albionspeak: a draught of language (5.4)
SESSION 28: 5TH NIGHT, 6/27/95
At this time I don’t remember what we did during the day. Very little, most likely. My physical exhaustion (which always followed the end of a school year) was now taking its toll on me. I was barely functional during the day: taking care of kids, washing dishes, attempting conversation with [Scribe], catching a nap. Teaching middle school had finally claimed me. I reserved my energies for the evening.
Our invocation for the evening’s session was from [Scribe]’s newest poem, “The Book of Nearness & Distance” (a.k.a. “Arcadia”), which, though just finished & revised, had not yet been typed for publication. As with “The Partitas” (and, indeed, his current project, a.k.a. “Thalassa” - 8/15/95), the poem is roughly 900 lines and divided into nine sections, each of which corresponds to one of our members & the Jewel. During the days of [Scribe]’s stay we devoted some time to reading this new work. [Scribe] would first read a subsection; then I would repeat the reading. Currently hovering within Vilansit’s port, we read the Vilansit section at our table.
Vilansit’s Port
9:41 PM
1. Question: [Guide], are you there?
Answer: HELLO FRIENDZ
The Triangle’s Vertices
2. Q: Are we still on Vilansit’s port? [Vilansit’s triangle on the drawn mandala]
A: [YES] IT IS ALL ABOUT US LIKE A RAINBOW
A quick recap of what we learned the previous night:
1. Rose - Anand 5. Lavender - [Guide]
2. Vermilion - Scribe 6. Indigo - Josef
3. Orange - Jane 7. Blue - Vilansit
4. Yellow - Albion 8. Cyan - Don
a) The name above one’s own is one’s contact.
b) The name below is one’s working partner.
c) Names on the left are paired with teachers on the right.
Contact Partner Teacher
[Scribe] Anand Jane Josef
[Albion] Jane [Guide] Don
[Jane Scribe Albion Vilansit]
3. Q: [Guide], we’ve noticed with respect to Vilansit’s triangle that only the
colours of those who fly touch the vertices. Jane, Albion & the Scribe are
in a narrow passage within. Comment?
A: [YES] [THE] POINTS LEAD OUT TO OTHER LINES IN [THE]
JEWEL NET
This was [Scribe]’s observation, which I feel is noteworthy since I drew the
mandala. By this time, of course, the mandala had become community property.
4. Q: Will you tell us about the lozenge in the middle of the deeper colours?
A: [YES] IT IS NOT [THE] JEWEL ITSELF
YOU TELL ME WHY NOT?
5. Q: Because of an ancient rule, no representations of the Jewel are allowed.
A: GOOD
[THE] DIAMOND SHAPE IS THE ENTRY POINT OF MAGIC
ENERGIES
6. Q: Are the three colours composing this shape significant (vermilion -
[Scribe], orange - Jane, yellow - [Albion])? [there’s actually no vermilion]
A: [YES] COLOURS ARE NEEDS OR WISHES — RECALL?
7. Q: We recall your language. Will you now clarify?
A: THE POINT OF ENTRY IS FOR [THE] USE OF THOSE WHO HAVE NO
DIRECT ACCESS TO [THE] JEWEL’S ENERGIES,
SO IT IS NATURAL THAT [THE] POINT BEAR YOUR COLOURS —
IS THIS CLEARER?
It is amazing how diagrammatic this drawing is! That such a diagram
existed as a kind of Platonic form is remarkable enough; that I was able to receive it
and draw it without any conscious knowledge of its import is equally significant. Of
those correspondences on the mandala known to us, the Jewel and [Guide] came to
me immediately upon beginning my drawing. Vilansit then quickly followed. Josef,
Don, Jane, Anand, & Albion all came in one sudden inspired burst on the second
draft. The Scribe came last (meaning [Scribe] & I were the last two drawn).
Incidentally, Albion, the sun, is the single most elaborate element in the mandala,
the element I am most proud of (as the artist) since it displays the real power and
turbulence of a star, not just its caricature. Is any of this important?
