Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Volume 5 Issue 9 Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams OCTOBER 1998 Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams Electric Dreams To subscribe to Electric Dreams Send from the address you want to subscribe to electric-dreams-request@lists.best.com And put in the body of the e-mail only: subscribe your-email To unsubscribe from Electric Dreams Send from the address you want to unsubscribe to electric-dreams-request@lists.best.com And put in the body of the e-mail only: unsubscribe your-email Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z E L E C T R I C D R E A M S Volume 5 Issue #9 OCTOBER 1998 ISSN# 1089 4284 Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z Electric Dreams on the World Wide Web USA www.dreamgate.com/electric-dreams Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z Send Dreams and Comments on Dreams to: Bob Krumhansl Send Dreaming News and Calendar Events to: Peggy Coats Send Articles and Subscription concerns to: Richard Wilkerson: For back issues, editors addresses and other access & Staff see ELECTRIC DREAMS ACCESS INFORMATION at the end of this issue Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z C O N T E N T S ++ Editor's Notes ++ Dream Airing: Notes, letters to the editor ++ Column: Dream Trek: A Call To Expand Dream Interpretation Linda Lane Magall›n ++ Q&A: Watch Your Dreams + Tips Nancy Huseby Bloom ++ Special Section: edited by Richard Wilkerson ===> A Short History on the Rise of Dream Sharing in Cyberspace ===>A Transcript from an Online Dream Group 'Coins of Life' August 1998 DreamWheel G L O B A L D R E A M I N G NEWS If you have news you'd like to share, contact Peggy Coats, pcoats@dreamtree.com. Visit Global Dreaming News online at http://www.dreamtree.com/News/global.htm. This Month's Features: NEWS Nightmare Workshop in Portland, Oregon - Spiritual Direction and Dream Training in the Jungian Mystical Tradition RESEARCH & REQUESTS - Life-Altering Dreams for Television Pilot Male Bereavement Dream Series - Dreams, Visions and Their Effects on Art WEBSITE & ONLINE UPDATES -Dreamwork on AOL -Sol y Luna Voyager A Lucid Dreaming Dreams: -The Bridge Between the Ego and the Subconscious - New Additions to the ED Dream Links Site DREAM CALENDAR for October 1998 D R E A M S SECTION (For ED V5 N9) Editorial BY BOB K. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX OCTOBER 16, FRI deadline for submission FOR Next Electric Dreams vol 5(10) Send in Nightmares and Articles on Nightmares! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Editor's Notes +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Its been a couple of years since we have published a full transcript of an online dream group, and so most of this issue will be devoted to this. But first... Have we been missing out on much of dreams significance by our focus on psychological interpretations? Linda Magallon calls for a new approach that will take a wider group of perspectives into account in her Dream Trek Column, A Call To Expand Dream Interpretation. Nancy Huseby Bloom gives a healing interpretation to a dream in her Watch Your Dreams Column, and includes dream tips. Peggy Coats has an extensive network of dreaming news which is kept at the DreamTree.com and shared each month with Electric Dreams in the Global Dreaming News. Here you can find conferences, online events, new web sites and other resources. There is a last minute note I wanted to mention for those of you who are members (or would like to be) of the Association for the Study of Dreams: There is a special members deal from Patricia Garfield. In October, the membership price will go up, so get in now! www.asdreams.org Need a cover for your issues of Electric Dreams? You can visit our Electric Dreams Covers Gallery and download the cover of your dreams. Acutally, we have several galleries. You can access them via www.dreamgate.com/dream/ed-covers/ You may have noticed that the art for Electric Dreams sites has improved dramatically in the last few months. All thanks to Bryan Smith. Be sure to visit his site and see even more wonders. www.thinkpiece.com Bob Krumhansl bring you this last month's dreams that have come into the Electric Dreams community as well as notes on dreaming and comments. Be sure to read the Dream Section and Bob's editorial. By the way, the dream section takes a lot of time to put together and Bob would love some help. If you can devote a few minutes each month and would like to join the Electric Dreams Staff, drop Bob a line at The Online Dream Groups. A few years ago we started the DreamWheel and it has been a pleasure for everyone who has participated. What is it like to have a group of people focus on your single dream for two weeks? Quite intense, very insightful and always a delight. This month on Electric Dreams we are reprinting a full transcript of a dream group (anonymously) that took place this August. Be sure to read "The Coins of Life". Besides satisfying your curiosity about what goes on in these dream groups, we also would like to open them up for other to join, or for you to try out your own groups online. We have no desire to possess the process and are more interested in the best ways to use the Net for dream sharing. An so the instructions are also included, though I would recommend you try out one session with us. Where did these groups come from and how did they evolve? I am including a short history of dream sharing on the Internet. If you have had groups and meetings online, we would be very interested in publishing your accounts here. Send them to Richard Wilkerson rcwilk@dreamgate.com Also, if you would like to join a DreamWheel, drop me a line. NEXT MONTH: Halloween! It's time again for a focus on Nightmares and Scary Dreams. So get out all those night frights and send them in for publication. I'd also like to see the online FAQ's on Nightmares expanded and some book reviews. There will also be a annual Halloween Swarm, where we travel around the Internet, visit old dream haunts, update with friends and deliver our scary dreams! Watch on Usenet alt.dreams and other places for more information on the Swarm. See you all online, Richard Wilkerson rcwilk@dreamgate.com +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Dream Airing Notes, letters to the editor Send to rcwilk@dreamgate.com +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Review of Electric Dreams. www.disobey.com/low/listings/electric_dreams.htm Reviewed by Patrick M., [09/10/98] I've been an avid admirer of Electric Dreams for about two years now. Having worked in a Sleep Lab for 2 and a half years, and being interested in the whole area of altered states of consciousness all my life, I looked long and hard at the various "associations" out there on the web and I can tell the first time visitor that ANY question you have, from helping interpret a puzzling dream, comparing dreams with others and discussing similarities/differences, to visiting others while in REM, to even those experiences that fall into the "paranormal" category, you will find your answers here. R. Wilkerson and the rest of the staff and participants in Electric Dreams have no motivation other than helping each other (and you) with understanding this fascinating aspect of our lives more fully. Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z Want Electric Dreams Illustrated? Get this issue with graphics by subscribing to edreams-web-request@lists.best.com Put in body of email only: subscribe your-email -------------- ---------------- --------------------- --- Greets, I experience "Awareness during sleep", and "Old Hag" (paralyzing nightmares). I wonder if you could give me any info on "Hynogogics"? Thank you, Banshee Reply from Keith The word "Hypnogogic" comes from the Greek word meaning "leading into sleep," and occurs right before sleep onset. During REM sleep or when you are dreaming, the body becomes temporarily paralyzed to prevent movement. Sometimes a person can awake, and the paralysis continues. This "sleep paralysis" can be frightening, and the person can experience things like "attacks from spirits," "UFO abductions," "vibrations," and other strange feelings. Keith Garcia ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- The Lucidity Institute, Inc. * tel: 650.321.9969 * fax: 650.321.9967 keith@lucidity.com * ftp://ftp.lucidity.com * http://www.lucidity.com Hi Richard, A while ago you had sent me an email asking me where my online webzine column "Sea Of Dreams" was located. A couple weeks ago, my editor/publisher asked me to return again, and this time I decided to return and we are also offering a contest for people to submit their dream entries to win a free dream interpretation. I thought you might enjoy the update. G21 Webzine: http://www.g21.net Sea Of Dreams: http://www.g21.net/seanew.html Thank you, - - Cyndi Russell - - *<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<> *Dream Interpretations Nightmares Sleep Disorders* ~ Dream Emporium ~ ~~ http://members.tripod.com/~ZenCyn/ ~~ *<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<> =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= DREAM TREK By Linda Lane Magall›n A Call To Expand Dream Interpretation =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= My husband recently had a dream. In it, he was driving a large black foreign car through the corridors of a large building and out into a parking lot. He eased the wheels past a set of metal spikes and thought that he had managed to avoid them. But as he continued down the road, suddenly all four tires went flat. What does this dream mean? To unlock its significance, dreamworkers might use the method called "if this were my dream." Using free association, they could quickly hone in on the Jungian shadow inherent in the foreign and black-colored automobile. Freudians could have a field day finding sexual metaphor in the flat tires. It doesn't matter if dreamworkers amplify the metal spikes into the archetypal Pearly Gates, play punning games with the parking lot or have a Gestalt dialogue with the wheels. The end result highlights the personal psychological parameters or spiritual explanations for the surface imagery of the dream. And that's not enough. In this case, the usual interpretation approaches leave out three crucial underlying elements: the physiological, the out-of-body and the psychic. Let me continue my story. First, please review the dream, paying close attention to the car, the corridors and the spikes. Physiological: My husband awoke from the dream with the sharp pains of indigestion. Yes, in this case, the old saw that "a dream is the result of what you eat" had some truth to it. Personally, I think the sharp pains initiated the image of the metal spikes. Out-of-body: As he finished telling me the dream, my husband commented, "I was the car." This comment requires a bit of explanation. Many traditions support the idea that we go out-of-body during the night. For astral projectors, their traveling vehicle is an astral body similar to the physical version. Remote viewers are more apt to travel without a body, as a spark of consciousness. Shamans hitch a ride on another body, whether it be fish or fowl. They travel empathetically, as the other body. They become one with the bird or beast. The common idea is that consciousness travels beyond the physical body. But the truth is, consciousness can travel anywhere...outside or inside. My husband recognized that the foreign car winding its way through the corridors of his dream was equivalent to the foreign matter winding its way through his intestinal track. "I was the car," he said. His consciousness was an empathic spark of awareness taking part in the events driving through the innards of his body. However, this was not a literal view of the inner event. He did not dream the interior of his intestine. The actual activity was overlaid with fanciful imagery. Why? One reason could be witness inhibition. When direct awareness of the literal event is too disturbing, the psyche creates an image buffer. (Yes, Dr. Freud, I agree that the psyche can be a censor, but rarely for the reasons you thought!) Another reason is virtually the opposite: the literal event is too boring, so the psyche creates a more exciting and creative variation on the original theme. My husband is an artist. After consideration, he agreed that both "cover-up" explanations were plausible. And why would his psyche choose that particular set of cover-up symbols? First clue came from day residue known to him. The night before, my husband had been a guest at the house of a married couple. There, he was witness to an argument between them over what car they would purchase. It was the strongest emotional event of the evening and "set him up" for the use of whatever car imagery would most closely resemble the indigestion event he was bound to experience later on. The imagery could have been a memory pulled from his past. But it wasn't. Psychic: Second clue came from day residue unknown to him. When my husband told me his dream, it felt like a replay of the Action Jackson movie I'd seen on TV the day before. At the climax of the movie, Jackson drives a car up a flight of stairs and through the hallways of a mansion. Both he and his car are hit by gunfire. That sequence was the strongest picture of the day for me. I had not told my husband about it; I was nearly asleep when he returned home from his visit. This is not the first time that my husband has "picked up" MY day residue and translated it into HIS dream. Our psychic auras "rub off" on each other continuously. Maybe because we sleep in the same bed. There are plenty of interpretation techniques that honor the psychological and spiritual. But do they routinely ask, "Is this dream psychic? Is this dream an out-of-body (or in-body) experience? Is this dream the result of physiological influence?" No. I know of no such method. How about we invent one? And if so, what would we call it? =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Watch Your Dreams with Nancy Huseby Bloom dream@icehouse.net =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Dear Nancy, Week of October 4, 1998 This dream felt so real that I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. I had it over a month ago and still think about it daily. Can