Waking Dreams: Seer & Artist Taps Into the Wisdom of the Imagination
Eric Dean blends storytelling and mysticism in his exploration of altered states.
Eric in his mountain playground of northern Arizona, where many of his waking dreams come to life. The sky collage is all Eric’s original art.
My favorite pastime? Dreaming while I’m awake.
I’ve done it since I was young, but back then it was “just imagination.” For hours I would let my mind’s eye spill its imagery onto paper. Blank sheets transformed into mystical characters and undiscovered lands born of pencil and self-expression. Equal amounts of time were spent circling the playfields with my friends as I guided them on imaginary quests. Still my soul sings as I recall the visceral aliveness of inviting others into my waking dreams.
Over 20 years later, the “just imagination” label has been debunked. My waking dreams have become exponentially more vivid, at times using my body as a puppet to act out the imagery in my head. Scenes of fighting as a soldier in ancient battles or being hunted and slain as a panther have felt real enough to induce panting, clenching of my fists, and crying out. Young Eric would be giddy if he knew he’d one day be channeling past life memories.
As invigorating as those adventures were, their flow carried me to untethered places. I found myself reliving the pain of others on repeat without an end in sight. A righteous part of me saw the process as healing for former selves, but at the expense of being estranged from my lived experience here and now.
Tightening up my energetic boundaries through somatic therapy has allowed me to more fully harness the expansiveness of my waking dreams. Now when I enter the dream state, I do so with intention and discernment, which aligns me to a path of wisdom instead of sheer shock value.
The Dreamscape sample below started with the question, “What can I learn from my darkness?” My intention was to get curious about a mysterious part of me that seemed committed to disrupting my life.
The freestyle story that emerged revealed unexpected insight into my shadows…
Want to hear more? Check out “The Lion Who Traversed Eons” on my Dreamscaping page.
Each Dreamscape comes with unique wisdom.
For example, I posed the question, “What can I discover about my relationship with abundance?” and followed my imaginal threads to an answer: the mental scene of my closest friends laughing beneath a gushing waterfall—a reminder that community is lifeblood. When I stated a problem,“I’m dealing with a chronic feeling of emptiness,” I was led to a portal in the heavens, where I was struck with the understanding that my “emptiness” is my access to divinity.
The only thing that makes my waking dream state more powerful is sharing it with others.
My grade school, quest-leading self would be proud to know that I’m now offering Dreamscaping:
a collaboration between my wisdom-filled imagination and my fellow humans’ lived experiences.
Just as I do in my own explorations, I invite Dreamscape clients to share a question, intention, theme, or challenge that I use as the catalyst for my imaginative stories. Without any script, I capture the visions and messages that come through in voice recordings to send to my clients. These recordings can be paired with my original music to add emotional depth to the oral story.
The beauty of Dreamscaping is its open-endedness. My clients are invited to tap into their intuitive selves to uncover their own interpretation of their Dreamscapes. For extra guidance, I offer follow-up Integration Sessions where we dive deeper into the wisdom of their personalized stories. I also create custom art based on my clients’ Dreamscapes and teach others how to enter the waking dream state.
To learn more about these imaginative adventures, you’re welcome to check out my Dreamscaping page. I’m currently offering a free Dreamscape to first-time clients!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eric Dean is a seer, artist, guide, and psychotherapist who works and plays in the mountains of Flagstaff, AZ. Eric feels most alive when facilitating co-creative journeys that he transforms into custom art pieces. Earthy and spiritual, Eric finds joy in ecstatic dance, music circles, mountain biking, snowboarding, bouldering, and other adventures with friends.
