Tonight's Card

Slay a Dragon: Long ago, map makers sketched dragons on maps as a sign to sailors that they would be entering unknown territory at their own risk. Some sailors took this sign literally and were afraid to venture on. Others saw the dragons as a sign of opportunity, a door to virgin territory. Similarly, each of us has a mental map of the world complete with dragons. Where does fear hold you back? What dragons can you slay?

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"You are a fear prisoner. Yes, you are a product of fear."
--Patrick Swayze's character, Jim Cunninham, in Donnie Darko

I recorded two dreams with dragons. In July 2009 I dreamed I was overlooking Kim Jong Il's swimming pool. It had large waves, dragon fire and was open to the public.

In October 2008 I dreamed that to escape home invaders I entered a passageway beneath a house. I became aware that this was a descent into my unconsciousness. Blocking my way was a ferocious lady dragon. Luckily there was a guy with me holding a brain floating in a bowl of water. Once I fed the dragon the brain, she became gentle and friendly. But she wouldn't let me pass. Not until we talked about some of my old poems. I didn't want to have any of it. I just wanted to move past and on to the unconscious stuff I was interested in. Then I woke up (in the dream) in a dorm room at AWP.

Ugh, I refuse to confront something so my punishment is AWP. In dorm room, no less. Guess that was the lady dragon's way of saying "very well, more suffering and school for you!"

Tonight's Card

Pause for a Bit: Poet Doug King on the value of incubating: "Learn to pause . . . or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you." Allow the Muse to whisper in your ear. What problems are you working on that benefit from a pause?

Tonight's Card

Ask a Fool: That's what Renaissance kings did to break out the groupthink environment their "yes-men" advisors created. It was the fool's job to parody any proposal under discussion to make it appear in a fresh light. He might extol the trivial, trifle the exalted, or reverse the common perception of a situation. Example: "If a man is sitting backwards on a horse, why do we assume that is is the man who is backwards and not the horse?" Result: he dislodged people's assumptions. What would the fool say about your idea?

Gideon's favorite movie is Ghostbusters. We watched it back in the spring and he still talks about it.

His favorite song is "Ghostbusters," the Ghostbusters theme song by Ray Parker Jr.

We spent a lot of time talking about Ghostbusters this week. Probably an unnatural amount of time. Gideon's been staying at home, recovering from h1n1. Don't worry, he's been a brave little piggie and mostly recuperated. Although Sunday night and all day Monday were another story considering his 103 fever. Ever since his appendectomy I become kind of a wreck whenever he gets sick. But he's much better now.

Obviously I haven't spent much time pondering dreams and creativity and whatnot. I hope to get back to that tonight.

Bustin makes me feel good!

Tonight's Card

Try a Random Idea: There once was an Indian medicine man who made hunting maps for his tribe. When game got sparse, he'd put a piece of fresh leather in the sun to dry. Then he'd fold and twist it, and then smooth it out. The rawhide was now etched with lines. He marked some reference points, and a new map was created. When the hunters followed the map's newly defined trails, they usually discovered abundant game. Moral: by letting the rawhide's random folks represent trails, he pointed the hunters to places they hadn't looked. Stimulate your thinking in a similar way. Open any book at random and put your finger down on a word: "magnet." How does it relate to what you're doing? What associations can you make? What random ideas can you try?

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Ok, well I'm sitting next to a spanking stack of PERSONATIONSKIN, let's give that a try:

backdrops

Associations: setting, scenery, background, eye drops, pink eye, squirming, child, 3rd grade, squirming, Visine, kitchen, resisting, standing, hallucination, fever, pass out, water fountain . . .

After selecting the "what's out of whack?" card, the only dream I remember is that I was driving a small, red rental car. I double-parked it, got out and into my own car and tried to drive away. My undergrad fiction teacher stood in my way. She asked if I was going to return the rental. I planned on doing something else that evening, but knew I really should return it. It occured to me that I've kept it way longer than I needed.

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So the question is what does the red rental car represent and why am I holding on to it for so long when I have my own working car? And why am I parking like an asshole?

Tonight's Card

Find What's Out of Whack: Be critical and sense what's out of whack with the idea. Remember: you don't want to put a piece of garbage out in the world with your name on it. Why won't the idea work? What's lacking? What doesn't feel right about the idea?

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Oh goodness, these are going to be some cruel dreams tonight. I anticipate appearances from both my sister (one of my more harsh dream shadows) and meanie Barrelhouse Dave.