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Electric Dreams Volume 03 Issue 06
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Electric Dreams
Volume 3 Issue #6
26 July 1996
ISSN# 1089 4284
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Electric Dreams - on the World Wide Web
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mettw/edreams/home.html
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-- Send Dreams and Comments on Dreams to:
Bob Krumhansl <bobk829887@aol.com>
-- Send Dream Questions and Concerns to
Victoria Quinton <mermaid@daemon.apana.org.au>
--Send Dreaming News and Calendar Events to:
Peggy Coats <pcoats@cruzio.com>
-- Send Requests for Dream Groups to:
Chris Hicks <shadow45@netonecom.net>
--Send Articles and Subscription concerns to:
Richard Wilkerson: <rcwilk@aol.com>
--For back issues, editors addresses
and other access see
ELECTRIC DREAMS ACCESS INFORMATION AT End of file
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Download a GREAT COVER for Electric Dreams 3(6)! Jesse Reklaw
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mettw/edreams/home.html
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CONTENTS:
EDITORS' NOTES
Welcome to ED 3-6 Richard Wilkerson
Electric Dreams Education Program - Chris Hicks
Electric Dreams Education Quesionnaire
See Dream Section for Bob's Notes
Poem: DREAMER DERRING-DO - By Taylor Esta Kingsley
QUESTIONS AIRING COLUMN - Victoria Quinton
Special Topic - Kids on Electric Dreams? A collection of
opinions, dreams, interviews and resources.
DREAM GROUP UPDATE - Christopher Hicks
Interview: with Roberta Ossana by Victoria Quinton
Software: The Dream Map : Store & Record Dreams on Mac
By Daniel Cummings
Article: Dream like contact with magic
(Part II of Please (don't) Fix it!! by Eulalia
Review: ASD XIII and Cyberspace By Richard Wilkerson
Interview: with Kephrea by Victoria Quinton
Article: Dangerous Dreams: The Risks of Online Dream Sharing
By Richard Wilkerson
Dream Work Tools - Review of products at ASD XIII
G L O B A L D R E A M I N G N E W S - Peggy Coats
BETA TESTERS FOR DREAM PROGRAMS
DREAM POETRY JOURNAL INVITES SUBMISSIONS
AUSTRALIA, EDGE OF THE SACRED TOUR WITH DAVID TRACY
ILLNESS AS DREAM, HEALING WITH METAPHORS
WORKING WITH THE DREAMING BODY
DREAM MEDICINE RETREAT IN MOUNT SHASTA
DREAMS SOUGHT FOR BOOK ON PRECOGNITIVE DREAMING
DREAMS & SECRETS PROJECT
ONIROS PUBLISHES COMPLETE WORKS OF HERVEY DE SAINT-DENYS
DREAM LECTURES BY PIERRE GRIMES ON VIDEO TAPE
FREUD & JUNG, TWO NEW BOOKS
DREAMWORK SEMINARS IN SANTA BARBARA
DREAMS IN THE WORLDS FAMILY
+ D R E A M C A L E N D E R LATE SUMMER/FALL 1996
======================================================
Index To Dreams & Dream Commentary Sequence for EDv3n6
(Following the Title is the author and the date of the
dream/commentary or submission - in the format of
Year-Month-Day/YYMMDD)
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
WELCOME
A NEW (ED) DREAM ORDER
FROM THE CONTRIBUTORS
JESSE
ISLAND
THANKS
C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C
C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C
COMMENTARY ON DREAMS FROM PREVIOUS ISSUES (with the Dreams):
-JOURNEY:
Commentary on "Old Lady on a Motorcycle" (ED3:V3N5) by Island
(96.06.25)
Commentary on: "Animal Island" (ED3:V3N5) by Island
(96.06.25)
-FEAR:
Commentary on: "The Roof God and Uncle Joe" (ED3:V3N5)
by Island (960625)
Commentary on: A Snake Hater's Dream (ED3:3_5)
by Island (960529)
Commentary on A Snake Hater s Dream by Fuzz (EDV3N5) by
BobC
Commentary on: "The Night of the Biting Zombies " (ED3:3_5)
by Island (960625)
Commentary on: "An Arrow out of Nowhere" (ED3:V3N5)
by Island (96.06.25)
-PUZZLES:
Commentary on: The Gnome of Depressive Death (ED3:3N5)
by Island (96.06.25)
-SHARED WRAP-UP COMMENTARY FROM THE DREAMER:
-PUZZLES - SOLVED (?)
Commentary on Island s "The Avocado/Magnolia War
by Island (960625)
Commentary on Island s Shadowbox by Island (960625)
N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-
N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-
NEW DREAMS:
-TRAVELING DREAMS - INCIDENTS ON A JOURNEY:
Vehicles: Giant Rabbits by Marietta suburb-
Dream: Thesis Topic: by JK (960627
by JR)
Commentary on Thesis Topic
by Wise Crone (960629)
Driving Car toward Pepperell on 119
Dream: Tim, the crackhead
by JesseL (960627)
Commentary on Jesse s Tim,
The crackhead by Wise Crone
Rollerskates through the Park
Dream: A Struggle by Penrod (951228)
Flying/Skateboarding through Paris
Airport/Zoo
Dream: Bank Problem by RE (960627
by JR)
Driving like skiing through ice after
shopping
Dream: The Free Gift by GD (960627
by JR)
Large spacecraft trip to Jupiter
Dream: Voyage To Jupiter
by MarkL (960720)
On a Star Wars ship in Outer Space
Dream: Star Wars by JesseL (960627)
On a Spaceship
Dream: Aliens, The Good, The Bad,
and the Ugly by Island
(96.06.14)
Transported to the Moon
Dream Excerpt: "Feeling (Not Drawing
Down) the Moon" by Island (96.06.15)
Inside a Giant White Ball
Dream: The Global Experience
by Nutcracker (960608 -#366)
Walking: Hiking over hillsides by Santa Cruz
Dream: No Trespassing
by DR (960627 by JR)
In field at daytime noticing Alien Craft
(UFO)
Dream: Alien Taste Test
by BR (960627 by JR)
-FOCUS ON EMOTIONS:
1) FEARS:
Ghost or Spirit of malevolent
intent/Fear & Escape -
Dream: Demon Attack
by Wren The Valiant (960715)
Commentary on Wren s Demon Attack
by Cliff
Eels and lizards & Shopping and driving-
Dream: The Free Gift
by GD (960627 from JR) (see Journeys)
War and Peace-
Dream: The World Had All Agreed
by LM (960627 by JR)
Alien beetles and gunmen-
Dream: Voyage To Jupiter by MarkL
(960720) (see Journeys)
2) SADNESS:
Tears and loneliness-
Dream: The Crying Angel
by Nutcracker (960608)
3) ROMANCE
In the Workplace, At the General Store-
Dream: Making out in the back room
by JesseL (960627)
-LUCID DREAM EXPERIENCES:
Shared lucid dream/precognition ..
Dream: (and reality) by Jason (960
ELECTRIC DREAMS ACCESS INFORMATION
2ND DISCLAIMER
END CONTENTS
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Editor's Notes
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Hello all adult Electric Dreams subscribers! What? Yes, it's
our duty to tell you that if you are not an adult, you had
better ask your parents permission to read further. Or maybe
not. This is one of the many issue with children and dreams
that we are examining this month. And as usual with Electric
Dreams events, the examination is not so much an academic
exercise as a grappling with a issue that will change or
define the nature of our interaction.
Besides the comments and essays and interviews that
Victoria Quinton has coordinated for you, we also have
several Questionnaires & mini questionnaires. If you have
interests in the direction of Electric Dreams or have raised
you children in a dream aware environment, please fill these
out and send'm in.
Victoria has also offered us a multitude of interviews &
Mini-chats this month with dream personages, including
Roberta Ossana, Linton Hutchison, Linda Magallon, Kephrea and
Kelly Bulkeley.
This Year's Association for the Study of Dreams con xiii
was an amazing event in the history of dreams and cyberspace.
The expo is still available for viewing at
http://www.dreamgate.com/asd-13 providing you with a history
and index into cyberdreaming in the sciences, the arts and
dream sharing as well as the fabulous explosion of web sites.
Be sure to check out the scattering of related articles in
this issue. For instance, how would you like to beta text
dream journaling and content analysis software? Drop me a
line.
What kinds of future projects have been generated by the
ASD conference? A couple are the Dream Fountian, a way to
weave dreams thoughtout the know universe and the Dream
History project a joint project proposal to build an online
collected story. We are also learning how to use the new
bulletin boards available online and seeking ASD volunteers
for next years conference in Asheville, North Carolina.
One major issue that came up was whether or not dreams are
too dangerous to share in Cyberspace. What's your opinon on
this? See my article Dangerous Dreams.
Despite the dangers, we are continuing with our Dream
Groups and forums for you to discuss freely your dreams and
ideas and opinions on dreams. See Chris article on the
progress of the Dream Groups.
We are also sensitive to the fact that dreams, like any
personal text, can be mis-used and thereby offer a variety of
educational programs and pointers to other seminars, classes
and programs online. If you are interested in the future
developments on ED and Education, see Chris Hicks plans and
join in building an informed community.
Eulalia has sent the 2nd half of her article on dreams and
magic. Note that the Spanish characters for pre-sentence
question marks are boxes in ASCII.
Another offshoot of the ASD conference was that Peggy
Coats was able to network with more dream concerned people
and provide you with a wonderful Global Dreaming News and
Events Calendar for the Fall of 1996. However, we still want
to hear about events in your regional areas. Read your local
papers and check out the bookstores for events in dreaming
and send them in to Peggy.
Also this month we have an offering from the
Cyber=Dream Pioneer, Dan Cummings - a program for macs that
will work with your dreams and images. Check it out - then
tell us what you think! And while on the topic of software,
Cypress has sent us a summary of their project that was on
demonstration at ASD xiii.
Don't forget that we now have WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL covers
that you can download and use as screen savers or print as
covers for Electric Dreams. Jesse Reklaw has also provided a
gallery where you can get backissue covers, and if you are
feeling particularly inspired, you can illustrate a backissue
yourself. We have dozens still without covers!
http://www.nonDairy.com/ED/covers.html
And be sure to check out Jesse R's Weekly Dream Comic on Slow
Wave
http://www.nonDairy.com/slow/wave.cgi
As a matter of fact, if you feel really creative, how about
putting up your own dream web page? Yes, we will hold this
page for you on the Electric Dreams Web site, contact
Matthew Parry
mettw@newt.phys.unsw.edu.au
And finally, our dream editor, Bob Krumhansl has come upon
a whole new system for organizing the dreams sent in to us.
The organization is natural and self-apparent, but Bob also
gives the full story at the beginning of the Dream Section -
be sure to read the additional Editor's notes there and enjoy
the dreams, dreams, dreams.
Hey, how about we send in our FIRST DREAMS for next issue?
It really feels to me like we have moved into a new channel
and I think that a collection of the communities first dreams
would be, well, simply wonderful.
See you all soon in CyberDreamSpace
Richard Wilkerson
rcwilk@aol.com
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ELECTRIC DREAMS' EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
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Hello to all Electric Dreams subscribers!
A lot of you know me already, but for those who don't I am
Christopher Hicks, Electric Dreams' Education Director. As
part of my role as Education Director I attempt to provide ED
subscribers some assistance in continuing their personal
exploration of the fascinating world of dreams and dreamwork.
Eventually there will be a structured program of suggested
readings, on and off line resources, online dream classes,
reviews of dream related web sites, dream groups, and other
dream related activities. This program will provide a
Dreamwork Map for all, from the curious wanderer to the
experienced dreamworker.
At this time the ED educational program exists in concept
only. Some of the mentioned components, such as dream groups
and lists of dream related web sites, have been around for
some time now. These components, however, are not integrated
as aspects of a comprehensive program yet. To explore what
we do have to offer check out our web site at---
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mettw/edreams/home.html
Your help is needed in developing the details of this
program. In completing the following questionnaire and
returning it to me, you will help to identify what needs to
be included in the program. In addition, I will try to
provide individualized assistance (offering suggestions,
resources, notices of upcoming activities, etc.) until the
educational program is up
and running.
I thank you in advance for your help.
--Christopher Hicks
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DREAMER DERRING-DO
By Taylor Esta Kingsley
copyright 1996
Dreamer,
Return to the dark sleep.
Dreamer,
Dare to dream the dream.
Dreamer,
Leap into other worlds
behind the veil
of your gently closed
eyelids.
Dreamer,
Dance the sacred dance.
Dreamer,
Remember your knowingness.
Dreamer,
Claim your ancient power!
Dreamer,
Return to the dark sleep.
Dreamer,
Dare to dream the dream.
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ELECTRIC DREAMS EDUCATION QUESTIONNAIRE
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*For each question please indicate which venue (email,
newsgroups, and/or
World Wide Web) you would prefer. You may choose one, two,
or all of the
venues.
1. Are you interested in working with your own and/or
others' dreams?
(via email, newsgroups, and/or WWW)
2. Are you interested in joining a dream sharing group?
(via email,
newsgroups, and/or WWW)
3. Are you interested in learning more about dreams as they
appear in
history? (via email, newsgroups, and/or WWW)
4. Are you interested in a detailed look at how past
cultures dealt with
dreams and dreaming? (via email, newsgroups, and/or WWW)
5. Are you interested in a group reading & discussion of a
dream related
book? (via email, newsgroups and/or WWW)
6. Are you interested in learning more about psychological
theories related
to dreams and dreaming? (via email, newsgroups and/or WWW)
7. Are you interested in learning about various dream
working techniques?
(via email, newsgroups and/or WWW)
8. Are you interested in becoming involved in dream related
activities?
(via email, newsgroups and/or WWW)
9. Are you interested in learning about techniques to
improve your dream
recall abilities? (via email, newsgroups and/or WWW)
10. Are you interested in learning more about Lucid
dreaming? (via email,
newsgroups and/or WWW)
11. Are you interested in building your own dream related
web page? (via
email, newsgroups and/or WWW)
12. Would you like to help in some way with the development
and/or running
of some aspect of the education program?
**Note: I welcome all comments, suggestions, and
correspondence whether
covered in the questionnaire or not.
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QUESTION AIRING FORUM
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Victoria Quinton mermaid@daemon.apana.org.au
http://daemon.apana.org.au/~mermaid
share a dream; exchange a thought
School of Thinking:
http://www.mel.aone.net.au/sot/lgstscho.htm
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Question Airing Forum no 3.
Hello everyone
I am sorry not to have been at the ASD conference, but from
accounts across cyberspace, it seems to have been busy and
rewarding.
This issue one of the focuses is Children and Dreaming. I
have a feeling this thread will take on a life of its own,
incorporating issues of censorship and allowing children
individuality in "responsible" surroundings.
I suspect children have much to teach, or remind us about
courtesy of their "dreams".
Since my daughter is 2 1/4 now, I am especially interested in
this topic.
The "Australian Corner" has hidden itself away for an
indefinite time.
Perhaps that may be because dreams and the imagination itself
transcend borders.
mermaid 8*)
==== Lucid Dream Discussions on IRC =====
Some others and I are starting a Lucid
Dreaming discussion channel on DALnet IRC, #Lucidity, we're
still deciding on the meeting times and I'll be posting them
in the alt.dreams.lucid once we've decided them, they look
like they'll either be 9:00pm EDT or 10:00 EDT. If your
interested I can e-mail you times once we've decided them.
The
DALnet home page is http://www.dal.net.
============ Lee Holmes Lucid Dreaming Manual
This is a question to all of you who've looked through the
Lucid Dreamer's Manual which I distributed a while ago. Has
anybody had any positive experiences due to it? Has anybody
found a variation of any of the techniques which seem to be
particularly effective? I'd be interested in hearing your
personal lucid dreaming techniques and favorite pastimes as
well!
>Viel Gluck and Happy Dreaming!
>Lee
holmes@cycor.ca
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Special Dream Airing Forum:
Children, Dreams, and Cyberspace ???
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Could Electric Dreams have a children's section or are we and
adult venue? This is the question that we are exploring and
we invite your response.
We have especially been asking those of you who have
raised your kids in dream conscious environments, how you
handle nightmares and other kinds of dream sharing, at what
age it is appropriate to share what kinds of material.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Re: children and dreams. From Linda Lane Magallon to
Victoria Quinton
Although I did dreamwork with my own children (Vic and
Teresa), it wasn't until 1984-5 when they were 11-12 and 7-8
years old, respectively. Thus, they already had fully
developed language skills.
At first, the dreams they were likely to share were of the
nightmare variety. Nightmares were the ones that propelled
them into their parents' bed in the middle of the night...or
early morning. They were more than willing to talk out that
sort of experience. I took the opportunity to try out
whatever flavor of dreamwork I was learning at the time. This
way we domesticated the aliens and tamed the monsters.
Several dreamwork techniques can be effectively applied to
nightmare resolution. I like the work of my colleagues: Bob
Trowbridge (dreamvoyager@earthlink.net) and Fred Olsen
(dreamtrack@gnn.com). http://www.dreamgate.com/dream/reentry
As I shared my non-titanic dreams, Vic and Teresa eventually
got the idea to talk about dreams that were not troubling.
That's how I learned that we, individually, could have
psychic dreams and, as a family, could experience mutual
dreams.
Except to resolve the nightmares, no one else in my family
has been interested in doing dream interpretation. Rather,
they share dreams as stories...interesting vignettes from the
night time theater of the mind. Teresa now does this on
almost a daily basis. It's part of her telephone
conversations with her friends to report the dream of the
night.
So when you consider children and dreams, please don't stop
at nightmares! That's just an entry point. There's so much
more. My children have experienced flying, lucid, OBEs,
funny, punny dreams. They weren't limited by mundane
expectations of what a dream shoulda oughta be...or by how
"practical" it should be in terms of serving the needs of
waking life.
Sweet dreams,
Linda
http://members.aol.com/caseyflyer/fbnc/fbnc01.htm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A resource: books on Dreams for kids from the Novato Center
for Dreams:
gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:70/00/orgs/iidcc/tools/9
The Novato Center For Dreams Online Site is:
http://members.aol.com/jilgregory/ncd/jillhome.htm
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Interview with Kelly Bulkeley
by Victoria Quinton
VQ: At what age do you consider a child ready to talk about
dreams?
KB: I think children are ready, and eager, to talk about
dreams at a very early age, usually between three and four
years old. The older they get, of course, the more capable
children become of discussing the more detailed, nuanced
dimensions of their dream experiences. But if grown-ups can
make sure to modulate their own comments to match the child's
level of interest and verbal ability, they can have wonderful
conversations about dreams with quite young children.
VQ: Does a child need a certain level of language in order
to discuss dreams?
KB: More important than a child's level of language is the
grown-up's ability to be an empathetic listener. As with any
form of dreamwork, the key is always to stay close to the
dreamer's own experience. With children, this means avoiding
big words and complex sentences, and showing that the
grown-up really understands the feelings the children are
expressing through their dreams.
VQ: What sort of questions could one ask a child about
dreams?
KB: Some of the questions I've found most productive of
interesting conversations are a) basic questions about the
particular details of the given dream--what did the animal
look like, who were the people, what kind of place was it,
etc.; b) questions about how the dream's images relate to any
other stories, videos, etc. the child is familiar with; c)
questions about different possible endings for the dream; and
d) more generally, questions about where the child thinks
dreams come from. I also think it's very fun and interesting
for grown-ups to share their *own* dreams with children.
Besides showing the children that the grown-ups trust them
enough to share their own dreams, this practice can also give
the grown-ups some surprisingly sharp insights into their
dreams!
VQ: What resources do you know of to deal with nightmares or
night terrors?
KB: Night terrors are not, strictly speaking, dreams at all;
they are considered disorders of arousal. Most children have
night terrors every once in a while, so there's nothing
parents need do other than comfort the child when the night
terrors occur. (Although if the terrors persist, a doctor
should be consulted.) Regarding nightmares, Ann Sayre
Wiseman's book "Nightmare Help" can be of some use, as can
children's books like "There's a Nightmare in My Closet" by
Mercer Mayer and "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice
Sendak. I've found that reading children story books about
dreams can be one of the best ways to help them reflect on
and talk about their own dream experiences. Alan Siegel and
I are currently working on a book, tentatively titled "The
Dream Catcher's Workbook," which we hope will provide parents
and children with the most up-to-date information on how to
understand children's dreams and nightmares.
VQ: Does a child need to be a certain age/ developmental
level to differentiate nightmares from "dreams"?
KB: . Pretty early on, children make their own
distinctions, their own "typologies" of dreams--they'll
discriminate their good dreams from their bad dreams, their
funny dreams, and their weird dreams. In discussing dreams
with children it's very important to let them express *their*
experiences first, before imposing adult theoretical grids
onto their dreams.
