During the last days of 2002 and the first days of 2003, members of the
World Dreams Peace Bridge journaled a huge lot of peace dreams. As the
world's only ongoing group dreaming experiment, the Peace Bridge is also the
most expressive long-term journaling group as well.
I can hardly do justice here to the breadth and scope of over thirty
dreamers, recording dreams over a three week period, from countries as far
flung as Australia, Korea, the United States and German, but I will try.
Because I suspect that these dreams may be the clearest expression we have
of the World Dream, or the dreams for peace of people around the world.
The cycle of year-end dreams began appropriately enough, with a dream from
Victoria in Australia, who dreamed of a sweet little girl ghost who, she
said, made her wonder if the Zeitgeist of the current time is not this
child. Victoria's dream took place just before the December 21, 2002,
Solstice, celebrated by Peace Bridge members joining others from around the
world in the annual Planetary Dream, sponsored by Roger Ripert at
Oneiros.com.
The theme of the Planetary Dream in 2002 was World Peace, and dreams can be
found at
http://www.oniros.fr/dreams02.html
For myself, the year-end dreams have contained a number of jokes, surprises,
and verbal puns, something which seems to have been shared by others as
well.
In my own Solstice dream, I dreamed of a news reporter, who is depressed and
frustrated because the newspaper he works for won't report the "good news."
Then he realizes that he can publish a column on the Internet entitled
"World Peace Is Free."
When I reported this dream to dreamchatters, so Roger could put it online, I
actually had a couple of people write back volunteering to write columns for
this venture. Who knows what might happen?
That same night, from Sweden, Juhani wrote: "I remember just a short
snippet. My dream was something about two arguing Norwegians. I remember
just that short snippet. The case was solved somehow in a peaceful way."
Richard, in California, had a dream he called "Three Ways to Take Flight."
Take a look at the last line for a possible planetary message. Maybe we
need to learn a little more about flying.
I'm at an ocean beach and it is a delightful day, partially foggy. Many people
are at the beach, but its not crowded. I have just come out of a hotel and
am making my way down to the beach with some friends when we come across a
group of people about to go para-sailing. A motor boat speeds along the
shoreline a the flyer rises high up above the beach in a beautiful
blue/purple sail. It looks less like a parasail than it does the kind of
parachutes used by precision jumpers, more rectangular with puffy ridges.
We learn that they are experimenting with various ways to fly. The group
tries a second method , more like using the natural wind from the beach,
like a hang-glider. The flyer runs along the beach until the wind catches
the kite like sail and takes him up into the air.
Soon a third experiment is in progress. This time a little rocket is
attached to the back of a man and he holds a very stiff set of wings. We are
all a bit concerned that the rocket will blow up or shoot him too fast
across the beach, but soon he is flying just fine, and at this point I am
the rocket man, flying across the beach with all the people getting smaller
below me. Its quite exhilarating, though I wonder if these little stiff
wings can carry me once the rocket fuel is out. end.
But then came the most surprising Planetary Dream of all. Peace Bridge
member, Nick, from Australia, reported on an ongoing lucid dream experiment,
which has been taking place through his web site, Dream of Peace. Rather
than interpret what he had to say, I'll give it to you in his own words:
Planetary Team Dream
For the last seven months I've been part of a group of dreamers, sharing
dreams on a rather regular basis. We initially used email to communicate,
and were spread around the world. This team is more than just a group for
dream interpretation. The aim is to get people involved in the arts of
active dreaming. The use of dreams, as a source of creativity, healing, to
undertake group journeys and to recover previously unknown information. I am
especially excited by the idea of teams of dreams working together with a
common goal.
Recently a second group was formed, with members from a dreaming forum known
as Lucid Dreaming 4 All (ld4all.com).
Some of the members mentioned in this
story, are Explora (myself) from Melbourne, Australia; Pilot from the USA;
Aydira from Michigan, USA; and Atheist from Canberra, Australia. A group
normally has between 6-10 people, and involves contributing to discussion
about 2-3 times a week. Anyone interested in joining a dream team can visit
this page:
http://www.dreamofpeace.net/
I am also a member of the World Dreams Peace Bridge
(www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org),
a much larger group discussing dreams and
their role in bringing peace to the world. Here, I found mention of a
project known as the Planetary dream (www.oniros.fr/PD02.html).
