| "Thou art a second world in miniature. The sun and moon are within thee, and also the stars." (Origen, Greek theologian, 185-254) Is circular/spiral imagery in dreams hardwired into our genetic code? We are in constant orbit around the sun on our round mother, spaceship Earth. Our bodies and all of creation are composed of the same basic chemical elements and teem with unseen energy in motion. In our culture, we consider time to be linear, but our dreams move us to the past and future, not only the present. Their cyclical nature allows us to connect in body, mind and spirit with each other and dimensions beyond, including the All, a total centering of ourselves within our environment. Explore with us circular/spiral images and motions that are powerful symbols of ultimate wholeness, revered by people from the past and still gifted to dreamers today.
Can Dreams Truly Move Humans and Earth into Holistic Balance?
Rita Dwyer
Do we label objects in our dreams without appreciating inherent shapes, such as the circle, or to describe actions, such as dancing, without noting the rhythmical spinning and swirling of body and sound? Yet these shapes and motions are primal, experienced in other cultures from ages past, often revered for deeper meanings. Circle imagery seems hardwired into our genetic code connecting us with all created matter. I will discuss my thoughts on this topic, calling upon great minds of the past and current dream phenomena.
Circular or Center-Oriented Imagery
Robert J. Hoss
Jung spoke of the circle in terms of the totality of the human psyche and the relationship with the whole of nature. To Jung, circular imagery in dreams represented a completion, the ultimate wholeness, and the natural centering force within the psyche. Examples illustrate how this motif often appears in dream as well as how dreams, and the dreamer’s life at the time, support the Jungian interpretation of the motif.
Personal Associations with Spiral Imagery and Its Power
Robert Moss
I have used the spiral as my personal logo for 15 years, and describe one of the most important dream journeys of my life that took me to the indigenous “woman of power” I’ve called Island Woman. It began when I was drifting in the hypnagogic zone, focusing on a double spiral from a guardian stone at Newgrange, a double spiral I think od as the Eyes of the Goddess.
Colorful Journeying to New Levels of Connection
Judy Gardiner
A dream will be described which led to a strange passage upward through different levels with brilliant color imagery and connections with a dear friend and mentor who had passed away in the last year and who continues to present evidence of his soul survival. Bohm’s theory of Explicate-Implicate Orders as related to this experience will be discussed.
Spirals, Circles, and Shamanism
Stanley Krippner
Circular and spiral geometric forms recur in both external shamanism (e.g., rituals) and internal shamanism (e.g., mental imagery). Navajo (or Dine') sand paintings show a remarkable similarity to Tibetan sand mandalas in form and function. Spiral imagery often appears in shamanic painting; among Amazonian shamans, it bears a remarkable similarity to the double helix. This resemblance prompted anthropologist Jeremy Narby to suggest that these shamans were "tuning in" to their own DNA. These forms can be observed in ancient cave paintings, among the most frequent designs observed in these archeological sites. Very early in humanity's development, there was a need to express inner experience in external forms. |