...And We Will Have Snow

Chapter 7-7: Familiar

Zeke said, "I think you need to tell us about the intense personal dream state you mentioned."

Bear said, "Jen keeps quoting me that every critter has its own shaman dream. I think she explained pretty well that what I meant was every entity is a product of its own concept of self. And every animal, every sea lion for example, shares a common dream with all sea lions, the Platonic archetype if you will, that resonates in the Q and defines what a sea lion is.

"So what the shaman who wants to become a sea lion has to do is tap into that dream, agree with the dream, become the dream. And do it on two levels.

"The first level is to simply witness the dream of a living sea lion, share the dream, be deeply familiar with that sea lion in a spiritual sense, be a fellow traveler, a doppelganger so to speak that feels what the sea lion feels, sees what the sea lion sees.

"The second level is to adopt the dream, impose it on their own body, get their whole bodily essence to agree with it as an alternate dream for its own form.

"Remember, our own natural body has its own dream, a dream that permeates every cell. We are naturally intimate with that dream. We are drawn to it, we wake up to it every day.

"But as Jen's own research has shown, we are not actually bound to that dream, nor are our body cells. It's an agreement with a profound peak of resonance, but it's not the only possible peak.

"The shaman, by the intensity of the dream, can create another peak, and draw the body to make the shift. Once the shift is made, the new resonance is easier to maintain, and the shaman can relax the dream's intensity. But the shaman can't relax completely. If the shaman falls asleep, he'll awake in his natural form. In fact a moment's inattention can produce the same result. So constant focus is required."

Bear noticed the growing look of dread on Jen's face and added, "Actually, it's not as hard as I probably made it sound. Geneticists tell us that all mammals are at least about 80 percent similar. Mammals and birds maybe 60 percent. What that means to us is that in general terms we have the same organs and structure."

Rosita spoke up. "It's like conducting an orchestra. You're only asking the string and brass sections to learn a different tune, not become a mariachi band."

Jen said, "And the scrap of cloth is like adding a piccolo."

Bear nodded and looked at Sedna. She shrugged and said, "All that comes more easily to some than to others. Until I got this drone, I had resisted the temptation to even try it. The drone dream is only like the first step, and even that is easier. Lots of people can operate drones. But I believe the dream part is similar. And just as the drone dream is simulated in QAR as part of the training, so can the sea lion dream be, or any other creature dream a shaman has become familiar with.

"Before QAR, even among shamans the ability to shift was limited. With QAR, we have a chance to change it from a feat achieved by few to a fundamental reality available to all.

"At any rate, it starts with making QAR recordings of the sea lion dream. Shall we do it?"

Zeke said, "That part sounds harmless enough. Possibly famous last words, but I'm in favor." He raised his hand and looked around. Six more hands went up.

So Ryan and Bear, Rosita and Xayna all recorded their Sea Lion dreams in the Shell's QAR room. The result was immediately a big hit, and even resulted in some new insights into sea lion behavior by those whose job it was to study them. This meant the four shifters were suddenly in demand to answer questions even Ryan had never thought to ask before.

The shell dwellers were all warned of the dangers of actually shifting, so none of them even tried it. But several were successful at tuning in to the sea lion dream of actual sea lions in the water, and seeing through their eyes. This became a fad, and many of them found that once they had acquired a sea lion familiar, they could link to that one while in the QAR chair. Then they could record the dream and share it. So that became another fad, allowing many who had not progressed that far to experience the activities of wild sea lions, from inside their heads.

Now many swimmers would swim with their sea lion familiar when they went in the water, sharing its senses and awareness. A few admitted they had tried to shift, but none had succeeded. There began to be questions about when the shifters would give them the next lesson. Bear offered phony Zen koans like, "When the moon is on the water, do you see it from above or from below?" That wasn't very satisfying, so the shifters got together with Zeke and Sedna to plan the next step.

Xayna said, "Jen told me that she and her staff are quite happy with having a sea lion familiar they can follow around without leaving the shell. And the sea lions are naturally very playful and willing to follow simple suggestions, like go look at that anemone. She said probably half the people here would gladly spend the next twenty years following up on what this is allowing them to learn. Including herself. So there aren't that many actually asking to learn how to shift. Of course, that could change once a few get started."

Zeke said, "Will you start with QAR recordings again?"

Ryan said, "Yes. With extra focus on the dangers so they come through loud and clear."

So the four shifters spent more time in the QAR room, this time evoking the body awareness that needed to be held in focus, for both their human and their sea lion forms. They went in the water to record the actual shifts. For this Sedna stayed with them to provide the QAR link.

Only a few of the dwellers succeeded in the shift with that added awareness alone. These were the ones who had spent the most time with their familiars and could now simply be a sea lion. The rest needed help from the experienced shifters. Bear or one of the others would go with them to reinforce the dream. And stay with them until they came out of it, in case they ran into trouble.