Musings.13: Barbara

elieve me - I do not think for a moment that falling asleep in the midst of writing a story, as happened to Melissa, is necessarily an indication that one's writing is bad or "soporific." It may be the case on occasion, but more often than not I think it is the Creative Force's way to slow down the writer and get them to see some creative elements that they are missing. If it is one thing the Creative Force loves it is a writer who listens to Its stories.

"Why don't you tell your dreams to me, fantasy will set you free ... Close your eyes girl, look inside girl ... " Steppenwolf

So, in this most recent dream of Melissa's it appears that she is awakened to an aspect of her identity through her efforts as a writer, a storyteller. The dream presents her with an image of herself as a peacock which is rather unusual, as Melissa notes, because male peacocks possess the magnificent plumage. (There is one type of peacock whose females have splendid plumage, but the male still possesses the more notable feathers.)

One thing I have learned when dealing with surprising imagery in dreams is that I always check for any connections to mythology. It was a delightful surprise to discover that both the peacock and the swan have associations to the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Saraswati emerged from the mouth of Brahma, bringing books of wisdom and knowledge to aid humanity in forming solutions to bring order out of chaos. Her arrival was heralded by a peacock, and she emerged on the back of a swan.

"Be - as a page that aches for a word that speaks on a theme that is timeless." Neil Diamond, "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"

Following the logic of dreams it appears that the Dreaming Universe is instructing Melissa to see that her role as a writer is that of heralding the arrival of the goddess Saraswati. Curiously, however, the Dreaming Universe presents her with a cast of characters culled from Western fairy tales, the Twelve Dancing Princesses. The fairy tale is not presented in its entirety here so I tend to think that at this stage in Melissa's development as a writer the elements she was shown are simply the vital ones: twelve princesses, the swans, the ball, the tattered soles.

When the princesses are escorted from the ball and arrive at their common destination, the question of identity is again highlighted. At first glance it appears that the identity of the princesses is to remain a mystery, but Hindu mythology teaches that both black horses and white horses symbolize Saraswati and her consort, Brahma. So, again, we are pointed to the goddess as the source of universal wisdom and knowledge for humanity.

I note also that the Celtic goddess Epona is associated with the horse. Perhaps the western fairy tale pointing to Saraswati is suggesting that Epona is also to be acknowledged. Thus we would see the goddess of universal wisdom and knowledge spreading across Europe up from Asia.

"I am a human Be-ing." Deepak Chopra

The Goddess has appeared in Melissa's dreams in many guises, but now, by explicitly referencing a European fairy tale the message appears to be that such tales represent the universal wisdom and knowledge couched in them. Until this dream that wisdom and knowledge was merely suggested by the occasional appearances of the Faerie Queen and Her King.

This association of fairy tales with universal wisdom and knowledge is strong 'medicine' indeed. This is so especially as it is presented to Melissa after the dream in which she refuses to respond to her father's demands to act in the way he chooses for her, and receives affirmation of the wisdom of maintaining her dream.

"You gave me life now show me how to live ..." Audioslave

The appearance of the fairy tale to Melissa demonstrates Bruno Bettelheim's assertion that over the centuries fairy tales "came to convey at the same time overt and covert meanings - came to speak simultaneously to all levels of the human personality, communicating in a manner which reaches the uneducated mind of the child as well as that of the sophisticated adult." (emphasis mine)

The psychological challenges of "becoming able to relinquish childhood dependencies; gaining a feeling of selfhood and of self-worth and a sense of moral obligation" are not confined to a specific age level. These tales offer anyone who approaches them with an open mind the opportunity to fit "unconscious content into conscious fantasies, which then enable him to deal with that content."

"Someone tries to hide himself down inside himself ..." Audioslave

The challenges of Melissa's life, as shown to us in these dreams, strongly suggest that Mr. Barker's expectations of her and her vain attempts to meet them have derailed her. The fairy tale points her toward an identity and a role, should she choose to accept them. It is especially interesting that the fairy tale has been altered, tailored, to her specific needs. Perhaps the most enchanting aspect of this dream, this fairy tale is that it speaks to her about her. It acknowledges aspects of her unconscious life that nothing or noone else has ever noticed, let alone acknowledged.

"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." Joseph Campbell

These dreams and the fairy tale offer Melissa "hope to live not just from moment to moment, but in true consciousness of our existence." Romeo could have been speaking for untold legions of people who "have lost the will to live, and have stopped trying," because a meaning to their life has evaded them:
Mercutio: Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance.
Romeo: Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes/ With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead/So stakes me to the ground I cannot move.

How would Romeo respond were he to meet any of the Twelve Dancing Princesses?

[A bibliography for this post includes:

Bettelheim, Bruno. "The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales." New York: Vintage, 1975

Shakespeare, William. "Romeo and Juliet." New York: Bantam, 1988]

[Photo: The tattered heels of the shoes I wore to the Folger Shakespeare Museum, Washington, D.C. - the sidewalks just destroyed them.]

Musings.10: Barbara

This last dream of Melissa's perplexed me for a bit. Something obviously was trying to come to light, but why a dagger? What was I supposed to do with a dagger? What was the dagger meant to symbolize?

