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E.l.e.c.t.r.i.c D.r.e.a.m.s
Volume #13 Issue #11
November 2006
ISSN# 1089 4284
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Electric Dreams:
http://www.dreamgate.com/electric-dreams
Cover:
http://dreamgate.hypermart.net/ed-covers/ed13-11cov.jpg
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C O N T E N T S
++ Editor's Notes
Richard Wilkerson
++ Global Dreaming News
Harry Bosma
++ Cover “Enlightenment Garden”
~and~ article, Dream Time and Art
by J. Myztico Campo
++ Column: An Excerpt from the Lucid Dream Exchange
Lucy Gillis – Editor
An Interview with a Lucid Dreamer
By Robert Waggoner
Responses (c) Don Middendorf
++ Column: The View – World Dreams Peace Bridge
Joy Creates a Mystery
Jean Campbell
++ Dreams: “Schwartzchild Limit”
~and~
“The Never”
Stan Kulikowski II
++ Column: Electing to Dream
DreamRePlay with David Jenkins, PhD
++ Column: A World’s Dreams
Steven Baughman
++ DREAM SECTION: Kat Peters-Midland
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D E A D L I N E :
Send articles and news in by Nov 15th, 06 for the Dec issue
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Post Dreams and Comments on Dreams to:
http://www.dreamgate.com/dream/temple
Send news, events, workshops, conferences& reviews to
Harry Bosma <
ed-news@...>
Send Articles, news and other items to:
Richard Wilkerson: <
rcwilk@...>
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Editor's Notes
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Welcome to the November 2006 issue of Electric Dreams, your portal to dreams
and dreamwork online.
If you are new to dreams and dreamwork, there are a few e-lists where
Electric Dreams people seems to congregate that might interest you. One is
dreamchatters@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe by going here and registering
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dreamchatters/
.. and another is the IASD bulletin board. Please, no dreams interpreted
here, just discussion of dreaming and dreamwork topics.
http://www.asdreams.org/subidxdiscussionsbboard.htm
In this issue:
Global Dreaming News editor Harry Bosma, brings you dream news and events
from around the world, online and offline. If you have dream news you want
to get out, please send those to Harry for next month’s publication at
ed-news@...
From Lucy Gillis an the Lucid Dream Exchange (LDE), we have an interview
conducted by Robert Waggoner. Lucid dreamer Don Middendof is interviewed
about his beliefs on lucid dreaming and how dream and life enhance one
another. While not dreaming, he teaches classes in physics, psychology, and
philosophy at a liberal arts college in the Northwestern part of the U.S.
Jean Campbell returns to the View, an ongoing summary and discussion about
events that take place in the online/offline global World Dreams Peace
Bridge. Jean discusses her presentation of the Bridge in Berkeley in October
and gives an example of how the Bridge members dream together, both with and
for other people.
May thanks to a regular contributor to EDreams, Linda Lane Magallón. She is
taking some time off to develop some other dream related projects.
Two unique dream journal entries from Stan Kulikowski II, “
“Schwartzchild Limit” ~and~ “The Never.” If you have dreams you would like
published, please enter them in the form at
http://dreamgate.com/forms/dream_flow.htm
Regardless of your political views, there is so much media focus on the
upcoming November 7th elections, that it would be close to impossible for
your Waking-self not to notice. But how about your Dream-self? Read
“Electing to Dream,” part of the weekly DreamRePlay series with David
Jenkins, PhD
Every think it would be nice to just be able to pick up a phone in the
morning and tell your dream to your journal, and then have that journal
automatically available online? Well that part of a developing project by
Steven Baughman and his group, who are putting this all together as we
sleep. Read more about this in “A World’s Dreams.”
Speaking of dreams, what do these things have in common - Getting stuck on a
broken bridge, a falling elevator, and throwing snakes? Only one thing, the
Electric Dreams Dream Section with Kat Peters-Midland!
Get your own dream published on Electric Dreams by submitting at
Dreamgate.com/dream/temple
Janet Garrett archives past issues so you can search out specific articles
and authors in an easy-to-access format. These articles contain a wide range
of information for dreamers and dreamworkers. You can see her work progress
and view hundreds of article on dreams at:
http://www.improverse.com/ed-articles/index.htm
Cover by Myztico - ‘Garden of Enlightenment’
http://dreamgate.hypermart.net/ed-covers/ed13-11cov.jpg
Which includes an article Dream Time and Art
The Dream Institute of Northern California didn’t get their November
Schedule in, but if you are in the Bay Area, please watch for programs this
month at
http://dreamtalk.hypermart.net/bb2005/viewtopic.php?t=160
--------------------
For those of you who are new to dreamwork,
be sure to stop by one of the many resources:
http://dreamgate.com/electric-dreams
http://dreamgate.com/dream/library
http://dreamunit.net/news-en/
Electric Dreams in PDF: (thanks to Nick Cumbo)
http://electric.dreamofpeace.net/
--------------------
From Planet Dream,
-Richard Wilkerson
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G L O B A L D R E A M I N G N E W S
November 2006
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Email all dream news to Harry Bosma at his special
ed-news@...
address.
Online:
- Dream Video of the Month
- Bag O' Dreams software
- A Month In Pictures
Physical world:
- Oregon: Dream groups starting!
- California: Early Registration IASD Conference
- California: Workshop with Mary Brill
- Belgium: training and courses
Books, movies, research:
- LaBerge: special book / cd offer
- Harthan: Working the Nightshift
- Mallon: 'In Your Dreams' at Channel 4
- Documentary on Lucid Dreaming (DVD)
Reminders:
- Various calenders
- Strephon Says: Podcasts and blog
- Ritual DaFuMu for Peace
* * * ONLINE * * *
---
- Dream Video of the Month
---
Creating and sharing videos is now easier than ever before. What are
dreamers putting online? Here's a sample:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTyhioAWW6Q
Have you found other dream videos, or created your own, let us know!
---
- Bag O' Dreams software
---
Bag O' Dreams is an application for the exploration of dreams. It allows you
to search for words and phrases in a set of dreams. It also creates a
term-document model of a set of dreams which lets you identify features and
themes which can't be found by simple keyword-type searches. The use of
automatic clustering techniques lets you to find themes without specifying
what they are ahead of time. Profiling techniques make specific predictions
about the gender, age, family and marital status of a dreamer.
Traditional forms of dream interpretation are supported by the ability to
tag (color highlight) dream elements from different categories; words
describing characters, emotions, settings, objects and actions. The built in
dictionary and optional thesaurus allow you find possible associations and
idiomatic expressions relevant to these elements. Built in lists of search
strings help you quickly identify typical dream themes such as flying,
loosing teeth or being chased. These lists can all be customized to suit
your needs.
Statistical measures help identify elements and themes which are
over-represented or under-represented in a cluster of dreams. These can be
used to test a theory of dreaming when it makes specific predictions about
dream content for a particular theme.
For the latest changes please see here:
http://kitchen-sync.com/bag/history.html
For some information on the Quick Profile Report:
http://kitchen-sync.com/bag/quickprofile.html
Bag O' Dreams requires the current version of the Java Runtime Environment
(JRE). A new build of Bag O' Dreams can be downloaded here:
http://kitchen-sync.com/bag/download.html
---
- A Month In Pictures
---
Now that we all have digital photo camera's, and an abundance of imagery
already available on the internet, what can we do with that?
Inspired by Laura Atkinson's "A Dream - A Day", presented at the last Psiber
Dreaming Conference, and Aad van Ouwerkerk's new book "Droomwerk" (sorry,
that's Dutch), I started "A Month In Pictures". The plan is to pick or
create an image a day based on a dream.
It's a completely personal project, but I imagine that more people are doing
projects like this, or might perhaps be interested in doing something like
this with a group. I'd be interested to hear about that.
http://alquinte.com/en/in_pictures
Harry
ed-news@...
* * * PHYSICAL WORLD * * *
---
- Oregon: Dream groups starting!
