[LONG] Trance-induced shared dreams

[matthijs]

This is very long. I wanted to chronicle everything as accurately as I could, since this is the first time I've tried anything like this, and I wanted to make sure I'll be able to refer back to it later.

The first post is my take on what happened. The second one is the other participants' experiences. The third is a translation of the original invitation.

I'm posting this with the following questions:

- Has anyone else tried anything like this, or do you know of anyone who has?
- Do you see any potential applications of the techniques used, either in role-playing or otherwise?
- Do you think there are any conclusions to be drawn, or further areas to be investigated, with respect to existing theory or practice? I'm thinking, in particular, of the areas of immersion and ritual theory, but perhaps there are others?

Other comments are, of course, more than welcome.

THE DREAM GAME
An experiment in hypnotic shared dreaming

I've always had an interest in altered states of mind. When I was a kid, I would sometimes enter such states while playing or socializing. The most pleasant one I remember was when acting out a role, and feeling that the role somehow was real, not just a cloak I was putting on; that I was channeling someone else, bringing them to life in a very real sense, even as I was creating them. The most unpleasant state was that of dissociation, where I would feel that I was outside myself – or rather, sitting inside my head, but with no control of what I was doing; just an observer. In this latter state, I would sometimes have to do things to shock myself back into control – things such as shouting, or pushing a friend for no reason.

Now I'm an adult, and I'm more used to the different modes of consciousness. Still, some of them have kept their mysterious appeal. The creative channeling that some role-players call "immersion" is one. Another is the dreaming state. Yet another, with which I have hardly any experience, is hypnosis.

My experience with hypnotic situations (that is, situations where it's explicitly stated that the intention is to make me enter a trance state) is random and scattered. My wife once read me a script from a book, where at an early stage the script assumed that I would follow a suggestion that my arm would lift itself up from its resting position. It didn't, and we abandoned the experiment. Other than that, I've had a one-sentence demonstration from a hypnotist, which actually did seem to work; and I've listened to one of Alexander Cherry's online hypnosis mp3's, which was comfortable and relaxing and induced a light trance.

Still, lack of experience doesn't mean you can't experiment. In fact, it's often best to try out new things before you know too much about a subject. (Imagine what role-playing could be like if people didn't feel they had to spend years learning D&D before they designed their first game!) So I decided to try an experiment in shared dreaming.

PRELIMINARIES

I invited several friends over to my house. These were hand-picked for their interest in new forms of role-playing, trance states, and/or psychology. They're all educated, well-read, open-minded intellectuals. They're all guys in their early-to-late twenties. We were six: P.H., N.H., F.U., F.C., N.K. and myself.

I'd sent out an invitation, outlining the rules for this "game". The invitation was sent by one of my alter egos, the charlatan and dream interpreter Jim Ashthrottle. The rules were in a ritually structured form (see later). There were several reasons for this. One was simply to make the participants associate the experience with other semi-mystical ones, to create an expectation of that sort of experience. Another was to make everyone feel safe; strict, easily understood rules and guidelines, with clearly distributed authority and responsibility, with explicit demarcation of where the experience begins and ends.

I'd obtained permission from Alexander Cherry of Twisted Confessions to use one of his online hypnotic recordings for this purpose. We used his most basic one, which is a six-minute recording where he induces a relaxing and comfortable trance, and then brings you out of it towards the end. I'd tried it out once on myself, and was very happy with it.

We had dinner. Everyone read the rules one last time. Then we went upstairs and started it. It took a while to get everyone in one place; there was a fair bit of milling about, finding pillows, going to the bathroom, and seemingly purposeless procrastination. This is a fairly common experience for me when I try to get a group started with something slightly out of the ordinary; it seems to be part of the pattern, no matter who's involved.

INITIATION

We cleared the room of distractions. Unplugged the phone, removed watches, turned off cell phones and shut the door. Lighting was dimmed. As I was the mastermind behind it all, I took the role of Overseer – the one that makes sure everything goes according to procedure, and that everyone feels safe. There are two other roles: Dreamer and Interpreter.

I explained why we were there: To attempt to enter a trance state and have a comfortable, shared dreaming experience. I also repeated that we shouldn't have too high expectations, this was just an experiment. I asked everyone if they agreed to these premises, and they did.

At this point, F. C. suggested that we all talk a bit about what previous experience we had with trance states and hypnosis. A great suggestion, and we did so, each person telling of his experience (if any). There were very varied views on what a trance state could be, and as far as I recall, nobody had been put into a trance by a professional at any point. There was, however, talk of dream states, meditation, drugs, music and live-action role play.