The 2002 planetary dream 'is part of a new set of dreams related to the construction
of the new age', and was to take place on the nights of the winter solstice
in the northern hemisphere)
I posted noticed this project of the forum, and although we had interesting
dreams during these nights, it was not until Christmas Day (for Pilot and
Aydira), and Boxing Day (for Explora) that we had these dreams. Looking at
the content of the dreams though, there is no doubt that they had some
relevance to the Planetary Dreams project.
Pilots Dream:
I was doing my homework in math in a small room in an apartment, and I
received an email from LD4ALL which was a long article on the peace project
for today. It was broken down into categories each lasting a few hours. For
the first part we were supposed to imagine reality (what a missed dream
sign!) and I found it strange and I didn't understand what I should be
thinking of. The next part was to think of peace or something like that, and
I was skeptical about its effectiveness yet determined to do it either way.
Aydiras Dream:
In the dream within the dream I was in that living room except there was no
decorations. There was somesort of thing on the floor that i can't really
describe. I, explora and Atheist were there and i think Pilot was also. the
thing was like a um train somehow?... hmm well I'l have to try to explain it
later when more coherent. I'm at a loss for words. We were sitting around it
and we crawled around it, turning it with us, it reminded me of the earth
sort of. I felt full of love. It had pictures on the inner circle of people
in different countries including us on this team. I sat at the place for my
part of the world and the others sat at theirs and we turned it.
A bit later:
I went over to the computer and then I was chatting with explora in a blue
chat room. I was telling him about my Lucid Dream and i remember these words
also one line after another:
Hold (as in embracing someone.)
Love. and then the word
Acceptance (to explain the first word better)
-- Now those are the words that make me thing of that weird train thing that
i couldn't describe...
Response from Pilot:
I tend to think of the groups' dream sharing as a ball of light while
visualizing everybody sitting around it, and energy flowing in and out of
this energy ball and between each other. I also think of you guys in
relation to your names and where you live as you sit in the circle. I'm not
sure if this is the right thing to do but at least it gives me a way to
focusing my intent to share dreams. Sounds very similar to a few things
you've described in your dream.
Explora's Dream:
I am talking to Aydira. I am speaking about using magic to will something to
happen. How we can set our sights on a goal, and watch as gradually the way
towards that goal is made.
-- Explora, http://www.dreamofpeace.net/
As if these wonderful Solstice dreams were not enough, I had to make the
suggestion for a year-end Dream In to the World Dreams Peace Bridge. Kathy,
from Australia, came through with the following suggestion:
"And as for a Dream In, I'd love that. I was thinking yesterday about a
Dream In I'd like to do. I'd like to dream support for all those people I
consider create difficulties in the world (especially in relation to the war
on Iraq).
"Why?
- I feel that all people have compassion within them
- I feel that we can most easily find that compassion by being supported in being just who we are.
"I know it is a bit difficult to give support to those I fear/dislike/am
wary of, etc. And yet I really can't think of any better thing I can do
now. They all will act whatever I do. How they act will depend upon all
that has gone on before in their life, on their character, on their context,
etc. To give them support (real support--no strings attached as to how I
think they should act) is to allow them to expand beyond their habitual
responses. This seems one possible approach to using dreams as a peace
tool.... So what about a DREAM FOR PEACE: support for those we see as our
enemies."
The date was set for New Years, and the dreams poured in. What I will give
you here is a sampling of them:
Those of you who have read the paper "The World Dreams Peace Bridge as a
Long-Term Group Journaling Project", which I presented at the ASD Conference
in Boston in 2002 (available at The World Dreams Peace Bridge site World
Dreams Peace Bridge - History ) might recall one of the initial dreams about
the Peace Bridge, Jody's dream of growing the New Era Seeds. A new Peace
Bridge member, Kat, seems to have carried through on the theme:
I am planting seeds in my garden outside, digging lines in the soil, putting
seeds in the ground and covering them up. I go inside my house. I am in my
bedroom sitting on the bed. I look outside through my circular bubble
window, and I can see the plants have grown, and they look like they have
grown into the beginning of a Medicine Wheel. I see three statues in the
center of the Medicine Wheel, and one of them is a Buddha statue facing me.