Well, there you go! I hope that's the sort of thing you
were looking for. Please let me know if there's anything else
I can do to help you with this. Take care,
Kelly
Kelly Bulkeley received his Ph.D from the University of
Chicago Divinity school and his M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity
School. He is the author of _the Wilderness of Dreams:
Exploring the Religious meanings of Dreams in Modern Western
Culture, Spiritual Dreaming, a Cross-cultural and Historical
Journey and numerous other articles in _Dreaming _ and other
Journals. His activity in ASD and other dream venues is
extensive, and he is currently teaching at the Graduate
Theological Union in Berkeley, and is the Chair of the ASD
board of Directors.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No to children's section on ED
For the record, I can't see the ezine catering to children
and keeping the openness and frankness that adolescent/adult
dreams demonstrate and deserve. This goes mainly for the
dream content and the dream commentary. Tailoring both to
children would be an impossible task to accomplish while
still preserving the original spirit. As suggested by
Nutcracker, perhaps someone else could take on a project for
a "Children's Edition - Ezine" or perhaps it could be a
separate ED project. There are several books directed
specifically at children and their dreams written at a childs
level.
However, dealing with childrens dreams from an adult
perspective, from a parents perspective, would be very
helpful to all parents of younger children and the theme
should be followed and very much a part of ED. A special
focus issue at least once a year, and a regular
column/section if we find a spokesperson (Victoria?) would be
very appropriate.
As far as the Web Page goes, I think that ultimately we
should identify our Web Site "for adults only" for purposes
of those browsers which filter out sites from the younger set
- just to be on the safe side from the witch-hunters of the
Internet. Jeepers, there are some adults that think our
project is a ticking bomb for vulnerable adults. Perhaps at
some future date a "Kid's Corner" could be developed and
maintained open to anyone. This solution allows the site to
be flagged for those wishing to limit their children viewing,
and would place us on the record as identifying that some
topics discussed are controversial. Many themes (sexuality,
violence, and belief systems) touched by dreams, commentary,
and even some articles could be misinterpreted by narrow
minded adults very easily. I can imagine some off-balance
person stating "I read it in Electric Dreams or the Electric
Dreams Web Page and I thought I'd bring it to reality." Very
wishful thinking, but the danger is potentially there.
Bob K.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Dangers of A Children's section on ED
Since I already feel that Electric Dreams is dangerous and I
don't like what it does with dreams for adults, I can only
double this for children. We have known for a long time in
the dream field that it is wrong and dangerous to tell other
people what their dreams mean. This practice undermines the
person's ability and inner authority in making decisions for
themselves. Even this so called modified "Ullman" technique
you all use on Electric Dreams does not completely protect
the dreamer from other people's manipulation and wild
projections. Please, not only would I ask you to not
interpret children's dreams nor encourage them to do so in
any way, but I would like to see you stop this practice with
adults as well.
Dream Friend
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hi all,
Here's my .02 worth:
I say keep it adult with maybe articles pertaining to
kids/dreams several times a year (if warranted).
If someone else out there wants to start a kids ezine, let
them do it.
Nutcracker
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
About Children's Dreams:
1. I would really like to read some *actual* children's
dreams as recorded by their parents. If anyone with
children could take the time to do this, I think it would
be vary interesting. (Most of the "children's dreams" i
read are quick paraphrasings. Are children's dreams really
not much more than that?)
2. At ASD 13 I saw a presentation by Denyse Beaudet, Ph. D.
called "The Dream Monster Swallowed Me All Up: a dream
pattern across childhood and adulthood." I found this paper
very informative. Perhaps someone could interview Dr.
Beaudet? Or maybe someone could write a summary of her
paper (alas, I didn't take very good notes, otherwise I'd
volunteer). I have the abstract though, if anyone is
interested.
+jesse
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A Survey of a Dream aware family in San Jose
ED Web could have a Children's section providing a rating
like pg-13 is a good idea. We suggest you send a mesage to
parents that we are sensitive to the implications of our
material, such as nightmare inducing dreams or sexually
explicit or violence. Also the message to dreamer to self
regulate their submissions to alert them that this is a
general public board and not just for adults.
The idea of having different age group pages doesn't appeal
to us - just - kids and not for kids.
San Jose, CA 1996
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"ZACH'S DREAMS"
I have a son, Zach. He is eleven months old now. I
cannot help but wonder if he dreams. I have my suspicions
that he does. I have only a father's watchful observances to
base this on--the small movements of his eyes while asleep;
the swinging of his little arms, as if to ward off some
nap-time annoyance. To be honest, my suspicions are rooted
more in a father's intuition than on anything else.
Whether he does dream or not, I know that he *will*
dream! And I anxiously ,await the day when he and I, son and
father, can sit and share the wondrous images of the previous
night's dreams. I recall some of my own childhood dreams,
filled with super heros and cartoon characters. I can also
recall some frightening images as well, from those childhood
dreams. Again, I look forward to the day when I can
sit/stand/kneel/lie with Zach and help him to work through
any frightening Dreamtime experiences!
Of course, the dreams of a child are precious, as are
those of all of us. But with children, it seems to me, the
important difference comes in the approach, or technique
used. Should a parent sit down with their child and use a
technique like the modified Ullman technique used in the
Dream Wheel
dream groups, where the dreamer is asked clarification
questions before the dream is taken as if it were the
commentors'? I don't think so. I tend to agree with
Linton Hutchinson in this area (I admit that I know only a
little of his approach in this area--Thank you Victoria for
bringing this much to my attention). Children like to play
and be active. It only follows that they would enjoy acting
out there dreams and working with them in an active way. A
small child is probably not going to enjoy, nor benefit from
an in-depth discussion of the symbolic appearance of the
Trickster Archetype in there dream. But, they might have fun
playing a game with Mom or Dad, where they get to *be* the
Trickster!
I don't see how we can ignore our children's dreams!
Nor do I think we should try to do so. Some might warn of
the dangers of working with adult dreams in a non-therapeutic
setting. These same persons might feel even more strongly
against working with children's dreams. I do not agree. We
see books for children that help them to learn about their
faces, hands, feet, and the world around them. Although they
can be embarrassing, we do not restrict the discussion of
anatomy and sexuality to a therapeutic setting. If a little
boy or girl starts asking Mom and Dad questions at bath time
they are answered, albeit carefully. So, why should dreams
be any different?
I plan to be very open, supportive and encouraging of
Zach when he begins to speak and share dream images, and
later full dreams! I won't try to use his dreams as
diagnostic analogies to his life. But, I will share his joy
and wonder at a mysterious and surreal realm that comes to
life each night.
I will offer support and assistance to whatever degree he is
interested, just as I would with any other area of his life.
My son has a face (complete with a nose, eyes and mouth). My
son has two arms and two legs.
Just as I will play silly little games to teach him to
identify these and learn what they can do, so too will I play
games with him to help him learn about Dreamtime!!!
--Christopher Hicks
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think Electric Dreams should have a kids corner. When I
was two years old I dreamt I was flying. The dream was so
real that I still remember it vividly.
In fact that dream is my oldest memory .
My dream:
The early morning son has begun to shine in my room. My
adventure into dream land is just about done. I'm standing
in my crib watching myself fly around my room. I didn't want
to land, but I knew that I had to. When I woke I was
standing in my crib in the same position.
My four year old son lost his father this past winter, and he
had a dream
about him.
Blake's dream:
Mommy, I dreamt I saw Daddy he was wearing a long black cape
and a mask. He
wanted to hug me, and I was scared. When he hugged me he
turned to stone
I would also like to share a poem I wrote about dreams.
Dream
Dream, dream, tell me so the secrets of my very soul.
Oh dream of magic sleep fill my mind with the answers I seek.
For my heart needs to know the secrets of my very soul.
Dream, dream, of innard light shead your tourch of insight
into my wakeing
mind
Oh set me free my sweet, sweet, dream of mine...
Do you know anything about Carl Jung? He has a lot of ideas
about dreaming and the human pyche. Let me know if you do,
because if you do not I could fill you in. I think dreaming
is an important step in understanding the unconscious mind!
Jennifer Wood
++++++++++++++++++++
Jennifer - cool idea, I think we should have a focus next
issue on "First Dreams"!
-R
++++++++++++++++++++
Michael Schredl schredl@as200.zi-mannheim.de
Dear Victoria Quinton,
In Electric Dreams Vol. 3 No. 5 you write about children and
nightmares. I recently finished a study which might be
interesting. I enclosed a summary of an article I had
submitted to DREAMING (Journal of ASD). Although I had no
personal or practical experiences with children having
nightmares the scientific viewpoint may be valuable.
Abstract of "Anxiety dreams in school-aged children"
Authors: Michael Schredl, Ruth Pallmer and Alyaa Montasser
Institurion: Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim,
Germany
Postal address:
Dipl. Psych. M. Schredl, sleep laboratory, Zentralinstitut
fr Seelische
Gesundheit, Postfach 12 21 20, 68072 Mannheim, Germany
The article shortly reviews the literature on nightmare
frequency, nightmare content and possible causes of
childrenÆs nightmares. The empirical study was designed to
test three hypotheses: firstly, anxiety dream frequency as
related to trait anxiety; secondly, the most common theme of
nightmares being äBeing Chasedô. Thirdly, assuming continuity
between dreaming and waking life, it has been hypothesized
that specific dream themes are related to anxiety experienced
in waking-state, e. g. examination dreams as a result of
examination anxiety or realistic threats in dreams a product
of general anxiety. A sample of 624 children (10 - 16 yrs.)
was investigated by means of two questionnaires (a
questionnaire about bad dreams and an anxiety inventory)
whereby all hypotheses were confirmed by the results.
Longitudinal studies would serve as potential valuable tool
to clarify the relationship between waking life and
anxiety-laden dream content. In addition, it seems to be
useful to inform parents, child caretakers, teachers and
children about the simple methods in dealing with nightmares.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Questions to Linton Hutchison from Victoria Quinton
1/ At what age do you consider a child ready to talk about
dreams?
Since Beck and I share dreams every morning, it made sense to
include Sterling in the process. For a long time Sterling
being younger, didn't really know what dreams were but though
Beck and I were just telling stories to each other. She
wanted to join in so she made up her dreams which were just
bits and pieces of stories or things that had happen to her
that she remembered.
What was important was establishing the pattern and not
necessary her reporting of her dreams. I would start
including your children in this dream process as soon as
possible. I think that Sterling was around 5 or 6 before she
first realized what dreams were.
Another inclusion we used was in conjunction with our dream
group work with other people in the community. The girls
would come to dream group and be the first ones to share a
dream with all the usual fuss and positive regard that
performing in front of a group can bring to a small child.
Then off to bed after the group members would ask a few
questions about their dreams.
2/ Does a child need a certain level of language in
order to discuss dreams?
Children seem to understand the feeling tone of the dream
rather than the symbolic meaning contained in the pictorial
icon represented by the dream. It seemed that a lot of early
dreams contained a one-to-one correspondence between waking
and dreaming realities. Interactions that were worked out in
the dream seemed to be in relationship to animals quite a bit
as well. Using a more playtherapy approach where action and
movement is substituted for words seems to be a more
effective method to working with childrens dreams. Words for
children seem to get in the way when they can act out the
dream, or paint the dream or use figures to get to the
feeling tone of the dream experience.
3/ What sort of questions could one ask a child about
dreams?
Again I think that I would use more play than questions in a
non-directive approach to having children work (play) with
the dream images they remember. It seems that children would
rather "act" than reflect on an experience that happen during
the night. When eating seems to be a waste of time for most
children, recalling and answering questions about a dream is
going to be a close second to trying to get them in bed or
take a nap. If you incorporate the dream experience into a
game, a painting, a drama or other activity that contains a
little more life than asking questions, the experience will
be rewarding for the child and encourage them to continue to
report dreams in the future.
Asking questions about the creation that the child is
involved in can be beneficial to the child but only as a
secondary function for working with the dream. How do you
feel when you see yourself in your picture? If you could draw
this dream again, what might you create to make you feel
safe?
Using more open ended questions How (process) what (persons)
when (time)may allow for a deeper exploration as long as it
doesn't interfere with the process that already is in place.
You might want to stay away from WHY questions - most WHY
questions are asked by parents when the child has done
something wrong and will normally evoke a shutting down of
communication rather than facilitating it.
4/ What resources do you know of to deal with
nightmares or night terrors?
Two books that are great for working with children's dream
Deputizing Children's Dreams by Katherine West and Nightmare
Help by Anne Sayre Wiseman who was at the ASD conference.
Beck and I have been putting material together on Children's
Dreams and should have something out next year.
5/ Does a child need to be a certain age/
developmental level to differentiate nightmares from
"dreams"?
The categories that our children have regarding dreams are no
dreams, good dream, and bad dreams. We try to give them the
idea that if they don't remember their dream in the morning
chances are if they look for it, they will find it somewhere
during the day. And sure enough, more times than not, an
event or situation will present itself during the day that
triggers something about their dream. The good dreams are
usually dreams that have a positive feeling associated with
it; they have won a race, helped someone, sang a song etc....
The bad dreams have some type of challenge that is unresolved
that is some buried trauma or unfinished business associated
with it. We usually reenter these dreams and rescript those
dreams using helpers if the dreams too scary or creating ways
of
self-protection i.e., being invisible, being able to create
millions of armies, becoming bionic etc.... After Sterling
has usually killed, stomped, hit or defeated this enemy, we
work on rescripting, including some type of dialogue or
finding out just what this enemy wanted or perhaps had to
give. When the child starts a dialogue and communicates with
the enemy, a deeper recognition of what's really going on
sometimes
emerges.
Linton Hutchinson, Ph.D.
Webster University
Altamonte Springs, Fl
hutchib@iag.net
+++++++++++++++++++
Dream: NO SUN
In an expansive suburban back yard, Theo (my 3 year old son)
and I walk into a doghouse and sit down. It is really very
large, more like a shed, and empty except for a bench. I sit
on the bench, in the corner, and Theo crouches down on the
dirt ground between my feet and legs. Facing the only
doorway, I notice the contrast of the dark, empty, colorless
interior that frames the brightness and many colors of green
that are across the yards. I know I am looking across many
yards. As I am looking out I hear/feel a sound, a whirling,
pulsing sound, like a boomerang, coming up from behind the
doghouse. I have no idea what it is and as it approaches
overhead I freeze in fear. I am in the corner, my arms are
outstretched to the side, my legs are somewhat open, my son's
head is down--he is pre-occupied with something on the
ground. I feel vulnerable in this open position and know that
I must lean forward and cover and protect Theo with my body
but I am terrified and cannot move. Suddenly all light turns
to darkness. We are sitting there in complete blackness and I
know that there is no longer a sun, there is no reflective
light, no possibility of light. I realize that this is what
is meant by "In the beginning there was a darkness that
covered the world."
Commentary by BobK:
If this were my dream, I would feel distanced from my
neighborhood and environment. I am close to my 3 year old son
in a nurturing and protective way, but we are isolated from
the rest of the world. We are in a "doghouse" together (A
bare-bones environment? Is it for misbehaving or did we enter
in the spirit of exploration?). While there, our isolation
becomes complete as darkness encompasses us completely. It's
just him and me, in our own world, on our own. I sense the
end of sunlight, the end of an era - it's terrifying and sad.
How will I adapt to the new darkness? Perhaps someone can
shed some light on this situation! How about YOU? Help!!
Please!!!
+++++++++++++++++++++
There seems to be some trends appearing in all the above
comments.
-- Parents would like to have more information about dealing
with dreams and kids.
-- Whatever we do with the Web site, the E-zine should remain
for adults. Just who adults/children are is unclear. If
Linton & Linda M. are correct, the verbal/written textual
nature of the E-zine is not of particular interest to kids
anyway.
-- Having a place to post children's dreams for adults to
read may be a possibility.
-- Split on the Web, though most don't want to censor the web
site - if anything it would be a special children's corner.
RCW
+++++++++++++++++++++
Lost comments and Rating systems
If your comments on this topic were not published, it was an
error on the part of the editor, not a judgement on your
comments. Please resend if they did not show up.
One set of comments I left out were the exchange of ideas
from the last Electric Dreams Staff meeting, where the idea
first came up around the new Web Rating systems that are now
appearing, SafeSurf being the main model.
http://www.safesurf.com
Also, see
http://www.surfwatch.com/
http://www.microsys.com/CYBER/
If you get a chance, for the next issue please stop by one or
more of these site and tell us how you would rate:
1. The overall Electric Dreams Homepage on the Web.
2. The Electric Dreams Ezine, this issue.
3. The last DreamWheel or dream group you were in.
Send those ratings to Richard Wilkerson at
rcwilk@aol.com
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D R E A M G R O U P UPDATE
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This is the first of what will now be a regularly
appearing column in each issue of Electric Dreams. Its
purpose is to update and inform everyone of how the Dream
Wheels are going. This is especially important in this time
of rapid growth and continued development of the Dream Wheel
groups!!!
DREAM WHEEL IN A NUTSHELL
For those who are not familiar with the Dream Wheel dream
sharing groups here is a short description of what they are
and how they work.
Dreams are submitted. A dream(s) is chosen by random process
and distributed to the entire group. Group members ask
*clarification*questions of the dreamer, who then has an
opportunity to respond. Once all the questions and answers
have been sent group members comment on the dream using a
modified version of the Ullman "If this were my dream..."
technique. The process and techniques used support and
encourage a non-threatening environment that often leads
insights and positive growth for both the dreamers and the
commentators!
EMAIL DREAM WHEELS
The current email Dream Wheel (Dream Wheel 10) is just
wrapping up as this issue of Electric Dreams is being
distributed. This Dream Wheel has four dreams running. The
number of dreams in a group varies, but is usually between
two and five; occasionally there are more or less than this
average. At just about the midway point of this Dream Wheel
I had to take a few days away from my computer so I turned
the movement of the group over to the group members. Usually
the moderator, myself in this case, sends messages to the
group when it is time to move from one phase to another. The
Dream Wheel kept rolling while its moderator was away! In
fact, throughout the group I have been impressed with the
caring and supportive attitudes and actions of the group
members. Several times a member sent email to the group with
a question about the process, or a misplaced email containing
important questions or answers. Always, within a day that
same person would send out a "thank you" to all the group
members who responded! And, I am pleased to say, that the
group is just as caring and supportive in working with the
dreams. There is a palpable sense of this group's
cohesiveness. Dream Wheel 10 is not just a bunch of people
emailing each other about dreams. It is a group of people
that share an interest in dreams and a belief that working
with dreams can bring about positive growth and a better
understanding of one's self. I have sensed this sort of
thing in past groups and it seems to be growing stronger with
each new Dream Wheel!
WWW DREAM WHEELS
The Dream Wheels on the World Wide Web are a very new thing.
In fact, the July Dream Wheel is only the third group run in
this venue. Currently we are only running Dream Wheels at
Beck and Linton Hutchinson's Dream Link Web site (many thanks
to the Hutchinson's for allowing us to use their site). The
July Dream Link Dream Wheel is nearing the point where it
will enter the Comment Phase. Like the email Dream Wheel
groups, this group uses the modified Ullman "If this were my
dream..." technique. The process of how the dreams,
questions, answers, and commentaries are communicated to the
group is different. The dreamers and participants in these
new WWW Dream Wheels have been very understanding as changes
have been made in the instructions. The same
non-threatening, supportive environment has carried over onto
the Web with us. The dreamer, who provided the dream for the
current Dream Wheel has commented on how much insight can be
gained just from answering the questions of the other
participants--not to mention reading the commentaries!
Check out the July Dream Wheel on Dream Link at:
http://www.iag.net/~hutchib/.dream/
click on Dream Wheel from the main page for instructions on
how to find the group!
THE FUTURE OF DREAM WHEELS
There are many exciting things coming in the future of the
Dream Wheel groups! In addition to the email and WWW groups,
there will be other new venues, such as newsgroups and
bulletin boards, and even live chat groups coming soon!!! We
are also planning to start some smaller, un-moderated groups
very soon.
HOW DO I GET MORE INFORMATION ON JOINING THESE GROUPS?
If you want to join, or want more information on any of the
Dream Wheels simply email me, Chris Hicks, at:
shadow45@netonecom.net
Here's an example of how easy it is:
"Hi Chris I would like more info on the email Dream Wheels!"
or WWW Dream Wheels, or un-moderated Dream Wheels.
This is an exciting time of growth and development for the
Dream Wheel groups. Everyone is welcome in our groups
whether you choose to be an active member or "lurk" for a
while to see how the group works. Come and join us!!!
--Christopher Hicks
Education Director
DREAMS, DREAMS, AND MORE DREAMS!!!
Oh yes, I almost forgot--Dreams! We always need dreams to
use for our groups. This is especially true now as both the
email and the Web groups are nearing completion. If you have
a dream(s) that you would like to submit send them to me at:
shadow45@netonecom.net
Please include a short title for each dream and let me know
what pen name you would like to use.
===================
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Interview with Roberta Ossana
by Victoria Quinton
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VQ: Who is the intended audience for Dream Network?