---
Former Global Dreaming News editor and webmaster of the much admired Dream
Tree website Peggy Coats is announcing the start of various dream groups, in
Portland, Oregon. The Dream Sharing starts November 1st. The Monthly Dream
Book Club will start in January 2007, and the Dream Method Practice Group
will start in February. For more information, please visit the website.
http://www.dreamtree.com
---
- California: Early Registration IASD Conference
---
24th Annual Conference
International Association for the Study of Dreams
29 June to 3 July 2007
Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California
Early registration has started! Visit the website for more information:
http://asdreams.org/2007
---
- California: Workshop with Mary Brill
---
Transitions and Transformations - Using dreams as your guide
With Mary Brill, LCSW
* Saturday, November 18, 2006
* Fee: $95
* Time: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
* Location: Spirit in the Arts, 650 El Camino Boulevard in North Sacramento
(enter building from the parking lot and go upstairs)
* Contact Jaymee by phone 916-498-9588, or email
jaykjell@... for
registration
* Bring a bag lunch. Coffee and snacks will be provided.
This one day workshop will focus on the use of dreams for guidance, making
life changes and transformation. Learn to develop an on-going practice of
dream recording, mapping, exploration, high adventure, imagination and self
discovery through the use of your dreams and the dreams of others.
Research indicates that the use of dream interpretation quickens an
individual’s ability to make rapid changes, work through resistance and
blocks, and access inner resources. It is perhaps one of our most
under-utilized and underdeveloped resources and yet, has the potential for
deep introspection and profound change.
You need no experience in dream work to attend. The only essential
ingredient for participation is an open mind! Bring a notebook, pen, and
your dreams.
Mary Brill is an experienced psychotherapist practicing in Northern
California. She leads national and international seminars and tours focused
on personal growth, dreams, feminine wisdom, and spirituality. She is known
for her unique ability to tame the inner critic and foster self acceptance.
---
- Belgium: training and courses
---
The dream center De Gulden Snede considers dreamwork as the original
foundation of all therapy, and would like to see dreamwork become wider
known by offering training and courses. De Gulden Snede has four teachers of
its own, as well as two guest teachers. Much of the work done by De Gulden
Snede is inspired by Dr. Maarten Lietaert Peerbolte, as well as by a variety
of other influences.
December 7th, a presentation will be held on Dream Analysis As Incarnation
Process.
More information is available at the website:
http://www.guldensnede.be
* * * BOOKS, MOVIES, RESEARCH * * *
---
- LaBerge: special book / cd offer
---
Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide To Awakening In Your Dreams And In Your Life
by Stephen LaBerge (Sounds True: Boulder, 2004)
Is this a dream book, a dream offer, or just a dream dream? An introduction
and practical guide highlighting the potentials, applications, and various
approaches for lucid dreaming at will. Book includes a CD with Trance
Induction of Lucid Dreaming and other techniques. Use the link below for a
special discount offer direct from the publisher at the lowest-ever price:
US $9.30 (You save $10.65, more than 50% off list price). Note that the full
discount is shown on check-out only. If you are buying more than one copy,
please ask for the full discount in the checkout comments box.
Order here:
http://snipurl.com/ldcd2
Lucidity Institute:
http://lucidity.com
---
- Harthan: Working the Nightshift
---
Working the Nightshift How To Understand Your Dreams
by Dr. Joan C. Harthan (Paperback - Sept.2005)
As well as giving a comprehensive background to the history of dreams, and
how the modern world views them, this book guides the reader, step by step,
through ten effective dream analysis techniques.
You created your dream, only you can know what it means. But interpreting
your dreams is a challenge. It involves being open to learning things about
yourself that you may prefer not to know. When you investigate your dreaming
life, you are examining the real 'you' that hides behind the façade that you
present to the world, (and sometimes yourself!). It takes courage to delve
this deeply, but there are rewards at the end. Conscious interaction with
the world of dreams can not only help us to understand ourselves but can
help us to use that knowledge to make profound changes in our life.
The fact is that the blueprint for your life can be found in your dreams.
Most dreams are creative solutions to life's problems and can be used to
write a new life story for yourself. They show you what really makes you
happy and suggest ways in which happiness can be achieved. This knowledge
can then be used to bring good things into your life and eliminate those
things that aren't working.
http://www.docdreamuk.com
---
- Mallon: 'In Your Dreams' at Channel 4
---
Contacting you from England. I have just finished filming another five short
films 'In Your Dreams' for Channel 4 TV which will be shown in November.
This time I had the great pleasure of interviewing Robin Gibb of the famous
Bee Gees, Jennie Bond, former Royal Correspondent for the BBc, Gail Porter,
TV presenter, Carol Smillie, TV presented and James Hewitt, who, for five
years, was the lover of Diana, Princess of Wales.
As ever their dreams were revealing and fascinating. And for Robin Gibb his
dreams were the source of many melodies which were sold all around the
world, including Massachusetts and Jive Talking.
Kindest regards,
Brenda
www.brendamallon.com
---
- Documentary on Lucid Dreaming (DVD)
---
Explorers of the dream world are called Oneironauts. They use lucid dreams
to consciously enter into a world created by their mind. A lucid dream is a
dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that he or she is dreaming without
waking up from the dream. It is a skill which can be learned and experienced
by anyone. This documentary DVD will cover the scientific, psychological,
and spiritual aspects of lucid dreaming.
Interviews include world renowned dream researchers such as Dr. Stephen
LaBerge from Sanford University, Dr. Fariba Bogzaran from the Lucid Art
Foundation, Keelin from the Lucidity Institute, and Dr. Alan Wallace a
Tibetan Buddhist Scholar from the Santa Barbara Institute of Consciousness
Studies. These experts share discoveries and wisdom they have gained from
their exploration of lucid dreaming.
http://www.luciddreamexplorers.com/
* * * REMINDERS * * *
---
- Various calenders
---
Nicole Gratton (Canada):
http://www.nicole-gratton.com/calendrier_01.htm
Robert Moss (USA):
http://mossdreams.com/xcalendar.htm
Victoria Rabinowe (California):
http://victoriadreams.blogspot.com
Jeremy Taylor (California):
www.jeremytaylor.com/pages/schedule.html
---
- Strephon Says: Podcasts and blog
---
Strephon Kaplan-Williams is an international expert on dreams and the new
dreamwork, as reflected in his many books over the years. Now in retirement
age Strephon gives his podcasts and continues to write new books.
http://strephonsays.com
---
- Ritual DaFuMu for Peace
---
The World Dreams Peace Bridge, on the 15th of each month, is holding a
monthly DaFuMu - a collective dream of good fortune - to support peace.
For more information go to:
http://www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org/dafumumonthly.htm
To join the World Dreams Peace Bridge discussion group, just send an e-mail
to
worlddreams-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .
END NEWS ================================================
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Cover: "Enlightenment Garden"
~and~
Dream Time and Art
by J. Myztico Campo
http://dreamgate.hypermart.net/ed-covers/ed13-11cov.jpg
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“To live is to Dream, to die is to Awaken”, this thought has always
fascinated me for as long as I can remember. As a child my dreams were very
vivid, full of prehistoric creatures, vivid past life recollections, flying
dreams all in vivid colors. These dreams fuelled most of my waking
imagination and my creative process was informed from these surreal images.
I remember as I grew older my dreams became more lucid, things were
happening in my dreams that later appeared in my waking life on a rather
consistent basis. Some may call these Déjà vu, to me it seemed like these
dreams were trying to show me glimpses of the future before it actually
happened which I found rather eerie yet completely mind boggling.
As I got deeper into the creative process that included
painting/music/filmmaking and writing, dreams continued to be a major source
of inspiration and influence on my waking life. At times I preferred the
dream state than the waking state of mind. In the dream world possibilities
are endless where as in the waking state there are so many restrictions
placed upon us by questionable governments, societies, organized religions
and expectations as to where we should be within our aging timelines.
