THE WORLD DREAM BANK: TOPIC: MENTORS

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Mentors and Teachers

Mentors and teachers in dreams--not all of them human. It's a broad concept. Two well-known types are:

the Jungian anima/animus--dreamguides often using sex to lure the dreamer into dreamwork, who often encourage a dreamer to try behavior atypical for his or her gender--that is, they feminize men and masculinize women (whatever that means in a given culture), pushing for a balanced personality relatively free of gender restrictions.
Wise Elders--crones, wizards, sages, oracles. These are familiar to Jungians and mythologists, too.

But these dreams show a much wider range of mentors and teachers. Friends, hermits, prostitutes, molluscoid aunts, telepathic lions, sex-workshop leaders, astral dragons. Some of them teach only by example; and some, by negative example, teaching so rigidly that the dreamer rebels. I suspect such themes are more common now than in Jung's era; and rightly so.

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	AFTER THE FLOOD AND THE PIG-EARED BABY ALLIGATOR: by Skiznot; 1994-96, an oracular dream My hometown floods. I swim after some strange fish and find a scientific community where a scaled baby tells me who I am...
	ALICE'S LETTERS: by "Alice"; late 1960s?, a dream of spiritual advice I mail a packet of letters that will solve everyone's problems, but then a man points out how much we need problems...
	AMBITION: by Wayan; 1994/5/25, an odd little dreamlike real-life experience. My intuition led me to a panel discussion of women artists, just to hear one single sentence...
	ANNE GOT LOST: by Anne's friend; 1936, a warning dream wisely acted on She was headed for a rock wall. The brakes faded; she smelled burning. Then she woke. Her friends laughed, but she asked a neighbor what to do if...
	ANTIGRAVITY RESEARCH: by Mary Arnold-Forster; 1905?, a dream of teaching dreamflight I’m showing the Royal Society how to levitate. Confidence is the main thing. I teach a hesitant Fellow to lift off...
	AQUARINA PRODIGY: by Wayan; 2009/10/15, a dream poem with sketches; Dreamverse #60 A child prodigy stands out in a chorus line of waterdancers. Her body and energy are a patchwork of young and old...
	BEETLE: by Daniel Quinn; spring 1941; a life-defining shamanic dream A black beetle points out I'm not needed or at home in the human world, and insists my lifework is elsewhere...
	BIRD CRASH: by Emily Joy; 2007/3/12, a set of didactic nightmares Such pressures there are on the sick to act well! I implore you, ignore them all... CAUTION: EXPLODING TEACHER
	THE BLOOD OF CHRIST (BUT, MOM!): by Anna Kingsford; 1879/10/17, a religious dream turning personal I argue that Christ’s “blood” is a metaphor for “spiritual perfection.” But my mom says I’m killing her; she begs me to repent...
	BUFFALO PERSON: by Plenty Coups, summer 1857; a child's time-traveling, tribe-saving dream I was led into the future, where all the buffalo disappeared, to meet a frail old man by a ranch house...
	BURN HIS TREE: by Emily Joy; 30 K, 2007/2/7; two linked nightmares on art Malevolent artwork terrorizes my baby and me! What's to be done?...
	CHURCHES BURN WHEN YOU LEARN TO FLY: by Wayan; 1989/9/1, a didactic flying dream. I pay the price, but learn the difference between merely getting off the ground, and true mastery...
	THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF AN ANT: by Walter de la Mare; 1920s, a tutelary dream. The book's first two pages showed an ant's awareness, then a human's wider grasp--both mere freckles on reality...
	CROC BOY: by Wayan; 2008/8/17, a dream-poem, Dreamverse #7. I visit a witch-smeller, who judges apprentice shamans. But when a boy dreams he's a crocodile, watch out!
	DIAGNOSTIC BATTERY: by Wayan; 1988/4/20, a nightmare of sorts. My sister's new guru tests me psychologically--only it looks like an engineer's test to destruction... CAUTION: EMOTIONAL CRUELTY
	DON JUAN AND THE FLYERS: by 'Rasselon'; 2009/12/17, a shamanic dream about focus. Little flying creatures hide in the shadows. But when I focus on them, they attack! Castaneda's teacher looks on amused...
	ENKIDU: by Gilgamesh of Uruk, c. 2750 BCE, an early prophetic dream The hero Gilgamesh troubles his city til he has a dream predicting the gods will send him a best friend and lover, Enkidu... CAUTION: SEX
	FALL OF A PRINCE: by Wayan; 2006/11/17, a dream on the morality of predicting. A time-traveling historian’s caught in a moral dilemma: warn an ancient prince he died of a fall in her history books? What do you owe history?
	FILLING THE ANCESTORS' SHOES: by Wayan; 1995/9/24, a shamanic dream. A dream of a shaman named Fred who tried to use a bear as a lightbulb. Fred, Fred, Fred...