you help? Marie "I am a member of a group called 'Freedom Fighters.' My people are being persecuted and we have to be very careful about the resistance. I am building two bridges over a river or crevasse. I am using strong, new lumber. These bridges will lead my people to safety and freedom. I have completed one bridge. I enter a cafe and order a cup of coffee but the waitress is afraid to talk to me because of the persecution all around. I whisper to her, 'The second bridge is almost complete.' I head back to a small room in the back of the cafe where all the planning has taken place." Dear Marie, The purpose of dreams is to give us healing and insight into our lives. When we are making major life changes, dreams often show us where we are in the process. Are you fighting for freedom in some part of your daily life? How are you being persecuted? When we spoke on the phone you shared with me that your husband can be extremely demanding and controlling and that you have been in an ongoing struggle with him for years regarding your own personal freedom to honor your own thoughts, ideas and creativity. The strong new bridges that you are building in your dreams are very positive symbols. Bridges often represent transition, of movement from one way of being to another. Your bridges will lead your people (all the different parts of yourself) to freedom. Is there a need for you to be building these bridges in secret? What are the bridges in your waking life? A plan of escape, shelter, perhaps money stashed away? Are there two bridges because you are hoping your husband will find his way to freedom too? The need to control is just as oppressive to the spirit as being controlled. Your dream shows that this planning is all going on in "the back room." Perhaps you are just now willing to consciously face this situation and make this change. Your bridges are nearly complete. Freedom is at hand. Good luck, Marie. Tip Although nightmares and other disturbing dreams that show oppression or cruelty can illustrate the people and situations around us, often they show us how we are treating ourselves. It is easy to blame others for our pain but when we look at ourselves honestly, we can often see that our abuser or jailor is inside of us. By exploring your dream with this idea in mind, you can ask yourself questions to uncover the essence of it. Is your dream 'bully' an oppressive spouse or boss or your own inner critic? Is your dream 'jailor' someone in your life or are you holding yourself back? 'Shadow' characters who show up in our dreams as tormentors, thieves and thugs are usually the parts of our personalities that we have disowned and swept under the proverbial rug. When they show up in our dreams it is time to face up to them, to bring them out into the light of consciousness. Often we find that they have their place and purpose for being there. It is a humbling experience to see these images as parts of ourselves but it is also incredibly valuable as a tool for inner knowledge and growth. Nancy Huseby Bloom dream@icehouse.net The Electric Dreams Dream Groups: A special report +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ A Short History on the Rise of Dream Sharing in Cyberspace Richard Wilkerson +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ (For a transcript of a group, see below 'Coins of Life') When USENET became popular among the USA University crowd in the late 1980's, the idea of the Regional Bulletin Board was expanded nationally (and in some cases, internationally) and the discussion of dreams could be found in various Usenet Newsgroup topic boards. Usenet was organized like a real bulletin board, where one could post a note and others could read and post replies. Group discussions may them develop over time. Because of the popularity of BBS's, the Usenet bulletin boards were called "Newsgroups". By the 1990's all but the most wild of the Newsgroups were accessible via the Internet, and it was clear that dreams needed their own Newsgroup. "alt.dreams" was formed (3). The Newsgroup alt.dreams was originally suggested by Jack Campin as a way to study contemporary culture. He wanted a snapshot of dreams in the late 20th Century much in the same way that The Third Reich of Dreams (4) gives a snapshot of the society in Nazi Germany. But it was soon apparent that the real appeal of alt.dreams was to share dreams and discussions about their significance and meaning. Although alt.dreams provided a global gathering spot and spawned other related newsgroups like alt.dreams.lucid and alt.dreams.castaneda, the un-moderated venue lacked something essential for those used to face-to-face dream sharing. Individuals that did want more formed smaller private e-mail groups away from the alt.dreams newsgroup. Electric Dreams and other Dream Communities One of these groups distributed a collection of the dreams and comments between the subscribers and then published the comments and replies in a weekly format. When I found the community in the fall of 1994 they had grown to about 60 members and the dreams and comments were shared in a bi-monthly E-zine, (an electronically distributed magazine via E-mail) which they called Electric Dreams. Interest in this format grew and Electric Dreams grew from 60 to 500 subscribers in the following year and added news, articles and experimental dream events, but remained primarily focused on dream sharing in cyberspace. Concerns about this free speech forum now include a). the potential abuse of interpretive authority (anyone can comment and pretend they are someone they are not and some feel that *any* comment is abusive), b). lack of support for dreamers who submit dreams (what if a dream interpretation unlocks psychological instability?) and c). context or set & setting confusion (5) (What if someone thinks this is psychotherapy, what if children joined a group with adults? ). Another of the problems faced by the Electric Dreams community was the two week delay in the dream being presented and the return comments. A solution was found when I met John Herbert and participated in his ALL SeniorNet Dream Bulletin Board. John Herbert's groups used a variation of some of the Ullman/Zimmerman techniques (10), which he had worked out on the WELL and AOL. A dream was selected, the group asked non-interpretive questions, then each person took the dream as their own. During the process, the dreamer could respond or reply as he or she chose. The process was modified for e-mail and the first Electric Dreams Dream Circles (6) were created. A dream was passed around in round-robin style from one e-mail address with questions and replies added by each participant. The ED Dream Circle was great for sharing dreams, but an administrative nightmare. Jay Vinton suggested we use a Mail List style approach and the problems seemed to disappear. In a Mail List approach, all the members send all comments to everyone in the group, even if the comment is directed to just one individual. This process creates a feeling of group identity and cohesion. These new mail list dream groups, the Dream Wheels (No connection with the Ramsay Raymond Dreamwheel), have evolved in several new creative directions. Generally the process has been refined and newer sharing and distribution methods have improved (For more on the technical aspects of Mail Lists, see the Dream Cyberphile pg 26 in the ASD newsletter 1996 13.1, 26-27.). However, while the technical & methodological procedures have developed quickly, the resolution of concerns about the safety and appropriateness of dream sharing online seems to be taking a little more time. Cyber-Dream Sharing Goes To School and Gets International Attention Both Jayne Gackenbach and I felt that combining education with the experiential groups represented an advance over just offering experimental groups. Several projects followed. Jayne developed a program with Grant MacEwan which now includes e-mail classes and bulletin board dream sharing.(8) . When I expanded the DreamGate classes to include the community beyond Electric Dreams subscribers, we incorporated many of the safety features that Jayne created and implemented in her classes including the post-session questionnaires and the pre-session clarifications about the context and rules of group.(9) But the best safety-net seems to be education itself. Armed with a wide array of interpretive techniques, and individual is less likely to fall prey to an harmful single approach or person. I suggest finding classes and books with a full array of information. To correct the modern bias, studies of aboriginal cultures from around the world and from various ancient civilizations are recommended. The effect of axis religions on dreams is important. The full range of psychological schools from Freud to Jung, to Gestalt and Humanistic Existential approaches need to be explored. Many of the new trends, such as lucidity and mutual dreaming are recommended as well as the history of investigations into psychic dreaming. I feel that dreaming science should be included as well, to give the person a perspective not often included with most dreamwork but essential for an eclectic understanding of the field. When the Dream Cyberworld Project for the ASD XIII conference was proposed, the ASD executive board foresightedly accepted and supported the project. The only concern was that dream sharing via computers at the conference might be confused as promotion or endorsement when in fact we were all still wondering as a group just exactly what it really was. The Conference XIII programs thus provided no online dream sharing, but did provide plenty of examples and samples, giving interested individuals a chance to see the spectrum of possibilities . During the Berkeley Conference XIII, I asked Sarah Richard's to bring together in a panel the many of the more active of individuals involved in online dream sharing, including Jayne Gackenback, Jeremy Taylor, John Herbert and myself. Fred Olsen and Linton Hutchinson also participated in sharing their collective experiences. Not one of these people reported any problems with online dream sharing in any of the groups or sessions. There were some who were confused about the procedures at times, and some who didn't participate who didn't like the *idea* of what was happening, but no reports of unhappy participants or incidents requiring crisis intervention. In fact, everyone was wildly excited at the time about the possibilities of the Net and Dream Sharing. Still, the concern persisted about people confusing dreamwork with psychotherapy and being vulnerable to abuse. The idea of dream sharing on the Net continues to bring to peoples' minds a myriad of possible disasters. Why haven't these disasters shown up? Herbert's study suggests that online dream sharing provides more insight than face-to-face dream sharing. His results were not statistically significant but reveal an observation that in the cooler, non-confrontive atmosphere of writing e-mail at one's home computer, the responses and questions to and from the dreamer are more reflective and less emotional. This also points to a weakness in e-mail dream sharing scheme for those who like more emotional interplay. It appears then, that while dream groups online may not yet be appropriate for many psychotherapy, they do provide a safe and anonymous venue for adults to meaningfully explore meaning and value. As these dream sharing groups evolve and more studies are done, we will have a better picture of the scope, range and relevancy of e-mail and bulletin board style dream sharing. Peggy Coats will be the Chair for an ASD panel discussion of these topics again in Santa Cruz, 1999. In the meantime, DreamGate, Electric Dreams and other organizations continue to educate the public about the variety of approaches to dreams and dreamwork that can take place outside of the therapeutic container. It is recommended that these groups make it very clear from the beginning that they are not offering psychotherapy and rather focus on the peer or partnership paradigm. Richard Wilkerson rcwilk@dreamgate.com References: (1) Dream Phone services have been used, for example, by the Delaney & Flowers Center for the Study of Dreams, Fred Olsen's Reentry line and the Hotline of Tony Dubetz, among others. (2) Herbert, J.W.