A lot of my art work (about 90%) arises from visions I witness during my
dreamtimes. I always pay close attention to my dreams. Some are much more
vivid than others as I try to be as lucid as possible during them. In the
particular case of “Enlightment Garden” that appears in this months Electric
Dreams cover I had this vision during a particularly vivid dream. I was
walking in an incredible garden where the trees were whispering
conversations to each other. As they carried on with their conversations the
trunks of the trees were turning into these stunning stained glass mosaics.
Blooming from their branches were these stunning purple hearts and scattered
eternal flames burning intensely. A further walk through this garden led me
to an interdimensional portal that transcended time, space and the material
world. I was greeted by 2 intensely glowing spirits whom communicated with
me telepathically.
They told me that our “so-called world leaders” were drawing humanity closer
to the end of times unnecessarily. Due mostly to ignorance, greed and the
need to control the masses under a dark cloud of deceptions. If humanity was
to evolve over the next 100 years we the people of this world need to place
extra close attention to the way we are being governed. I remember asking
them what would be the best non-violent manner in which to create these
changes to affect positive change for our world. The answer was surprisingly
simple yet rang so true. They said humanity needs to “AWAKEN” from a long
slumber caused by mass brain washing and historical deceptions. To realize
we are purposely distracted daily by outer influences that keep us away from
our true evolutionary potentials therefore keeping all of us oppressed by a
minority few.
With that said these spirits embraced me and then proceeded to walk through
the portal hand in hand until they assimilated and became one with eternal
space. The portal imploded, the garden morphed into a ravaged war torn city
with body parts strewn all over wreckage of what once were homes and
businesses. A crying child
with half a torso crawled toward me shedding tears of blood and said, “Will
we ever have PEACE?”…I woke up in tears, sketched out the garden scene on a
pad and proceeded to paint the dream that very day.
To see more of Myztico’s work. Please visit his website at:
http://myztico.mosaicglobe.com
About the Artist; J. Myztico Campo is a Cuban born, NYC raised self taught
Visionary Surrealist whose work has been displayed in various galleries in
the U.S. He has a variety of creative passions besides painting that
involves music/filmmaking/murals/poetry & photography. To see and hear more
of Myztico’s work visit his website:
http://myztico.mosaicglobe.com
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An Excerpt From The Lucid Dream Exchange
By Lucy Gillis
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An Interview with a Lucid Dreamer
By Robert Waggoner
Responses (c) Don Middendorf
Lucid dreamer, Don Middendorf, believes that lucid dreaming helps enhance
lucid living (and vice versa). He explores the dreaming (and waking) worlds
with the goal of becoming more conscious of the reality-creation process.
His goals for his lucid dream excursions are to become more familiar with
his own psyche as well as other states of consciousness and existence - and
perhaps most importantly, to have fun. While not dreaming, he teaches
classes in physics, psychology, and philosophy at a liberal arts college in
the Northwestern part of the U.S.
Robert: Can you recall your first lucid dream experience? Please, tell us
about that.
As a child, I would occasionally realize that a fearful dream was "just a
dream" and wake myself up. I can only recall a couple of times when I was
able to tell myself that I was dreaming and continue dreaming. I also
remember a number of dreams in which I would sort of know it was a dream and
that I could fly if I could push off a particular spot in the alley or hold
my legs up as I floated down the long hill that I lived on. I think that I
thought of these dreams more as "that reality in which I can fly" rather
than as recognizing them as lucid dreams. I'm hesitant to say much more
about my childhood memories because I can't be sure my recall is accurate.
(The reconstruction of memories of the past based on current beliefs is a
hot research field right now.)
Robert: When did you first learn about conscious dreaming or lucid dreaming?
What about that lucid dreaming experience (or those early experiences) did
you find interesting?
I first learned about manipulating the dream environment from reading Seth
Speaks in 1974. Immediately after reading that book, I often awoke
remembering that I had been lucid, but with little or no recall of the
actual dream. The first fully lucid dream that I can remember now occurred
about a year later and I became lucid when I found myself floating above my
bed and bumping into the ceiling. I knew my body was asleep and this was a
dream but I wondered if I was also out-of-body so I looked out the window. I
saw a parking lot instead of the field that I knew was there in waking
reality. At the time, I believed that out-of-body experiences would take
place in the waking-world setting, so my dreaming self was puzzled by the
clear feeling of being out-of-body, yet the certain knowledge that this was
a dream.
For several years afterwards, I was always trying to come up with some model
that included a clear distinction between lucid dreams and out-of-body
experiences. I think the desire to understand the distinction helped me have
many lucid dreams. Whenever I would read another author's ideas on the
subject and start to believe that view, I would have a lucid dream in which
my dreaming self found some reason to reject that model. I think a good
model is a wonderful thing, but a good question leads to more interesting
experiences.
Robert: At that time, what methods did you use to bring conscious awareness
into the dream state? Has that changed over the years?
During the day, I would use a belief-changing exercise about being able to
become lucid in my dreams or have out-of-body experiences. Then I would use
similar pre-sleep suggestions. I was highly motivated so I did this almost
every night. I still use and believe in suggestions, but I tend to just let
lucidity come when it does. I've noticed that I usually have a couple of
nights of non-lucid or semi-lucid flying dreams before a series of lucid
dreams, so I often just wait until I have flying dreams and then suggest for
lucidity. One other "method" that I use now is to keep a list of "cool"
dreams in the back of my dream notebook. When I want to induce a lucid
dream, I'll re-read a number of previous lucid or nearly-lucid flying dreams
and that seems to spark the awareness of lucidity. At times in the past,
I've also had some success with the approach of asking "Is this a dream?"
frequently throughout the day. Jayne Gackenbach's research suggested that
meditation was highly correlated with lucid dreaming and I've noticed that
this seems to be true for me in those times when I have been able to make it
a regular practice.
Robert: As you had more lucid dreams, were there any lucid dreams that made
a deep impression on you? Tell us about them.
For the last decade or so, I've been fascinated by merging my dream body
with "matter" in the dream. I noticed that several people in your survey
(LDE #27, June 2003) said something similar as well as one of your previous
interviews. My dreaming self seems to be the one driving this experience. In
one lucid dream, I remembered my waking suggestion to talk with my inner
self about a specific problem and my dreaming self gently (but firmly)
over-rode my waking desires to try experiments moving my hand and body
through walls.
As mentioned by several of those interviewed in previous LDE interviews,
some of the most profound experiences I've had while lucid are when I
remember my desire to talk with my inner self about my purposes in life (or
to "seek the highest"). In one, I became completely sure that everything
and everyone in the dream was me. The feeling was so overwhelming that I was
deeply disappointed when I awoke to the seemingly flat waking reality. In
telling this dream, I want to edit the statement and say I was sure
everything in the dream was related to me in some deep way, but the actual
feeling in the dream wasn't about relations between me and the other things
or people, it was an experience of complete subjectivity - united whole.
There was simply no distinction between "other" and "me" even though there
was a spatial location from which the scene was viewed.
Robert: Interesting! What did you take from this lucid dream experience/s?
What did it come to mean to you?
I think such transcendent experiences (whether waking, dreaming, or
meditating) remind us of our basic subjective nature as expressions of All
That Is.
Robert: As a professor teaching a class on Dreams, Memory and Consciousness,
you must have discussed the paradoxical nature of lucid dreaming, inasmuch
as one develops conscious awareness in the (apparently unconscious) dream
state. What issues did lucid dreaming bring to a classroom study of
consciousness?
Quite a few students who enroll in such a year-long program have already had
some experience with altered states of consciousness. A few have had lucid
dreams and I encourage them to tell the class about their experiences -
primarily to encourage the excitement about the fun activities one can
pursue while lucid. My goal is to have them experience the nature of
consciousness rather than just read the theories we have constructed about
it. I think that lucid dreaming is the safest and most easily accessed
"altered" state. For students studying consciousness, I think the most
important take-home point of their first few lucid dreams is that
consciousness is much more flexible and has greater potential than many of
our current models allow. While suggesting to have lucid dreams, one student
had several out-of-body experiences. When we got to the part of the
consciousness text discussing the strictly biological models of
consciousness, she could state from her own experience that these models
were incorrect or at least quite incomplete.
