How to Remember your Dreams & Tap into Creativity: Tips from a Lithuanian Surrealist

Dreams are a bottomless well of inspiration. We surrealists have tapped into this well for nearly a hundred years, ever since André Breton founded the Bureau of Surrealist Enquiries (Centrale Surréaliste) in 1924 in order to "gather all the information possible related to forms that might express the unconscious activity of the mind". On October 15, 1924, Breton published the first Surrealist Manifesto thus founding the basis for the surrealist movement, which continues to thrive internationally through various Surrealist groups such as, Prague Surrealist Group, Paris Surrealist group, London Surrealist Group, and the Chicago Surrealist Group. Prominent members include: author, activist & doyenne of American Surrealist Movement, Penelope Rosemont (Chicago); filmmaker Jan Svankmajer  (Prague); filmmaker Václav Svankmajer (Prague); zoologist, author, painter,  Desmond Morris (Oxford), and many others.

If you ever wondered what it's like down the rabbit-hole of your subconscious, 

this is a step-by-step guide on how to get there.

Work inspired by my dreams "Pandora's Stage" and Medieval illuminated manuscript style dream book

I've been a lucid dreamer since childhood. I have my step-grandfather to thank for getting me in the habit of recalling my dreams for him every morning. As a teen, I was inspired to create my medieval illuminated dream manuscript.  Inspired by Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts which pre-dated Guttenberg's printed Bibles, this work is meditative in its undertaking. I received a lovely fountain pen as a Christmas present. That, in turn, inspired me to experiment with a wide spectrum of calligraphic styles. I decided to use Gothic Blackletter calligraphy (12th c. forward) throughout much of the book.

 This example contains illustrations and letterheads of my designs. Dave McKean, Neil Gaiman's illustrator of "Sandman" drew the anthropomorthic human face (lower right center), and Neil Gaiman signed above it. The Alice in Wonderland illustration is enlarged and coloured in pencil by me.

How to remember Dreams:

What you will need:
1. eyemask
2. earplugs
3. handheld digital recorder

An eyemask blocks out light as you wake up. This is important because the hypnopompic state, which is the transitional stage of consciousness leading out of sleep (as opposed to the hypnagogic state, which is the transition into sleep), is very sensitive and propels you into wakefulness if you don't buffer reality. Therefore, it's best to block as much out as possible (sound, sight, etc).
(The hypnagogic state is rational waking cognition trying to make sense of non-linear images and associations; the hypnopompic state is emotional and credulous dreaming cognition trying to make sense of real world stolidity.) 

What to do:
1. Don't set a sound alarm. Instead, set something, like a phone, to vibrate you into wakefulness. Sound will only erode a dream.

2. Practice being mindful of the exact moment when you awaken. Once you are concious of the fact that you just woke up, don't move. Stay in place. You may be tempted to roll over, get up to go to the bathroom, etc. Don't move at all.

3. Recall one small detail of your dream. Remembering anything, no matter how minor, will help you "grasp the tail of your dream." Dreams are like a creature trying to run away from you. Grab one detail and don't let it go. Focus on that one detail. Practice concentrating on that one aspect and you will notice that, over time, everything else surrounding that detail will come into focus. From that point, you will recall whole chunks, then the entire dream. This process takes time and practice. It may be weeks before you can pull an entire dream up from your subconscious.

4. Think of your dream as a film which you can rewind and play over. Once you have the details, you can go back to the earliest memory you have of it and press "play." This part I call "recapping." During this stage, you can speak out what you remember. Saying it out load will enhance your memory of it. Pay extremely close attention to the surroundings and details in the dream. Think of yourself as Sherlock Holmes. Leave no detail out (describe colours, sensations, smells, tastes, sounds, feelings, texture of fabrics, layout of rooms, etc).

5. Once you're done recapping, grab your handheld digital recorder, press "record" and recap out load again. You can always feel free to add details at the end which you overlooked/forgot. Remember what the King in "Alice in Wonderland" says, "Begin at the beginning, and go on until you come to the end; then stop."

I have been a member of the Chicago Surrealist Group since 1998. I met Penelope and Franklin Rosemont at the Printer's Row Book Fair that year. I attended various group meetings and had too much fun playing surrealist games such as An Exquisite Corpse, and Time Traveler's Potlatch (both of which are on the Chicago Surrealist Group website and published in the book Surrealist Subversions: Rants, Writings & Images by the Surrealist Movement in the United States.

I do illustration, experimental self-portraits (think Claude Cahun, but with lots of reflections), Zeitgeist Costuming, and music (singling in English, Russian, German, Lithaunian, and French). See my youtube: DainaSurrealism (see video below).

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STRANGE INTERLUDE: My Dream, Time-Travel inspired band, "Hypnagogic Telegram" is going VIRAL on Youtube. I play a literal personification of a Time Ghost (Zeitgeist) that inhabits the wardrobe closet in the TARDIS. I come out in costumes from various eras to dance & sing in styles from those eras. If Doctor Who would have a band, it might sound like this. Timelord Rock. Trock. 

<---- View YOUTUBE VIDEO here.
On FACEBOOK @ HYPNAGOGIC TELEGRAM

Check out my Time Travel, Dream, surreal artwork, performance art, costuming & photography on the other blog pages!

