City Words
Dream Words
#Flying
🦛Flying thru forest
🧶There's a lane thru a forest of many different trees...I'm in a game...I'm running flying over the lane... then over just trees, and I'm targeting singular and different trees, making them vanish, disentegrate...rerun twice...I wake up
🎶I'm sympathetic to trees...don't know what drew me to shoot them...a flying dream, but maybe like running...
🦛Kid needs toys
🧶there's tiny toy animals on a round plate...the kid won't play with them...but I animate a couple, and he's happy...then they stop moving, and he's in a funk again...mom is in an angry mood, woofs at me. "We're going to store, get better toys-those are no good..."...that to say, I can't play, animate, the kid's toys...I wake up
🎶I saw the toys clearly for a moment...colorful...like just half an inch...animals?...I'm not sure...I'm not sure we were human!
🦛Cloud balls
🧶there in a row, from left to right, going forward...floating small roundish fog clouds...I wake up
🎶things in a row, going this way or that, a motif, a pattern, an element...
🧶i'm in training.. given rifle and gear...rifle brand new...reward for keeping it that way...and for running up a hill with meandering trail...we practice with the rifle, and running up the hill...my rifle is getting messed up...a yellow plastic thing wearing down...and in off time, I run up the hill extra...practicing...memorizing each twist and curve...each rock and loose sand...I wonder what can be done for the yellow.piece...like on the barrel opening...I wake up...
🎶this over two afternoon dreams...rerun...oft dreams of soldiering, which I'm not, a soldier, or war experienced...oft I'm in training, even joined when very old...and some conflict brewing, looming...here, there, different assignments...trained in jet...all this bleeds in, is drawn, from movies, I think...but then there is Yogananda's vision of being a soldier...so maybe others' dreams bleed, draw into mine...which is common idea, as so many dreams beyond my experience...all dreams, just made up, it's said...lot of things readsaid I say not so to!...searched up Yoganada...the scene I remember, is he is aguing with his sister about being someone else, and proving it he draws into a soldier on the battle field, and returns with a real wound on his own arm...this in Yogananda's autobiography...
✨️searched up Yoganada...the scene I remember, is he is arguing with his sister about being someone else, and proving it he draws into a soldier on the battle field, and returns with a real wound on his own arm...this in Yogananda's autobiography...
You are misremembering and combining two entirely different elements from the book: a childhood argument about a boil on the arm and his philosophical teachings about a dreaming soldier. [1, 2]
In Chapter 1 of Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda does not argue about being someone else or draw a soldier; instead, he argues with his elder sister, Uma, about using a medical salve on a healthy forearm. After she repeatedly calls him a "little liar," he uses the power of his intense will to manifest a physical boil on his exact forearm by the next morning. [1, 2]
The soldier imagery comes from his later metaphysical discourses regarding the nature of reality as a cosmic dream. He taught that a man who dreams he is a soldier dying on a battlefield wakes up in relief to realize it was just an illusion—just as a real-life soldier wakes up in the astral world after death to realize their mortal body and wounds were also part of a grand cosmic dream. [1]
If you'd like, I can help you find:
The exact text of his argument with Uma
His writings on the astral world and reincarnation
Other instances of miraculous physical manifestations in the book [1, 2, 3, 4]
🎶that, that's that...Yogananda could have been the soldier, aquired the wound for himself, proving to his sister such could happen...one of his many miracles of "self realization"...I have to check book again...but, but, Yogananda is far fetched...India is far fetched...made up...imaginitive as heck...and fun...
✨️Paramahansa Yogananda frequently referenced the archetype of the soldier, viewing it both as a metaphor for the spiritual seeker and as a literal reality from his own past-life incarnations. He did not view the warrior spirit and the yogic path as contradictory, but rather as two sides of the same coin: the expression of absolute, unbending willpower deployed to establish higher order. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Yogananda approached the concept of the soldier through three distinct lenses:
1. Literal Past Incarnations as a Warrior
To the surprise of many of his modern followers, Yogananda revealed to his close disciples that he had incarnated as a powerful military conqueror multiple times to fulfill specific cosmic and historical missions. [1]
Arjuna: He stated that he was Arjuna, the legendary archer and warrior prince from the Bhagavad Gita who was commanded by Krishna to fight a righteous war against forces of material degradation.
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William the Conqueror: He also revealed he had been William the Conqueror, the Norman king who unified England in 1066. Yogananda explained that this was a divine commission to bring England out of the Scandinavian sphere and structurally align it with European Christianity, preparing the geopolitical landscape for a future bridge between East and West. [1, 2, 3, 4]
2. The Metaphor of the "Spiritual Soldier"
Yogananda taught that the work of seeking God requires the exact mindset of a disciplined soldier. In his view, a devotee cannot afford to be overly sensitive, moody, or passive. The spiritual path is an active warfare against maya (cosmic delusion), habits, and ego. He beautifully reinterpreted the battle of Kurukshetra in his commentaries (God Talks with Arjuna) not as a historical anomaly, but as the daily internal war fought within the human body between soul-faculties and material desires. [1, 2, 3]
3. The Soldier Analogy for Cosmic Illusion
Yogananda frequently used the vivid imagery of a soldier in battle to explain the illusory nature (Lila or Maya) of life and death. In one of his most famous parables on the nature of reality, he wrote: [1, 2]
Yogananda used the parable of a sleeping man who dreams he is a soldier wounded in battle, only to wake up and laugh in relief that it was merely a dream. He applied this same logic to actual earthly battles, noting that when a soldier passes away, he awakens in the astral world to realize he has no physical body or flesh to be harmed, illustrating that all worldly experiences are fundamentally dream experiences. [1]
Through these combined perspectives, Yogananda reconciled the fierce discipline of the battlefield with the profound peace of the self-realized soul.