I then asked for two volunteer Dreamers. Unsurprisingly, I got five. We picked two at random (P. H. and F. U.), and two of the remaining three volunteered for Interpreter. The Dreamers got to pick one Interpreter each. P. H. picked N. K., and F. U. picked F. C. The last person, N. H., decided to just observe.

In order to maintain the trance state, I assumed that it was desirable for the dreamers to avoid having to give verbal instructions to the Interpreters. I'm not really sure that this is actually the case. At any rate, we had agreed on a set of hand signs that the Dreamers could use. We repeated and rehearsed them. They were as follows:
Palm up: Give me advice or a contribution.
Scratch floor: Deal a card (from an Everway deck) and explain it to me.
One hand up: Wait, hold on.
Both hands up: Take me out of the trance.
Wave a hand: Pass the turn to the other Dreamer / Interpreter pair.

Then I played Alexander's pre-recorded script from the computer, instructing the Interpreters not to enter the trance. After five minutes and forty seconds, the Dreamers were under. I instructed them to shift their attention to the voice of their Interpreter.

FIRST ROUND, STAGE ONE: DREAMER / INTERPRETER

In this round, I was the Overseer, and I was mostly focused on keeping everything on track and making sure there were no interferences. Therefore, I didn't pay much attention to the content of the "dreams" – I remember only a few random descriptions.

The first pair started with the Interpreter drawing a card and reading/explaining it to his Dreamer. The Dreamer responded, telling us what hypnagogic images he saw. I told the second pair to repeat the process; I wanted to start with a very simple exchange, with no use of gestures, extra cards, contributions from the Interpreters etc.

Then, the pairs were cut free. The first pair had a longer exchange, where the Dreamer was free to use gestures; he asked for one or two cards/contributions before passing the turn to the second pair, who kept on for a similar length. This going back and forth went on for a while, with the exchanges growing slightly longer each time. The Dreamers were talking slowly and quietly, almost under their breath some times. The Interpreters also kept a low voice, but not the trance-like murmur that the Dreamers spoke in.

As the round progressed, Interpreters and Dreamers seemed to draw more of each others' elements into the process. A person introduced to or by one Dreamer would be used by the other Interpreter and/or Dreamer. Whether this was on purpose, I don't know.

After a while (about 5 minutes), I pointed out to the Interpreters the section in the rules that said they could decide when to turn the Dreamers' attention towards each other. They immediately did so, which wasn't my intention.

STAGE TWO: DREAMER / DREAMER

This part was the core of the experiment. What would happen when the Dreamers only had their own visions to rely on, communicating directly with each other? Would the dialogue stagnate, or would they produce incredible, stirring visions together? Would they be able to share hypnagogic imagery, or would they just tell parallel, non-connecting stories without meaning? Would they both fall silent, or would they just babble without listening to each other? There were no rules or instructions for their interaction.

The Dreamers kept murmuring in slow, silent voices, with frequent pauses. Seemingly naturally, they started taking turns speaking. At one point they tried to speak simultaneously, but just like they might have done in normal conversation, one of them (F. U.) paused to let the other (P. H.) continue. Once again, I was not paying much attention to the content of their visions, focusing on the process and situation instead. After a few exchanges – perhaps four or five turns each – P. H. raised both hands.

I said to the group that P. H. had indicated that he wanted to end the trance, then got up and played the part of the script that brings one out of the trance. We all shook hands with the Dreamers, saying "welcome back" as per the rules.

We talked a little bit about how it had gone. It seemed the Dreamers had had a pleasant experience. I didn't want too much analysis at this point, and I believe the others agreed; we didn't talk too much about what had happened. I'd made a personal resolution not to interpret any of the dream content this evening; I believe that might have made everyone more reluctant to share whatever random, disturbing and revealing images they might come up with*.

According to the rules, we weren't supposed to leave the room etc until the entire process was finished; however, we now decided to take a break between rounds, to get some air in the room, use the bathroom, make coffee etc.

SECOND ROUND

We gathered again to switch roles and continue. Dreamers were selected at random from the volunteers, and N. K. and N. H. laid down. In the previous round, the Interpreters sat between the Dreamers, which seemed like an unnatural barrier when the Dreamers spoke with each other directly; so this round, the Dreamers lay next to each other. It seemed there was a lot more focus on pillow placement and comfort this time, perhaps because people lying next to each other need something to talk about, perhaps because they knew how long they'd be lying there and wanted to have a pleasant experience.

