Dreams were very important in the life of the Senoi. This people
lived in the mountains of Malaysia. They had a society free of
crime and mental illness.
In the morning the entire family, discussed their dreams. This
might sound a bit boring, but how boring was your last
nightmare?
When they became teen-agers the Senoi did not have nightmares
anymore. All their dreams were positive. They achieved
this by means of a very original system, that I will explain in a
minute.
The Senoi lived in long community houses, constructed of bamboo,
rattan and thatch, and held away from the ground on poles. They
grew among other things rice, bananas, bread-fruit trees and
pumpkins. They were mainly vegetarians, but fish and certain forest
animals were also on the menu. That the Senoi did not suffer of
neurosis or psychoses sounds unbelievable. But it is well
researched and the results confirm this. The way they handle their
dreams seems to be the key to this.
Senoi Dream System
The rules that the Senoi had when it came to their dreams were the
following:
If there is danger in your dream, you
should confront and conquer it. When for
instance a child had dreamed that a tiger attacked him, his parents
would tell him that such dream-tigers could not hurt him. They
encouraged him to attack the tiger himself the next time. And if he
wasn't strong enough, he could call a 'dream-friend' to help him.
If the danger was fire he should put it out with water. When the
child fell from a mountain, he would be able to land softly or fly
etc.
Besides this the child was encouraged to have as much pleasure as
possible in the dream. "Try to fly and discover all sorts of
things, and always let your dream end positive". Even if the
dreamer died, he could be reborn in a better and stronger
body.
The most positive ending was if the dreamer got or found a
dream-gift . When they were awake the Senoi spent a lot of time
creating dream-gifts or something that they had seen in their
dreams. This could become a painting, woodcarving, or for instance
a piece of music.
In western society such dream-gifts are also mentioned. The sewing
machine was invented with the aid of a dream by Elias Howe. Robert
Louis Stevenson -a writer- even had a complete dream-tribe, which
provided him with ideas. His best-known works are 'Treasure Island'
and 'Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'.
Several compositions by Wagner, Mozart and Beethoven were
dream-inspired. As well as a couple of songs by Sting (The Dream of
the Blue Turtles). And Albert Einstein owes his theory of
relativity partly to a dream.
Finally it was important to make as
many friends as possible in the dream. This
is logical when you realize that every dream character is a part of
your own mind ( you are the one who has dreamed them).
Hostile characters were also 'conquered' by becoming their friend.
If the character would still be aggressive, the dreamer should
attack him. He could call in the help of a dream-friend that would
help him defeat the aggressor. This could be some powerful figure
in the Senoi community. In our society this can be some strong
superhero, the ghostbusters, movie actor, parent or a pet). After
defeating the hostile character or making him a friend he must give
a gift to the dreamer as a token of good will.
You can also use this system by day to change dreams that you have
already had: this is called Redreaming. It is meant for children
and adults. If your child has had a nightmare, it is a good idea to
read books or show movies with "friendly nightmare figures". Books
with friendly monsters, alligators, ghosts etc.
Senoi's After World War II
The rather idyllic society of the Senoi was regrettably almost
entirely destroyed during World War II, after they shared their
dream system with Westerners. Nowadays there are still Senoi, but
many will not talk about their dreams anymore. Some even deny that
they have had such a dream system.
Additional:
Lucid
Dreams
Lucid dreams are rare, but they are all about people's ability to
control their dreams. In a lucid dream, the dreamer becomes
consciously aware that she/he is dreaming and is able to use the
memory and participate in dream actions and emotions. Lucid dreams
are usually enhanced in a sensory and imaginary way, and sometimes
can be accompanied by pleasant music. People can learn the
techniques of controlling their dreams. Some historic manuscripts
and records say that the ability to control dreams helps a person
to reach a higher degree of mind development. This is what some
Tibetan Buddhists and Islam followers practiced for the purpose of
elevation in consciousness.
