Satisfying Dream, remote dream by Bill

I lived in an apartment building with about 20 units. A good mix of seniors, families with kids, interesting single folks, etc.

Everyone else in the building was wonderful and friendly to talk to, and there was a playground out back full of kids and all the kids were hanging out back there, playing hopscotch or basketball, etc.

I remember that I was deeply aware that this was my day This was my life. I felt very centered and at peace with how I was spending my time with these foks. There was nothing else to do that day but interact with my neighbors and sort of visit and hang out for a bit and then perhaps help one of the elderly ladies with her groceries, that sort of thing. It was really pleasant. There was even a busybody neighbor, very much like Mrs Kravits on Bewitched, she came to my door to discuss a tenant’s pet cat that keeps getting thru the gate. It seemed that she was basically trying to get me to fix the gate, but I countered her with pointing out that even if the holes in the gate were fixed, the cat would be able to just jump over the gate or something and then the busybody lady sort of hemmed and hawed with no further strategy to sway me to her side and get me to fix the gate. Odd detail but it was a really nice, pleasant place to be.

Also pleasant because (I’ve read that) dreams of a structure or a building are said to represent the self. Therefore to have such a dream where the basic theme is relaxed harmony tells me that something cool is happening in me.

visions and possession: dream experience by Jennifer

The Women’s Visionary Congress Oneironauticum is perhaps the strongest experience I’ve had yet with Calea zacatechichi. That’s saying a lot. The night was extremely cold. Curled shivering in the pullout bed of my beloved VW Westfalia Baby, I drifted into a particularly clear state of hynagogia and had a beautiful dream vision.

I saw a tree growing very slowly. It started out small and spindly, and then began to widen and extend out. The trunk thickened and branches spread out, and up, slowly but steadily until it had become a huge, great, venerable tree. Then a series of images passed before me, a bird’s eye view of different grand old trees. I saw an enormous chestnut tree, the image so clear I could discern the shadows of fluttering leaves against the sun dappled trunk. A giant redwood followed, towering and majestic, then a dense, ancient pine. Each of these trees, and several others, stood powerful and time worn.

Later in the night, I thought I had woken. I looked down at the foot of the bed where two gorgeous Asian women sat talking to each other. Though I could see them clearly, noting the fine curves of slender faces and their delicate features, I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

Still later, I moved suddenly from what felt like a deep sleep, starting upright from where I lay on my side, hissing with my hands held like claws. I had been possessed by the spirit of a cat. It passed through me in a moment, gone before I could even consider it. Rather surprising.

Finally, some time around dawn, cuddled down into what had become a deliciously toasty cocoon of blankets and sound asleep, again, I felt a chill wind pass through me. Now, I’m from Buffalo, and I know the feeling of a gust so cold you can feel it in your bones. It was so frigid it woke me straight up, where I discovered myself warm and cozy.

Dreams from the Women's Visionary Congress Oneironauticum

Though we did not undertake a group dream sharing the morning after Oneironauticum, several people related their experiences to me the next morning. One of the speakers, a caniosacral therapist who works with an activist network of recently returned Iraqi war veterans, experienced a deep encounter with her son. A junky who she fears may end up in prison, he came to her in her dream and told her that he was doing what needed to be doing and that she needed to let go of it. She found this very healing.

An impressively bearded man named Pasha experienced strange sensory phenomena, not entirely out of keeping with the findings from past Oneironautica, although his occurred while awake. Before sleeping, a glowing light hovered around his head. Upon waking, he experienced ringing in his ears.

Marcela, who had been dreaming of birds during the stay at Wilbur, had a precognitive dream in which one of the Congress attendees had fallen quite ill. In the morning, we discovered that this person had indeed been very ill the night before. Marcela’s partner Seabrook, who rarely dreams, pursued the Chontal tradition of using the Calea for oneiromancy, divination through dreams. He asked for guidance with the land they recently purchased. In his dream, he saw a house made in the shape of a molecule. He examined a model of the house closely, explained how it would work, took it apart and put it back together.

A woman from the Bay Area had a rare flash of lucidity that freed her from an unpleasant dream. In the midst of an anxious situation, she realized that what was happening was too unlikely and must therefore be a dream.

Minutes of the October Oneironauticum, by Jennifer

An inspiring, marvelous group of women and men gathered for the Women's Visionary Congress at Wilbur Hot Springs. For Sunday night Oneironauticum, approximately forty people gathered to hear about the Calea zacatechichi, our oneirogen for the evening. Being the sort of people who like to have in depth information, several attendees asked questions about potential interactions between Calea and other substances. In the experience of Oneironauticum participants, any substances that noticeably inhibit dreaming will overpower the Calea. Large amounts of alcohol, THC containing substances (marijuana, hashish), or medication that aids sleep (Benzodiazepines, such as valium, xanax, and klonopin, or Zolpidem, also known as ambien) all generally suppress the effects of the Calea, probably because they inhibit dreaming. Nobody who has participated in Oneironauticum has reported any adverse reactions from combining Calea with other substances. I also recommended not driving after consuming the Calea. Many people begin experiencing dreamlike states within half an hour of drinking the tea. Operating this world heavy machinery is not advised in dream states.

