Writing my way through the A-to-Z blogging challenge, I’ve tasked myself with creating a manifesto reflecting wonders, curiosities, and delights currently captivating me – all through the lens of unusual, obscure, or simply charming-to-me words.
E is for…
euneirophrenia – the peace of mind that comes from having pleasant dreams
Ah, deep sigh of contentment here. This happens to be one of my favorite states, and every morning that starts with euneirophrenia is pure delight to me.
I am, and have been for as long as I can remember, been a prolific dreamer. I pay attention to my sleeping dreams. I have strong beliefs about the profound spiritual nature of dreaming, and know dreams to be both personal gifts and collective communal experiences as well.
I’m quite fond of Marsha Norman’s observation:
“Dreams are illustrations…from the book your soul is writing about you.”
Dreams challenge us to know ourselves better. They invite us to learn a richly expressive, oh-so-beautiful private language. They invite us to remember, in the most simple way, that we are so much more than we often experience ourselves as in our often-limited daytime vision of ourselves.
On the whole as a culture, we don’t honor or respect dreams, and so they become fraught with all kinds of needless challenge. We aren’t encouraged to remember them, or work with them, or put them into the context of everyday occurrence. And while believe dreams are treasures certainly, they can be approached easily, gently, as an everyday friend.
I engage with my dreams in many ways, but one of my favorite things to do is express the dream in art form. For me this bringing of what I’ve experienced in another realm into the physicality of this realm is anchoring. A sort of weaving threads between dimensions.
I have three dreamscapes that I find myself in frequently in dreamtime, and I can almost always guarantee I’ll wake with a sense of euneirophrenia afterwards.
One is in a forest at midnight, where I’m surrounded by a circle of magical animals, some always the same and some new visitors each time. Under the star-filled sky, in the deep quiet of the night, each creature has a blessing to deliver, or a word of encouragement or some gift to share. While this is the story line my mind creates to help me remember, my soul self understands I’m really meeting in other dimensions with various members of my Light Councils. My dream is my way of holding on to that in my waking life; a way of conceptualizing the wholeness of all, knowing that there is no separation. Magic, magic everywhere.
Another frequent and delightful setting is in my grandmother’s garden from when I was a child. There is always a small garden table, which is never the same but always intriguingly designed. And finally, there’s a dream setting where the top of my head is hinged so it can be opened and a flashlight shone into it. Being lit from within, you can see my insides area covered in mysterious languages, codes and geometric shapes.
I’m deeply appreciative of my dreams. They’ve given me a deep and sacred practice that I’ve been exploring since I was a child. They’ve given me fodder for countless journals; they’ve piqued my curiosity about countless things; and led me to deep connections with other dreamers. They’ve given me laughter; and bizarre and astonishing images that I rush to capture sketches of so I won’t forget. They are magical! And I beg them to never stop sending me these secret encoded messages; those nightly tickets to the best theater ever; those treats I enjoy as they are unfolding and then again when I consider them upon wakening.
I relish euneirophrenia and the echo it brings from one dimension into another. I want to start all my mornings this way.
What about you? Do you pay attention to your dreams? Experience euneirophrenia? Done any dream art? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
Didn’t get that last night! Quite the opposite, although it’s usually true..interesting word, so many letters for such an easy concept!
Beth
https://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com/
LOL – yes it’s a big word with presence isn’t it Beth?! I like that about it – it somehow seems to give appropriate gratitude for something we so often take for granted or simply don’t pay attention to at all.
O my goodness Deborah! This is a word I’ve never heard of and that it means peace of mind that comes from having pleasant dreams is wonderful!
Where would I be without my dream life? I too have the same deep respect and love for my night time visitors. I know that they are soul messages from me to me and are indeed a gift of the most profound kind. I write them down every time I have them and often make a sketch alongside them. And spend time wondering about them. Never rushing to any ‘interpretation’. Sometimes I paint them .. I have a zillion dream journals that I sometimes look back on …
We have a small dream workshop once a month here at my home (tomorrow morning) where we share our dreams. It is so helpful to hear others’ responses as many time we cannot see behind our own backs. No-one interprets .. but it’s wonderful to get an aha! sometimes!
Thank you sooo much!
It delights me Susan that you’re a dreaming kindred. And I love the idea of your monthly dream workshops that avoid interpretation.
The image you share of not being able to see behind our own backs is wonderful, and one I”m claiming today to think more about.
Dream well and deep my friend.
I used to pay attention to my dreams once upon a time. I’d write them down in a journal I kept on my bedside table. I miss that and might start up again. I love the pictures you’ve selected. Is that your artwork? Very beautiful.
