Madam President, Sir

To quote Stevie Ray Vaughan in his song Tic Tock, "Last night while sleeping in my bed, I had a beautiful dream."

I'm at the White House, in some elegantly appointed office. I'm talking to a top aid about submitting my candidacy for president of the US. We're discussing the pros and cons; he's encouraging me to do it. I think, "why not?" and sign the index card which is my submission. Next thing I know, I won. I didn't run a campaign; I was just minding my own business at home (the one I live in now) and news comes that I am now President Elect of the US. I'm amazed and deeply aware of what a huge responsibility lays before me. I see my neighbor across the fence and ask her, "Do you believe I'm elected?" She looks at me openly and says, "You're nervous, huh?" Next I'm at a picnic, talking to President Obama. Now that he no longer has to be president, he's wearing a blue and white striped polo shirt and navy shorts; I call him by his first name and ask him many questions about his experience. He's supportive, warm and congenial and answers my questions honestly. I ask him what cabinet position he'd like because I want him on my team.
Maybe this is what I get for poking around in President Lincoln's dream.
http://litadreaming.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-if-lincoln-had-lived-in-dreaming.html
My teaching point from this dream is about the power of dream imagery to re-energize us on a soul level. I was feeling kinda blue, overwhelmed perhaps; waking up with this dream, I can't get the smile off my face. How a dream makes you feel when you wake up is a huge clue to it's message. For me, this is a soul level message: You're elected. You can do it. This is about my soul's purpose. No one explains this function of dreaming better than Robert Moss:

"One of the greatest gifts of dreaming is that it puts us in touch with soul. It takes us beyond the limited understanding of the everyday self and shows us who we are, what our soul’s purpose is in this life experience and what our heart truly yearns for. There is a word for this vital function of dreams in the language of the Huron, a dreaming people of North America. The word is ondinnonk, and it means a "secret wish of the soul", especially as revealed in dreams. This expression takes us to the heart of healing. By connecting with our dreams, and celebrating and acting on the information they gift to us, we bring the energy and magic of soul into our daily lives. As we allow our big dreams to take root in this world, we become whole and well, and start living our deeper story. As we help others to honor and celebrate their soul guidance, as revealed in dreams, we become healers and dreambringers."
(from Dreaming True).

Soul work in dreams doesn't have to manifest sanctimoniously. Humor is a favorite teaching tool of the dream source, something I truly appreciate. My experience working with other people's dreams suggests that it's not just me; dream humor is widespread. (I think divinity without humor is dangerous; following humorless divinity leads to a lot of unnecessary suffering, in my opinion.)

This dream tells me I'm up for the challenge my life is presenting; there are several layers of meaning I can explore in it. Psychologically, I can be president of us, me and all my moods and thoughts and experiences; my ego is strong enough to find the right balance. That's one way to look at it. Or, perhaps I will be asked to take a leadership role of great responsibility in the future. Definitely, it's a dream I'm going to re-enter soon and continue my discussions, especially with Barack. This little dream is a gold mine.

I'm grateful for this kind of support and guidance from my dream life and I offer it as just one wee example of the power of an on-going dream dialogue and practice.

As for me; I'm humming a new tune today:



United States Air Force Band

Flush Rush: A Waking Dream

In my waking dream, a little bald man, something like the Wizard of Oz, has the microphone and is broadcasting the most insane bullshit about a Georgetown University law student, Susan Fluke, who testified before congress about the importance of insurance assistance for obtaining safe birth control for a college/graduate school woman student. This man behind the curtain suggested that this student should have to submit sex tapes of herself so that taxpayers like himself can watch and get something out of the exchange.

Knowing how to handle icky dreams:

First, I throw up, preferably on his shoes, because it’s such a visceral shock to my system that a media figure with his outreach should advocate this criminal intent toward a young woman; (remember, our nation is currently watching the results of such an awful invasion of privacy, something that was intended as a joke, in the Rutgers students’ trial).

Second, I ask, what will women say about this stupid ass comment? Will they say, "Enough! Who are you to legislate my sexuality?" While Viagra and Cialis are constantly promoted, religious farts are arguing about my right to use birth control, let alone have a safe and legal abortion? Who died and left them in charge? What century is this?