RO: When I first took responsibility for the publication,
it was my impression that many of readers were lay and
professional dreamworkers and/or people already committed
to valuing their dreams. Given there had been a fair
amount of time for networking/information sharing among the
'core' readers, we felt -- since we all dream every night
-- that it was time to prepare the publication to meet the
general public. We have since that time published a
combination of scholarly, well referenced articles as well
as experiential/heart sharing articles written by dreamers
like you and I. Response we have received, continually,
since attempting to span that distance has been very
enthusiastic: something for all dreamers!
We are selling quite well at the bookstores we reach through
our distributors, which indicates a receptive lay
readership; many of the 'core' readers are still
contributing/with us and there is always excitement in the
letters of new readers who, through word of mouth or 'on the
newsstand' have found us. One of our goals is to raise
individual and cultural appreciation for the value of dreams
and -- since we do all dream
-- it would seem a simple and direct answer to your question
is a 'general audience.'
VQ: Was there a dream you had that inspired you to
join Dream Network?
RO: Yes. It was a precognitive dream that had me in the
summer of 1975. It was like a full length extravaganza...
full color, light and sound.
An incredible experience! I had no idea what had just
happened... but intuitively knew that it was significant,
important. It was the first dream I ever recorded... and I
did so with most dreams that followed. This enhanced my
dreaming life considerably! I began asking questions,
searching out whatever I could get my hands on related to
dreams. Several years after that summer of '75 dream, the
mayor of our town, Port Townsend, WA., put a notice in the
local paper asking if there was anyone out there who would
be interested in coordinating an event for the 35th
anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter.
There were other reasons, which I won't go into
here, which compelled me to call together a group of
colleagues for the purpose of brainstorming ideas about
what we might do for this occasion in our village. The
ideas that were springing forth from everyone's creative
minds brought to mind vivid images from the dream. I
mentioned this to the
group and in less than a split second, on man said, "Well,
we've got to do it then!" So, we each took a piece of the
work away from that meeting and pulled together a full day
and into the evening event. I can only say that the event
itself, the experience, was walking the intersection where
dream reality meets with everyday experience. It was like
walking through the dream, step by step. Virtually nothing
was missing. There was a moment of silence which everyone
gathered was asked to observe to contemplate/pray for world
peace. In that moment of silence, my destiny was sealed. I
knew this is the path I would pursue.
VQ: What would be your initial advice to those
starting out with their own "dream work."
RO: In a way, I was forced to adopt the term, dream work...
as it was well established by the time I became
publisher/editor of the Dream Network Journal. I would
rather answer the question
"...... initial advice to those starting to awaken to the
value and importance of their dreams." Also, I would prefer
to suggest, rather than advise.
May I? I would suggest it takes time. It is a subtle art.
Not a quick-fix remedy for whatever ails or troubles one. I
would encourage that individual to record and contemplate on
their remembered dreams. To begin sharing their dreams
with someone they trust.... whether there is an attempt to
understand the meaning of the dream or not. If nothing more
than for enjoying the sheer genius and beauty of the
imagery and story. Certainly, setting aside time especially
for dreamsharing, such as
in a dream group, is beneficial and would be encouraged. I
would suggest that they begin to give dreams a respected
place in their life. Read good books on the subject. Begin
familiarizing themselves with the subtleties of symbol and
metaphor.
Realize that any given dream may yield its purpose and/or
meaning in layers, over time. Sometimes it takes years before
the full depth of meaning surfaces. I would say it becomes a
way of life, the symbolic life dancing and interfacing with
synchronicities... and that from this dance new paths are
revealed, new ways of viewing our lives and paths. I would
caution them to be prepared for a sometimes perilous,
painful and often joyous journey. Our culture is not rooted
in truth. Our dreams are. These are some of the things
I've learned that I would want to share.
Now, of course, if this person were to have approached me
in line at the post office or grocery store, which often
happens,. I would say perhaps only one of these things.... or
suggest the Dream Network and/o r a good book!
VQ: Have you learned more about "dreams" from books or
word of mouth?
RO: I've learned more about dreams from dreams.... than I
have from books or word or mouth.
DreamsKey@sisna.com
Website: http:\\www.hmtp.com/new/dream/dream.html
Voice Mail (801) 461-9003/Subscriptions 800-861-3732
PO Box 1026
Moab, UT 84532
"Encouraging individual & cultural appreciation for
the value of dreams and mythology."
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The Dream Map
Store & Record Dreams on Mac
Daniel Cummings windeatr@sirius.com
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------
The Dream Map is a database to help you record and store your
dreams. Dreams can be typed into the database along with the
date and the title of the dream. However, there is a big
difference between the Dream Map and an ordinary text only
database. The Dream Map uses a hybrid text and graphical data
entry method to assist the dreamer in understanding the
dream. The Dream Map consists of five "filters" or "layers"
through which you can categorize, expand and explore the
dream content. These layers put dream content analysis
methods into a graphical, interactive form. The dreamer
explores the Spaces in the dream, the Characters in the
dream, the
Artifacts in the dream, the Moods in the dream, and the
Insights or messages from the dream. The combination of
graphical layers and icon placements allows you to record and
see interesting aspects of one dream or emerging patterns in
many dreams.
This version of the program is a single user version. The
next version will be networked, allowing many dreamers to see
their dreams arranged on the map alongside others on the net.
The present system allows for 28 dreams to be recorded at a
time.
Dream Map does not *interpret* dreams, it serves as a helpful
tool to *explore* dreams.
The application works with a Power Macintosh or a 68k
Macintosh and needs about 4
Megs of free ram to run.
Details and a demo version for downloading can be found at
the dreamMap webpage.
http://www.itp.tsoa.nyu.edu/~windeatr/dreamMap.html
Here you will also find a link to other computed dream
projects happening at the dreamMosaic.
Enjoy!
Daniel Cummings windeatr@sirius.com
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Unlocking the Secrets of Your Dreams
by Jayne Gackenbach
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-------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Unlocking the Secrets of Your Dreams is a noncredit
introductory course that is delivered on the World Wide Web.
The course consists of five lessons which teach you to
interpret and work with your own dreams, both alone and in an
electronic group session. Each lesson is accompanied by an
assignment where you will put what you have learned into
practice, and answer a questionnaire about your dream
experiences. You will receive feedback on the completed
assignment the following week. Throughout the course you will
have access to a student bulletin board where you can share
your ideas and impressions about dreams with others enrolled
in the class as well as an active dialogue with the
author/instructor, Jayne Gackenbach.
Here are some comments from students who have taken the
course: I think this must be an Herculean effort on your
part, and it is appreciated. I am finding it interesting and
challenging. As with the rest of your feedback, I find it
FASCINATING and am already imagining ways to adjust my
clinical
work from it's influence. Everthing looks great! Very nice
graphics - touches that part of dreaming that is marvelous
and wonderful. I find your comments and students' feedback
help me to understand better. Once a path of communication is
established, who knows where it can lead and that's
exciting, if a little scary...
[*******************]
Lesson 1 - Introduction to Dreaming
The first lesson presents some basic information about the
importance of dreams, the physiology of sleep and dreaming,
and techniques for enhancing the recall of dreams.
Lesson 2 - What Do Most People Dream About?
Have you ever wondered if other people dream about the same
things as you? This lesson will look at the content of
typical dreams.
Lesson 3 - Dream Work Tools and Techniques
Lesson 3 discusses the language of dreams, and explores
techniques for examining and understanding their meaning.
Lesson 4 - Dream Connectedness
Are dreams just a personal experience or do they have a
broader context? This lesson explores the way our dreams
connect to the world around us, and the effect that culture
has on our attitudes toward them.
[Image]Lesson 5 - Selected Topics
This lesson covers a variety of topics related to dreaming
including nightmares, children's dreams, psychic dreams, and
the effects of health on dreams.
About the Course Author/Instructor
Jayne Gackenbach is highly respected in the field of dream
research. She holds a Ph.D. in general experimental
psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a
past-president of the Association for the Study of Dreams.
She currently manages ASD's web site
(http://www.outreach.org/gmcc/asd). She has been the keynote
speaker at many conferences, lectured at the Smithsonian
Institute, and was invited to present her work on lucid
dreams to the Dalai Lama in India.
She is the editor/author of five books, including "Conscious
Mind, Sleeping Brain: Perspectives on Lucid Dreaming" with
Stephen LaBerge, and more than seventy articles which have
been appeared in both scholarly journals such as "The Journal
of Mind and Behavior" and popular national magazines
including "Psychology Today" and "OMNI". In addition, she has
appeared on Donahue, Shirley, Man Alive, and other television
programs in the U.S. and Canada.
Most recently she has been working with a Cree dream shaman
to study the dreaming practices and attitudes of Native
people. Dr. Gackenbach teaches at Grant MacEwan Community
College.
Dr. Gackenbach draws on her work on higher states of
consciousness/lucid dreaming and her understanding of Central
Alberta Cree dream practices to illustrate many of the
concepts in the course.
Lesson one will be available on-line Mid-
August. You will have
one week to complete each lesson and submit the assignment
before you are given access to the next lesson and
assignment. Enrollment is limited so please register soon.
The course runs for six weeks (one lesson/assignment takes
two weeks) beginning the middle of August, 1996. This $129
value is being offered at a low introductory price of $39
(US currency) $49 (Canadian currency) . JB.
To Register:
Internet Dream Course: http://www.outreach.org/dreams
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Dream like contact with magic
by Eulalia
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Part I : Please Fix It is in ED(3)5
A Spanish version of this article is available
at:
http://www.dreamgate.com/dream/eulalia/eulalia.htm
From Barcelona... Part II.
Eulalia
Entering into the transpersonal stage means to extend our
conscience border beyond the skin. Everybody has the
experience of some oneiric premonition in a way. Who didnÆt
know a ôdeja vuö situation? Many people can tell stories
about these subjects. Space and time barriers are lighter in
dreams. Once I dreamt I was watching on TV a new about an
earthquake in the Aegean Sea. Two days after I forgot the
dream already. I read in a newspaper that actually the
earthquake in the Aegean Sea happened but two hours later
than my dream. There are magic characters in dreams also. I
have been visited for three flying ladies for many years. Of
course, you can think I am crazy (may be), but I know them
and they use to teach me, counsel me, enjoy with me and sing
all together. The only thing is that they can be people or
birds but it doesnÆt matter to me such a insignificant
detail. Are they fruit of my subconscious? Are they angels?
Are they outcome of my neural chemistry?... They are. It is
enough for me
Dream like spiritual initiation
The great question always has been: Who I am? This is the
ancient meaning of the Zen word Koan.
All the mystic schools taught and teach about the true I. To
discover ourselves like spring and creators of oneiric
universe (specially in lucid dreams) could be the first step
towards a superior comprehension of reality. In Zen there
are koans about
enlightened dreams and it is recommended to
continue with attention in the practice inside the sleep.
Stephen Laberge explains the way Tibetan Buddhism and Sufism
work with dreams. Minoic Civilization in the Mediterranean
Sea, 4000 years ago, had a very interesting ceremony named
ôIncubation of dreamsö based in a beautiful legend of the
Egyptian Goddess Isis. Everywhere, everytime man and woman
related dreams with death and spirituality.
Sometimes in my dreams the Ineffable takes shape and appears
like the Sea.
I want to finish this little article with a sentence of
Al-Halla, the great poet and mistic sufi: "Go to tell my
friends that I shipped towards the Great Sea and my boat is
breaking upö
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ASD XIII and Cyberspace
By Richard Wilkerson
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The Association for the Study of Dreams conference XIII in
Berkeley California was the largest ASD conference ever and
people were turned away at about 500 participants. Another
novelty of the conference was that for the first time ASD
made plans and funded a special computer and dreaming
exhibit, featuring not only program demonstrations by
individual developers, but the collective & individual
projects concerning dreams on the Net.
For four days the Communal Dreaming Room was a networker's
paradise. Not only did we have 2 IBM PC and a MAC for
everyone to play with, but a half dozen other computers and
laptops that folks brought in to display and exhibit their
wares and communities.
At other times and places I will be reviewing the
individual programs and projects, here I just wanted to give
a summary and pass on the general feeling of excitement I
felt that comes with the opening to a new horizon.
In the mornings we had presentations , panels & classes.
Those on the net may feel that this is now all part of a
daily routine, but there are still many who haven't a clue as
to what is going on. The gap is lessening between pioneers
and the general public, but not as much as I had expected and
there is still a great deal of work & education to be done at
the front gate. One of the things I have learned is that just
because we are all in a general cooperative spirit doesn't
mean we are all in the same community. I originally felt that
the Web would be a place where distributed resources would
allow for a collective holding of shared material freeing the
individual to pursue his or her own unique identity. In other
words, we would each hold on our site a piece of the
collective info, but focus on what makes us unique. Electric
Dreams is like this, and I thought the rest of Cyberspace
would be too. Not so. Individuals need and want cyber real-
estate. I don't want to judge this, just recognize that while
each person may share some distributed info & we also seem to
need a place we can call our own. To address this, I am
suggesting a collective project - That we get all interested
parties together and *share* a web spot where we create the
History of Dreams and Dreaming Site. This would be a site
that was co-owned and would grow from interest more than
planning and dictates. Those who are interested would
contribute. If you are interested in this project, drop me a
line.
Another oversight on my part on planning this ASD event
was that I somehow didn't realize until too late that this
was really the first International Meeting of Cyber-Dream
Pioneers, and never called an official meeting. Perhaps,
like cyberspace itself, its best to just let events happen.
It was wonderful to see so many of the people I had only
known online face-to-face. But I would also like to thank the
many, many folks who helped put this event together. I have
built an acknowledgement page especially for you that will go
down in the history of cyberspace and dreaming. (See the ASD
XIII confernence site for the Acknowledgement page)
For those of you who like to experiment with new
programs, there were several products being demonstrated, at
various stages of development, and they were all interested
in having beta testers. Bjo Ashwill has a wonderful content
analysis program that will be available. John Gallagher &
David Hochman are developing a national dream registry and
will eventually be able to develop dream weather reports for
researchers. There were several dream journaling and
interpretive assistance programs, including the work of Sarah
Richards, Timothy Tate and Cypress Inc - see reviews below.
If you are interested in being a beta tester, drop me a line
an I will send you name along. rcwilk@aol.com
Another way to summarize the events. Please feel free to
still visit the Conference XIII Education and Index Page.
This site will remain up for another month and has wonderful
summaries of & links to online dream resources in dreams and
art, dreams and research, dreams and dreamwork and the many
other online dream inventions, venues and weboramas.
http://www.dreamgate.com/asd-13
Next year the ASD Conference will be in Asheville, NC and
I won't be able to attend - so if someone is feeling
adventurous - Robert Gongloff could use some volunteers to
put together a computer expo for that meeting.. It is at a
college, so there should be some facilities already there.
What I want to know is, when will we have the first
International Cyber Dreaming Conference?
-Richard Wilkerson
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Interview with Kephrea
by Victoria Quinton
May 1996
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VQ Hi Khephera
How did you come to be called Khephera?
Kh It came about very recently, actually. Since my
becoming Wiccan, I had been using the name Aaron Jason (which
should have been my real first and middle names), but it has
since become my real name, as it were. Sooner or later I'll
be changing my name legally to Aaron Jason Leitch.
So, I suppose that left a need for a Magickal Name.
Something to be used only for Ritual purposes, and Priestly
actions (such as most of my correspondence on the Nets).
About half a year ago, I purchased a silver Scarab Ring,
inset with Lapis Lazuli (my ultimate favorite stone). I
hadn't had it on for more than ten minutes when the Name came
to me (from on High I would have to say).
Khephera, or Kepera, Xepera, etc, is the Name of the Egyptian
God Re in His aspect of Creator. Khephera takes the form of
the Scarab. The Ancient Egyptian saw the Scarab hatch it's
eggs in dung, and therefore saw the Scarab as a Being who
could bring life from death and waste. Also, as the Scarab
rolled the dung into little spheres and rolled them it it's
nest, the Egyptian saw the Sun God rolling the sphere of the
Sun across the sky. For someone like me, it's surprising to
have a Sun-God's Name (I'm no big fan of the Sun itself).
However, it adds a good amount of balance to my otherwise
Dark attributes. Khephera literally translates as
"Creation", "Dawning", "Formation", etc. In Hebrew it would
be called "Yetzirah", such as in the Sepher Yetzirah (Book of
Dawning), and as in the Third Qabalistic World: the Astral
World of Yetzirah.
VQ How would you describe your technique(s) of dream
working?
Kh I've never accomplished any real technique of dream
working, per se. I involve myself mainly with Astral Trips
(Visionary workings). I will create an image of the Force I
wish to explore, and then project through that symbol to "the
other side".
As for something more along the lines of dreams, there are a
couple of things. First off, I have a good knack at dream
interpretation. Most likely, my empathic abilities help out
there (though I can't say I'm sure). My intuition isn't
shabby at all, and Divination is one of my strong suits...so
I'm sure that's where it comes from.
Finally, I have had some experiences with dream states as
well. Most of them have happened not while "asleep", but
rather while I was nested in that twilight-place between
dreaming and waking. ;) It is there that I can best
perceive Spirits (I call them Astral Nasties).
Oh, and I also have to add a couple of full-dream
experiences. Many times a Wizard might be attacked while
asleep. Not so much by other Wizards...but by the Astral
Nasties who are attracted by the Energy raised by the Wizard
day to day. More than once I have had dreams where I knew I
was about to fight "something". These dreams invariably
involve my gearing up for a fight, and being quite excited at
the prospect. :) The fight rarely happens once the entity
sees that I am not afraid, and MORE than able to handle it.
Only once have I been actually attacked in a dream- I was
burned on the hand, and the burn showed up on my hand.
However, it was easily dispatched once I realized I was being
attacked. I suppose I could describe most of these
encounters in detail later on....
VQ What would be the first question you would ask
about a dream?
Kh It would have to be: What did you dream? :):):) From
there I would try and interpret it. I would also ask
questions about what was going on in the waking life of the
dreamer.
VQ Would you ask different question(s) about
visualisations/ daydreams?
Kh As per the above, no. But, it is a different situation.
Unless the dream was a lucid one, then the day-dream is more
under the control of the consciousness than a dream.
VQ Would the questions be directed at the dreamer or
the animals/others who may appear in any visualisation?
To the dreamer. Though I believe in the separateness of such
Beings, I also understand that they are ultimately a part of
ourselves.
VQ Do you think that the person whose dream it is would need
knowledge of "The Ancients" to be helped by you?
Kh Not at all. Unless I can see that a God has manifested to
someone, that is For instance, one lady told me she kept
having dreams about a water-bird of some sort (like an Ibis).
I suggested that this could be Thoth (Egyptian God of Wisdom,
Writing, and Inspiration). She replied that she had, for
some reason, been inspired to do a lot of writing recently.
In fact, a lot of Thoth-ian things had been happening to her
as of late- even though she had not previously known anything
about Thoth.
Other than that, each dream is only what it means to the
dreamer.
VQ Do you know much about lucid dreaming?
Kh I know about it, but I don't do it often. Of course,
anytime you Astral Travel that is lucid dreaming. But, as
for going to sleep, and controlling your dreams...no, I don't
accomplish that much.
VQ Has your "style" been influenced more by book
learning or word of mouth?
Kh Hard to say. Everything I know has come from books, word
of mouth, and (dare I say) Divine Reception...kind of
mish-mash of all of it. I suppose Books have been the
largest part of it though...
VQ Would you consider yourself to be a shaman?
Kh That's an interesting question. I am a Wiccan Priest,
and Wicca is definitely a kind of Shamanism. However, the
word "shaman" evokes a specific image in my mind. Someone
who knows the land, and can live off of it, much better than
myself. I suppose I could be called a kind of urban shaman
of sorts <SHRUG>. I can heal, I travel the inner-plains of
consciousness (astral realms), I can affect the weather and
other sorts of magicks, I am extremely empathic, and I am
currently studying herbology.
However, at this point I don't feel connected enough to the
Land Itself to really feel much like a shaman. I'm working
on it, though. ;)
VQ I was just looking over our interview and thinking that
people may ask "what does Wiccan mean"?
If they were to ask, how would you answer that one?
Kh: Definitely no simple answer....;)
But, I would probably say that it is a Relgion based on
either Dual-Theism or at least a view of a Single Divine
Source which operates as two Deities. These Deities are
simply the God and Goddess. Their Names vary depending on
what pantheon you follow.
It was created in the late 40's by a Mr. Gerald Gardner. It
incorporates aspects of various mystical traditions, with a
large amount of WitchCraft.
VQ Where would be a good starting point for people to
find out about Ceremonial Magicians?
Kh: For someone just curious, I couldn't say. Except for
getting into one of the Magick Echoes and asking some of us.
