have
your votes in by Saturday, July 2. Next Sunday I will send out either a
newsletter or a note with the result of the vote}
2. It seems that there is a core group which provides most of the
interpretation. Are you all in the same place? Could you print the
dreams and the interpretations in the same issue, the interpretation
immediately following the dream? I know, I know. The need for instant
gratification is the bane of our society and all that, but it would be
much easier to follow. It is difficult to remember dreams from past
issues. If others write in with interpretations later, you could
perhaps open a Reader's Letters "column".
{Note from Chris: We have no formal core group of interpreters, so
anyone who would like to volunteer please let me know, and we could try
this last suggestion to see how it works.}
(dahven@aol.com)
__________________________________________________________________________
Dream Comments
======The Bear and the Vampire Princess===================================
In my dreams, bears represent problems or situations that are
currently causing problems in my life (i.e. "That test was such a bear!")
The fact that the bear was black, and in fact dissolved into a nebulous,
undefined "blackness" gives it even more of a feeling of negativity.
Perhaps the bear represents my own fears or anger/aggression, my
own Jungian "Shadow" or darker side, that I am trying to escape? This
aspect of my Self is perfectly natural (emerged from a nature preserve)
and yet I try to run away from it, abandoning friendly parts of myself
in order to get away.
Now, suddenly, I fear being drained of my life force (vampire
trying to drink my blood.) I am wearing red, the color of blood, life,
passion, and also danger.....
Pamela Ryan (pryan@prairienet.org)
The all female "anonymous" friends: connection to other women,
you don't know them but they seem to be your friends, it seems you don't
trust them or, at least, don't consider them very important, you abandon
them to save yourself from the Black Bear--could it be that in real life
you'd rather stand away from people and not get to know them in order to
"save yourself" from rejection or a possible attack?
I have an interesting spin on your black bear image. In legend,
the bear has always been a symbol of introspection, healing, and tribal
/family strength. Have you ever seen how protective a mother bear can
be with its young? Or how protective a bear is, in general, of its
territory? Bears don't usually attack unless they are sick or defending
something (depending on the bear). What would've drawn this bear out
and provoked it to attack you and your friends? You try and run but you
can't move. The bear was calling you, perhaps in a ferocious way (in
order to grab your attention), to set some time out for yourself before
you set out for school/work/socializing. Perhaps the bear was also
telling you that in order to be loved and accepted, you must love and
accept yourself. Whenever the image of a bear comes up, it is an omen-
-telling you to go "within" the cave introspection (hibernation) and
emerge full of renewed strength and wisdom (incubation of dreams, a long
rest/sleep, etc. can heal you and help prepare you to deal with the real
world again).
As for the bear attacking/catching two or more of you friends;
perhaps you have observed this behavior in others--others "taking off"
to be by themselves--attacked by introspection. Perhaps you have felt
abandoned in the past by others who do a lot of this "spending time
alone to think" stuff. Perhaps you feel left out in the involvements of
others and just want to run away. Or perhaps you just feel guilty
whenever you "abandon" others to go off on your own private quests?
Because this time _you_ have done the abandoning and you are not the
abandoned. When you look back on it, do you feel that perhaps the black
bear was your protector or more protective self?
When you confront Vampire Princess Miyu, I believe you are
coming face to face with your conscience/intuition/Higher Self. Miyu
also seems to be a "mystical police woman" who, in some way, tracked you
down for not paying your spiritual "dues." Abandoning your friends
(even though it was in self-defense) weighs heavily on your mind. The
Vampire Princess who is your conscience/intuition/mystical side feels
abandoned, too. Here you have been ignoring your conscience/intuition
lately? Is there something you feel "chased by" (paranoia, anxiety,
worries, etc.) in life that is causing you to abandon some plans or
temporarily "abandon" some people you care about? The need to escape
seems to be stronger than love or friendship, right now.
There are also some simularities between Miyu and the black bear:
both are defenders as well as "healers" (Miyu can give immortal life; the
bear hibernates in winter to emerge strong in spring--basically renewing
itself). Both characters are also images of death/rebirth. Clearly some
sort of transition is being emphasized here...