Robert: Had many of the college students experienced lucid dreams? What
questions did they bring forward about lucid dreaming and the nature of
consciousness? What did consciously being aware in the dream state suggest
to them?
I think about 30 out of 75 students had lucid dreams during this past year.
Some had lucid dreams prior to the class, but for many it was their first. I
started talking about lucid dreams early in the year and encouraged students
to tell the class when they had a "cool" dream. It also helped that they
read about the scientific experiments "proving" that lucid dreams do exist
and it really helped having visitors who discussed their own exciting
experiences with lucid dreams. (Thanks to Robert for sharing his enthusiasm
this year!) From my perspective, it changed the nature of the question,
"What is consciousness?" for everyone in the class because even those who
didn't have a lucid dream heard many experiences from their friends. I think
this "loosened" the beliefs of the class as a whole about other "paranormal"
experiences. I used lucid dreams as an example of experiences that were
considered "fringe" or "paranormal" but are now included as part of
"legitimate" science (of course, even non-lucid dreams could fall in this
category). Of course, most of the students had pure-fun type of lucid
dreams such as flying that we just enjoy. I think these kinds of experiences
hint at the possibilities and encourage students to try experimenting with
what may be possible in the dream state - such as problem solving, or
out-of-body experiences or interactions with departed relatives or probable
selves. I can recall several students over the years who had a lucid dream
that helped change their beliefs in the nature of reality, but I think and
hope that I only see the beginning of such a change. It probably takes more
than a year or a summer (and more than a single dream) to do so. I hope the
experience of lucid dreaming helps them to realize that they can use a
subjective approach to studying their own consciousness without relying
exclusively on the studies done by experts. It makes me happy when a student
tells me that he or she no longer feels a need to use drugs to reach altered
states because the lucid dreaming state is better in some way. It also
pleases me when a student expresses a self-discovered conclusion about some
of the nonsense spouted by researchers in consciousness studies who have
clearly denied themselves from having any real experiences with
consciousness from the inside.
Robert: Did your students have any experiences with lucid dreams that
surprised you? Tell us about that?
A number of years ago, the students arranged to have a class meeting in the
dream state without telling me. The organizers told their peers to focus on
a candle before sleep and then come to a dream bonfire on campus bringing a
particular secret object to show any others who managed to show up. Three or
four students were able to induce lucidity that night and remember to go to
the dream bonfire and had many tantalizing near-misses with other students.
For example, Joe saw Mary who was asking about Steve while Mary dreamt of
hanging out with Joe and Steve. (I made that last sentence up just to show
the kinds of interactions they had. I never collect students' dreams.) I was
completely surprised at their success in a single trial at mutual dreaming.
In a similar trial this past year, only one student was fully lucid on the
night, but she actively sought out specific students in the class and one or
two of these other students had non-lucid dreams with her. Over the years,
several students have had transcendent experiences and a few have
life-changing or belief-changing lucid dreams or out-of-body experiences.
Robert: For some of us, lucid dreaming provides experiences that make us
question the nature of reality, and look to theoretical physics for possible
answers. Do you find this in your own lucid dreaming experience? Are there
aspects of lucid dreaming which might touch on principles of consciousness
or theoretical physics?
Oh my Robert, it would take several books and maybe several lifetimes to
answer that question fully! I use the models and observations of modern
physics to show students that some of the concepts that they think of as
absolute facts about bedrock reality might be less clear-cut than they
think. I particularly like to bring up the nature of time in relativity and
to discuss the use of multiple universe models in current cosmology and
quantum theory. I also like to shake up the standard view that objects have
observer-independent properties by discussing the predictions and
observations of wave-particle duality. I decided to do graduate work in
physics rather than biology because I wanted to understand the profound
discussion of consciousness in Jane Roberts' books which relied heavily on
physics. However, I cringe when students or people at conferences tell me
that my discussion of some of the theories of modern physics have proved to
them that their unconventional beliefs about the nature of reality are
correct. It's not that I object to their unconventional beliefs, but to
their reliance on the evidence of others - in this case the experiments and
theories of modern physics. Ken Wilber has pointed out that almost all of
the founders of modern physics were mystics, but none wanted their mystical
views based on their physics - partly because they all knew that whatever
models we use in physics will change over the next hundred years. However,
they hoped that their mystical views would remain "true" even if the strange
new views of physical reality evolved into something even stranger in the
future. Despite that caveat, I have to enthusiastically agree with your
suggestion that lucid dreaming will help us understand the nature of reality
- including consciousness and theoretical physics. Advances in theoretical
physics often go hand in hand with advances in mathematics and both are
highly dependent on using the conscious mind to reason and intuit productive
new ideas. That is, we're already using consciousness to explore the nature
of physical reality and the recognition of this is becoming more explicit. I
believe that the next generation of physicists will be trained in both
meditation and lucid dreaming - because it will be more efficient (as well
as more acceptable).
I think the most interesting thing I've ever done in a lucid dream that
helps in understanding the nature of consciousness (or at least of self) was
to ask myself what I thought of my waking life while in the dream state. I
can't say that I had some great insight about my waking life, but there was
quite a feeling of compassion and some humor for the current challenges that
I faced in my waking life from my dreaming self.
I've had a couple of lucid dreams in which I got a little better
understanding of some aspects of relativity or quantum theory, but I haven't
had any deep insights into the nature of physical reality. However, I think
each time we become lucid, we are gaining some experience with using our
consciousness in a more facile way and that's more important than
understanding how it works. I'm still quite interested in how it works, but
for now, I'm satisfied with just increasing, lengthening, and deepening my
experiences with lucidity in both dreaming and waking life.
Robert: Things like multiple false awakenings have always interested me. I
remember one morning in which I had seven successive false awakenings, one
after the other -- bam, bam, bam - by the time, I wakened in "this" reality,
I literally hugged the wall and hoped I didn't suddenly pop into a new copy
of reality. Now, some people have suggested that false awakenings simply
show the "mental model" nature of consciousness, but I've wondered, what
about parallel realities? If physicists need anecdotal evidence of possible
visits to parallel realms, perhaps they should talk to experienced lucid
dreamers. What do you think about false awakenings?
Yes, I think some extremely experienced lucid dreamers could choose to
repeatedly return to particular parallel realities and explore their nature.
I don't have that level of skill, but I think some of those you've
interviewed over the last few years might. On the other hand, I think we all
experience parallel (or not-so-parallel) realities in our dreams whether
lucid or not. I think the role of lucidity is then to bring some degree of
reason into the experience so that we can reflect on the experience as it
occurs while dreaming rather than simply as dream recall later. A friend
told me of a moving (non-lucid) dream in which she dreamed she was the
number 8. I think that's far enough from our waking reality as to be labeled
a non-parallel reality, but still interesting.
I really don't know about false awakenings. On the one hand, my waking self
always feels that I simply missed some subtle (or not-so-subtle) cue that I
wasn't back in this reality. That is, I simply feel like I wasn't fully
lucid in any of the states of dreaming or waking. Once I'm "really" awake,
it feels like I should have known I was still dreaming. On the other hand,
if a series of false awakenings indicates actual awakenings in closely
parallel realities as you suggest, it could be very hard to tell one reality
from the other. For example, if the series of parallel realities in your
false awakenings differ by having speeds of light that are tiny fractions of
a percent different from each other, it might be hard to tell when you had
reached the right home reality. If the false awakenings are actually
parallel realities, a lucid dreamer might be able to consciously be aware of
some sort of internal signal that identifies this reality as home. It will
take some fairly advanced mutual lucid dreamers to figure this one out, I
think.
Robert: Lately I've been working on a piece called, "Why Does an Apple Fall
in a Lucid Dream: The Physics of Lucid Dreaming." So, Don, why does the
apple fall in a lucid dream? The dreamer's expectation? The dreamer's
control? Belief? Intent? The dreamer's will?