F. U. was Overseer this round. His guidance was perhaps more direct than mine at some points. He explicitly told the Dreamers when to turn towards each other, and when to get ready to leave the trance; both these decisions were initially left to the Interpreters. However, it seemed more natural that the Overseer take care of all pacing and structure, and the Interpreters focus only on the Dreamers. We agreed to keep it this way.

I was interpreter for N. K., who has a very easy-going personality, and who – in a creative process, such as role-playing or writing – will often create characters that are somehow resigned, bound by fate. P. H. was interpreter for N. H, who will sometimes create naïve, surrealistic and/or humoristic characters and settings, sometimes extremely morbid ones.

While induction went on, I signaled to P. H. to ask who should start, and he pointed to himself. He picked a card and studied it while the file was playing. Then, he introduced an everyday setting that everyone present is familiar with: The University in Oslo on a rainy day.

To begin with, the two dreamers spoke of very different things; while N. H. was on the prairie with children, N. K. was falling through a swirling maelstrom. As Interpreters, P. H. and I had different styles: He actively introduced dream content, sometimes interpreting cards, while I asked suggestive questions – "You're under the sky. How far down?", "What does the child's face look like?"

After a while, someone – I forget who – introduced a child character. That character quickly became very central in both Dreamers' descriptions, but was handled differently by the two. In N. H.'s descriptions, the child was – among other things – described as holy, and seeking love. In N. K.'s descriptions, the child had been waiting forever for something, and was at a point standing between two areas, unable to choose between the two. The point here is not to characterize the participants, but to show that the same symbol – the child – was held in common by both, but sometimes given different traits and feelings.

This round I experienced as more intense. This was probably for two reasons: First, because I was closer to the core experience, and actually paying attention to the imagery, not just the process. Second, because the group was warming up, understanding what we were trying to achieve, and working towards it.

After F. U. had brought the Dreamers up from the trance, we had another break.

THIRD ROUND

As we gathered for the third round, I believe it was approximately an hour and a half since we started the first round. This time, I and F. C. were Dreamers, since we were the only ones who hadn't tried that yet. F. U. and N. H. were interpreters; I picked F. U. The Overseer was N. K. The last participant, P. H., relaxed – and actually had a nap along the way.

We were really getting comfy by now. F. C. grabbed a duvet from the bed. I was feeling excited, worried that I might not enter a trance, wondering how the interplay between myself and my Interpreter would go, and whether I and F. C. would establish some sort of rapport. The relaxation script didn't make me feel all that relaxed, and several times during the induction process I almost opened my eyes. I tried to stay focused, although controlling thoughts interfered: Would N. K. remember how to pause the script playback? What if F. C. and I didn't get any shared imagery going?

F. U. gave me the first input. I realize now that he was probably using a card; however, at the time, I thought he was contributing from his own fantasy. The image was of a snake climbing on some rocks, with skulls at the base of the rocks. I didn't like this as a start – it felt too "heroic fantasy", and the imagery of death was negative. I responded with scary imagery, probably reflecting my own apprehensiveness: Smashing of skulls, cursing the sun, bathing the world in blood.

As the turn passed to F. C., his Interpreter read him a card which I've forgotten. F. C. described mowing a lawn on a sunny day. His description was light-hearted and humoristic. When it got to be my turn again, F. U. gave me some input that I've now forgotten. I ended up seeing myself in the kitchen of the house I grew up in, flying out of the window, hovering over a lake that I've visited often and that holds a lot of meaning for me. Turns passed back and forth. F. U. said I was floating down towards the dirty ground; I rebelled and said I wouldn't, and I kept flying – higher up, above the clouds.

At this point, F. C. described his looking up at me. As we went back and forth – now, I believe, without the mediation of the Interpreters – we met, but didn't interact directly. However, there was strong interaction nonetheless; we actively used elements the other introduced. Caves filled with crowns, subterranean snakes, an office with a picture of the King... My most vivid recollection is that I had the form of a dog, biting a desk in the office, and feeling it splinter between my teeth.

Towards the end, as we were floating in the air with the Earth in orbit around us, we were called out of the trance. I opened my eyes and immediately closed them again; I didn't want to be in the dull reality of winter Norway, I'd much rather stay in the colorful and exciting play world of dreams. Still, as we woke up, I was laughing, and I believe F. C. was, too. It was exciting and exhilarating, great fun.

