March 26, 2004

Dream Yoga. Because the monkey mind never sleeps.
posted by homunculus 20 years ago
  • The Interpretation of Dreams came out in 1900. New news?
  • This is the site map for the Association for the Study of Dreams -- a very large website, much of which can be accessed by the public -- there are some interesting articles under Education and Projects.
  • Written by the author of Inside Spinal Tap. I admire the author's attempt to synthesize common threads out of a number of different oneiromancic (is that a word? well, it is now...) practices. Many of these threads, however, derive the details of the particular practice on the word of a single practitioner, making the overall work vulnerable to the biases and veracity of that practitioner. I probed the Taoist dream study story a bit, because I'm interested in Taoism as a philosophy, but repelled by much of the superstitious cant and rubbish that has accrued around it. Certainly Ochiogrosso's rendition of Belyea's story sounded attractive there, making it sound as if Taoist dream work focused mostly on getting a good night's sleep and keeping your life in balance. Unfortunately, digging on Belyea reveals him as a pretty unbalanced fellow, with a derelict organization [PDF]. Maybe that's the yogic Taoist way, focusing on inner perfection to the exclusion of harmony with the world. It didn't give me a lot of confidence in his story, either way. The essay's conclusion was a bit jarring. Understanding that this was written for Yoga Journal (ick) in 1997, still: He sees his job as somehow teaching Westerners who lead extremely busy lives to access the essence of Eastern teachings created in and for vastly different environments reeks of The One Minute Meditator and Teach Yourself Serenity In 24 Hours — gimmicky new-age enlightenment-on-the-go. The rest meanders to a cloying, precious end. Interesting stuff, still, and something I'd never have picked up on my own. Thanks, homunculus.