In my waking dream, women don’t allow such idiocy, such harmful idiocy, to go unaddressed. Like the backlash incurred when the Komen Foundation cut financial support of Planned Parenthood, there’s a tidal wave of response from women and men who value mutual respect, partnership and equal rights for women. Everyone is saying; “Enough. I will not support a party politically who calls this entertainment nor will I endorse this entertainer. His slander affects not only Ms. Fluke, but also my daughter, my niece, my friend’s daughters.

Ms.Fluke is an accomplished law student willing to make an intelligent public statement on this important issue, the right of any woman to have safe, affordable access to birth control. I can’t believe this is still an issue! Limbaugh's base approach to this young woman, to this issue and to his women listeners is so unacceptable to the majority of Americans, in my waking dream, that he loses his show and has to move to Afghanistan and join the Taliban where he once again can feel appreciated for his views on women.

Measured against this young woman’s commitment, vision and intelligence, Rush Limbaugh sounds like a seismic jerk. He obviously owes her an apology, but he also owes every woman an apology. I hope he doesn’t have daughters, or is he the kind of patriarchal guy Lot was when he said to the angry mob outside his house, “No don’t harm these male guests; harm my daughters instead”.

In my dream, American women and American men get up and say to the presumptuous males who hold a hearing on contraception and do not allow Fluke or any other woman’s input, “Here’s your pink slip”.

In my dream, every time I and every other woman or girl using toilets flush, we say: Flush, Rush. Now I don’t mean him personally; I mean what he represents: The old back room boy, the in-with-the-big-boy boys, and the patriarchal women haters. I flush that ideology. I reject that behavior. And I am speaking out against it.

Pretty soon, we can get rid of crap like this. I suppose we just need to give a shit.

Remember what Yeats predicted:

The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

It doesn’t have to be like this, that’s my waking dream.

Sexual Healing Dreams, Ode to Spring

I sometimes refer to myself as Pagan, (which comes from a lovely Latin word for person of the earth, or country). Pagans recognize Feminine, as well as, Masculine divinities. Feb 2nd, now affectionately known as “Ground Hog Day” was once the pagan celebration of Spring. Imbolc, as this holiday is known in Celtic traditions, is dedicated to Spring and the Goddess/Creatrix, Brigid. Brigid is patroness of many things, among them, art in all its manifestations. She is the fire of creativity deep within our souls. “Imbolc” means, “fire in the belly”. It’s the official pagan beginning of Spring.

This year in the NE, it’s easy to believe Spring is here; years like last, it was more of a leap of faith. But even with snow on the ground, country people recognized that seeds are waking up under ground, the sap is flowing in the maples and animals are getting frisky. It’s no surprise that February has a Valentine’s day, a celebration of erotic love. According to Wikipedia, the month’s name derives from Februa, a Roman Spring purification ritual performed on the February full moon. Wiki also says; “Some sources connect the Latin word for fever (febris)…” To me Spring and February connote libido in all its glorious manifestations, erotic and creative, heating up existence, as in "you give me fever".

Taking advantage of this fire in Nature’s belly I’d like to wax poetic about one of my favorite topics, sex in dreams. The delicate or faint hearted among you may want to stop reading here.

I’m of the opinion that when women aren’t having happy orgasms, they get grumpy or depressed. I’d say it’s that way for me and for many of the women with whom I’ve discussed this, (the same may be true for men; I don’t know). I define “happy orgasm” as an orgasmic experience that leaves me feeling good about myself and, if I’m with a partner, good about that person, too.

I wonder how many people feel deprived of such joy and release in life; and I wonder how different it might be for many if the sexual pleasure dreams offer were to be accepted and explored. I know this is a touchy subject :-), but there is such potential for healing here. It’s a personal healing that doesn’t need to be shared with anyone; it’s kind of like what happens in Vegas...this is the dream world (or worlds). I can experience things on different levels of reality, differently.

Without guilt, for one. One of my favorite jokes is; religion is guilt with different holidays. If I can fly, breathe under water, walk through walls and experience the Light in dreams, then why should I deny a good orgasm when I’m offered it?

