Follow the suggestions in this newsletter and you will aid in the preparation, seeding and watering of a special field of dreams which will flower in the summer. The culmination of our efforts will occur at the 1996 ASD conference. The Association for the Study of Dreams will be meeting at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California from July 9th-13th. But you can play along, whether you will be physically present at the conference or not! Communal Magic has several phases.

Dream Ahead '96 gathers psychic and create-our-own-reality archetypal dreams, prior to July. In this newsletter are tips and goals to help hone your incubation, precognitive and social dreaming skills.

The Magical Mutual Ballroom is the focus for shared dreaming. The goal is to dream of meeting your fellow revelers at the Dream Ball (which occurs in waking reality at the Claremont Hotel Ballroom on Saturday evening, July 13th).

The Flying Carpet will be a mural on the wall of the Claremont Hotel conference Communal Dream Room. This homebase will be the collection point of our social collage, the framework for our group dream "painting." And you help can "paint," literally, by contributing pictures, drawings, and the like. Or you can "paint" word pictures with written dream reports, poetry, comments and graffiti.

The Flying Carpet will include the entire Dream Ahead '96 collection as well as dreams dreamt during the conference period. Because there will be computer connections at the Claremont, if you are at a distance, you will be able to send in dreams via modem to CaseyFlyer@aol.com.
Bit and pieces will come together and form our visual record of the gathering, before it literally happens and while it is symbolically unfolding. It will be interesting to see how much preconference dreaming incubates the actual waking event. How much magic will we invite into our lives?
Select dreamlets and artwork received from Dream Ahead '96 will be published as a Dream Ahead '96 Sampler in the Spring NightFlyer (newsletter of the Fly-By-Night Club). A synopsis of the events, as well as corresponding dream elements, will be published after the conference in the Summer NightFlyer.

A title, date and your full name or pseudonym on your dream reports will help distinguish each special dream. Typed records are easiest for your fellow dreamers to read. Remember-all dream-inspired artistic productions are welcome, too!
Send to Dream Flights, 1083 Harvest Meadow Court, San Jose, CA 95136 or to CaseyFlyer@aol.com.

The Two Dream Programs

Once upon a time in the future there was, is and will be a communal gathering. This gathering takes place in that creative region where intuition turns into imagery, ideas become symbols and from which the known universe arises.

The communal gathering plays in the theater of dreams in two forms. One is literal, the other symbolic. Both programs feature celebration, social connection and merrymaking in The Magical Mutual Ballroom.

Literal Dreaming

If your dreaming mind selects the program marked "literal," then your Communal Magic dreams will correspond to the actual event in the Claremont Hotel Ballroom. In this case your magic will manifest itself in those traditional psychic dreams called precognitive, clairvoyant or telepathic. Because the Dream Ball is already in the planning stage and because it already exists in the minds of folks who will attend in the waking state, the psychic blueprints are available now for dream viewing. Your own dreaming self can serve as a roaming reporter. Whether using video camera or still shots, your dreaming mind can reveal one piece (or several!) of the giant Dream Ball picture puzzle.

Perhaps you might picture a winning costume for the Dream Ball. Or maybe you'll see a fellow reveler who will be there. Or maybe you'll dream of the Claremont Ballroom itself.
What happens at a literal Dream Ball? Music, dancing, talking. Drinks and often food munching. The awarding of ribbons for the dream telepathy contest and for the best costumes. A social, fun gathering at the conference end.

Archetypal Dreaming
But do you have literal-mundane dreams all the time? Does your dreaming self ever shape shift, scene shift, go through walls or travel through time? Do you want to find out? Then target the Magical Mutual Ballroom in the archetypal conference.

If your dreaming mind selects the tape marked "symbolic," then you will unwrap the surface facade to reveal the magic within. For symbolic dreamers, the hall does not have to comply with physical attributes. The activities or appearance of the dreaming selves are not limited to what is possible in the waking state.

Other mutual projects have already provided a sneak peek into this ongoing Big Dream communal gathering. A synopsis of past archetypal dreams will be posted on the Flying Carpet. Past projects revealed that each symbolic dreamer paints an inner picture which is an individual variation on the main theme. But over time, some elements of this long-playing theater of the mind are found to be held in common:

Scenery and props (color, furniture, hall attributes)
Characters (hair color, costume)
Story line (activities)
I'll give you a hint about one favorite activity at this level of existence. The Magical Mutual Ballroom is where the super selves gather. In the archetypal version of the Magical Mutual Ballroom, it is possible to fly.