	A FIRE ENTIRELY WITHOUT HEAT: by Jenny Badger Sultan; 2008/9/11; a dreampainting from the Box of Dreams On the anniversary of 9/11, I dreamed a friend was welding nude. In his careful hands, the fire was harmless...
	FLIGHT: by Denise Levertov; 1945; a dream poem I meet William Blake! He says "The will is given us that we may know the delights of surrender." While in my bedroom...
	A GAME OF CARDS: by Anna Kingsford; 1883/12/7, a god kibitzes on a Tarot game Anna trusts to luck, but her mentor urges her to plan--"Think it out!" And what are these cards?
	GARDEN OF THE GODS: by Wayan; 1995/10/6, a dream of slowth. In the Garden of the Gods, I sit through sun and rain. For the gods aren't the gardeners, but the crop...
	GENNADIUS: by Gennadius, ca. 415 AD, apparently the first recorded lucid dream Gennadius re-dreams a previous dream, prompting him to notice he’s dreaming. His guide points out the spiritual implications...
	THE GIRL IS ARMED: by Wayan; 2009/1/28, three diagnostic/advisory dreams. An abused girl survives grotesque situations to become a job/health counselor with a talking sofa... CAUTION: BUTT-SNIFFING GIANT
	GREEN DAY DREAM: by Cristy C. Road; early 1995. A recurring dream. Green Day singer Billie Joe hocked a lugie on me in concert. I felt blessed... CAUTION: EWWW
	GURU GUTS: by Wayan; 1989? Digital sketch of my perceptual world. If it takes a whole village to raise a child, it also takes a lot of guts to raise a kundalini. Voila!
	HALF SHAMAN, HALF STATESMAN: by Wayan; 100K, 1986/4/21, a parallel-world dream: Chapter 6 of UNICORN TAG I get a scholarship to Shaman U. Some of my classmates are Terran, but I still don't fit in, because... CAUTION: LANGUAGE
	HEALING DANCE: by Wayan; 1997/5/14, a dream of shamanic shop talk. A shaman designs a rite to focus the village's healing attention on her client; the rest is just showmanship...
	THE HEDGEHOG DISPENSARY: by Wayan; 440K, 27 watercolors, 2004/10/2, a dream of a furry ambitopia. A rabbit shaman orders his apprentice to drape dead hedgehogs round her neck til she bleeds. Ow! What’s his problem? Well... CAUTION: FURRY NUDITY, ABUSIVE MENTOR
	"HIS BALL IS EMPTY": by Wayan; 1982/3/23, an epistolary advice-dream. A letter to Miss Hornyhearts compares the writer's lover and husband. Some sharp advice for nice boys... CAUTION: LANGUAGE
	HORTA'S EGGS: by Wayan; 1984/1/17, a dream of re-evaluation. I fight to save 50,000 eggs that'll hatch psychics. But my friends want to exterminate them! Am I wrong?
	INK MOUNTAIN: by Wayan; 1992/8/5, a tutelary dreamtale. A Himalayan peak boils with warring creatures, but a guru says "They're just your conflicts. Sit, watch..."
	I TURNED OFF JESUS: by Chris Baker; 2011/2/18; an "oops!" dream Playing Mario Kart, I stray into a darkness where Earth floats, burning. And then Jesus speaks up! But I carelessly hit the OFF button...
	IN THE STAR; 1988/9/12 by Wayan; an epic, out-of-body, intrastellar quest-dream I tour the heart of a red supergiant, where dreaming souls explore their heart's desires unconstrained by matter... CAUTION: SWEDENBORGIAN VISON PLUS NUDE UNICORNS AND LEMURS
	IS THE DREAMWORLD ROUND?: by Wayan; 2006/7/5; a dream about dreamwork Dreamworlders, exploring our world, tell me of home. Their known dreamworld is just a little patch on a huge globe...
	JAKE'S MAGIC CARPET; 2006/12/12 by Zhea Zarecor; a poltergeist experience and a reconciliation dream that grew to something more Not long after Jake died, I dreamed he took me on a magic carpet ride. Since then, I've been flying...
	JAMES MERRILL REMEMBERED: by Rachel Hadas; around May 1995; two dream-poems Soon after my friend and mentor James Merrill died, I had recurring, elusive dreams about him...
	LEARNING SCALES: by Wayan; 1985/6/26, an epic dream of Chinese dragons. I find myself in astral China. The Empress is banished, the Jester rules. Wisdom is lost. We need a Dragon...
	LESBOY: by Wayan; 1996/5/20, a dream on one's identity and place. My Aunt Squid advises me to join a lesbian artists' co-op. But I'm a man! Not for long, though... CAUTION: NUDE SUNBATHING, GENDER BEWILDERMENT
	LES LICORNES: by Marie-Claude Girondé, fall 2007, a dream painting. Three unicorns gallop out of the waves...