For learning how to do Ceremonial Magick, I always recommend
Don Kraig's "Modern Magick". Modern Magick: Eleven Lessons
in the High Magickal Arts Donald Michael Kraig 1988 (Eighth
Printing, 1993) Llewellyn Publications
ISBN 0-87542-324-8
He teaches you the basics, Golden Dawn style (Qabalistic
Based Magick). From there you can go into any kind of
Ceremonial Magick you wish: Wiccan, Egyptian, Babylonian,
Druidic,
etc...
VQ Where to find Ceremonial Magicians to talk to if
people were interested....
Kh Ah! One of the better places is the Fido echo called
"Magick". Also, just about anywhere on the PODS Network.
Especially "Book of Shadows".
VQ I had spoken to Khephera about my "Amulet" dream; the
amulet had a lapis lazuli centre.:... I still don't have any
lapis lazuli, but I do have a zodiac pendant with a blue
glass centre that appealed to me.
Kh Must be the blue, then. :) Color of the Night Sky?
VQ Well more a royal blue.. actually blue in a flame came
to me through some dream working.
Kh That's always a good way of seeing it. Back when I
started (and it stays with me to this day), I was taught to
project images in "gas-jet" blue. Blue is also one of the
better meditation colors.
VQ Anything to do with the Ancient (if eternal things can
age) Gods?
Kh Of course. ;) Most of my Astral Work and Visions are
centered on encounters with Gods and Angels and Spirits.
VQ How did you come to learn Egyptian?
Kh: If you mean the language, I don't really "know" Egyptian.
I know enough for Ritual, and most of that was quoted from
the Book of the Dead. Other things- like the Magickal Motto
I sign all my posts with, are actually just straight
transliterations. Meaning I took a phrase in English, and
just looked up each word and gave the Egyptian. That's
really a horrible way to do things, as it doesn't allow for
the actual Egyptian language's grammar and syntax. So, I
don't do it often. If you mean Egyptian Magick, I came by
it kind of indirectly. For the most part, I have simply
taken Egyptian Symbolism and pasted it on top of Qabalistic
concepts. Well, not so simply....as I have also put a lot of
study into Egyptian Symbolism and Mythology so as to make
sure the cross-over into the
Qabalah was as "correct" as possible. Not to mention that
the Qabalah has some of it's deepest roots in Egypt anyway,
so it's not such a huge jump from one to the other. Most of
what I know about Egyptian symbolism, Mythos, and Magick
comes from the various wonderful works by E. A. Wallis Budge.
The rest is from Experience with the Egyptian Deities
Themselves...;)
Kh Ar ReX Em SeXem Eref Neter Au-a
VQ What does this mean? :)
Kh It's Egyptian for: "If knowledge is power, then a god am
I" It's my Magickal Motto...inscribed on my tools and
talismans, etc. It sums up the way I feel about the
universe...that knowledge is everything- and that the more
knowledge we possess, the more god-like we become. As Bill
Murray said in "Groundhog's Day": "Maybe God isn't really
omnipotent. Maybe He's just been around so long He knows
everything."
On the other hand, it also adds a bit of Discordianism into
my work. I got this phrase from none other than Jim Carey
(whom I idolize) as the Riddler in "Batman: Forever".
Knowing that my Magickal Motto came from such a source
(rather than Divine Reception or from some Ancient Writing or
Tradition) keeps everything in perspective, if you know what
I mean. :)
The translation into Egyptian was my idea. I could have made
it Latin, but I just didn't want to be like every other
Golden-Dawn style Wizard. I gotta be me! :)
Lastly, there is just one thing I stumbled on after I started
using the Motto. The Egyptian word for Power: "SeXem" is
also their word for "Higher Self". That is...the Egyptian
called his "Higher Self" his "Power". And, as we know, the
Higher Self is the most God-like aspect of ourselves. Thus,
the phrase canbe interpreted:
"If Knowledge = The True Self, then I am like unto a God."
Which basically is an affirmation that you are like a God
anyway...and the way to recognize that power is to recognize
the Higher Self. And how do you do that? By gaining
Knowledge. The Golden Dawn calls this: Knowledge and
Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. (translated: Direct
Communication with the Higher Self).
Blessed Be, may Yahweh and His Asherah guide and keep thee,
Ar ReX Em SeXem Eref Neter Au-a
Rx
Khephera
interview conducted by Victoria Quinton during May 1996.
Be sure to send in email if you want Khephera to tell us more
about Astral
Nastiesà.
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Dangerous Dreams - The risks of online dream sharing
By Richard Wilkerson
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I was confronted at the ASD XIII conference with the notion
that dreams are too dangerous to be shared on the net. The
general idea was that there is something about dreams which
makes us so vulnerable, so helpless, that in the wrong hands
serious psychological damage may occur.
I started to dismiss this as the speculation of those not
familiar with online dream sharing. I receive a lot of e-mail
from psychologists & others who don't like the _idea_ of
dream sharing online - but haven't actually tried it
themselves. Generally these concerns dissipate upon a trial
experience. A example of this is the account by Jeremy
Taylor which he made public in DreamNetwork Journal 15(1) as
well as Electric Dreams 3(3). I'll also have more to say
later about why this occurs and how dream sharing on the Net
might draw on the experience of face-to-face group sharing
experience, yet in the final analysis constitutes a
fundamentally different environment and ecology.
But wait a minute. One of the self assigned tasks in my
life is to bring our culture into a relationship with
dreaming that moves in a different direction than, for
example, telling our children upon awakening, "Oh forget it,
it was just a dream". Simply dismissing the arguments about
the potency of dreams would be counter-productive.
Now to be fair, the main arguments made were about the
assumption of authority, the potential damage of telling
other people what their dreams mean rather than letting them
come to find this meaning with their own inner resources.
Dangerous material and dangerous uses of the material are
not the same, but do come together, just as with the issue of
gun control and substance abuse.
But be it danger of the dream material itself or the uses
of the material, there are some implicit assumptions I would
like to explore.
A question. Would an interpretation of a short story by
O'Henry draw the same concern, and if not, why? If I were
to tell O'Henry what I thought his story means, wouldn't he
simply take it or leave it like all other literary
criticisms? Even if O'Henry was personally offended by my
interpretation, would the story itself be seen as dangerous?
Probably not, and those who see the dream text as dangerous
would most likely say that we are not assuming to be
authorities over the life of O'Henry and tell him how to lead
it according to the story he wrote. Part of the danger lies
in the dream material itself, I'm told, but the other lies in
the approach to the dream material.
But there are also similarities and similar risks of exposure
in putting out any text, be it a dream story or a short
story.
I take a risk when I put my creation out to be judged and
critiqued and analyzed in the public sphere. If we were
talking about a short story, the risk might have something to
do with my self-image and self-esteem. Was this story as good
as my last story, do people hate my writing style, maybe I
really am a bad writer. Part of this has to do with the
responsibility felt by the writer, the aspirations and hopes
of what public acceptance might entail, and the risks
associated with self-revelation, what I might be letting
people know about myself, my identity. This identity and
self-esteem that might be fragile and suffer humiliation,
embarrassment, chastisement, abandonment, isolation and
scapegoating if the public hated or criticized my work.
Given all of these risks, we still continue to write and put
our writings out publicly to be interpreted, even though we
know that our intentions will often be misunderstood. As a
matter of fact, it is now part of the Post-modern aesthetic
to release the text once it is written. That is to say, that
we no longer demand that the meaning of the text be the one
the author intended. Each reader may find his or her own
relationship with the text and it will be as valid as any
other. Whether the subjective interpretation is relevant to
the culture at the time or not is another matter.
Its been my feeling for sometime that dream texts are
somewhat similar. Certainly the technique of taking the dream
"as if it were your own" moves in this direction. In this
technique we approach a dream as if it were our story, not
the dreamers, and then talk about the ways it is relevant to
us, how the imagery moves us, how we give it meaning and how
it returns to us its significance. The author of the dream is
decentered. Each person in the participating group *has* the
dream. This de-centralization of the ego is furthered in
the work of James Hillman, a archetypalist who would like to
see the dream as having *nothing* to do with the dreamer.
That the dream gains it power from just that fact, that it is
centered around archetypal rather than individual forces.
Are dream texts riskier and more dangerous than say, a short
story we write? I think the answer lies in the direction of
"For those who have ears, sound can be painful". But let me
unpack this quote by looking a century long fantasy that our
culture has purchased.
During the last days of the 19th Century, Freud was putting
the final touches on his favorite book _The Interpretation of
Dreams_. This book was written in the middle of a cultural
horizon that was participating in the idea that with just a
little more knowledge and reason, the whole universe could be
rationally understood. Freud's ideas on the role of the
irrational not only shocked his Victorian Peers, but
eventually swayed them to acceptance. But it was a special
kind of acceptance. This was pre-chaos theory days. The
irrational was accepted, but only as the province of
psychology. The Natural World was still safe and would
eventually be fully understood by the rational mind.
And so dreams became aligned with the irrational and, this is
my point, aligned with psychology. (There is also a hidden
ethic in Christianity about the natural and the irrational
being the same, but that's another topic).
What Hillman and other are saying is that psyche is larger
than psychology - and so too are dreams. Yes, there are
innumerable debts and long traditions and a whole host of
clinical practices that involve dreams, but they are not only
the province of psychology.
Since 1953 and the first REM experiments, the scientific
community has know this. Even around Freud's time there were
a host of natural scientists observing and studying dreams
outside their clinical uses. Many famous writers have drawn
upon dreams not for psychological insight, but for
inspiration in writing. Artists have always know the value of
dreams for inspiration. The Surrealist took dreams beyond the
psychological and aesthetic into the political, showing how
dreams can be used to move us past repressive habits into the
marvelous. Lucid dreamers and extraordinary dreamers, group
dreamers and dream flyers enjoy dreams for the sake of the
experience itself.
None of this is meant as evidence that the dream is or isn't
dangerous. It is a statement saying that the dream is not
owned by psychology and psychologists, nor by clinicians or
the board of behavioral sciences.
I haven't yet been able to understand the arguments that
dreams in and of themselves are simply too psychologically
toxic, too revealing, to apt to cause major psychological
damage in and of themselves. The damage theory seems to come
more from how we approach dreams, what people think and feel
they are doing when they share them with a qualified or
unqualified individual or group.
I will guess that those who are concerned about the danger of
the dream are more concerned about people coming to share
dreams and expecting some kind of psychotherapeutic effect or
environment. The explanation of the danger here will vary
according to the psychological perspective. From the
perspective of the innocent dreamer, the problem is that they
have *already* given over the function of the creation of
meaning and value to a supposed authority. In a sense, we
are all kind of in this position with dreams as we feel any
need to interpret them at all. I don't feel the need to
interpret my going to work in the morning (well, most
mornings) but there is a call I have imposed upon myself with
dreams.
Is this more dangerous than simply going along with the
rest of my culture and society and saying, "Well, it was just
dream" and forgetting it? I suppose it is - in that my path
now includes the dream text and my explorations of it. Going
through it, with it, are then more dangerous than if I had
just left well enough alone.
But it hardly justifies the position that dreams and opinions
about dream should not be shared. Even if we grant that
dreams hold some potential for danger, just what is the
actual frequency that we can expect, let's say a borderline,
to go off the edge from discussion of the meaning of his or
her dream? It seems to me that if the frequency of such
incidence is equal to or less than, say, that of a discussion
of other parts of one's life, that we are really making the
environment way too restrictive and safe for any particular
adult population.
There are a few life practices I am not yet willing to hand
over to the *exclusive* use of the psychotherapeutic
encounter. One is self exploration, another is the
investigation of the meaning and value of life, and another
is the significance of events in my life, including dreaming.
What about the discussion of the meaning and value of your
dreams? Do I have to choose a category to make relevant
remarks about them? Do I have to say, "Now I'm being
spiritual" "Now I'm being psychological", "Now I'm being
artistic", "now I'm being humorous?". Granted, the
dreamworker has been cross categorical and a problem for a
long time. Every major religion began with the core folks
being into dreams - and every major religion eventually
banned dream interpretation. Why? The current thought on this
is that dreams tend to question and play with things, and one
of the things they play with & question are structures of
repressive authority. I guess the Orthodoxy would say that
since there can be no authority on dreams, no one should be
allowed to make meaning of them. The Christian church has
historically make exceptions for saints.
But I'm moving a little off the track. Let me shift from
the exploration of how dangerous dreams and dream
interpretation may be in general to the venue specific
ecologies of Cyberspace dream sharing.
The Ecology of Cyberspace.
I feel it is pretty clear to those both online and offline
that if we were to hold a dream group face-to-face and only
allow people to write notes on a bulletin board, it would be
a very different group than one where voice and body
movements were allowed. Now imagine that everyone in the
group had a mask on and the message board was in a room that
only one person at a time could enter, at any time during a
two week period.
As John Herbert has noted in an unpublished study on the
difference between online and offline groups, one of the main
differences is the reflective quality of the Online groups
and the emotionally pitched quality of the face-to-face
groups. This emotional pitch picks up a bit in real time
chat, but never quite reaches the face-to-face pressure.
This is not a judgement of one being superior over the other,
just a note that it is much more likely for emotional
instability to play a factor in face-to-face encounters.
(However, Herbert did note that online groups were rated
higher in self rating scores of insight gained). The point
here is that in cyberspace there is a time factor, a infusion
of reflective imagination over reactions. There is time to
consider other people's reactions as well.
Another built in factor is the new mix of social and
individual space, we are anonymous and alone in a public
space.
Fred Olsen, during the ASD XIII DreamWork in Cyberspace
Panel told the story of a man who during dreamwork session in
a chat room reported that he touched something and began to
cry. It was a area of his emotional life he had tried to
contact in groups before but felt inhibited. By being both
alone in his room, and also being online with a group, he was
able to access a realm previous unavailable to him.
The other side of this social anonymity is the continual
peer review. Yes, we can say mean things and "get away" with
it because no one knows who we are, but that doesn't mean
that 5 people won't immediately step in and point out how
cruel or inappropriate the remark was. For good or bad, there
is always a kind of self-monitoring that occurs online, part
of the piece in progress idea.
With Dream interpretation on public channels, this means
that someone may interpret your dream in a way that is
extremely undermining of everything you value. But it also
means that a lot of other people will be there to say that is
just exactly what is happening, and model approaches you may
have never guessed at or would have never experienced.
Along with this is the ethic of freedom of speech. Yes, we
have to allow Neo-Nazi's and other fanatics their say, but
this is the price of freedom and most of us still think it is
worth it. In a culture where we practice telling our children
that "it was just a dream" I prefer to have lots of wild
interpretations flying around than repression. This means
that to participate in our society, the adult has to been
able to handle free speech. To begin saying that there are
adult citizens who can't, is a serious theoretical and
political statement.
So, is dream sharing more like rock climbing, psychotherapy
or literary criticism? Are there approaches to the dream and
context of dream sharing that are not safe for most people
and need to be mediated beyond the natural mechanisms of the
Net? My judgement, that it *is* safe, is still un-proven
but gaining experiential evidence. I talked to other
dreamworkers at the ASD XIII conference who have been
exploring dreamworking online, including John Herbert,
Jeremey Taylor, Jayne Gackenbach and Electric Dreams
community dreamworkers and have yet to find *one* single case
of an unhappy camper. Again, there are many who find the
process useless, and don't like the _idea_ of dreamsharing -
but not one bad experience has been reported in now what is
about the 3rd public year and several pre-public years of
online dream sharing. If other adult activities that are
deemed dangerous can boast these statistics, I think they
would be hardly be called dangerous.
Still, I want to stay open to the potential dangers and
encourage those who do feel dream sharing is dangerous online
to help us see this, and ways we might avoid harming one
another with our often frank and honest assessments of one
another's dream stories. As a matter of fact, I we now have
a wide variety of venues in which to discuss this. The first
is the Electric Dreams E-zine itself. While we hold some
editorial discression and power, we are generally open to
publishing just about anything that is related to dreams.
Electric Dreams also has a Bulletin Board that can be used
for this issue and we encourage "Watch Dog Lurkers" on any or
all of our dream groups. And now ASD, the Association for
the Study of Dreams, is also reviewing this issue and has a
public bulletin board to post relevant topics in this area.
I would also like to suggest the original alt.dreams as a
forum for discussion as well.
Let's say that dream are potentially wonderful, and save the
dangerous warnings for a culture that hides away and
represses dream discussions.
=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w
DREAM WORK TOOLS - Review of products at ASD XIII
Dream Disc-tionary, created by Cypress Specialty
Software, brings the power of the PC to dream studies.
Designed for use on a PC with Windows, Dream Disc-tionary
features a symbols dictionary, dream journal, diary entry,
quick lookup and add word functions.
The basic dictionary contains over 2000 symbols. You can
customize the dictionary by adding symbols and definition of
personal significance.
Dreams stored in the journal can be searched for
recurring symbols. A report will be displayed indicating
the dates and dream titles in which a selected symbol
appeared.
Other reports include: Quick Analysis, Dream/Diary
summary, Symbols Definitions, Related Symbols definitions
and Reference List. Reports can be viewed on screen or
printed.
Even if you are new to dream work, this program can
introduce you to dream analysis with demos, sample cases, a
program manual and online help files. Also included is a
suggested reading list.
If you have Internet access, you can see an online demo
by visiting the CSSI web site at
http://www.cypressi.com
In the sample demo you can lookup symbol definitions in the
basic dictionary.
The Dream Disc-tionary sells for $49.95. For more
information contact Cypress Specialty Software, Inc.
By phone at: (714) 952-8328
By e-mail: dreamdisc@aol.com
By U.S. mail: CSSI
P.O. Box 2514
Cypress, CA 90630-1214
w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w
G L O B A L D R E A M I N G N E W S
July 26, 1996
w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w
GD News is a distributed news and events project sponsored by
Electric Dreams, DreamGate and The Novato Center for Dreams.
Please send all material to the Dream News and Calendar
Events editor, Peggy Coats
pcoats@cruzio.com
w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=
==== I N D E X ====
BETA TESTERS FOR DREAM PROGRAMS
DREAM POETRY JOURNAL INVITES SUBMISSIONS
THE DREAM FOUNTAIN
AUSTRALIA, EDGE OF THE SACRED TOUR WITH DAVID TRACY
ILLNESS AS DREAM, HEALING WITH METAPHORS
WORKING WITH THE DREAMING BODY
DREAM MEDICINE RETREAT IN MOUNT SHASTA
DREAMS SOUGHT FOR BOOK ON PRECOGNITIVE DREAMING
DREAMS & SECRETS PROJECT
ONIROS PUBLISHES COMPLETE WORKS OF HERVEY DE SAINT-DENYS
DREAM LECTURES BY PIERRE GRIMES ON VIDEO TAPE
FREUD & JUNG, TWO NEW BOOKS
DREAMWORK SEMINARS IN SANTA BARBARA
DREAMS IN THE WORLDS FAMILY
PARTICIPATE IN THE DREAM WHEEL ON THE WEB
SOMNIAL TIMES SEEKS DREAMS
D R E A M C A L E N D E R LATE SUMMER/FALL 1996
========= BETA TESTERS FOR DREAM PROGRAMS
The Researchers from the ASD XIII conference are interested
in getting help on testing out their new programs and
programs that are in development and will be ready later this
year. These programs include content analysis programs for
your dream texts, statistical programs for symbols, national
dream registries and other dream analysis & journaling
programs. If you are interested in participating, send your
name and snail address to Richard Wilkerson, rcwilk@aol.com
and I will put you on the list for product distribution.
========= DREAM POETRY JOURNAL INVITES SUBMISSIONS
PEGASUS DREAMING, a new Dream Poetry Journal edited by
Patricia Kelly, is seeking submissions of poetry inspired by
dreams. This is a good place for those who are interested to
get published, and a great place for those who are not to
enjoy the wonderful expressiveness of the dream psyche. The
maximum length is 30 words, and a donation of $5 is requested
if you would like to run a dream-related ad. For more
information, contact The Shield
Institute, 450 7th Avenue, Suite 1804, New York, NY, 718)
803-0194.
=========== THE DREAM FOUNTAIN
Get your dreams published in dozens of publications and Net
venues!!
I've had an idea for awhile that I wanted to try out with
dream texts. (with humor) Back in the old days, we used to
go to one therapist, maybe for 10 or 20 years , and the idea
of the theraputic container was established. To become rid of
our neurosis we had to learn to stick with one intimate other
who mediated all our psychological material.
Times have changed (no value judgement - just facts).
Insurance companies won't pay for that approach anymore and
short term counselling articles & concerns fill the journals.
But in the grassroots dreamland the idea of singleness
and loyalty still lingers. Those who post a dream on
alt.dreams are unlikely to post on alt.jung. Those who post
with Electric Dreams are unlikely to post on DreamLink or in
a dream group.
I have an idea. Remember the practice of Rush Week? It was
at the beginning of the freshman college year and one would
get to visit for a day *all* of the frat and sorority houses.
So why not a Rush Program for Dreams?
We could even have "cycles" where a dream is passed around
and comments are harvested and collected and later printed as
well.