Dream Ahead Goals

These are suggested goals to give you the flavor of the event. Try as many or few as you wish or come up with some creative variations or combinations of your own. Do them any time. (Consult your dreaming self for the best results!)

#1: Invite The Dreaming Self To Step Forward
Ask your dreaming self, "Will you let your magic shine?" This goal might give you some ideas for a literal outfit to wear to the Dream Ball. But you can also use a variation to preview either the costumes or inner selves of fellow revelers.

#2: Dream Up The Magical Mutual Ballroom
Ask your dreaming self, "What's your favorite social arena?" Use this goal to see if you picture shared space similarly to fellow symbolic dreamers. Or incubate a precognitive dream to preview the literal ballroom.

#3: Greet Your Dream Companions
Ask your dreaming self, "What type of friendly interaction do we prefer?" Dream up a scene in which you socialize with the folks in your dream. Say hello, hug, shake hands, wave, smile, talk.

#4: Practice Flying!
Need we tell you why? Try dual flying or group flying for a change.

ALERT! April 20th is the due date to send in your dreams and drawings for possible publication in the NightFlyer Dream Ahead '96 Sampler.

The Magical Mutual Ballroom: Dated Goals

Now that we've learned our parts and created the scenery, costumes and props in the dream theater, it's time for dress rehearsal. Mark these dates on your calendar.

#5: Dress Rehearsal of the Flying Dreamers: Saturday, May 18th
This is the in-dream meeting at the Magical Mutual Ballroom of the Fly-By-Night Club to practice antics for the final event. What shall we do? Sing the FBNC anthem? Dance in the air? Tell jokes? Discuss dreamwork? Nah, too boring.

#6: Dress Rehearsal of the Participants at the Conference: Wednesday, July 10th
This is the date when ASD conference attendees will be first introduced to the Communal Magic group dreaming project in a conference presentation at the Communal Dream Room. They will view the Flying Carpet and be invited to dream together that night. You can dream along with them, too, if you wish.

#7: Grand Finale-Dream Ball at the Claremont Hotel: Saturday, July 13th
Meet in the waking state; meet in the dream.
Dream Ahead Tips

Incubation Exercise

(This exercise is inspired by the work of Alan Vaughan (author of The Power of Positive Prophecy, HarperCollins, 1991) and Marcia Rose Emery (author of Dr. Marcia Emery's Intuition Workbook, Prentice Hall).

Write out or dictate on a tape recorder instructions such as these before going to bed:
"Hello, dreaming self. Please show me a simple picture I can understand. I will arise early in the morning with the dream picture fresh in my mind. I shall be able to remember it easily and write it down. Its meaning will become clear to me. I will honor your opinion, dreaming self."

About Time Shift

Remember, time is loose in dream reality! You know about precognitive and retrocognitive dreams. Also recall that an incubation can take time to manifest a dream response. Then realize that a dated goal is an incubation.

Mutual goal dates mean that on a particular night, group intent will provide a strong synergistic shot of energy to be "sent" out into the universe. But just as there can be a time delay in receiving mail, so your own mind receiver may not turn on and tune into the energy until you are psychologically prepared to receive it.

So if you do not get a dream on a specified date, don't give up! Try again. In mutual dreaming, the most important question is not, did I time it right? Your best clue is to ask yourself, does this dream have that special social flavor? That's the dream you send in to

Dream Flights
1083 Harvest Meadow Court
San Jose, CA 95136
CaseyFlyer@aol.com

* Cynthia Pearson reports that the Friends In Pennsylvania have agreed to write the lyrics to the Fly-By-Night Club anthem! The melody, you already know. It's the theme from the "Mickey Mouse Club." Tune up your windpipes: the song should be ready for our first waking state Fly-By-Night Club Meeting in July at ASD '96.

* There are plans for a Costume Creation and Assembling event at the '96 ASD Conference in preparation for the Dream Ball. It will take place in the Communal Dream Room on Saturday afternoon, July 13th. Linda Lane Magallon is collecting costumes, cloth and sewing material and art materials for this event.

* For more information about the Conference, contact The Association for the Study of Dreams, PO Box 1600, Vienna, VA, 22183.

see http://www.asdreams.org