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Dreamers are couch potatoes. Well, I suppose we
have to be...we focus so much attention on sleep! So, in general, we are not a
very physically active bunch, but boy, oh boy, do we like to talk. And talk. And
talk. Talk about dreams, especially our own dreams, and expand that talk through
dreamwork techniques. But we'll also listen to other people's dreams and read
their dream reports.
So here I come to my dream group, talking about active dreaming. And they
nod, yes, in theory. But actually get up and do something? Well, maybe, if it
doesn't take too long or is very much effort...
What gets dreamers out of their seats? Two sure things that I know of (well,
three, if you include going to the bathroom). First, food. Dreamers will eat,
maybe because mastication is so similar to talking. Besides, you can talk and
munch, talk and crunch. But how can you bring that kind of food to the land of
dreams?
Second, role play. They'll act out a dream. They'll pretend that they are a
dream symbol, a dream character or (rarely) dance the entire dream. They'll do
it alone or with their buddies. Dress up in costume and have a party. But, in
general, those methods apply to the dream of the past. The one they had last
night or last week or even last year. Not to a future dream. Not to the one
they're going to have tonight.
Ah, incubation, they say. Yes, we know about that. That's when you suggest to
yourself that you're going to have this, that or the other type of dream. And
then sometimes you have it, and sometimes (most times) you don't. But they never
say, "Teach me how to dream..."
So I have to trick them. We're going to have an experiment, a project, a
game, I say. And maybe they'll dream along and maybe they won't. But if they do
dream, they sure want to know how other people did.
Dreamers are couch potatoes. But they do have active imaginations. Talk to
them, and their minds can be rolling like a camera, producing inner pictures.
Maybe they aren't even looking at you, because the inner play is so engrossing.
The same applies to dreams. It's rare to read a dream that's a still picture
shot. No, more likely, the dream will be a moving picture. The dreaming self is
an active self.
So I share my active dreams and I tell stories about active dreams. I pretend
that I'm talking to the dreamers, but I'm really speaking to their dreaming
selves. And then, next time we meet, the dreamer will say, "You know,
Linda, after we talked I had this dream..."
Thank goodness the dreaming selves aren't couch potatoes.
CaseyFlyer@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/caseyflyer/fbnc/fbnc01.htm (Fly-By-Night Club)
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