I see it very clearly and I am fascinated by it. I get up from the bed and
start putting little statues in every pot of potted plants in my room.
Sharon, also from the United States, had a series of three or four dreams.
Even though she had not read the message about the Dream In, she said, all
of these dreams related to peace and conflict resolution.
"I think thedreams had a specific message for me, and maybe a greater one for the
world," she wrote to the Peace Bridge. "Ever since September 11th, I have
had a hard time not becoming cynical, especially with the U.S. government.
I am in tears when I take a moment to think how many bombs I have paid for
with my taxes. I hate the thought of all the U.S. military actions being
done in the names of U.S. citizens that have no interest in killing others.
"So, for me, the dreams gave me hope. While on the surface, things may look
very grim and bleak, something else, some sort of healing that I'm not aware
of, may be going on under the surface. I just need to continue whatever I
can do to take care of the world...whatever my small piece is. And,
eventually, the healing will come to light.
"Thank you for suggesting these dreamings. Now that I have a glimmer of
hope, my intention this evening for peace and goodness and compassion for
all will be a much stronger beacon."
From Austria, Johanna wrote:
I am in the court of a small house. It is the house of a dog breeder, an
elderly strange woman. The garden is paved and there are kennels for the
dogs. I go inside and walk upstairs to talk to the breeder. I tell her that
she does not treat the dogs well! I am very angry at her.
Not very peaceful, hmmm?
Kathy herself recorded her second dream of the month taking place in
"Aladdin's Cave". She writes:
The Two Gifts
Two gifts came to "me". They floated down from heaven and "I" reached up
and received them. "I'm" on the island (of my Aladdin's Cave dream; but
here it is covered in greenery and not in a cave but in the ocean). The
first gift is a white slab wrapped in celophane. "I" spread it over the
island and loveliness results. The second gift is a black slab. "I'm"
surprised I can use it. "I" break it up into small squares (like chocolate)
and also distribute it over the island. Again loveliness results.
I'm aware after the dream that the "I" in my dream is hardly me at all -
just a certain centre of awareness ???? which i aligned myself with???
(vague). Also I felt, after the dream, that the first gift was something
like ozmocote (spelling?? a slow release fertilizer!!) and the second gift
was really close to peat moss. I awoke three times in the night - found
I'd forgotten the dream, remembered it again fell back to sleep and so on.
What I did forget by the morning was the particular way in which loveliness
appeared - I suspect the forgetting was itself part of the dream - perhaps
because it occurs in so many different forms - and I have to find the
particular form for me.
And finally, May, who is originally from China, had what could be called the
yin and yang of all dreams:
OH!
I suddenly become aware that this boy, about 14 or 15, has been in the
neighborhood for quite some time. I?ve heard people saying how industrious
he is, that he is working to save up money to go to college. I?m impressed.
What he does is between a paper route and selling magazine subscriptions. I
buy two "subscriptions" from him, one for myself and one for this middle
aged wm whom I also suddenly realize has been a neighbor for a long time.
The second part has only one image. I see a colorful round object like a
roulette but lies flat on the table like a piece of cardboard. In the
middle there is another circle. I notice there are two words "WISH", "WASH"
alternately appearing in the center circle. EOD
Later, May commented, "I thought the WISH/WASH meant, if we are not positive
in WISHING something good, it'll be a WASH! The "it" here is life? the
world?