8. Q: Any connection between the eight members of the circle & the eight notes
in an octave?
A: [NO]T THAT I KNOW OF — SORRY
Occasionally it’s nice to get a complete zero. This lends credibility to other
connections.
9. Q: What can you tell us about the two eight-colour shapes tangent to Anand’s
vertices?
A: THESE ARE OUR FELLOW MANDALAZ
These colors include lavender, blue, and cyan, as well as four very dark
shades—nothing nearly as bright as the non-fliers of our mandala.
10. Q: The border between the four teaching pairs is defined by a fire-like line.
Comment?
A: THIS IS PERHAPS OUR EQUIVALENT OF [THE] TONGUES OF
FIRE —
[THE] GIFT OF SPEECH
Another reference to the Pentecost (cf. 92: 12.53).
11. Q: We notice also that Jane-Albion-Scribe are the three members mentioned
in [Don’s] poem [xxxxx].
A: THIS IS [THE] EQUIVALENT OF [THE] DIAMOND SHAPED ENTRY
BEARING YOUR…
12. …COLOURS ENTRY IN DON’S COLOUR
Again, the lozenge is completely contained within the two adjoining cyan
segments. Having exhausted our observations of the mandala’s rainbow triangle, we
turned to our prepared questions, specifically to the topic we both placed at the head
of our agendas: lucid dreaming. In this unique instance, [Scribe] brought a
substantial list of questions, most of which were duplicated in my own list. Though
more often than not it is my role to lead in the questioning, [Scribe] was clearly
better suited here, having gained personal experience with lucid dreaming.
10:31 PM
Josef on Lucid Dreams
13. Q: We would like to talk about lucid dreaming. Is this the right time, Josef?
A: JOSEF
I AWAIT YOUR ANSWERS
14. Q: Josef, we know you send karass dreams. Do you also send lucid dreams?
A: I DO
IT IS [THE] NEXT LEVEL OF DREAM WORK
“Next level” was an expression I had used in my prepared questions.
15. Q: What is the difference between these two levels?
A: BETWEEN BEING SENT AND DISCOVERING
This echoes Jane’s distinction between direct seeing and being sent visions
by the mandala (cf. 25.44).
16. Q: Why is it so hard to start lucid dreaming?
A: IT IS A SKILL ALIGNED WITH PULLING & NEEDS INTENT
17. Q: When starting a lucid dream, toward what does one pull?
A: IT IS WHAT WE CALL A DREAM PORT
18. Q ([Albion] suggests): Intent requires energy. During the school year, I don’t
have enough hours of sleep to amass the needed energy. Is this a valid
excuse?
A: IT IS BUT THERE ARE WAYS TO OVERCOME [THE] BARRIERS
[Albion]’s Task for the Coming Year
19. Q: Please tell us about the ways to overcome.
A: FOR ALBION [THE]SE INCLUDE EXERCISE IN PULLING WHEN
AWAKE
IT TIRES AT FIRST BEFORE STRENGTHENING
20. Q: If it is not redundant to do so, tell us about an exercise in pulling.
A: [YES] FOLLOW ME CLOSELY NOW
21. Q: We intend to.
A: YOU MUST BE ALONE AND CLEAR OF DISTRACTIONS
IT MAY BE INDOORS OR OUT
[Scribe] was amused by this response, so obviously addressed to me. [Scribe]
is nearly always alone at home and would not need to be advised by Josef.
22. Q: Please go on.
A: YOU CHOOSE A PORT TO PULL TOWARD
I MAY ASSIGN ONE IF YOU WISH IT
23. Q: What do you mean by “assign a port”?
A: I CAN GIVE YOU A PORT TO INTEND TOWARD NOW
OR YOU MAY CHOOSE YOUR OWN
24. Q ([Albion]): Would your assignment be for this evening, or for the year?
A: AS A CONTINUING TASK
NOT FOR THE MOMENT
All of this was a pleasant surprise. Over the years we had received much, but
very little seemed practical or relevant to the establishment of a discipline. I was
further surprised because I expected to be more of a bystander in this discussion.