(1991) "Human Science Research Methods in Studying Dreamwork: Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Face-to-Face and Computer Dream Work Groups" Unpublished Manuscript, Saybrook Institute, San Francisco, (25 Nov. 1996) (3) Herbert, J. W. (1991). "Notes on the creation of alt.dreams." In "Human Science Research Methods.. (see above) (28 Oct. 1996) (4) Beradt, Charlotte (1966). The Third Reich of Dreams. Translated by Adriane Gottwald. Chicago: Quadrangle Books (5) Richards, Sarah (1996, April 22). "RE: Dream Interpretation: The significance of set and setting." ASD Web Bulletin Board. (25 Nov. 1996) (6) Wilkerson, Richard C.. (1995). "Dream Circles: A Sample Session of Dream Sharing using E-mail Round Robin.". Electric Dreams. (28 Nov. 1996) (7) Wilkerson, R. & Hicks, C. (1996). "Dreamwheels: a Sample Session of Dream Sharing Using Mail List Formats." (28 Nov. 1996) (8) Gackenbach, Jayne (1996). Unlocking the Secrets of your Dreams. Grant MacEwan Community College. (25 Oct. 1996) (9) Wilkerson, Richard C. (1996). From Ancient Thrace to Cyberspace: The History & Practice of Dream Sharing. DreamGate Classes. (28 Nov. 1996) (10) See Herbet's paper for the similarities and differences between Ullman and Herbert. -------------------------- ---------------------------- ---- -------------------------- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The Coins of Life: Transcripts of an Online Dream Sharing Group Richard Wilkerson +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Electric Dreams has been experimenting with dream sharing online since the spring of 1994. Many of us have tried various forms of dream sharing online before that time. We still have several forms, from direct publishing, to informal comments to special projects. But the process that has made the deepest impression on the participants has been the DreamWheel. Included below are the full transcripts from an Electric Dreams DreamWheel dream sharing group that accord the summer of 1998. I was the moderator for this group and though the participants will remain anonymous, I want to thank them all for their generosity in opening up this group for the public. It is our hope that others will be able to use this dreamwork process in their own groups. For an more extended history of the evolution of the DreamWheel, see Wilkerson, R. A Short History on the Rise of Dream Sharing in Cyberspace. (Above) The following group formed from announcements in Electric Dreams, alt.dreams Usenet Newsgroup, and also included students from the DreamGate 'History of Dream Sharing' Class. All members subscribed to the Electric Dreams dream group email list and each member was asked to send all e- mail to the group list, and not to send private notes. The process followed should be clear in the moderator's notes. ---------------------------- ------------------------------- --- ----------------------------- MODERATOR'S NOTES Dream 'The Coins of Life' by Tom For those of you who are already familiar with the process, please scroll down to the bottom of the page and read the new dream, and send in your questions to tom at (the group address) If you can, put in the subject line something like " Questions on 'Coin Dream' " I'm estimating we will be exploring this dream for about a week- week and a half, then move on to the next dream sent in. You can still send in a dream for the group to explore at rcwilk@dreamgate.com Richard OK for those of you who are ~new~ to the dreamwheel, here is the short and long of it: The moderator, (rcwilk@dreamgate.com) picks a dream at random and sends it to the group. The group may ask *clarifying* questions only. (see below for more on this). Then the dreamer may or may not reply to these quesions. They may answer them individually, or wait and answer then all together, as the dreamer chooses. Then the participants get to take the dream as if it were their own, and comment. I'll have more instructions on this when that time comes. If you are interested you can see a sample session at http://www.asdreams.org/asd-13/2lb12.htm ASKING QUESTIONS of the dreamer In this phase of the process you may ask the dreamer questions about the dream that may clarify the image of the dream. Do not ask questions that call for interpretations. Example: DREAM: "He turned around and grabbed Bill's jacket away from me" Questions: Hi Dreamer, thanks for sharing your dream with us. I was wondering: 1.Who is "he" that grabbed the jacket - did you know him, what did helook like? 2.Are you related to Bill or is he a friend? 3.Were you scared when he grabbed the jacket away? 4.What kind of jacket was it? Dark leather, green raincoat...? Some questions you *DON'T* want to ask: Why do you think he grabbed your jacket? (though you might ask if any reasons went through your head *during* the dream.) Did you know that Jackets represent symbols of appearance issues? Do you often have men grabbing your clothes in dreams? What does standing behind someone mean to you? And to the Dreamers- If and when you reply to the questions, do so only to clarify the dream. Try to avoid interpretations at this point. If it is not clear from the dream how to answer a question, simply say it was not clear. Usually the dreamer waits until several members' questions have been mailed to the group to begin answering. ============================================= The Dream Dream 'The Coins of Life' by Tom Dad has come home from the hospital from heart surgery. I go to hug him and welcome him home, but I must do so very carefully and gently, so as not to hurt him by accident. We are living in a split level house, and this scene is taking place in an upstairs bedroom. The entrance hall to this house is elevated, and I must go up a short flight of stairs (about 5 stairs) from the den to reach it, and the attached living room. We have recently put new floors in the house, and they have been placed right over the old ones. As a result we are somewhat nearer the ceiling than before. The new floors are a blonde hardwood, and heavily acquered - almost plasticized in appearance. I think they are very attractive, in their way, but feel uncomfortable walking on them to avoid marring the all-too-perfect surface. In the entrance hall, the bottom half of the door is evidently blocked by the raised flooring. Likewise the bottom half of the windows are below floor level, and as such, invisble to me. In this second scene, I am in the den. I hear a loud sound in the living room, and go there to discover the cause. A young asian woman in chinese style black silk pajamas is digging at the floor with a staff she holds in her hand. The floor is deeply scarred and the wood is coming apart and turning fiberous. She has dug into the floor about five or six inches deep. Although the woman appears real, she resembles Mulan - from the Disney film that I have not yet seen. I rush at her and shout that she must stop and go away. She lashes out at me with the staff to keep me away. Presently, she runs away. I don't know why, I feel as if I finally frightened her away. I am very smugly satisfied with myself, as I watch her flee. From the window I can see her running away from the house. Suddenly the scene changes, and I see thousands of Chinese coins with holes in the center. They are all floating in air before me - a curtain of beautiful coins. They are not strung together by string or wire, although in such a curtain they would be. They are simply floating and individually revolving from "heads" to "tails" . The whole effect is very beautiful and delightfully unexpected. A man's voice comes from "above", but not like the voice of God, more like a narrator in an educational film. The voice says "There is only one life, and it is lived in many simultaneous, but brief periods." This is the end of the dream. _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Questions on 'Coin Dream Tom, I only have a few questions. 1. Did your father have surgery in reality? (if this is too personal you don't need to answer) 2. How did you feel when you saw the woman digging? 3. What did her staff look like? 4. Where were you when you saw the coin "curtain"? dana _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Hi Dana. Thanks for the questions. 1. Yes, my father did have heart surgery, he passed away in the "recovery" room. That was in '91. 2. When I saw the woman digging, I felt both panicked and outraged. She was ruining the floor, she was an intruder, and her motives were unknown. 3. It was an ornately carved staff of a golden colored wood. It's kind of like the one Mulan has in the previews of the movie, and like the Mulan - Secret Warrior doll has. 4. When I saw the curtain, I was watching the woman through one of the windows in the living room. She was running across the lawn. Suddenly the curtain descended before my field of vision. It was not part of the decor of the room - I don't know where it came from. Pleasant Dreams, Tom _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Questions on 'Coin Dream Hi Tom...here are a few questions... 1...Is this a description of an actual house or one created within your dream?. 2...Do you live alone in this house with your Dad or are there others?.. 3...Are you the age you are now through out the dream?.. 4...What time of day did you notice the Asian woman?... 5...Were you outside or inside during the curtain of coins?.. 6...In retrospect was the voice familiar?.. Thanks Tom.....Don _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Hi Don. 1. The house was a pastiche of three houses I lived in while I was a child. In the first scene, the house was like the one in which my mother still resides. I lived there from 6th grade through a couple of years after college. The second scene was like a split level house we lived in briefly when I was in 5th grade, except for the bit about the stairs and the floor, and the view from the window was similar to the first house I remember, the one in which I lived from birth through the 4th grade. 2. Mom, Dad and I live in the house. Mom and Dad are not in the second scene. There are several visitors in the first scene, to welcome Dad home - my sister, brother-in-law, assorted neices and nephews. 3. Looking back on the dream, I wasn't really aware of being any particular age, so -- yes, I guess I was the same age as now - 40, 41 next month. 4. It seemed like early afternoon. The sun was shining, and when I looked out the window everything was bright. I don't remember any long shadows. 5. I was inside when I saw the curtain. I was looking at the fleeing woman through the livng room window. 6. No, the voice was not especially "familiar" it was more "generic" like a TV or radio news person. It really reminded me of one of those out-of-date Black & White 16mm. "educational" films I watched in school in the 60's and 70's. (but the films were from the 40's and 50's.) It was male, but neither high nor low pitched. No accent was discernable. It wasn't like a Divine Announcement, it was dry, factual and "informative". Pleasant Dreams, Tom _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ By the way, Dana, thanks for asking if the question was too personal. Obviously, it wasn't, but thanks for your courtesy. I think it's important that the person sharing the dream be allowed to determine the level of engagement, and should be periodically reminded that it is their privilege and also their responsibility to do so. Thanks again for extending this courtesy to me. Pleasant Dreams, Tom _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Questions on 'Coin Dream Hi Tom Thanks for sharing your dream. i was not able to pay too much attention to the last one, but here I am. I have some questions. 1. Do these Chinese coins seem familiar to you? 2. Do you have any contact with ancient Chinese culture? 3. Do you know the I Ching and the way you ask questions to it? Greetings, Emiliano _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Hi Emiliano. Here are the answers to your questions. 1. In waking life I have few associations with the coins except, as noted below, as a way to consult the I Ching. In the dream, the coins have no further meaning to me, except as they seem to relate to the girl in the dream, and also vaguely to the concept of "Eastern wisdom". When I look at them in the dream, I am primarily aware of their beauty and unexpectedness. The main emotion I feel is one of delight. 2. No, I have no contact with Chinese culture, ancient or otherwise. 3. Yes, I know of the I Ching. One of the tasks I performed in connection with my initial work with this dream was to consult that oracle. The lower trigram was Chen, and the upper trigram was Li. The hexagram seemed to relate to some aspects of the dream. I do not customarily consult the I Ching, and did so only because of the curtain of coins in my dream. I hope these are the answers you need. Pleasant Dreams, Tom _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Hi dreamwheelers, Usually this process takes much longer, but with so many people and the dreamer being on top of the questions, we are zipping right along. Let's start the comment phase! I've included the dream below, as well as instructions for those not familiar with the process. - Richard DreamWheel - Comments Phase <----------------------------------------------> COMMENT PROCEDURES In this part of the process, you may comment on the dream. While you are welcome to make any comments you wish, what we are teaching in this group is non-defensive style developed by John Herbert (Montague Ullman stage II variation) modified for email. This segment is the one in which each group member takes the dream as if it were his or her own and shares feelings and thoughts about the dream and what it might mean in each members life situation. Making the dream your own: 1. At the beginning of all comment files or e-mail we generally write : "If this were my dream..." This sets up the general subjective attitude and works as a reminder to the commentor that they are not telling the dreamer what they think the dream means to the dreamer, but rather what the dream might mean if we had that dream. 2. To further this point, use 1st person singular, present tense. "In my dream..." EXAMPLE: Dream: "I'm looking at my mother walking down a long hall towards an open window." I might comment "In my dream the nurturing mother has found a new way to escape me." In my comment, it is *my mother*, *my hallway* and *my dream*. This may or may not provide insight to the initial dreamer, but its surprising how often this non- defensive approach does lead to new insights for both the dreamer and the commentor. 3. Send the comments in to the whole group. 