In the form of Miyu, your conscience is telling you to trust it
and listen; "don't abandon or attack me or I will chase you down and
haunt you like a ghost until you deal with me(your inner self)." In the
form of the black bear, your strong "fight vs. flight" instinct was
telling you; "face my blackness--I am the unknown--I am fierce and I
have claws and teeth that can hurt. Face me and you face your fear.
Fear can become an ally once you defeat it. I attacked your friends
because, in some way, you fear them. Don't allow them or yourself to be
hurt by me (fear). Learn from me and let me be your ally..."
As for you in the gown: seems you are dressed for some sort of
special occasion (considering you rarely wear dresses), could also be a
celebration coming, attraction, adornment, making yourself "pretty" for
something special, and, since it's red, there is some passion and strong
emotion. Red is also the color of the Mother aspect of the Goddess.
Perhaps you are growing into the "Queen-hood" of life; maturity, wisdom,
embracing the mysteries of woman-hood, fertilizing your passions/projects
with the "blood" of life and woman-spirit.
And now, for a little experiment....I'm going to draw out a card
from my Tarot deck, using the Major Arcana. Since Chris is here with
me, I'm going to have her shuffle the cards, separate them into three
piles, and, having her concentrate on the image of her dream, have her
pick one card from the top....
The card she picked was THE HANGED MAN, in the reversed position.
What I interpret from this is that she has been feeling rather "hung up"
lately, with little time to herself, spending too much time working/doing
things for others. She wants to devote herself to her more "mystical
dream-like" side (remembering her dreams, concentrating on learning more
about herself, etc.) but to do so, she feels she would have to "abandon"
some caution/work/responsibilities to the wind. The Hanged Man is a
very spiritual, introspective card in its most general meaning. It's
also a card that says "take it easy on yourself;" that worrying is
"pre-suffering" and fear will eat up the energy you'll need when a real
crisis may happen. Right now, let things be and pamper yourself a bit,
hang out with some good friends, and relax. You will feel more
refreshed, less fearful, and ready to handle things with a "clear"
conscience.
--Val, the Dream Shaman (ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu)
__________________________________________________________________________
Dreams
======Unamed by
author====================================================
I 'wake' (like I suddenly exist) wandering on a dirt path, with
scrub brush and tufts of dry grass. I walk like I'm drunk - kind of
meandering back and forth, but the path is where I'm walking all the
time - and it is straight. I feel as if I have always been doing this,
and I still am. I continue this forever, and in that dream, am doing
that right at this moment. The dream is lucid - since when I do not
know. I don't sense this wandering ending, but its like I got drawn
into another portion of the dream..
I'm in a white room with a high sloping "wall" (roof), and
there's something outside. The place is based solidly on something
/somewhere, but there's void outside one wall, which is covered with
tall 'windows' or portals. There is - SOMETHING - outside the window.
All I can say about it is that it was green and sort of 'gaseous'. And
it emenated pure EVIL. For some reason I was reminded of the witch of
the (West? East?) in the Wizard of Oz, riding on her broomstick/bicycle
outside Dorothy's window in the cyclone (I haven't seen that movie in so
long!) Its cackling, or something of the sort, and before this I saw
two other things - somehow - like on a screen in my mind. First I saw
a 'mask'... like a hideously evil face - but somehow it had a demon's
hue about it. And the eyes were - just not eyes, like they were
enlarged, no color... like ping pong balls in the sockets. But they
were HIS eyes.
Then I saw a man's body, in some kind of bulky clothing .. or
baggy .. (slacks/flannel?) it was sort of spread eagled, but falling
with its right side down, its head to my left. I sensed that it was
dead - and also that it almost had no soul. It was in shadow, but
everything in the dream was as if suffused in shadow - not light, as is
normal.
Then I see the - illusion? for some reason that is what I call
it. And I see a person I hardly know, and he says that since we both
saw the three forms, we shall die.
What is really frightening is that the dream was so REAL. I
felt everything, and I swear it WAS real. It was like I got jerked from
the 'first dream' into reality. I've been 'pulled' into this dream,
several times. I start to dream, and end up in it - Once i dreamt that
a friend was in it - his back to my perspective - (3rd person at the
time) and I approached him, and he became some sort of dragon/gargoyle.