Each person has his or her sexual paradigm founded on many personal conscious and unconscious factors, but our cultural paradigm is a shared, consensus reality. Let’s face it, sexual paradigms in our culture suck. There’s extreme repression in the religious/moral camp and extreme exploitation in the sex sells consumer camp.

In dreams we're offered alternate scenarios; our dreams may offer a playground for sexual healing and release that is completely personal, private and the safest of safe sex.

As Dorothy Sayers famously said, “The only sin passion can commit is to be joyless.”

In dreams, we can be safe, be loved and be free of material world consequences. One caution, I would never submit to any entity or any character in a dream state that is asking me to do what I don’t want to do. But if a fun opportunity presents itself, I feel free to explore it.

How each woman gets her happy orgasm is her business; I am here to say that for young and old alike, never underestimate the power of a dream to get us over that rainbow not just once, in the dream, but in countless private re-entry sessions, (like the fantasy script one could use while one makes love to oneself). It’s easier to be a good lover to another if we’ve embraced our own sexuality.

I don’t mean sexiness; I’m saddened by the epidemic of insecurity and uniformity I see in many women trying to replicate cultural icons. I am very excited, though, by many young women who are taking their lives and talents into their own hands, despite social pressures, like Adele.

Dream orgasms may freak some people out. Maybe, in your dream, you were making love to the pope or somebody else totally inappropriate. (OMG, I just thought of a fabulous reference to this that I read many years ago,a short story titled, "Pope Innocent XV: Scenes from a Dream" by Rose Solomon in the wonderful anthology, "Ladies Home Erotica")

There are plenty of ways to ponder erotic dreams that can prove very healing.

First, of course, eliminate from the erotic category any dream that is a replay of a traumatic waking event, a Post Traumatic Stress Dream. No dream with waking reality traumatic, repetitive content should be handled lightly, and best not alone. A trained therapist with dream experience should be able to offer the guidance necessary to use such dreams for healing.

That said, if it’s my sexy dream, I’d ask myself these questions: “How do I feel waking up and in my dream? What do I like about this dream lover, setting, action, image? Am I witnessing a relationship in another life, past or future, or on another level of reality? Is there dream content about unconscious feelings I might wish to address compassionately with myself? Do I want to call an ally and re-enter in a conscious dream to dialogue, get information or experiment with other outcomes? Is this dream a ten on the level of my favorite sexual fantasies?

It’s always important to assess how you feel; is the story disturbing, titillating, horrifying or absolutely pleasurable, even if it’s weird and freaks my ego out?

I admit, I prefer the uncomplicated sexual dreams that feel just plain good, like when Eric Clapton and I had a lovely affair while he was here giving guitar lessons to Jim. (Shortly after I dreamed this, Clapton’s yacht, the Blue Guitar, anchored outside of Charles Island, CT, probably on his way back from visiting Keith. A musician friend rang our bell early that morning to tell us it was there and we marched to the beach, just feet away, with binoculars. What are the chances of an Eric citing if you don’t live next door to him?).

I especially value my dreams of a lover that is a stranger, a person clearly in another dimension, a parallel reality. In my dream, I meet him and get to know him; the fire heats up between us. I can enjoy that dream adventure to the (cli)max; yet still, transfer that energy, that positive feeling, into my waking dimension on this material plane. When my dreams grant me such pleasure, whoooo, baby, I can use those scenarios for years. Lucky for me, new ones come along frequently enough, keeping it always fresh.

All I’m saying is, why suffer in misery when you can look to your dreams for a little excitement? As many have heard me say, it’s the safest sex there is. Keeping a journal ensures that you’ll always have access to your own best material. And who knows, dreams might help you write the next great bodice ripper. Hmmmm, now there’s a thought.

Happy dreams, my friends.

This sensational nude, fittingly titled "Dreaming" is painted by award winning pastel artist, Mally DeSomma
http://www.finelineartgallery-connecticut.com/mdesomma.htm or
http://mdesomma.com/

What if Lincoln Had Lived in a Dreaming Society?

