A few months ago, an Idea popped into my head: Why not dedicate the last three months of 1988 to a group dreaming project, in which dreamers in the U.S. and Russia would try to incubate dreams on how to bring peace between our two nations, and deal with other pressing global problems? (Cf. U.S.Soviet Dream Bridge in the May/June DNB.) I contacted Dr. Stanley Krippner about this idea, and he generously provided me with 17 addresses of Soviet parapsychologists. In June, members of the international peace group Global Family distributed the Dream Bridge proposal to Dr. Krippner's contacts, and others, in Russia.
It was now time to wait. But in the meantime, the dreamwork on the "Bridge" continued. Valerie Felice, a member of our Gate of Horn dream network, dreamed that a family-sized group of Americans was traveling around Russia, sitting down at table with Russian families, and talking about how to bring peace. This was previous to Global Family's trip to the USSR, and was likely part of the "resonance" of the event. Another member, Lenore Melillo, had the following two dreams:
"LM Has Difficulty Finding School In Russia" (May 4, 1988)
I am in Russia and have to go to a certain place of education, but I don't know how to get there. I have a basic idea of the vicinity, but the specifics - the names of the street and the building - I don't know. Someone is trying to help and gives me a book of poetry, feeling the answer may be in there. It seems simple enough to read, several one or two liners per page with words highlighted in bold; almost dictionary entries, but I don't find any direct references to the school; maybe just an obscure one. Now I find myself on a bus and tell the bus driver where I want to go. He also has sort of an idea where I am headed. However, I feel I am approaching the place where I should get off, but he is not aware of this until I tell him.
"Ultimate Restaurant" (June 13, 1988)
A man is showing me a picture of a Russian restaurant where he ate that is about as grand as they come. It is very large, filled with diners and appears as a multi-tiered opera hall with lavish decorations.
The first dream parallels in several ways my last-minute chase around San Francisco looking for someone to translate the Dream Bridge proposal into Russian, decipher the rather garbled addresses from Dr. Krippner's list, and address 17 envelopes. The "dictionary entries" remind me of the address list; the "book of poetry" may relate to the book written by the translator I finally contacted, Andrei, a Russian dissident, about his flight from the Soviet Union, which he showed to me in his tiny office. And the Ultimate Restaurant seems to bode well for the project-once we get our addresses straight.
Meanwhile, the Russians were getting interested. To date I've received three letters. One was from Victor Krivorotov, a well-known Russian healer mentioned in Stanley Krippner's book Human Possibilities, who tells me that his psychology research groups in Moscow and Tbilisi will be participating in the Dream Bridge. The second letter was from Vladimir Zhikarentsev, an organizer of the Peace Vigil movement in the USSR, which is active in several cities, including Moscow and Kiev. He promised to share the Dream Bridge at a conference, and include a notice in his bulletin. The third letter was from Constantin Ivanenko, whom I can only describe as a visionary genius living on the fringes of Russian society, a fine poet and a partisan of "psionics for peace". (He is a colleague of Dr. Krippner, and was also visited by the Global Family delegation.) I've heard him described as "the José Argüelles of Russia." He also will be participating, in Leningrad.
By the time this article appears, the Dream Bridge will be under way. Let anyone who's interested come in whenever they want. We're using the basic "Senoi" form, beginning dream incubation on the New Moon of each month, and carrying it on until the Full Moon, leaving the two weeks of the Waning Moon as a latency and rest period. (Note: Even if dream incubation on the New Moon isn't "Senoi", it is traditional - I found it in Women's Mysteries by Esther Harding.) Remaining dates: November 9 (1:35pm PST), New Moon; December 21 (9 :29 pm PST), Full Moon. Also, why not write to the Russians? Their addresses are: (...)
We're also thinking about a conference based on the dreams we receive. If you're interested in participating, or have dreams to share, contact me at the address below. (...)