4. The DREAMER may or may not respond as they wish. _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Comments on 'Coin Dream' P- Hi Tom, Thanks for sharing this dream with us. If this was my dream, the house would represent the many aspects of myself. The raised flooring has made it impractical yet beautiful. I can't see out the windows as much as I'd like to , not enough light comes in and I am inconvenienced by the doors. I have to walk so carefully because I don't want to mess it up. This represents my self-image...perhaps I am too focused on my appearance and not what's inside. In my dream the Asian woman represents a part of myself that is searching. She uses a staff-- a symbol for me of the spirit, the search for something divine. Perhaps I don't want her there because I fear the answers. I f this was my dream I would focus on the words spoken at the end of the dream. They seem to explain so much. They give me comfort, knowing that my father will always live. The words also explain the coin curtain. Each coin represents the the lives of loved ones, past and future, turning, changing. When I can't see one side there is another to take it's place as it revolves. Life is cycle within cycle, and we are all interlinked by unseen bonds like with this curtain. _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Hi Dana. It's been several days since your reply, and as no others replies have been forthcoming, I would like to take the opportunity to respond to your comments. You wrote " If this was my dream, the house would represent the many aspects of myself. The raised flooring has made it impractical yet beautiful. I can't see out the windows as much as I'd like to , not enough light comes in and I am inconvenienced by the doors." This is true. I think it's significant that the action of the second scene takes place in the Entrance Way and the Living Room. Because of the odd construction of the split level house (inwardly divided self) not only is it burdensome for others to enter, but it is crowded in the "living room". In my house there is insufficient "living room" or room for living". Again, you wrote "I have to walk so carefully because I don't want to mess it up. This represents my self-image ... perhaps I am too focused on my appearance and not what's inside. " When I think of the first scene, I realize that in it, I must curb the expression of the "inner me" in order to keep from injuring my father. Because he is coming from heart surgery, perhaps I am afraid to let myself be known to him because I will "break his heart". This is a pattern that repeats itself over and over in my life - I find myself living up to other's expectations, simply because I assume that the "real me" is rather hard to handle for other people. I find it much easier to be authentic and "real" with people I don't really know (such as the people in an internet dream sharing group) than with those most close to me. This is what I think the steps and the raised floor in my dream are about. Dana, you wrote "In my dream the Asian woman represents a part of myself that is searching. She uses a staff-- a symbol for me of the spirit, the search for something divine. Perhaps I don't want her there because I fear the answers." Years ago, I took a shamanism workshop led by Michael Harner (The Way of the Shaman). At one point we were to partner with another person in the workshop and each do a "journey" to identify the "power animal". In my journey, I encountered a white bull several times, and as the instructions given were "once an animal presents itself three times, come back to normal waking state and tell your partner the name of that animal - it will be their power animal." So, it transpires that my partner's power animal was a bull, and as a result of her journey, I was assigned an American Indian maiden, as in the Disney film Pocahauntus (spelling). Over the years in my dreams and personal meditations, this maiden has appeared several times -- usually to let me know that I currently had the support and power I needed at that time, all I needed was to avail myself of it." I really think the young Asian woman is an aspect of this image, just as in the two Disney films - Pocahauntus, and Mulan. After the dream, I went to Wal-Mart to find the doll of Mulan that was in the commercial I suspected of being my dream trigger. I found the doll, and on the package she was identified as "Mulan - the Secret Warrior". Pretty apt, I think, for someone who is really doing a service for me by ripping up my floor, but whom I perceived during the dream as a threat. Finally, Dana, you wrote" If this was my dream I would focus on the words spoken at the end of the dream. They seem to explain so much. They give me comfort, knowing that my father will always live. The words also explain the coin curtain. Each coin represents the the lives of loved ones, past and future, turning, changing. When I can't see one side there is another to take it's place as it revolves. Life is cycle within cycle, and we are all interlinked by unseen bonds like with this curtain." In a sense, my father does live, since I continue to keep my real self buried under an unimpeachable surface to avoid hurting those near me. I think I learned this habit in childhood, and it will take a lot of courage to CHANGE. I capitalized the word CHANGE in the previous sentence because I just became aware _today_ that the coins could carry that meaning. We speak of small change, loose change, making change. It makes sense that I symbolized the concept of "change" with the images of coins. Why Chinese? Perhaps I am carrying through the Eastern theme from the young woman all the way through the dream. Perhaps, since I did not recognize her in the dream, but later she seems to be the same as the corn-maiden in other dreams, the Chinese theme could be representing my own "inscrutable" nature that I take pains to keep under the floor. The Chinese coins are utilized in consulting the I Ching, the Book of Change (see, there's that word again). As part of my initial work on the dream, inspired by the presence of the coins, I consulted the I Ching and generated the Hexagram #21 - in the book I have it is labeled "Reform". The text for this hexagram is: "Reform will bring progress. It is advantageous to let justice be administered. Aroused consciousness forms the condition for Reform. The ancient rulers, therefore, put forth their laws and clearly defined the penalties." The commentary in the book says: "The time calls for energetic Reform. A situation has developed that is at cross purposes to your life and is interfering with the attainment of your aims. This obstacle must be _dug out_ reforemd, and thereby eliminated. Success will come through the enforcement of laws and the administering of justice. There is neither possibility of compromise, nor hope that the problem will vanish. It cannot be rationalized or ignored, and you cannot maneuver around it. It is tangible, real, and a self-generating force in your life and must be severely reformed before it causes any permanent damage to you. There could not be a more appropriate time to examine your character and determine the extent to which any rationalizations, habits, etc., have usurped control of your judgement. Know what you want, know what makes you feel good about hour Self, know what brings you into harmony with others. These are your guidelines and principles. Other factors that assume control of your behavior, or that create inner discord are the obstacles that must be overcome." The words at the end of the dream seem to mean that I, myself, have only one life -- and it is too brief to allow all this fragmentation in it. If I can begin in some small way to heal that fragmentation, then I can begin to live simultaneously in more aspects of my life - not only the practiced, perfect surface persona - the "perfect" floor that diminishes my room for living, and limits other's access to me, as well as my access to them. Thank you very much, everyone, for your questions and comment. I apologize for being so long winded, especially since it's about my own dream, and my personal concerns. Thank you again for allowing me to share the dream with you all. Pleasant Dreams, Tom _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Two more very brief notes, then I will be through. After writing the previous message, I turned on the TV and Brian DePalma's film Phantom of the Paradise was on. The first thing I heard were the lyrics to one of the songs "To work it out, I let them in - all the good guys and the bad guys that I've been. . . all the devils that disturb me and the angels that defeated them somehow -- come together in me now. This was so appropriate to what I was writing with regard to the fragmented self buried under layers of plastic wood that I was struck by the coincidence. The other note had to do with the power animal journeys. The power animal I found for my partner was a bull - and her sun sign turned out to be Taurus. The power "animal" she found for me was a maiden, and my sun sign is Virgo. I have thought about this "coincidence" many times over the years. The word Coincidence means co-incidence, or two things happening simultaneously. In my dream the word "simultaneously" is accompanied by an image of Coin, the first four letters in the word Coin-cidence. That probably doesn't have any meaning, but it is an interesting ..., well, coincidence. Now I'll hush. Pleasant Dreams, Tom _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Comments on 'Coin Dream' Hi All Thanks Tom for your beautiful dream. It is undoubtably a special one. If this was my dream: In my dream my father is recovering from a heart surgery. I welcome him home. My father is the symbol of some kind of masculine energy. That energy was not working well, so my father having a heart surgery means that this masculine side of me had a poor heart (this is, some problem to face and express my feelings). This problem has been corrected (the surgery). Now some changes wait for me. These changes are symbolized by the new floors in my house. My house is the symbol for my inner psyche. There is a new presence in the house. A Chinese woman in her pajamas. She means a new way to express my femenine energy. A more spiritual way. She's in her pajamas because she just "woke up". Those energies were "asleep" but now are working. She runs away. I don't know the reason. I feel she must be afraid of me. Maybe I'm afraid of her. Maybe my current state of consciousness is not the right one. Thjis woman remembers me of Mulan.I didn't see the film, but I know that Mulan is a kind of feminine hero. She does extraordinary things without giving up her feminine identity. Then, I see the courtain of coins. These are the coins I use for the I Ching, and the ritual of making a question to this oracle implies that you have to connect to your higher self. My higher self seems to be present in this scene, and It gives me something to think about. "There is only one life and it's lived in simultaneous but brief periods". I don't really know exactly what this means, but I have some associations. For instance, life is always changing. (Everything is mutating, like the I Ching says). Nothing is forever, so we have to learn to let things go. We have to learn to change ourselves. Etc. This is a very fine dream. Greetings, Emiliano _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Comments on 'Coin Dream' Hi Tom Some comment about hexagram 21 on the I Ching (from memory, I don't have the book here). Hexagram 21 (and I'm not an I Ching freak!!) is sometimes seen as a mouth that must bite an obstacle that keeps both sides of the mouth separated. This means: bite, which means: ACT. Sometimes the book tells you not to act at all. Sometimes it tells you that you are wrong, or lying yourself, or searching for something that it's not for you. This sign is telling you: you are right. Go on. Act. Change things. your life is not forever. Bite hard. Thought it may be interesting greetings, Emiliano _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Comments on 'Coin Dream' If this were my dream, welcoming my father home would be related to my missing him. I hug him gently because he is fragile just as my relationship with him has been fragile at times. I love him and feel love from him but often our relationship was not what I wished it could be. But I pretend everything is okay. The all-to-perfect wood floors represents this pretending, this wanting things to look good. I don't even want to walk on it to mess it up, I only want to remember the good things about my relationship with my father. This false floor though prevents me from going places (blocked doors) and seeing things (blocked windows) as they really were/are. But there is this wise, strong, beautiful part of me (young Asian woman) that knows that this floor is false and there is another floor, other aspects of my father and my relationship with him. But I cannot deny that these other aspects exist(ed) and it is okay. The curtain of coins is one you can easily see through, it does not hide anything, and it is beautiful. It is telling me it is okay to see both the good and the bad in my father and my relationship with him. Life is lived in many simultaneous periods. Myself and my relationships are not all one way or the other but have many aspects to it, good and bad, beautiful and ugly. Tom - Thanks for giving me this wonderful dream. I will continue to ponder its meanings for me. Matthew _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Thanks Emiliano. I was confused by some of the images I ran across in various editions of the I-Ching. Most of them had to do with chewing off various body parts. Until your message, I had no idea at all as to what they meant, they were simply disturbing images associated with the Hexagram. Thanks for this insight. Pleasant Dreams, Tom _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Thanks again, Emiliano, for your response. You wrote: "In my dream my father is recovering from a heart surgery. I welcome him home. My father is the symbol of some kind of masculine energy. That energy was not working well, so my father having a heart surgery means that this masculine side of me had a poor heart (this is, some problem to face and express my feelings). This problem has been corrected (the surgery)." This is an interesting approach, and one which I had not previously considered - owing to the image being so "personalzed" as to resemble my actual father. I can see how that fits in, though. I tend to be very "approach/avoidance" with regard to solving my personal problems. I'll go hammers and tongs at it for a day or so, then backslide for a week. I have often felt that this was due to either the "puer" nature of my shadow, or to an actual energy imbalance. Thinking in terms of masc./fem. energy interplay is therefore convenient shorthand - something my dreams are apt to use. I would say not that this aspect of myself has been "corrected" but rather that I find myself convalescent, but on the road to recovery. Overcoming that shadow aspect is something I am working, struggling with - and it's not easy. For every two steps forward it's a step back. Even so, I feel that at least "some" progress has been made. Again, you write: "Now some changes wait for me. These changes are symbolized by the new floors in my house. My house is the symbol for my inner psyche. There is a new presence in the house. A Chinese woman in her pajamas. She means a new way to express my femenine energy. A more spiritual way. " I have been going through a paradigm shift (hate the phrase, but it's the only one I know that expresses what I mean) in my spiritual life. I have been for some months now moving from valuing "knowledge about" to valuing "knowledge of". I won't go on and on explaining what I mean, my friends and I have discussed this topic till we're blue. I will simply note that the way you express the underlying meaning of the Asian woman rings true with reference to that shift of values and perceptions. "She's in her pajamas because