Coming up, just after Valentine's, is President Lincoln's Bday. One of my favorite dream stories from history is that Lincoln had a precognitive dream about his assassination ten days before he was assasinated. Here's the account told by his friend and bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon. (taken from Lehrman Institute website)

"In the last month of his life, Mr. Lincoln had several strange dreams, one of which he related to his wife and Ward Hill Lamon shortly before he was assassinated: "About ten days ago I retired very late. I had been up waiting for important dispatches from the front. I could not have been long in bed when I fell into a slumber, for I was weary. I soon began to dream. There seemed to be a death-like stillness about me. Then I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. I thought I left my bed and wandered downstairs. There the silence was broken by the same pitiful sobbing, but the mourners were invisible. I went from room to room; no living person was in sight, but the same mournful sounds of distress met me as I passed along. It was light in all the rooms; every object was familiar to me; but where were all the people who were grieving as if their hearts would break? I was puzzled and alarmed. What could be the meaning of all this? Determined to find the cause of a state of things so mysterious and so shocking, I kept on until I arrived at the East Room, which I entered. There I met with a sickening surprise. Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who were acting as guards; and there was a throng of people, some gazing mournfully upon the corpse, whose face was covered, others weeping pitifully, 'Who is dead in the White House?' I demanded of one of the soldiers. 'The President,' was his answer; 'he was killed by an assassin!' Then came a loud burst of grief from the crowd. I slept no more that night; and although it was only a dream, I have been strangely annoyed by it ever since." " Mrs. Lincoln was shocked by the story: "That is horrid! I wish you had not told it."

I ask myself, "What if Lincoln had lived in a dreaming society? What if I am president and this is my dream?"

I wake up in a sweat and say, "Holy Shit. This is serious." I calm down, take slow, deep in the belly breaths, I tell myself to calm, focus. I thank the dream source for this warning. When I feel ready, I re-enter the dream in a conscious, twilight state so I can ask some questions. I see myself before the catafalque facing the soldier who just gave me the news. I say, I am your president, tell me everything that has happened here. I engage that character until I've gotten all I can, then I turn to myself in the coffin and say, "Abe, what happened, tell me everything." After that, I raise the alarm; get all the guards organized and put everyone on the alert that an attack on the president's life is imminent"

Now, I'm ready to take action in waking life. I rouse Mary and summon Ward. Sitting at the table with tea, I share my dream with my dear, clairvoyant wife and my trusted friend. I see fear in Mary's eyes turn to resolve. She'll dream on this, too, she tells me, and consult her dream group now. Ward has summoned all the Captains of the Guard for an emergency briefing.

Indeed, the alert works. Instead of low security at the theater, the security is covert and intense. JWB is recognized as an intruder, arrested for drunken vagrancy, and kept a few days in the tank. After his hangover wears off, that moment in time is over, he gives up his lunatic ways and goes home.

This is my dream of President Lincoln's dream.

If only he hadn't said, it's only a dream. If only Mary had recognized the jolt of power in that dream instead of cringing before a possible nasty patch. If only Ward had said, so reality check, Abe. What feels most real to you about this dream? What did you find out when you went in? You've got my word I'll put together the guard, see that they all hear the dream and are on the alert. This dream's a gift, Abe.

If only Abe had lived in a dream sophisticated society. I can't help but wonder.

The Art of Dream Sharing

There are few activities more pleasurable to me than teaching anyone who wants to learn about creating a dream dialogue in their lives and taking it to the level of a spiritual practice. Often a student raises an issue that I want to write about here.

One aspect of Active Dreaming is honoring the dream. Robert's work with indigenous American cultures led him to incorporate this practice in his teaching. It means doing something actively, perhaps creatively, to manifest the energy of the dream in waking reality, thereby respecting the dream dialogue the way one might respects a wise friend's advice.

An obvious thought might be that if I dream of a person I know, I might share that dream with them as a way to honor my dream, right? Yes, but not without a caveat or two.

The art of dream sharing is a delicate matter that needs discernment; I believe it shouldn't be done as a matter of course, for several reasons:

Dreams need digestion. Writing them down paints a picture that evolves as I contemplate it. Unless the dream is uber funny and I know my friend will enjoy the laugh, I don't share it right away.

I want to know what it means to me first. I start, as Robert suggests, with the emotional tone of the dream; how do I feel waking up and how does my dream self feel?