You could also ask why the apple falls in a non-lucid dream. In fact, it may
surprise you to hear that there are still some aspects about the nature of
motion and gravity in waking reality that we (physicists) know that we do
not understand. The current cosmological models require multiple universes
with many different "fundamental constants" such as the speed of light or
the strength of gravity. Only those with nearly identical constants would
resemble our waking reality even a little. So maybe the apple falls in some
dreams because we are in a reality with a similar underlying make up. I
think the dreamer's expectation and belief enter at the level of the choice
for experiencing that particular reality. However, I have never made that
choice at the level of the dreamer, but I believe it's made at the level of
some inner portion of my being which I could call the Dreamer. The Dreamer
may be the part of us that allows the consensual Core Beliefs of a
particular reality (such as whether things fall) to be consistent across all
observers in that reality. This is analogous to Jung's conception of the
self as being part of a grander Self that has connections with a collective
(as well as a personal) unconscious. This may seem fairly speculative, but I
think that the reader's of LDE could do an experiment in which they choose
to experience realities in which the attractive nature of mass is gone and
objects attract on the basis of color. Then, red apples would move toward
other red objects, but not necessarily downward. So, my musings on your
interesting question is that it's all about beliefs, but at a deep level, so
as long as we're not over-riding the agreed-upon setup of that reality, we
don't need intent or control for an apple to fall. In waking reality, there
are good reasons not to violate the laws of the game such as gravity - it's
an ordering principle which makes it easier for our fledgling consciousness
to learn and play here. That's not to say that the anecdotal accounts of
levitation will be always be false - but my guess is that it takes a more
focused will than most of us incarnates have to over-ride the mass beliefs.
If was really adept at consciously creating my dream reality, I could
violate gravity by flying whenever I wanted. I think the same may be true in
physical reality, but I believe that becoming adept at reality creation is
one of the main reasons we're here and if I was so good at it that I could
fly, I probably wouldn't have much of a reason to be here.
Robert: Have you ever thought that the psychological space called "dreaming"
deserves its own "physics"? Obviously, dreaming involves a type of
psychological physics which may not have a direct connection with the
physics of the material world. Yet lucid dreamers experience certain
commonalities in "psychological space" which suggest that the psychological
space of dreaming functions on certain (yet-to-be-enunciated) principles.
What do you think? Is the world ready to consider the physics of
psychological space?
It seems I anticipated this question in my previous answer. I certainly do
think the "space" of dreams (lucid or not) is going to function on some
"yet-to-be-enunciated principles", but I think the physics will have to be
based on consciousness or love as fundamental (rather than energy) and may
resemble psychology or pure mathematics more than it resembles current
physics. Well, I don't know that everyone in the world is ready to consider
what you call the physics of psychological space, but I think some are
considering it now and some have done so in the past. In fact, Carl Jung
attributes his ideas for his theory of personality to his discussions with
his colleague and patient, Wolfgang Pauli, about the new ideas in quantum
theory which Pauli was helping to develop. Jung attributes his views on
introvert/extravert and feeling/sensing as complementary aspects of a
personality to the quantum notion of complementarity and the lack of
observer-independent properties in quantum objects. I've already mentioned
the Seth books twice, but I have to do so again because I think they have
the best description I've seen of the physics of this reality and others
including dreaming realities.
Another part of the answer to whether dreaming deserves its own physics
might be that the scope of "dreaming reality" is far greater than waking
reality. I think of dreaming as one method of entering an infinite number of
other realities - each with their own physics. I doubt we can remember much
of our experiences from any reality that is too far removed from this one.
How would we record or even remember an experience in a reality which
differed from waking reality by even a relatively minor change like having
two time dimensions? (Although it's possible that the simultaneous dreams
discussed by Lucy at the LDE website and in LDE #35 are a reflection of that
kind of reality.) I've had a few dreams which were so ecstatic that even
though I was lucid and felt that they lasted for some "time", when I awoke,
I could only write a few words about it - that failed to capture any of the
essence of the experience.
Robert: Have you had (or heard about) lucid dream experiences that shed
light on the discussion of the nature of consciousness? Tell us about those.
What kind of lucid dream experiments could move forward the understanding of
the nature of consciousness? What would you like to see?
Well, the pages of LDE are full of such experiences. I think some of the
most enlightening were the experiments on mutual lucid dreaming that you
(Robert), Ed Kellogg, and Linda Lane Magallón reported at the Association
for the Study of Dreams conference in Santa Cruz in about 1999 (and I
suggest you give a summary of those experiments at some point in a future
LDE). I think mutual lucid dreaming is our best bet at some understanding of
consciousness that we can begin to call scientific. Of course, I think our
personal lucid dream experiences shed light on the characteristics and the
mobility of consciousness, and some of its potentials such as telepathy and
precognition that are not currently accepted by the majority of
professionals studying consciousness in the west.
The ecstatic "oneness" experiences that I mentioned above, the reflection on
the waking state from the dreaming state that I mentioned, and the certainty
I've had in some out-of-body experiences about the independence of
consciousness from the body (and the existence of life after death) all give
me insights into the nature of consciousness that I have personal experience
with.
Robert: Thanks Don for your observations into lucid dreaming. Any parting
thoughts?
It has been a real joy to watch the evolution of the LDE over the last
decade. I thank you (Robert) and Lucy for putting so much time into this
(and Ruth for starting it). I can't tell you how many flying or lucid or
otherwise "cool" dreams I've had after reading the dreams that people have
shared in the LDE.
**************************************
The Lucid Dream Exchange is a quarterly newsletter featuring lucid dreams
and lucid dream related articles and interviews. To subscribe to The Lucid
Dream Exchange send a blank email to:
TheLucidDreamExchange-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
You can also check us out at www.dreaminglucid.com
********************************
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THE VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Joy Creates a Mystery
November 2006
Jean Campbell
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I've been suffering some role confusion lately. One of the reasons is
because members of The World Dreams Peace Bridge neglect no opportunity to
gather in physical reality, since most of our communication is done online.
On Wednesday, October 25, I kicked off the IASD Bay Area Lecture Series with
a lecture on "Group Dreaming/Dream Activism." I was happy to see an
audience of twenty-five people in the beautiful Dream Institute building in
Berkeley--but there among the IASD members (most of them being IASD members)
were members of The World Dreams Peace Bridge, a most welcome addition to
the evening.
There was Jody Grundy, all the way from Cincinnati, and seated beside her,
May Tung's good friend, photographer Roxanne Worthington. Lana Nassar was
there and, most remarkably, Joy Fatooh, who had driven over the mountains
from the eastern part of the state, to meet us for the first time in waking
physical reality.
All of us Peace Bridge members have a tendency to meet in dream reality,
something that has inspired me to say that the Peace Bridge discussion group
is the world's longest-lasting online dream journal and also the
longest-lasting group dream experiment. In fact, Joy became a member of the
Peace Bridge due to sharing dreams with Ilkin in Istanbul, although the two
of them have yet to meet while awake.
There was much joking and laughing and hugging going on among the Peace
Bridge members in Berkeley that night, particularly when the Peace Bridge
ladies discovered that they had all been suffering similar pains in the same
knee, shoulder and hip (We hope this is not a result of dreaming together.).
Then, in the aftermath of the evening in Berkeley, in a fun-filled
conversation online, Joy proposed a mystery to the members of the Peace
Bridge, and a unique use of group dreaming.
"Just for fun," Joy wrote, "Do any of my talented and curious friends out
there want to
dream up 'What happens to Joy in Albuquerque?"'
"When I was 17 years old," she went on to say, "I dreamed I experienced
something very mysterious in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I'd never been there
(except for passing
through once at night on Route 66). The dream was so vivid and strange that
it stayed with me... and over the course of 20 years I gradually found out
what it was that I experienced... and thus verified that it was
psi-something, but what? If it was precognitive and it's going to happen to
ME, it's taking at least 33 years to happen - because next week I'm going to
be in Albuquerque for the first time since the dream!"