After all, [Scribe] is the lucid dreamer, and I’m still dry in my lean years. Before
making any binding decisions, I wanted more information.
25. Q ([Albion]): Jane showed me the constellation the Leopard and said exploring it
would be my dream task. Comment?
A: [YES] YOU MAY WORK ON [THE] LEOPARD AT EITHER LEVEL
26. Q ([Albion]): What more do I need to know about the pulling exercise?
A: [THE] AIM IS TO PURIFY INTENT
IF YOU HAVE THIS AT HAND YOU CAN BRING IT BOTH TO SLEEP
& TO [THE] DAY TASKS
27. Q ([Albion]): Josef, please assign me a dream port.
A: IT IS [THE] CENTRAL ECLIPSING PLANET & IS FOR USE DURING
[THE] EXERCISE
28. Q: Your port, Josef?
A: YOU MAY CALL IT THUS
Not knowing anything, I was not about to pick my own dream port. And yet
since Josef had given me this option I doubt if I could have screwed up too badly.
29. Q ([Scribe]): Is there a waking exercise I can practice?
A: [NO] YOU MUST PROCEED IN SLEEP
Yet another division of roles. It may be, however, that [Scribe] simply
doesn’t need this kind of practice. His teaching relation with Josef has carried him
well thus far.
Dream Tasks
30. Q: Why is it so difficult to maintain lucidity?
A: [THE] WAVERING NEEDLE
31. Q: Is it important to have a dream task (conceived while awake)?
A: IT IS IMPORTANT
& MANY HAVE NEGLECTED [THE] GIFT FOR LACK OF ONE
This is not so important for [Scribe] & me personally, since we have already
worked with dream tasks and now have even been provided with proper
assignments. However, this is of critical value to others. Indeed, this knowledge
may be one of the missing components in Western Civilization. How can we give
this to others, and how many share this gift?
32. Q: Is seeing the Jewel a good dream task for [Scribe] now?
A: IT IS TOO ADVANCED FOR NOW
33. Q: Will you suggest an appropriate task?
A: CHOOSE AN OBJECT & ASK TO SEE IT –
INTEND TO SEE IT
34. Q: An object not a person?
A: PERSONS ARE TOO DANGEROUS
This ominous response lent credence to Carlos Castaneda’s assertion that
predators from other dimensions lurk within our dreams. According to Castaneda,
these predators can conceivably capture one’s energies, causing death or even—
much worse—a timeless imprisonment, where one’s energies are eternally subject
to draining. Before turning to this horror, we stuck with the tasks at hand.
35. Q: Is asking to see an object a good dream task for [Albion] as well?
A: [YES] LEOPARD IS MY RECOMMENDATION
Another numbering discrepancy of a single question: #35 is written twice.
Lures & Obstacles
36. Q: Who or what are the distractions or obstacles within lucid dreams?
A: ILLUSTRATION HERE
37. IT IS A PATH THROUGH A FEN
ON EITHER SIDE ARE LIGHTS LIKE BEACONS –
TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU LEAVE [THE] PATH
[Scribe] had to tell me that a fen is a marsh or bog.
38. Q: If you follow these lights, you may sink into the fen.
A: [YES] [THE] DIFFICULTY IS TO KNOW [THE] LURES
39. Q: Advice?
A: A LURE IS DEFINED AS ANY OBJECT OR PERSON DELAYING [THE]
APPEARANCE OF [THE] OBJECT [of intent, we assume]
There is method & precision in this definition. Note that a lure does not
necessarily lure one toward something, as is the normal connotation; and there is no
necessary conscious design on the part of the lure, no awareness or malice. Here
“lure” is much more synonymous with “obstacle.”
