{"id":3875,"date":"2011-12-29T03:15:21","date_gmt":"2011-12-29T08:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/dreamgates\/?p=3875"},"modified":"2011-12-29T03:29:39","modified_gmt":"2011-12-29T08:29:39","slug":"why-we-dream-4-the-orphic-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/2011\/12\/why-we-dream-4-the-orphic-approach.html","title":{"rendered":"An Orphic invocation of the dream oracle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The turning of the year is a good time to seek dream guidance on what the next year may hold, and indeed on any important life issues. In cultures that value dreams, there are recognized and recommended methods of dream incubation. Often these include an invocation of a higher power – named or nameless – believed to be the source or guarantor of the guidance sought from the night.
\nOn an ordinary night, I am generally content to set an intention very simply. I might say, Show me what I need to see. <\/em>Or, I open myself to my creative source. <\/em>Or, I wish to wake \u00a0rested and full of energy.
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 On a big night or a big issue, however, something a little more elaborate may be appropriate. That might include paying attention to what you eat and drink before going to bed, and seeking to clear the mind of the clutter of the day, releasing any stress or bad feelings. It might involve putting a written statement of your intention, or a picture or object that represents it, at your bedside or under your pillow. And it never hurts to ask nicely.<\/p>\n

Here’s one way of invoking the dream oracle, inspired by an ancient Greco-Roman Mystery tradition:<\/p>\n

Truest of oracles
\nwe honor you.<\/p>\n

In dark of night
\nthrough silent sleep
\nwhisper\u00a0in our minds.<\/p>\n

Waking, may we remember
\nwith insight to read
\nour true destinies.<\/p>\n

Those mired in the world
\nnever see you, but sense
\nsomething they fear.<\/p>\n

You give them no warnings,
\nno counsel. By day
\nthey are sleepwalkers.<\/p>\n

Friend to the awakened
\nfill us with creative fire
\ninspire us with beauty.<\/p>\n

Reveal the hidden
\nsignatures of fate,’
\nhelp us avoid suffering.<\/p>\n

Give our souls wisdom
\nto know the will of heaven
\nand what the future holds.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is in the spirit of ancient Orphic invocations of the dream oracle, and gives a sense of why dreaming was valued so highly in the ancient Mediterranean world. We see the future in dreams, and learn the will of the divine. After reading a free version of a similar Orphic text by R.C.Hogart – dubbed by him a “mutation” rather a translation – in The Hymns of Orpehus<\/em> (Phanes Press) \u00a0I was inspired to carry the improvisation further, so what you are reading here is a mutation of a mutation. For a literal (if dated) translation, see Thomas Taylor, “To the Divinity of Dreams”, Hymns of Orpheus<\/em> 85 [first published in London in 1792].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The turning of the year is a good time to seek dream guidance on what the next year may hold, and indeed on any important life issues. In cultures that value dreams, there are recognized and recommended methods of dream incubation. Often these include an invocation of a higher power – named or nameless –…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":224,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78,38,17,9,5,20,12,30],"tags":[874,873,896,895,872],"class_list":["post-3875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ancestral-traditions","category-ancient-religions","category-divination","category-dream-incubation","category-dreams","category-history-of-dreaming","category-meaning-of-dreams","category-precognition","tag-dream-oracle","tag-hymns-to-orpheus","tag-new-year-divination","tag-new-year-rituals","tag-orphics"],"yoast_head":"\nAn Orphic invocation of the dream oracle - Dream Gates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/2011\/12\/why-we-dream-4-the-orphic-approach.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Orphic invocation of the dream oracle - Dream Gates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The turning of the year is a good time to seek dream guidance on what the next year may hold, and indeed on any important life issues. 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He is the creator of Active Dreaming, an original synthesis of dreamwork and shamanism. Born in Australia, he survived three near-death experiences in childhood. He leads popular seminars all over the world, including a three-year training for teachers of Active Dreaming. A former lecturer in ancient history at the Australian National University, he is a best-selling novelist, journalist and independent scholar. His nine books on dreaming, shamanism and imagination include Conscious Dreaming, Dreamways of the Iroquois, The Dreamer's Book of the Dead, The Three \"\"Only\"\" Things, The Secret History of Dreaming, Dreamgates, Active Dreaming and Dreaming the Soul Back Home: Shamanic Dreaming for Healing and Becoming Whole. His most recent book is The Boy Who Died and Came Back: Adventures of a Dream Archaeologist in the Multiverse. Over the past 20 years, he has led seminars at the Esalen Institute, Kripalu, the Omega Institute, the New York Open Center, Bastyr University, John F. Kennedy University, Meriter Hospital, and many other centers and institutions. He has taught depth workshops in Active Dreaming in the UK, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Brazil and Austria and leads a three-year training for teachers of Active Dreaming. He hosts the \"\"Way of the Dreamer\"\" radio show at www.healthylife.net. He has appeared on many TV and radio shows, ranging from Charlie Rose and the Today show to Coast to Coast and the Diane Rehm show on NPR. His articles on dreaming have been published in media ranging from Parade to Shaman's Drum.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.mossdreams.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/author\/rmoss"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3875"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3881,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3875\/revisions\/3881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}