Dreams and Dreaming

I want to make it clear, that the way I am defining dreams is as something real and tangible on an experiential level.

Let's look at some of the dictionary definitions of the word, dream:

1) a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.

2) an involuntary vision occurring to a person when awake.

3) a vision voluntarily indulged in while awake; daydream; reverie.

4) a wild or vain fancy.

The way I choose to define the word "dream" as I use it in the title of this blog, is different from the dictionary definitions. By dream, I mean the creative and inclusive realm and process in which we all manifest our lives through our focus, energy and thoughts. This is not a process of fantasizing or indulging in reverie, but rather in creating a particular path in the possibilities within the dynamic of cause and effect.

I know that in our western culture, we have a strong bias against taking the word and process of dreaming with any amount of seriousness. The view I am choosing to live with and share of dreaming is more along the lines of understanding practiced by many tribal peoples' around the world.

Let me use an example from a book to explain this process and act, a little bit better...

This quote is taken from the non-fiction book called Shapeshifting, by John Perkins. It explains the practice a member of the Bugi (tribe from Sulawesi) uses in making traditional wooden ship, called a prahu.

"Every prahu has a dream," Buli explained. "This dream exists before the ship is built. My grandfather showed me how to enter the dream of the prahu as I begin my work. I see where it will sail, what storms it will encounter. This tells me how to focus my work, the parts of the prahu that need special attention. Everything on our ships comes directly from nature; we use no metals or plastics. Once I understood the dream of the prahu - its future voyages - I journey into nature, into the dreams of the plants I need, and select those that are most suitable for this particular ship."

This is a view of reality and of nature that was once common throughout the world, and is still found among the remaining tribal peoples in many parts of our world. It is included as part of a world view that might best be described as "animist" or "animistic."