--------------------------------------------------------------------- | Electric Dreams | | Volume 1 Issue 4 | | 22 May 1994 | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | Please send suggestions, contributions, mailing list and back | | issue requests to cbeattie@uwspmail.uwsp.edu or | | cbeatty@worf.uwsp.edu | --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dedicated to sharing and exploring dreams. _____________________________________________________________________ Notes for the week... I guess it has been a very busy week for most of you. This has been the quietest email week I've had since I started the newsletter. The good news this brings is, the note section should be very short. 1. I have opened up both of my email addresses for submissions. Feel free to send mail to either address. 2. There was a request for more dream commentary, so people can get a wider variety of opinions on their dreams. 3. Remember, this newsletter is written by the people on the mailing list. If I don't get any submissions, I can't send you a newsletter. I think this has been the shortest note section I've written yet. ______________________________________________________________________ Dream Commentary ======Comments: Women in Flying Dreams-Issue Two====================== In issue two, Marilyn Brown asked about women having flying dreams, having read that most women don't have flying dreams until they are thirty or more years old. I have had several flying dreams all through my life. In the earliest ones I remember, I could never fly very high, maybe only two or three feet off the ground. I also only flew in a very small area, but I flew very quickly. When I got older (ten years or so), I had dreams where I flew higher up, but I had very little control. It felt like what I imagine sky diving would feel like, only horizontal. I had very little control, and I would still only get fifteen or twenty feet up. My most recent flying dream was published in issue one, where I flew high, fast, and with a great deal of control. I was flying in a kind of glider, though. Perhaps these dreams do reflect a slow building of confidence as I older. Maybe the dream where I flew well with the help of the glider represents something that was missing in my life before that gave me more confidence once I found it. If anyone else, male or female, has anything to say on this subject, I too would be interested in hearing it. --cbeattie@uwspmail.uwsp.edu (Chris) ======Comments: The Waitress and her Bodily Fluids-Issue Two========== COMMENTARY PART ONE: "Keith's home, and he doesn't like MST3K" In this first segment, I assume that (since he has been faraway) you know once Keith comes back, there won't be enough time for the two of you to spend together. You mention in the dream that you find "we're only both home for the weekend and it's sunday evening" and, later, "we're all trying to figure out what to do." Perhaps once Keith really does come back home (in your waking life) you may anticipate fears that things have changed between you--you may still love each other, but might not be able to recapture the closeness of the relationship you had before his departure. This feeling of loss is further emphasized by Keith's sudden disinterest in MST3K (a show I know you love). You go on to say: "There's a pressing feeling, like I have to do something and I'm wasting precious time." This might be your subconscious telling you that you may be neglecting some personal business--something which (depending upon your actions and/or decisions) could lead you to happiness or disappointment, either in this situation (with Keith) or in your other close relationships. Since we are both facing graduation soon, does this reflect some buried anxiety? You and I have been experiencing a lot of transitions this semester, BJ... COMMENTARY PART TWO: "Running to the diner" This one's kinda fun. My first impression is that, since you are running, you are in a hurry to take care of and accomplish something. Everyone else in your family, besides you and Lyle, are either gone (like Keith in the USAF) or have established jobs/family (your parents). You are just about to graduate from college and Lyle is about to graduate from high school. The running could also mean that you are trying to escape your anxieties/troubles. Just keep in mind that those things will only start to chase you if you continue to "run" from them. COMMENTARY PART THREE: "The Waitress and her bodily fluids" When you arrive at the diner, I believe it is here that you "come to the destination" of some (how should I phrase it?) neglected, business. Since this is only a diner, not someone's house, this destination is only a resting spot before you move on your life's path. You and Keith are "talking about stuff" and, later on you say you two were "busy with whatever all that paper was." You don't mention if you were sorting through