It was clear to me that we had used several levels of our personalities in the interaction. At times, there was just channeling of imagery; at others, I believe we consciously pushed the narrative or imagery in certain directions.

SUDDEN DEPARTURE

N. K. asked about the train times, and we suddenly realized how late it was. Time had rushed by in this last round, seemingly for everyone, and definitely for me. We had to pile into the car and drive to the station, hoping nobody would pull us over for reckless driving. When we got there, the train was delayed, so we had some time to chat.

Talk was silly, full of jokes, with little or no analysis of what we'd just been through.

THOUGHTS AFTERWARDS

On a personal level, this was a wonderful experience for me. I had great fun. I enjoy making things up, and especially doing so with friends; in this case, it was like a great role-playing session with no limits, channeling stuff from inside without having to fit it in anywhere, going with the intense flow, going through and stripping off layers of consciousness.

But, of course, there were limits. For my part, I had some mental censorship control running the whole time. Although I mostly chose to ignore it, it was – as far as I recall – always present.

Social expectations played a large role in how the experiment turned out, I believe. I had described what I wanted to happen, and that was pretty much what happened. The premises we had agreed on were reflected in the end results.

* With one exception I managed to keep this resolution. The one exception was when I was Interpreter, and the Dreamer, who'd just described a guarding giant with a hairy tongue, said he associated that giant with me. A rule of thumb in interpretation is that when someone feels compelled to tell you their dream, that dream has a message from the dreamer to you. In this case, I'd guess that the Dreamer saw me – either in my role as Interpreter or as a person – as a hindrance, standing in the way of what he wanted to achieve. The hairy tongue might be related to speech, implying that the Dreamer didn't approve of my speaking, or of what I was saying. I'm guessing that the Dreamer, in this case, didn't want or need my input, and would rather be speaking directly to the other Dreamer.

[matthijs]

OTHER PARTICIPANTS' EXPERIENCES

Everyone in this experiment had their own subjective experience of what happened. In retrospect, I'm glad we didn't talk too much about it after finishing; this way, we haven't had the opportunity to build a group consensus of exactly what happened.

I asked each participant via e-mail to write a little about what they experienced, and their reflections on the session. Some of them replied. Here's what they wrote.

F. C.'S EXPERIENCE

I had a bit of experience with hypnotic induction before I joined Matthijs' game, so I was able to focus fairly well and enter a moderate trance. There were some interfering thoughts, of course, such as fears about saying stupid things or about saying nothing at all - Matthijs and I were the last to "go under", and the previous players had delivered really engaging dream-stories - but these thoughts disappeared as we neared "showtime".

First to go was Matthijs, and they drew a card for him and described it. I can't remember what he said, only that he was flying somewhere high above. I got a strange description of a mother and a baby sitting in a flower. This was, I suppose, an image that struck some morbid chord in me, because the
next thing I knew I was pushing a lawnmower across a field full of flowers containing mothers and children.

At this point, two things were very different from my normal, waking life: My heart was racing. I could feel my throat straining from the rapid throbbing of veins, and my voice probably sounded very upset or maybe it sounded like I was running. There was a lot of activity going on, which felt strange because I was really so relaxed. I had a warm, nice feeling and felt safe but at the same time strained.
The other thing was the clarity and effortless continuity of the images. It was very much like a dream, and the "story" just unfoldet without me trying hard to come up with smart things (like I had feared).

The story went on with some dream-logic associations (for instance, in Norwegian, we use the same word ("streik") for "strike" (as in not working) and "out of order". When I asked my Interpreter for help, he told me the lawnmower was out of order. And it seemed the most natural thing for me to assume that the mower was on strike and was a communist. At several points during the story I laughed out loud, caught by the perfect absurdity of it. I think I was the only one to laugh.

Then something new happened: Matthijs and me started communicating directly with eachother. We had previously appeared in eachothers visions, and now we were inside the dream together. It was way cool. I remember particularily when he turned into a dog and I touched him (for the first time), and my hand came back bloody.

Then things started falling apart, the world sort of disintergrated and we were more or less floating among stars. Everything started spinning, and we came up with a way to stop it and the story ended.

I hope this doesn't read like too much of a crazy vision, I have tried to write what I experienced and I suppose everybody had different experiences that night. All in all a nice evening, something I'd like to do again.