40. Q: How do the lures get there?
A: MANY WAYS
41. Q: After the object of intent appears, then what does one do?
A: ONE IS THEN ALIGNED TO ALIAH & IN [THE] PLACE OF FINDING
While unclear, this seems to be the crown. We will find out when we get
there.
11:45 PM
42. Q: Tell us one of the ways that lures get into lucid dreams.
A: IMPURE INTENT MAKES A FLUX AND [THE] FLUX CREATES
FORMS —
OFTEN FAMILIAR IN CHARACTER THESE ASK TO BE DEALT
WITH AND [THE] ORIGINATING INTENT IS LOST
Josef seems to say that impure intent creates separate entities capable of
making requests, able to distract us, probably even able to fool us. Whether these
forms are truly independent entities may or may not be vitally relevant.
43. Q: Do you wish to tell us of another way?
A: [YES] FIELD DISTURBANCES ARE AREAS WHERE…
44. …OTHER
FORCES MAKE INTENDING SO DIFFICULT THAT IT IS
TURNED BACK
This sounds more mechanical, like feedback in a sound system.
We turned to Castaneda.
The Dream Predators
45. Q: Why is intending to see a person too dangerous as a dream task?
A: IT OPENS [THE] DOOR FOR ANYONE TO COME IN
IT IS LIKE LEAVING A HOUSE WITHOUT LOCKING
This was a reference to [Scribe]’s dream of three nights before (see below,
Q#54).
46. Q: Are there really (as some assert) foreign predators lurking within our dreams?
A: [YES] JUST AS IN [THE] ORDINARY WORLD
47. Q: How are we currently maintaining our defenses?
A: CIRCLE PROTECTS YOU BEFORE FLIGHT
Although this might not be a deliberate pun, I certainly mistook the primary
meaning of “flight” for “fleeing,” as in “fight or flight,” a natural defensive
response. [Scribe] fortunately saw correctly, as in “to fly.”
48. Q: But when one learns to fly (= see directly), one is no longer protected?
A: [NO]R WOULD YOU WANT TO BE
49. Q: What capabilities do these dream predators have?
A: I MAY NOT SAY FOR NOW
I knew, perhaps [Scribe] did as well, that the censor would soon come.
Something is rotten in Denmark, but we’re not quite ready to tangle with it. And,
significantly, to know is to become somehow entangled.
50. Q: Are there any particular triggers to lucidity you recommend?
A: IT IS NOT AN ISSUE
ANY WILL DO
A bit of a surprise for us, based on the few sources we’d come across which
had placed great emphasis on triggers. Some time ago I had even bought goggles
designed [by Stephen LaBerge] to prompt lucid dreaming by flashing at intervals
(no luck). And Carlos Castaneda, while still an apprentice, was told to look at his
hands, believing there was something magical in this process. However, in later
books an older Carlos learns from Don Juan that any trigger will do; it’s having a
set task that’s important.
51. Q: Do lucid dreams form a curriculum?
A: IN EFFECT BUT [THE] TEACH…
52. TEACHING IS THROUGH EXPERIENCE –
A FIELD TRIP?
One idea [Scribe] & I had considered carefully during the year concerned
colour-coding our dreams. In [his long poem] “The Partitas” [Scribe] was the
first to assign each member a corresponding colour. It seemed natural that since
Josef claimed both responsibility for colours in dreams and that they were
significant clues in identifying “sent” dreams, then we could develop a working
vocabulary with these colours. A dream object involving Josef’s sphere of concern,
we said, would be tagged red, while Don’s colour was purple.
Well, except for my own colour, yellow, we got each of the correspondences
wrong; and yet it is far more significant that we considered colours in this manner at
all. At this point in our discussion, we wanted to see how far we could go with
correspondences and dreaming. (By the way, of all the colors in the rainbow, yellow
is the only one I consistently dislike!)
Colours in Dreaming
53. Q: We have been shown the colour correspondences in the triangle & would
like to know if these can be used to identify “fibers” from others in the circle.