It can be lovely to return to practices we once enjoyed and see if they’re still a good fit, or perhaps have even expanded into something better.
The “see through” woman is my art, and the photograph of the Dreaming Goddess of Malta is of one my many altars.
Thanks for stopping by J-Dub, I appreciate it.
Oh where do I sign up for euneirophrenia? I want my dreams to be pleasant, but my subconscious often has other ideas. Just the sound of this word is encouraging. I like your thought about expressing your dreams in art form. I don’t often remember the details of my dreams, but the impressions stick with me. That’d be enough to start me down the creative path.
Dream impressions are the perfect thing to inspire creative expression Ally. And perhaps even with the unpleasant dreams you can cull something from them that you turn into something more pleasant.
I once did a mailart call where I asked people to send me fragments of their dreams. I would talk a handful of them, create my own piece of art – whether written or visual. When I was done with the project, I redistributed the dream fragments to all the other players, so they had some new fodder to play with as well. It was fabulous fun (and in some cases quite profound).
Your post was such a delightful read because I’m a dreamer too. Giving dreams importance, writing them down and interpreting them is something I learned from my mother. My daughters are just as fascinated by dream lore. I am so happy to have found your lovely blog.
http://www.kalpanaawrites.com
Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words Kalpana. I love that you’ve passed on to your daughters what was passed on to you – how perfect! Happy dreaming always.
Hari OM
I too was ever fascinated by dreams and why we had them. Have had several precognitive experiences during my life. My instinct was that it had something to do with impressions from other lives… it will not surprise you to hear that Vedanta has a very logical approach to dreams and what they are – or are not… hmmm… I may change my “S” post (svapna=dream) and write about this instead! Nothing to say one can’t rewrite – right?!
On the creative side; a couple of short stories have arisen from dream prompts. I believe that it is accessing that part which echoes the dream-state within oneself which informs the creation of my mandalas. YAM xx
Whatever you choose to write for your S topic will be of interest to me Yamini, but a dream post sounds fascinating.
And I celebrate your creativity connections – I find that very exciting.
If I can remember my dreams, I often ponder them for long periods of time, since I think my brain is working on something, or trying to show me how I’m feeling. My subconscious is often aware of deeper insights than my conscious thoughts.
I think it’s always helpful to have a “non-ordinary” access point when we’re contemplating things – it can invite us into deeper and more expansive awarenesses, and that’s always a good thing in my book.
Hi Susan … sometimes I have happy dreams … but tend to forget them by the morning … but I’d love to be able to have euneirophreniaic dreams … on tap – how wonderful. Fascinating to read and to read the comments – cheers Hilary
Euneirophrenia on tap – that would be wonderful indeed Hilary.
I hardly ever dream, or at least I never remember them when I awake, unless it is because it’s one of the bad kind where I wake up screaming. That definitely is not euneirophrenia! Love that quote – had to write it in my Spring Yearbook!
Wake-up-screaming dreams are definitely not euneirophenia inducing.
I remember that you are a keeper of quotes, and the Spring Yearbook sounds like a perfect place to record one daily.
What a lovely word!
Since I have anxiety, I also often have anxiety dreams. So when I have pleasant dreams, or visit my favorite dreamscapes, it is always a nice experience 🙂 Most of my usual dreamscapes are book shops. Surprise. 😀
The Multicolored Diary: Weird Things in Hungarian Folktales
Bookstores are a wonderful dream setting – I wish you many many more of them.
Love the reclining terracotta lady. She’s the poster girls for euneirophrenia: perfectly matched.
How beautiful is this: “A sort of weaving threads between dimensions.”
Dreams have always had a powerful presence in mythology all over the world. In fact, there are a number of artists (like you) and well known poets (like Thyagaraja) who have created works of beauty inspired by their dreams. So paying attention to them is a good thing,
I’m a full time day dreamer and a part -time doer of chores.
I don’t always recall details of beautiful dreams but wake up with euneirophrenia (how do you pronounce it?).
Sometimes, I get woken up by words or phrases knocking inside me. I jot them down and go back to sleep. These usually string together as poems in the days that follow. Odd, I never know where they come from.
I love your dreamscapes–all three of them.
F is for Five Favourite things
Oh Arti – I love the idea of being woken by words/phrases and then perhaps stringing them together later. What a beautiful dream gift!
yoo-NEE-row-FREN-ee-ah is the way to pronounce this lovely word, and I wish you many many more experiences with it.
Thank you. xx
Great post again and I am too a fan of your art-work. It somehow represents you, I feel.
XxX
Thank you Patty – those are kind words.