Comments

Comments

Generally, folks, I honestly didn't understand what all the fuss was about! Nexus simply misunderstood what Sergey was proposing! Nexus objects to creating a map in the Dreaming to engage in the recapitulation of dreams in the Dreaming. And he doesn't object to recalling dreams in the waking state. But this is precisely what Sergey is proposing! It is specifically in the waking state that one should recall and "recapitulate" them – and creating a map (also in the waking state!) helps to systematize this process. This is a trick that supposedly provides a goal. Not merely to recall dreams, but to create a map. Furthermore, this trick focuses attention on those details of the dream that we usually pay little heed to. If, for instance, you dream that you are sitting in a room talking to a friend, you pay more attention to the topic of conversation than to the color of the chair you are sitting on. If, in the waking state, you constantly try to recall the color of the chairs you sat on in the dream, then in the dream itself you will begin to notice this. Consequently, old patterns of behavior in the dream will break down, and dreaming attention will become more flexible. Isn't that wonderful?!

Regarding the paranoia about looking at one's hands, that allegedly one can then no longer tear one's gaze away from them—show me even one such person! And besides, if a particular practice harms you, it could well be due to your personal peculiarities—say, you have a propensity for obsessive states—but that doesn't mean it's the same for everyone else. Simply don't do what harms you, and that's all! Everyone has their own path; we choose what suits us and are not obliged to do everything from start to finish.

As for keeping a dream diary, I am ready to confirm that it is an excellent tool for beginners. I don't know why the Dream Hackers objected. Perhaps KK kept it incorrectly.

Questions for Sergey

Sergey! You asked for substantive questions. Well, here is a substantive question; please answer: how does one ascertain orientation in a place where there is no Sun, no clock, and no compass? And how does one map dreams if they all occur in different places, entirely unrelated to each other? Even if I dream of what seems to be the same place—say, the university where I studied—it never appears in the same form. Some of its features resemble the actual appearance of my university (inside and out), but much differs, and it differs every single time. I would not be able to create a map of this place because I would not be able to return to the exact same place in another dream. Each time, everything is new! Although it's ostensibly the same place. You speak of a zone of transmutations. But then, I have never left the confines of this zone. So how is one to map it?

By the way, you mentioned a colossal structure. But in my dreams, there have been various large-scale structures. One of them is the well-known Moscow State University, another is some building with a dome, like a colossal circus or a hangar or a domed stadium—it varies. I'm not even mentioning ordinary multi-story buildings; they seem to be smaller.

No, you know what I'll tell you about my dreams? The atmosphere of the dream repeats—yes, that happens. But the images within the dream are never precisely the same. So I simply cannot imagine how this could be mapped.

Perhaps instead of creating a map, one could simply systematize dreams by their general atmosphere? Sometimes, a dream has the same feeling/mood as another dream. One could record them in a single section. And, I suppose, it's unlikely that even these feelings/moods can be conveyed precisely with words, after all, this is... mmm... the Nagual... Otherwise, it will be "I experienced a long tickle in an indeterminate part of myself." I think it's possible to somehow denote certain details of the dreaming so that one can later recall them oneself—to latch onto them and reconstruct that dreaming. And then, once enough entries accumulate in each section, to analyze what they have in common. Perhaps there are some common features beyond just the dream's atmosphere/mood?

However, here's what could be done: get, say, a notebook with "My Dreams" on the cover, and indeed, record your dreams there, and assign a number—but then, why a number? A date, and if several dreams occur on one day, then a number as well. And from the other end of the notebook, allocate space for "sections." When a new mood appears in a dream, you create a new section and write down the date (and number) of the dreaming there. Or even better, implement this on a computer! A database of dreams.