Demring

A couple of weeks ago, I dreamt that I was a swarm of lesser creatures (specifically, neurons), perhaps inspired by this NY Times article on the subject of swarms. I felt explained, but at the same time explained away. I understood myself, and disappeared. I was completely immersed in this hippie perspective, but then I woke up, and these thoughts were reduced to a curiosity.

But last night I recieved what I interpret to be Act II of the same story. In this dream, I was split into several creatures in a world rendered in pleasant animesque (like this with a hint of that). Three of the creatures were designated as main characters:

• The largest of them was absent-minded, silent and generally unexpressive. Built like a bear, slow and completely occupied by conflicting inklings. I interpret him to have represented my intuition, because of the character’s clear similarities to my experience of being absorbed by what I usually call intuition.
• The next largest one, or at least next tallest, was slender and brightly colored, with a clean appearance. He had a noble, if a bit proud (arrogant), posture, and was clearly not a very easy man to be around. I interpret him to have represented my position — a word which I here define as including sociality, material situation, comfort, etc.
• The smallest of the three had a large head and wide eyes. He was curious and refreshingly clever. In the dream he crouched all the time, and so he might have been taller than I remember. I interpret him to have represented my reflection, i.e. my experience of being absorbed by an inquisitive and reflective mode of being.

The lesser creatures were not as powerful and not as consistent as the main ones (they could transform or split in two or disappear). Most of them were simply jumping heads. I interpret them to represent the aspects of my personality which are present, but not dominant. Examples:

• absurdity/sillyness
• maximization, meaning my tendency to take thoughts and values to their extremes
• visual expression of logical relations

In the dream, Reflection discovered that Position had severe heart problems. It seemed the group for some reason had to go back to a malign, metallic building from where they had just escaped (sadly, my memory is vague at this point). Everyone looked to Intuition, who was doubtful, but unresponsive. If he had anything to say, he would not need to utter the words — everyone would just know. The decision was made by Reflection, possibly affected by some kind of some kind of lesser creature of pity.

First, the group went to the pharmacy. They cheated the waiting line ticket system, with considerable bad conscience. It was Position that went up to the pharmacist and bought the two pieces of medicine Reflection said they needed. Then it was off to the malign building, where metal plates somehow ajust, intelligently, to make and unmake rooms and stairs and ledges etc, as the house sees fit. The group found a small ledge somewhere they judged to be safe. It was not an ideal place for heart surgery; it was too small. A conflict within the group arose, where the lesser creature of maximization was the most vocal proponent of moving to a newly formed large ledge just a few meters away. Intuition put his mark on the atmosphere: Everyone felt how he was against the suggestion.

At this point, the dream changes focus to an alien creature spying on the group. This alien creature was not part of me, it was something else, and like the building, malign. It was confused by the group’s actions. Why did they go back into the building?

Anticlimatically, I woke up. But the dream followed me around today, until I developed it, in this way: The same kind of split that created all these creatures from my self, can also happen to each of these creatures. And so all of them can be powerful. The creatures of visual logic, for example, can split until it is a veritable swarm, exhausting the entire theater of consciousness. In more rational terms: All parts can absorb the self, if only for short periods at a time.

This dream has created a conceptual foundation Id like to use everywhere I can, but I dont know where I can! (I wish I had connections in the animation business!)