A: IT IS POSSIBLE TO DO SO
54. Q: How might we arrange it?
A: IN DREAMS I SEND I HAVE [THE] POWER TO ASSIGN COLOURS
IN DREAMS OF INTENT I MAY NOT INTERFERE
Presumably [Scribe] and I each have the ability to assign colours in our own
dreams of intent.
This seemed the appropriate moment to ask for a reading of [Scribe]’s dream
Locked Door, which he’d had at [C.L.]’s on Saturday night, three nights before.
Because [Scribe] wrote down this “sent” dream during the night, he largely forgot
he had even dreamt it and failed to mention it to me for a full day. When he finally
did tell me of it, I think I was more excited about it than he was. Here is [Scribe]’s
version as he transcribed it while barely conscious:
Locked Door - 6/24/95 – [Scribe]
A scary dream: involved; all I recall is the end. Night. [Albion] is sitting at the top of a long curving flight of stairs, part of which passes within view of a many-paned door below. Beyond the door is a man whom we know is somehow Don’s counterpart. Downstairs I have learned or realized how evil he is, and I must go upstairs to tell [Albion] we are in danger. I must pass into his vision to do so. I climb up as quickly as possible. [Albion] is interested by the man’s behavior: “Do you know he’s still down there…”, he begins. “[Albion], did you lock that door?” I interrupt. [Albion] says he has, and I must now explain to him what I have learned about this other Don.
<wake abruptly: body tense, afraid>
Locked Door
55. Q: Josef, will you read the Scribe’s dream Locked Door?
A: DON IN [THE] DREAM IS AN EXAMPLE OF [THE] LURE
56. Q: A distraction from intent?
A: [NO] BUT LETTING IN DON IS AN EXAMPLE OF A TASK THAT
SEEMS DESIRABLE BUT SHOULD [NO]T BE ENACTED
57. Q ([Scribe]): Like my asking to see you in A Plea to Josef ?
A: [YES] I MAY NOT APPEAR IN THOSE DREAMS
This really seems to be two different responses: 1) [Scribe]’s asking to see
Josef was a giving in to a lure, and 2) Josef is not personally accessible to [Scribe]
(& me) in dreams for reasons we do not yet know.
Collaborations with Vilansit
58. Q ([Albion] for both): Thank you, Josef.
Q ([Scribe]): Vilansit, I would like to thank you both for teaching me about the
magic circle, and for the second long poem (“The Book of Nearness and
Distance”).
A: VILANSIT –
I ENJOY WORKING WITH YOU
WHY NOT CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE?
59. Q ([Scribe]): I would be honoured, Vilansit.
A: COLOURS ARE [THE] POINT OF DEPARTURE
I WILL AID YOU
Each year we learn more about colours; yet I still don’t know what they are.
60. Q: Is there something more you wish to show us on your port, Vilansit? If not,
shall we move on?
A: FIRST ASSUME…
61. …YOUR STANCES WITH [THE] KITE
WE TRAVEL NOW TO JANE’S PORT WITH YOUR CONSENT
These stances were given to us because I did not have the necessary aliah to
make such a pull. Apparently I was still too weak.
62. Q: How long?
A: NINE MINUTES
CHOOSE MUSIC TO ASSIST IN CLARITY OF RECEPTIION
I WAIT
We chose the adagio from Khatchaturian’s Gayneh, played twice.
1:17 – 1:31 AM
[Albion]: My experience of leaving Vilansit’s Triangle was almost identical
to that of arriving there, the only difference being that I began & ended this journey
with the full rainbow surrounding my kite, not just white light. This difference in
visual method, however, made no difference in how the exercise felt to me.
Jane’s Port
63. Q: Vilansit, have we arrived?
A: [YES] IT IS TWILIGHT
[THE] WORLD LIES BELOW
64. Q: Thank you for helping us to travel, Vilansit. Will you help us understand
why Albion could not pull us to this port (since Jane is his contact, & the
Scribe’s partner)?