I've tried a little bit of hypnosis in roleplaying before, but this was way beyond. I would like to develop a more roleplay-like system for people in trance, or maybe just see how hypnosis affects a standard rpg night.

N. K.'S EXPERIENCE
(Translated from the Norwegian)

I experienced it as a sort of collective stream-of-consciousness storytelling. When I was the Dreamer I said the first things to enter my mind, but noticed they still fit into a story. The impulses from the other Dreamer and the Interpreter sometimes felt like they didn't fit with my imaginings (especially to begin with) and sometimes as if they contributed something exciting to my imaginings (especially towards the end). I had the feeling that my imaginings and those of the other dreamer were very different to start with, but as we started associating from each others' stories the imaginings melted together.

Although we called ourselves Dreamers, the experience didn't primarily feel like a dream for me - I was a little too aware of my surroundings. I often lie half asleep and "make up dreams" - I'm aware that I'm dreaming, and enjoying the stories I create - but at those times I'm still not as aware as I was during the dream game. One common trait: While half asleep I sometimes get a strong feeling of spinning. I got that once during the Dream game, too.

F. U.'S EXPERIENCE
(Translated from the Norwegian)

Prelude: I was drawn into this by way of a mystical invitation sent to me from someone called Jim Ashthrottle, who I've never met, but still feel like I know. The other players were unknown to me before I arrived (but when I found out who they were, I discovered I knew them well from before). The rules were sent out as a PDF before the session. The form of the invitation created expectations of something Great and Exciting and Avantgardistic, which resulted in some performance anxiety. Expectations can lead to good things, while the rules emphasized that there shouldn't be too great expectations. Some disconnect there.

The rules: Easily understood (one A4 page), well-presented, without unneccessary fluff. This game, even more than ordinary RPG's, is about personal chemistry and social musicality, and the need for large amounts of rules wasn't present. The single page didn't give me any more or less than what I felt was needed. Good that the rules and presentation emphasize safety and de-emphasize pretentions.

In practice we didn't completely stick to the rules:

- As Overseer I apparently did more than an Overseer is supposed to. I didn't mean to, but I think it worked out fine. I think it's right that the Overseer should control when things begin and end, as he/she will have a better understanding of the whole than the individual Dreamer or Interpreter*. In addition the poor Overseer needs something to do. I suggest this change is added to the rules.

- We dropped the last half-hour of talk in order to make it to the train. A pity, but necessary.

The game: Very enriching! It's a very good feeling to be able to lie down and associate freely about what I want, and sense that it means something to someone. It actually feels almost just like "real" dreaming, with a slightly stronger conscious awareness of what goes on. At the same time, I think those who entered the trance after me got deeper into it than I did myself. I felt slightly inhibited by narrativistic meta-considerations ("this has to make a good story, does this fit with the plot and genre?"), and a self-imposed pressure at times to talk because I felt I had to, while I really wanted to be quiet. This annoyed me. The good part of this, of course, is that I think there's much to gain by playing the game again!

(Perhaps there should be an extra sentence in the rules, emphasizing that it's not all that important that what you say has to be connected and meaningful?)

It was just as interesting to be Interpreter as Dreamer. I'm happy we had enough time for everyone to try the different roles.

A good thing, also, that there was some time to talk after each round. Too bad the train got in the way of that in the last round.

I wonder: What, if anything, would have been different if we'd used a different sound track for trance induction?

* F. U. didn't remember the exact term, and renamed the Interpreter "Facilitator". This is probably a better term than Interpreter, as there was no expressed interpretation of dream content.

[matthijs]

Invitation to participate in a
Dream Game
arranged by
Morphopolis' Psychogeographical Associations
Established by Jim Ashthrottle March 12., 2005

(Translated from the Norwegian)

When the sap draws into the tree, the soul draws into the body. Winter dreams play in the depths, warm and fuzzy. They seduce us and let us believe the world is beautiful, brilliant, full of colors. We're there, together, while the colors wash over us. I turn towards you and ask you a question. You answer, and we duck under the veil of consciousness which softly covers us and blesses us with love. As brother, as sister in spirit.

In January a dream game will take place. It will be like much that's been done before, but will still have its own name: The Dream Game. In unison we will explore the zone between dream and waking.

The Roles

This game has its rules and roles.

The roles are the dreamers, who will be put under a trance and explore their half-dreams; the interpreters, who with the help of intuition and cards will help the dreamers be safe and courageous in their exploration; and the overseer, who doesn't participate in the game, but ensures that everyone's feeling well and nobody goes any further than they want.

