Nexus - 0107 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

Angle Dreaming Dreaming Angle ut God caught me by my feet and slowly dragged me back Just being asleep anybody is liable to glimpse the flash of a ‘fish’s’ down. Then, just as Llost all hope of escape, Athene distracted tail. The unconscious is also near when we are wide awake. Intuitive God's attention and I flew up the stairs out of the underworld. types know when there is something ‘fishy’ going on. If these semi- Looking back down to where I'd just been, I heard the echo of intuitive people could catch these fish, they would be described as Athene's voice telling me, "And don't forget to record your expedi- psychic. tion.” The most important step one can make in the direction of the I did record my ‘expedition’, the first entry into a log book that unconscious is the development of curiosity. “What are my dreams now contains hundreds of others. This log book isnone other than my about?” You need to be curious enough to make the decision to re- member the dream. You can’t catch fish without throwing in a line. Be- fore going to sleep throw in a line. Intend to remember your dream in the morning - sometimes good inten- tions aren't enough. This is where ritual comes in. Ritual has been used by many cultures as ameans of ‘mak- ing space’ for the unconscious to enter. My personal ritual is to date a page at night and neatly place the pen ontopof the journal. Itdoesn’t matter what you do as long as you do it with your heart. After this the wait begins. For many the act of fishing is a medita- tion. You must wait, but it is not a passive waiting. The fisherman who is alert has more chance of hooking a fish. It’s the same with dreaming. The more conscious you are in the telaxed state of sleep the better chance there is of catching the im- ages of the dream. For this reason ten minutes medi- tation before you sleep does wonders for remembering dreams. With a clear mind dream images are more vivid. Dream Journal. It waits at my bed- side for the adventure material that comes out of any good night’s rest.In this journal I preserve the food of the unconscious. It’s a simple ritual and part of the art of dreaming. Dreaming can be paralleled to fishing. Fish are the treasures of the water, and the open water is the uni- versal symbol of the unconscious. Pisces, the Fish, is typically noted for its dreamy nature. It is the signof the mystic and the poet. Piscean vision, imagination and creativity are prod- ucts of the link with the waters of the unconscious. Fish symbolise the contents of the unconscious. They come in all shapes and sizes. The fish is the dream, the point at which the spheres of the conscious and unconscious overlap, half-conscious, half uncon- scious . The most common drawing of the fish is the mandorla, the intersec- tion between two circles. In the Christian tradition only the Christ or the Virgin Mary could be painted inside the mandorla, its two spheres symbolising spirit and matter. The point of the intersection (where It’s morning time. You've had a dream, but by lunch-time you’ ve heaven and Earth meet) is the ‘divine incarnation’, when the divine forgotten it. This is the old story of the one that got away. Write it and the human are one. The fish is thus the form of the divine incar- down while it's still fresh in your mind. You may not think it's worth nation. What is inside the form may vary. it, as, at first, the dream appears so chaotic and hard to grasp, like a freshly landed catch. The dream is stil] in the ‘waters’ of the uncon- 7 1 scious and you have to ‘real’ itin. The deeper the ‘water’ the more you Fishing for Complements have to reel in, but it’s well worth it . Dreams furthermost from the ego tend to be the most transformative. The fisherman is the ego turned towards the content of the uncon- Write down any associations or connections you feel you have scious. The stance the ego takes is mirrored in the different ways there with the dream imagery. Note what happened the day before and give are to fish. Fishing from the land is the ego tured towards the the dream a wash in the waters of your imagination. collective unconscious. The lone fisherman in a boat out on a lake is Once you've prepared the dream and joined it with your present a classic symbol of the individual looking into the personal uncon- circumstances you are ready to receive its nourishment. scious. Spear fishing is the shamanic technique of actually going into Dreams areriddles sent to us by our inner wise man or woman. By the spirit world (unconscious) and re-emerging with a catch. finding the answer to theriddle you find yourself. You must work with Falling into the mouth of a fish is quite the reverse of fishing, the dream to receive its nourishment - this is just as vital as the fishing where the ego and personality are swallowed up by the inner life. expedition itself. Deep sea fishing takes one out to the deepest parts of the collective Your dreams are your own personal teacher. They show exactly unconscious. Here the fish are the archetypes - the ‘big’ dreams that what you need to know right now. Fishing for dreams is angling for are meaningful to the whole culture rather than the individual alone. personal understanding * Most people are subliminally aware of the contents of the uncon- Crai g Jarman scious. They wake up in the morning having bits and pieces of dreams. 