Then, as so often happens, that Creative Voice whispered and pointed me towards "The Sword and the Mind: The Classic Japanese Treatise on Swordsmanship and Tactics." I opened it to find a 17th century verse entitled "Dream": One hundred years, thirty-six thousand days. Maitreya, Avalokitesvara, how many yeses and nos? Yes is also a dream. No is also a dream. Maitreya is a dream. Avalokitesvara is also a dream. The Buddha said, "So is all to be seen."

Ah. Dream. Familiar territory. It seemed that two figures, Maitreya and Avalokitesvara, were to be considered teachers for something in this dream of Melissa's. Little is said about Maitreya beyond his identity as the buddha of the future, the last earthly buddha, who is regarded as the embodiment of love.

Avalokitesvara has several names: Lord of Compassionate Sight; Lord Who Looks on from High; Lotus-bearer - the lotus signifying non-attachment, freedom from ignorance, and the path to enlightenment. Avalokitesvara is considered the bodhisattva of universal compassion, the ideal of commitment to and involvement with all living and suffering. To the Chinese he appears as the merciful goddess Guanyin.

He resides in the Western Paradise, yet he remains in the world. He is considered the bodhisattva of the present age and is said to have emanated from Amitabha. From notes I wrote about a stone mural from the sixth century, during a visit to the Sackler Gallery (Wash., D.C.) in early December 2005, I know that "The Buddha of Infinite Light, known as Amitabha in the Indian language Sanskrit, is Lord of the Pure Land called the Western Paradise." Amitabha represents the pre-existent Buddha who already spontaneously exists.

Both Amitabha, the Lord of Infinite Light, and Avalokitesvara, the Lord of Compassionate Sight, forewent Nirvana to help the weak and suffering. With Maitreya (maitre in Sanskrit translates as loving-kindness), this trio of Lords offers the symbolic presence of figures of light, compassion, and love from the past, present, and future. Their presence radiates empathy with all living and suffering. Their presence signals a commitment to and involvement in the enlightenment of humanity.

In simple terms, these figures are committed to seeing that all of humanity comes to dwell in the state of true understanding of both inner and outer reality. Until we have this true understanding we dwell in a world of phenomena. The Diamond Sutra, as quoted in "The Sword and the Mind," teaches: "Every phenomenon is like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow; it is like dew and also like lightning. So is all to be seen."

Alistair Shearer writes in the introduction to his and Peter Russell's translation of selections of "The Upanishads," spiritual texts of India: "...the sages of the Upanishads were concerned with finding Truth, but they realized that as all experience is, and always must be, mediated through the mind, knowledge of the world can only go so far as the knower has knowledge of himself. (emphasis mine) Moreover, they considered our normal waking consciousness too limited and too unstable to comprehend any ultimate reality, for as Truth is that which does not change, it demands an equally unchanging consciousness to appreciate it."

The similarity in thought between these Indian sages and the Powhatans of North America is simply striking! (Scroll down to read Musings.9)

The interest of the sages of the Upanishads "was to transcend the ostensibly rational processes by which we normally try to make sense of the world and reach a state of pure Being, which, lying beyond all thinking and feeling, is the very basis of the mind. They called this state the Self and, as it is unchanging and impartial, considered it the only reliable basis for true understanding of both inner and outer reality. To live in this state of expanded awareness is to be enlightened ... "

This character, Melissa, has chosen to heed these dreams to learn of her Self, a process few Westerners consider 'rational.' Both the 'Dark Lady' and a dagger are presented to her in this ultimate reality. The message inherent in this is that the 'Dark Lady' is to be seen as a bringer of light and compassion, as Guanyin, an emanation of Amitabha. The dagger points to the pen as an instrument of enlightenment.

Tulku Thondup Rinpoche writes (Shambhala Sun, March 2009): "The Buddha said, 'Mind is the main thing and it is the leader.' The body is not our identity. Mind is our identity. It is who we are. So from the Buddha's perspective, working with the mind is the basis of health and healing ...... So if we honestly wish to take care of ourselves and serve this planet in a meaningful way --to heal ourselves and others - it is true loving-kindness that we must generate firmly in our own heart and mind." Loving-kindness must be a meditation one practices, regularly. Devotion to, practice of, loving-kindness brings one into touch with "the energy that opens our heart with joy and trust."

This energy explains the significance of the pen in the dream, I believe. In many ways a pen works with the mind to use language to manifest art. Language, to many people, is words. Joseph Campbell taught that all words are fragments of AUM - AUM which represents to us the energy of the Universe. To hear and feel and write the sounds Melissa hears in her world brings her to that expanded state of awareness and opens her heart with joy and trust.

AUM puts humanity in touch with the Universe. Language with its bits and bytes of AUM, meditated upon, practiced as art, can bring humanity to Truth, for it is written, "In the beginning was the Word."



[A bibliography for this post includes:

Cotterell, Arthur and Storm, Rachel. "The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology". London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 1999, 2008

Russell, Peter and Shearer, Alistair. "The Upanishads". New York: Bell Tower, 2003

Sato, Hiroaki. "The Sword and the Mind: The Classic Japanese Treatise on Swordsmanship and Tactics". New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2004

Thundup, Tulku Rinpoche. "Loving-Kindness is the Best Medicine". Shambhala Sun, vol. 17, no. 4, pps. 51-53, 97]

[[Stone Mural: "Western Paradise", China, Henan Province, Southern Xiangtangshan, Cave 2, Northern Qi dynasty, ca. 570]]