Post by halibutholysoap on Feb 15, 2015 13:54:50 GMT -5
This is excerpted from Listening in Dreams by Carole Ione.
The Senoi
Until they were interfered with by outsiders, the Senoi of Malaysai were reportedly a p peaceful people with no word for war in their langauge. (they probably called it 'roughhousing') They told their dreams in their dwellings each morning. They were adept at listening to the dreams of the community. In this manner they always had their pulse on the needs of the people. If a child or an adult needed something, all would know about it through listening to their dreams. If the community as a whole needed to move on from one place to another, it would become apparent through the dreams of the group.
Among the Senoi, the children were taught to interact with their dreams and were able to transform dangerous animals, or enemies into harmless figures, and to call for a dream helper when they needed one. Among elder community members, dream lovers were to be honored, no matter who they were and not only was it suggested that one move through to orgasm in the dream; it was recommended that a gift be requested of the lover. This gift could be received in the dream itself or in a waking state (asking the person). Arnold Mindell has noted that the Senoi had a ritual in which any person who appeared in a dream would be entitled to receive a gift by the dreamer.
He suggests that the Senoi understood that when we are dreaming of another we are in a sense "taking something from them" unless we own our projection of them and recognize that they (and their qualities) are not entirely separate from ourselves.
The Masai
The Masai of Kenya do not wake a sleeper for fear that her wandering spirit may not be able to reenter the body.
The Fellahs
The Fellahs of the Nile envelop their heads with a turban to prevent the escape of the soul through the top of the head during sleep.
The Celts
Sleeping at sacred sits has been an important tradition of the Celts who were particularly in tune with "places of power" and the ley lines of the earth that connect those places. The purpose of seeking out and sleeping at such site is to obtain a special vision or dream of revelation and healing, containing a message or a direction. Most of the ancient churches and cathedrals of England and Europe are built upon such sites.
The Greeks
The earliest Greek Temples, deriving from the Egyptian practices, furthered the concept of a real god making a tangible visit in a recognizable physical form. Descriptions of the morning scene in such temples include the specter of live snakes crawling about, bloody remnants of various operations having taken place during the night. In the book Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, Dream Interpretation, or oneiromancy is evoked. (greek word for dream is oneiros). Aristotle wrote three books on dreams, and states, 'The most skillful interpreter of dreams is he who has the faculty of observing resemblances.' [below is a painting of the Greek god of dreams]
Dogs and Cats
Apparently dogs and cats dream (REM) longer than humans during the same amount of sleep. [Do animals dream?]
The Senoi
Until they were interfered with by outsiders, the Senoi of Malaysai were reportedly a p peaceful people with no word for war in their langauge. (they probably called it 'roughhousing') They told their dreams in their dwellings each morning. They were adept at listening to the dreams of the community. In this manner they always had their pulse on the needs of the people. If a child or an adult needed something, all would know about it through listening to their dreams. If the community as a whole needed to move on from one place to another, it would become apparent through the dreams of the group.
Among the Senoi, the children were taught to interact with their dreams and were able to transform dangerous animals, or enemies into harmless figures, and to call for a dream helper when they needed one. Among elder community members, dream lovers were to be honored, no matter who they were and not only was it suggested that one move through to orgasm in the dream; it was recommended that a gift be requested of the lover. This gift could be received in the dream itself or in a waking state (asking the person). Arnold Mindell has noted that the Senoi had a ritual in which any person who appeared in a dream would be entitled to receive a gift by the dreamer.
He suggests that the Senoi understood that when we are dreaming of another we are in a sense "taking something from them" unless we own our projection of them and recognize that they (and their qualities) are not entirely separate from ourselves.
The Masai
The Masai of Kenya do not wake a sleeper for fear that her wandering spirit may not be able to reenter the body.
The Fellahs
The Fellahs of the Nile envelop their heads with a turban to prevent the escape of the soul through the top of the head during sleep.
The Celts
Sleeping at sacred sits has been an important tradition of the Celts who were particularly in tune with "places of power" and the ley lines of the earth that connect those places. The purpose of seeking out and sleeping at such site is to obtain a special vision or dream of revelation and healing, containing a message or a direction. Most of the ancient churches and cathedrals of England and Europe are built upon such sites.
The Greeks
The earliest Greek Temples, deriving from the Egyptian practices, furthered the concept of a real god making a tangible visit in a recognizable physical form. Descriptions of the morning scene in such temples include the specter of live snakes crawling about, bloody remnants of various operations having taken place during the night. In the book Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, Dream Interpretation, or oneiromancy is evoked. (greek word for dream is oneiros). Aristotle wrote three books on dreams, and states, 'The most skillful interpreter of dreams is he who has the faculty of observing resemblances.' [below is a painting of the Greek god of dreams]
Dogs and Cats
Apparently dogs and cats dream (REM) longer than humans during the same amount of sleep. [Do animals dream?]