Surrealist Game to Cast Doctor Who using Time Travel. Who would you choose?

Emerging from an hypnopompic state, the transition phase between sleep and wakefulness, the following thought entered my mind: "what kind of surrealist are you if you don't go back in time and cast actors from the history of filmmaking in the role of Doctor Who?" I woke up thinking, "what a brilliantly mad idea!"

So here I am, in a semi-drowsy state (for I do not drink coffee and therefore transition slowly from dream to reality) asking you to expand your imagination and play this surrealist game with me.

Any actor from the history of filmmaking, including the silent era, from within the English-speaking world. This includes male, female, gender non-conformist, intersex actors. Capt. Jack Harkness said it best, "You people and your quaint little categories."

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This is my subconscious doing a variation of the surrealist game "Time Travelers' Potlatch," Which is described as follows on the Chicago Surrealist Group website.

"In Time-Travelers' Potlatch, each player indicates the gift that she/he would present to various historical, mythical, or fictional figures on the occasion of their meeting. The game introduces the object into an imaginary relationship that otherwise tends to be

defined too superficially by an arbitrary and abstract subjectivity. The object—the gift—functions symbolically between the giver (the player, who lives in the present) and the receiver (who dwells in the past, or on another plane of existence). Altering the relationship between the two, the imagined gift constitutes a third term: a catalyst of the future in the form of a crystallization of desire.Thus the game opens a new approach, from an unanticipated angle, to all the old and unresolved problems of projection, identification, idealization, fixation, obsession, etc." http://www.surrealistmovement-usa.org/pages/time.html *

You are invited to leave comments as to which actors from the past you would wish to cast. Imagine if you will, that you have a TARDIS and can go back to any era in film history and pick the actors of your choice. Envision a parallel universe, converging timelines, etc. You can transport these actors to our time or cast them in their own era.

I will start by casting my characters.

My first vote is for Emma Peel in a parallel universe where she is a real-life person instead of character in a fictional show ("The Avengers"). Or perhaps a crossover between "The Avengers" and "Doctor Who" in which Emma Peel stands between John Steed and Tara King on the sidewalk just outside Steed's flat. She takes her leave from him by saying, "I must be off: I am being summoned back to Gallifrey." She gives him a kiss on the cheek and tells Tara, "he likes his tea stirred counterclockwise," as she raises her right hand to twirl her index finger in an imaginary teacup. "Be seeing you," she says, and makes her characteristically graceful 180° turn as her thigh length Mod coat mushrooms up around her. She then walks briskly toward the police box on the corner across the street and to the right of Steed's front door. She unlocks the door, steps inside, peeking out one last time to wave goodbye. Seconds later the door closes: Steed and Tara give each other a puzzled look as the TARDIS disappears. He turns to Tara and asks, "champagne?" to which she replies, "I'd love some." He opens his front door and with a bow gestures his arm, "Ladies first," he says with a smile. Fade shot. This is how Emma Peel returns to her life as a Timelord. To be continued?

Who's next? Patrick McGoohan is a fine candidate. His anarchic quality combined with his ability to stare down any foe would make him an excellent choice for the role of the Doctor. His defiance would be formidable. Imagine him confronting a Dalek: you could cut the tension with a knife!
McGoohan is sadly no longer with us, having died in 2009, but he left us the legacy of his work. He played many roles in many memorable films, from "Ice Station Zebra" (1968) to "Braveheart" (1995). He worked in both film and television, his most memorable role being that of Number Six in the iconic, anti-authoritarian TV series "The Prisoner" (1967 - 68). He turned down the role of James Bond in order to produce, star and direct this most brilliant, original and outstanding production in the history of television. And for that we think him. See my review of "The Prisoner" http://dainasurrealism.blogspot.com/2011/05/ground-breaking-cult-television-shows.html

Like many Dr Who fans, I've been thinking lately about the fact that Matt Smith has been playing the Doctor for 3 years now and he may leave soon. Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the title character in BBCs "Sherlock," has been voted by fans as a candidate for the next Doctor. Benedict-Cumberbatch-wins-Sun-poll-for-new-Doctor-Who

More characters to be added later. Who knows, they may come to me in a dream...

Check out my Time Travel, Dream, surreal artwork, performance art, costuming & photography on the other blog pages!

I had a dream that Mark Gatiss (script writer to Doctor Who and Sherlock) bought me a lovely fountain pen. My subconscious is telling me to write more. Dream, March, 22, 2013

* http://www.surrealistmovement-usa.org/pages/time.html This link also has an Exquisite Corpse game which I collaborated on with other Surrealists. Both games are published in the book

"Surrealist Subversions: Rants, Writings & Images by the Surrealist Movement in the United States"

 http://www.amazon.com/Surrealist-Subversions-Writings-Movement-Autonomedia/dp/1570271224/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364355724&sr=8-1&keywords=surrealist+subversions
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STRANGE INTERLUDE: My Dream, Time-Travel inspired band, "Hypnagogic Telegram" is going VIRAL on Youtube. Timelord Rock. Trock. I play a spirit that inhabits the wardrobe closet in the TARDIS. I come out in costumes from various eras to dance & sing. If Doctor Who would have a band, it might sound like this.

<---- View YOUTUBE VIDEO here.
On FACEBOOK @ HYPNAGOGIC TELEGRAM