she just "woke up". Those energies were "asleep" but now are working. She runs away. I don't know the reason. I feel she must be afraid of me. Maybe I'm afraid of her. Maybe my current state of consciousness is not the right one. " I am afraid of her - she's wrecking the life I've carefully built up layer by layer, step by step. Your suggestion that she is just waking up is very striking. Thank you. "This woman remembers me of Mulan.I didn't see the film, but I know that Mulan is a kind of femenine hero. She does extraordinary things without giving up her femenine identity. " While that is true, factually, I don't really see the connection. Perhaps you would care to amplify and lastly, you write: "Then, I see the curtain of coins. These are the coins I use for the I Ching, and the ritual of making a question to this oracle implies that you have to connect to your higher self. My higher self seems to be present in this scene, and It gives me something to think about. "There is only one life and it's lived in simultaneous but brief periods". I don't really know exactly what this means, but I have some associations. For instance, life is always changing. (Everything is mutating, like the I Ching says). Nothing is forever, so we have to learn to let things go. We have to learn to change ourselves. Etc." I agree about the importance of connecting to the higher self, and my desire to live under it's guidance. That's why, after all, I'm so focused on dreams. Change is eternal, it's the only thing that is. Perhaps my dream is telling me it's time I changed too. I hope I have the courage, as well as the humility to listen attentively to my higher self. Thank you, Emiliano, for your very helpful comments on my dream. Pleasant Dreams, Tom _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Matthew, you wrote: "If this were my dream, welcoming my father home would be related to my missing him. I hug him gently because he is fragile just as my relationship with him has been fragile at times. I love him and feel love from him but often our relationship was not what I wished it could be." I do miss Dad. Oddly enough, he and I were not that close when he was alive. When he passed away, though, I plunged into deepest mourning. My reaction really surprised -- and disturbed -- me. I just didn't know where it was coming from. Only now do I realize it was because I was mourning for the relationship that "could have been". At the time, I simply grieved, and then judged myself very harshly for my grief, because it seemed so out of proportion to our actual relationship. The grief was bad enough, but my own judgement of myself for feeling it was even more awful. I kept telling myself how selfish I was to grieve. How what I was going through wasn't about me - it was about Dad and his passing, but I had twisted it around so that it "seemed to be" about me, myself. It's difficult to describe the hell I put myself through for over a year. You also write: "But I pretend everything is okay. The all-to-perfect wood floors represents this pretending, this wanting things to look good. I don't even want to walk on it to mess it up, I only want to remember the good things about my relationship with my father." I also think it has to do with feeling I had to be "the perfect son" to my parents, and not to admit my failures, or my doubts, or anything, really, to them. If I had to ask for help, or even advice, I felt as if I had failed to live up to that perfect image my parents seemed to have of me. I was my father's youngest child, and my mother's only. Therefore, they lavished attention and praise on me -- it was horrible for a young child to go through that, and left me with a lifelong problem with perfectionism, judgementalism, and hypercriticality. Dad passed away in 1991, and I am only now finding a way to address these long standing life-issues. "This false floor though prevents me from going places (blocked doors) and seeing things (blocked windows) as they really were/are." When you put it like that -- "false-floor" -- it makes me think of the false foundations on which I seem to have built much of my life. Seeing things as they really are is sometimes a strain for me, because I find I frequently confuse reality with "realism" in the sense of "pessimism" and "doing my best" as doing a "better than perfect" job. I knew of these tendencies before, of course, but didn't see them addressed in this dream. Thank you for your insight. "But there is this wise, strong, beautiful part of me (young Asian woman) that knows that this floor is false and there is another floor, other aspects of my father and my relationship with him. But I cannot deny that these other aspects exist(ed) and it is okay." The last sentence, I guess because it starts with "But", confuses me a little. Could you clarify it? I agree that "Mulan" represents another part of myself - primarily I see her as representing the courage for change and "revolution" that I lack. There are other "floors". I suspect, judging from the actual structure of the split level house in which, as a child, I briefly lived, that there are actually five or six "floors" as there are five or six steps from the den to the entrance hall and living room. In that "real-life" house, the entrance hall, living room, den, kitchen, dining room, etc., were all on the same level. One task I need to perform is to attempt to name each "step" that leads to the final, very high floor. Then I might be able to formulate an action plan to address each one in turn -- literally dig beneath each successive floor until I reach the original one. Possible trigger: At the time I dreamed this dream, I was having a new roof put on my house. I was concerned that the roofers were working during the day when I was at work and unable to "supervise" them. I even formed the theory that, under those conditions, they could simply slap a few shingles over the roof and call it new, but doing nothing to address the real, underlying roof with it's real problems. After all, who would know? I'm happy to say I was wrong, but at the time it was a concern. Lastly, Matthew, you write: "The curtain of coins is one you can easily see through, it does not hide anything, and it is beautiful. It is telling me it is okay to see both the good and the bad in my father and my relationship with him. Life is lived in many simultaneous periods. Myself and my relationships are not all one way or the other but have many aspects to it, good and bad, beautiful and ugly." I had not considered it's relative transparency before. If I had the curtain of coins with holes in them hanging before me, people could still see me through the curtain, and I could see them. (Holey (Holy) curtain - makes me think of the Veil of the Temple concealing the Holy of Holies. Also brings to mind the word "whole") The curtain does not conceal, it reveals. Change (the coins) does not conceal, it reveals. The coins are revolving, freely showing both sides of themselves. The presence of one side of a coin implies another side, in the same way that the "perfection" implies it's own opposite. The coins, the curtain are beautiful. If fact, they are so attractive (change is attractive) that I forget to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of them (the changes that need to occur in my life). During waking time, the though of so much to do just fills me with dismay. I need to remember the lesson of how beautiful the coins were -- in other words, take one step (there's that word again) at a time and keep the end product, a new life for me, firmly in mind. One of my favorite movies (speaking of golden coins) is the silent movie GREED. I had forgotten that earlier that week, I invited a number of my friends over to see it. Maybe it too was a trigger. Originally running in excess of 12 hours, this 1924 film was to all accounts, an astounding masterpiece. Nevertheless, the film was ruthlessly cut by the studio to a running time of just over two hours. The negatives of the excised material were destroyed. After this "hack job", miraculously, the film was still a great masterpiece. An essay on the film begins with this quote from "Three Dialogues" by Samuel Beckett: "Total object, complete with missing parts -- instead of partial object. Question of degree." Hopefully, because of this dream, and the work you all have done on it, I can find the courage to be such a Total "object", complete with flawed or missing parts, instead of a partial object. Thank you, Matthew, for your insights. Pleasant Dreams, Tom _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Comments on 'Coin Dream' Hi Tom, Thanks for the wonderful Coins Dream -- it gave me a lift. I'm sorry not to have responded to you earlier with questions, but I was out of town for several days at the end of last week and was busy the first part of this week at work. Anyway, I'll go ahead and give you my comments now on your dream. Preliminarily, let me say how strongly I am aware that I will be projecting, as your dream is so mysterious to me and I don't know you except from this Dream Wheel. I know that's what we we're supposed to do (i.e., project), and to acknowledge, but I wanted to say so anyway. So, if this were my dream, this dream is first of all about what time is and means in my life. My life (particularly, my psyche) in this dream is represented by the house, and the floors especially represent layers of my psyche. The latest layer, the blonde hardwood, has just gone down, and although I like it, it also seems a little too perfect to live on, as if it became a part of my life because of its appearance rather than its functionality. I sometimes am attracted to things because of the image they present rather than what they are (and I've always had a thing about blondes, ironically, including a mad crush on a blond in high school that left me dizzy for years after). I soon find out, however, that I can't necessarily live with what I thought I wanted. The most striking thing to me about my version of this dream is the "moral", i.e., that "There is only one life, and it is lived in many simultaneous, but brief periods." In my dream, this has several meanings. First is the most esoteric, that is, that my life from the moment of my birth to the moment of my death could be conceived of as existing all at once, with time being the vertical dimension. So, everything exists at once -- past, present, and future -- and every moment of my life is actually a brief period linked to the next by my karma (the Buddha said that there are 450,000 mind moments in every moment). Second, it is lived simultaneously because the past influences the present, the present influences the future, and, I believe, the future influences the present and past, too (and so on). The first two are obvious, but the second is so in my dream ("imd") because my life wants to become something, i.e., it wants to become the deepest essence of me, so my future creates my past and present. Interestingly, imd, there is a triptych of scenes/periods. In the first, I am welcoming Dad home from heart surgery; in the second, I confront an Asian woman; in the third, I see the Chinese coins. Could these be past, present and future imd? To me, it is important that the house is a pastiche of houses where I lived as a child but in the reverse chronological order of the order you dreamed them. So, I see causation and sequence running in multiple directions here, indicating, imd, multiple levels of meaning, and underlining the mysterious influence that different parts of my life have on one another regardless of when they occurred chronologically. One thing is clear imd: as I grow older (I will be 39 soon), more of the plot of my life story is revealed (and more "floors" are laid down), creating the need for me to constantly reassess and revise and let go, as well as adding and growing new things (see below). When my Dad comes home from heart surgery, I feel sadness and tenderness towards him and his vulnerability now that he is older. So achingly melancholy how life slips by, how someone who was once strong is now fragile. And I identify myself strongly with him -- in a sense, I have incorporated him into my soul, and now I feel it is my heart that is wounded and that I must rest in my sanctuary, in my bedroom, with support from my family. Time has had an impact on me as it has on my father, and I need to accept that in some ways I too must be more gentle with my heart and my body. In my dream, too, I feel a sense of claustrophobia in the first scene, because the floors seem to be growing higher towards the ceiling, leaving me less room to live, making it harder to see outside, and making it harder to get outside too. I find as I get older that I accumulate more, both more memories and more things, and it cramps my energy and my freedom to live. So, in my dream, this leads me to the second phase of the dream, where the young Asian woman has begun the task that must be undertaken -- digging the wood so that I have more head room in my house and more room to walk, and scarring it so that I can feel comfortable walking on it rather than thinking I must maintain its perfection. Imd, "Mulan" is heroic -- and an unlikely heroine, because she is a woman who takes on a man's task, and must hide her true nature from all except her dragon/guardian. Why is she an unlikely heroine? Because she has come to help me, and yet at first I reject and fear her -- I don't recognize her for what she is -- someone who has come to help me remove some obstacles to the energetic flow of my life. I am identified with my attachment to the unsullied floor and my fear of her as well as power to frighten her, rather than impressed with her beauty, her diligence, her magical staff, her courage. She is a part of me I haven't fully come to terms with, because I am focused her foreignness, youth, and humility as a woman. But her work bears fruit in the third part of my dream, the Chinese coins, which imd are liberated energy and wisdom. The I Ching has told me that "the time calls for energetic reform, [because] either an inferior person ... is working against [me] or a situation has developed at cross purposes to [my] life [and is] interfering with the attainment of my aims. The obstacles must be sought out, reformed, and thereby eliminated. ... [I need to k]now what I want, know what makes [me] feel