the papers or reading them. In any case, the papers "have something of (y)ours on them" --could this be some sort of map? I know you are a writer. If you can (through actual dreaming or meditation--I can help you out) re-experience this dream and try to make out what was on those papers. There might be something important in them. Moving along... Next comes the waitress to take your "order." You are concerned with her "mild disappointment (almost grief) on her face" of which you feel responsible. This woman, a waitress, a person who SERVES you things to CONSUME, is disappointed with the payment and tip because she may have been regarding it as a cop-out--you tip a waitress to be proper and polite--it has no deep meaning. Did you get the assumption that she wanted more from you? Perhaps this waitress-lady could be someone in real life who has accused you of being insincere. Or it could be yourself accusing yourself that you are insincere (funky, huh?). Or perhaps this might have something to do with "change"--the waitress wasn't satisfied with the "change" you gave her. Do you perhaps feel there isn't enough "change" in your life? In the diner, you're with Keith--someone close to you who is out experiencing the world. Do you feel somehow that you won't have much "worldly" experiences to share with him or others? I don't know why, but I detected a sense of guilt and shame from your "drinking bodily fluids" part. This waitress has served you some pretty DISGUSTingly oppressive stuff. I also get this image of her "waiting" for you to do something about it--she's fed you this stuff, you paid for it--and you're not exactly sure what more she could want you to do. The stuff is hard to "disgest", but that's not your main concern. You are "more concerned with her state of mind" and you are "unhappy." This clearly shows you must have some sincere feelings, but again they are on the surface--you don't know this waitress, she doesn't seem to be a close relative like Keith--and you perhaps still feel like you "owe" her something. After drinking, you are partially embedded in the grass and you are inbetween two lanes of traffic. It seems you have made a decision to break away from some stuff that could've kept you buried in the "middle". The waitress is dead, has been for years, and you must move on. But it seems like you might be closing the book prematurely. Keith says, "there will be an investigation," clearly a warning that "things aren't over yet" and perhaps there is hope. You also might've just "escaped" a very bad situation or suspected trap of some sort. But, again, there's still something going on "behind the scenes"--therefore, there is a need for an investigation. Look closely back on your life and what you are doing now. Is there something in need of change? What are you neglecting or avoiding? I believe this dream was telling you to SCRUTINIZE. Hope I didn't get too personal. I'm one of BJ's closest friend and he gave me permission to get away with this and it's really up to him to decide what he wants to make out of this commentary. One note to all: The most vivid dreams are usually the ones you must pay most attention to. It's sort of like your higher self (or subconscious) screaming some much-needed information at you. But, then again, it could be just some weird dream... --ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu ======Comments: Ronald================================================ What a cool dream! It's neat simply at face value: all things (even things we may find disTASTEful) are part of the grand design of life. --pryan@prairienet.org (Pamela) ======Comments: Land Cruiser========================================== For me, this dream suggests a choice between the mundane and the adventurous, between stability / domesticity (land) and an ever-changing, up-and-down exciting ride (sea.) --pryan@prairienet.org (Pamela) ======Comments: Death, Rebirth======================================== Because the dreamer gives me the context of a relationship break-up, this dream suggests to me a feeling of fear about new relationships. The violence of being "choked" (by my failed relationship?) kicks me to the other side of the world (Australia), sends me burrowing off into a cave. My mother confirms that this horrible feeling (of "death" of the relationship?) could easily be repeated. And so I am cautious to eagerly consume life (popcorn), and am fearful of things (relationships?) that might "elevate" (elevator) me, for fear I might fall.... The dreamer's title is nice (was this added in retrospect?) For the end of something is always the birth of something new, with exciting new possibilities. --pryan@prairienet.org (Pamela) ======Comments: Blue Jay vs. Robocop================================== This dream ekoved strong feelings for me. If I had dreamed it, I might see it as a wonderful transition to a new attitude (a "change of