Does that have any significance?
eternal@
======Musicians and Lost Boys=============================================
I am in a garage, watching a man hang upside down by a rope
against a brick wall. He's a singer, and is shooting a video (there was
music within the dream -- pop/rock, I think, although the setting looked
more jazz/blues). He's quite acrobatic, and is swinging from the rope
(held under his arm, or else tied to his foot) as he sings.
Another musician is in the scene, as well, seated near the
singer. There is a car in the foreground.
Now I'm at a gas station, looking for my car. I open the door
of a car (same color -- dark red -- as mine, but larger/more luxurious)
and sit in the driver's seat. Two young men, one of whom I know from a
teen activism group I used to sponsor in RL) ask me how to find a
certain house on Elm Street, where they are supposed to attend some kind
of meeting.
I pull a map out of the glove compartment and locate "Elm" --
it's clear across town! Oddly, the streets on the map aren't continuous
lines, but appear fragmented. The boys go off in search of their
meeting. I realize that the car I'm in actually belongs to a wealthy,
older man who is inside the gas station.
I look for my husband, and our van (we don't own a van, in RL
--we each have our own compact car.)
Pamela Ryan (pryan@prairienet.org)
======Dream from 23
June==================================================
I am in a theatre watching the performance of a Japanese dance
troupe. At intermission, I realize that I need to get something from
home. There is a tiny all-white sportscar at the exit which the theatre
uses in the case of medical emergencies. I plan to be back in a few
minutes so I decide to borrow the car. I follow a bus, thinking it will
lead me to the highway but instead, I find myself trapped in an elevated
bus loop. I can see the road I want below but no way of getting there.
I decide to take the car down the stairwell of the attached building.
At each landing, I have to drive into the adjacent space to turn
around. A receptionist is sitting in one of these offices. I am afraid
that she will report me for driving in the building so I hurry down the
rest of the stairs to the exit. I hear her behind me yelling, "Wait,
wait." She is running after the car, holding a child in one arm and
dragging a stroller with the other. "Wait, I want to come with you."
I floor the pedal but the car is electric and it moves slowly. She is
gaining on me. There is another building between me and the street. I
go in with the woman hot on my tail. I finally give up and screech to a
halt when I see a revolving door in front of me.
"All right," I say. "Get in, but there's no room for the baby
carriage." I get out of the car to unzip the passenger seat but I feel
a stinging on my foot. I look down and see an insect trapped underneath
my stocking. "Oooooow... Help! Help me get it off." We peel the
stocking away and there is an evil-looking insect burrowing into my
foot. It has long front legs and wings and its stinger is buried deeply
inside of me. I can't shake it loose but the woman plucks it off,
pulling the inch long stinger from my foot. I decide to have the bite
looked at since we are in a hospital and I have never seen an insect
like this before. I walk to the emergency room where the doctor looks
at my swelling foot in the hall. She seems uninterested until I cry out
again, "It's the other foot now! Help me!"
We peel the other stocking off to find another insect piercing
my other foot in exactly the same place. I leave the clinic barefoot,
with a welt on the top of each foot, perfectly matched like stigmata.<
The night before last, I dreamt that I was carrying my scooter
up the stairwell of a school building because I was late for a history
exam and couldn't find a place to park it. What am trying to
communicate to myself?
(dahven@aol.com)
======Val's Serial Dream==================================================
"I'm Death, BJ's the Crow, and We Hunt Down a Serial Killer"
VMK
DREAM JOURNAL ENTRY #83
Vol. 5, March 24, 1994
Part Six: "Meeting at the Graveyard"
I had a hard time sleeping so this sequence is somewhat
fragmented because I was taking naps--only allowing for short "films" of
dreams to take place.
The first one was walking along the shore, getting bored, all
alone. It was warm outside, but in the distance was thunder and rain,
yet so faraway and not coming towards me. Then there was this
disorienting blur and I was back facing the homestead-like-rickety-house
-that-Beavis-n-Butthead-built-an-extention-to. I heard echoed voices.
I walked up closer to the front and peeked inside the windows. Moulder
and Scully were inside. I almost attracted their attention, til I was
pulled back by BJ. "Val, don't be so dangerous!" He cried and I
briefly woke up.