A: [YES] YOU CAN NEITHER ENTER NOR DEPART [THE] TRIANGLE
ON YOUR OWN
SO I MUST FOLD FOR NOW
This seemed logical, although I’m not sure why. After all, analogues in
physics seem scarce. Neither gravity nor magnetism operates in this manner.
65. Q: Jane, we greet you. Please describe your world to us.
A: JANE –
I HAVE TRIED TO MAKE A PLACE WHERE WE WILL FEEL AT
HOME
TREES & LAWNS
The Art of Absence
66. Q: Do you have a topic for discussion for us?
A: I AM LISTENING TO YOU
Another chance to go to my prepared questions. Since this was Jane’s port, it
made sense to go to the questions I had listed under the topic of “The Kite-String,”
Jane’s metaphor last year for absence.
67. Q: Why would anyone choose absence over either presence or utter
unavailability?
A: OUR MINDS ARE NOT MADE FOR MANY PRESENCES AT ONCE
NOR DO WE OFTEN WANT TO LET GO OF A STRING ENTIRELY –
ABSENCE IS TWILIGHT
68. Q: If we let go of a string, can’t we easily retrieve it?
A: [NO] BECAUSE FINDING IT AGAIN NEEDS EVEN MORE
INATTENTION AND LOSS
It seems losing the string may be another metaphor for the flame & the
Abyss, namely a complete loss of information. Here Jane tells us that attempting to
recover something so lost leads to greater loss. I would add, from my own dream
experiences, that in attempting to retrieve something lost (or someone lost) one may
have to lose himself first, a very risky proposition.
69. Q: Just as we cannot have many presences, so there must be a limit to how
many absences we can maintain.
A: [YES] ABSENCE IS AN ART
70. Q: If absence is like a kite-string, won’t both ends be in some way aware of
each other?
A: [YES] IT IS NOT [THE] SAME AS FORGETTING
WE AVOID ALL FORGETTING
This question concerns my belief in telepathy, that it not only occurs, but is so
constant and so prevalent that we tend to forget about it. Around this belief I had
developed a theory analogous to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. That is, it is
impossible for one entity to think of another without affecting that other, at least in
some minimal, subconscious manner. Every thought touches its object or even
creates its object. Absence, therefore, is thinking quietly, in such a way so as not to
disturb or interfere. I recalled Anand had last year stated that forgetting was
inevitable. If so, I thought, then our karass purpose (among others) was to choose
wisely which memories to preserve and, necessarily, which to allow to be
discarded.
71. Q: All forgetting [is to be avoided]?
A: FORGETTING IS OUR NAME FOR [THE] ABYSS
YOU FORGET BY NATURE BUT WE TRY TO WORK AGAINST THIS
72. Q: Is meditation on something absence or presence?
A: ONE MUST MEDITATE ON ABSENCE
MEDITATING ON [THE] OBJECT IS SUMMONING
This is an important distinction, one, I think, we must keep in mind. As with
other topics on my list, this one was quickly exhausted. A few key responses
answered a score of divergent questions. Very efficient.
At this point we were tired. Bedtime.
“How Many Worlds?” (Poem)
73. Q: Will someone compose a poem? (“How Many Worlds?)
A:
OUR KITE IS SPEEDING
OVER A WORLD OF SHADE AND BRIGHTNESS
AT THE END OF THE STRING WE AWAKEN AGAIN
AND THAT OTHER WORLD IS GONE
JANE
74. Q: Parting words?
A: SLEEP WELL
ALBION TOMORROW PULLING
SCRIBE TOMORROW YOU’LL BE READING –
DON
We assumed [Scribe] would be reading dreams—that is, interpreting them,
probably one he’d get that night. Again we were mistaken.
The Table of Contents below is too long to display fully. If you click to the right of these Lessons,you'll see the primary source documents displayed under each. These original sessions are a world treasure.