How Science and Intuition Go Together

"Scientists rely as much on creative intuition as any artist does -- the difference is that the scientist willfully attempts to disprove or validate his or her insight by the most stringent tests imaginable."

Prochaska, J.O., Norcross, J.C., and DiClemente, C.C. (1994) Changing For Good: A Revolutionary Six-Stage Program for Overcoming Bad Habits and Moving Your Life Positively Forward.

I love when a book that I didn't want to read surprises me by being pretty darn good.

My favorite part?

The part when "the data analyst announced the study was a bust" followed by the author's a-ha at 1:00 in the morning - after which the pattern of results became blissfully clear.

YUM!

Dreams are SO WEIRD: Mammogram dream

The night before a follow-up mammogram, I dreamed the following fragment:

"Emmo, a pug I sit for, has an odd blood type. I have to watch out for him. I see him looking at me. He's all right for now."

It didn't hit me until later that day how that fragment has lots of double letters. And would you get a load of which letters were doubled:

Double-O's
Double-D's
Double-M's

Disguised in that fragment, I feel, was an underlying, unspoken concern over this follow-up mammogram. I'm at risk, having a mother who survived breast cancer, and a grandmother who did not ... in other words, to reference the dream, breast cancer is in my bloodline ...

I'm not quite sure whether the dream signalled it, but the follow-up mammogram turned out all right.

*whew!*

All About Day Dreams

"Day dreamin' and I'm thinkin' of you
Look at my mind floating away"
Aretha Franklin, "Day Dreaming," 1972

Question: Is day-dreaming the same thing as night dreaming?

Question: What is day-dreaming?

Day dreaming is part of a spectrum of thought, ranging from focused, waking thought, to more loose, associative thought, the most extreme of which is (night) dreaming.

Day dreaming is closer to the dreaming end of the spectrum than to the focused, waking thought end.

-Image excerpted from Ernest Hartmann, MD's presentation "The Boundary Continuum and the Focused-Waking to Dreaming Continuum"

One of the lovely aspects of this loosening of thought is the entertainment of "a wider range of human possibilities than when awake; the 'open house' of dreaming is less guarded" Erik Craig (1992).

The music ceased; the noonday dream,
Like dream of night, withdrew;
But Fancy, still, will sometimes deem
Her fond creation true.
Emily Bronte, "A Day Dream"

May you enjoy a yummy, rich, nourishing day dream today.

RECOMMENDATION: Podcast Food for Thought Posted

Holy Psychic Sensitivity Batman!

Head on over to Tarot Connection OR Evolutions of Astrology for an informed and enlightening conversation about Transiting Neptune.

As I commented on TC: The pairing of ReFalo and DeCastro is as reliably good as the pairing of Stilton and Port.

Seriously. The synergies between their work and their styles is great fun to listen to.

A particular treat:
Leisa's and Dena's discussion around the nebulous concept called "the New Age" - where many strive to ascend straight into whatever they see is the rapturous, ascended "light body," thereby losing touch with what the physical body has to offer in the here and now.

Discernment is a gift.

Groundedness is a gift.

The physical body is a gift.

Enjoy!

The Brain As Trickster: Look Out! Science on the Loose!

Great quote from Helaine Becker, who wrote Science on the Loose:

"Your brain is fooling you all the time ... because if your brain actually spent a lot of time figuring out the details of everyday life, it wouldn't have enough time or energy to actually think."

The brain is a mystery.

The brain is magic.

Eight Ways to Embody a FOOL!

In the reading by James Wells, a card was drawn to identify "the sadness, disappointment I'm not facing that http://www.dreamcurrent.com/ is calling me to address."

That card: The Fool.

Boy did I feel that energy this weekend. There are a million ways to be in that Fool place - and without further ado, here are eight of them I managed to exude in Just. One. Day. (ack! glad that's over!):

1. Heedlessly, cluelessly moving forward: Nothing but opportunities here!
2. Heading off into the unknown, with no safety net below
3. Stepping off the cliff into nothingness: no boundaries, no ground
4. "How can I have expectations when I don't know what I'm doing or where I am in the process?"
5. Being free of care and burden, as well as clue
6. Feeling vaguely vagabondish: belonging nowhere and everywhere at the same time
7. Clowning around
8. Innocently blurting out truths usually left unspoken

The Brain Is a Magical Object

photo credit: Raycat; David Marchal

Great quote from Adrian Ivakhiv, Ph.D., in today's Speaking of Faith:

"We live in image and story. That's what we swim in. And I think, in a sense, magic is just another way of saying that that's what we're always doing. We're making connections between those things, and those connections are meaningful and they're embodied in particular objects, in particular images, in particular sounds."