Next time I went to sleep, there was this flash of flowers and a
huge bumble bee buzzing about a long stemmed rose. For some reason, I
wasn't afraid of the bee and longed to take the rose. But Chris
suddenly appeared before me. "Chris, you're alive!" I shouted. But
she shook her head, "no", and then BJ appeared.
"What...who were you talking about?" He asked.
And I just stood there.
"If you _want_ the rose, take it!" He handed me the rose and
the bee flew out the window. "Now," he continued, "let's find out who
the hell this serial killer is! Tom called and he's going to meet us at
the cemetery."
I don't take the rose, but we _do_ go to the cemetery only to
find all the tombstones are blank and the Moon is as bright as the Sun.
BJ was normally dressed, where I was Death once again. Like a super
spy, Tom popps out from behind one of the big tombstones. "PSST!" He
hisses, and he pushes a button on the side of the stone (the tomb is
unmarked). After that, out opens a trap door with stairs leading down
into the Earth. Tom leads us down there. It's dank and cool, not too
wet. Inside the Earth, we are as we are in a cave, but we're not. It's
like this underground bunker--the sort that some people made during the
cold war that's supposed to help you survive a nuclear explosion. Down
there, Tom tells us he has some information..."secret" information.
"The serial killer is very near now," he said, "he is the swarm
of bees devouring flowers--especially old ones in danger of wilting that
are no longer needed or wanted now. Get yourselves out of the water and
stay underground. If you need a weapon, light a fire or a couple of
fires--but don't let them burn and keep the light to yourselves."
For some reason BJ asks, "Is Chris the serial killer? She
might've faked her death, you know...no one really checked to see if it
was _indeed_ her body that we found!"
Tom shakes his head "no."
"She is the killed, but ever surviving. Swab her with sweetness
and she will be a guide..."
That's all I remember.
(Just three more dreams in this series to go! Making nine dreams in
all. In issue 12, I'll collect my own commentaries on this "Serial
Killer" dream as well as those of others. There is quite an interesting,
real life story behind this one...stay tuned!)
--Val, the Dream Shaman (ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu)
__________________________________________________________________________
Dream Project
Thanks, guys, for all your comments on my dreams!
As you suspected, Pam, I _do_ have a deep connection with nature,
infact, it is the basis of my spirituality and Native American heritage.
I also love the fairy-tales of old and dreams are just one way of my
getting in touch with my creative, inner child.
I have a terrible temper and vindictive side which is rarely
provoked. I never get angry or obsessive about the little things,
though. Betrayal and superficiality is what upsets me the most. I
hardly ever react physically on my anger, I scream and break dishes a
lot...
I _do_ get to feel helpless a lot and have a hard time letting
go of the past which haunts me--only because I let it haunt me. When I
dream of mirrors it is my way of "going within" to heal myself and get
at the root of problems.
As for Chris' comments on the gore in my dreams...I have
experienced a lot of trauma due to the deaths of two friends--one was a
drug dealer who was killed in my neighborhood (just down the block from
where I used to live) and the other was a sort of "stoner" friend of
mine who killed himself by a gunshot to the head (he did this in front
of me and others). I used to hang out with the rough crowd back in high
school. I had to deal with gang fighting, drug and alcohol use,
suicide, psuedo-Satanism, the works! After seeing some people get
really messed up, I turned my life around by re-discovering my cultural
and spiritual roots and by getting serious about my art and academic life.
I guess those experiences toughened me up a little, but you
still don't get over seeing someone die. I, for the life of me, don't
know how war veterans deal with it. Death isn't a very pretty, easy
thing to live and deal with when you have experienced it in a violent
way... Usually when I am dreaming of such things, I am trying to face
my fears, anxieties, and losses so they can no longer have power over
me. It's a hard thing to do, but it makes you stronger and helps
prepare you for life's other crisises.
I do take pride in my dreams and look forward to them every night!
Now I'll give you a little background on the dreams I had, what
I feel they have to say about me and what I was going through at the
time I had them (since they cover several years worth of experiences)...
In the "Faceless Man" dream, I was dealing with the
superficiality of my friends around me (one in particular was Brandon).
