The Dream Circle by Tamar Frankiel, Connie Kaplan and others

The Dream Circle method was developed by Connie Kaplan. It does not rely on any form of expert knowledge such as psychological or academic training, only on the innate wisdom of people committed to spiritual practice. We can all be in dialogue with the dream; no one individual's interpretation has priority.

The dreamers who commented on these dreams are: Connie Kaplan from Texas, Judie Allen and Carol Bucklew from West Virginia, Cammie Doty from Massachusetts, Tamar Frankiel from California, Peggy Hays from Arkansas, and Annette Hulefeld from Illinois.

In Dream Circle, we see one another in our divinity - in our dream-bodies, which are the closest we get, in human life, to our souls. We assume the dreamer is to be trusted, and we are here to support her. We assume the dream speaks in metaphors, but the language is not hard to learn once one takes a spiritual perspective. We assume the dream is guiding us all toward higher consciousness and a greater sense of purpose for ourselves and all humanity. So we do not treat a dream as if it “belonged” to the dreamer, but rather as if it were a message to humanity from the soul, brought to us by the dreamer.

Also, while we sometimes see dreams of celebrities and politicians as being about that person, we more often understand that the dreamer puts the celebrated personality's face on an energy or a concept in order to tell a larger story. In these dreams, the circle saw Obama as The Candidate (the one who speaks candidly, honestly), Hillary as the "She" or cosmic feminine energy, and McCain as representing a system revolving around politicians.

Connie Kaplan is author of Dreams Are Letters from the Soul, A Woman’s Book of Dreams, and The Invisible Garment: Thirty Principles that Weave the Fabric of Human Life. For more information about her work, see her website.


JOHN MCCAIN DREAM

I was on a plane going to some small town in Montana. John McCain was on the flight, and when we were about to land, he remembered that he needed to go to Washington D.C. He told the pilot, and, even though all the other passengers protested, the pilot flew to D.C., dropped McCain off, and then flew the rest of us back to Montana.

Connie: This dream seems less about McCain the candidate than it does about the state of American politics right now. The people are heading one direction, politicians another. It seems that the people will eventually arrive at their desired destination.

Carol: The "plane" might imply another dimension or level. The people wish to go to a place that is more natural, a "mountain" place, wilder than a political city.

Cammie: Going on a plane to a small town in Montana feels like going to a higher plane of existence. In many cultures the mountain is the home of wisdom, of higher thought. It's encouraging that that's where the majority of the people on the plane want to go. And even more encouraging is that after the politician is dropped off, that's where they do indeed go, but without the politician. The politician started out in that direction, but didn't maintain it.

Judie: Within this very airy zig-zag pattern of energies flows truth. Just as the people were engaging the Earth again, "about to land," a powerful memory arose. The one who “re-membered” spoke his intentions, "told the pilot" and, going beyond protest, made his destination. Energies of transformation are lively and not a straight line.

Tamar: The pilot - the one guiding the course of events on this higher "plane" of existence - is willing to drop off passengers at the capital but still is true to the original destination - or Destiny - of the people. At the same time, the people make a protest when they have to be taken out of their way because of the needs of one person. Perhaps the dream is speaking to communal destiny - the "small town" as representative of supportive community.

Annette: It feels as if the old tried and true politics is on automatic pilot, reacting to that which is familiar and tried and true. However, as Cammie noted, the West offers a more open ended vista, more room, more potential and certainly more wilderness to explore.

Peggy: There is still a lot of power in an old way of doing things where one person (here the Masculine) can override the will of many. The hopeful sign to me is that the many were only delayed and eventually got to their true destination.


BARACK OBAMA DREAM

I was at a dinner table with twenty-five random people I've known in my life, as well as a few I've never met. I started choking, but everyone was talking and laughing and no one noticed me struggling. I tried to stand up to get their attention when I felt someone grab me and begin the Heimlich, launching the impeding chunk of food into the middle of the table. I turned to see who had helped me, and it was Barack Obama. He grabbed both of my hands and gave me a big smile and said Thank you! -- as he had done at the rally in Seattle. I said, You're welcome. My gosh, I didn't even know you were going to be here tonight. Then he left and I wondered why he had thanked me.

Annette: “Someone,” an unknown guide assists in releasing and bringing into focus whatever information (food) impedes the possibility of speaking. The candidate extends his gratitude that the dreamer delivered her gift by freeing some truth. This dream makes me think of how, in the dreamtime, we all deliver our gifts to humanity in ways not imaginable in the world of reality as we usually see it.

Connie: The dreamer chokes while (or because?) the conversation remains mundane, and no one except The Candidate notices the urgency of the situation. The Candidate thanks her for changing the conversation, for spitting out the chunk of food that will call the attention of the group. That's what this particular candidate is about -- asking the voting public to change the focus of the conversation. By joining hands, we extend and exchange life force. We share our soul-purpose with each other through the touch of our hands. The eyes in the palms of our hands open when they are touched, and the vision that they perceive is energetic rather than ocular. The dreamer and the candidate exchanged energy and then turned away from each other, carrying on the ability to extend that energy to others. "Twenty-five random people” alludes to randomness, which appears to be chaos. Actually, in a random situation, all possibilities are presenting themselves, like a kaleidoscope turning until a new pattern emerges. Sometimes the right thing to do is simply watch for the appropriate result to manifest.

