Coming out of our closed session on October 15th, Sarah wrote to me and Tilly raising the concern that though decisions had been made – for example on no filming, the presence of a microphone, the presence of a facilitator, the role (albeit fluid) of a scribe – actually we hadn’t satisfactorily resolved the issue of consent, which had really been left in the hands of the facilitator, who for the first public session (on 19th October at KARST) we had agreed would be Sarah, to signal to participants what they were coming into and how their contributions would be reflected into the space.
Rightly, I feel, Sarah indicated that this was too much responsibility for one person to hold in a space intended to be collectively held, and too ambiguous. We discussed that instead, on the 19th October, I would jointly facilitate with Sarah, and ahead of that first public session, Tilly and Iman took on the task of drafting documentation that participants could read and sign, clearly establishing expectations and consent, before coming into the space. Copies of the two documents created – a participant information form and a consent form (extending to the full day of programming for After The Riots that Dream Ecologies was a part of) – are attached to this e-mail. Thanks to Sarah for raising this and to Tilly and Iman for responding.
There was also a mistake on my part around the communication of timing which meant that where the session should have been timed as 9 for 9.30 until 11, we communicated 9 for 9.30 til 10.30 with a break until 11 and then into the next session from 11 til 1. This meant that we delivered a shorter session than planned (1 hour instead of 90 minutes) and required Sarah to rework the session plan that she had prepared. Apologies for this and thanks, Sarah, for your readiness to adapt.
I think it’s also worth noting our collective jitters around timing at the start of the session in that, while many of us, as co-organisers of the session, arrived promptly at 9 to set up, participants by and large arrived at 9.30am on the dot. They then had a lot of text to read. We faced the dilemma of whether to start the session on time or close to time or wait for participants to read and sign and come into the space ready to start. After a little hesitation, we opted for the first option so that effectively it was only we, the Dream Ecologies collective, participating in the first part of the session. Newcomers came in and joined in when they were ready. This also meant that many of them missed out on the physical exercises that we started the session with, but it also meant that they came into a warm space and an active space. It will be good to discuss the pros and cons of the choices that we made here when we meet this coming Tuesday (November 5th).
An additional role that we hadn’t thought of before this first public session also became apparent right from the beginning of this session – that of a kind of gatekeeper, who could remain outside with those who had not yet entered the space but were thinking to, share the documents that had been created, answer any questions. Tilly started in that role and then came in once the initial group of new participants were inside the intentional space that we had created but then there were others who arrived late into the session and we started to realise the possibility that anyone of us could step into that role of gatekeeper, and in fact the chair closest to the door became the place of someone who could remain at the threshold of the group – one eye in, one eye out.
Someone commented on this process of realising the roles there were to play in the space as part of the pleasure of participating in it.
One of the new participants asked very early on in the session what we would do with their dreams. The answer was given that we didn’t know yet. It was interesting to me to reflect on how we ourselves had been grappling with this question in the preceding weeks and also to note how the session itself, which unfolded, I feel, like a kind of ritual, also became a space in which trust could be established between strangers and how that participant’s understandable reservation and scepticism gave way to a desire to participate and share a dream. I recall that her dream made many of us laugh and smile and how that humour was part of a dissolution of tension in the space.
I’m looking forward to hearing reflections from everyone who participated in this, our first public dream matrix. I personally found it to be a very positive experience and feel some astonishment at how quickly this thing has evolved and taken shape, and how well it responds to the desire to work with dreams in a way that supports intimacy and openness at the same time. It’s a space that I want to come back to and see develop, and I’m very grateful to you all for being in, with so much intelligence and heart, on these first few steps.
From next Tuesday, we’ll be back in the Radical Ecology studio, 6 (with bread and soup) for 6.30pm til 8. The address, for anyone that hasn’t been yet, is The Loft, 1b Cedar Units, Webbers Yard, Dartington, TQ9 6JY. It’s the door between the Almond Thief Bakery and the Green Funeral Company. This Tuesday 5th November, we’ll be reflecting on our first four sessions including our first public session at KARST on 19th October and looking forward to our first public session at the Radical Ecology Studio on Tuesday December 10th. On Tuesday November 26th, we’ve said we would continue this process of reflection and forward planning including by listening back to the recording from October 19th. In both sessions, there will be space for introductions and to welcome anyone who is receiving this e-mail into the collective space that has been created and to share your interest in dreams and your hopes for participating in Dream Ecologies.
Looking ahead to 2025, we plan to hold a public dream matrix once a month on a Tuesday evening, with a meeting of the Dream Ecologies collective (of which you are a part) fortnightly in between. This reflects a commitment to developing Dream Ecologies as a ritual, performative and public space, whilst also holding room at the edges of this space to reflect, as co-facilitators of this space on why we are doing it, on our shared interest in dreaming and the diverse methodologies that we bring to the process. Tilly and I will aim to bring a draft schedule for the year ahead to the meeting on November 5th.
Best Wishes,
Ashish.