World Dream Bank home - add a dream - newest - art gallery - sampler - dreams by title, subject, author, date, places, names

A PRISONER OF ZEN

Dreamed 1980/11/9 by Chris Wayan

Our ship's captain is an Inuit. So of course he knows how to predict when glaciers will advance and recede, by watching the crabs and turtles.

I lure him to set a course south, by flattering him about his knowledge of climate change. It's honest praise though--we need experts like him in our organization.

Oh--I'm in a native American religious movement. We're anti-Christian and pan-tribal, in fact we have a lot of non-Native pagans now. We'll take anyone who'll oppose that Judeo-Christian-secular monolith.

We march up the street in a procession--our first big show of strength. We're doing well--we've scared the Pope already. He shows up, with some of his Swiss Guards, and orders them to attack our march! They jab two of their halberds into the captain. He pulls them out himself, and goes limping on, in pain. We use spears and Tarot staves and wands, to protect us. Some people seem to still respect the Pope, but quite a few are ready to fight, now that he's used violence.

We reach our goal: a semi-holy man. But the Pope's guards stab him with spears too!

So he decides to renounce the world, and becomes a Zen monk. Which is fine, except that he forces his shy son to become one too. And the kid doesn't want to.

I try to sneak him out of the mountaintop monastery, but the monks catch on, and chase us. A wild chase down the mountain... as I free the Prisoner of Zen!

IN THE MORNING

34 YEARS LATER

Personal issues aside, note the social issues in this dream. This is 1980, remember? Yet it's about global warming and violent theocrats. One reason I had so much trouble escaping radical guilt was that I foresaw very real evils.



LISTS AND LINKS: climate change - religion - dream jobs - shamanic dreams - dream advice - dream violence - Native Americans (Inuit) - Zen and Buddhism - religious leaders - fanaticism - Red Diaper Babies: radical guilt

World Dream Bank homepage - Art gallery - New stuff - Introductory sampler, best dreams, best art - On dreamwork - Books
Indexes: Subject - Author - Date - Names - Places - Art media/styles
Titles: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - IJ - KL - M - NO - PQ - R - Sa-Sk - Sl-Sz - T - UV - WXYZ
Email: wdreamb@yahoo.com - Catalog of art, books, CDs - Behind the Curtain: FAQs, bio, site map - Kindred sites