I am an honest and deep feeling person and was having a hard time
trusting other people with my feelings. Back in October 1989, I had
lost a friend to a violent suicide (I literally watched him die) and my
friend Brandon (who I had just met that January of 1990) reminded me of
this loss. Brandon resembled the friend I had lost to a tee--he had the
same attitude, sense of humor, style of dress, and interests. I was
trying to block this out of my mind, but the simuliarities were
frightening. This was one of the reasons I did not like Brandon when I
first met him. The other reasons were that he was very arrogant and
"fadish," especially with his friends. We all used to call him "the
Chameleon" because he had a flair "blending in with the crowd" and
rarely, if ever, voiced an opinion that was solely and originally his.
I was afraid of him (therefore, I dream him as this nightmarish,
faceless man cutting himself up) and I still associate this man with
the image of the friend I lost. He is a symbol of disappointment and
loss (see my commentary on "Brandon's Funeral" later on...).
"Tea with the Butterfly Woman" was the first dream I had where I
met Jhnana, a spirit guide of mine. I believe she is faerie and I had
travelled to the realm of Faerie in this dream. The advice she gave me
was very helpful. I was still dealing with "fake friends" at the time
where one friend-turned-adversary was spreading lies about me. The
opinions of others greatly effected me at the time. I felt helpless,
still not knowing who to trust and fearing the loss of more friends,
this time not to death, but to slander which was even worse. Jhnana
reminded me that the "poison" that was being spread about me was untrue
and not worth my concern. In the end, truth comes out and it is the
truth that was my strength. All the bad stuff that was being thrown at
me went straight through me--I learned from it and suffered no harm.
In "Mirrors" I was concentrating on my image as an artist,
trying to decide where I was to fit in the art world, would I ever be
"anybody," etc. At the end of the dream where I am part serpent: I
felt powerful because the snake is a personal power totem for me and I
have a strange affinity with snakes (when I lived down south I
encountered many poisonous ones, but was never bit--once when I was
twelve, I handled a copperhead, not knowing it was dangerous!) Seeing
the power symbol while exploring my place in the art world meant to me
that I was about to create great and wonderful things in my life...and
that I have nothing to be down on myself for.
The "Undead Stillborn Baby from Hell" is still a mystery to
me. I was living with my brother at the time. It was horrible because
he wasn't cleaning up after himself and he didn't have a job--he was
basically leeching off me! I was very angry and perhaps he was this
awful baby in the dream. In real life I knocked some sense into him
when I moved out without letting him know (yes, I can be very vindictive!)
and he had to start paying all the over due bills in a hurry! Eventually
my brother had to serve time in jail for some two year's over due parking
tickets (totaling over $500!). I was shocked, but wasn't surprised.
When the "Angel Helps Me Put Out a Fire" dream came to me, I was
just getting over a bad crush over Brandon. The angel himself is named
Christopher and often appears in my dreams whenever I'm dealing with
affairs of the heart. I felt he helped me help myself get over him by
"putting out the fire." Often in my spirit guide dreams I am lucid and
am usually being "tested" and my self esteem benefits a lot from them-
-though lately I haven't had very many of them.
"Weaving with Grandmother Spider" was a direct connection to the
Goddess as Creator. The dream helped me let go of some fears and
worries about the future, but I still have trouble dealing with
depression and stuff, I'm just not as helpless about it.
"Rotting Hands and Crystal Wrists" dealt with a physical
ailment I had during the summer of 1992. Because I work so much with my
hands (I am an artist), I developed carpal tunnel syndrome and thoratic
outlet syndrome which, going unchecked and untreated for five years,
resulted in some nerve damage. In this dream, I was attempting to
"incubate" some healing (hence trying to draw a power image like a
pentagram with my own blood).
"The Magician" dream resulted after I had been researching
ceremonial magick. I believe it was my way of "meeting" with the
information I was researching personally.
During the summer of 1993, "Brandon's Funeral" dream represented
how I was dealing with the fact that he was leaving. He was acting very
strange with everyone at the time, becoming very distant and mean
spirited. It was difficult for me because during the coarse of the
four years I had known him, I let him get close to me. After learning
to trust him, he was now brushing me off as if he didn't know me. In my
dream I was trying to bury him--physcial death of a friend is a lot
easier to handle than rejection for me.