This was a request to group dream about the results of a dream! No Peace
Bridge member is going to pass up this kind of a challenge, so the dreams
began to come in. Mary Pat, having joined the Bridge shortly after the
recent PsiberDreaming Conference, dreamed about Joy meeting with gnomes in
Albuquerque, something that seemed very puzzling until Joy reminded her
that the Dream Telepathy conference at the PsiberDreaming Conference where
they first met involved a piece of art including gnomes. Rita dreamed of
being in Albuquerque. Jeremy, who reminded Joy that the deadline for
dreaming had already passed by his house in Seoul, Korea, sent an article
he'd found on the Internet which claimed that joyous thinking created
joyous people. It was also interesting to note that several people in the
group had connections with Albuquerque, although these connections had never
come up before.
The mystery is not solved. Joy is only now on her way to Albuquerque, on
her business-related trip. But before she drove away, she left a message on
the Peace Bridge list, telling us the dream she'd had at seventeen that has
stayed with her so long:
"When I was 17, I dreamed it was a calm dark night and I was rising straight
up into the open air over Albuquerque, New Mexico. I’d never been to
Albuquerque, other than passing through once on Route 66. But I knew it was
the lights of Albuquerque receding below me. The visceral feeling of rising
straight up, with the cool night air all around me, was absolutely vivid and
real. Looking down, far below me but high above the city lights I saw a huge
white globe glowing softly as if lit from within."
Even learning years later that Albuquerque is the Hot Air Balloon Capitol of
the World has not taken the mystery away from her dream, Joy said. "It was
an unforgettable dream from the moment I woke. So vivid! Such a gently
thrilling feeling. Why Albuquerque? Why rising straight up? How? What was
the incandescent globe and how did it get to be so high?"
What are these dreams (sometimes called high dreams, yes, or peak
experiences) that so capture our attention, and what if anything does this
type of dream have teach us about group dreaming? Tune in next month, when
Joy herself has agreed to write The View From The Bridge. Maybe she will
give us some answers.
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Dream: Schwartzchild Limit
Stan Kulikowski II
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DATE : 15 oct 2006 09:52
=( yesterday was a saturday. i did not have much to do since the new
scanner has not arrived and i am waiting to scan in the pictures from my
high school yearbook to complete the dvd project i have been working on. i
did ride over to visit with julius for an hour or so and drink a couple
beers. the evening was uneventful with some mediochre videos from
blockbuster. i got to sleep around 01:00 without trouble. it has finally
gotten cool enough this year for the window fan to suffice for sleeping. )=
i wake up in the office at the research lab. it is dark and i have fallen
asleep with my head upon my desk as i often do. i do not want to turn on
the lights which will disturb the few others who also often sleep here
rather than go home nights when the research requires us to put in long
hours.
i have just figured out what is going on with the latest data sets from the
experimental facilities. we are getting wildly variant results from the
quantum measurements of the tomak fusion generator.
i think that we have discovered another singularity in the einstein
equations. the schwartzchild limit is the smallest radius which matter can
be compressed into a neutron star before it collapses into a black hole. at
this point the equations no longer yield a single solution but start
producing infinite sets of solutions. that seems to be what has happened to
our experiments, but we have not been increasing the mass or velocity of the
object. we have been decreasing the time scale of the measurements. this
should not have changed any of the fundamental elements of the physics
involved, yet the measured results on the microscale fluctuate enormously.
it was not my job to check these calculations, but my colleague who did this
job has not reported any discrepancies from the data. i believe he must be
selling results to rival research firms. that is the only reason i can
think of that he would not have told us that there is another limit in the
basic physics which results in quantum gravitational collapse. surely he
has already estimated the value of this limit, but i can do that by writing
a program loop to systematically approach the equation values where the data
starts to fluctuate. if einstein's equations do not show this singularity
there, then we have found data which requires a different form of mathmatics
to represent the structure of the universe.
i sit up straight in my desk chair and switch on my computer terminal. the
usual startup screen does not come on, but instead the monitor stays dark
with just a small command prompt at the top. what is this?
i discover that my usual keyboard has been changed for a small crappy cheap
keyboard made of black plastic. following its umbilical cord off the
desktop i see that it leads to an inexpensive dell computer sitting on the
floor. someone has removed the computer i normally use and left this one in
its place. i try to see if i can launch an editor to enter my program to do
the calculations, but nothing operates as it should.
well, i must turn on the lights to see what has happened. when i do, i hear
a few moans from the others in the room who are trying to sleep here. while
i slept, the room has been stripped of most all of the equipment we normally
use. we have suspected that our project was going to be closed down for
lack of funding, but it should not happen so suddenly especially with the
unexpected data coming in from the physical plant. this all seems like
industrial espionage from the top level, trying to shift the benefits of a
world shaking discovery to more profitable management.
=( awake at 09:30. i think that the term 'schwartzchild' is the right name
for the limit where the gravitational singularity is found in einstein's
equations. if not, it is a name very close to that but i have no way to
look it up just now and in the dream i was remembering 'schwartzchild' at
any rate. i did read through a manuscript facsimilie of einstein's theory
of special relativity a few months ago. it was a complete handwritten
manuscript from 1912 published for the centential of his annum mirabulous of
1905. this was before the schwartzchild singularity was recognized i
believe. i have a feeling that this research facility was at umass in
amherst but the office and the people i saw here were not any that
encountered back then. i was expecting a gui interface to come up on the
computer monitor but we still had only text command prompts which i could no
longer operate for some reason. there was a bit more to this dream which
did not seem very important compared to the discovery of the new
singularity, but i have lost recall of it before i could enter it. it would
not surprise me if the grand unification needed for quantum gravitation
required a reformulation of our physics but i somehow doubt that the
granularity of time is involved.
)=
--
stankuli@...
. the juvenille sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for
=== a suitable rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home
| | for life. for this task it has a rudimentary nervous system.
--- when it finds its spot and takes root, it doesn't need its brain
anymore so it eats it. it's rather like getting tenure.
-- Young Scientist Network, University of Washington
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DreamRePlay
David Jenkins, PhD
Electing to Dream
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Regardless of your political views, there is so much media focus on the
upcoming November 7th elections, that it would be close to impossible for
your Waking-self not to notice. But how about your Dream-self?
We don't usually dream about current events. By and large, we dream about
the people and relationships in our immediate life. Sometimes we dream about
larger-than-life characters such as movie stars, but it is rare that we go
beyond that personal sphere. Nevertheless, there are times when the dreams
of entire populations share some common themes.
After September 11, many people had dreams that referred to the World Trade
Center. A Brooklyn woman dreamed she was searching through the rubble for
her childhood security blanket. That's a very direct and, for her, painful
reference. A California man dreamed he was lost in New York on Bombay
Street. Since he knew of no such street, the pun in "Bomb Bay" indirectly
suggested a fear that the San Francisco Bay might also be bombed.
Many people responded to the Hurricane Katrina disaster with related dreams,
which ranged from being swept away by floods to cleaning up the mess.
Elections are not quite the same as disasters, but their importance can
bring them into our dreams.
Because our dreams tend to resonate with the emotions we are experiencing,
you may dream you are talking to the elected leaders you prefer and everyone
is listening to you. You might dream your side has lost the election by one
vote
Don't be surprised if your dreams tell you what you want to hear. One
Democrat, in 2004, jumped the gun and dreamed:
“I was napping on the sofa while my daughter watched TV to see who was
winning the election. Suddenly I awoke [in the dream] to lots of cheering
and triumphant sounding music. I asked, "Who won? Did someone win?" My
daughter just sat and smiled at me. Again I asked her, "Who won, who won?
Did Kerry win?" Finally she answered me with, "YES!!!!" We were overjoyed
and started calling friends to make sure everyone knew.”
John Kerry, of course, lost that election.
Summary
If you are actively involved in election campaigning, you may well be too
exhausted to dream.
If you are unsure who to vote for, maybe you’ll have a dream that tips the
balance.
As with all dreams, consider the Dream-self as a separate person and have a
conversation. That other part of you may well have a very different slant on
politics than you do.
"FOUR EXPERTS TRY TO GET INSIDE READERS' HEADS"
That's the title of a piece in last Sunday's Washington Post in which I was
a featured expert. Readers sent in dreams and several dream experts made
comments on them.
