Spirit Guide Group: Dreams, Volume Three

I'm hardly sleeping recently. Yesterday I took a melatonine sleeping pill and still only caught snatches. I had one very bad dream - that I actually re-dreamed. A first.

I dreamt I was with a woman in a locomotive of a train. The rest of the train was not there. We were talking about politics and how people were upset about my father or grandfather for he had given a garantuee he would help with the poverty. The gold was even already set for it - but he didn't. We were French and his name was something like LeDuc or something - I can't remember.

We came to a fork in the road and I was supposed to switch the lever so we would go into the correct track. However - I failed to do so. So we came to a dead end. We actually physically turned the locomotive around - and it suddenly temporarily turned into a children's toy. A small wagon that children use to practice how to walk and sit on it too.
We then suddenly saw a man behind us and I was apprehensive. We derailed a bit later and walked together trying to get some help. The man caught up with us and raped my friend. I kept yelling to her to fight back.

--------Suddenly the dream started again at the lever ----------
Again - this time I was too late to put us in the correct track. I tried to hurry my friend to get us out of there - but again the man appeared. This time I told my friend to leave our transport and hide. She wouldn't do it - she decided just to walk towards help. I tried to hide in the bushes but my arms started becoming much more heavy. I frantically pulled a root upwards and tried to put the leaves around my back - but I was unable to go and see how much I was covered.
I saw the man walk towards her - and then back towards me. I woke up with a start before he touched me.

It was a very disturbing dream - much more so because it started over.

Kahlie

The Magician and the Sealion

September 24, 2006

We are standing by a boatshed at the harbour in Ucluelet. I am chatting with an older man, most likely the Saturn/Devil figure. He interrupts me to point out that Lynn has gone down the wooden ramp to the dock. It is quite a small dock. Saturn says, "She's crazy, that sealion is coming up on the dock". And before either of us can do anything the sealion flops down on the dock, so that the whole dock tips up and slides into the ocean. Lynn disappears into the water, but is unharmed by the sealion. By this time I have reached her and I pull her out. The dream ends.

Although the dream has Lynn as the protagonist, I knew that it was not about Lynn herself, but Lynn was being used as a symbol. In my dreams it has become quite rare for anybody to actually be representing themselves. In this case Lynn is representing the Magician, which is her soul card (we are Magician married to Hermit - this works quite well since both are fairly independent types - but the shadow/inner depth cards are even more fascinating, Lynn as Sun married to me as Moon). I digress. The Magician here is energetic but naive, at the beginning of the journey, and she is going it alone.

Sealions are huge creatures, and any local person would be very careful about going down to a small wooden dock when one of them is around. In dreams the lion is a symbol of feline power: maternal strength, grace, and feminine strength taken to the max. But this is a lion of the sea, so this is the puissant feminine power of the unconscious.

BTW, Ucluelet is derived from a word that means "safe harbour" in the local native language. Taken in conjunction with the dream of the following night, there is a warning to stay grounded, or at least ground-referenced, when dealing with the watery Sacral or airy Heart energies.

Aquarian Ascent

September 25, 2006

I am the pilot of a Coast Guard helicopter, and have been diverted from routine work activities to conduct a search and rescue mission. A small aircraft has not completed its flight plan, and is now overdue. I am flying in the south-east corner of the island, and am now flying due east, where the missing aircraft was headed. The route takes me to very high altitudes, across a breathtakingly beautiful snow crowned peak and glacier. It would take a skilled pilot to navigate so high, and this is complicated by clouds that intermittently block the terrain. I am beginning to see that my mission is a sad one, and as is so typical with aviation accidents, it will be question of finding the dead bodies.

At this point the dream resets, and I become the detached observer. A party of five women is suiting up and preparing to board the small private aircraft, led by a woman I recognize as Sophie, the pilot. One of the women seems to be a bit concerned about the flight, and it doesn't seem she quite belongs with the rest of the adventurers. The airplane hurtles down the runway, and although it lifts off OK, the angle of climb is far too steep. The pilot throttles the engine wide open to compensate, but the aircraft stalls. As she loses altitude, she luckily has enough air under her to partially recover, but again she persists in too steep a climb. It is a bit like kangaroo flying, and the pilot is either inexperienced or grossly overexuberant.

However, it seems that I have gone back in time, and may be able to catch up with them and warn them about the mountains. I radio a large overhead spotter aircraft, flying very high, to watch out for both the alpine conditions and the missing plane. The dream ends.