"Disgust" came from a time when I went under a deep depression.
I was constantly sick and spent a lot of time alone. This dream helped
me bring new life to a story I had been working on and, consequently,
working on this story helped me to feel better. I believe the swallowing
of the mirror and throwing it up was an image of "purging" myself of the
negative, untrue things I was forcing myself to ingest.
Now for happier things! My "String-o-Fetus" dream to me
represents some of the art/literary projects me and my best friend are
working on together and separately. I'm real excited about our
"creations" but feel they are just small things right now with the
potential to grow into wonderful, big things! This dream was definitely
a fertile one.
>>Sorry so long, I get a bit long-winded sometimes.
Thanx again for the commentaries,
--Val, the Dream Shaman (ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu)
__________________________________________________________________________
Dream Articles
======The Power of Dreams-Review==========================================
Part One: The Search for Meaning
This is a summary of a show that was on The Discovery Channel.
I will review one part for each issue of Electric Dreams until I run out
of parts.
This episode explored what dreams are, why we dream, and what
our dreams mean.
It is no wonder that we should be so interested in dreams. The
average person spends 2 hours per night dreaming. This is a total of 6
years over the average lifetime.
Doctor Milton Kramer described his theory that dreams are a type
of emotional thermostat. Our overall emotional state will influence
dream content. The contents of our dreams may also affect our mood when
we wake up. Emotions in dreams should be given as much attention as the
dream content.
Doctor Kramer also talked about nightmares, especially where
post traumatic stress disorder was involved. He believed the nightmares
actually contributed to the the problem by keeping it alive. The
experience is not contained within the dream, and the dreamer wakes up
emotionally charged.
Robert Bosnak felt it helps to talk about dreams in a group. In
his discusion groups, the dream is recited in the present tense, with
the other members of the group trying to experience the dream for
themselves. The group describes their own feelings and physical
reactions, and then drill the dreamer for his or her feelings about
the dream. Bosnak feels that the dream can bring emotions to the surface
where they can be felt and dealt with, rather than repressed.
Rosalind Cartwright researches the dreams of people who have
been through traumatic events. She feels people who pay close attention
to their dreams tend to recover more quickly from life crises. We need
to dream and dream often because dreams are our only opportunity to deal
with our emotional needs. During waking life, we are too busy with our
day to day concerns, like getting food and avoiding trucks, to worry
about our emotional state.
Rapid Eye Movement was discovered in 1953 at University of
Chicago by Eugene Aserinski and Nathanial Clightman. EEG showed
brainwaves were very rapid, almost as active as waking mind, during REM
sleep. Heartrate and breathing also increased.
Humans have a 90 minute sleep cycle, occuring 4 to 5 times per
night.
Newborns spend 8 hours per day in REM sleep, kittens, almost
24 hours. It is believed dream sleep is crucial in young creatures for
development of the central nervous system. Muscles shut down during REM
sleep, with eyes, fingers and toes still able to move. Physical signs
of sexual arousal in both genders have also been detected.
REM sleep behavior disorder is a disease that occurs in some
people, mostly elderly men. These people can move during dream sleep,
and attemp to act out their dreams. They may injure their spouses or
themselves. This affliction is treatable by medication. The cause is
unknown, but is believed to be neurological and related to aging.
Francis Crik believes dreams are a wastebasket for the brain.
We dream to forget, to remove bizarre forms of thought and avoid mental
gridlock. He feels we may be better off forgetting our dreams.
Allan Hobson and Robert McKarly came up with something called
the Dream generator. This theory states that dreams are generated by
the random firing of neurons in a primitive part of the brain called
the pons. The neural impulses travel to the cortex where a story is
created to impose order on this random input.
Earnest Hartmann discussed dreams as an indicator of
personallity type. The personallity factors were called boundaries in
the mind. There are two poles to the types, thin and thick boundaries.
The boundaries seperate things like thought and emotion, dreaming and
waking, fantasy and reality. People with thick boundaries tend not to
remember many of their dreams, don't spend much time daydreaming or
fantasizing, and keep things very seperated in their minds. They
typically have jobs as engineers, lawyers, or military personnel.
