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because poetry is the waking dream
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Dream Steps - a Bloneironicweblog for the exploration of dreams - oneironics
July 02 Shaman ShrinksLong before Sigmund Freud...
...long before Carl Jung...
...the Iroquois of North America practiced their own form of psychotherapy:
"The Iroquois believe that disease, illness, and other calamities arise in dreams and that dreams are closely related to the desires of the shadow, or soul, of the individual.
"They assert that dreams are an avenue between the conscious behavior of the patient and the desires of the unconscious, and that any discrepancy between the two must be resolved through the granting and fulfilment of whatever it is the soul wishes.
"Although unsatisfied desires are thought to cause unhappiness and illness, the desires of the soul are inborn and concealed, and only the shamans, who are both dream and thought specialists, are able to identify them. Once known, such desires may be satisfied, subject to the sanction of the community and with its support, the patient can recover."
The above passage comes from Norman Bancroft Hunt's excellent book, Shamanism in North America.
© 2008, Michael R. Patton June 29 The Tooth of the Matter"Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white"
-- Mack the Knife from The Threepenny Opera
A simple enough dream. A simple enough message...
...but not so easy to follow. In the dream...
...a film crew shoots a documentary about sharks. This film will show how sharks are necessary.
I see a shot of two sharks, side by side, touching their snouts together.
So what do I know about sharks? Well, I know they can track blood for incredibly long distances through the water. I know they act on instinct. When they see a possibility...
...they strike.
I think this dream may relate to my recent "mafia" dreams (see entry for June 22). My shark dream tells me that I'm not seeing the positive side to this lower energy--this survival impulse.
I need to use this raw instinctual energy.
I know that when I follow my instincts--or, by another name, intuition--I point myself in the right direction. When I act spontaneously on that information, I succeed or, at least, avoid disaster.
But my life is a little more complex than the world of your average shark. I have considerable considerations to consider.
And that's the problem--the complications do get complicated. I need to use my acute shark instinct to cut through all that bric-a-brac and arrive at what I truly need.
© 2008, Michael R. Patton
sky rope (subterranean rappel): http://skyrope.blogspot.com ear-nest audio: http://soultime.livejournal.com email: dreamstepsblog@hotmail.com June 25 A Real Story"It's true that it's a real story." - from the movie, No Country for Old Men
This story comes from an excellent book, Shamanism in North America, by Norman Bancroft Hunt. Make of it what you will:
"In a Haida [tribal] tale, a young boy dreamed he had visited the Ghost World. He had vivid memories of the journey and of meeting people who told him they were his deceased relatives and invited the boy to join them.
"A matronly woman, his dead aunt, showed special affection for him, and a girl his own age invited him to play.
"He recalled how kindly everyone was, and that if they had not told him they were dead people he would never have known they were ghosts.
"The chief, however, forbade the boy to touch any of the food they offered and asked if his mother knew he was there. When the boy said she did not, the chief told him he was not yet ready to die and should go back to his mother.
"On waking, the boy was told that he had been in a death-like coma for four days, and that it was only the intercession of a powerful shaman which had persuaded the Chief of the Ghosts to send the boy back, thus saving his life."
So does this story have any reality? Of course it does--it's a story.
© 2008, Michael R. Patton
sky rope (subterranean rappel): http://skyrope.blogspot.com audacious audio: http://soultime.livejournal.com email: dreamstepsblog@hotmail.com June 22 Mafia Lamb"The lamb will lie down with the lion. But the lamb won't get very much sleep." -- Woody Allen
I'd rather be covered with leeches than hang out with mafia types. So this recent dream troubled me:
I'm walking down a city street toward mafia headquarters with a tall, thin mafioso.
I don't want to go to there. But I this guy can be erratic. If I try to back out, he might explode.
Inside the door, he disappears down a hall. I have to wait in the lobby. I see a coffee urn, but don't find any cups.
We're here for a group meeting--though I'm not actually part of the group. I know I can't trust these fellows. They can turn on you in a flash.
What do I associate with the mafia? Basic survival energy. Not just survival in the physical sense, but also survival of the ego. Anyone can be seen as a threat at any moment.
That's why they're so erratic.
But I'm certainly an easy prisoner: no one has to hold me, no one has to force me. I go along because I'm afraid to oppose this low form of ego energy.
Well, it is powerful--like a wild animal. How can I control a wild animal?
I can't. But I can keep it from controlling me. I may be afraid, but I can act in defiance of my fear. It's possible--as long I remain aware. I can go in the opposite direction, away from that drab gray building and toward freedom. Toward a place of cups.
© 2008, Michael R. Patton sky rope (subterranean rappel): http://skyrope.blogspot.com earnest audio: http://soultime.livejournal.com email: dreamstepsblog@hotmail.com June 18 Sober Depictions of Our Intoxicated Days What are dreams? A question with many answers. Here are a few I've run across recently: "Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions." - Edgar Cayce "The dream is memory itself changing before your eyes." - Bert States, professor/author, Dreaming and Storytelling "In man, dreams are a window on the neural process whereby, from early childhood on, strategies for behavior are being set down, modified, or consulted." - Jonathan Winson, neuroscientist "Dreaming is, above all, a time when the unheard parts of ourselves are allowed to speak." - Deirdre Barnett, author, The Mind at Night "Dreams are illustrations...from the book your soul is writing about you." - Marsha Norman, author, 'night Mother "A dream is a microscope through which we look at the hidden occurrences in our soul." - Eric Fromm "In dreams the soul confronts "In dreams the mind beholds its own immensity." - The Upanishads
"Those dreams that on the silent night intrude, and with false flitting shapes our minds delude ... are mere productions of the brain. And fools consult interpreters in vain." - Jonathan Swift "Dreams are as advice given by a very wise--very drunk--old man. A wealth of knowledge behind them, yes, but always, always to be treated with cynicism." - M.J. Morris I don't know the dreams of M.J. Morris. But I'd say that our dreams are actually sober depictions of our intoxicated days. © 2008, Michael R. Patton
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Invite as friend