heart"!) Birds and blueness are often associated with spirituality, or seeking "higher" knowledge (flight, blue like the sky, etc.) This is such a contrast with the rigid, authoritarian machine of my imagined "RoboCop" (I never saw the movie, so your image of him may differ....) I see the dream as a message that I am forging a new, soaring heart in college! --pryan@prairienet.org (Pamela) ======Comments: Drowning / Hospital=================================== This dream is so powerful..... if it were mine, I'd explore each image slowly and carefully. But since it is not, and my time is limited, I'll just throw out a few associations. Drowning: In my dreams, this often symbolizes feeling inundated/ buried in work.... Rulers: For me, these often mean I'm feeling "measured" in some way.... (Exams?) Lost family: No time for friends and family? Feelings of independence, causing some feelings of sadness at separation from family? --pryan@prairienet.org (Pamela) ======Comments: Drive a Car & Marriage -- ACK!======================== Throughout this dream, I am reminded of women's roles in society (looking pretty, helping others with their work, helping others reach their goals, "Princess" and "Virgin Mary", marriage, etc.) In my own life, I often struggle with femininity vs feminism, and my own imagined version of this conjures up this internal struggle: Should I wear the garb of the traditional woman? And thus be "driven" to a place where I lose myself (deep black puddles, graves, etc.) Or should I drive my red (brave, passionate, assertive) car to my own destination? --pryan@prairienet.org (Pamela) ______________________________________________________________________ Dreams ======Dream by pryan@prairienet.org (Pamela)========================== "RATTLESNAKE GARDEN" I am planting a garden in a baking pan (cake pan). I use a fork to till the soil and plant the seeds. As I add water and stir it up, I notice worms (earthworms -- good guys!) But then I see a rattlesnake in the pan. Shift of scene -- my husband and I are riding in the back of a station wagon. The car is going by itself; no one is driving. We get stopped by the police, and are sure we'll get in trouble because of the lack of a driver. We show the policeman plants in little cardboard boxes. I am worried that we'll be punished. ======Dreams by hi205436@spstmail.uwsp.edu (BJ)======================= here's a few quick snippets from dreams: Someone in the crowd at the Starfleet summit looked up at the ledge and kept repeating, "Gun! He's got a gun! He has a gun! Look! A gun! He's got a gun! Gun!".... My brother (in the air force in England)] Keith was there, but the expressway was a river, then it was sand. Nothing made sense. I was lost and confused. Has anybody else had one of those dreams where you can't quite open your eyes, and when you finally get them a little open, the light just blinds you or you have a thick film over your eyes and still can't see? I _hate_ that. here's a strange one... Aliens landed in a Walkman to exchange hostage cassettes last night. After that we had a flood. Keith and I (Keith played an alien earlier) had to collect purple writing utensils (crayons, pens) before it hit. Phone call from [high school buddies] Jamie and Tanya--I hung up on them. Gilligan's island was discovered. from 31 March 1992 (over 2 years ago!) On campus. I was told to watch over a small boy, but had business. His grandmother, who lived in the industrial sector, volunteered to take over for me. I went to classes and saw a _Chinese_ dragon sculpted from snow and decorated with coloured sand to welcome a busload of _Japanese_ students. As the bus pulled in, the dragon collapsed. Campus was large and Gothic, with tall, heavy dark buildings. The buildings were made from huge slabs of rock and decorated with gargoyles, sprawling vines and pillars (?). The day was overcast. I walked back to the industrial sector--to my left, a snow-covered field; to the right, a gutted factory surrounded by chickenwire fence (this was stillon campus, where the athletic fields are). On the edge were trees-- green trees, among all the snow--where the grandmother lived across the street from about five sets of railroad tracks. The shack where she had been was empty and long disused (hmmm, a ghost?). My family was there asking why I had left the kid--they wouldn't hear that I had left him with his grandmother. A re-enactment played out before us of the boy being hit by a train as it roared past. He was scooped up and flung out. It was unnerving to see this spectral scene. We followed a trail of blood to his mangled body--he had lived long enough to pull himself into the bushes. Icky, huh? My dreams are full of death and darkness, but I love them. Questions? Comments? I'm waiting on a dream I had a couple years ago that I wrote into a letter and sent a friend--she still has it, so I'll ask her if I can post it here. Even