fly awake

Here is a photo of a moment I became aware of my subtle body leaving my physical as I entered into dreamtime. 

Fly Awake art project was a site-specific collection of photographs, objects, spoken word, and video (2006). It later became a space and explorations in NE Portland, Oregon (2011-2016). Through lucid dreaming, manifesting, and art-making, I explore flight and what it means to fly in the waking dream. Scroll down to learn more.

Dream

Dream: I am back at Fly Awake Tea Garden, my former business. Instead of the dry, rocky, driveway path, the path is a moist, as in fertile, cobble road. Flowers are growing between widely placed stones, where the pavement used to be. Along the path there are large stones, one stone is a large polished labradorite, about the size of a backpack. I looked at the stone from different directions to see past the shadowy gray to the rainbows. I stay in a squat, close to the earth, looking at the path and rock. It is so much more beautiful now.

Lucid

It is challenging to achieve and maintain lucid awareness. Using psychic energy (third chakra) for personal desires often confuses the matter, we may fool ourselves to satisfy and perpetuate attachments rather than attain true sight (sixth chakra, intuition).

I desire to be lucid. I look at the palms of my hands and tell myself “This is a dream” and ask myself what I want to do or change. Then I assess where I can adjust the waking dream. It may be my thoughts, emotions, or actions, I may invoke change through prayer. I do this throughout the day. We often dream of what we do during the day, so I also look at my palms in dreamtime and go through this process. In waking and dreamtime, first and foremost I want to fly. When I fly, I often travel to be with my spiritual teachers.

I sometimes act lucid while asleep in the dream. In these cases, I behave as I would in waking time. As a result, I make dreamtime decisions that appear like lucidity. Some examples are using protection mantras when facing a nightmare, or burning white sage when a ghost is present (it eliminates conflict through oneness, bringing peace).

In dreamtime, I may prove to myself I am awake. Here are some ways you might realize you are dreaming: having trouble with technology (find the light switches), people looking weird, or atypical events happening. Attached to lucidity, I fly in dreamtime and prove to myself I am awake—elated to have finally achieved waking time flight! Only to wake and realize I was dreaming.

The nature of maya or illusion, is so thick and deceptive that we constantly have to question ourselves and assumptions. It may be necessary to assume we know nothing of truth and observe. A goalless, silent meditation practice is an important part of ludicity training. In silent meditation, we are not trying to achieve anything beyond focus and presence. This act results in many positive things: awareness of our emotional reactions, detachment, and unconditional love, which may appear as the ability to observe ourselves compassionately and open-heartedly hold space for others. Eventually, it may bring enough detachment that we may truly become lucid or at least realize where we are not. It is not possible to live in a body without some attachment. This can be tempered through spiritual practice and emotional and relational maturation.

Photographs from Fly Awake art exhibit, 2005.

Analysis

Video clip, from art installation: Fly Awake, 2005. This soundtrack contains hemisphere-syncing audio, and is best listened to on headphones.

When we dream we leave our physical body. In wake, this travel is a risk, we abandon our shelter, leaving it open to other energies to squat. In dreamtime, we engage the inner and outer energetic world like a fish released from a plastic bag into the ocean. No longer bound by physical rules, the very nature of dreamtime is flight. At each thought shift we change our reality. We have few restrictions, mainly our lack of awareness, and attachment to physical living.

I became fixated on lucidity to fly in dreamtime and strongly desired to fly in waking time too. There are reports of humans attaining flight. Jesus walked on water. It is believed he mastered the second chakra, associated with the element of water and was no longer bound by its rules. Similarly, saints and spiritual adepts have been observed levitating and flying, unbound by gravity. It is believed they have mastered the fourth chakra, associated with the air element. It is possible.

In a past life, I was held captive inside a barbed wire fence. The most realistic path to freedom was flight. I envied the birds. In dreams since early childhood, I am back in that time. I begin to fly away from my enemies, then feel them grab my ankles. I work through lucid techniques and shift dreams from captors to allies (sometimes), moving from prisons to meditation sanctuaries (it’s not hard in dreamtime, the mind can take us there in a flash), and using prayer to shield me (usually, this instantly wakes me up; it helps in waking time too).

I fly for fun. Through parks, I love it up high, no one should see me. I worry about being seen. (Lucid tip: assume they cannot, or show them something else to look at.) I go through the trees, above buildings, in the browns of night, with friend owls. Quickly crossing continents to meditate in the temple. In waking time I will do it too. I will fly. I will learn to lift up. I will abandon the illusion of gravity.

A Space

Fly Awake, art installation, developed into a community engagement project through my former business, Fly Awake Tea Garden, in Portland, Oregon.

Through this space I facilitated explorations of dreamtime, manifestation, and expanding consciousness from 2011-2016.

In a magical garden, we share dreams around the fire.

Magical, experimental music weaving through grandmother maple and fairy gardens.

Trying not to frighten fairies…alas, missed again.

Ganesha and chocolate cosmos at the entryway.

Engage

Below are examples of flyers I created to invite the larger community into lucid dreaming and living. 2010-2013.

Collective

As an extension of Fly Awake Tea Garden I began organizing events to build community. Studies show it is harder to get people together to do positive collaborative action than to protest or fight. So, how do we build or transform community? Have a vision, hold it in your mind as a goal, take direct action, and be responsive to group feedback. Simple actions for coalescing neighborhoods include borrowing tools, eating together, and making passageways in fences. Another fun way to build community is collectively making a street painting, also known as “intersection repair”. It is called a repair, because it brings the space back into the domain of pedestrians and friendly interactions instead of just being for cars. When I host an intersection painting there are lots of opportunities to share paint brushes and supplies, donate food, and joyfully take food breaks while not caring about looking grubby. Planning street paintings is a great way to get to know the neighborhood through decisionmaking about the images, and getting consent from residents. In addition to street paintings, we planted pollinators and native plants on curb strips (the bees were over the moon, especially enjoying catnip and Douglas aster). We built a bench with repurposed stones and concrete, and installed several “little libraries” (that can also be used for art and education). Painted intersections are a fun space to have neighborhood potlucks and require maintenance, ie repainting parties.

Letter images and add short descriptions. Add pics of little libraries, etc?