Commentary on Aquarian Ascent

This dream is quite extraordinary, presenting the most serious critique of the Aquarian Beloveds that I remember witnessing. Aquarius is the fixed sign of Air, representing a very uncompromising approach to its element, as the fixed signs tend to do. The odd one out in the party would be Valerie of Vesta in Libra, representing the balanced air energy that is more typical in the cardinal signs in general, but a particular specialty of Libra itself. My masculine Aquarian energies - Mercury and Chiron - are conspicuously absent. This leaves four remaining feminine Aquarian energy centres to account for, Sophie of the Moon, Indira of Ceres, Eirian of Venus, and after a brief puzzlement I remembered Eirian's sister-shadow, Aphrodite.

Sophie seems to displaying the common notion that psychic energy alone can take one soaring to the very heights of human experience, without considering and using the rootedness that gravity provides, or the assistance of Form as manifest in the wings that would give her the proper amount of lift - if she would but go forward in balance with trying to ascend. As a culture, we are very much unrooted - this is an inheritance of the values of the violent and exploitive nomadic barbarians who took possession first of people's lands and bodies, and then within imperial Christianity and the other equally masculine dominated world religions, co-opted the very soul with unbalanced patriarchal values. As a symptom of this unrootedness, we have also lost many of the forms - the rituals - that would also aid in transformative ascent and descent.

I believe that it is not enough to undertake prayer at the upper chakra levels - which is how we as a people tend to understand prayer. The energies of the lower chakras inherently need to be manifest physically for them to be actualized and rooted. If not it is so easy to be caught up wishful or "magical" thinking, a characteristic phenomenon of the upper chakras. This is not to say that the prayer that typically involves visualization and vocalization is not useful when a person is working with upper chakra issues, but I have more concern about their appropriateness when one's journey descends into the infernal, the aqueous and the chthonic. In this case the energies need to be acted upon physically, through such traditional goddess technologies as dance, drumming, exhaustive walking or other exercise, sacred touch, truly deep breathing (from the abdomen, not the chest), ecstatic sex, physical yoga and enacted ritual.

The focus on the upper chakras, particularly the Inner Eye, is a particularly Aquarian obsession. This focus is often self-defeating, for not only can there be the absence of a ground reference that would give stability, as well as a place to refuel, but the destination is so ill-conceived that the flight typically tops out at the Inner Eye. This is a very seductive place whose dualistic visions often obliterate those more subtle emanations from the Crown, so that the Aquarian is sure he has reached the top when in fact he has forgotten the attic hatchway. As an intimate of both Aquarian and Capricorn energy, I am very skeptical of the inherent rightness of this coming age, that is proclaimed even by authors I would otherwise trust. The Age of Pisces should have been, like no other, a period of harmony, peace, empathy, service and understanding - those are the positives that Pisces represents. It seems that the negatives of Aquarius are seldom mentioned: individualistic to the point of anarchy, technological to the point of environmental arrogance, and ungrounded to the point of inhumanity. All signs have both their opportunities and their challenges. It is up to individual and collective free will to make changes for the better - the Age itself is no panacea. Certainly, the Aquarian-Piscean dynamic fascinates me, and is the subject of my ongoing work of fiction.

So what about the dream ego as Coast Guard pilot? The fact is that his aircraft too is subject to the power-lift-momentum equation. While it is true that a helicopter can climb straight up, this is only practical when the aircraft it lightly loaded, i.e neither carrying a lot of baggage, nor fuel, nor actually trying to accomplish useful work. By adjusting the pitch of the rotor blades the pilot controls the amount of lift available, and he will generally choose to ascend while travelling forward. This increases control, and therefore safety, as well as conserving that all important commodity, fuel. This is where the helicopter is at a great disadvantage compared to Sophie's fixed wing. As a trade-off to gain flexibility, the helicopter requires a lot of energy flow to maintain its own virtual wing, so its range is limited and its operating cost is very high. Sophie's machine should give her an unsurpassed capability to soar with the eagles and to cover many miles efficiently - as long as she doesn't try to land in the mountains or be so taken up in the process that she crashes there.

At its most basic sense, the dream gives me a caution not to be carried away by my emotions, not matter how seductive. It also suggests that my present occupation as a virtual helicopter pilot, full of all these dreams of insight, cannot continue forever. Stimulated by my recent opening to crown energy, this flow has been enhanced in an unprecedented way. This level of energy usage will accomplish a particular purpose, a search and rescue mission within the psyche, but then it will be up to the fixed wing aircraft and more pedestrian modes of transportation to carry the work forward. At the moment it seems highly unlikely that I would be carried away by my emotions, the bodhrán makes quite sure of that. But with the coming arrival of the riq, a specialist technology in the use of Air energy, that is entirely possible - not that the emotions rest in Air, but that Air has a particular knack for lifting up Water and making it airborne.