28 NEXUS New Times Seven - Summer 1989 ut God caught me by my feet and slowly dragged me back Just being asleep anybody is liable to glimpse the flash of a ‘fish’s’ down. Then, just as Llost all hope of escape, Athene distracted tail. The unconscious is also near when we are wide awake. Intuitive God's attention and I flew up the stairs out of the underworld. types know when there is something ‘fishy’ going on. If these semi- Looking back down to where I'd just been, I heard the echo of intuitive people could catch these fish, they would be described as Athene's voice telling me, "And don't forget to record your expedi- psychic. tion.” The most important step one can make in the direction of the I did record my ‘expedition’, the first entry into a log book that unconscious is the development of curiosity. “What are my dreams now contains hundreds of others. This log book isnone other than my about?” You need to be curious enough to make the decision to re- member the dream. You can’t catch fish without throwing in a line. Be- fore going to sleep throw in a line. Intend to remember your dream in the morning - sometimes good inten- tions aren't enough. This is where ritual comes in. Ritual has been used by many cultures as ameans of ‘mak- ing space’ for the unconscious to enter. My personal ritual is to date a page at night and neatly place the pen ontopof the journal. Itdoesn’t matter what you do as long as you do it with your heart. After this the wait begins. For many the act of fishing is a medita- tion. You must wait, but it is not a passive waiting. The fisherman who is alert has more chance of hooking a fish. It’s the same with dreaming. The more conscious you are in the telaxed state of sleep the better chance there is of catching the im- ages of the dream. For this reason ten minutes medi- tation before you sleep does wonders for remembering dreams. With a clear mind dream images are more vivid. Dream Journal. It waits at my bed- side for the adventure material that comes out of any good night’s rest.In this journal I preserve the food of the unconscious. It’s a simple ritual and part of the art of dreaming. Dreaming can be paralleled to fishing. Fish are the treasures of the water, and the open water is the uni- versal symbol of the unconscious. Pisces, the Fish, is typically noted for its dreamy nature. It is the signof the mystic and the poet. Piscean vision, imagination and creativity are prod- ucts of the link with the waters of the unconscious. Fish symbolise the contents of the unconscious. They come in all shapes and sizes. The fish is the dream, the point at which the spheres of the conscious and unconscious overlap, half-conscious, half uncon- scious . The most common drawing of the fish is the mandorla, the intersec- tion between two circles. In the Christian tradition only the Christ or the Virgin Mary could be painted inside the mandorla, its two spheres symbolising spirit and matter. The point of the intersection (where It’s morning time. You've had a dream, but by lunch-time you’ ve heaven and Earth meet) is the ‘divine incarnation’, when the divine forgotten it. This is the old story of the one that got away. Write it and the human are one. The fish is thus the form of the divine incar- down while it's still fresh in your mind. You may not think it's worth nation. What is inside the form may vary. it, as, at first, the dream appears so chaotic and hard to grasp, like a freshly landed catch. The dream is stil] in the ‘waters’ of the uncon- 7 1 scious and you have to ‘real’ itin. The deeper the ‘water’ the more you Fishing for Complements have to reel in, but it’s well worth it . Dreams furthermost from the ego tend to be the most transformative. The fisherman is the ego turned towards the content of the uncon- Write down any associations or connections you feel you have scious. The stance the ego takes is mirrored in the different ways there with the dream imagery. Note what happened the day before and give are to fish. Fishing from the land is the ego tured towards the the dream a wash in the waters of your imagination. collective unconscious. The lone fisherman in a boat out on a lake is Once you've prepared the dream and joined it with your present a classic symbol of the individual looking into the personal uncon- circumstances you are ready to receive its nourishment. scious. Spear fishing is the shamanic technique of actually going into Dreams areriddles sent to us by our inner wise man or woman. By the spirit world (unconscious) and re-emerging with a catch. finding the answer to the riddle you find yourself. You must work with Falling into the mouth of a fish is quite the reverse of fishing, the dream to receive its nourishment - this is just as vital as the fishing where the ego and personality are swallowed up by the inner life. expedition itself. Deep sea fishing takes one out to the deepest parts of the collective Your dreams are your own personal teacher. They show exactly unconscious. Here the fish are the archetypes - the ‘big’ dreams that what you need to know right now. Fishing for dreams is angling for are meaningful to the whole culture rather than the individual alone. personal understanding * ns > Sa Ee ut God caught me by my feet and slowly dragged me back down. Then, just as Llost all hope of escape, Athene distracted God's attention and I flew up the stairs out of the underworld. Looking back down to where I'd just been, I heard the echo of Athene's voice telling me, "And don't forget to record your expedi- The fisherman is the ego turned towards the content of the uncon- scious. The stance the ego takes is mirrored in the different ways there are to fish. Fishing from the land is the ego tured towards the collective unconscious. The lone fisherman in a boat out on a lake is a classic symbol of the individual looking into the personal uncon- scious. Spear fishing is the shamanic technique of actually going into the spirit world (unconscious) and re-emerging with a catch. Falling into the mouth of a fish is quite the reverse of fishing, where the ego and personality are swallowed up by the inner life. Deep sea fishing takes one out to the deepest parts of the collective unconscious. Here the fish are the archetypes - the ‘big’ dreams that are meaningful to the whole culture rather than the individual alone. Most people are subliminally aware of the contents of the uncon- scious. They wake up in the morning having bits and pieces of dreams. Fishing for Complements Craig Jarman 28 NEXUS New Times Seven - Summer 1989