I'd like to start slow, just a few dreams, careful to get
permissions, ect. The Rush Dreams would be cycled through a
variety of venues that publish dreams both online and
offline.
Project Name: "The Dream Fountain", as we will be cycling
and re-cycling dreams through wonderful spouts of conceptual
sculptures, venues and cyber-ecologies, lifting the dreams up
and allowing them to funnel back down into the origninal
pools.
Dreamers: you can plug in at any one of several points in the
Fountain, for now send you dreams to Electric Dreams with a
MARK that indicates permission to cross-post: (F) or
Fountain, or [DF] for Dream Fountain permission granted.
Dream Tenders and Posters: (Oneirofonts) If you are
interested in being a key player in this, and offering a
venue that you would be willing to post or publish others
dreams once or twice a month, drop me a line. Be clear about
your parameters (one dream a month, posting on alt.dreams and
then copying and sending results once a month, publishing in
a local newsletter...and so on)
contact Richard Wilkerson,
rcwilk@aol.com
=========== AUSTRALIA, EDGE OF THE SACRED TOUR WITH DAVID
TRACY
If you have wished for an opportunity to explore your
personal soul work in the company of people who have retained
a living connection to "primitive imagination" you might be
interested in a tour being led by David Tacey Director of the
Center for Archetypal Studies at La Trobe University,
Melbourne Australia.
Participants will accompany David to the Red Center of
Australia where they will live among the Pitjantjatjara
people and learn from a people who operate in many different
levels of reality, as we do, but at levels that are different
from ours. The "deep listening" and "dreaming" that is
possible in this environment may confront the participants
with an unusually clear experience of Soul.
The group leaves Los Angeles Sept 25 and returns Oct 6, l996.
After a 3 day orientation period in Sydney, the group will
fly to Alice Springs.
Accomodations will include hotels and 4 nights camping under
the stars in a comfortable swag which is a bedroll mattress,
pillow and sleeping bag all encased in a waterproof canvas.
Group is limited to 15 persons. For info Email
<australi@cdsnet.net> or
call 541-899-8843
============== ILLNESS AS DREAM, HEALING WITH METAPHORS
Bob Trowbridge has recently published a new book entitled
"The Hidden Meaning of Illness: Disease as a Symbol &
Metaphor" from A.R.E. Press.
Working from the premise that dreams are meaningful, and, if
life is meaningful, we can work on our life experiences just
as we work on our dreams, Bob presents a philosophical
framework and practical tools for dealing with illnesses as
dreams, using illness as a physical metaphor which can lead
to greater healing. The ISBN number for the book is
087604358-9.
If unavailable in your bookstore, copies can be ordered
directly from the author: Bob Trowbridge, 1050 Crestview
Drive #29, Mountain View, CA 94040.
Questions? Call directly at 415) 961.9109.
=============== WORKING WITH THE DREAMING BODY
Arnold Mindell is a noted Jungian analyst, who developed
process-oriented psychology, or Dreambody Work; a powerful
way of working holistically which integrates body, mind and
spirit. Process or Dreambody work deepens many therapeutic
modalities such as body work, communication and system
theories, dreamwork, physics and spirituality.
Virginia Dennehy, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist, will be
offering a workshop on process work meeting once monthly,
August through December, in Oakland, California, at the
Skyline Community Church, 12540 Skyline Blvd. Participants
are asked to commit to the series, and the cost is $75 per
session.
For more information, contact Virginia Dennehy, 539 Lincoln,
Palo Alto, CA, 94301. Telephone: 415) 326-6115.
============ DREAM MEDICINE RETREAT IN MOUNT SHASTA
The Creative Harmonics Institute in Mount Shasta, California,
will be presenting a three-day wilderness retreat August
15-18 with Shanja Kirstann. the retreat will feature
innovative dreamwork techniques, expressive approaches to
dreamwork (including drawing, dancing, singing, drama and
enactment of dream ritual) and methods to attune to the
visionary and dreamtime realms such as meditation, toning,
drumming and poetry.
Shanja Kirstann is a seasoned leader of Vision Quests, a
former teacher at JFK Graduate School of Consciousness, and a
student of Jean Houston and Marian Woodman.
The retreat includes three vegetarian meals daily, bathrooms,
and 40 acres of wilderness with trails, river, cedar grove
and labyrinth. Fee is $295.
For more information, contact Creative Harmonics Institute,
P.O. Box 940, Mt. Shasta, Ca 96067, or contact Shanja
Kirstann at 415) 256-1312, e-mail
<shanja@aol.com>.
========== DREAMS SOUGHT FOR BOOK ON PRECOGNITIVE DREAMING
Walt Stover is in the process of publishing a book through
A.R.E.
(Association for Research and Enlightenment) on precognitive
dreams, and needs additional dream material. For more
information, contact him directly in Marietta, Georgia at
707) 565.6215.
For those of you who are precognitive dreamers, chek out the
Central Premonitions Registry at
http://yaron.clever.net/precog/ -- a place to register
precognitive dreams.
=================== DREAMS & SECRETS PROJECT
Want to participate in an interesting exhibit featuring
dreams and secrets?
Peter Rosvik, of Vasa, Finland, is creating an exhibit to be
shown in 1997 and needs your help. The idea is that anyone
who desires to participate will send an envelope containing a
small text about dreams that never came true, or dreams about
the future, along with a small object that is meaningful,
symbolic, or of secret value known only to the sender. You
can make your own envelope, or enhance a purchased one in any
way you choose.
Just mark the envelope with the title of the project: DREAMS
AND SECRETS and send to:
Peter Rosvik
Hovrattsesplanaden 3 B 2
FIN-65100 Vasa, Finland
Mark your name and address on the back of the envelope so
Peter can thank you for your participation. Please note that
the envelopes will remain sealed, so the contents are secure.
For more information on the project, contact Peter at
<peter.rosvik@pp.qnet.fi>, or telephone +358 (9)61 3122067.
========= ONIROS PUBLISHES COMPLETE WORKS OF HERVEY DE
SAINT-DENYS
Hervey de Saint-Denys, who died in 1892, was most famous for
his work with lucid dreaming, but was also a well-known dream
researcher in the 19th century. Oniros has recently printed
his complete works, drawn from primary research, in two
volumes. Although the material is in French, Oniros is
looking for individuals who may be interested in translating
into English.
The set sells for $60. For more information, contact ONIROS
at BP 30, 93451, Ile St. Denis, Cedex, France, telephone
1-48-202136.
============= DREAM LECTURES BY PIERRE GRIMES ON VIDEO TAPE
Pierre Grimes is a philosopher who founded the Noetic
Society, Inc., for the Study and Exploration of Platonic and
Neoplatonic Thought. Author of "A New Paradigm for
Understanding Human Problems: The Pathologos and its
Validation", he has adapted the Socratic art of philosophical
midwifery to a new class of human problems.
His Fall 1995 lecture series on dreams is now available on
video tape. The five tapes include "Philosophical Midwifery &
Dreams: the Doorway into Metaphysics", "Dreams in Sequence",
"The Anatomy of Dreams: Divisions, Sequences, Conflicts,
Symbols, Logos and their application", "Exploring Dreams:
Symbols, the Logos and Meditation" and "The Imminent Wisdom
of the Dream Master".
For more information, contact GCA/DMA, 5132 Bolsa Avenue,
#101, Huntington Beach, CA 92649. Telephone 7140 890-7055
============== FREUD & JUNG, TWO NEW BOOKS
Sometimes it seems as though Freud and Jung will be forever
paired in our minds, and even in the world of publishing!
Two new books, separately, but recently out on the two
leaders in modern psychology:
Farrell, J. (1996). *Freud's paranoid quest: Psychoanalysis
and modern suspicion*. N.Y.: NYU Press, US$34.95. Argues
that Freud's personal paranoia interacted with modern trends
to produce psychoanaysis' intellectual structure.
Gallant, C. (1996). *Tabooed Jung: Marginality as power.* NY:
NYU Press. Argues that Jung has been marginalized by
mainstream psychoanalysis; that this marginalization has
itself helped to shape both traditions.
============ DREAMWORK SEMINARS IN SANTA BARBARA
Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California is
presenting a series of seminars for 1996 with Dr. Stephen
Aizenstat, whose work has centered on 'tending the living
image' particularly in the context of dreamwork. Dr.
Aizenstat is the founding President of Pacifica Graduate
Institute, and a clinical psychologist.
"Learning the Craft of Dreamwork", September 6-8, 1996, will
be an
introductory three-day seminar demonstrating a variety of
methods of dream interpretation, and exploring common dream
themes, nightmares, archetypal imagery and recurring dreams.
Topics include: The Personal Unconscius, The Collective
Unconscious, The World Unconscious and a special presentaton
on Animals in dreams.
"Therapeutic Applications of Dreamwork", September 9-13, 1996
is an advanced course exploring the multidimensional psyche
and integrative dreamwork.
Topics include: The Multidimensional Psyche, Dreamwork and
Depth Psychology, Tending the Living Image, the Healing Power
of Dreams and special workshop on mask making.
For more information, contact Pacific Graduate Institute, 249
Lambert Road, Carpinteria, CA 93013. Phone 805) 969.3626, Fax
805) 565.1932.
============== DREAMS IN THE WORLDS FAMILY
Dreams in the World's Family, a retreat co-sponsored by the
Association for the Study of Dreams and the Yosodhara Ashram
Society will take place September 6-8, 1996. The retreat will
focus on bringing a cross-cultural perspective to dream work
by drawing together different cultural approaches to dreams.
Workshops and academic presentations will be offered
throughout
the weekend, and the evenings will be filled with stories,
songs and dreamtime ceremonies. For more information, contact
the ASD, P.O. Box 1600,
Vienna, VA 22183. Phone 703) 242.0062, or check the web site
at:
http://fred.outreach.org/gmcc/asd/homepage.htm
============= PARTICIPATE IN THE DREAM WHEEL ON THE WEB
Electric Dreams offers participatory Dream Wheels via email
on a regular basis for any interested dreamworkers. Now we
have a new home on the World Wide Web as well. If you'd like
to participate in the Dream Wheels, check out our link on
Linton Hutchinson's Dream Link Web Site at
http://www.iag.net/~hutchib/.dream/ and click on "Dream
Wheel" to get instructions. Or, contact our Education
Director, Chris Hicks at <shadow45@netonecom.net>
======================= SOMNIAL TIMES SEEKS DREAMS
Somnial Times is the dream newsletter of the DREAMERS Special
Interest Group of American Mensa. It is a delightful
publication that will get your dreams in print. To send your
dreams, e-mail Gloria Reiser BRST18A@prodigy.com
==============================================
D R E A M S I T E S O N T H E W E B
==============================================
============= LAST DAYS OF ASD XIII CONFERENCE PAGES!
Although this site was create for the past conference,
don't miss our on the chance to see the exhibits on dreams
and cyberspace in research, art, and dream sharing. Also, the
best annotated index to dream related sites can be found at
this Expo!
http://www.dreamgate.com/asd-13
============= DREAM HARROWING
Giving Lucid Dreaming a little competition, this magical
site will put you in touch with a special journey!
http://faraday.clas.virginia.edu/~rls3z
"HARROW TO ALDEBARAN"
============= MYTHOLOGY WEB SITE
The Encyclopedia Mythica" is available on the web for those
interested in mythology, folklore, and mysticism. It includes
mythologies related to Chinese, Greek, Native American,
Persian, and other cultures. To access the encyclopedia:
http://www.pantheon.org/myth/
============= DREAM ANALYSIS AND INFORMATION
Carolyn Plette's new site offers practical info about dream
work , and a Windows-based software product that provides a
workspace for doing dream analysis and other reflective
activities. It takes a educational approach to dream work,
and encourages participation with others via email:
http://sundaypaper.com/soultalk.
============= GRAPHICAL LUCID DREAMING SITE
Check out a new graphical web site about Lucid Dreaming,
where you can find several tips and tricks on how to do it in
a graphical environemnt. The site uses frames so only
netscape 2.0/explorer 3.0 users can see it.
http://www.brightsite.com/mirror
============= MAKING MANDALAS
Here's a site devoted to creating and using mandalas for
spiritual growth.
Jung and many others have used mandalas to connect with inner
symbols and express them in the outer world. These healing
circles are also a great way to do dreamwork!
http://www.lysator.liu.se/~ceci/pen/mandala.html
============= NUTCRACKER SUITE
To enjoy the dreaming mind and links of a very prolific
dreamer, tune into The Nutcracker Suite. Also included are
many tips and techniques for journaling and keeping track of
your dreams:
http://www.dreamgate.com/dream/nutcracker
============================
D R E A M C A L E N D A R
============================
Aug 01 to Palo Alto, California, USA
Aug 05 Consciousness: Dreaming & Waking
Contact: The Lucidity Institute,
415)321.9969
or email <cdwflyer@lucidity.com>
Aug 01 to DreamGate E-mail Classes on Dreaming
Dec 01 Via E-mail. contact Richard rcwilk@aol.com
Aug 09 to Soquel, California, USA
Aug 11 Dreamtime, Tranining With Jeremy Taylor
Contact (408) 462-8383
Aug 10 to Oakland, California, USA
Dec 07 Working with the Dreaming Body
Contact: Virginia Dennehy, 415) 326-6115
Aug 15 to Mt. Shasta, California, USA
Aug 18 Dream Medicine Wilderness Retreat
Contact: Shanja Kirstan at 415)256-1312,
email<shanja@aol.com>
Mid Aug Unlocking the Secrets of your Dreams
mid Oct Dreaming Classes on the Net. contact
Internet Dream Course:
http://www.outreach.org/dreams
Aug 18 San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
Bay Area Dream Workers Group Picnic,
2pm-6pm Contact Jim Emergy at
510) 526-5510. Email:
<marcia.emergy@intuition.org>
Aug 24 San Francisco, California, USA
Dreaming, Drumming and Lucidity with
Fariba Bogzaran
Contact: 415) 663.1206
Sep 02 to Dreaming in Bali.
Sep 16
Sep 06 to Santa Barbara, California, USA
Sep 08 Seminar: Learning the Craft of Dreamwork
Pacifica Graduate Institute, 805) 969.3626
Sep 09 to Santa Barbara, California, USA
Sep 13 Seminar; Therapeutic Applications of
Dreamwork - Pacifica Graduate
Institute, 805) 969.3626
Sep 13 to San Anselmo, California, USA
Sep 15 Seeing Dreams in a New Light
Contact (415) 258- 0402
Sep 25 to AUSTRALIA
Oct 06 Edge of the Sacred Tour with David Tracy
For info Email australi@cdsnet.net or
call 541-899-8843
============= AUGUST COMPUSERVE DREAM STUDIO
For Compuserv subscribers, very Monday, at 10:00 am EST,
Donna Campos hosts
"Dream Studio" in the New Age Forum. Here's the schedule for
August:
Monday, Aug. 5: Precognitive Dreams with Alex Palermo
Monday, Aug. 12: Dreams of Spiders and Snakes
Monday, Aug. 19: Soul Traveler with Albert Taylor
Monday, Aug. 26: Group Dream Healing Project
=============== Lucid Dreaming On MSN
Doctor Strange@msn.com
Hosts: Paranormal Chat 7-9 PM PDT Thrusdays
MSN go to Word: ALIEN CHAT
Lucid Dreamer's Handouts-
MSN go to Word: ALIEN DREAMLx
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WELCOME
Hi! Welcome to the Dreams Section of ELECTRIC DREAMS. In
this section , we publish dreams submitted by the readers.
We also publish commentary provided by readers and members of
an involved group in our community called the ED-CORE. The
ED-CORE receives copies of the dreams before they make the
next edition of ED, and that s why some of the dreams
appearing for the first time already have commentary. These
commentaries are not meant to provide professional or medical
assistance, but rather to expand the horizons of the dreams
themselves through viewpoints of others. It is up to the
dreamer to draw conclusions as to what directions make sense
and what actions to take as a result of knowing shared
viewpoints. What may be significant for one person, may be
meaningless for another. By sharing a dream, as participant
or observer, as sharer or commentator, we are all enriched
with a sharper focus on some part of our human condition.
Enjoy this months journey! - BK
====================================================
A NEW (ED) DREAM ORDER
Traditionally, dreams have been presented pretty much in a
chronological order in ED. The published sequence roughly
mirrored the sequence in which they were received. Upon the
suggestion of some readers who would prefer a more structured
format, I have made an attempt to categorize the dreams. I
am also tagging the dreams with some keywords to help
readers zero in on those dream topics which are of most
interest to them, without having to read the whole section
cover to cover. The results were quite unexpected. I
thought it would be very difficult and so it is, but the
dreams submitted since our last issue do fall in some natural
basic categories. Let me know what you think of this
grouping. The grouping will be a project-in-process as it
evolves over time. There are so many dream classification
systems that just trying to cover the title of all possible
categories would expand ED by many pages. What are your
suggestions for Dream Categories? Let me know at
Bobk829887@AOL.COM. - BK
THANKS
As always thanks to the generous dreamers for sharing their
gems and to the dream commentators for sharing their
insight. Special thanks this month to Island for her
extensive contributions, and to Jesse Reklaw our ED Artistic
Director who provided a set of dreams submitted to him for
illustrations (with the authors permission).
=============================================================
FROM THE CONTRIBUTORS:
-from JESSE:
Subj: electric dream submissions
Date: 96-06-27 14:49:31 EDT
From: reklaw@columbia.digiweb.com (Jesse Reklaw)
To: bobk829887@aol.com
Bob:
I'm enclosing a number of dreams by different people that I
will be illustrating in a future issue of Concave Up, the
comic book of dreams that I illustrate.
http://www.nonDairy.com/concave/up.cgi
I have acquired permission from all these people to post
their dreams here for possible commentary. I hope to
illustrate the dreams with these comments in mind, and I may
also print some text of the commentary in the back of the
comic (with the commentator's permission). Of course I will
mention the terrific dream-sharing resource Electric Dreams,
as well as credit those who contributed thoughts on the
dreams.
Could you please encourage people to include the name by
which they would like to be credited for commentary, state if
they would like to have their commentary printed in the comic
book, and please Cc: reklaw@nonDairy.com all Emailed
commentaries.
I hope Electric Dreams subscribers will find this to be an
interesting project, and I hope the dreams themselves are
entertaining and stimulating. Thank you!
Jesse Reklaw
=============================================================
=
To & from ISLAND:
Island-
Thanks for all your contributions. In the last minute rush of
editing for the EDV3N5 issue, I edited out your very personal
and touching response on the Avocado Tree wrap up since I
wasn't sure if you meant is as a Dreamwheel Wrap up only, or
you were willing to share it with the whole ED community -as
it was part of the shared Dreamwheel from EDV3N4. I wanted to
ask you before sending it out, and there was no time left to
wait for a response. If it's ok with you I'll include it in
EDV3N6. Again many thanks for sharing your Dream Wisdom and a
specially profound example of the impact and many roots of
dreams.
Bob
Dear Bob,
Thanks so much for your E-Mail. I wondered why it had been
edited out. Let me explain to you, however, my confusion. The
Avocado Tree dream was not a part of the DreamWheel scenario
or wrapup. Perhaps I didn't write with clarity. So let me
rework what I wrote so there is no confusion. Let me also add
that I am sensitive to the fact that there are those who feel
Electric Dreams is too long. I assume that is one of the
reasons why Nutcracker's dreams no longer appear. Though I do
not agree with the developing policy of cutting back because
I enjoy the fact that it's all there and available and can
exercise choice in whether I choose to read or not, print or
not, you may feel perfectly free to withhold from Electric
Dreams any of my submissions because space is tight, and I
tend to write at length. Plus I noted the E-mail that I sent
to you contained a number of comments, and two dreams: I
would certainly regret submitting to the extent that there is
a perceivable imbalance. In other words, I far prefer reading
what others have written than reading what I myself have
written because I learn more. And yet on the chance that I
might have something to offer, I submit it. Just so that you
understand where I'm coming from and to make your task a
little easier.
You may place in ED3:6 the following, if you feel this is an
improvement upon what I submitted before -- please note,
however, that in rewriting it, more has happened and I have
(unfortunately) added to its length. There is a comment I
received by E-Mail that also missed ED3:5. I have included
her comment in the body of what follows.
Now -- I will make your task a little more difficult. At the
end of the Avocado Tree dream and comments, I am including
the wrap up of the Dream Wheel scenario (because I am not
sure which you were referring to in your E-Mail to me). That
also did not appear in ED3:5. But the same statement I made
earlier applies: If it's too long, inappropriate, causes an
imbalance in ED3:6, etc., then don't put it in. The text
below is 3800 words.
Island
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COMMENTARY ON DREAMS FROM PREVIOUS ISSUES
JOURNEY:
== Commentary on "Old Lady on a Motorcycle" (ED3:V3N5) by
Island (96.06.25)
The Dream:
I am watching as a disembodied observer. I see an old lady on
a motorcycle. She refuses to put hub caps on her back wheels.