	MAELEN AND ME: by Wayan; 1972/5/1, a transmigrational dream. I'm a psychic circus animal who's just managed to teleport my humanoid girlfriend. It's for our act, but... CAUTION: PETTING
	MAMA BEAR'S ADVICE: by Wayan; 1985/12/8, a dream on love-tactics. A bear-girl seduced by her coyote professor gets some advice on revenge from her anthropologist mom...
	MIDWAY: by Wayan; 1994/2/4, twin shamanic dream-lessons. I'm cold and dark and disoriented! What am I doing wrong? Nothing--I'm just halfway to Alpha Centauri...
	MOONCAT: by Wayan; 150K, 1995/11/26; a subtle dream of sonar Near a mysterious sculpture garden on the moon, lives the blind, bike-riding sage I seek: Moon-Cat...
	MY MOTHER'S CLOSET: by Rachel Hadas, c. 2000; a dream-poem provoking a 2008/9/16 dream by Chris Wayan I was in my mother's closet, trying on her outfits, and trapped in Hamlet, too...
	MY NAME IS WAYAN: by Wayan, 1986/5/23, a dream of names and manes. A conversation with a telepathic unicorn-lion reveals that my true name is Wayan. And my species?...
	NOW WE ARE 48: by Laurel Blossom, 1991; a dream-poem of a rescue. At the beach I dive into deep water to save my drowning friend Kathy, and find it’s not so clear who’s who...
	OLDER AND YOUNGER: by 'Rasselon'; 2009/11/17, a dream of erotic deviousness The older sorceress I'm in bed with plans to marry me off to a younger woman, but I distract her with my tongue... CAUTION: BEDROOM HUMOR
	THE POWER OF THE BUTTERFLY: by Lisa Gale Garrigues ("Cory"); winter 1997, a dream of flying, shapeshifting and spiritual advice. When a flood trapped me in my cabin, I dreamed I met an old man who warned me to let my butterflies go...
	RAGS TO RICHES: A FIGHT FOR LOVE: by Hyal; October 2006, a dream of courage. I was just a street rat, but I danced with the princess at a ball, and fell in love. Three rich suitors pulled their blades...
	A RENAISSANCE WOMAN: by Wayan; 1997/7/3, a dreamtale. I'm an abused girl turning tricks to survive. But this is San Francisco: I join a prostitutes' co-op, and meet... CAUTION: PROSTITUTES WITH SELF-RESPECT, OH NO!
	THE RIFT ZONE: by Wayan; 1987/11/27, a long-term psychic dream. I'm not ambivalent--I'm confused! I live here by the Rift Zone and I don't. I'm single and not. Two lives!...
	ROBERT’S PLAN: by William Blake; late 1788; an advisory dream... Blake was broke. Couldn’t pay to typeset Songs of Innocence and Experience. But his brother showed him in a dream...
	SAW HER IN HALF?: by Wayan; 2008/8/28, a warning dream-poem, Dreamverse #15 A sorceror's apprentice describes a medical procedure her teacher plans. I sure wouldn't want that done to ME... CAUTION: TALK OF BLOOD AND SEX
	THE SEX WORKSHOP: by Wayan; 1997/4/6, a dream on taking the next step. The teacher of our sex workshop picks me for a demonstration in front of everyone. Gulp... CAUTION: WELL WHAT DO YOU THINK?
	SHIP OF JADE: by Wayan; 2009/11/7, an illustrated dreampoem on dreampoetry! Dreamverse #64 My dreams are made of lovely carvable jade. Too bad my tools and skills suit our plastic age...
	SHY SPHINX: by Wayan; 2009/11/27, a dream of indirect advice I find a shy sphinx hiding in the corner of a painting in a dull art class. But maybe she's right to hide...
	SNOW by Nancy Price; 1948, a false-waking dream about living vs survival Lost in the snow, I must either give my baby to a stranger or let my dad put him in a box, safe, forever...
	SOUL-SHARD: by Wayan; 2000/10/5, a rebellious dream I’m a wolf in an ashram studying astral travel with my spirit-wife. Our souls blend a bit, enraging our guru, a Hindu god, who sends demons to make us stop this spiritual “contamination”...
	THE STYGIAN SENTINELS: by SAO (Shawn Allen O'Neal); 1970s, a recurring astral dream. The couple guarding the bridge over the River Styx, the Crocodile King and the Geisha Queen, rarely seemed to agree...
	SUMMON A MENTOR: by Wayan; 1997/10/6, a parabolic dream on wishes. I turn shy with women I like. So I wish for a dating coach, who appears! Then I feel dumb: how come I...