without a written record, I can remember it clearly. I plan on basing a short story on it (which i've done with a different dream you might get next time). caio, y'all. ;P --BJH ======Dream by ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu (Val)======================= Dream Series: "I'm Death, BJ's the Crow, and We Hunt Down a Serial Killer" This is Valentina, the Dream Shaman. For five years now, I've been keeping a dream journal and have discovered that my dreams come out in "series"--with one dream ending one night and the next dream continuing where the last one left off the next night. A lot of times my friends appear in these dreams and it's great to see just what will happen in the next dream. The last total, all-out dream series I've had was during the nights of March 19 through the 28th of this year. This particular series involved two close friends of mine; Chris Beattie and BJ Hiorns. After hearing about my weird dreams, they were amused and fascinated and soon started to delve into their own nightly "adventures" to see if we had some sort of connection, or if we could make some sort of connection between my dreams and theirs. After writing up those dream catagories I submitted last week, I figured it'd be peachy of me to share each dream out of my original series (complete, without commerical breaks). I will start this week with the dream I had on March 19th. Each week afterward I will send out the next one...and the next and...so on. Oh, um..., by the way, if ya want ta know what I'm all about, check out my article on the Dreamcraft in this issue. (If you don't remember me, I was the one who wrote the stuff on Dream categories). VMK DREAM JOURNAL ENTRY #78 Vol. 5, March 19, 1994 Part One: "BJ and Chris Move Into a Dump and I Get Stung by a Bee" I stood somewhere, kind of floating--actually flying--over an old homestead (that was falling hopelessly apart). I noticed that the sky was dark, damp, and stormy. It was rainy--pounding and pelting down hard. Suddenly, I heard the Beavis-n-Butthead theme song. The obnoxious cartoon characters (I hate Beavis-n-Butthead) ran out from out of nowhere with chainsaws, hammers, nails, etc. They were going to build an extention to the crumbling house. "Building stuff is COOL!" They continuously laughed. When their work was finished, there was a new front on the house, but it was two-demensional and flat (a.k.a. "cartoon-painted-style", of course). After that, they left. Then there was more thunder, rain, and wind-- only stronger now. Next I saw Chris and BJ walking up to the house. Chris was carrying luggage and BJ wasn't helping her (it's not like him not to help her out). Chris was dressed in a Pepto-Bismal pink nightgown. BJ was normally dressed. "This is going to be great," said Chris to BJ, "let's move in right away!" BJ did not respond, he just silently followed her. Meanwhile, from up above, I was trying to warn them not to go into the house because the structure was unsafe. I swooped down, just above their heads. I realized I had black wings and was in the form of the Thunderbird, ENAEMKIW*. Lightning streaked out of my body, but did not harm Chris or BJ. I thought BJ noticed me, but he must not have, or he ignored me. The two went into the house together and, just as I expected, the structure collapsed in on them. I was frightened, thinking no one could have survived the disaster. But, to my relief, one concrete wall remained standing and Chris and BJ were in front of it. Chris was sitting (with an uncomfortable face) on a covered-with-debris-rain-soaked- bed, tugging at BJ's arm. BJ was now dressed like Jim O'Barr's THE CROW and he said, "No, not now. Not after what's happened..." Chris withdrew and buried herself underneath the debris on the bed--as she did so, the ruins of the house rebuildt itself into a house-of-cards structure of garbage and brick. The storm outside started to calm. BJ walked away alone. In my Thunderbird form, I followed BJ to this garage (painted red and white) which looked like some sort of fun-house gazebo. The weather outside changed to clear skies, warm, and sunny (everything sort of looked like a garden painting by Monet--it was peaceful). Surrounding the garage were field of flowers, mainly daisies, daffodils, tiger-lillies, and dandelions. I wanted to be out in the flowers, but BJ called for me and suddenly I was standing beside him in human form, dressed all in white with doll-like china flats and tights (like Alice in Wonderland). BJ was still in the character of the Crow. In the garage, he was banging on copper cow's bells, brass jingle bells, and other noisy things, with a wrench and a hammer. He was making strange, yet sort of beautiful percussion music. For some reason, I asked, "Are you doing this for me?" He just glared sadly and nodded. "It's so you won't go away...," he explained. "But, it's so pretty outside!" I squealed in little girl