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From: Monica
Date: 17 Apr 2004
Time: 08:25:33 -0500
Remote Name: 128.101.253.112
I find all this discussion on dreaming so inspiring. It is only in the last year that I have begun honoring my dreams and trying to understand what they are trying to say. So many other cultures have the understanding of the importance of dreams and share these insights with their family and communities. These are communities who work together for a common whole and find common threads in their night time visions. Being from a society that is so focused on the individual, the images of others oftentimes are not deemed as important. Images are seen as nice but not as powerful as words. Many people have been dominated and conquered through language. But those cultures have survived complete domination through their use of images and song and have managed to keep their cultures alive. I have found that when I work with images in my dreams they have a profound effect in my body, usually in terms of goosebumps, a whirling sensation in my stomach or a quick shiver. Words can do that at times, but not as effectively as the image. We have been trained to disconnect from our body and generally let the left brain dominate. It is fascinating to know that at night we let go of that. Dreams are generally a combination of the left and right parts of the brain, with the right side or image dominating. Dreams are elusive upon waking but can be found. Some of the images are more insistent than others, trying to get our attention. Others are remembered when the dreamer really wants to honor them and acknowledge them for what they are - valid images that have some place in the world. I have found that since I have made a concerted effort to remember my dreams, more stay with me. However, many still slip away, not ready to be known consciously. Thanks to all of you for the wonderful discussions in this chat room. It really has brightened up my week finding such eloquent, fun individuals.