SelfhelpMagazine

by Richard Wilkerson, Dream Educator

While a specific dream's meaning can only be known by the dreamer him/ or herself, there are some interesting images that we all share.

If this were my dream....

If I imagine that in my dream, I'm on top of the world, a few associations pop up for me. The first is that I am feeling grand in that I have risen above the valley, the village and the marketplace. From up here, I can get away from the struggle of everyday life and gain some perspective.

There is much about this world that is grand and wonderful, but it's frozen! I am removed from the warmth of a larger group of humanity. I have a small group with me, but the world is still frozen.

The ground here isn't particularly stable either. There is a sense that my whole ground, all that supports me, could give way.

In my dream there is a twist to the classic tale of vision quest at the top of the world. My friends and I have long metal extensions on our hands.

I am reminded of the movie "Edward Scissorhands" and delay making any judgments about the loss of humanity just because we are turning part machine. It seems to me that since the first tools were made, we have been on a steady road of becoming and extending our natural tools of arms, legs, mouth, eyes....

I am also reminded of a seminal article by Donna Haraway in Socialist Review, No. 80 (1985) titled A manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism. In her paper, she challenges the negative views about technology and suggests that human-machine combinations will equalize the cultural playing field for women and other repressed groups.

Cyborgs are *not* the Beehive drones of a Queen Machine like we've seen in older Star Trek movies, but rather, they are champions of connectivity, communication and diversity. They are a worthy global community goal, and one that we seem headed toward embracing, whether or not we know it.

In my dream, the extensions seem to keep me connected to the world when the ground moves. In a sense, they are the extensions I will use to stay attached to the solid world when my world views change. The challenge for me then, is to imagine what and how these extensions are present and active in my waking life.

About the Author:

Richard Wilkerson is general editor for The Internet Dream E-zine, Electric Dreams, and director of DreamGate, the Internet Communications and Dream Education Center. He writes the Cyberphile column for the Association for the Study of Dreams Newsletter.