Shamanic Drumming

September 26, 2006

In my bodhrán work on Friday, I had two breakthroughs. The first is that the use of a large round paintbrush as a tipper, as suggested by my DVD based tutor Steáfán, makes a very effective tool for Shamanic style drumming. Unlike Kerry style playing, in which the tipper's home position is with the dominant hand pointing back towards the body, what I have called the Shamanic style is similar to methods pictured in indigenous drumming, where the beater is held with its end at a 45 degrees forward and upward. In Kerry style the tipper strikes the skin at an oblique angle - strumming the drum - whereas the Shamanic style hits the drum directly, tending to make it resonate and ring (although this may be modified into an interesting sheer stroke with the paint brush, giving an airy "shh" sound following the hit). I had tried Shamanic style previously with my cut-to-length timpani tipper, but the paintbrush appears ideal for this work. I was so pleased with it that I used the paintbrush and bodhrán to accompany Taizé chant at the Sunday service, which to my surprise seemed to be well received.

Secondly, I finally had some success with the technique of using the pressure of one finger on the inside of the drum, near the middle, to raise the pitch by an octave. This gives the beat an open watery sound, evocative of a large raindrop hitting a still pond, rather than the resounding depths of the ocean.

In the afternoon of the same Sunday, September 24, I was hiking Ucluelet's Wild Pacific Trail with the bodhrán, looking for the access to a particular beach, but unable to find it. Finally, in exhaustion, I discovered a small stony beach protected by a point of black rock projecting beyond it into the ocean. My now typical beach walking consists of playing the bodhrán or singing while walking barefoot in the sand, legs washed by the surf. But this adventure proved to be a very Capricorn one, and after doing 60 crunches on the beach pebbles, I climbed across the sharp black granite, much of it eroded into natural steps, until I reached a low rocky ledge right by a surge channel, where I sang and played.

This work seemed to lead to the dream on the morning of September 26, which had no narrative, but simply a profound feeling of healing flowing through the lower three chakras, so that they felt warm, whole and full of power. I knew that this was bodhrán energy being expressed during my sleep. But at 0230 I woke from this dream quite suddenly, and although I felt very whole in the lower chakras, my throat felt so sticky that it was difficult to breath. No amount of water seemed to help, so I eventually got up and had tea, but never was able to return to sleep. I am not absolutely sure why things happened this way, but I do believe that there was a sensitivity to some anger directed towards me by a family member from overseas, who phoned me at 0730 with his concerns.

Drumming While Dreaming

September 27, 2006:

Seemingly continuing where my dreaming had been interrupted on the night before, I had the same imagery repeated through the night, of the bodhrán player Pallas Athena, playing in ecstatic trance, mostly in the Shamanic style. At times the perfectly formed blonde Pallas and the dream ego merged into one while she played. There was no narrative, simply a timeless drumming.

It seemed to me when I woke that the elemental invocations on the drum had been clarified for me. That, as I have written earlier, the open sounds of frame drumming represent water, and the closed sounds earth. These are the two primary sounds of all frame drums, both of them powerfully feminine, with earth in the static feminine aspect of nurture and containment, water in the dynamic feminine mutability of expansion and transformation. These two represent the primary focus of all frame drumming, expressing the grounded earthiness of the Root Chakra, and the stimulating movement of the watery Sacral.

But for the fiery Solar Plexus, expressed like Wands in wood, the bodhrán playing style is rare and perhaps unique among frame drums, in that the tipper may be played directly on the rim. I have done so when returning down a forest trail in the dark, and it seemed that the whole place had been lit up by the sound - quite comforting when you are a bit nervous about bears, cougars and wolves!

And then, for the airy Heart Chakra of inclusive expansion and encompassing inhalation, the riq and other tambourines excel at expressing this energy in their jingles.

Most musical instruments have the potential for inclusive healing integration, particularly the human voice and its close relative, the violin. But there is a particular emphasis in each one. The melodic instruments generally focus from the Heart and above, but most particularly at the Throat. The non-pitched percussive instruments are useful for the often neglected lower Chakras, also including the Heart.

In my search for a riq, I came across the bass variant, the mazhar or muzhar. It strikes me that the goatskin would be large and rugged enough to be played with a bodhrán tipper, so that both the wooden rim as well as the jingles would be available. Hmm...

Early this morning I returned to the rocky point I had visited on Sunday, and did much the same things, but this time standing barefoot on the stone. I took my camera, and will likely post some pictures in the Gallery.

Sue and the Crone

psychic sue said:

Then I was outside. An old woman (no-one I knew just the archetypical "old woman") came up to me and was crying. I knew instantly that she had left her husband and another man wanted to be with her - but she was unsure of this man. "What shall I do?" she said.

I told her to take the new man out of the equation completely - just think about her husband. Was there anything worth salvaging in that relationship? Did she love him? (I actually gave this advice to someone the other day).