Cammie: The dinner table full of "random" people the dreamer has known, as well as a few never met, evokes the feeling of being at "home" with one's soul-cluster, the other human beings with whom we agreed to incarnate and live this life. We meet them when we least expect, and sometimes we are surprised at who they might be. Sometimes we aren't alert enough to know them. In this dream, a few are more awake to what's happening than others. And being awake to the presence of our soul siblings inspires a gratitude that enlivens us all.

Judie: Unexpected help is at hand, to the dreamer’s surprise and delight. Being able to help others, as the candidate does, is a gift to the candidate and evokes a "thank you.” The receiver said “You’re welcome,” giving us the wonderful feeling of reciprocal blessing. There’s also a clearing of the vessel to launch, or possibly to bring nurturance to the table.

Tamar: The Heimlich maneuver is a life-saving technique. Heimlich in German has two meanings, paradoxically opposite. One is "homey," familiar. The other meaning is "uncanny," "unknown," mystical, secret. Our true home is both the most familiar and the most secret place – it is the place of full spiritual consciousness. The Candidate - the one who is candid, direct, non-evasive - launches the movement that will take the dreamer most directly to that inner space, that spiritual home. And he thanks the dreamer because there is no greater privilege than to help another person toward deeper spiritual life.

Peggy: “Random” -- we are in a state of randomness in this election as all potential is swirling around, and will hopefully come together in another step toward a new way. Both the dreamer and the candidate are playing their part in this new opening as they cooperate in the releasing of truth. They are both grateful; for they recognize what this can mean for creation.


HILLARY CLINTON DREAM

In my dream I am a super-delegate. I'm sitting at the dining room table filling out the ballot. My husband looks over my shoulder. He sees that I am marking my ballot for Hillary and yells, I knew you voted for her all along! You voted for her in the primary, didn’t you! Then I realize that I am a super-delegate. How did that happen? I begin to worry that I haven't voted wisely given the impact of my decision. I feel the heat of shame rising up my neck. I feel not worthy of being a super-delegate. My husband says, How did you get to be a super-delegate anyway? Is it just because they knew you would vote for her? I want to hide the ballot and lie to him, tell him I really voted for Barack, but the truth is there right in front of us. There is nothing I can do.

Connie: Aren't we dreamers all "super-delegates?" In dreamtime we cast a much more important vote than in the ballot box, because in the dream we enter and affect a unified field of consciousness that is prior to waking reality. In the most ancient dream-study systems (Native American, African, Australian, Celtic, Jewish) the primary teaching is clear: "nothing occurs before it has been dreamed." Interestingly, the Democratic National Committee conceived this idea of "super-delegates" as a safeguard to the party's ability to present an electable candidate. I doubt if any of them realized the deeper implications of this idea: that "we the people/we the dreamers" have more influence than they know. Our dream-vote counts. This dreamer seems to be experiencing the chasm between dreaming and waking realities. Shame doesn't exist on the dream weave–it only appears in cultures that have created it. There's no shame in BE-ing who we are–delegates of the dream weave. What's also interesting in this dream is that the dreamer wanted to lie about her vote. Yet in the domain of the dream, we can't lie. Truth emerges when we enter the realms of the dream. The dreamer says it herself: “the truth is there right in front of us.”

Carol: The heat rising in the throat suggests a subtle kind of energy. The throat is also the place of beautiful song and speech, a vibrational reality, which connects in turn to a mathematical dynamic, the "music of the spheres." The voting process is also mathematical - an imperfect model of this divine dynamic.

Cammie: The worry about the spouse's anger and misunderstanding - what other people think about what we think - is shown in the dream to be a distraction from the truth, a way to try and hide the truth from ourselves. Whenever we experience or see this worry, we know it is the truth within us wanting to speak.

Judie: Remembering who we truly are, living and expressing our authentic beingness may feel like some warm static on the line at times. "There is nothing I can do", but go with the flow. The most important thing in life is not doing but BEING.

Tamar: How did you get to be a super-delegate? How were you chosen to be a Dreamer, one who makes choices in the primaries - the realms that are the true source and cause of our existence? Is it because "they" knew you would vote for "her"? Who are "they" and "her"? They are the angels who support the volunteers who take a human incarnation with a commitment to a spiritual purpose. Her refers to the feminine Presence, the one who sustains and guards earthly existence. In many mystical traditions, She is the immanent counterpart to the more transcendent masculine expression of Divinity. Women often feel ashamed when they stand up for Her; they question their own inner wisdom; they wonder if they ought to be allowed to have such impact on the world. We must learn to trust, to speak, and to be happy about our impact on the world.

Annette: I wonder if the dreamer is a delegate from the realm of spirit - one who has agreed to deliver the "vote" for the en-lightened feminine? From the world of reality, the heat is expressed as shame. But perhaps from a soul perspective, the heat was a rising up of love from the divine Her - and yes, when She changes the color of our skin, our inner authenticity shines out, and we cannot lie.

Peggy: This election is giving us/the people an opportunity to respond from our higher selves in our relationship to ourselves, in our most intimate relationships, the country, and the world. We might be surprised at what comes forth--even ashamed, but we can trust this new energy, and energy of Truth. Let’s don't miss the opportunity.

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