After the introduction of the Calea, we discussed dream states. Rick Doblin, founder of MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) shared that he and his wife had kept dream journals (among other journaling) during her two pregnancies with their children, to present to each later in life. Marcela, who led the group in yoga during the Congress, told me stories of her rich dream life. Like me, she remembers on average three dreams per night. These dreams are so vivid that she often wakes up laughing, crying, or exclaiming. Another young woman reliably receives guidance in her dreams when she’s faced with important decisions.

Of those gathered, about half partook of the Calea zacatechichi tea. A few also smoked the Calea just before sleep, also a traditional way the Chontal people of Oaxaca ingest the herb.

October Oneironauticum Roadshow

On Sunday, October 12, I'll be leading a special session of the Oneironauticum as part of the Women's Visionary Congress at Wilbur Hot Springs.

Participants in the event will be invited to partake of a tea made with the herb Calea zacatechichi, a plant used by indigenous peoples in the Mexican state of Oaxaca for the purposes of oneiromancy, a form of divination based on dreams. In some Mesoamerican cultures, people believe that dreams happen in realms beyond those we consciously perceive and that the contents of dreams can convey meaningful messages or prophecy. The herb also induces lucid dreaming.

Calea zacatechichi, a member of the sunflower family, grows from central Mexico south to Costa Rica. The leaves are dried and made into a very bitter infusion. Sunday night, Visionary Congress participants who choose to will explore the realm of dreams as visionary experience, using Calea zacatechichi as an ally.

As always, remote participation in the Oneironauticum is encouraged. Unlike most of the oneirogens we usually select, however, Calea zacatechichi may be difficult to find. You can order it online from a large number of herb vending websites, and more exotic health food stores may stock it on their shelves. If you don't acquire the herb, however, feel free to join the group simply by setting your intention to participate in the Oneironauticum on Sunday night. All dream participants, those who attend the Oneironauticum and those who join remotely, are welcome to post to this blog. Contact us if you're interested.

Dream Images, by lissa ivy

Crafting Dream Pillows

Making morning tea

Minutes of the September Oneironauticum, by Jennifer

In attendance at the September 27 Oneironauticum were dreamers Erik Davis, lissa ivy tiegel, Dean Mermell, Lesley Freeman, Christine Benvenuto, Katherine Rochlin Fenster, Anna Rockwell, Juliana Snowfox, and yours truly, Jennifer Dumpert.

We began the evening by crafting dream pillows stuffed with herbs, flowers, and essential oils that promote dreaming. Each dreamer chose a combination that suited his or her own dream intention from among:

• Mugwort: Promotes lucid dreams, astral travel, visionary, psychedelic dreams. Contains thujone, the active ingredient in absinthe.
• Roman Chamomille: Calms dreams, reduces stress, aids sleep. Helpful for those who experience nightmares or restless sleep or who simply have problems sleeping.
• Lavender: Increases alpha waves, promotes tranquil, calm dreams. Relaxes the nervous system, reduces tension and irritability.
• Rose: Works as an antidepressant, promotes happy, pleasant dreams. Stimulating, uplifting, good as an antidote to sadness and fatigue.

Using the herb or flower subtly conveys these characteristics. The essential oils (we used the same four) are stronger.

Over brunch, we discussed our dreams. Many of us experienced very deep sleep marked by a large number of dreams. Several dreamers also encountered continuity from one dream to the next, either recurring themes or, in one case, a song that reappeared throughout the night. Dean dreamed of a blond woman, a remote dreamer attempting to encounter the rest of the Oneironauticum group. She seemed surprised to have achieved her goal. The previous evening, we had discussed the rarity of smells and tastes in dreams. Erik reported much more vivid dreams than usual, including one with a delicious taste.

We also discussed how, over the course of 2008, the Oneironauticum has changed the way we dream, and how we think about and understand dreaming. One aspect of our oneiric inquiry involves the nature of narrative. Creating a linear narrative is always, in waking life as well as in dreams, an act of editing that selects what gets included or not in the “story” and then takes impressions, perceptions, thoughts, actions, encounters, etc. and lines them up one after the other, even though in actuality these things often happen simultaneously and even chaotically. In our discussions, we have observed and sometimes deconstructed our dream narratives, coming to understand them more as holograms that become linear when we play them back in our memories or as stories for others. As we’ve discussed this over time, many of us have developed greater ability to perceive the sometimes disjointed, simultaneous, often chaotic form of the elements that together form the narrative of our dreams.