She wants the spokes exposed. She wears leather and is feisty
and independent. However, she decides she wants a job. She
offers to be a delivery person for messages. She is hired but
as she takes the leather message pouch and lays it on the
back wheel, the employer insists she cover the spokes with a
hub cap. It annoys her a bit but she complies because she
thinks the job will be fun and she can see the sense of it.
After all, it would not be safe to let the bag get caught up
in the spokes when she s driving. So she takes the pouch with
the papers inside to her destination. When she gets there,
there are forms to fill out and she has lots of difficulty
getting this done (96.05.05)
Comment:
If this were my dream, I would wonder if it has anything to
do with a wise old woman's difficulty in getting through to
"Fast Wheels"? When I put a "cap" on something, then it's
effectively putting a lid on it. Exposed spokes on a wheel
remind me of the potential astrological demarcations of
houses: by extension, I would think of possible stages/planes
of experience -- greatly simplified: 1) identity; 2) values;
3) communication; 4) heart; 5) creativity; 6) work; 7)
relationship; 8) intimacy; 9) the higher mind & places/people
at a distance; 10) career and/or the way the world sees me;
11) friends & groups: future hopes; 12) confinement, endings,
etc. An old lady wearing leather would emphasize, for me,
paradoxically her youth (because wearing leather) and age
(weathered by experience). What's in her bag? Nothing but
messages? Communications are in the bag and could get caught
up (trapped) in swiftly turning wheel of life. Forms to fill
out suggest yet another way to transmit information.
Whose/what messages are being delivered? Have I looked into
the bag yet to read anything written thus far?
== Commentary on: "Animal Island" (ED3:V3N5) by Island
(96.06.25)
The Dream:
There are two islands, close to each other, separated by no
more than about half a mile of ocean. I live on one of them,
in the only old farm house standing on it. The other island
only contains stables and is populated exclusively by cattle,
some sheep, some cows, one horse, all of them friendly,
especially the horse. I have to row over in a kind of small
barge to get food, hey and grass and cabbage, to all the
animals, as there is nothing growing on their island. My
first passage in the barge is not difficult, but when I
arrive I discover with unpleasant surprise that it is empty,
I have forgotten to put any of the food into it. I hastily
return and set out for a second crossing. This time the
passage to the neighboring island is more difficult, as I
have lost the oars and have to propel the little barge by my
naked
hands. This works fairly well, but a little too slow I
feel, thinking of the waiting hungry animals. When I arrive,
my boat again is empty. I am very disturbed about that and
step out to comfort the cattle by telling them that I will
return for a third time shortly. The horse approaches me
friendly but a little reproachfully, leaning its head against
my shoulder and I stroke it gently. My third return to the
animal island somehow is even more difficult and slow. And
again, upon arrival, I find that the barge is totally empty.
This is completely incomprehensible to me, but I have no time
to be puzzled and disturbed. For this time the animal island
has come to hostile life. It is not the suffering animals,
who become hostile. Their island is suddenly populated by
medieval soldiers, rogues, wild and primitive men, with
weapons, mainly sticks and raw clubs, out to take revenge for
my failing deliveries, definitely with an intention to kill
me. I manage somehow to escape to my own island with my farm
house. But there they catch up with me, are upon me, almost
get me. Then I detect a hole in one of the old clay walls of
the house and swiftly disappear into it, hiding in the hollow
wall. For a moment I experience great relief, as my escape
has remained unnoticed by the wild men, and I hear them
noisily run past the wall in pursuit of me. But then what
seems to have been my rescue from destruction turns into
sheer horror: The inside of the hollow wall, where it is
pitch- dark, seems indeed to consist of a sticky, pitchy
matter, slimy and somehow slowly moving. It turns out to be
the inside of a carnivorous plant which is slowly sucking me
in. I gradually sink down deeper into the narrowing,
clutching hole, certain that I will be devoured and dissolved
by the acid juices beginning to ooze out from it.
Comment:
If this were my dream, one of the first questions I would ask
myself is if someone, especially myself, is receiving the
proper nourishment? The desire and intention seems to be to
nourish (feed) domestic animals. I would feel that the
transformation from docility to hostility is quite natural
considering that desires and intentions are frustrated,
albeit somewhat terrifying, but then I would remember that
dreams sometimes exaggerate or magnify to drive a message
home. Though I try to hide/run from/avoid/ignore the
situation, I am literally eaten alive, or consumed by the
situation ultimately. I would wonder if the dream might also
point to an internal conflict regarding the nurturing of
myself by myself, my nurturing of others, and/ or my being
nurtured by others. So I would then ask questions of myself:
how do I really feel about the process/act of nurturing? Then
one thing I might do is write a great deal about what
nurturing/being nurtured means to me.
FEAR:
== Commentary on: "The Roof God and Uncle Joe" (ED3:V3N5)
by Island (960625)
The Dream:
I am at the hospital where I work. A God (Demi-God?) and a
woman have a great flying battle across the roof of the
building. Along the line that they travel the roof is tore up
pretty bad. It is raining and subsequently there are leaks
all over in the hospital. I am walking along inside the
building and run into a maintenance worker I know. He asks
about the leaks and I tell him I know nothing even though I
know exactly what happened. He says something, I think, about
a female administrator at the hospital. Now I am at my
parents' old house in Toledo, OH. It seems there is some sort
of family gathering going on. I am seeing people I haven't
seen in years. I am shaking hands and greeting people when I
hear someone say the Uncle Joe is here or is coming here
soon. I ask around because I do not see him anywhere.
Someone, not a family member, takes me outside. I am told to
wait by a car that is parked in the backyard. As I wait I
look up and see the Northern lights. They are very bright and
vivid. I think to myself that they should continue for some
time since the magnetic storm that is causing them must be
very bright. I go back to the car. I am getting sick of
waiting. I get into the passenger seat and start calling out
for Uncle Joe. I sense that he is somewhere in the car, but
is not answering for some reason. I look at the dashboard and
wonder if he is under there somewhere. I think that I either
hear his voice or the voice of the person who brought me out
to the car, but I cannot recall what this voice is saying.
Comment:
If this were my dream, I would be intrigued by my confusion
as to whether the God on the roof was a God, or half-God. Am
I being reductionist or am I alluding to a half-God/half-man?
Battling with a woman, who might be a female administrator? I
would wonder just who this female administrator is to me and
whether or not I value her... there seems to be an imbalance
somewhere because the deck seems to be stacked against the
woman. As a woman, I wouldn't want to battle either a God, or
demi-God, even though I might hold my own, and put up a great
fight. Because the fight takes place on the roof, I would
wonder if this battle is solely in my mind? I would wonder
why I do not answer the maintenance man's questions about the
leaks. Does he mean to repair the leaks? The magnetic storm
of the next sequence seems to echo the battle on the roof :
perhaps on a higher, different plane. The Northern Lights
will continue to shine for some time. What associations do
the Northern Lights have for me? Could there be a fear of any
kind that something which exists on a higher plane -- the
light(s) -- might be extinguished? Does it require a magnetic
storm for the light(s) to continue? These are some questions
I might ask myself. Just how essential is talking to Uncle
Joe, or opening myself up to what Uncle Joe may symbolize --
perhaps in this instance, an unconventional belief that
involves a metaphysical reality -- to me, it at all? If this
were my dream, to honor it, if at all possible, I would
probably try and reconnect with Uncle Joe. I would share my
dream with him, open myself up to any conversation, and see
if anything Uncle Joe has to say strikes a chord within me,
sparks, stimulates, or otherwise heightens my awareness and
expands my horizons.
== Commentary on: Snake Hater's Dream (ED3:3_5) by Island
(960529) **
The Recurring Dream:
... I am holding a rather large rattlesnake by the neck with
a firm grip of my right hand. I know the colors of the snake
and I can see the colors of my bed spread. What I find odd is
that I am not scared of the snake what-so-ever, that is,
because I am sitting on its tail (its rattles). As I hold the
shake close to its head I remind myself not to get up because
the sound of the rattles would frighten me. Although I don't
want to, I know I have to get up and dispose of the snake
outside...this means I have to get off its rattles and can no
longer sit on them. In my dream, every time I get up to take
it outside, it begins to slip down into the middle of my fist
and bites me on the outside of my hand between my index
finger and thumb. And every time my hand begins to foam and
froth uncontrollably and the snake pokes its teeth in harder
and harder till it turns to a golden powder and spreads on
the floor around my feet. At this point the wound is gone
except for 2 puncture holes where the snake bit me....
The Dream:
The dreamer, a 17-year-old male deathly afraid of snakes,
states that he finds himself sitting on a bed at one of two
homes. If this were my dream, I would ask myself, what are
the colors in the snake? The bedspread? Do they harmonize or
clash? What really is the neck of a snake? I have a hard time
envisioning it. Is it the section just below the mouth and
fangs? Where does the neck begin and end? Is the neck the
snake's center of expression, or is it the tail, where the
rattlers are? The sound of the rattles brings fear. Why? What
else rattles like that? Is the fear of the sound of rattling
that which stops the me from putting the snake outside? When
I think I can no longer sit on it (snake's energy), am I also
saying I am repressing that energy? A closed fist could
suggest anger, or power, but the bite puts the me out of
control. Bite/teeth/repeated action...transforms the snake
into a golden powder circling my feet... numinous. At this
point the wound is gone, though the scar (two puncture holes)
are visible. Could this dream possibly have anything to do
with an internal conflict regarding sexuality?
== Commentary on The Snake Haters Dream by BobC
A Freudian interpretation of the snake symbol is that it is a
phallic symbol, and because of your age, it may be a relevant
association. You are struggling to control your sexual
emotions and behavior relating to them. You do not want to
move away from the bed because the sound of the rattles would
draw attention to your struggle. You realize you have to get
up to "dispose of the snake outside" because ultimately
almost all human beings have to express their sexuality
outside of themselves with another. The snake bites you
because the passage to sexual maturity forever changes people
(ergo, the bite marks are left behind). But the struggle is
left behind also, because at the end of passage to adulthood
sexuality is "golden." It enriches our lives in many ways;
physical pleasure, children, emotional as well as physical
intimacy with another, and as a means of non-verbal
communication. If you disagree with the above interpretation,
then it is wrong. Only the dreamer knows.
Bob C.
'What we do in dreams we also do when we are awake: we invent
and fabricate
the person with whom we associate - and immediately forget we
have done so.'
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
== Commentary on The Snake Hater s Dream by Fuzz from SkyeT
Comments: What occurs first to me is the idea that it seems
to be the **sound** of the snake that is more frightening to
you. I wonder if this sound reminds you of something else
and you are using the snake rattle as a screen memory for
this other sound.
Also, the idea of the snake evaporating into golden dust
suggests perhaps that this is a very old idea -- one that no
longer has physical substance, but is currently marked only
by the idea of residual puncture wounds. The golden color
suggests that the result of the interaction with the snake
was positive, spiritual even.
Although this idea -- whatever this snake experience
represents -- is frightening to you, it may be a fear of
something very powerfully mystical, rather than a fear of
something that is truly dangerous.
Skye T
"...It has been speculated that of all groups scientists
and engineers might be the most devastated by the discovery
of relatively superior creatures, since these professions
are most clearly associated with the mastery of nature,
rather than with the understanding and expression of man.
Brookings Institute for NASA, 4/18/61
== Commentary on: "The Night of the Biting Zombies "
(ED3:3_5) by Island (960625)
<I was at an amusement park with my parents and my sister. My
sister (nine years old) split off to the child care part. We
were having fun at the time but then we heard a message on
the loudspeaker.
> If this were my dream, these are some of the thoughts
that would arise: Some message is trying to get through loud
and clear: Something I consider "fun" is not really fun at
all... what this amusement leads to is an attempt to kill,
rekill, and kill yet again, with the aid of adults (or adult
behavior).
<It said that there was a zombie attack on the park (In my
dream when you get bit by a zombie you turn into one).
Certain drugs produce a zombie-like state; I think of heroin,
injected with a needle. I wonder if the dream has anything to
do with recreational drugs? Since I do not use drugs
recreationally, I begin to wonder if I am tapping into what
Jung called the collective unconscious? I try and think of
what springs to mind when I think of a zombie... Walking
dead; someone without a soul; a bloodless corpse; someone
without conscience; amorality...
<Suddenly everybody was scared and panicky.>
Again, if I were using drugs, getting a "rush," then coming
down from a high, or weaning myself off, I would feel scared
and panicky. If I were in the land of zombies and all my
associations that state, I would certainly feel scared and
panicky.
<I rushed over to the child care part to get my sister. When
I arrived, all the children were zombies and were wandering
around with blood all over them. Then I saw my sister. She
was a zombie too. I was greatly angered and sad by all this.
I knew I had to re-kill the children so they wouldn't kill
anybody else. I snapped everyone's neck slowly while crying
for all the children. I slowly turned the little heads until
I heard a "CRACK". I saw a car with keys in it so I drove it
away until I saw a group of adults. They were creating a trap
for the zombies. I helped them finish and I lured(sp?) them
in. We caught them and killed them one by one.>
Something to do with childhood, children, or my inner child,
whether past, present, future -- or collectively -- is
profoundly affecting me. Or something to do with anything
that drains the lifeforce (perhaps the childlike state of
being: innocence, spontaneity, etc.) from me and/or others.
Perhaps childlike (immature, unformed, or uninformed)
behavior is responsible for my present predicament. I am so
torn, so conflicted, that I weep for what I must do to bring
resolution. If it were my dream, I would wish to be very
clear about what it is that has placed me in such a poignant,
yet gripping double bind. The thing that intrigues me the
most is that whatever it is is so powerful to my mind that
not even death, the great finality, holds sway, for I have
had to kill, rekill, and kill again with the help of adults
(or adult like behavior), which is, to my mind, paradoxical.
Perhaps it would help me if I softened my language a bit, and
whispered to myself, "I must call, recall, and call (out)
again" until the Universe responds, which It always does,
somehow.
== Commentary on: "An Arrow out of Nowhere" (ED3:V3N5) by
Island (96.06.25)
The Dream:
I'm standing alone on the steps of a building. An arrow out
of nowhere pierces my neck (my throat). I'm bleeding and fall
to the ground. I need help. A friend appears. I tell him I
must get to a hospital. He tells me he doesn't have his car,
but he will help. He gets me to my feet, but I never let go
of my throat. We find ourselves at a busy bus terminal. Yes,
of course I think, the bus will take me to the hospital. But
as we approach each bus, we miss it by seconds and it drives
away. We run for many, but we just keep missing them.
Finally, in exhaustion, my friend says - we will walk, but I
will get you there, As we start to walk, I collapse.
Comment:
If this were my dream, an arrow piercing the throat suggests,
to me, very targeted, focused -- right on -- expression,
which can sometimes boomerang on me if I express to people
unprepared for, or otherwise not amenable to, what I might
want to say. Have I been struck by divinity, or the Divine
Self within me? Have I disowned Divinity or Divine Self? I
fall to the ground or am otherwise brought low. Do I confuse
my state of awe with illness because bleeding? Or is this a
sign that the life force (blood) streams from me at the
throat? an indication that I must muster courage to self-
express? I recognize I needs help, or aid, so a helper comes.
I believe I must get to a hospital (or obtain a more
hospitable response, or even hospitality). My helper tells
him, "I don't have a car, but I will help you." Is my helper
suggesting, "let's not choose the way of the collective." For
the car (because most people drive through life or to
otherwise get around), the bus "terminal" and the hospital
(also can be a place where life itself ends) suggest a
collective, rather than the individual, response. My friend
gets me to my feet: I am grounded; capable of walking on my
own recognizance. But "we find ourselves" -- seemingly
without having chosen such a direction -- at a busy bus
terminal. Did I and my friend drift in this direction? Does
the bus symbolize group thinking and direction where,
perhaps, there is safety in numbers? Is the hospital an
indicator for me, in this dream, where I have failed to
integrate well with the collective, and do I clutch my throat
-- my own ability to myself as an individual -- despite all?
Perhaps the helper is truly helping in this instance because
over and over I miss the bus, even though it exhausts me to
the point of collapse. The question I have for the dreamer,
when he says, <Yes, of course I think, the bus will take me
to the hospital,> do you really need the bus, and is it the
hospital you really want to go to? Perhaps the dreamer might
think again. Are there places other than bus
terminals/hospitals to walk/drive to that bring about
healing?
PUZZLES:
== Commentary on: The Gnome of Depressive Death (ED3:3_5) by
Island (96.06.25)*
The Dream:
There had been an accident, a simultaneously obvious and
secret accident that had effected the entire world by turning
the entire place into a dusty farmland. The harsh stillness
that followed the man-made catastrophe reminds me of media
portrayals of the world after nuclear holocaust. The United
States politically identified itself and its boundaries as
Australia and New Zealand. (I don't know exactly what those
words of the last sentence mean; they were "given
information" as I became aware of the dream while I was
sleeping. In the dream, lived in a shack with the family that
I was born to. Down wind from where we lived, about a half
mile away, was our barn, which housed horses and cows, each
animal in an isolated stall. CUT TO CHANGE OF BEING I am my
(in real life non-existent) sister and I have just gotten out
of jail. Her friend, Annie, has come to pick her up and to
take her to a small restaurant so that she can learn to cook.
I (through my sister's eyes) notice that the restaurant is
empty; it is dawn, and Annie asks them to show me how to make
jam. This is a Mexican food restaurant, and the girl who
works there and her father tell us to follow them. They take
me outside of their quaint little restaurant, where there is
the gynecological clinic for desert whores I visited in
another dream. Leaning against the wall of the clinic, there
is a bicycle. They take the bicycle and we all get in a car
and ride to lush, morning farmlands. At the top of a hill,
they tell me to ride down the paved hill and they will go
ahead and video tape my ride down. Although they act as
though this is a rite of passage, Understand that I am being
punished and humiliated. In everyone else's mind, after all
of this is done, I will understand how to make jam. To these
people, jam and spirituality and money are directly related
to one another. I push myself from the top of the hill and
quickly reach a speed that excites the life in me but scares
me nearly to fainting. But I know that I don't faint. After
all, this is only a dream, I think to myself. I look ahead
and think of the man and his daughter and think of Annie,
waiting at the car, realize that there are no breaks on this
bike. I am worried that this may not be a dream at all. It
may be real, and I may collide with the pavement. I think to
myself, there will be an up-slanted slope sometime. I just
have to keep riding until then. After many hills and curves,
I reach the upwards-slanted slope that allows me to stop. I
am sweaty, bright red, and numb. CUT TO CHANGE OF BEING (back
to myself) I hear that my sister and her brother (same sister
as in previous scene, brother I haven't seen before) have
gotten out of boarding school. They have herpes, and it has
gone to their brains. They are depressed, mentally
handicapped people who need constant care. The parents are
too much in shock to care for my brother and sister and for
the farm and keep the animals and children locked up for a
while. I realize eventually that my siblings are not being
properly cared for and open the door to their room. My
chubby, mute brother goes and sits down somewhere. My sister
says that she has something to do. She looks very depressed
and is moving slowly. CUT TO CHANGE OF BEING (I'm my sister
again) I walk through the sand and itchy grass to the barn
and climb up the ladder to where there is feed for the
animals. The weather is changing every moment from rainy to
painfully lacking humidity, and the animals seem as though
they are dying. I feel sorry For them. I feed the cows a
poison that won't kill their bodies but will cause their
consciousness to shift out of their bodies. I give the horses
sedatives. I throw grain down into the stalls. A little gnome
comes by and slashes the cows' wide white throats and hangs
them by their necks and suffocates the horses to death. As
the gnome is running around doing these things, I eat mass
quantities of the horse sedative. I see an evil glint in my
eye and feel an evil haze around me before my body fails and
I lay down. CUT TO CHANGE OF BEING (back to myself) I am
doing some carpentry work when I have a strange feeling that
my sister is in the barn, where she has been told not to go.
I am afraid that she has killed the cows. She senses
depression and has killed depressed people and animals in the
past. I run out to the barn. I am running as fast as I can,
but I seem to be going in slow motion. I get to the barn and
see the dead cows. Entropy hangs in the air. I go upstairs
and see my pale sister lying on the rotting wood floor. She
is not dead. I carry her body to the shack where I live. I
did not notice that she was dead until I attempted to give
her some sort of first aid shot and felt how rubbery her
flesh was. I went to look for my brother and the rest of the
family. I saw my dog dead on the floor. I knew that the
parents were in their luxurious, tropical-motif, tacky room.
I knew that they were dead lying straight in their bed. My
brother was dead as well. I wake up.
If this were my dream, this is how I would work with it:
(Catastrophic) Accident brings on holocaust where all turns
to dust.
