THE DREAMING RITUAL, Part 2
Charging & Discharging the Ritual; Closure
"dreambody/earthbody" video (2012) click image for info
No-Form: Charging and Discharging the Ritual
Create an area on the floor spacious enough to move freely in. Stand one step outside this area while facing it. Enter a state of deepening internal receptivity, or No-Form. From No-Form, project into the area "the presence and power of the dreaming". Remain in No-Form while sensing the area before you and its projection of the presence of dreaming. Relax your desire to control any outcomes; allow the power of dreaming to do its thing in the space before you.
Once you have engaged a state of deep receptivity via No-Form, enter the charged "dreaming" space and stand there simply absorbing the power of dreaming. Don't move. Let this power fill you and move you in whatever ways it does. Do not try and control or direct this energy; let it direct and guide you. When you feel full with the dreaming, begin practicing your movement cycle. Note: the pace, form or rhythm of your movement cycle may shift or warp due to the influx of the "dream charge". Let this force guide you as you perform the movement cycle -- over and over again. Work to maintain the structural integrity of the movements while being guided by the power of dreaming.
As you continue the movement cycle, allow any images and emotions to flow up and influence you. Do your best to stay true to your dream choreography. You are done when you lose structural integrity (the ritual falls apart) or when you lose power (the dreaming force disappears); you are also done when you feel done. When you are done, exit the dreaming area and return to No-Form.
Empty out. Return to No-Form. Release any attachment to the dreaming power and send it back to its source. No-Form now becomes a trance-dispersion device to discharge the dreaming ritual. When you feel receptive and empty again, the ritual is over. Jog around the periphery of the dreaming area for about a minute to create a transition away from this ritual.
No-Form in "dreambody/earthbody" video
Closure
Returning to No-Form after the ritual allows for a transition from the dreamtime back to the present, so you don't wander out onto the streets under the influence of some dream state. It is also not a good idea to drive an automobile and/or operate machinery under the influence of the power of dreaming. Write down your experiences and/or talk about them with others. This can help disperse the charge of dreaming and integrate the intuitive experience through your interpretive, analytical mind. An important transition from the dreamtime back into the daytime.
Ritualizing our dreams is highly personal. I believe the actual meaning of our dreams and the dreaming ritual comes from the dream itself, rather than what we decide or analyze. Experience has also shown me that the degree of commitment shown in the ritual preparations determines the quality and depth of the outcome. As we consciously enact movements originating in our dreams, a living dreaming ritual is born.
Dreaming Links
ParaTheatrical ReSearch group prepping the Dreaming Ritual
at Pinnacles Wilderness Park, Central California 2005
"dreambody/earthbody": The Video Document (2012)
Dreaming Ritual and Paratheatre methods demonstrated
Links
to World Dreaming Traditions
Huichol,
Senoi, Toltec and others
Interview with Guboo Ted Thomas
Australian Aborigine elder speaks on the Dreaming
