Mary Arnold-Forster on Dreams

People have been fascinated with dreams for as long as people have been fascinated. Just where do these scenes come from and what do they mean? And - when is a dream more than just a dream?

In Mary Arnold-Forster's book Studies in Dreams (c) 1921 the author makes reference to the rapidly growing number of books on the subject. If she thought there was a lot of material back then, she would be astounded by how the resources on this topic has grown in one hundred years.

Studies in Dreams is a wonderful book that manages to meld passion and objectivity. In its day, it must have been considered encyclopedic in content with chapter titles such as : Dream Control, Dream Construction, Dream Places, Borderland States, and The Super Dream to name a few.

This is not a how to book; more like a research paper with an engaging slant. A must read for anyone truly interested in expanding their knowledge of dreams - even if it will be somewhat depressing to realize that despite a great deal more research since 1921 additional knowledge gained is arguable minimal. 

Candles, Incense, and Church(?) - Oh My

Why does it seem that many people seriously into Psi have an impressive cache of candles and incense - or at least candles of varying scents?  Movies would have us believe that all the smoke is just to hide the mirrors. In reality, it's more of the left brain / right brain battle that was mentioned in yesterday's blog.

In western societies especially, we are immersed in a culture that values logic, predictability, and scientific proof. From early childhood we are coached to accept only the things that we can put our hands on,  can be "justified" by mathematical equations or proven by the contents of physical archives. That coaching starts about the time a child dares to share the existence of their invisible friend.  What a shame that more children aren't encouraged to acknowledge and develop that otherness.

Fast forward twenty years. The child is now an adult, an adult who develops a desire to explore or enhance psychic potential. Right away the logic loving left brain makes itself known with a degrading yeah - right - bullshit. And the battle is on...

The battle to get the left brain to back off. One way of  doing that is creating a unique environment. An environment in which the left brain grudgingly acknowledges that there just might need to be an allowance in the calculations for what is real and what is hogwash.

An easy environmental change is moving to a lesser used room in the house that can be closed off from the daily hub-bub. In this room, dark save for some flickering candles the muted light encourages that go-get 'um logical brain to turn down the rpm's a little. Add some relaxing scents and a bit of  light, drifting smoke and suddenly the creative right brain gets the chance to flex its muscles.

It's really not that different from going to church. During the workweek folks are obsessed with all that needs to get done. But sitting in a church, surrounded by a unique decor and soothing music a notable mind shift occurs. Thoughts turn to things that can be neither seen nor proven - the right brain holds sway.

The Crystal Ball

Probably the first thing that comes to mind when you hear crystal ball is some black and white movie that would have shown on late night TV back when television stations went off the air around 2:00 a.m.
  
The reality is crystal balls get a bad rap. A glass ball of just about any kind should be a standard tool kit component for anyone interested in expanding psychic skills.

Will a crystal ball let you see into the future, the past, or the color of the socks in your neighbor's underwear drawer?  Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The real purpose of a glass ball is to get your conscious, logical mind to shut the hell up so that your creative mind can get about doing what you want it to do.

When you stare at a glass ball for an extended period your logical mind says well this is really boring and goes off to a dark corner to catch some z's.  In that regard the picture of the fortune teller isn't so far off the mark. His eyes have rolled back in his head because the conscious, logical mind has said nothing to see here - allowing the creative subconscious to move into the forefront.

So will you ever really see anything in a crystal ball?  At some point, there's a decent chance you will if you make meditation and psychic exercise a regular part of you routine. Will you find the location of Aladdin's treasure?  Probably not.

The Sounds You Don't Hear...Until You Do

When I first started seriously documenting my exploration of things Psi the digital voice recorder wasn't even a spec in anyone's imagination.  So I was always hauling a bulky portable cassette tape recorder around with me (not the pocket kind, but something that took up a sizeable portion of a flat surface).

My first positive reward with the tape recorder was in Chestertown Maryland. I had been contacted by a woman (I'll call her Shelly) whose mother had passed away suddenly. Shelly and her mother had enjoyed a close relationship that included Hungarian folklore - so Shelly was no stranger to things that caused her sixth sense to tingle. After her mother's passing, Shelly had a gut feeling that a message was waiting for her.... she just couldn't figure out how to "open" the message.

I met Shelly at her parents' house in Maryland. Her father was away so it was only Shelly and I in the house.  As I got down to work I set the cassette player for record.  At the end of 30 minutes the tape player clicked loudly as recording time ran out.  Very disappointed that nothing had happened during that half hour, I nonetheless rewound the tape and hit play.

And right from the start the hairs on my arms stood up.  Although Shelly and I had sat in complete silence, on the tape was the sound of a vacuum cleaner running. Not just a steady hum but the loud-soft-loud-soft as the vacuum moved to and away from the recorder.

Now I'll be the first to admit the ups and downs of the volume could have been an uneven playback in the tape - in which case the connection to a vacuum cleaner might never have been made and the sound chalked up as white noise.

But then came the sound of dishes rattling in the kitchen sink, the occasional splash of water, more dishes - and then back to the vacuum.  Shelly took it all to mean that her mother was letting us know  she was still watching over her husband and that Shelly shouldn't worry.

The moral of this little snippet... When you're exploring the unknown never assume that your failing to register anything with five senses means there's nothing going on.

Discovery

We've all had those moments: shivers down the spine, churning gut, motion at the edge of our visual periphery, whispers from an unknown source. These mysterious occurrences capture our attention to varying degrees.  

You may be an undigested bit of beef... a fragment of an underdone potato - so Ebeneezer Scrooge dismissed his visitation by Jacob Marley.

And while many are all too happy to blame a compromised constitution for things they cannot explain, there are others who wish to know just exactly what is tickling the edges of their senses.

As one of those compelled to look further, this blog affords the opportunity to share what I learn, surmise... or perhaps inadvertently create...