(Family dynamic): I & family live in shack; each domestic
animal in separate stall)
(Life task/aim): I am taught to make jam in Mexico: first am
driven to lush farmlands
(Video tape) Visual record of life's journey
(Nature/Quality of journey): rite of passage is equivalent to
punishment & humiliation
(lessons to be learned): how to make jam. Dreamer
differentiates between material/spiritual:
teachers relate them.
(State of dreamer AS IMAGINARY SISTER) wide awake, in
control, dreams lucidly as he/she experiences life which
looms (downhill, curves) larger than the dreamer. Even
speculates about the consequences of no brakes (completely
open to experience), and imagines a positive outcome (will
inevitably brake when the hill ascends)
(State of dreamer AS OBSERVER) Dreamer as dreamer believes
sister and brother are brain damaged and improperly cared for
so opens the locked door. Sister and brother are slowly
coming around.
(EVENTS beyond dreamer's control) Erratic, extreme weather
changes (mood swings? Shifts in temperament? Wet to dry?) To
bring under control, dreamer's pity results in separating
spirit from matter through poisoning the cows, and sedating
the horses. The gnome, however, an extremist, hangs the cows
and suffocates the horses.
(State of dreamer AS OBSERVER) Sister cannot bear depression;
everything around dreamer
dies: parents, sister, brother, cows, dog...while the dreamer
is in the process of repairing/building/restoring (doing
carpentry work) & giving first aid (healing)...
If this were my dream, I would also work with the phrase:
-- a luxurious, tropical-motif, tacky room --
juxtaposed with the phrase,
-- dead lying straight in their bed.--
and ask myself if my values are compatible with others. In
this situation, must I disown my values to survive, must I
compromise more than I care to?
SHARED WRAP-UP COMMENTARY FROM THE DREAMER
-PUZZLES SOLVED ?
== Dream: The Avocado/Magnolia War by Island [83.01.22--
not a misprint]
Dreamed Harvey is outside, showing me the trees he has
planted. He planted two avocado plants -- one on the outside
of a squared in, raised area for other plants, and the other
inside the raised area. I see tiny avocados shooting out and
am impressed. He then shows me a magnolia tree that he has
planted. This tree, however, is sitting next to the avocado
plant. It is much too close.. I am alarmed. I stare at it for
some time and imagine its big, thick roots in the years ahead
strangle and take over the roots of the more sensitive,
avocado plant. But I cannot tell him of his error I see J__
at the top of high stairs entering a house, almost as if in
thin air.
Comment by Island:
Believe it or not, I dreamed this dream more than 13 years
ago where it has sat, unexamined, all that time, among a sea
of some 4,000 other dreams. On April 20th, 1996, J__, Ha__'s
wife, has her first layover in New York City since 1982,
which was the last time we saw each other: 14 years ago. She
was never a close close friend because our friendship was
short lived as my first marriage interrupted a continuation
of that friendship nearly 30 years ago. However, we have
managed to see each other perhaps as many as four or five
times in that 30 year span. So we had much to learn about
each other during this visit, though I had been kept posted
on J__ through a mutual friend sporadically through the
years.
J__ tells me that, in 1990, she, Ha__, and their only son,
Hu__, now age 11, moved into a house in Fort Lauderdale which
they purchased last year. There is a huge avocado tree in her
back yard that spans both hers and her neighbor's yard. It
even has a tree house built inside it. The problem with the
avocado tree is it doesn't bear fruit: just tiny, hard
avocados. Hu__ has been wanting to grow avocados so he can
sell them and even used his money to pay ten dollars for each
spike needed. J__ is very proud of her son's ingenuity and
industry, and it is easy to see that she loves him a great
deal. She has chosen, for example, to educate him herself:
therefore, he has never seen the inside of a public or
private school. As she brings me up to date on the avocado
tree, with no questions from my end whatsoever, I have an
eerie feeling. I suddenly remember a dream I had many years
ago about Ha__ outside a house and greenery of some kind. I
suggest to her we try and locate it on the computer.
After J__ and I read the dream on the computer, I wondered
about the magnolia tree. J__ had not mentioned one. She then
tells me that there are two Norwood pines with the avocado
tree in the back yard; and a large gardenia bush growing for
forty years to about 9 feet high in the front. Gardenia
bushes don't usually live that long and, to her, it looks
like a tree because it's as tall as a house. I've always felt
like gardenias are a magnolia's sibling in look and smell.
She remarks as well the next morning that, to her, gardenias
are very close to magnolia blossoms in appearance and smell.
I noted that J__ wanted not to notice the strange set of
coincidences: something about my showing her the dream was
off-putting to her, or so I imagined. She seemed to want to
minimize, or not make much of it. So we didn't discuss it.
The next morning, she then goes on to add that she wasn't
even meant to have this trip or meeting with me. What
happened was that her son, Hu__, had never seen New York
City. So as a stewardess, she arranged for herself, Ha__ &
Hu__ to fly for a weekend to NYC. When they arrived at the
Ft. Lauderdale airport to take off Friday afternoon, there
was only one seat available. So she decided on the spur of
the moment to take the trip by herself. She remarked that,
had it not worked out that way, we would have never gotten
together (and thus I would have never heard her tell me of
Hu__ desire to grow avocados and thus returned to the dream).
After her departure, I waited to hear from her nearly six
weeks, before moving out of New York City. She was to have
sent me Ha__'s E-Mail address because she and I had
concretized plans of traveling in the future. Yet I have not
heard from her since.
Some personal observations: until April 20th, 1996, I had
always believed avocados to be plants, not trees. Note how I
edit myself when I record the dream: I first write, <trees he
has planted.> I then edit myself, <He planted two avocado
plants>. That is because I had always assumed avocados grew
in groves of some kind, and never in yards.
The question I asked myself then was: why would I have had a
dream 13 years ago whose details would be recounted to me and
bear such similarity to what I was hearing in waking reality
that I would remember the dream's existence among an ocean of
dreams? These events are so ordinary: growing avocados in a
yard, one in a squared in raised area (J__'s treehouse?), J__
disappearing in thin air (as if boarding an airplane ready to
take off)...
In this past month, I have moved to a new area near Pasadena.
The first and only couple we have met are now renting a
house. This weekend, they proudly show us the avocado tree
which grows in their backyard: the only problem is the
avocados are small, and hard. The tree can no longer bear
edible avocado fruits. In the front yard grows a huge
magnolia tree. The couple laugh about a lone mockingbird who
perches in the branches of the tree nightly and sings a
multitude of tunes that makes sleeping difficult...
I recall J__ crying as she recounts to me how she was treated
by her Daddy when she was no more than five. The conversation
was especially poignant because J__ became that five year old
as she remembered those painful memories. Her father told her
repeatedly how ugly she was and shunned her, to the extent
that whenever a family photograph was taken, she would do
anything to edge up next to him, just to be able to be near
him without reprisals. And even then, he would push her away.
She developed such a fear of and hatred for her father that
she desperately did not want a son to be born. And yet, when
he arrived, such an unbelievable bonding took place that she
still has a hard time fathoming how it is possible. Instead
of resolving her relationship with her father, however, she
is even more estranged from him, largely because of his own
actions toward her. Very sad...
I recall the new couple: A__ who talks of the alienation from
her mother that she experienced until most recently, when her
mother was diagnosed with cancer. And the tears that her talk
elicited at the dinner table, because my own painful
experience was being recalled: my mother, too, rarely spoke
unless enraged about something or another, and even those
diatribes made no sense. We both revealed that our mothers
were schizophrenic at one point. It was only in the last
seven or more years that my mother began to relate without so
much of the anger, and disassociation from reality, as she
had in earlier years: yet just before she was diagnosed with
cancer. I could not help but be so grateful for the time I
had with my mother to really get to know her, just as the
woman sitting opposite me. I couldn't help but marvel at the
fact that she never recorded her dreams, or spoke of them,
except briefly a few years before she died. During her period
of opening up, she had also begun to record her dreams as
well. I have often wondered if that one act contributed to
her transformation in personality.
I recall the huge magnolia tree that grew in our front yard,
when I was a child of three. I loved that tree passionately.
I used to climb to the top of it because it had great,
sprawling limbs, and gorgeous blossoms that exuded the most
wonderful odor. The leaves were so slick, so bright dark
green. Their backsides were furry brown, and I could scrape
the fur off. One time when I was very small, I remember
tearing one of its leaves apart, just to understand how that
leaf could be. When I saw I couldn't put it together again, I
vowed then never to tear anything up just to understand it.
I recalled, though I've never forgotten, or repressed, the
event, one day I climbed to the top of the magnolia tree.
Daddy came home. He called from the window, "Are you up in
that tree?" --"No," I said, "I'm not up in the tree" because
I knew he would disapprove. I got the switching of my life
with a limb I had to get myself from a bush... because I had
lied to him. Though I understood my need to be corrected, I
never quite understood why so severe a method? Yet I am so
thankful now that through the years, he has mellowed and
become such a kinder, more humane and generous man as he
relates to me, and that we have had the opportunity to repair
together much of the earlier damage. These are my private
associations, but I am too close to the dream to grasp the
meaning, or the warning, behind: <I am alarmed. I stare at it
(magnolia tree) for some time and imagine its big, thick
roots in the years ahead strangle and take over the roots of
the more sensitive, avocado plant.> The dream is numinous for
me now, largely because those past roots have grown
underground and appear in the present...
I received the following comment from mb on April 22nd (who
did not have the benefit of my comments and associations
above):
There seems to me nothing so strange about that dream. As I
experience from my own dreams, time or space does not exist
in dreams. I can just as well have glimpses of the future as
I have glimpses of the past. It would have helped if you had
posted the dream as it was, without your own commentaries on
it (I have taken the suggestion to heart and revised my
posting--Island). Since the dream only *uses* precognitive
elements in order to create its imagery and meaning, the real
meaning of the dream, I believe, is not concerned with the
future as such, but with the meaning of it for the right here
and now.
[Here the dream is repeated without my original comments]
As you see, I have taken out your interruptions of the dream.
Looking at it this way, it may very well symbolize your
concern with the marital relationship, yours or someone
elses, in which two people who have different "fruits", i.e.
interests and needs, are too close may intertwine smother
each other. The big, thick roots are obviously a concern
here. Does one of you have *roots* in one place, roots which
may threaten the happiness and productivity of the other?
Since this dream took place many years ago, maybe what the
concern symbolized in this dream existed at that time, but
now no longer. Let us know what your reflections are.
mb
My reflections are, first of all, thank you very much for
your very interesting and perceptive insights. Though time or
space doesn't exist in dreams, and although my experience of
dreaming confirms your own, that we can have glimpses of both
the future and the past in dreams, my deep surprise was the
event itself (J__'s unexpected arrival and her sharing with
me what is presently going on her life) recalled similar
events taking place in a dream of 13 years ago: not
extraordinary events, but mundane, day to day living events.
That was a great indicator to me that I really needed to take
a look at the warning embedded in the dream which I believed
to have significance in the now. But what? J__'s visit was
April 20th. My mother had already died March 20th; we were
already aware that we were moving to the West Coast. The
dream is telling me something important I do not know, but
need to know, but what? Considering the fact that my husband
is a native New Yorker, your insight, <Does one of you have
*roots* in one place, roots which may threaten the happiness
and productivity of the other?> is especially astute. I don't
think he was all that happy about relocating, but everything
seems to be OK.
I feel that the dream may point more to alienation between
child and parent because of the conversations that took place
among people, not just J__ and H__, who have avocados and
gardenias growing in their yard, but A__ and her husband who
we have just met who also have avocados and magnolias growing
in their yard. Also Ha__ in the dream actually translates to
Hu__, his son, in reality, who is attempting presently to
revitalize a tree past its prime. Too, alienation between
child and parent, I feel, usually transfers to alienation
between husbands and wives, siblings, friends. Because the
magnolia roots (not edible) strangles the avocado (edible), I
feel that the dream may also suggest a conflict between
nurturing on a physical level and nurturing the soul (the
beauty and smell of the magnolia flower). Oddly, in reality,
I probably place more importance on the latter, not the
former, believing that, without nurturing the soul, the
physical body will be unable to be nurtured, no matter what
one eats, as it were. Yet the dream may also be offering me
assurance that all unfolds at the right place and at the
right time. Sometimes I am overwhelmed when I get a tiny
glimpse of the intricate, yet perfect, dance the Universe
dances, no matter what I think or perceive or believe might
be happening. Maybe I myself am too rooted in the past, worry
too much about what has already happened, its effects,
influences, so that I do not allow myself to truly experience
the Now. I just haven't been able to reach the Aha! Of the
dream. Back in 1990, I had a similar experience with a dream
which seemed so numinous to me at the time, and I knew it
contained a great insight, but I just couldn't seemed to
grasp it...so I went around for several days, asking myself
repeatedly, "What could it possibly mean?" Then my brother
was actually murdered. Only then did the dream become
transparent. I suppose that experience primed me to brace
myself when I experience something similar, and this dream is
similarly numinous for me. Maybe one of these days the dream
will be transparent. Until then, I can truly appreciate the
insights that come, the perspectives, such as yours, that are
offered, and say as well, "Where is he who knows? From the
great deep to the great deep he goes" (Alfred Lord Tennyson,
Idylls of the King).
Island
== A Final Comment on "ShadowBox" by Island
Events themselves seemed to bring closure to the dream, "The
Shadow Box", dreamed February 2nd, then brought to the
attention of a DreamWheel where comments were reproduced in
Electric Dreams 3:4.
February 2, 1996, when I dreamed the dream, my mother, though
ill for seven years with cancer, was alive and responding
well to treatment. My husband, a part of extensive layoffs
with the aerospace industry, remained unemployed a year and a
half later with no job on the horizon. He at that time had
just departed for California to visit his brother, discussing
the possibility of a business partnership. By chance, he
attended a conference where a man was posting job listings on
a bulletin board. This man, a former New Yorker, remembered
my husband from years ago. From this chance meeting, Rob went
on a rare job interview, a week or so after my dream.
It is now June 10th, four months and a week following the
dream. The events that have taken place since the dream are:
1) My mother died March 20th from multiple myeloma (cancer of
the plasma). Monica's father died of lung cancer just a few
years ago. I did not for some reason immediately associate
the fact that Monica is the only close friend I have whose
parent died following a diagnosis of cancer. If I had, I
might have been more prepared when my own mother died. As it
happened, she died just hours before I had boarded Amtrak to
see her.
2) By March 27th, Rob learned that we would be relocating to
Pasadena, CA, because he was hired by Jet Propulsion Labs,
the leader in robotics outer space exploration. At that time
he had lived nearly a half a century in New York City; I had
lived in the same apartment in New York City for two decades.
In retrospect, I see now that the dream foreshadows some
connection with planetary observation (e.g., the planets in
the shadowbox).
3) By April 13th, he was called unexpectedly to leave NYC to
attend a conference in San Antonio, TX (the place alluded to
in one of my comments), his first visit to that town and
state. Monica presently lives in Texas, where the dream
seemed to unfold. The conference was held on The New
Mellenium Program, whose "fundamental objective is to begin
to establish a virtual human presence in space, enabling
people to explore the near-Earth environment, the far edges
of the solar system, and space beyond." (Interestingly, I
have always likened dreaming and interest in dreams to inner
space exploration... what is outside, e.g., the universe, is
mirrored within... as vast as the universe is vast, so too
are our dreaming selves...)
4) On May 31st, Rob's grandmother, whom he was very close to
and had been primarily responsible for her care for several
years died as well.
5) By June 7th, we had both relocated to Pasadena.
6) On June 8th, I attended an open house (primarily outdoors)
sponsored by JPL where a movie (a shadowbox?) I watched
showed the planets one by one coming into view, from inner to
outer (excepting Pluto, which remains unexplored by
robotics), a striking parallel to the dream. To repeat again
someone's question and my response: <What else can you see
[inside the shadowbox] with one quick glimpse, or two? I
would like to say planets slowly, elegantly assuming their
positions, each in turn, against a backdrop of an infinity of
stars.>
Speaking of an infinity of stars, during the open house
session, a man explained how scientists arrived at the figure
of perhaps one hundred billion galaxies comprising the known
universe. If I don't become as a seven-year-old child in the
face of that awesome, unfathomable reality, there's no hope
for me!
The three months following the dream could be characterized
as a period of both great loss and great transition; with a
thorough review of our lifetimes as we both sifted through
everything we possessed (our storehouse of memories) to ready
for the move across country. Then once moved, feeling very
much like a child and going through renewal...
I remind myself, Is not a dream truly a revelation?
Island
==========================================================
NEW DREAMS
TRAVELING DREAMS - INCIDENTS ON A JOURNEY
** "Thesis Topic" by JK
Living in a suburb uncomfortably close to Marietta, where
everyone has those terrible giant rabbits to ride on--they
give me the creeps, and they've been linked with cancer. I
see Burt on TV saying he doesn't see anything wrong with
them. I get over that way somehow on foot, to visit family
friends--they don't keep rabbits, but aren't scared of them
like I am. I stop at an acquaintance's house to borrow her
shower, find no-one home, and shower anyway. Her parents
arrive as I am leaving--I introduce myself, but they clearly
are suspicious of me. They ask how I am to get home with no
rabbit. Fortunately, they live on a cliff, and I see out
their back door one of the commuter-sized
pedal-gliders passing. I leap for an empty cubicle--close
call. But there are
more dangerous ways to travel, so I don't fret. At home, I
find that I have an edifice that I must have ordered from a
poster, or perhaps it's alive. It is several stories tall,
and is a convoluted hollow tube with two phallic ends near
the ground, painted lurid red. I am apparently throwing a
penis-party. But on
venturing in, one finds one has to ride through the whole
thing. A large group, with me, gets stuck near the top for
quite a while. It's crowded, people complain. When we
finally shoot down the tubes to the bottom, I vow to paint
it purple and close it to the public. Perhaps it is the topic
of a thesis.
== Commentary by Wise Crone on Thesis Topic
This dream seems to me all about fertility and birth control.
The dreamer is afraid of getting pregnant or of getting
someone pregnant. The rabbits, the hollow tubes, the penis-
party all seem to imply that the dreamer is concerned with
fertility and how not to become pregnant.
** Tim, the crackhead by JesseL (960627)
I see Tim form out of nothingness. He's driving a pick up
smoking some crack and somehow holding a bottle of liquid
cocaine. Somehow, he finally convinces me to take the liquid
cocaine sending me into a euphoria of ecstasy but in sight,
it seems as if cars are just going through us, we're flying,
and other such things. Then it occurs to me, it would be
much safer if I drove because I wasn't as messed up. When I
told him, under the bridge heading toward Pepperell on 119,
he saw that I was right so he pulled over to the side so we
could trade seats.
== Notes by Dreamer:
Notes: A little over a year ago, Tim and I were into drugs,
mainly just marijuana. Over the last year or so, through
many life changing experiences and thought processes, I've
become straight edge. He's still into drugs. A common
friend of ours told me that Tim wanted to try crack once to
just see what it was like. I'm 18 and Tim is 17. We've
grown apart in such a way that he's been telling common
friends of ours that he doesn't like me as a person, anymore.
He liked the me who liked drugs more than he liked the
straight edge me. He's a very close friend that I want to
get back to the same level we once were. Also, I'm very
concerned about his drug and sex habits.
== Commentary by Wise Crone on Tim, the crackhead by JesseL
This dream seems to tell the dreamer that he must take the
driver seat in the relationship, rather than be influenced by
the friend who uses crack.
** Dream: 'A Struggle' by Penfold - 28th December 1995
I was going down a hill on rollerskates, and I skated through
what seemed to be a park, and I went into a house. Inside
the house the tables were stacked along the walls. No-one
seemed to be around, until suddenly a lot of Asian people
surrounded me. They asked me what I was doing here and I
said looking for my dad. Almost immediately my dad appeared,
I said something that I couldn't remember. I went out of the
room and into another where a party seemed to be going on.
I saw an argument between Angel and Gary, and they both
stormed out, for some reason, I decided to try and get Angel
for myself. I tried to pull open the door but I encountered
some difficulty as Gary is pulling the other side. After a
short struggle, he lets go and comes inside, and I go outside
with Angel.
Note: Angel and Gary are characters in a children's tv
program in the UK, called Byker Grove. In the show they are
soon to be married.
** Dream: The Global Experience by Nutcracker (960608)
I am standing inside a giant white ball. There is nothing in
the ball; just me. The inside of the ball is textured;
possibly with subliminal messages. As I stand motionless in
the center of the ball, it revolves around me
counterclockwise. (6/8/96) #366
** Dream: Star Wars 96-06-27 03 by JesseL (960627)
Next thing I know (continued from a previous dream),
I'm on some Star Wars ship. For some reason, I take an
escape hatch or something onto a ship we were somehow
attached to. On a side note, the princess was kidnaped by
our enemies. She looked like Miranda J but with red hair.
Running around their ship, I find her, grab her, then run
back onto our ship after running through their ship a bit.