The Rules

The rules are ritual, and say in which order things should be done, as follows:

Cleanse the surroundings
Turn the lights down, remove all noise, put on calm music. Remove timepieces and telephones. Tell the others in the house you're not to be disturbed.

Open the game
The first to be overseer tells everyone why they're here. He tells them the limits are safe, so that we can express ourselves freely within them. He says nobody should have high expectations of what's happening - it will be like sitting with eyes closed and weaving free imaginings. He says that if anyone gets confused or frightened, he'll help them out again.

Accept the conditions
Participants must choose whether or not to accept these conditions. If they don't want to participate, they have to leave the room; the overseer will follow them out and speak with them after. If they do want to participate, they hold hands and say "I'm in".

Choose the dreamers
Those who wish to be the first dreamers volunteer. Two are needed. For each of these an interpreter is needed. The dreamers can choose their own interpreter if they want to; if not, they're chosen at random. If there's too few participants, there can be more interpreters than dreamers - but not the other way around.

The dreamers are reminded of the gestures
The interpreters remind their dreamers what gestures to use if they want to communicate without talking. (See below).

The overseer puts the dreamers in a trance
By means of a pre-made sound track the dreamers are put in a light trance. The overseer starts the track and stops it when the trance is in effect. The interpreters shouldn't let themselves enter the trance; they can cover their ears if they want to. It's especially important that the overseer doesn't enter a trance.

The interpreters give the dreamers suggestions
The interpreters draw a card each and explain it to the dreamers, who have their eyes shut. The interpreters are free to describe the card as an image, a concept, an event - whatever they feel fits. The interpreters should not use rational explanations or logic.

The dreamers dream about the suggestion
The dreamers answer what they see, what happens in their dream world. Here there's little or no demands; a dreamer can answer something as simple as "I see it" or "I'm there". When the dreamers are done answering, the interpreters can give suggestions again.

The dreamers weave
After a period of play between the dreamers and interpreters (the interpreters decide together when the period's over; five or ten minutes may suffice), the dreamers are asked to listen to each other. They shouldn't turn towards each other. They can now use eachothers' dreams as suggestions and spin off each others' fantasies. If the dreamers want to, or if the dream stagnates, one of the dreamers can bring new suggestions from the cards.

The overseer asks everyone to round off
After a while - five or ten minutes may suffice here also - the overseer says "we're soon going up again". The interpreters help the dreamers end the exploration they're doing. Then the interpreters give a sign that all's ready.

The overseer wakes the dreamers from the trance
With the rest of the sound track the dreamers are woken up again.

The dreamers are welcomed back
Now, the dreamers have opened their eyes, and the interpreters and the overseer should hold their hands and wish them welcome back. Spend a few minutes waking up completely, if necessary.

Change roles
If desirable, you can now change roles. At all times there must be one overseer, at least one dreamer and at least as many interpreters as dreamers. The new dreamers are put in a trance by the overseer.

Say the game is about to close
The overseer informs the group that the game is about to be closed. If anyone has a different view, the overseer will take it into consideration.

Close the game
The overseer tells everyone what they've been doing. He repeats the conditions, and thanks everyone for accepting them. He says he hopes everyone had a pleasant experience.

Free the surroundings
Turn the lights on, change the music if you want. Give the participants a few minutes to mill around, use the bathroom, get soda etc.

Talk about the game
Set aside half an hour to talk about what happened. You can talk about other things as well, that's OK; but nobody leaves before the half hour is over.

The Gestures
In the dream the dreamers may want to communicate without talking. These gestures are used then.

I want a suggestion from the cards - scratch the ground (as if drawing a card)
Wait / be quiet - lift your right hand from the ground
I want advice - lay your right hand with the palm up
I want a break - wave in the direction of the other dreamer
Take me out of the trance - lift both hands, as if averting something

Send me your answer

Send a mail to <...> stating if you want to participate or not. If you know anyone else who may want to participate, send a message to the same address before inviting them.

[Lance D. Allen]

This is fascinating stuff!

I have done something like this.. two or three times, but only with 2 people involved, one "interpreter" and one "dreamer". It was something my cousin showed me, that she called 7 Doors. Mine ended up being very dungeon-like, but one thing that my cousin, who'd done it before, said was unusual was the almost complete lack of others. There was a skeleton at one point, and a girl I knew from highschool who was frozen like a mannequin but whose posture would change when I wasn't looking. At one point there was no floor, but I didn't fall because I didn't want to.