I ask myself when I dream of another,is this the actual person or some aspect or idea about that person that applies to me at the moment? I might want to re-enter the dream, consciously, like a daydream, and talk to that person I recognize and see what they have to say to me. This might help me determine whether I share the dream with the person in waking.

Some dreams can have a negative transference effect when shared, even unintentionally. If in your dream, I'm upset about my hair falling out and you tell me this dream, I might think that cancer treatments cause your hair to fall out. I might worry that I have cancer, unless I'm in touch with my dreams and already have a good handle on what I need to know about my health. If this didn't occur to you before sharing your dream, you really didn't ponder it enough.

It's so easy to project ideas on to others, especially when conveyed in the language of dreams, images. Images stick with you (just ask Madison Ave) and unexplored negative images tend to be icky-sticky, the stuff of icky dreams. I've written a couple of times about how to work with these, so suffice it to say that images of this nature require exploration by the dreamer.

Dreams are in the service of health and healing. Any dream I do consider after pondering may convey a warning about another person's well-being requires me to use great judgment. Is my sharing this with them going to prove helpful to them or cause them anxiety? How can I best help if I feel I should? I may decide to incubate another dream for clarification of what I can do. Perhaps I'll be watchful for an opportunity to present to the person, not necessarily the dream imagery, but some support or suggestions that can be useful and positive. (There's another tool in Active Dreaming called Dream Transference; it's a powerful way to help people deal with difficulties using dream images. I'll save a more detailed description for another post.)

If I don't feel a dream will be immediately helpful, I record it so I have the fresh account, but I don't share it until I feel it can help. And, if I am sharing a dream health warning with another person or if a person shares a dream I suspect may carry one, I'm extremely delicate about probing this possible meaning. I might gently suggest, "If it's my dream, I'd wonder why I'm losing hair. Is this a transition I'm going through? I think I'd like to re-enter my dream and speak with my dream self about what's going on." I would not necessarily bring up cancer and hair loss. I trust a person's intuition to arrive at the conclusion they need from their own consideration of the dream.

Another possibility when I dream of a person I know is that this dream character presages a person I'm going to meet in future waking reality that reminds me of the person I'm dreaming about. Or, perhaps as I've been pondering with you in previous posts, it's an experience I'm having with this person on another level of reality or in the dream reality. In that case, I may want to pursue the relationship on that plane and not necessarily seek to manifest it on this one, unless synchronicity makes it so.

There is nothing wrong with sharing dreams with someone. My husband and I star in each other's dreams regularly and share our dreams often; I choose which dreams I'll share and to what extent, as I'm sure he does, too. I know of dreamers who have shared a dream that meant nothing to them with a colleague or acquaintance they've dreamed about and the dream has carried great meaning for that person in waking. Some message may indeed come through in a timely and beneficial way; we often know through our own intuition when to tell someone a dream. Still, there is a dream diplomacy, an art to sharing and co-working with dreams. That's why I teach and write about Active Dreaming; it has some of the most valuable tools for playing with and honoring dreams individually or with others that I know. I'm blessed to have the opportunity to do this and lucky when a student helps me teach.

(This beautiful photograph was taken by my dear friend, Nancy Hammett, on her visit to the Grand Canyon recently and used with her permission. It's an amazing waking dream scape and I couldn't wait to share it on my blog. Here's a link to her NIA studio:
http://www.soundmindandbodyct.com/)

I and Thou: Dream Characters and Other People

Still reading Robert Waggoner's book on lucid dreaming (see previous post) and am delighting in the chapter: "Independent Agents and the Voice of the Unconscious" in which he poses some intriguing ideas:

"Taught to believe and expect that the entire dream exists as our imagined projection, that we dream it into being, many lucid dreamers naturally resist any notion of not completely creating and controlling the dream. Yet, these conversations suggest a new level of inherent complexity in dreaming. With experience, lucid dreamers come to realize that the dream space contains various types of dream figures, behaving with varying degrees of awareness." p.58

What, who, where are the characters in our dreams? Are they aspects of our own waking personalities that need attention and integration? Of course, but Waggoner raises the possibility of autonomy in some dream characters. A key indicator of a character's autonomy or "otherness" is when he experiences in lucid dream adventures characters who resist his intentions, give him unexpected information or profess independent viewpoints. Are dream characters projections of our own personalities, created by our dreaming minds to instruct our waking egos? Or are they, as in our waking experience, independent beings, separate from us and capable of choice, as we are?