	TAROT: THE EXPLAINER (The Page of Swords?): by Wayan; 36K. Tarot card, 3x5", summer 1978. Using the mind's blade humbly, respecting ideas and people, clarity's disciple may not see her own power...
	TAROT: THE MAGENTA MESSIAH: by Wayan; 26K. Tarot card, 3x5", summer 1978. True teachers and leaders do exist, with vision enough to make seeds (and people) sprout...
	TEACH DREAM E.S.P.: by Wayan; 2012/2/14. An advisory dream with an intriguing model of time. I'm co-teaching a class on the various flavors of ESP. My specialty's sending warnings to my own past self, creating new time-forks...
	TEETH IN HIS THIGH: by Wayan; 2008/10/30, an embarrassing dream-poem: Dreamverse #37 The Conference on Love has two sexy speakers. One says "my teacher's stalking me" but she clings to him. Love? Hate? Both? CAUTION: EXHIBITIONISM--but what are these two exhibiting?
	THE THREE VEILS BETWEEN MAN AND GOD: by Anna Kingsford, March 1881, a prophetic, almost messianic, dream. I was shown what veils the God in us: Blood (violence), Idols (dogmatism), and the Curse of Eve (sexism)... CAUTION: FUNDAMENTALISTS (OF ANY FAITH) WILL SEE RED
	UNCONTROLLED TIME TRAVEL: by Jo; 2007/7/13, a time-slipping dream. I’m a drug-addicted amateur dramatist. A fat balding businessman and I bring humanity back from extinction, but... CAUTION: TORTURE (brief), ADVOCACY OF WAR, HUMAN EXTINCTION (offstage)
	UNDER THE FUR: by Wayan, 700K total (5 p, 140K each), 1997/10/7; a color dream-comic (or plain text version, just 10 K) A strange creature slunk into our yard, carrying a skunk lunch. But she dropped her fur coat, and...
	UNICORN FEEDBACK: by Wayan; 2009/1/3, a double dream of advice A unicorn advises me. I wake, and tell a friend, who proves I must have misheard. And then I wake again...
	THE VISION: by Robert Herrick; 1648, an eroti-political dream poem I dreamt Anacreon the poet reeled with drink and lust--and I am wild and wanton like to him...
	THE WELL: by Denise Levertov; 1960?; a dream-poem I meet my own muse--the muse of all of us, perhaps--scooping water from a sacred well...
	THE WELL OF WOMEN'S WISDOM: by Wayan; 1991/3/25, a dream on gradualism. I find the well of women's wisdom. Lucky I had a sex change! A girl sneers "this wisdom's narrow." Is it?
	WHAT TO DO IN A WIZARD'S LAIR: by Wayan; 2013/4/23, a comic dreamlet A friend who's a sorceror's apprentice shows me his Dark Master's tower. And the bed strewn with stuffed animals. I just can't resist...
	WHY ARE WE AFRAID TO DIE?: by Hopper; summer 2008, an astral-interview dream. I meet a ghost girl and ask her about death. I figure she knows first-hand. And she tells me...
	WHY COWGIRLS LOVE BROCCOLI: by Wayan; 1987/8/19, a surreal dream of love. I'm a cowgirl in Nevada circa 1900. Below Haunted Mansion, I meet a green lizard-lady in distress... CAUTION: QUEER-POSITIVE
	WINDOW IN THE SKY: by Emily Joy; 2006/10/15, an epic, flying, disorienting, apocalyptic dream When my friends and I learn to fly, all of Middle Earth turns against us! Fleeing from Saruman's army, I bonk my head, exposing the backstage truth about our world... CAUTION: VIOLENCE, DOOM, PHYSICS! YODA IN THE TUB!
	A WRITER'S MUSE: by Wayan, 1996/12/7, a dreamfable on creativity. A writer's found in his office mating with an ash-covered creature! But could she be his muse? CAUTION: NUDITY OR NOT? SEX OR NOT? NO ONE QUITE KNOWS...
	YOGA SAINT: by Wayan; 2010/12/4, a disturbing diagnostic dream I wanted a dream on my recurring headaches & bellyaches. I meet my illness--a yogic saint who punishes jokers, flirts and cynics for their worldliness...
	YOU'RE THE EAGLE: by Wayan; 2000/2/8, a dream fable. A hermit spends his life wrestling with shadows. His only disciple becomes famous. Who was happier?
	ZILLIONAIRE'S TOWER: by Wayan; 2012/2/9, a financial climbing dream My mild yuppie friend Lou climbs a bank tower to reach his rich mentor, and wins an internship. But as he swears his oath... CAUTION: DISSES CUTTHROAT CAPITALISM
	ZYGOTE: by Wayan; 1999, a comic astral vision. It's true: after death, angels advise you where to go next. But what if you get an over-eager travel agent?