My cousin, as "Master" (her term) asked leading questions, and would occasionally, if things seemed like they were not moving, would ask if I saw a door. After the fact, I told her a how a few things felt like they wanted to happen, but I didn't want them to, so they didn't. The skeleton, for example, wanted to get up, but I didn't want it to, so it didn't. Unfortunately, I was not brought gently out of the trance. My brother came into the room, and the door to that room always made a loud noise when it was opened. Valerie said it shouldn't have mattered, and pointed to that, in addition to my level of control, as a sign that I'd not fully allowed myself to enter the trance.

I attempted to do it twice after myself with friends. One of them could never enter the trance state. The other, a close friend of mine, ended up in tears, and I brought him out because I was afraid of the things he was saying. I think we went into a place where he'd buried lots of emotions.. It was strange, because he claimed to remember very little afterward, and was shocked when we (I had another friend listening and taking notes) assured him he'd been crying.

I actually game regularly in person with Alexander Cherry, so it's possible I might propose something of this nature myself, now that your post has re-awakened my interest.

[matthijs]

Seven doors - that sounds vaguely familiar. Is it a hypnosis script or something? Do you remember the procedure?

Valerie said it shouldn't have mattered, and pointed to that, in addition to my level of control, as a sign that I'd not fully allowed myself to enter the trance.

I don't think it's a sign of anything, except perhaps of Valerie's expectations of trance behavior. In a trance, you can choose to let go, but even if you choose to retain full control, you can still be in a trance. In my experience, and that of at least some of the others in this experiment, we were in a trance, but still highly alert, even in a state of excitement.

However, I believe one of the problems with hypnosis is that there's so many different opinions - some well-founded, some not - of exactly what it is. Since I'm a total amateur, and haven't read much on the subject, I'm going to be pragmatic and say that if someone says they felt like they were in a trance, or acted like they were in a trance, they were probably in a trance.

The other, a close friend of mine, ended up in tears, and I brought him out because I was afraid of the things he was saying. I think we went into a place where he'd buried lots of emotions.. It was strange, because he claimed to remember very little afterward, and was shocked when we (I had another friend listening and taking notes) assured him he'd been crying.

Wow... I was afraid something like this might happen to us, but luckily it didn't. We were very careful to put as little pressure on as possible, to make everything feel very safe and comfy, and to create an atmosphere of total acceptance; I think that helped. Still, you never know what people are carrying inside them, so it's best to be prepared for something like that to happen.

[EDIT]Removed trailing quote that snuck in as an error[/EDIT]

[Lance D. Allen]

Well, understand that we were teenagers, and neither of us had studied. She was going off of what she'd been told, and what she'd experienced herself.

As for the exact procedures, I don't remember them precisely. I will detail it as precisely as I remember.

When Valerie told me about it, and when she did it, she used the exact same phrasing, so when I tried on subsequent occasions, I did my best to remember that exact phrasing.

I don't remember it now. I do remember the gist. You spoke in a calm, even tone, informing the person going into the trance that you were going to play a game called 7 doors, that you were going to put them into a trance, and (this part was stressed as very important) you informed them of the cue to wake up. As I remember, it was when the Master would clap their hands.

During the whole informative phase, and the entirety of what followed, the person doing it lay with their head in the Master's lap, and the Master would gently massage their temples. The actual inducement of the trance involved counting aloud from 1 up to 100, and back down again to 1, in a steady even rhythm. You do this until the Master notes that the person counting cannot get the numbers in the right sequence. I remember I counted up and down twice, and on the up again, somewhere around seventy, I started to be unable to focus on numbers and began to just say random numbers.

At that point, I remember being in utter blackness. I was conscious of where I was physically, and was aware of the sounds of movement from my sister (who was listening quietly), and the flicker of candlelight on my eyelids. But subjectively, I was in utter darkness, and my skin began to feel weird, clammy and damp, yet as though sharp edges were barely touching the skin. It's hard to describe, but it's a feeling I first felt when I was a child, during the only nightmare I ever woke up from crying. It really weirded me out, and I was about to ask to be woken up, but then she'd asked if I saw a door, and I did. It was a trapdoor arrangement, and I thought of it as an escape hatch.

Wow. You know, I can almost remember what it's like. It's been about 10 years, and I can almost see it.

Anyway, that's the procedure as I remember it.