A little mind blowing, perhaps, but how valuable a consideration. What's wonderful about the dream world is anything is possible. It doesn't have to be one way or the other; it can be both, or entirely different than expected, so dreaming offers a model for expanded consciousness and creativity in the waking world.

In ancient alchemical teachings, inner and outer realities mirror each other, as above, so below. I find this is very true with dreaming. What I learn in the dreaming, can usually come in handy in waking reality. Reflecting on waking experience, how much of what I know about other people is my own projection based on my own needs, much as I might assume the shadow figures and animus gents in my dreams are? The negative things I see about people and the people I put on a pedestal, if they were dream figures, how would I see them? Why would they be in my dream?

Considering the autonomy of dream figures in my dreams heightens my sense of my own autonomy and that of others, those I like and those I don't, in waking life. I'm more mindful of my waking projections and also more eager to look at my dreams for that spark of independence in people I encounter. Perhaps these are other dreamers sharing my dream locale or people who lived in another time or on another dimension?

One of my favorite authors, Ursula LeGuin, writes about outer space as a metaphor for inner space. In her view, inner space is the real frontier for exploration, available through the vast unconscious to all of us. Dreams help me understand myself better, and they help me understand others. In my dreams there are scenarios, like when I find myself in traffic on a highway or when I'm riding on a train or bus. that say to me, "We are multitudes, but we're all in this together." I take that feeling into my waking relationships.

The idea that dream figures may in some cases be autonomous just as I assume people in waking life are creates another dimension of exploration every time I cross the threshold of sleep. At the same time, realizing that even in waking life, people I meet reflect for me some aspect of myself, especially when they elicit strong emotional reaction, helps me interact more mindfully with everyone, keeping a check on my projections and truly honoring each individual and his or her unique life journey.

Magic is in Your Hands

My title carries a double entendre. One because I'm talking about the practice of dreaming and two because I'm in the midst of reading a fun book by Robert Waggoner, Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self, in which the author recalls using Castaneda's teachings from Don Juan:

"Don Juan suggests to Castaneda a simple technique to "set up dreaming" or become conscious in the dream state. 'Tonight,in your dreams you must look at your hands.'" pg. 6.

Ah, yes, me too. I loved reading Castaneda's adventures with Don Juan as a teenager and beyond.

Happy New Year everyone.

I wish that everyone who has an interest in dreaming pursue it.

I see vast new territories for dreamanauts like myself to explore; ( I made up this word. A popular term in the literature is oneironaut, based on the Greek word for dream, but English is my principal language at the moment. so I like dream-astronaut or dreamanaut.)

The magic of dreaming is close at hand, always. It's easy to start your own practice and have fun, plus reap the benefits of self-knowledge and personal growth. It doesn't have to be something you do everyday, one more chore. Let it happen when it does; write it down when you do. Just pay more attention. Perhaps, discuss dream events more with friends. I follow much of the teaching of Robert Moss and his Active Dreaming practice for dream play, but any approach that works for you is fine.

I've written a lot here about developing a dreaming practice, so that's not what this post is about. It's about a new year and magic at hand. I hear many people I respect talking about new consciousness and spiritual opportunity; in their messages, I hear cautious optimism and wild hope for the future. It makes me believe 2012 will bring many good things in the service of Love.

Speaking of growth in the service of Love, people talk a lot about the need for self-esteem, which is after all, self love. Knowing yourself in your capacity as a dreaming being is one of the most liberating, self affirming experiences for the ego on this planet. I think so and so do the many dreamers I know. Dreams are healing magic, excitement, wisdom and adventure; kind of like the six flags of the night.

It's in each human being's power to consult her or his inner wisdom through his or her dreams. Connecting to dreaming more frequently; perhaps seeking guidance from dreams, are practices that anyone can adopt. There's fabulous teaching out there in books and media for anyone who wants to launch. And, of course, I write this blog to inspire you.

Have you looked at your hands lately?

This ink drawing was a wedding gift from a dear college friend; it's sign language for "the Christ". A friend of hers, Charlotte Graesser Henderson, is the artist.