So finally we came to the end of the year, with only one set of dreams to
go. Even though Jeremy was not consciously participating in any of these
activities, since he was vacationing in New Zealand at the time, when it
came time for the January 10th ASD Dream Activists' monthly "Awakened Heart"
dreaming, Jeremy sent in the following dream:
THE DYING PROFESSOR
I could to the entrance of a huge court, inside a low wall. Perhaps - it is
up slope. I am told by people I am with of a professor who lives there who
is interested in the study of Asian women. I ask if he is a certain person
I?d seen with his hair pushed up. No, this is someone else, and I hear that
I can meet him. The court is wide and long (somewhat larger than a tennis
court) and covered with a thin layer of sparkling blue water with grass at
the sides. We go in and at the far end meet the professor. I feel insecure,
but hear he is dying, so must see him now. I gather my courage. He is lying
down. I say I am interested in his work on History. I say this in Korean. I
can?t remember the word for History and ask one of the others with me. One
said. "Yuksa." The professor is wearing and greenish-purplish Hanbok. Then I
say, "I am interested in women."This might sound strange, so I say "Sim Sa
Im Dang, Taegyo (She was the mother of prenatal education. - Taegyo)" He,
lying on his side) ignores me. Then I say, also "Tae-mong (birth dreams). I
wrote books on these." He looks away. Then I take his hand and ask, "Are you
cold?" He nods, "Yes." Is it "Apa (does it hurt)?"He nods. "Mani apa (much
hurt)?" He nods and is happy. I have returned to the reality of the moment.
Then he gets up and goes to the wide curving top of a rock connected to the
palace. He begins to dance gracefully. It is wonderfully free style Korean
dance, slow and graceful. Soon someone in our group says, "We must go. There
is a line of people waiting to come in and see this area. They heard he was
here." I can see the line behind us, led by Buddhist monks. But I protest.
"He is dancing for us, for me, not for them! He wants me to see!" But I go
with them, all the while looking back at his figure dancing, as he grows
smaller, not wanting to miss a movement. EOD
"The dream has to do with being oneself in the moment and caring for others as
they are, regardless of our accomplishments or theirs. On simply being human
and true, not a false ghost of the past," Jeremy noted.
"The palace comes from the Peace Palace in India where the Peace & Children
conference will be held. The professor is not me - with the hair brushed up
(opposite of mine) but rather a younger Korean man about 50, perhaps rep
Professor Wan a retired Philosophy professor I was talking to my wife about
last night, a dear man we haven?t seen in years. History comes from the book
on Chinese History I was perusing last night. The water court comes from the
wet bowling green I saw in Nelson, N.Z. Green and purple are complimentary
colors. I am afraid Professor Wan who is about 90 will die before we meet
him again. I realize it is artificial to speak of my accomplishments to try
to get someone?s attention or impress him. (once I did this when meeting a
great Korean political cartoonist at his retirement exhibition - he had no
interest in that I wrote poetry). Once I return to simple humanity, I can
reach him or anyone. Simply asking how someone is - anyone, no matter of
what status, and showing genuine concern for their condition brings forth
gratitude, and I must focus on this during my interactions with others.
Coming back to Korea I am faced with much work of various kinds and feel a
bit insecure, even about my appearance. I must focus on the essentials of
being alive and human and this will succor me. Before sleeping last night I
was very weary. Then I did a dance in the dark of the livingroom - a
graceful (to my mind) tribute to the four directions and this revived me
some. The monks at the front of the line imply a death coming - the
professor was dying and they had come to show their respects. But due to my
concern for him, he ha revived. Last night too I called an old American
friend of mine, who told me about a program on Korean dance which he had
wanted me to attend a few days ago. Hence the dancing in the dream.
"This issue of humanity is very important. When I was traveling in N.Z. and
became close to others, I noticed when I mentioned the Peace Train, the
color of our conversation changed - there was something artificial -
business-like, or out of rhythm there, and for a few moments until I changed
the subject something human was lost - even when enthusiasm was received - I
didn?t want it felt that I was befriending them simply because of that, so
once the statement & or request was out, I moved on to something else - more
personal. I had become a movement, a cause, a salesman. And yet, there must
be someway to balance the two, for the Peace Train or any Peace Movement is
about humanity and preserving humanity. Jean, you and Victoria, May and
others I reckon have plenty of experience at this. Our dream group in itself
is a good example of a very human balance."