Further into the interview, more good stuff:

Ivakhiv: "Music has a kind of magical effect on people … because the first time when you heard a certain piece of music affects you, because of the context, and then every time you hear it afterwards, it brings all that back."

Speaking of Faith host Krista Tippett: "It's almost like a spell, isn't it? And now we can find out it works something in the brain that, in fact, brings those memories back physically."

Ivakhiv: "Absolutely. So the brain is a magical object in which connections are being forged by all sorts of activities, and we may as well admit that."

To me, this is beautiful: The Brain is a magical object.

Many connections are made within the brain, between text, image, sound, history, habit, felt sense ...

We are certainly learning about these connections, but much is still beyond us.

The Brain still holds its mystery.

The Brain is a magical object.

UPDATE: Lord of the Rings: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

"Take a perspective you've never taken before" was what I heard in the dream.

The lost rings were found, at work, on the carpet: two cubes up, one over to the left.

Different Perspective, indeed!

Dreams in Song: Dreams of Dying

"And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had"
Tears for Fears, "Mad World," 1982

When I read these words in the context of dreamwork (as opposed to a lyric of one of my favorite 80s angsty bands), my first response is to check into the Dreamer's mental, physical, spiritual health in waking life and have my list of referrals to those in the therapeutic/medical professions at the ready. The question: is there real threat present in the Dreamer's waking life?

Only after it's established that it's appropriate for me to serve the Dreamer would we get metaphorical.

Because death is one of those big multi-layered concepts (In fact, there is a whole literature on dreams of death and dying, and even dreaming beyond death (Bulkeley, 2006)) I'd stick close what the Dreamer reports rather than flying straight to wikipedia: "Hm, dreams where you're dying are the best ones ... let's start from there ..."

First thought to explore: how are you dying in these dreams ... what is the nature of this "dying"? what is it about this act of dying that makes it one of your "best" experiences ...

Second thought to explore: what are your other dreams like, that make the ones in which you're dying the "best" ones?

The conversation could go any which way after that, based on what the Dreamer says. The unfolding promises to be rich and likely transformative.

Why Do I Keep Dreaming that I Need to Wash My Hair?

What strikes me here is there are two parts to this question:

First, about hair washing, which could speak to many things, including but not limited to -

• (a need to) cleanse
• (a need to) release ("wash that man right outa my hair")
• an initiation rite (a shampoo precedes a hairdo)
• cultural awareness of shampoo/shower/hair scenes in movies, like mohawked Ferris in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), or Brady Bunch Greg's Orange Hair ("Tomorrow's graduation, and I have orange hair!").
• specific incidents or memories you have around hair washing

Then, about recurrence - the "why do I KEEP dreaming" part.

When there is inner work that needs to be done, or is not yet completed, the images pertaining to that work keep coming.

The recurring images serve as kind of a nudge - a poke - a throat-clearing "ahem" - sometimes, but not always, triggered by an event in waking life.

If you pay attention to an image across time, sometimes you can see the image shift, and that shift indicates inner work is being accomplished.

For example:

Say you feel you need to wash your hair and in some dreams you're thwarted by obstacles (shower in use, no shower, no water). Or you start washing and get interrupted.

Then in later dreams, say you experience that same hair washing need, go through a maze of rooms to get to the showers, but eventually succeed in get your hair washed.

That's progress. Stuff's cooking inside, resolving, dissolving.

There is a book called The Dreaming Way, by Patricia Reis and artist Susan Snow, that presents a two-year unfolding of dreams in a most beautiful, powerful, and moving way, with drawings and paintings as well as text.

In this book are many treasures, including images of hair washing, but I bring it to the discussion here because it shows quite plainly how how images can shift over time, and how engaging in a relationship with dreams can become "increasingly revelatory."

How to Get the Most from Your Dream, Tarot, or Metaphysical Arts Consult

"The High Priestess is showing a little leg"

In an earlier post, I described a 3-fer consult with the esteemed James Wells.

Each session brought forth ideas in the form of questions,
knowledge sharing (numbers, archetypes), and
observations from specifics in the pictures, like character positions, gestures, interactions, and
peripheral elements like snails, kittens, pillows, and flowers

Being invested in getting the most out of any consultative arrangement, between the sessions, I assembled the cards in the spreads ... and did some -

Freescanning and Freewriting

Freescanning: scanning the cards, taking in information - without judging, censoring, discounting, studying, or looking anything up.

Freewriting (a la Writing Down the Bones or Artist's Way): keeping pen to paper, making no crossouts, and not going back to edit.

Here is a sample of the freewriting that emerged during the freescanning:

"...in spreading out the cards from call #2, certain images perked up for me:

sunflowers,
suns across different cards - in different positions (full with cat face, crescent with cat face, radiating with no cat face),
grouped objects (group of 3 on the left, group of 5 on right),
slits (in tunics)
peeking out red feet

I don't get why i'm seeing these things - these images are new ones to me."