fashion, "I want to be out there--in the flowers--don't you?" BJ went on to say that it was dangerous and that, if I go, he might not stay there in the garage to wait for my return. "Well," I huffed, "I'm going out there anyway..." He stopped his music when I walked away alone into the flowers. As soon as I stepped out, I found myself suddenly surrounded by a swarm of bees (they had been hiding in the flowers) and I ran back in terror, crying. Before I got back to the garage, a bee got caught in my hair (I have very long hair--in dreams and in waking life) and the bee stung me behind my right ear--stung me so hard, its body was stuck in the skin of my ear. BJ rushed out of the garage to help me. "Hold still," he said, and gently pulled out the bee. The bee was dead and he crushed it inbetween his fingers. Then he licked my ear and the sting was healed. "Feel better?" he asked and I nodded Yes. "Now we can walk into the flowers..." He led me by the hand into the flowers. By now, I was no longer dressed like the little girl, but BJ was still the Crow. "Your make-up's* all wrong," I told him, and he allowed me to wipe it off--with the torn remains of the little girl dress that I wore earlier (I was now myself again, so was BJ). We started to laugh. We walked into the trees. Soon we came to a clearing where there was this HUGE crystalline oak tree with flake emerald leaves--it sort of looked like the Cryastalline Entity from Star Trek-The Next Generation, but it was a whole lot nicer. When we got to this oak, we hugged our arms around it and it burst into cool sparks of light (it tickled us). Next, we were waiting for a school bus. The landscape around us was atypical of Northern Wisconsin with tall pines, birch, and willow trees. Soon the school bus came and the driver honked his horn. In the bus were all my acquaintances from Infinite Faire (an occult bookstore I used to work at). Mark (my ex-boss' boyfriend) was driving the bus and Suzy was yelling at me out the window--yelling something like: "GET AWAY FROM BJ, HE'S MANIPULATING YOU!" I ignored this threat and gave BJ a hug goodbye. "Will you buy me something while you're gone?" He asked and I immediately asked him what he would like. He said, "An earring--made out of rose quartz and lapis lazuli." I told him I would if I could find one, and I boarded the bus. Once inside, I noticed that the front seat was the only seat available for me to sit on and it was covered with McDonald's french fries and catsup, spelling out the message: WHILE THE BALL'S OUT, DAD WILL HAVE HIS DAY. I asked everyone on the bus what this meant. Messina was beside Suzy, she just shrugged her shoulders innocently, saying, "I don't have a problem with it, Val, why do you?" Then I turned to Mark and he just shouted out: "WHOOO-HOO!" (this is an atypical Mark yell of joy). I woke up feeling physically dizzy. *ENAEMKIW is the protector of the Menominee people (my tribe); also the Enaemkiw is a spirit that keeps bad things away; a warrior spirit. *THE CROW's make-up (for those of you who have never read the comic book or seen the movie starring the late Brandon Lee) is basically a mime's make-up, but very, very sinister. THE CROW is a gothic figure of vengence, lost love, death, and despair--and he really kicks butt, too! ======dream submitted by mystery guest================================ "Faerie Goat-Man with Golden Gentials" I found myself in a giant flower patch. It felt like I was only a few inches tall and I was dwarfed by these huge roses, daisies, and multi- coloured mushrooms. I was hanging off a gigantic rose petal and, looking below me, I saw this beautiful nude man who seemed to be a satyr. He had cloven hooves of silver, long white-blond hair (on top of his head and flowing like cotton fur on his legs), he had butterfly antenna instead of goat's horns, and black almond-shaped eyes. He smiled up at me and I was filled with desire. He called my name sweetly and opened his arms to me. I had butterfly wings and flew down to him. His skin was very soft, especially his furry legs. I folded my wings and he stood up. I laid back and he gently opened my legs. I looked up and saw that he had GOLDEN GENITALS! I mean, they were'nt painted golden, they were actually gold, not hard as the real metallic gold, just shiny gold, yet still human and soft like real male genitals. Next, we made love and, before I woke I experienced an orgasm. I haven't had sex in over two years. I guess I needed the dream. I don't know what to make of it, though. It was very pleasant and I haven't had a dream like it since. Any comments? ______________________________________________________________________ Dream Articles ======Contributed by ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu (Val)================= DREAMCRAFT: The Lazy Person's Folk Magick by Valentina, Dream Shaman For centuries, sleep and dreams have been widely used in the