Self-help Articles

by John Suler, Ph.D.

It would be very difficult to imagine a world without people who dream. There is a universal propensity towards Utopia. Virtual worlds give another opportunity to dream. The following person had a dream of online haven in the "Palace" virtual world:

"I'm a VERY active Palace dreamer, perhaps even more so since becoming a wizard (I even find myself wishing I could `gag/`pin/`mute some people in real life. :-)

My most frequent dream is of a "real" Palace, where avatars are actually the "solid/real" version of the ones I see online (Finchy looks cute as a little talking bird, PH actually even smells like a horse and I myself feel funny as a bunch of floating silver spheres).

Everything I can do at the Palace I can do in this world, including the ability to wish myself into a different room, esp, paging, etc... yet I actually have to mentally "type" these commands for them to work.

This Palace is located on some sort of artificial island (more like an oil rig, but huge) full of glass towers following Gaudi's architecture. These towers are connected by walkways of bright red "plastic?" and full of light (phosphorescence might be more appropriate).

I simply walk/float thru these settings talking with other wizards and friends from the Palace. Mostly thru "pages". I always seem to be worried about this "big circuit" I have to build for which the parts are not available, other times I'm showing my wife around this city (she has never been online and is quite "atechnical").

She always looks like in real life, but I speak with her via esp. Something interesting is that, while the sea under this city seems to be quite turbulent (think of a hurricane in the Caribbean, down to the color of the sea) the weather in this city is always fair.

Be it sun or midnight, I get the "subliminal" feeling that there's some sort of "dome" that protects this city so I have nothing to worry. I can only remember one time in which there was rain in my dream, and that's because It struck me as resembling some "Blade Runner" scenes.

I dream of the Palace quite vividly as you can see, at least twice a month (for a whole week once, while I was actually creating one for a client). But it always is the same city, even though it sometimes seems to be both at sea and on a green forest at the same time."

Comments on Dream of Online Haven

One striking feature of this dream is the experience of Palace as an ideal haven. The dreamer hangs out with friends, freely employs the special powers that Palace offers, and is protected from the turbulent influences of the "outside" (and maybe even "internal") world. This dream portrays the basic human wish for a utopia.

Feeling Funny - Here is one hint that the dreamer is not fully comfortable with this utopian environment or the identity he assumes in it.

Mentally Typing - Here we see typing as a metaphor for thinking. For some people, typing their communications and commands at the Palace may actually feel like a direct extension of their thoughts.

Artificial Island - This world is somehow "artificial." Is it a superficial representation of the real world? Is there something missing in this world?

Red Walkways - To me, this red walkways reminded me of blood vessels, almost as if this city is a metaphor for the human body, or even the human mind.

The Big Circuit - Here is another hint that something is not quite right about this environment. Although this city in some ways is a utopia, there is an underlying feeling of anxiety. Something is missing or incomplete, either in the utopia itself or perhaps in the dreamer.

Showing the Wife Around - This seems to indicate the necessity of helping one's significant others become familiar with this new world (especially if that world also is metaphor for one's own internal psychological world).

Or perhaps the absence of the significant other is what's MISSING in this new world. Notice how the dream contains either the worry about the circuit, OR the presence of the dreamer's wife.

Subliminal - we might substitute the word "unconscious" here.

The Turbulence Below - This might represent either the turbulence in the "outside" world, the potential problems for the user within the world of Palace, or turbulence in one's own unconscious. In any case, in this ideal world, the dreamer mostly feels shielded from these troubles.

Blade Runner - a movie about anti-social androids fighting for their freedom. It's not a utopian world, but one in which technology has gone awry. "

Could this mean that the dream of online haven is strictly a dream? What is your idea of Utopia? Is it possible in YOUR world?

About the Author:

John Suler, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology at Rider University and a practicing clinical psychologist. He has published on psychotherapy, mental imagery, and eastern philosophy. He currently maintains several web sites.