Liz, responded with what she called an "end of the world dream"
Unfortunately did not write it down.. but it was an 'end of world'
dream -- I was talking to an older male, looked something like Hagrid in
Harry Potter movies, who told me, when we were talking about the world and
what is going to happen, that he received a tarot reading.
It was implied in the dream that it was about the state of the world (as
opposed to the reading being about him personally). In the particular spread
that was layed out (unlike the celtic spread) all tarot cards but three are
used... I can only remember him saying that the "justice" card was one of
the ones *not* pulled (though he did specifically state all three and I
can't remember the other two!) I told him that my son had dreams of end of
world too (and in real life this is true).
"'End of world" seems like a bleak message," Liz said, "and is certainly not
a dream of peace, but thought I'd share it anyway."
And finally, there was my own dream of January 10th, which again reflects
some of the many themes presented in earlier Peace Bridge dreams, and again
involves humor.
"Now we come to the dream from last night," I wrote to the Peace Bridge.
This message, which is straight from my dream journal, is written in the
voice of my "Self" or the automatic writing I use for journaling.
"Generally, you do not record this type of dream, which is very personal, as
a group dream or a world dream. It was only because of the conversation in
the car on the way to Virginia Beach that you remembered the dream at all.
Yet this dream does have a message at both the personal and the global
level. And we want you to recall later that this dream resonates with
Jeremy's last night dream of the dancing professor.
The dream itself is quite simple. You and Anne are in a house, one similar
to the house you live in now, but larger, with larger rooms. The dogs,
Daisy and Song, are out in a fenced back yard.
Similar to the fence in your waking yard, this fence has three gates.
A man comes into the house, someone who lives there, someone with whom you
feel very comfortable. You simultaneously think of the dogs, and wonder
where this man has parked. You realize that, in parking his car, he has
left one of the gates open, and the dogs have probably escaped.
You rush out and call the dogs.
They appear to you. They have gone into a neighboring yard, where there are
children and some other dogs. Daisy comes to you, but Song is on a screened
porch with the neighbors boxer (dog). As you watch, the boxer takes Song's
paw into his mouth.
Oh no! you think, Song will be aggressive with this. He'll have to fight,
and that big boxer will kill him. You begin to run toward the porch, "Stop
them," you yell to a woman on the porch.
Then the boxer simply lets go of Song's paw. You rush to pick Song up and
take him home. From under your arm, he telepaths to you in the laughing
voice of a delighted kid. "He didn't think I was a tasty morsel," he says.
EOD
Now you and Anne already got to an understanding of "thinking out of the
box-er", which is certainly one meaning of the dream. We will focus on the
more public meanings, since they are the ones you will share. At a personal
level, there are meanings concerning various aspects of yourself attempting
to communicate, and you might well meditate on these aspects (even in a body
work sort of way.)
However, at the public level, you have been dealing, as has Jeremy, with the
subject of fame and aggression, with questions about making a public
statement, taking a position of leadership, and how to do that.
The answer, as Jeremy learned, is not to put oneself forward in the usual
ways, which have to do with defensiveness and posturing, but rather to
"think out of the box(er)" or to escape the confines of the ordinary.
The fact is that you were all and are all communicating regularly. We mean
this not in the sense of just people on the Bridge, but all the other
dreamers as well. And further, you are dreaming with all the creatures in
the world, as your communication with the dogs allowed.
What happens say both dreams, yours and Jeremy's, when we allow ourselves to
operate from our hearts and to enjoy the moment, is what happened in each
dream. In Jeremy's dream, the dying man began to dance. And in your dream,
a potentially dangerous situation was defused. "I was only having fun with
him," Song says. "I didn't want to fight, and neither did he. Animals know
when to be aggressive and when not to be aggressive."
These dreams, both of them, are part of an entire series of dreams which
have been leading you since December. And they are part of a series of
dreams which will continue to lead you. As May's dream pointed out so
precisely, wish and wash are side by side at any moment, like yin and yang.
It is the decision of each moment that creates the world you know."
With hopes for the new year, let us all continue to dream.
The World Dreams Peace Bridge is a group that uses personal dreams for public world peace. You can find out more about the WDPB at:
http://www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org
or discussion group: worlddreams-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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