Thin boundaried people remember many dreams and nightmares. They
don't usually have typical blue or white collar jobs, but tend to be
artists, painters, or musicians. They often use their dreams in their
work. Many thin boundaried people are more susceptable to depression.
The closing quote was, "Dreams are real while they last. Can we
say more of life?"
This article only touched on what the video covered. The
Discovery Channel is offering the full set of 3 video tapes. Call
1-800-932-3600 to order them. They cost $49.95 for the set. I will
review the other two shows in the next two issues. Sorry if names of
some people mentioned in this article are spelled wrong, time constraints
took their toll this issue.
Chris (cbeattie@uwspmail.uwsp.edu)
__________________________________________________________________________
Questions and Answers
Dear Dreamers,
Thank you all for your responses. My journey has taken me to
meet and talk with several different groups of people. All have been
very friendly and helpful.
Pamela, you mentioned that 'These Power Dreams or Great Dreams
have much to tell us, not just the individual dreamer.' Could you expand
on this for me please. My studies are converging towards a path we may
both share and I seek knowledge.
Val, my 'born again' Pagan friend. I like that, though I'm not
sure Pagan fits either. My Mom still believes that I'll come back into
the fold and she's happy with it. I try not to make waves. And you
absolutely correct about 'Answers are never given to you.' I came
across something called Ten Indispensable Tools for being Human and one
of them is 'Your answer lies within you. All you need to do is look,
listen and trust.'
Chris, Thanks again for Electric Dreams. It is a great forum! :)
Now I have a question for all of you. Has anyone had a dream in
which someone tells you, your name is not your real name? And you wake
up wondering what that is all about? In my dream, I sat and argued with
a woman I didn't know, telling her my name was James Hunter, and with
piercing eyes she told me "No. It's not." I've tried to find out my
"Dream" name with some luck but not a solid feeling. Well???
Jim (jamesh@dsinet.dgtl.com)
{Note from Chris: These are responses to last week's questions, asking
about possible themes and topics for future issues, readers polls,
dreaming in comic book format, and dreams about Morpheus.}
Life-Altering/Spiritual dreams would be a good topic, in my
opinion.
Nightmares would be another interesting one. Or the first dream
you remember, from childhood.
The poll idea is interesting. I have a questionnaire that I
used to distribute to students when I used to teach dream seminars --
I'd be happy to pass it along.
I've never been much into comic books, but have heard interesting
things about SANDMAN. I have had dreams in cartoon-animation form, but
never comic book form.
No ideas about Morpheus, sorry.
Pamela Ryan (pryan@prairienet.org)
The dreams I have had about comics deal with illustration and
creativity, imagination, etc. I get wonderful ideas for stories and
projects from them, eventhough I'm not truely looking into comics as a
career (I'd rather write or edit them).
As for Morpheus, whenever I dream of him, he is not how he looks
as the comic character he is in SANDMAN. He is an average looking man
with long brown hair (sort of like a lion's mane) and he has the eyes of
a cat. He wears black all the time and feels like a brother to me. The
only way I found out that he was Morpheus was I asked him his name and
he told me it was "Morpheus...."
I haven't asked him what he thinks of the newsletter yet, but
I'm sure he'd like it. Anyone who's into dreams should be into _Electric
Dreams_!
--Val, the Dream Shaman (ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu)
I love the idea of themes. I keep an electronic dream journal
so I can easily pull up old dreams to suit theme issues. Current events
dreams are always interesting (O.J. Simpson? No, I haven't dreamt about
him either but you know what I mean. Maybe Yugoslavia). Public figures
(Madonna? Elvis? Did you know that someone is putting together or
maybe has published already a book of dreams about Bill Clinton?)
Holidays when timely (Christmas, Mother's Day...). And how about
flying, train, religious, transformation, goddess, school, insect, food,
death, apocalypse dreams?
I have thought about arranging dreams from different people
chronologically to see if their were any recurring themes on a given
night. You could put out a call like, "OK, everybody concentrate on
your dreams on the night of the summer solstice," or something like that.
I've also wanted to find someone in a "sister city" and exchange dreams
to see what they say about the cultural characteristics of the places we
live. Just a few ideas...
(dahven@aol.com)
______
Electric Dreams is an independent electronic publication, and is not affiliated with any other
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