[matthijs]

By the way: Are there any U. S. laws about who's allowed to practice hypnosis? In Norway there's apparently a (sleeping) law saying you have to be a doctor or trained professional, otherwise it's illegal (hey, seems I just broke the law there).

[matthijs]

I've sent out invitations for a new session this March. We'll be trying a different direction: incorporating elements of mythology and fairy tales into the dream sessions. It's part of my work on Draumþing, a game that explores the liminal zones where identity, history and culture fade into something else.

[Lxndr]

As far as I'm aware, there's no particular laws regarding practicing hypnosis - as opposed to hypnotherapy, which varies state by state.  Stage hypnotists and the like aren't needing any particular licensure.  Who knows when, or if, that will change. 

Matthijs, did you at all edit the file?  Is there anything you could suggest I do differently?  I'm thinking about recording a new file or perhaps several specifically for this kind of game/experiment...

[matthijs]

(Argh - my first post didn't come through due to server trouble. Trying again...)

We didn't edit the file. We stopped it at 5:40, when the dreamers were wholly under. Then, when the overseer decided to take them out of the trance, we started the recording again and played it to the end.

For Draumþing, I've been thinking of a script where the listener is asked at the very beginning to envision a being from myth that he or she would like to meet. Then the induction starts. After a few minutes of relaxation & deepening trance the listener is told something along the lines of:

"You feel that you're moving. First slowly, then faster and faster. You find that you're able to control your speed. Landscapes pass by, beautiful ones, stranger and stranger the farther you go. You can stop and look at them if you want, or move on."

After a while of this, with more deepening:

"You see a shape on the horizon. It's the being you envisioned to begin with. It speaks to you, and you hear its voice clearly."

Then, the interpreters take over.

What do you think; could something like this work?

[Jared A. Sorensen]

During the whole informative phase, and the entirety of what followed, the person doing it lay with their head in the Master's lap, and the Master would gently massage their temples

"Yeah, we're going to play a "roleplaying game." And yeah, you have to call me Master and put your head in my lap."

I'm going to try that at GenCon. "No really, we're creating a Shared Imaginative Space. And by that I mean, do you mind if I take off my shirt and pants? I feel more comfortable exploring my creative agenda that way..."


- J

[Lxndr]

Matthjis,

I was thinking of using some specialized language, like what you said.  Also, I was thinking of setting it up with some background music, light and soft, so that you wouldn't just stop the recording, it'd go on, with a looong blank spot while the interpreters took over.  Then, after a while, there'd be awakening.  I'm not sure if setting it up with a time-restraint like that would be good or bad - what do you think?

[matthijs]

Hm, not sure about the time restraint. We're very explicit about having no external timing influence whatsoever (in the rules, it even says you have to remove your watch). To get the experience of flow I think you can't have a thought in the back of your head that something external might tell you when to stop - it should be up to the people present in the room.

(Jared - that might be a good approach at GenCon, but I'm not trying it in a room full of hairy gamer guys ;) )

[Joe J Prince]

Interesting idea matthijs

I'm not sure about it as a 'role-playing game' - there's certainly no gaming element.
Its also going to be pretty difficult to get a group together willing to try this - but hey you overcame that limitation!

The trance state and exploration of dreamlike imagery are very interesting ideas - and key into ancient practices throughout most human cultures.

The whole approach could have massive therapeutic implications -perhaps even allowing people to process some of the issues circling around their unconsciousses.
Be careful though - things could potentially get pretty Freudian!

Its nice to see something so unusual, I'm keen to see how Draumþing turns out

Cheers
-J

[matthijs]

N. H.'S EXPERIENCE
(Translated from the Norwegian)

When trying to recount the dream game experience I quickly find myself facing an unwillingness to put it into words. Much of it was wordless, a state I otherwise experience far too rarely.

I remember entering the trance, or whatever it was, listening to the recording, and especially, when the man said "you try to think concrete thoughts, but can't", I felt my stream of thought sort of lurking at the edge of my consciousness, but not intruding. The dreaming also was an experience of not quite being in control, images appeared mostly by themselves,  and I felt I was only partially present as a narrator, more a spectator. Except perhaps when I had associations to the snake woman and pagoda from the previous dream, and did what I could to remove it again, and towards the end, when the images became much darker than I wanted, and I tried to find anchor points for a safe ending.

Waking up again was comfortable. I opened my eyes the moment the man said "now you're awake", and thought it would have been fitting with a close-up and a sudden tone on the sound track, as if I'd been in a film.