She said she was sure she wanted to leave her husband - even without the other guy on the scene - and was going to see this other man.

I followed her. She opened a door and skipped down a set of wooden stairs into a basement. I tried to follow but the stairs were rickety and covered in rubbish - it looked like someone had left all their old junk down there. Old socks, books, photos, things of the past.

I could hear her talking to this man as I picked my way gingerly down the stairs.

Click to expand...

Milfoil has spoken to the child with crystals part of this dream very elegantly already. I just wanted to comment on the crone segment.

Yes, it may be unusual for you to appear to be giving advice to the crone, although you are certainly wise. But I saw this as more of a test than anything. I felt that the crone was acting as a gatekeeper to your unconscious. You are moving out from a place of comfortable stability in your previous house, and beginning to salvage things from the past. I think this also includes the positive aspects of romance. All the best on your date Sue!

Trigonometry

Milfoil said:

Then there was the insect (could have been another spider, I don't know) with a bright purple 'V' on its abdomen (like the spider in the last dream had the 'n' shape in polished brass), I considered this to mean spiritual/psychic victory yet the 'V' was (to my view) upside down (like an arrow point) so as long I take notice and work on this message, I will be moving forward.

Click to expand...

Spiders are fascinating and complex creatures - and symbols! I would like to know which way the arrow was on the body as far as the spider was concerned. An upward arrow at the abdomen would indicate a rising of root energy, whereas as downward arrow would symbolize manifestation (birth).

The downward triangle, since the very first cave art, was used as a symbol of the feminine, and the upward triangle of the masculine. When you overlay the two triangles - at the heart - you get a six pointed star. Six happens to be the number of the Lovers...

The Derailment

Kahlie said:

I'm hardly sleeping recently. Yesterday I took a melatonine sleeping pill and still only caught snatches. I had one very bad dream - that I actually re-dreamed. A first.

I dreamt I was with a woman in a locomotive of a train. The rest of the train was not there. We were talking about politics and how people were upset about my father or grandfather for he had given a garantuee he would help with the poverty. The gold was even already set for it - but he didn't. We were French and his name was something like LeDuc or something - I can't remember.

We came to a fork in the road and I was supposed to switch the lever so we would go into the correct track. However - I failed to do so. So we came to a dead end. We actually physically turned the locomotive around - and it suddenly temporarily turned into a children's toy. A small wagon that children use to practice how to walk and sit on it too.
We then suddenly saw a man behind us and I was apprehensive. We derailed a bit later and walked together trying to get some help. The man caught up with us and raped my friend. I kept yelling to her to fight back.

--------Suddenly the dream started again at the lever ----------
Again - this time I was too late to put us in the correct track. I tried to hurry my friend to get us out of there - but again the man appeared. This time I told my friend to leave our transport and hide. She wouldn't do it - she decided just to walk towards help. I tried to hide in the bushes but my arms started becoming much more heavy. I frantically pulled a root upwards and tried to put the leaves around my back - but I was unable to go and see how much I was covered.
I saw the man walk towards her - and then back towards me. I woke up with a start before he touched me.

It was a very disturbing dream - much more so because it started over.

Kahlie

Click to expand...

I am so sorry you had this dream Kahlie! You have been going through a lot lately. How are things with your grandmother, and with the family's reaction?

There is a theme of masculine betrayal and abuse here, not only in the rapist, but more subtley in the grandfather. The dream establishes a parallelism between the two events, framing the movement of the train.

The train expresses the journey through life theme, but the tracks make this journey seem preordained. Travel down them seems arbitrary and subject to deadends. The Wheel of Fortune seems savage and cruel. The penalty for coming off the tracks is harsh - rape. Rape is never, ever deserved, but guilt arises in so many ways - did I send the wrong signals, could I have fought harder?

As in regression therapy - which I have personally found extremely effective, although by no means the final resolution to the issues - the dream gives you the opportunity to go back and relive the trauma. You are not able to resolve the issues in this dream, but the work continues...

Vague recollections of a dream last night. I am at a bus stop with my auntie, son and cousin. My other cousin (cousin a's brother) is on the phone to me. He is giving me financial advice about my house. I am saying "yeah, yeah" but thinking "what a load of old rubbish, no way am I doing that!". I feel uncomfortable talking to him and keep trying to pass him on to my aunt or cousing b) but he wants to speak to me.

The bus we are waiting for never comes and so I decide to forget it and walk.

We walk past a shop. My son and my niece (who has turned up in the dream) go into the shop through a secret door. I remain outside looking through the window. One window has rings on display in a box. They look cheap and tacky.

Another window has some type of Athamne (is that the right word? Sacrificial dagger) on display and others behind it.

An old woman is looking through the window with me but she is not paying attention.

Dream ends.

I bet Freud would have had a field day with me!