Intention: I'm in the process of preparing a paper for the PsiberDreaming Conference about 'Invisible Schools' - the idea that there exist schools, accessible to us in our dreams. These may not teach in the way in which we are familiar, but all the same they are places of learning. The concept for the page originated with a dream I posted a little while back, in which I received an invitation to:

"Please hear and defend their progress in our schools"

A fairly purposeful invitation, I believe. I dreamed with the intention of learning about/visiting the 'Invisible Schools'.

I'm sliding down a hill with my mum to the side. Our movement is fueled by a vehicle, which seems much like a piece of cardboard. I have to pull it up, in order to take the sometimes sharp corners. It's very smooth overall however, and the whole time I have to remind my mum not to worry - just to trust the process. It's very fun, actually, I have a great time racing down the trail through these unknown green slopes.

When we reach the bottom the situation has changed a little. No longer so calm, instead me and my mum are walking, approaching something. There's a railway to our right - a train rushes by, and I see that the train is covered in flags. It seems to have something to do with Israel/Palestine. A slight unease sets in, but there's something very dreamlike about it all - nevertheless. I feel an unusual confidence, almost testing/waiting to see how the world will respond to my actions. I throw out a piece of paper, almost shooting it out at the train. I wonder for a moment what kind of response this will receive. The paper seems more solid than paper, as though somebody will actually notice. Maybe they'll become suspicious.

Before I have time to dwell on this my younger sister appears out of nowhere. She seems to burst on the scene, as though from thin air - a fact I find strangely confronting. She mentions something along the lines that if me and mum continue walking along this path, it'll be another 20 'minutes' before we reach our destination (which seems to be a little further along the road).

And now another surprise!

A man suddenly appears ahead of us. Immediately I know this is not a friendly thing. He's dressed in a suit. All very organised. Armed with a solid black gun, he's herding people into the back carriage of a train. A large group of 20 or 30 people are forced into the vehicle, all while he maintains a spoken tirade of orders.

Things do not feel safe.

We are forced to the edge of the circle, while the man continues to target the gun at each of us, rapidly shifting it from person to person. You can feel the intensity in the air.

I'm surprised to find that I'm somewhat 'stable'. My sense of self feels 'flattened' but I'm not falling apart. I can see that others aren't maintaining such composure. You can hear every breath, see every movement, and nobody amongst knows what the man wants or what he's going to do next. You can tell that people don't want to make any bold moves right now though. This is a life or death situation.

While I describe myself as feeling 'stable' that's not the entire truth. There's another thing urging itself up within me, a 'chord' of fear that strikes my belly, like a brain freeze of the body or a rapid tightening of the blood stream. I feel life and death close to me as I watch the man, who is now handing one of the women his gun, which appears as black, bold, and deadly as ever.

"Do you want it? Take it?" he says...

We feel his craziness now, but we all know that for the woman to act against him now would be her downfall. Instead he forces her with her gaze, to target the gun in our direction.