A Master Class in Dreams
Your Guru the Dream - Step Seven
Tony Crisp
The exercises in developing the feeling sense in the last step are extremely important. As explained in the last paragraph of Step Six, the feeling sense is the ‘eye’ you can look through into your unconscious. As this eye, this sense, opens, you will be able to see into what was previously unknown, dark, out of sight.
With the development of this sense; with the skill of using it like a tool to reveal the obscure, you can approach your dream and become aware of the dynamic forces and workings of it. It will become a world of experience instead of a series of obscure symbols of strange drama.
Toward this end I suggest using a method that appears in the Your Guru the Body series of lessons. What this method allows you to do is to experiment with a feeling-sense exploration of a symbol or an image. When you have learned how to do this, you can then apply this to your dream images. At first, however, it is easier to use a symbol that does not appear in your dream. The reason for this is that occasionally we have some resistance to looking at ourselves closely.
Not only is this an exercise for your feeling sense, but it is also a way to experience something that The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung suggested in working with dreams or the unconscious. He described a way of letting the body fantasy.
In exploring this method over many years I arrived at these simply but highly effective techniques. So you can consider it a success if some aspect of what arises is spontaneous or unexpected. But at first it doesn’t matter if the session feels mechanical and contrived. Having those feelings mean you are sensing what is happening, and you can thereby refine your technique with their help. By letting go of the controlling urge, you can let the spontaneous and creative part of you express.
Exploring Spontaneous Imagination
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1- You need a space about the size of a single mattress in which to use this approach. It needs to be an environment in which you feel safe, and in which you will not be disturbed. Wear loose clothing in which you can move and stretch easily. When you are ready stand in the centre of your space and raise your arms above your head. Hold them so they are quite extended but slightly apart. 2 - With eyes closed, bring to mind the idea or image of an unplanted seed. It can be any sort of seed. 3 - Notice whether your body in its present posture feels as if it is expressing the form and condition of the seed. The aim is to consider how you and your body feel in relationship to the idea, and sense you have of the seed. Many people find, for instance, that having the arms extended does not ‘feel’ like an unplanted seed. Don’t struggle with this. It is just an experiment, play with it, have fun. Explore this feeling of whether your body feels like the dried seed. |
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4 - If you do not notice such feelings of difference between your extended posture and the idea of a seed, try another approach. Follow the subtle urges of your body. Be aware of the gentle urge to breathe. As you tune into this, notice whether there are similar subtle urges in your arms and body to move. If so let them be expressed. Play with the feelings of what it would be like to have the shape of the seed; to be waiting for the right conditions to grow and express all your hidden potential of leaves and flowers. Let your body play with these ideas or feelings. Do not make this an intellectual inquiry. Use your body and feelings, even if this is a new for you. Explore in this way until you feel you have found a position that is satisfying. Take your time. Notice whether the arms and head are right. Would a seed that is not growing feel alert, sleeping, or waiting? See if you can find an inner mood that for you feels like a seed. Do not attempt to think the whole thing out or consider it scientifically. Let whatever feeling sense you have guide you.
Take your time with this. As the dry seed, are you asleep, are you waiting, what does it feel like inside you? Dwell in whatever you feel. Notice whether, once you find an inner mood that feels right, your body expresses this. Wriggle or move into what feels right.
Use this step several times during the week until you feel at ease with it. It only need take a few minutes each time.
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