good about [my] Self, know what brings me into harmony with others." Shih Ho -- Reform (Biting Through). So, imd, my life is trying to heal itself from a wounded heart, and once the work is done, I have the energy and ability to see things more clearly and with greater joy, I.e. I see the magic curtain, the veil of mystery that hides the totality of things. And, eventually, imd, I can see through the curtain to the totality of things -- my whole life included, a magnificent vision indeed. Thanks again Tom. Paul _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Comments on 'Coin Dream' Hi Tom About The Mulan paragraph: I meant that a woman can accomplish things without turning herself into a man. Femenine doesn't mean passive. Your inner woman can do great things for you if you let her do them. But she'll do them in a femenine way, approaching the situation in a way that your masculine side may not consider. This asian woman may be capable of helping you somewaht, just let her act and don't be afraid of her way of acting. She's a hero, too. _________________________ ______________________ __________________ Comments on 'Coin Dream' Greetings Tom, Thank-you for sharing your dream with us. I offer just a couple of comments.....if I have repeated any ideas presented by other dreamworkers, I apologize. It is not intentional. If this were my dream my father would represent a part of myself...the patriarch perhaps. And it is the patriarch who rules over society at large and the inner community on a more personal level. The patriarch generally does not rule with his heart, but does so with his mind. That is why, in my dream he has just returned from having heart surgery...to "fix" it, repair it...in an effort to get it functioning properly again. Perhaps at this point in my life it is becoming clearer to me that I need to be able to rely on my heart in important matters more often and less on my thinking ability. Perhaps I am moving into a period of trusting my feelings more. Because my dream presents to me an image of my psyche/self as a split level house, I am tempted to regard this image as a message that some part of my psyche has been split off from the rest of my conscious awareness. It may very likely be related to my feeling function which is only now getting some attention. The floors in my dream are a "blonde hardwood". Immediately I get an image of a woman - attractive in a collective sense because she is blonde. But underneath she is hard......perhaps hard-hearted and un-feeling. She is the public feminine self I show the world. I receive praise for this part because it is in keeping with collective standards....but the heartwood is not soft. (am I confusing anyone here?)It almost feels like the layers of new wood over the old are like the layers of makeup some women carry on their faces - a mask (or the persona). These women (to me) do appear plastic or insincere to me....not in touch with their own feelings or their authentic selves. But, oh...don't they look great (!) on the runways and in media. I find it interesting in my dream that I am in the den while the Asian woman is in the "living" room. I am in the room typically regarded as a man's private haven away from female influence. Again, often a place filed with shelves of books....which of course exercise the mind and thinking......while the woman occupies the living room. The name of this room alone speaks volumes to me. Living/Life Affirming, a gathering place that does not exclude the Feminine/Feelings. Non-exclusionary. Embracing all parts of the psyche...which, of course, means the Shadow parts...or dark, hidden aspects of my personality, as well. The Asian woman in my dream is dark-haired, dark- eyed, olive-skinned. For me there is no question she is a repressed part of my psyche. She even wears black silk pajamas. Dark and sensuous......the "feel" of silk is inviting and pleasant. She digs at the artifical "face" of the floor trying to get at what is old and real...maybe not very pretty, but definitely solid and still there. No amount of covering it up with layers and layers will make it disappear. She digs in an attempt to get closer to the ground level......for me, signalling an attempt by my Inner Feminine to get more "grounded" and bring me to a level of awareness that is deeper and lower and not so much in my head. As far as the coins in my dream, I am only getting phrases like "doesn't know heads from tails". If they are gold then they may represent the treasure that lies at the bottom of the pit dug by the Asian woman, or more personally, the gifts that lie waiting for me if I have the courage to look deeper within and uncover some of the layers that hide my deeper Self from view. Living a more authentic life, one that may not be collectively acceptable or "beautiful" certainly has its rewards. Thank-you so much for letting me project my own symbols onto this dream. I find it a wonderful gift of the psyche and once again am grateful to the Unconscious for providing such treasures as guideposts. This is a lovely dream. Michelle _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Hello Paul, and everyone. I have been having problems with e-mail for several days. I'm very sorry for my delay in replying. The downside of living in a technological age such as ours is how dependant we become upon the technology. Paul, you wrote: "Preliminarily, let me say how strongly I am aware that I will be projecting, as your dream is so mysterious to me and I don't know you except from this Dream Wheel. I know that's what we we're supposed to do (i.e., project), and to acknowledge, but I wanted to say so anyway. " All we can know of the world is our own projection. Objective reality, if it does, indeed, exist is beyond our ability to know it, since all such reality is mediated - not only by our nervous system but by our interpretation of those "biobytes" of information. Who it is who "knows" is as little understood as who it is who "dreams". It's all conjecture. So, if this were my dream, this dream is first of all about what time is and means in my life. My life (particularly, my psyche) in this dream is represented by the house, and the floors especially represent layers of my psyche. The latest layer, the blonde hardwood, has just gone down, and although I like it, it also seems a little too perfect to live on, as if it became a part of my life because of its appearance rather than its functionality. I sometimes am attracted to things because of the image they present rather than what they are (and I've always had a thing about blondes, ironically, including a mad crush on a blond in high school that left me dizzy for years after). I soon find out, however, that I can't necessarily live with what I thought I wanted." That last sentence is to me the most resonant. I can't necessarily live with what I thought I wanted. What i (ego mind) consciously wants is probably miles away from what "I" (the whole me) wants. What is needed for greater self-integration is more reliance on "source" -- that small voice inside that I know I should heed, but dare not. Again, Paul, you wrote: "The most striking thing to me about my version of this dream is the "moral", i.e., that "There is only one life, and it is lived in many simultaneous, but brief periods." In my dream, this has several meanings. First is the most esoteric, that is, that my life from the moment of my birth to the moment of my death could be conceived of as existing all at once, with time being the vertical dimension. So, everything exists at once -- past, present, and future -- and every moment of my life is actually a brief period linked to the next by my karma (the Buddha said that there are 450,000 mind moments in every moment). Second, it is lived simultaneously because the past influences the present, the present influences the future, and, I believe, the future influences the present and past, too (and so on). The first two are obvious, but the second is so in my dream ("imd") because my life wants to become something, i.e., it wants to become the deepest essence of me, so my future creates my past and present. " There's a high level concept. Wow. Yes, I am the product of my past, but am I also the product of my future? Yes, I think, because my higher self continually pulls me toward my ideal future self. Yet at the same time, each present choice influences my future and reshapes my past - in that I get to choose which of my memories influence my present behavior. "Interestingly, imd, there is a triptych of scenes/periods. In the first, I am welcoming Dad home from heart surgery; in the second, I confront an Asian woman; in the third, I see the Chinese coins. Could these be past, present and future imd? To me, it is important that the house is a pastiche of houses where I lived as a child but in the reverse chronological order of the order you dreamed them. So, I see causation and sequence running in multiple directions here, indicating, imd, multiple levels of meaning, and underlining the mysterious influence that different parts of my life have on one another regardless of when they occurred chronologically. " I had never discovered this, Paul. And I'm still a little unclear as to how practical this awareness is, but it IS true of my dream, and fits in very well with my vision of the cosmos. Thank you for this unexpected, and inspiring gift. "One thing is clear imd: as I grow older (I will be 39 soon), more of the plot of my life story is revealed (and more "floors" are laid down), creating the need for me to constantly reassess and revise and let go, as well as adding and growing new things (see below). " Again, right as rain. I read recently of an order of . . . well . . . monks (although they aren't really monks) who are expected to take their received teachings, and improve on them. They are forbidden to pass on anything the same way they got it. Reminds me a little of the parable of the talents. I intuitively feel that there is a great truth here. "When my Dad comes home from heart surgery, I feel sadness and tenderness towards him and his vulnerability now that he is older. So achingly melancholy how life slips by, how someone who was once strong is now fragile. And I identify myself strongly with him -- in a sense, I have incorporated him into my soul, and now I feel it is my heart that is wounded and that I must rest in my sanctuary, in my bedroom, with support from my family. Time has had an impact on me as it has on my father, and I need to accept that in some ways I too must be more gentle with my heart and my body." And, I'm not, Paul. I'm not gentle with myself at all. And for that, I am continually skirting the edges of depression. Again, a lesson I need to take to heart. "In my dream, too, I feel a sense of claustrophobia in the first scene, because the floors seem to be growing higher towards the ceiling, leaving me less room to live, making it harder to see outside, and making it harder to get outside too. I find as I get older that I accumulate more, both more memories and more things, and it cramps my energy and my freedom to live." I had never connected the cramped feeling with actual things, but it's true. I am totally awash in things that crowd me, but which I worked so hard to obtain that I hesitate to let them go. Great insight - thanks. "So, in my dream, this leads me to the second phase of the dream, where the young Asian woman has begun the task that must be undertaken -- digging the wood so that I have more head room in my house and more room to walk, and scarring it so that I can feel comfortable walking on it rather than thinking I must maintain its perfection. Imd, "Mulan" is heroic -- and an unlikely heroine, because she is a woman who takes on a man's task, and must hide her true nature from all except her dragon/guardian." I still haven't seen the film, but the way you describe "Mulan" makes me think of how ill-fitted I feel I am inside to be doing the work (both my job and otherwise) that I find myself doing. It is cause of great frustration and gnawing self doubt. I had never thought that the fact that I was actually doing it, and doing it well, as being heroic -- until now. "Why is she an unlikely heroine? Because she has come to help me, and yet at first I reject and fear her -- I don't recognize her for what she is -- someone who has come to help me remove some obstacles to the energetic flow of my life. I am identified with my attachment to the unsullied floor and my fear of her as well as power to frighten her, rather than impressed with her beauty, her diligence, her magical staff, her courage. She is a part of me I haven't fully come to terms with, because I am focused her foreignness, youth, and humility as a woman." I don't like messy, I despise disorder and try never to create "waves" because in the first part of my life, I have learned that it's not the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, it's the squeaky wheel that gets replaced. Mulan is making a mess of my floor, my life, and I really hate it - but now there is this big ugly gash and it must be dealt with. I currently miss the curiosity and sense of adventure of digging that deep - what I really see in the dream is a great deal of time and work. I need to "focus", to use your phrase, on other aspects of the situation - the opportunities it presents, the curiosity and adventure, etc., etc. "But her work bears fruit in the third part of my dream, the Chinese coins, which imd are liberated energy and wisdom. The I Ching has told me that "the time calls for energetic reform, [because] either an inferior person ... is working against [me] or a situation has developed at cross purposes to [my] life [and is] interfering with the attainment of my aims. The obstacles must be sought out, reformed, and thereby eliminated. ... [I need to k]now what I want, know what makes [me] feel good about [my] Self, know what brings me into harmony with others." Shih Ho -- Reform (Biting Through). So, imd, my life is trying to heal itself from a wounded heart, and once the work is done, I have the energy and ability to see things more clearly and with greater joy, I.e. I see the magic curtain, the veil of mystery that hides the totality of things. And, eventually, imd, I can see through the curtain to the totality of things -- my whole life included, a magnificent vision