Finding Never-Never Land -or- Daydreaming in the Global Village
Dreamer: John, 43, American
The ability to dream is often a cognitive behavioural function of the ability to imagine, fantisize, and daydream. This ability is nurtured in childhood. Here is a dream of a man who has left childhood behind and in doing so forgotten the magic of "make believe" and the enchantment of "fantasy worlds".
John, 43
Here is one of my dreams. I keep a dream diary which is helpful when I remember to fill it in. When I was younger I used to have a recurring dream. I used to dream I was flying. I would fly above the trees. The last time I had this flying dream I was flying relatively low down through low hanging trees. There were a few dead white birds lying on the ground. I bumped into one which was caught in the branches of the tree. This is the last time I can remember having one of these flying dreams. Thanks for the opportunity to pass this on. I have always wondered what significance this dream could have.
Mr. Hagen's Reply: Daydream Believer -or- The Encyclopedia of Fantasy
You have come down to earth. "Grown up" in the words of Peter Pan, never able to go back to Never-Never Land. If true, I find that somewhat unfortunate. Although coming down to earth is important, childhood flights of the imagination, fantasy and daydreaming are important ingredients to creativity, inspiration and life. Alice went to Wonderland, Dorothy to the Land of Oz, Bastian to Fantasia, the list of fantasy worlds and their images are endless. From a popular music perspective, The Monkey's "Daydream Believer" fits the sentiment of your dream.
Disney's classic movie version of "Peter Pan" (see video trailer) and the newer tale "Hook" (see trailer) are examples of this poetic problem of children's imagination. As a dramatic narrative structure and vehicle of the imagination, Peter Pan has an enduring archetypal cyclical plot, in that we can view each new generations poetic conflicts surrounding their coming of age story. The more recent film "Finding Neverland" (see video clip) is an enchanting tale about the literary genesis of the children's classic "Peter Pan" by its author James Barrie.
Further Reading:
- Edith Cobb, "The Ecology of the Imagination in Childhood".
- Jerome L. Singer, "The Inner World of Daydreaming".
- John Clute and John Grant, "The Encyclopedia of Fantasy".
Hope these thoughts are of help and provide some insight,
Mark H.