I didn't think I was trying to get "into readers' heads" but I did ask the
same kinds of questions I discuss in these columns. Regular readers of my
column will recognize the "Movie method" and "Continue the dream"
techniques.
DIAL-IN DREAM GROUPS
On Monday and Tuesday I will again be holding more 1-hour dream groups on a
telephone conference call.
Whether you live far away or close by, a phone group allows you to get a
sense of dream work in a very convenient way. With this new work, I hope to
communicate the pleasure and the excitement of dream work to many people.
Day: Monday November 6th
Time: 5pm-6pm Pacific Daylight Time
Dial-in Number: 620-782-2200 (Kansas)
Access Code: 707172#
And
Day: Tuesday November 7th
Time: 7pm-8pm Pacific Daylight Time
Dial-in Number: 620-782-2200 (Kansas)
Access Code: 707172#
DREAM GROUPS
The Saturday drop-in group ($20) is from 10 am to noon at 2315 Prince Street
in Berkeley. The nearest major cross street is Ashby and Telegraph. Please
let me know if you are coming.
SHARE DREAM OF THE WEEK
If you enjoy reading Dream of the Week, please tell your friends about it.
They can read back issues and subscribe (free) at DreamOfTheWeek.com.
Best wishes
David Jenkins
Dream RePlay
email:
davidj@...
phone: (510) 644 2369
web:
http://dreamreplay.com
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A World’s Dreams
Steven Baughman
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Hi, my name is Steven Baughman. I am a Master of Fine Arts student at
Parsons School of Design. Working with fellow student Michael Tabtabai, our
thesis is exploring the possibilities of social media in humanizing the
digital experience. One approach we are taking is trying to find the best
way to represent dreams in a digital environment.
We struggled with how to actually enter the dreams into the online space.
Typing in front of a computer seemed too cold, and besides, I forget my
dream literally minutes after waking up. After exploring some other
alternatives (image entry, computer generated dreams, to name a few) we came
to the obvious conclusion: voice recordings.
Last month we set up a phone number that anyone can call as they were waking
up, and record their dreams. Many people use their phone as an alarm clock,
and almost everyone has a phone on a bedside table. After the call, the
dreams are then automatically uploaded online and saved for that person, and
potentially anyone, to hear. In the future we hope to expand this site to
allow users to login, save and sort their recordings, control who can listen
to their dreams, and connect to people through their dreams. We're hoping
soon to expand the project internationally by setting up some numbers in the
UK, France, and Germany.
Truthfully, we don't know much about the specifics of dream theory. We only
recently started getting into the subject, and have now been recording our
dreams for a couple months. I love listening to my dreams later in the day,
and often find myself amazed at the things I said just a few hours prior.
Yet, I really enjoy listening to people talk about their dreams. They are so
intimate. There is such a lack of *voice* in a digital environment, I find
it refreshing to listen to someone speaking to me as if I was a good friend
sharing a moment (and morning voices are sometimes really funny too!).
For the next few months I will do my best to keep you updated on new
developments, and highlight some of my favorite dream recordings. I hope
you'll take some time to listen to a few, leave some comments, and give us
feedback about how to expand upon this idea.
Steven Baughman
steve@...
For more info, please visit:
http://a.parsons.edu/~famouser/dreamers
To record a dream, call: 347-404-5094.
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** DREAMS ** DREAMS ** DREAMS ** DREAMS ** DREAMS ** DREAMS
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Getting stuck on a broken bridge, a falling elevator, and throwing snakes;
must be the Electric Dreams Dream Section with Kat Peters-Midland!
Get your own dream published on Electric Dreams by submitting at
Dreamgate.com/dream/temple
Dream title: One Strange Day!
Dream date: 9/21/06
Dreamer name: Sleeping4dreams
Dream text: I was driving down a mountain freeway, in a small white car,
with my kids & my dogs. My husband was following us in our truck. The
freeway was a one way road. There was a yellow Ferrari behind us, and this
person was driving crazy. This person was weaving in & out of traffic at a
high speed. The yellow Ferrari passed my husband, and was now behind me,
right on my tail. I was frightened due to the fact the roads were very
narrow, and the car was right on my tail. Just then, the car made a pass
around me, I could then see that it was only one person in the car - a young
man. As he passed me he side swiped the tail end of my car, spinning me into
the guard rail on the freeway. His car however went over the mountains edge.
My husband came rushing to my car, and I was pinned in, I could not move. I
remember asking if everyone was alright, and they were. I passed out at
that moment. When I opened my eyes, I could see lights rushing by me. I was
in a hospital being rushed to surgery, I heard the Dr. "get her into surgery
stat!"
The next time I opened my eyes, I was in a room all by myself. I heard a
heart machine, and I was connected to IV's. I was all alone. I looked
around the room, and discovered a bathroom. I went into the bathroom, still
attached to IV's, and looked into the mirror. My face was covered in
gauze and bandages. I started to take off the wrapping, and discovered that
my nose looked funny. I touched it, and it the whole top layer of skin and
bone fell off into the sink. I freaked out.
I immediately left the hospital still attached to my IV's, and I had wrapped
towels from the hospital around my face. To my surprise, there was a Walmart
next door to the hospital.
I went inside the store, and went to the bandage aisle so I could rewrap my
nose. I couldn't believe it but my oldest son was there. I asked him what
he was doing, but he asked me why wasn't I in the hospital? I in return
asked why I was by myself in there. He told me that, my family had just left
from visiting me and that I had been in a coma for 2 weeks!!!
He then saw my face, and said oh no it fell off. I said what did, of course
he said "your nose mom." I had him take me home. When I walked in my
husband’s eyes got huge. He said "how did you get out?" I told him I left.
To my surprise, he told me I had to go back and that I was being charged for
the murder of the young man in the yellow Ferrari.
Dream comments: I was very shaken up by this dream.
Dream title: Religious
Dream date: 15/05/06
Dreamer name: anonymous
Dream text: I was pregnant with a holy baby the baby must be born in holy
water. It was also very important that I look after this baby well because
it’s holy and god’s child. I gave birth to the baby and it was a boy and it
was born in a church. The church had mostly green and blue as colors. I was
walking down the stairs to have the baby and there were also newspapers
about me and my baby. I was reading the news paper in my dream.
Dream comments: The dream felt so real. I can still feel the water around
me and the coldness of the steps.
Dream title: Stuck on breaking bridge over ocean
Dream date: 10/15/06
Dreamer name: ML
Dream text: I am on a one-way bridge. The bridge is very long and narrow,
and stretches out into a dark ocean. The end of the bridge has broken off,
and traffic becomes stuck on the bridge. I can not move forward or backward
because of cars. There is no land insight. Then the bridge begins to shake
towards the end of the dream because it’s breaking.
Dream comments: I keep having a reoccurring dream that I am stuck on a
one-way bridge with the same details.
Dream title: Elevator Terror
Dream date: 10-01-06
Dreamer name: Dreamer
Dream text: I was getting in an elevator that was quite narrow on the
inside and 2 other people besides me were getting on. We all pushed our
buttons for the floor that we wanted to get to. I noticed mine was the
highest floor of all of us. After the last person got off, I began my
journey to my floor, which seemed like forever to get to. I noticed the
higher the elevator traveled, the faster it went. It finally stopped at my
floor and just when I was about to get off; it started to fall all the way
down the way it came. I could feel myself really falling in my dream. All I
could do was pray.
Dream comments: I have dreams that I'm falling often. Maybe three times in a
month. I never seem to hit bottom though or at least I don't remember that
part of it.
Dream title: my dad enters my dreams
Dream date: 10/ 07 /06
Dreamer name: FN
Dream text: My dad enters in the room. My dad reminds me of past event when
he attacked me and made me cry, when I was 10 years old. He said I’m a
hopeless child. He hit me in the chest and repeated that I’m hopeless and
not very smart.
Dream comments: I don’t like having dreams about my dead father.
