Dreams and Creativity

This book was brought to my attention today by Rob Brezsny, and has bumped its way to the top of my long must-read list. Dream on, dear friends, dream on. Let's re-dream the world.


The Secret History Of Dreaming by Robert Moss
From Amazon.com

QUOTE What do the first major oil discovery in Kuwait, Mark Twain’s fiction, and Harriet Tubman’s success conducting slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad have in common? They were all experienced first in dreams. Dreaming is vital to the human story. It is essential to our survival and evolution, to creative endeavors in every field, and, quite simply, to getting us through our daily lives. Robert Moss traces the strands of dreams through archival records and well-known writings, weaving remarkable yet true accounts of historical figures influenced by their dreams. With eloquent prose, Moss describes beautiful Lucrecia de Leon, whose dreams were prized by powerful men in Madrid and then recorded during the Spanish Inquisition, as well as the fascinating dream correspondence between Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung. The Secret History of Dreaming addresses the central importance of dreams and imagination as secret engines in the history of all things human, from literature to quantum physics, from religion to psychology, from war to healing. UNQUOTE

A Little Perspective

A little perspective now and then is valued by the wisest men (and women!)

From the pronoia wildman, Rob Brezhny. Here's one pagan hippie I agree with, at least with most of the sentiments he delivers in the letter below, which I found today in my inbox. I personally am still likely to write in a Ron Paul/Dennis Kucinich protest vote, but the first 3/4 or Rob's letter really got my attention. Yes!
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QUOTE
Dear Readers,

Before the last U.S. presidential election in 2004, *What Is Enlightenment?* magazine posed the following query to five religious leaders: "Many people argue that the upcoming presidential election is the most important in our lifetime.
Do you agree?" Four of the respondents said, in effect, "Yes, because George Bush is bad for America and the world." But the fifth religious leader, Zen Buddhist Jan Chozen Roshi, replied, "I don't know. Our existence is so short, it's like a dust mote in the eye of God.

To say that the time in which my dust mote existed was the most important is a self-centered view." Roshi's wisdom reminded me of an anecdote told by Henry Kissinger, an American politician who was Secretary of State in the 1970s. Kissinger once asked Chinese premier Zhou Enlai what he thought of the French Revolution, which had happened two centuries earlier. "Too soon to tell," Chou answered.

I always like to keep these ideas in mind, even in times of relative peace and calm. But I'm especially fond of focusing on the *very* big picture when divine chaos is whirling around -- like now. It helps keep me humble, and discourages me from any temptation I might have to believe I know the Whole Truth about anything, let alone about the mysterious long-term processes at work in the evolution of the human race.

There's another factor that makes me cautious about getting embroiled in partisan politics and the narrow-minded hostility that fuels it. One of my main goals in life is to love everyone with passionate intensity -- no exceptions. Not just the people I find beautiful and helpful and interesting and attractive. But also the people I don't like and the people who don't like me and the people I disagree with and the people who can't or won't do anything for me. In order to become the gorgeous genius I aspire to be, in order to fulfill the unique destiny I came to Earth to embody, I have to hold EVERYONE in my heart with compassion and empathy. As I contemplate how every single part of creation is interconnected, I've got to be aware that the creatures I'm allergic to and inclined to feel alienated from are also part of the great web of life.

That's my spiritual goal; it's essential to awakening my best self and cultivating an intimate connection to Spirit. It's also my selfish goal; it's critical to my physical and mental health. Hatred always sickens me. Love always invigorates me.*On the other hand:I was born at a specific moment in history with a unique outlook and a particular assignment. I can't help but be passionate about the truth as I see it.

And the truth as I see it is that Barack Obama is the best choice for President of the United States. He is definitely the most pronoiac candidate.That's why I'm voting for him and feel good about saying:BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT

If you'd like to know a little more about my political perspectives, some (but not all) of which are shared by Obama, you can read them here: http://tinyurl.com/2etg3cIf the spirit moves you, you can also read this article from *The New Yorker,* which I largely endorse:http://tinyurl.com/4ev99m

P.S. It's crucial to keep in mind that Obama can't single-handedly and magically heal all the havoc inflicted on America and the world by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his henchmen. The resuscitation will have to be accomplished primarily by we-the-people, and as much on the local level as in the federal realm.
UNQUOTE
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Get Your Freak On

Your happy and clear-headed joyful freak, that is. Here's an excerpt from Rob Brezsny's mind-blowing "Pronoia:How the World is Conspiring to Shower You With Blessings", which was published in The Sun magazine a few years ago. If you haven't seen The Sun, do yourself a favor and check it out; you'll find current commentary written from a stance of progressive wisdom - poetry which is actually good - and much more.
In 2001 Brezsny founded the Beauty and Truth Laboratory, which he describes as “a think tank of sorts,” to balance what he sees as the unrelenting negativity in the news and entertainment media. The Beauty and Truth Laboratory, which
may or may not have offices in Brezsny’s garage, is dedicated to exploring the possibilities of pronoia. Coined by Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow, pronoia is the opposite of paranoia. A “pronoiac” is someone who believes that the world is conspiring to shower him or her with blessings.

QUOTE At the Beauty and Truth Laboratory, we believe that stories
about the rot are not inherently more captivating than stories
about the splendor. On the contrary, given how predictable
and omnipresent the former have become, they are actually
quite dull. Obsessing on evil is boring. Rousing fear is a hackneyed
shtick. Wallowing in despair is a bad habit. Indulging
in cynicism is akin to committing a copycat crime.
How did it come to be that the news is reported solely by
journalists? There are so many other kinds of events besides
the narrow band favored by that highly specialized brand of
storytellers. Indeed, there are many phenomena that literally
cannot be perceived by journalists. Their training, their
temperament, and their ambitions make vast areas of human
experience invisible to them.
“Ninety-six percent of the cosmos puzzles astronomers,”
read a headline on CNN’s website: proof that at least some of
our culture’s equivalent of high priests — the scientists — are
humble enough to acknowledge that the universe is made up
mostly of stuff they can’t even detect, let alone study.
If only the journalists were equally modest. Since they’re
not, we’ll say it: The majority of everything that happens on
this planet escapes their notice. UNQUOTE