magickal/spiritual practices of many cultures. Many feel that dreams reveal much to the dreamer and, sometimes, if one focuses their mind hard enough, one can change their life or, better yet, find their "direction" in life through their dreams. Since even science hasn't been able to explain away all the mystery regarding sleep and dreams, old fears and ideas about our "nightly adventures" remain today. Just saunter on down to your local bookstore or page through a current magazine on "psychic" phenomena. There are tons of stuff on how to lucid dream, how to interpret your dreams, how to keep away nightmares, tell the future through dreams, etc. Sometimes there's so much "stuff" it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. In this article, I'm going to deal with the little known practice of Dreamcraft; a practice within Wicca (yes, that's right, I'm a witch, don't let it spook ya) in which one uses thier dreams to bring about needed change and accomplish specific goals. Just keep in mind that my "expertise" (if you want to consider it that) is on the spiritual side of dreams. My spiritual practices, beliefs, etc. may or may not reflect your own. For starters, this week I will go into just a general description/ over-view of what Dreamcraft is... Most of us who keep a dream diary or journal already do some Dreamcraft. A dreamcraft-y person (practitioner) recalls their dreams and records them, either by writing them out in notebook form or recording them on audio tape, in order to later study and analyze them. Dreams, I'm sure you'll agree, have a lot to say about us and the way we percieve our world. By studying the images in our dreams, we can come to a better understanding of ourselves and our world. Sometimes we can weed out specific information from our dreams which we can use to help us deal with a situation or resolve a problem. And what better way to deal with what bothers us than by "sleeping on it?!" Have you ever, before going to sleep or while in the process of daydreaming, successfully recalled an image of a friend, place, or specific sensation (such as a scent, taste, or sound) and were actually able to re-experience that image/sensation without actually "experiencing" it? This is Creative Visualization and it is the key to all magickal operations/ practices, especially so in Dreamcraft. Thinking visually is natural for us, but _focusing_ your visual images is a bit harder. Dreamcraft practitioners, through meditation and actual dreaming, recall and concentrate on a specific image that represents a person, place, thing, or situation which they wish to gain insight on. Through this visual "focusing", they can program their minds into re-experiencing a dream or real life event. The benefits of this are practical: in order to have power over our "inner-enemies" (which are our problems, insecurities, obstacles, etc.) we must name them and _know_ them and not allow ourselves to walk "blindly" through life where we won't be able to learn from them and resolve them. When we are faced with a situation where normal answers fail and frustration sets in, the last resort most of us turn to is the realm of the Spirit (this is where prayer comes in--where we appeal to that which is higher than us for guidance and intervention). To a magickal person (such as myself), dreams are an invaluable spiritual and practical resource of helpful information. In dreams all physcial laws and worldly logic are set aside. It is here, in The Dreaming, that we can produce the most change--this is what Magick (not the Disney "magic") is all about. Anything is possible within our dreams. Use this power! The main point of Dreamcraft is to gain insight on life, confront that which perplexes us, change our perception of "what's going on" to "what's _really_ going on", and do something about it in waking life. Next week I'll go into some of the specifics of Dreamcraft, mainly some techniques, excersizes, and herbal remedies you can try at home to enhance your dreams. --ka109016@spstmail.uwsp.edu ______________________________________________________________________ For Next Time ======Idea by cbeattie@uwspmail.uwsp.edu (Chris)====================== I wonder how much a person's dreams reflect their personallity. For example, the person I am in my dreams, and the things I can do, are not necissarily the same as when I am awake. Yet, when I hear the dreams of some of my friends, they seem to very closely reflect their personalities Here is my proposal. If people want to send in one week's worth of dreams, even if the dreams don't stand out as being especially significant, I will publish them in "Electric Dreams". Don't tell us about yourself at all, that is for us to determine from the dreams. I will publish the replies, then the week after that, the person who sent the dreams can tell us how close we came. --So, pleasant dreams and keep those contributions coming!