There is so much work in this world to do, but when Mabel Rabbit came to me in a dream 5 years ago, the seed of a new direction opened up in the compass bearing of my life. It has not been an easy path, and sometimes I fall off of it. But it is this simple call:
To travel the earth listening to the children’s dreams, and give them the keys early on to begin to navigate in them, and the permission to talk about their internal world with their parents.
At it’s core Mabel Rabbit’s story is about waking up from the collective nightmare that we are all aware of. Just as in dream practice, waking up from this collective dream, takes practice, and many different techniques to break us free from the spell.
Here’s 3 dream practices Mabel rabbit recommends for children of all ages. (Yes, that includes YOU!)
1. Softening Reality
“Am I awake or am I dreaming?”
Wake and walk through your day, soften your eyes, and imagine THIS IS A DREAM. Whenever stressful or amazing or mundane experiences come up, simply look at your non-dominant hand, and ask, “Am I awake or Am I dreaming?”
2. Placing a Dream Order
Laying in bed, “I will see my hand in my dreams tonight.”
I know it sounds simple, but step by step, simply seeing our hands clicks something in our brain which triggers self-awareness in our dreams. This is the beginning of a vastly expanded dream experience. Probably won’t happen overnight. Give yourself as much time as it takes.
3. Write it down, or better yet, DRAW IT!
When I started telling the story of Mabel Rabbit, I had been writing my dreams down for years. But what I had also been doing, with much better results, was starting by drawing a little image first. That’s why in my Mabel Rabbit Dream Journal’s, there’s always a spot for a little sketch first. What I’ve found is that starting with a drawing, especially if you have color pencils, allows the mind to stay in the image state longer, rather than having to jump into the conceptual, verbal, writing state. Draw first, write certain words that pop up down, and THEN go into the longer description if you can.
When I awoke from the Mabel Rabbit dream that set me off on this whole quest, her first image came through for me, and this image is still at the heart of the story.
Enjoy your dreams, and I hope to see you at Lucidity!
Oh, and go here to like my Mabel Rabbit page and stay tuned for Live Storytellings in your community.
Noah Crowe AKA Mabel Rabbit
Born in Los Angeles, Noah has been acting sine he was 5 years old. He grew up in Ojai working in Local theater before moving to New York to act after studying at the Claremont Colleges. He has worked with young actors from 5 to adulthood, from Nicaraguan communities to Juvenile Detention Centers, small town Ojai to New York City. Everywhere he goes he is inspired by people showing up to share themselves through the power of the spoken word and the stage.
PO BOX 6616, Santa Barbara, CA