Making Good Use of Your Time and Your Consultant's Time

One thing about one of these consults is - if you're going to invest in such a thing - why waste your money or your consultant's time by making him/her guess at your issue or interest?

Why not use every ounce of time you paid for to squeeze out the juice pertaining to your query?

In my case, I found it helpful to supply a summary of the insights and discoveries that emerged in the freescan/freewrite to Mr. Wells - keeping the message fairly short and not by any means demanding that they be read.

It was interesting and beneficial to hear how these added insights got organically integrated into the discussion.

To wit, one of the first cards I drew pertaining to the issue (even prior to the 3-fer session) was the High Priestess, a card which I associated with a woman possessed of much knowledge, who is young, very covered up, and quite reticent.

As the readings in the 3-fer progressed, and I started seeing those tunic slits and red toes peeking out from under garments, Mr. Wells in one of those (unconscious?) zzZZts emitted: "The High Priestess is showing a little leg."

And you know - that has stuck with me and delighted me to no end.

Makes me wonder whether there's a can-can lurking in there somewhere.

Dream Interpretation: A Sin?

First thought: what is a sin?

One answer: Anything that separates you from the Divine (God, the Creator, the Source, etc.).

A second answer: Anything against the Big 10* and the Big 2**

A third: The Seven Deadlies***

A fourth: Giving up your agency and responsibility to a guru who claims to know what your dreams mean heedless of any input from you.

Through looking openly and curiously at my own dreams and asking of them simple questions, without rushing to dream-dictionary style judgement, I learned many things, mostly and best-ly that there is something within me, some creative and generative source ... or force ... or voice, that has no agenda other than serving the highest good and purpose.

Somehow, at a deep level, this allowed me to love myself - and sparked a reverence for and connection to the Divine and a thick current of gratitude I'd never felt so strongly and authentically before ...

I'm honestly puzzled how that can be sinful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can find additional insight from Dream Interpretation as a Sin by Dr. Kelly Bulkeley, well-read, well-published, and well-regarded in theological and dream circles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*10 commandments (in sum: no false gods, no name-in-vain, honor the Sabbath, mother, father; no killing, stealing, coveting, adultering, or bearing false witness)

**Big 2: "The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' "The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (NAS, Mark 12:28-31)

***7 Deadlies include: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride. But wait, there's moreL Proverbs 6:16–19, it is stated that "These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him. These are: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. eep.

Exam, School, Graduation Anxiety Dreams - Why Me, Why Now?

NPR's All Things Considered reported on Graduation Nightmares Friday night.

-- those cold-sweat dreams featuring scenes like blanking on important tests, insufficient credits, unattended classes, last minute "no you can't graduate" alarms, and lots of confusion and anxiety.

Kelly Bulkeley served as dream expert on call here (love that he is able to speak from the groves of academe ... yes there is such a thing as Dream Studies)

So - if you're having dreams around graduation with anxiety attached, you can check in with yourself using the following questions as a guide:

Basics:
-have I already passed those academic graduation thresholds?
-is it the "graduation" time of year (May/June)?
-are my important documents (like a diploma) up to date? (resume, academic transcript, passport, drivers license, insurance)

Deeper:
-is there anything in my life currently reflecting a sense of transition?
-is there anything in my life that is challenging me to develop and grow (to meet that next "rite of passage")?
-is there a part of you judging yourself unworthy?
-do you have a longing to be back in school for whatever reason (safety, unfinished work)?

Must See TV (Tarot Vision): James Wells and the Evolutionary Tarot

This is how I looked after each of my three sessions with James Wells.

Definitely several "oh boy!" moments ...

Twas a blissful experience of harvesting questions and communicating with someone who is whipsmart and witty as hell and who (unconsciously?) emits truth after truth after truth in these little lightning strikes. Zzzt!

The process itself is a terrific interplay of his questions eliciting my questions, his witnessing my questions, my witnessing his observations.

Not all sheets of gauze waving gently in the wind, however. Out of the chaos of wafty gauze, Mr. Wells creates order.

The sessions had a arc to them, which meshed nicely with my topic, a meaty business-slash-personal growth hunk of knottiness that needed some serious tenderizing.

The first session, for me, was at the visioning/issue exploration level (grounded in birth cards),

The second pertained to the whos and whats ... and pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses of each Who and each What,

And the third session went temporal, with a month by month awareness-raising of wants vs. needs.

This post is of the general overview variety - but I will post a sampling of the vision and wisdom and zappy connections that were made, as appropriate - and to give more of a flavor of what can emerge in a tarot consult with a dream and tarot enthusiast like misself.