indeed." And now I see through a glass darkly, but then, face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. "Thanks again Tom. Paul" Thank you, Paul. Pleasant Dreams, Tom ______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ Thanks, Emiliano. One real quality I associate with the Feminine is patient perseverence - the ability to persevere, and to do overwhelmingly huge tasks a little at a time in spite of the odds. This is something I definitely need in my life. In my life I'm always first out of the starting gate, yet the first to fall along the wayside because I rarely take the time to see things through - growing discouraged less than half way through. The ability to, say, carry a child for 9 months and to lie in labor for hours and hours is simply alien to me, and it's something I desperately need in my life. This is only one of several similar examples I could name. Pleasant Dreams, Tom Hi Michelle. Thanks for your comments. You write; "If this were my dream my father would represent a part of myself...the patriarch perhaps. And it is the patriarch who rules over society at large and the inner community on a more personal level. The patriarch generally does not rule with his heart, but does so with his mind. That is why, in my dream he has just returned from having heart surgery...to "fix" it, repair it...in an effort to get it functioning properly again. Perhaps at this point in my life it is becoming clearer to me that I need to be able to rely on my heart in important matters more often and less on my thinking ability. Perhaps I am moving into a period of trusting my feelings more." That is a correct assessment. I AM moving into such a period. I am much more practiced in utilizing my intellect than my feelings, but am trying to learn. Part of the reason I do rely on my mind rather than my heart is because my heart has gotten me into trouble before. I have a friend, also named Tom, with whom I have been having a similar dialogue for the last several months. He is convinced that, to use the ad-line from "The X Files", the truth is out there - and to that end has taken to studying all kinds of ancient texts to discover in them what he, himself, believes. In him, I can see myself of several years ago, and though I feel I have attained a more complete view of things than I previously had, still "old habits die hard". Now I am "logically" convinced that the "truth" if there is any, is "in here". Still, practice lags behind espoused belief. "Because my dream presents to me an image of my psyche/self as a split level house, I am tempted to regard this image as a message that some part of my psyche has been split off from the rest of my conscious awareness. It may very likely be related to my feeling function which is only now getting some attention. "I also feel that it represents a fragmentation of my psyche - and agree that feeling is one part of the whole - but I can't shake the suspicion that it represents a whole spectrum of inauthentic being, learned from a very early age as I had to deal with my: 1. admittedly authoritarian father who prided himself in having the right "answer" for all of life's difficulties, and expected me to agree -- whether or not I did, 2. and my mother whose alcoholism made my formative years very unstable from an emotional standpoint. I find I have denied these feelings for years, and prided myself on "bootstrapping my way through", and that it was all in the past - over and done with and no good to anybody to stir it all up again. Over the last several months, though, I have become aware of how much work there still remains to do - I had never put these things together though -- my dream and my specific early childhood experiences together until your comments on my dream. Stirring all this old bad stuff is very like digging under the floor. No wonder I became so alarmed in my dream. Major Major Insight - thanks. "The floors in my dream are a "blonde hardwood". Immediately I get an image of a woman - attractive in a collective sense because she is blonde. But underneath she is hard......perhaps hard-hearted and un-feeling. She is the public feminine self I show the world. I receive praise for this part because it is in keeping with collective standards....but the heartwood is not soft. (am I confusing anyone here?)It almost feels like the layers of new wood over the old are like the layers of makeup some women carry on their faces - a mask (or the persona). These women (to me) do appear plastic or insincere to me....not in touch with their own feelings or their authentic selves. But, oh...don't they look great (!) on the runways and in media." I agree with your observations, Michelle, but I'm afraid you lost me a little. I do resonate with the feelings of hiding behind the perfect surface. "I find it interesting in my dream that I am in the den while the Asian woman is in the "living" room. I am in the room typically regarded as a man's private haven away from female influence. Again, often a place filed with shelves of books....which of course exercise the mind and thinking......" My association with the den is that that is where the TV is kept - This is the place where the family can be together, and usually only family or very close friends of the family are allowed there. The den can be seen as the place for the family secrets, as opposed to the living room which is reserved for "company" and is more formal (and less comfortable) - - a place where children are not allowed to play, and the only room in the house in which we have to "dress up" and behave like "grown ups". "while the woman occupies the living room. The name of this room alone speaks volumes to me. Living/Life Affirming, a gathering place that does not exclude the Feminine/Feelings. Non-exclusionary. Embracing all parts of the psyche...which, of course, means the Shadow parts...or dark, hidden aspects of my personality, as well." My living room today is the "heart" of the house, mainly because the room I would consider my den is now, for reasons too complicated to go into, is now the junk room. It used to be my favorite room, and now . . . I rarely enter it except to pass through it on my way to the laundry room. Quite a reversal from when I was young. "The Asian woman in my dream is dark-haired, dark- eyed, olive-skinned. For me there is no question she is a repressed part of my psyche. She even wears black silk pajamas. Dark and sensuous......the "feel" of silk is inviting and pleasant." The black and other dark colors in this scene contrast vividly with the floor and the sunlight. It's as if my darker, more unknown self is a dark blot against the other colors I chose for the living room. I do think she is a repressed part of my psyche, but not the shadow per se' as she is differently gendered. The word that comes to mind when I picture her is "Ninja", but a very special sort of Ninja. "She digs at the artifical "face" of the floor trying to get at what is old and real... maybe not very pretty, but definitely solid and still there. No amount of covering it up with layers and layers will make it disappear. She digs in an attempt to get closer to the ground level......for me, signalling an attempt by my Inner Feminine to get more "grounded" and bring me to a level of awareness that is deeper and lower and not so much in my head. " I agree with this, except your characterization of the floor beneath as solid. Because of some damage to my home, the same damage that turned the den into the "junk room", there are places in the floor that have grown soft beneath my feet. I am reluctant to rip up the carpet to see what is underneath, because I suspect that the damage is worse than it appears to be. At the same time, my health has started deteriorating, due to years of neglect I guess. If, as Jeremy Taylor suggests, there are a number of areas in life that every dream is always about - and if health is one of those -- perhaps digging up the floor points to an unsuspected health problem beneath the surface. This has already occured to me, and I have made an appointment with my doctor. "As far as the coins in my dream, I am only getting phrases like "doesn't know heads from tails". If they are gold then they may represent the treasure that lies at the bottom of the pit dug by the Asian woman, or more personally, the gifts that lie waiting for me if I have the courage to look deeper within and uncover some of the layers that hide my deeper Self from view. Living a more authentic life, one that may not be collectively acceptable or "beautiful" certainly has its rewards." I think several people find the coins a bit puzzling. I'm one of those people. The work the group has done, though, has gone far to open the symbolism for me. "Thank-you so much for letting me project my own symbols onto this dream. I find it a wonderful gift of the psyche and once again am grateful to the Unconscious for providing such treasures as guideposts." As am I. Thank you for sharing your insights with me, Michelle. Pleasant Dreams, Tom _______________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ The last message here I have left out, it was just a thank you note from the moderator. Usually we like to send a questionnaire here to all participants to check whether or not they felt abused or misled by the experience or process in any way. The questionnaire is being revised and was left off of this group. update. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|||||||>>>>>>>>>>>|||||<<<<<<<<<<<< G L O B A L D R E A M I N G N E W S September - October 1998 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|||||||>>>>>>>>>>>|||||<<<<<<<<<<<< If you have news you'd like to share, contact Peggy Coats, pcoats@dreamtree.com. Visit Global Dreaming News online at http://www.dreamtree.com/News/global.htm. This Month's Features: NEWS -Nightmare Workshop in Portland, Oregon -Spiritual Direction and Dream Training in the Jungian Mystical Tradition RESEARCH & REQUESTS - Life-Altering Dreams for Television Pilot Male Bereavement Dream Series - Dreams, Visions and Their Effects on Art WEBSITE & ONLINE UPDATES -Dreamwork on AOL -Sol y Luna Voyager A Lucid Dreaming Dreams: -The Bridge Between the Ego and the Subconscious -New Additions to the ED Dream Links Site DREAM CALENDAR for October 1998 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|||||||>>>>>>>>>>>|||||<<<<<<<<<<<< N E W S <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|||||||>>>>>>>>>>>|||||<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>> Nightmare Workshop in Portland, Oregon Dr. Gillian Holloway is conducting a day long class called "Understanding Nightmares: The Gift Behind the Terror." , Saturday, October 3, at Marylhurst University in Portland Oregon. Undergraduate Credit Available, Non- Students Welcome. To Register by phone Marylhurst University at: 503- 699-6241, Outside Oregon call: 1-800-634-9982 >>>>>Spiritual Direction and Dream Training in the Jungian Mystical Tradition. The Haden Institute offers a two-year certification program for therapists, church & community leaders (but open to all), including the history of dreams, symbolism, supervision and case studies, individual & group exploration, individuation. Methodologies include, Senoi, Gestalt, Taylor, mystical, lucid, prophetic, and relational dream work. Next Entry Times: February 1999 & August 1999. 1819 Lyndhurst Ave, Charlotte, NC 28203-5103 to register call 704-333-6058 or via web www.hadeninstitute.com contact Bob Haden bob@hadeninstitute.com <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|||||||>>>>>>>>>>>|||||<<<<<<<<<<<< R E S E A R C H & R E Q U E S T S <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|||||||>>>>>>>>>>>|||||<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>> Life-Altering Dreams for Television Pilot I'm looking for people who have had bizarre, fascinating, or life-altering dreams for a television show pilot I'm producing. These are dreams that woke you in a cold sweat...dreams that frightened you, shocked you, or had a lasting impression on your life. The show will re-enact your dream with actors and give you the opportunity to meet with dream experts and find out what those dreams really mean. Please visit my web site at: http://home.earthlink.net/~davegardner/ or e-mail me at : davegardner@earthlink.net >>>>>Male Bereavement Dream Series Men who have suffered a tragic loss by death of a child, spouse, or lover and were recording their dreams at the time, are being solicited for a publication in progress on bereavement dreams, transcendence and the healing process. The recorded dream period should be 6 months or longer following a death that occurred at least two years ago. Research is being conducted by Geri Grubbs, Ph.D., Jungian analyst. She would like to work closely with the participants, which will involve gathering the dreams together, copying or recording them with associations, and some telephone discussions. If you think you may be interested in participating, please contact Geri Grubbs by telephone at (408) 867-9019, or through e-mail at gegrubbs@compuserve.com. >>>>>Dreams, Visions and Their Effects on Art My name is Margo and I am a year twelve student at Cardijn College, South Australia. As part of my Art course I am required to complete a year long study to acquire the necessary marks. The topic I have chosen to research for my special study is "Dreams, Visions and their effects on art." My study involves collecting as much information as possible on the topic, research, conducting surveys, questionnaires and to become an "expert" on the subject. I need as much information as possible. I would be most grateful if you could send any information on any thing that links dreams, visions and art together. An interview, if appropriate would also be very helpful either by phone or in person. If you are unable to help me maybe you could to refer me to someone who could. Any information on anything to do with art, dreams or visions would be of great use to me. Thank you for your help Margo Clark, 14 Geoffery Ave., Pt. Noarlunga, S.A. 5167. Telephone: (08) 8384 8317. Email: mclark@cardijn.net.au <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|||||||>>>>>>>>>>>|||||<<<<<<<<<<<< W E B S I T E & O N L I N E U P D A T E S <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|||||||>>>>>>>>>>>|||||<<<<<<<<<<<< Do you know of