Once back on our ship again, we're in this card playing
lounge or something. We hang out a bit as she tells me how
thankful she is then her father shows up. Everyone
congratulates me then they leave. There are many encounters
with the princess, that I can't remember, where I try to
communicate with her but she ignores me. I can remember,
after that, being in the king's throne room when I hear some
noise behind me. Turning around, I see her in this weird
black get up sing with some guy.
== Notes by Dreamer
Notes: My current girlfriend is Miranda M but I had a thing
for this Miranda J girl beforehand. J's hair is white blonde
while M's hair is strawberry blonde. I'm deeply in love with
Mrs. M but yet I still feel an attraction toward Mrs. J.
** "Bank Problem" by RE (960627 by JR)
I was flying through Paris and had left myself just enough
time between planes to settle a certain bank account
problem.
As I approached De Gaulle, however, I was no longer flying,
but rather skateboarding very fast down a wide, deserted
street. When I skated into De Gaulle, it was no longer an
airport but rather a zoo.
I lost the skateboard & walked through the zoo. Animals
started coming up to me & trying to grab food out of my
hands & out of my backpack. At first it was all fun & games.
I knew I wasn't supposed to, but I was feeding the animals &
began to play with a koala, swinging him around in circles by
his paws.
But then the animals started to scratch & grab for the food.
Somehow a baby tiny gorilla got caught in my backpack,
scratching away all the while. I tried to pull him out
gently, with a little help from the parent tiny gorilla, but
when we finally got the baby out, his leg was hurt. The
parent tiny gorilla scolded me for playing with the animals
& giving them food. I knew he/she was right & I felt very
sorry.
So I got back on my skateboard & hurried to a nearby phone
(pointed out to me by the parent tiny gorilla). I called 911
but they informed me that they did not handle animal
emergencies. I called around to get the zoo emergency #, but
no one could help me. Feeling very guilty about the plight of
the tiny gorillas, I got back on my skateboard & hurried to
take care of my bank problem.
** "The Free Gift" by GD (960627 by JR)
i was out shopping for hair gel b/c i was in some sort of
play and had to be able to get my hair out of my face--sorta
sticking up straight from my head, but it couldn't look
stiff--it had to look natural. and i went to this hair gel
store thing. it was huge-- all white inside with this big
circular counter where the registers were. and the sales
person told me they had just the thing and brought me this
big bottle of yellowish liquid. i told him i'd take it and
he said they were running a special and everyone who bought
something got a free gift. so he took me to the back part of
the store where there was this tank like thing--all metal and
circular with knobs and gadgets coming off it. it was also
like 10ft off the ground. and he climbed a ladder and dunked
a dixie cup in and came back down with it and handed it to
me. in it was about 3 in of water and these eel things.
they were only a couple of cms each and had ugly faces and
sharp teeth. and i didn't know what to do with this, but i
took it. then i went to the register to pay and he put my
"gel' into like 4 paper bags and i kept telling him that i
didn't need a bag and then he got all upset and stormed off.
another sales person came to help but told me i was getting
the wrong thing. she then dragged me all over the store
looking for the right thing which we never found. but for my
trouble i was entitled to another special gift. since i
already had these evil eels (which i still wasn't sure what
to do with) i tried to decline, but she insisted. she left me
at the register and came back a couple of secs later with
this lizard. i'm not sure how i knew it was a lizard, but i
did--it was totally smooth and kinda shiny white with black
spots (holstein cow like spots) and it was shaped like, and
she was carrying it like it was a koala bear--same face and
body and feet shape except it wasn't fuzzy and it had a long
sharp tail. it was also pretty big. i remember thinking that
it was way bigger than max (my cat). and how were they going
to get along? she put this lizard in what looked like a
cross between max's little cat carrier and a mouse/gerbil
cage--clear plastic, little water bottle etc. and it was
pretty scrunched. and she handed me that and the original
bottle of yellow liquid. and i was trying to juggle that and
the eels. but i was thinking that maybe i could deal with
the eels by feeding them to the lizard...but i got into my
car and was somehow holding all this stuff on my lap. and it
was really snowy and icy out and driving was more like skiing
than driving--going back and forth across the road to slow
myself down. and then i was going down this steep hill and
at the bottom was this search party and so to slow myself
down so i wouldn't hit them, i turned the car sideways. and
i stopped at the bottom and there was this cop buried up to
her shoulders in snow and ice and she was searching. somehow
I'd gotten the impression that some child was stuck in the
snow. and i asked the cop wasn't she cold and she said no,
it was all part of her job or duty or whatever. and then
this little girl, who was eating a candy bar--a charleston
chew, i think, one of the long ones--came over and told the
cop to look to the left. apparently she had lost her doll.
and so i started to drive home and i still hadn't figured
out what to do with the eels or the lizard.
** Voyage to Jupiter by MarkL (960720)
Some men had been sent to Jupiter from Earth in a large
spacecraft. We lost contact with them. I was sent somehow
to the planet where they had been going. I saw the huge
planet as I was travelling through space, the planet was
Jupiter. My next memory is that I opened my eyes and I was
lying on the surface of the planet. I looked at my
surroundings. The surface of the planet was mainly flat but
rocky with some large rocky outcrops with caves in them. The
ground was quite soft in the non rocky places such as where I
was lying. There were lots of plants all over the place, I
had never seen any like them before. They were alien in
appearance and strangely colored. Even the atmosphere was odd
as it had a yellow colouration, a kind of sulphur mist. It
was very quiet there and there was no wind at all, best
described as spooky. There was an alien creature there, it
was like a small beetle and I knew somehow that it could kill
me. It came towards me but I couldn't move properly and just
couldn't get up. As I hit the ground I noticed that the
alien went to where the sound was coming from so I realized
that it moved using sound as a guide. I kept hitting the
ground away from me with my hand until I eventually got up.
There were two men on the planet, one was in a cave where
there spacecraft had ended up somehow, it was partly embedded
in the bedrock. He helped me prepare for rescue to Earth as
I was also stranded now. The other man came along but he had
a gun and stopped us from working (he'd gone mad I think.)
The man helping me grabbed the man with gun and they
struggled. I leapt at the man with the gun and joined in the
struggle. The good man was pushed out of the way so it was
just me and the gunman struggling. The gun twisted to point
as the gunman and I struggled to pull the trigger but I just
couldn't. We fell sideways and I fired several shots with the
gun. The bullets hit the gunman in the chest and he fell to
the ground dead. Me and the good man now knew that we were
safe and waited to be rescued. I woke up at this point I
think.
_______________ Mark L "We are such stuff
as dreams are made of..."
- The Tempest
** Dream: Aliens, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly by Island
(96.06.14)
Dreamed while sick and taking an afternoon nap: I'm in a
huge space ship already launched into space with others. The
ship is dark and antiquated, or I cannot see much of the
ship. I have become involved with a man who is to be launched
into outer space, and I'm to press the button at countdown.
There is a great flurry of activity: I have not been prepped
at all. There are many assumptions, and I'm trying at the
very last moment to clarify all details so the launching will
be a success. I find the button I push: it's a round button
on the inside of the right arm of the seat, much like the
button on an airplane that lowers the seat. Further, I'm to
be able to hear the astronaut, and I look for the hearing
device that attaches itself by a thin cord to my left ear,
just sitting inside it. The countdown comes: I'm not too
satisfied that everything is in order and I keep trying to
communicate this to others, but at last it comes anyway.
Funny, but I don't hear, "Blast off" -- which is when I'm to
push the button, there is so much of a hubbub, so I say, "Is
this it? Blast off?" -- and push the button anyway. To my
surprise, it takes all the effort and energy I can muster to
push the button. It's as if the button is as heavy as the
vessel to be launched. So I use a fistlike motion and my
entire body pushing against it, and the vessel is launched
successfully. I sense, more than see visibly, the lift off.
And I strain to hear communication from the astronaut, which
is not forthcoming. Later I am told he volunteered for this
mission because he was dying, and he would not return to the
main ship. I tried to imagine what it must be like for him to
be floating in space, alone, and knowing he would never be
with humans again, then dying. I believed him heroic. A call
comes through on a phone. I answer, and a voice coming from a
distance very far away asks, "Who are you and what do you
want?" I ask, "To whom am I speaking?" -- but get no reply.
But suddenly I realize I am speaking with another being not
human. I say, "We are from the planet Earth, and we mean no
harm." I added the latter because the voice, though strained,
sounded challenging and on guard. Nothing more came, and the
caller hung up. In a great rush, I went to one of my
companions, a female, and told her what had happened. If I
had only recorded the conversation. There was even a built in
recorder where I sat, but I didn't know it. So I had her to
explain the instruments so should such a call come through
again, I could at least record it. I said to her, excitedly,
"Do you know what this means? This has answered the age old
question once and for all. There is intelligent life on other
planets." At the same time I wonder, "how did this life know
how to speak to me in my language? I also wondered where this
life was housed, since all exploration had not turned up
signs of life anywhere among the planets explored. It was
very interesting to me that the call came soon after the
launching of my friend who would not return. It was as if my
friend had been spotted somehow. Then strange things began to
happen: one woman on the ship was confronted by an alien and
cannibalized. But no one saw it. I intuited the event somehow
as it happened, and the alien was dressed like a human, but
behind her mask was the alien. Gruesome, delighting in the
cannibalization. Much later events, after the ship had
returned to earth. Some of the children aboard the vessel
disappeared one by one. There was a scene in a bathroom where
two children were about to enter, and only one made it, but
peering through the keyhole, she saw an alien abduct her
friend. Terrified, she tried to latch the door, but was not
tall enough. Plus the latch was broken. I was there, and
tried to latch it for her. When that didn't work, I held the
door closed by force. There was another scene where a family
went for a drive one night, leaving a child behind in the
neighborhood, and she, too, would disappear unusually. It was
as if anyone aboard the spaceship I had first dreamed of
would disappear in time, beginning with the children first.
Somehow I knew I would disappear as well, but as this was
something I had no control over, I did not react to that
knowledge.
** Dream Excerpt: "Feeling (Not Drawing Down) the Moon" by
Island (96.06.15)
Jane has a great idea of honoring an astronaut who appeared
in a Scientific American article as much as a decade ago. He
may have actually done a solo stint, and not much was made of
it, when he should have received accolades. So she thumbs
through the article spread out on a huge bed, I believe, and
notices there are a chart of symbols without referents. So my
task will be to call Scientific American and see if we can
obtain the referents before we give the speech. Jane keeps
glossing over the details, which I need, and I become quite
rattled in the process. Though I keep mentioning my needs, I
am ignored, until I reach the boiling point, and scream,
"You're the fucking boss!" -- taking both her and her mother
by surprise. It's as if Jane undermines every effort I make
to salvage a number here, a name there, until all I have is
the name of the lead writer. Then I am on site of Scientific
American with the one detail Jane allows me to have: the
writer's name. Fortunately, she is well known, having written
many articles through the years. I am well received, and the
lady assures me she will be able to provide the chart of
referents within two weeks, though I need it sooner. There
are several levels to the place, and Bill Moyers was with his
crew, setting up equipment for a broadcast. He winks and
smiles at me with familiarity. I'm embarrassed and continue
to make my descent on curving rail stairs. Then there is some
quick flash at some point in the dream where I am on the
surface of the moon, when this lone astronaut landed years
ago. I am spreading my fingers through the moon's -- if it is
indeed the moon and not a planet's -- surface as if the
surface is composed of sand on a beach -- and am struck with
its whiteness, actually almost luminescence, and in stark
contrast to the black universe surrounding this curving white
sea because I also see the roundness of the moon. It fills me
with delirium, as if something very pure sifts through my
hands and fingers, although it is curiously composed of very
tiny black dots that are beaded throughout like inroads.
** "No Trespassing" by DR (960627 by JR)
Kathy, Rachel, and I decided to go camping. We began hiking
over dry grassy hillsides. For most of our hike, we walked
adjacent to a fence which separated public land from private
land. Although we were doing fine hiking along public
trails, we noticed how much nicer the private land looked.
We hopped the fence (which was covered with "No Trespassing"
signs) and decided to try our luck on private property.
After awhile, we decided to stop for the night. We set up
camp under this big fir tree, under which we lit a fire.
Rachel informed us that, when pine cones are heated above 300
degrees, they taste like marshmallows. She was right.
After what seemed like less than 30 minutes, it was morning.
As the sun rose above the trees, we heard rustling in the
distance. Then we heard voices. Even though none of us
could quite make out what the voices were saying, we knew
that it must be the owners of the land.
"You two better go check it out," I said. "I'll stay here
and guard our stuff."
I knew full well that Kathy and Rachel would get caught. If
the owners spot
Kathy and Rachel first, I reasoned, maybe
they would forget about me and I could run away. It was a
devious plan.
Kathy and Rachel walked about a quarter mile away from the
tree. The owners soon spotted them, and immediately placed
them under citizen's arrest for the crime of trespassing.
Meanwhile, I hid behind the fir tree. Kathy and Rachel were
soon whisked away in one of those "land-rover" jeeps. After
everyone left the scene, I ran back over the public-private
fence, and headed into downtown Santa Cruz to find a burrito.
** "Alien Taste Test" by BR (960627 by JR)
I dreamed that I was walking through a field at daytime, with
a friend. As I kept walking, I noticed there was an alien
craft near me. It was saucer-shaped, but something was
terribly wrong. The top of the spacecraft had been removed,
and only the bottom portion of the craft remained. Piled
throughout the craft there were hundreds of flattened "greys"
alien carcasses. Their skin somehow turned transparent and
yellow. I picked up an alien and bit into its rubbery arm. IT
TASTED LIKE IMITATION LEMON PIE FILLING!!!
-FOCUS ON EMOTIONS:
1)FEARS
** Demon Attack by Wren The Valiant 96-07-15
I'm watching two men (one is Cheech...I was watching
Nash Bridges before going to sleep...) fighting
hallucinations which slowly become more real and exert more
influence over them, which I identify as being based on
villains from primitive hardwired(direct mind-link as
Cyberpunk) virtual reality games from their youth. At one
point, a hallucination exerts physical control over objects,
and is no longer a hallucination, but something which
terrifies them even more, and throws something at them.
This whole time I have been disembodied, but after this
occurrence, I experience a false awakening, in which I find
myself in my bedroom, but I am not entirely separated from
the previous dream, as a intuitively realize that the
disembodied presence which had been chasing the two men is
now approaching me. I experience the first stirrings of fear
within the dream something which has not happened to me in
over 5 years! I perceive this disembodied presence as
being a ghost or spirit of malevolent intent, and believing
that I am awake(I haven't identified this as a false
awakening yet), I feel afraid and helpless.
Not understanding this fear, but in its thrall, I know
the being has almost reached me. In desperation, I fall back
upon my Christian upbringing and pray "Lord god in heaven,
save me from my fear and keep it from me...", but this only
slightly calms me. I sense even more hostility from the
presence, and it begins to feel "oppressive". I know I must
do something, and address it directly... "Spirit of fear, I
banish you!"
At this point, its rage washes over me, and I realize I
have no authority over it. I realize then that it is a
dream, but for the first time that I can remember, this
realization brings neither waking, nor control of any kind!
I cannot even move... the hostility and oppression have
grown to even greater proportions. Desperately, I try to
awaken, something I have been able to do intuitively from
early childhood. No effect. I try to scream, hoping to wake
myself, or bring someone else to wake me that I can escape.
Even in the dream my vocal chords won't work and there is
only the rushing of air. Finally, as the oppressiveness
reaches a new height, I desperately attempt to move my waking
muscles, and finally after an effort of will the like of
which I have never needed to exert in a dream, I manage to
move one shoulder blade slightly, but having succeeded in
affecting my waking body, I am now thrust full into control
of it, and I wake up for real, still feeling the hatred of
the dream, which soon fades.
PS. I have not have a nightmare since I was seven years old
which I have not recognized almost immediately as a
dream, dispelled, and continued to sleep peacefully.(That's
nine years for me.)
-Wren the
Valiant
== Commentary on Wren s Demon Attack by Cliff
That was a very intense dream. What it sounds like you
explained was closer to an out of body experience connected
to the dream. What people don't realize is that the dream
state is a very active reality. We can project our feelings
into this environment and they can take a pretty powerful
form. I would ask myself, "what am I feeling today that I
haven't felt since I was younger". Is there something going
on in your life presently. Think about it. You are
projecting it into your dream state.
If you find yourself in that kind of a dream again, remind
yourself that you are in control of the situation you
encounter. Instead of being fearful of the "demon" in your
dream, ask the being in your dream what he/she represents.
They may just tell you and then leave.
The dream state is a very powerful reality which we don't
take as seriously as we should. We usually see our dreams as
meaningless mumble jumble. But because we have been taught
to believe this way, our interpretation of our dreams turn
into a collage of mumble jumble. When we start realizing
that our dream state is as real as our awake physical state,
then we will learn to manipulate within it. There is a lot
to learn from our dreams. So think about it. What has
caused you to have a dream like this after so long, and if
you have something like it again, ask what it represents to
you and do not fear it.
Good luck
** "The World Had All Agreed" by LM (960627 by JR)
I'm up at the university (UVic if ya care) and there's an
elaborate war game going on. There are dozens of teams.
I've been put on a team with a group of other women, which I
think is cool. We're talking about how we should wrap our
arms in duct tape so that we can tell who's on our team. It
occurs to me that this might make us somewhat suspicious.
I'm unhappy with this situation because I don't really like
war games-- they make me feel very tense + jumpy. Not
surprisingly.
Then I have this great idea-- we won't be a warring team--
we'll be peace activists. So we make these peace protest
signs and walk out into the middle of the war game, and are
promptly all shot.
I go back to the "revival tent", where you can get another
life, and all my team get ready and leave, so I go out alone.
I go and stand in front of a group that is about to charge
another team, and they all stop!
Then this older guy jumps at me and tries to deface my sign,
and as we are wrestling we have an argument about alternative
food sources.
2) SADNESS
** Dream: The Crying Angel by Nutcracker (960712)
As rain falls lightly, I see before me the solemn face of an
angel. It is a face carved in stone. The face tops a column
on the facade of a building, perhaps somewhere in Europe.
Rain drops collect in her eyes like tears. Now I see the
angel as full bodied . She stands solitary in a garden or
park. The grass, green all around her. It is the same face
as the other; eyes closed and head down, almost as though
paying for our sins. Suddenly her eyes open. She puts her
arms out to her sides, palms up and lifts her eyes toward
heaven as if redeemed. Will they take this one from us too,
I wonder? Perhaps all of us here on earth are angels.
Angels without wings - as cold as stone. (7/12/96) #427
3) ROMANCE
-in the workplace
** Making out in the back room by JesseL (960627)
I'm at the General Store where I worked. Gary(a supervisor
for a past job), for some reason, is working there but I
think it has something to do with his broken leg. So,
anyway, the day is slow so I go into the back room to do
something. I find Miranda back there. We talk then end up
making out. One of the girls comes in catching us but she
says that it's all right. I go out anyway to work when Bill
and Dan (other supervisors from the other job) come walking
by.
== Notes by the Dreamer:
Notes: Miranda, my girlfriend, and I have been very physical
lately. She is very comfortable and expressive about this
but it all seems to fast for me and I'm scared that we might
cross a point that wouldn't be good to cross at this time
because of our young age, not being prepared for
consequences, and it would go against my spiritual beliefs
and values. The past job those guys were supervising me on
was at UPS. During work at the General Store, I worked at
Dunkin Donuts.
LUCID DREAM EXPERIENCES:
** Lucid Dream that I shared with my friend (960719)
I oriqinally posted this in alt.dreams but I figured Id
send it over to U after readinq RCWilks posts have a qood
day
I once was hanqin out with my friend and a couple other
people.. and I remebered EXACTLY the day to the
pinpoint/finest detail. started to tell him that I had a
dream where he told me about this day BEFORE it happened..and
he usually explains thinqs in exctreme detail as I doso U can
actually feel as tho U were there.. BUT he said he also
dreamt it as a realistic dream but not as the story teller...
we started sayin what would happen next (stuff that was
beyond our control)(IE sayin Next I qet up and qo to the
bathroom isn t really makin a prediction)and we were both
callinq them riqht every time..
what I think was the explanation is he saw this day/nite(was
about 16 hours)in a dream and he wanted to tewll me But in
qreat detail and if he told me while we were awake I d qet
bored of hearinq it.So I think he came into my dream to tell
me.. we have tried since(about a year)and haven t been able
to replicate it at all. except we do both have a few dreams
which see into a future(IE items we have in our dreams but
upon awakeninq we don t see them but a few weeks later havin
them..items not bout because we saw them in our dreams but
items that found their way to us)Those dreams are much more
common,,,
Just thouqht Id share
Jason
-Thanks Jason
Hasta La Vista Amigos - BK
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use, but all other use by anyone other than the author must be
with the permission of either the author or the current
Electric Dreams dream editor.
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Electric Dreams is an independent electronic publication not
affiliated with any other organization. The views of our
commentators are personal views and not intended as
professional advise or psychotherapy.
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