Dream title: Death of a friend
Dream date: 10/10/06
Dreamer name: anonymous
Dream text: I came into my friend’s house, and there were many people there.
I asked her sister what’s wrong and she said my friend passed away. I
started screaming that it can’t be. All of a sudden some women run into the
room and say “she’s breathing, she’s alive”.
Dream comments: I almost never have dreams, and tonight I had a very unusual
and scary dream. I woke up very sweaty from it.
Dream title: Snakes
Dream date: 10/ 07/ 2006
Dreamer name: Mem
Dream text: There was a party. Someone gave a gift to the celebrant and it
was a snake. Then after a few speeches, a man threw the snakes to me. Then
he left with me and the snakes in the same room.
Dream comments: is it a big deal about the snakes?
Dream title: Keyhole
Dream date: September, 28, 2006
Dreamer name: Zeasus
Dream text: I was riding on a bike down a hill, totally enjoying myself,
feeling free. The person in front of me fell. When I got to them they were
falling into water that was coming up on the stone (like a stone beach).
This person was small, weak looking, and naked. I thought he looked like a
boy I knew in kindergarten named Jeremy. I put him onto a rock and turned to
an older man (father from 28 Days later, the movie). I asked him if he would
be alright and he said there was something wrong with his heart, like a
hole. But he had it too and he was still alive. I was worried about the boy
on the rock and when I looked back it was my boyfriend brushing himself off
and clothed now. (He is also named Jeremy).
Later in the dream I was walking up a square spiral staircase. When I got to
the top, there were many men were holding one of my friends in a room (I
don't know him that well and he is an old friend). I walked over and one of
the other men told him a joke. For the punch line, he punched him. My
friend pretended to be knocked out and opened his left eye (my left). When
he stood back up I put a key in his right eye, turned it to the left, back
again and took it out. I then looked down these dark stairs through a door
and knew he had to go down them. As I walked away I felt bad that I was
making him go down the stairs, but as long as I didn't have to, it was
alright with me.
Dream comments: I think I am scared of exploring my own unconscious.
Dream title: Torn and confused
Dream date: 9/14/06
Dreamer name: anonymous
Dream text: I was in this house, and in one room there was an ex of mine. My
ex kissed me and I told him I didn't want to do anything with him. In
another room, there was another ex of mine who I had slept with.
Afterwards, I looked out of the window of the room to see the ocean. There
was a whale that had beached itself with a baby whale on the beach, who was
also dead. I then leave the room to go down stairs only to run into the man
I'm currently dating. He tries to hug and kiss me and I push him away.
Dream comments: I was told that fish in a dream mean pregnancy. I don't
understand why my exs were in my dream and why I pushed my current boyfriend
away.
Stan Kulikowski II
DATE : 28 oct 2006 08:50
DREAM : the never
=( yesterday was a friday. it was rainy and cold in the afternoon so i did
not go swimming for my usual daily exercise. i do not often skip this, but
i stayed home and worked on burning my dvd project. i quickly ran out of
blank disks and ordered some on the internet. i will need to run the
mailing labels and prepare the disk graphics while i wait for delivery of
200 disks in the next few days. the project did not come out nearly as good
as i had hoped, but i would have to purchase really expensive software and
just hope that it allowed more flexible menu construction, so i will just
have to accept what the crappy templates provided with the cheapo idvd.
during the evening i smoked some tobacco in my pipe which has been unused
for about a year, but i have been feeling somewhat down lately and have
wanted more stimulation than usual. i got to bed around 01:00 but could not
get to sleep until around 04:30. )=
several people and myself have entered the rundown carnival lot at the edge
of town. it is midwinter in england, a bleak and barren time of year.
there are only a few traces of hard frozen snow collected in the shadows
where the sun can never melt them. a small merry go round with no horses
and part of a minature ferris wheel are among the few mechanical devices
that are left exposed on the empty lot with an empty table or two. the
place has an abandoned feeling a little beyond desolation.
at the far end of the lot there is a small ramshackled building where we can
stay. there is a wire fence that is broken in several places but tall weeds
and shrubs growing up through it give the feeling of boundaries that are as
much imaginary as real.
before we can move into the small cottage, we are required to catch and
confine the never which lives there. this is not difficult as the never
turns out to be a young english girl with some features like a cheetah. she
has pointed ears and prominent whiskers with a wide swatch of spotted fur on
her back. she wears just enough tattered clothing for modesty and little
else. the never does not run nor resist us when we take her to the cage in
the back of the cottage.
her cage is a small rectangular area several meters wide made of thin iron
bars. it is just tall enough for her to stand up right, but the entrance is
a long thin passage barely large enough for her to crawl through. at first
she does resist entering through the crawl space, but i and one other man
have to force her head and shoulders into the opening. once begun, the
never wiggles and squirms her way inside, the metal bars making deep grooves
in her pelt until she emerges in the larger area.
once the never is in her cage, her appearance changes so she just looks like
a normal girl, losing all the cat like features. she paces back and forth
inside, having nothing else to do. there is no furniture of any kind, not
even a blanket to lie upon. she just walks to one end of her cage then
turns to walk back the three strides it takes to get there. we have been
instructed not to feed her nor give her water and never ever to let her out.
no one has said anything about speaking to her, so i sometimes will stand
next to the bars and tell her things, mostly about the weather or events in
the world, but she does not reply or give any indication of interest in my
efforts.
after a couple weeks, a small child comes to stand with me near the cage.
he is a small boy and i get the feeling that he is her son, but no one ever
questions him. ocassionally he will make a short comment about some news
item i am explaining to the never, but he does not talk to her directly and
she gives him no notice whatever.
at last springtime arrives outside with some reluctance to push away the
winter. a few green buds appear on the weedy hedge row. i have the job of
repairing a wicker topiary shaped like a rhinocerous that has fallen into
disrepair during the foul weather. there is no lack of dead vines for me to
weave into the gaps, but i am not a skilled sculptor so the rhino has some
uneven spots when i am finished.
i have decided that we have no reason to continue the captivity of the
never. she is obviously some supernatural creature, able to pace her cage
constantly without any rest or sustainance at all. other than the pacing
she has never indicated any desire to escape or frustration with her
circumstances, but i have begun to feel a growing reluctance to have her
confined without reason.
when i open the door to her cage, she is at first unwilling to crawl back
through the short crawlway. only when the small boy comes over to encourage
her does she finally submit to squeezing her way out.
the fur and cat like features return when she emerges from her captivity.
she does not bolt away but just stands there looking at me with her large
brown eyes. i want to touch her and take her in my arms to hold her, but i
know she would be uncomfortable with this.
i open the door to the cottage and have to gesture that she can leave. the
never does not want to be touched if she can avoid it so she steps outside
when i indicate it is time for her to leave. once out she takes a few
tentative steps then dashes quickly over the fence and away toward the
horizon. it is a joy to see her stretch her legs out and bound in ever
larger strides. i can not imagine that i will ever see her like again.
=( awake at 08:35. this dream has a placid somewhat empty feeling to it.
there are other people staying with me in this cottage but other than the
small boy they just seem supply a feeling of consensus without interaction.
there was a bit of dialog with a woman, probably a landlady who managed the
property, at the start when we moved into the cottage, and i remember
telling her that she would have to repeat this for to me to recall it. she
said she would but never did and i have forgotten it before i could write it
into this journal. i think she said there were five things we had to do
while staying there, and they all seemed important at the time but keeping
the never confined was the only one i can recall now. i suppose that using
the term 'never' as a noun to describe this miraculous being is related to
our injunction to never release her. i am a little surprised that there
seemed to be no consequences when i did finally free her. perhaps the dream
ended too soon to discover what happens with the never running free. she
was just in the house when we found her so i wonder what risk or reason
there was for her long confinement.
perhaps i seem to be waiting for this release that never seems to come and
has little or no consequence when it does. )=
--
stankuli@...
. i swear it happened just like this:
=== a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss,
| | and the gates of love, they budged an inch,
--- but nothing much has happened since.
-- l cohen (1992) closing time
--
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