interesting new websites you'd like to share with others? Or do you have updates to existing pages? Help spread the word by using the Electric Dreams DREAM-LINK page www.dreamgate.com/dream/resources/online97.htm. This is really a public projects board and requires that everyone keep up his or her own link URLs and information. Make a point to send changes to the links page to us. >>>>> Dreamwork on AOL The Alternative Medicine forum on America On-Line has now opened a new area on dreamwork with the help of the cyber- dream pioneer, Richard Wilkerson. The focus of this area will be on the relation to heath and wholeness through dreamwork. Be sure to stop by, check out the articles lists and leave your questions on the Alt-Med bulletin board. Some of the articles include: - Getting Started with Dreamwork - Predicting illness with dreams - Revival of Ancient Dream Healing techniques - Carl Jung and Wholeness Live Chat to be scheduled! (KeyWord: AltMed > Therapies > Dreamwork) or KeyWord: aol://4344:1679.ALTdrem.13664900.588132320 >>>>> Sol y Luna Voyager A Lucid Dreaming Website www2.cruzio.com/~solyluna The goal of the site is to gather dream workers who are artists and technicians to co-create on the web. Dreamers meet for Dreaming of Lucid Freedom In America Circles to do dreamwork and creativity work in Santa Cruz. >>>>>Dreams:The Bridge Between the Ego and the Subconscious http://www.flinet.com/~lolie/dreams.html A personal journey site with reflections about dreams and their meanings. >>>>>New Additions to the ED Dream Links Site www.dreamgate.com/dream/resources/ Electric Dreams has been collecting information about dream related sites since the Web first appeared. Our collection now includes dreams and science, dreamwork, anthropology, lucidity, personal journals, magazines, schools, and much more. Here are some new sites added this month to the Electric Dreams Links Collection Gifford Dream & Mythology Site jgifford@bellsouth.net free dream interpretation. jungian dream psychology. joseph campbell http://www.angelfire.com/tn/MythsDreamsSymbols/ Sandy Ginsberg http://members.aol.com/sjginsberg A personal page describing Sandy's connections and affiliations to dreams and therapy. Awaken 98 Bill Kudrle's Awaken 98 Dream Journal Software www.awaken98.com Awake Software www.awake-software.com Dan's Online Dream Journal http://www.math.utah.edu/~c-wdj/cloud_9.html Dylo toltec Dreaming Mailing List home page. The TDML is a list started up by a group of Dreamers that are interested in the subject as presented by Carlos Castaneda and Cronies. Many subjects are discussed all related to Dreaming, Group Dreaming is also a thing some of work on. http://www.mindspring.com/~newseer/tdml.html The Obsidian Society Dream Network: an up and coming webzine, chat and more. http://dreamnetwork.com/html/table.html Sirley Marques Bonham's Dreamers's Page This is a site where you will be able to find articles that are principally about experiences of awareness during sleep, or awareness during the sleep or awake onsets. I have learned that there are several labels for these experiences. They include the following: Lucid Dreams, Astral Travels, Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs), Projections of consciousness,Experiences of awareness during Sleep Paralysis and Nightmares. http://www.eden.com/~sbonham/dream.htm Stanford Sleep & Dreams - William Dement http://www-leland.stanford.edu/class/humbio11/ The Journal Sleep http://www-leland.stanford.edu/dept/sleep/journal/ American Sleep Disorders Association http://www.asda.org/index.html <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|||||||>>>>>>>>>>>|||||<<<<<<<<<<<< D R E A M C A L E N D A R October 1998 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|||||||>>>>>>>>>>>|||||<<<<<<<<<<<< Oct 2-4 in Redding, CT The Unitarian-Universalist Society of Northern Fairfield County presents a weekend with Jeremy Taylor. For more information call: Nancy Weston 203-744-6823 (InnerKid2@aol.com) Oct 3 in Portland, OR Dr. Gillian Holloway is conducting a day long class called "Understanding Nightmares: The Gift Behind the Terror." ,To Register phone Marylhurst University at: 503- 699-6241, Outside Oregon call: 1-800-634-9982 Oct 3 in Santa Clara, CA "Working With Dreams in Analytical Psychology", 9:00am - 4:00pm. Santa Clara University, Division of Lifelong Learning . To register, call 408-551-1981 or 551-1845 Oct 16 in Chicago, IL "Self-Exploration Through the Dream". The Jung Institute of Chicago, 800.697.7679. Jung@jungchicago.org http://www.Jungchicago.org Oct 16-18 in Flintstone, MD "The Healing Power of Dreams Retreat" with Earl Koteen, at the Rising Phoenix Retreat Center. For more information or to register, please contact Margee Iddings at IddingsM@aol.com. Oct 23-25 in NY Ione's Third Annual Dream Festival, a Kingston City and Hudson Valley wide celebration of Dreams and Dreaming. For more information, visit or contact: http://www.deeplistening.org/ione Iodreams@deeplistening.org Oct 31 in Sebastopol, CA Bay Area dreamworkers Group (BADG) Halloween Party, 2pm 7pm. For more information, contact Eric Snyder or Randi Farkas at 707) 824-9121. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ == D R E A M S S E C T I O N == ED V5 N9 == ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** D R E A M S SECTION INDEX BY BOB K. (For ED V5 N9) Hi there! Welcome to ELECTRIC DREAMS - DREAMS SECTION for Vol. 5 Number 9 - October 1998 Hello dreamers! This month we have shared stories with a concentration on repetitive killing related dreams. Four common classic fears dreams: being chased, being approached by spirits, being lost, and being betrayed are shared. A dreamer asks if there is an omen about a wedding in a dream, a relationship slips away in a vehiclular metaphor, and a dream poses a question about dreaming. A buffet of many animal related dreams emerged this month also. Stan Kulikowski's intricate relationship themed dreams reappear, as do several Nutcraker adventures - a couple demonstrating some skill at problem solving. Comuter references are sprinkled throughout with a floppy disk gift which flops in it's purpose, and a Lucid dream tale. Enjoy your journey. NEW CATEGORIES: [NONE] EDITORIAL: THE HURRICANE GEORGES This past week was a rough one back on the island I grew up in. Puerto Rico was just one of the many populated areas that were in Hurricane Georges path. It even spawned a phenomenon very rare on the island - a Tornado! Very unusual for hurricanes, it took a direct path right through the islands of the Major Antilles, those the border of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Though every year brings hurricane danger to the Island, until the devastation of Hugo on the Northeastern side of the island several years ago, many years had gone by without major impact. Fortunately, the human casualties were few. My family and friends awoke to fallen trees and misplaced objects after the storm passed, but they were safe from harm. The impact of the hurricane highlights the great force of nature playing games with homes, power lines, and years of natures growth. It reminds us of the fragility of our lives before mightier forces, and that as much as we like to think we control our destinies, we are need to adapt to greater forces from time to time. Dreams help us focus on those storms which sweep through our inner lives, sometimes producing much turmoil and concern. Like hurricanes, the major dream events in our lives leave an imprint that is hard to forget. Thanks to those who have shared their dreams and commentary with our community. Enjoy your visit to the pages of Electric Dreams. Bob Krumhansl FEEDBACK FROM THE DREAMERS == Question by Mark Gerard (980925)== == Response by Wilkerson to Dreamer Anonymity (980925) == COMMENTARY ON DREAMS FROM PREVIOUS ISSUES ** Dream: Tornado man by ? (980625) ** == Commentary by RobLweis on Tornado Man (980910) == ** Dream: "Is it a sign?" By Brazilian (980816) ** == Commentary by rcwilk on Daniel's dream (980821) == NEW DREAMS: PRECOGNITIVE/FUTURE DREAMS [Stories from past experiences, or send them in before it happens, if you can] REPETITIVE DREAMS [Significant by nature] ** Dream: "The Little Brown Bat Comes Back" by dragonflybaby (980904) ** ** Dream: death by stranger by ? (9809922) ** ** Dream: Never ending dreary dream by Kos (980924) ** DREAM TRACES IN WAKING LIFE [The effects of external stimuli on our dreams or is it the other way around - our dreams leaving a trace on our physical reality?] DEFYING CLASSIFICATION [Your stumpers may not be so mysterious to others] = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = LINKS TO STAGES OF LIFE BIRTH [Starts] CHILDHOOD [Early development] ADOLESCENCE [Maturing, testing] ADULTHOOD [The main event for most] OLD AGE [Wisdom, Approaching the Journeys end] DEATH [Endings] See the REPETITIVE DREAMS and SOLUTIONS sections COMMUNICATION WITH THE DEAD [Beyond our terrestrial limits] ** Dream: randy tmcphee by ? (980902) ** See RELATIONSHIPS ========================================== ========================================== AGGRESSION [By us or against us- crossing others paths] ** Dream: Rape & Catastrophe by ? (980914)** ALIENS [Visitors or visited - creatures from other dimensions] ** Dream: 'The Creators' by Nutcracker (980528) ** AMUSEMENT PARK [A place to relax and enjoy, another reality] ANGELS [Visitors from Spiritual dimensions] ANIMALS [Basic Instincts- This month brings us dogs,cats, bats, hamsters,assorted rohdents, bears, an alligator, a calico tiger, snakes, lizards, parrots, a baby seal ... ] == Commentary by Heratheta on Alligator Dream (980906) == ** Dream: a talking cat by stan kulikowski ii (980907)** ==Commentary by Heratheta on Bat,Cat& Dog dreams(980907) == ** Dream: 'Animal Morphing' by Nutcracker (980720) ** ** Dream: 'The Swan Maiden' by Nutcracker (971206) ** BATHROOMS [Maintenance, Cleansing and Elimination] BELONGING [What we are associated with or wish we were] BOOKS (Extensions of our memory and imagination, our permanent records) BRIDGES [How we get across an obstacle or go from here to there] CELEBRITIES [The well known - famous and infamous] CLOTHING [What we wear tells us about ourselves and the events we participate in] COMEDY [With an accent on puns, funny situations or jokes] COMMUNICATIONS [From telepathic to devices to signs & symbols] COMPUTERS [Extensions of our minds, mind tools, communication] See if you can find the not quite floppy disk and the DEC Rainbow Computer in this issue. CULTS [Somewhere out there ...] DIRECTIONS [Ever stop and ask for directions? North, South, East, West, up, down, ahead, behind, straight, turn, right, left, make a circle, cross, go through, open, close, mix, add, boil, cook, simmer, but most of all - follow these instructions carefully...and don't be shy about asking someone else down the path, except, of course, for the Big Bad Wolf!!!] == Commentary by Heratheta on Vacation's (980824) == == Commentary by Heratheta (980829)== == Commentary by Heratheta on Disertation and Coming Catastrophe Dreams (980919) == == Commentary by Heratheta on Ship Dream (80919)** == Commentary by Heratheta on big house (980919) == ==Commentary by Heratheta on Shadow,James & Stan (980926)== DISCOVERY [New insights and unexpected developments] ** Dream: 'A Dream Vision' by Nutcracker (980530) ** DREAMING [Dreams about dreaming] ** Dream: the dreamer and the dreamed by anon (980709)** DRUGS [Healing or Hurting?] EATING [Getting nourishment for maintenance, growth and pleasure] ELEVATORS [Going UP or DOWN - Push the right button or else...] ESCAPE [Get me outta here!!!] ** Dream: 'No Lions, No Tigers, But Bears, Oh My' by Nutcracker (980908) ** == Commentary by Bob K. On Bears...by Nutcraker (980927) == EVENTS [The activity defines or dominates the story - a convergence of people at a place and time for a special purpose] EYES [The organs of sight...the window to the soul...] FEAR [What scares us] ** Dream: 'Flying Killer' (980823) ** == Commentary by Heratheta on several dreams (980826) == ** Dream: 'scared tammy'by ? (980903) ** ** Dream: "Transference" by kidoobird (980925) ** FOOD [The source of our physical nourishment] FIRE [Flames bring light, heat and destruction/transformation] FLYING [Confidence, Power, Freedom & Perspective] GIFTS [Offerings to or from others] ** Dream: 'The Digital Gift', by dreambat (980821) ** HOBBIES [Our interests and desires]- COLLECTING THINGS HOLIDAYS [Time off to ...] HOSPITAL [A place for treatment, healing and repair] HOUSE [Where our lives take place] ** Dream: The Big House by ? (9703XX) ** ** Dream: 'Tree of Life' by Nutcracker (980803) ** HOTELS [Temporary Dwelling or Special Event location] JOURNEYS [Missions away from our home base -explorations] ** Dream: elfin healer, by jan (980909) ** == Commentary by Heratheta on Elfin Healer (980909) == LOST [Disorientation or abandonment] LOTTERY DREAMS [Sudden Wealth - Randomness favors the dreamer] LOVE [All around us, yet so hard to find and keep] LUCID DREAMING [Knowing you are Dreaming when you are Dreaming] ** Dream: ron's pet shop by stan kulikowski ii (980923) ** MEMORY [Remembering ...In dreams we often struggle with the issue of memories and remembering a dream which by definition involves the process of recollection.] MIRRORS [Reflection of Self] MUSIC [Melodies of the land within] NUDITY [What you see is what you get] PERFORMERS [Entertainers] PROBLEMS [Situations or difficulties sometimes present choices] POLITICAL SCENE [Public issues through positions of power] RELATIONSHIPS [Other parts of ourselves including family which constitutes the first and earliest of our relationships, often influencing how we relate to the outside world] ** Dream: lost friend by maurin (980916) ** ** Dream: Betrayal? By Penelope (980916) ** ** Dream: cindy timko's dissertation by Stan Kulikowski ii(980914) ** ** Dream: 2 x James by ? (980924) ** RELIGIOUS RELATED [The Ritual and the Spiritual] ROMANCE [Thrills and Chills, lost in another] SCHOOL THEMES [Learning and learning related trials] SOLUTIONS [The answers to problems or quandaries] ** Dream: Mobsters-R-Us' by Nutcracker (980730) ** STAIRS [Bridges between levels, between the upper and the lower] STRANGERS [Who and what we don't know yet] TEETH [Ok, losing teeth is one of the top ten dreams people have questions on. Theories on what they mean range all over t