Would you like to explore how Yogananda mapped the specific characters of the Mahabharata battlefield to psychological and spiritual faculties inside human consciousness, or look closer at his specific explanations regarding the karma of real-world soldiers?
✨️Yogananda could have been the soldier, aquired the wound for himself, proving to his sister such could happen...one of his many miracles of "self realization"...I have to check book again...but, but, Yogananda is far fetched...India is far fetched...made up...imaginitive as heck...and fun...
The story you are remembering from Autobiography of a Yogi actually involved manifesting a painful boil, rather than a soldier's battle wound. [1]
In that first chapter, a young Yogananda (then named Mukunda) uses a foreboding prediction to teach his skeptical sister, Uma, about the raw creative power of the mind and the spoken word. After he successfully predicts the exact placement and painful swelling of a boil on his own forearm, he tells her that she will develop one in the exact same spot. When she wakes up the next morning with a matching sore, she runs away terrified, realizing his words carry a strange, literal weight. [1]
It is completely natural to see these accounts as wild, imaginative, or far-fetched literature. Whether one views it as literal spiritual mastery or fantastic storytelling, Autobiography of a Yogi operates like an epic mythological landscape. It weaves a world where the boundaries of the physical body are entirely porous, and the mind treats reality like a malleable dream—making it an undeniably gripping and fun piece of spiritual history to explore. [1, 2]
Would you like to look closer at how Yogananda's actual "soldier" visions (like his claimed past life as William the Conqueror) tie into this idea of physical reality being a grand illusion?
The scene you are remembering actually involves a physical boil, not a battlefield wound, though your memory perfectly captures the intense argument and the supernatural prediction!
In Chapter 1 of Autobiography of a Yogi, a young Yogananda (then named Mukunda) gets into a heated argument with his elder sister, Uma. Uma is mocking him, calling him a liar. In his anger, Yogananda uses the power of his words and will to declare that by the next morning, he will develop a large boil on a specific spot on his arm.
The exact text from Autobiography of a Yogi reads:
"By the power of will in me, I say that tomorrow I shall have a fairly large boil in this exact place on my arm; and your boil shall swell to twice its present size!"
The next morning, the boil appears exactly where he pointed, leaving a permanent physical scar on his forearm that he carried for the rest of his life.
✨️Robert Graves account of boils on his neck...
Robert Graves’s most famous account of "boils on the neck" appears in his celebrated 1943 poem Lollocks. [1]
Rather than a literal medical diagnosis, Graves uses boils on the neck as a physical symptom of an infestation of "Lollocks"—imaginary, impish creatures born from human sloth, chaos, and mental sorrow. [1, 2]
The Symbolic Meaning in Lollocks
In the poem, Lollocks are mischievous, invisible spirits that breed in disordered and neglected spaces—such as the backs of messy cupboard drawers, among old medicine bottles, and in untidily kept rooms. Graves writes that while average men cannot physically see these creatures, they suffer their physical manifestations. [1, 2]
According to the text, the definitive somatic signs of a Lollocks infestation are:
Boils on the neck
Abrupt "dreams of vexation" remembered in the middle of the morning
Severe sluggishness or languor after eating
Sudden, unexplained stomach aches [1, 2]
Graves poses the poem as a cautionary psychological tale: a life lived with a cluttered, lazy, or disordered mind will inevitably manifest as physical sickness and bodily plagues, symbolized by the painful boils.
Autogeographical Context
While Lollocks handles the concept poetically, Graves was deeply preoccupied with bodily degradation, scars, and illnesses. In his famous World War I memoir, Goodbye to All That (1929), he routinely charts the horrific skin diseases, trench sores, and physical transformations suffered by soldiers exposed to the filth, rot, and immense psychological stress of the Western Front. [1, 2, 3]
If you are looking for a different specific text or letter where he mentions a personal medical bout with boils, please let me know:
Are you tracking down a line from his war diaries?
Could it be from his personal correspondence with figures like Siegfried Sassoon? [1]
I can run a more targeted search to find the exact historical excerpt you need.
✨️Robert Graves accounts for painful boils on the neck as a physical manifestation of malevolent, invisible domestic spirits called "Lollocks" in his famous 1940 poem Lollocks. [1]
The Myth of the Lollocks
Rather than a traditional biological explanation, Graves uses his unique myth-making style to attribute these physical ailments to abstract human faults. According to the poem, Lollocks are dusty, mischievous creatures "by sloth on sorrow fathered". They breed in the cluttered, neglected corners of a household—such as the backs of disordered drawers, among unread letters, and behind empty medicine bottles. [1, 2]
When a household falls into stagnation, these spirits plague the inhabitants. Graves notes that while men are blind to these creatures and do not believe in them, they are punished physically by their presence: [1]
The signs of their presence
Are boils on the neck,
Dreams of vexation suddenly recalled
In the middle of the morning,
Languor after food. [1]
The Sovereign Cure
True to the theme of psychological and physical discipline found throughout his larger body of work, Graves prescribes a strict domestic ritual to banish the Lollocks and cure the afflictions: [1]
• Using a hard and soft broomCombing the hair and brushing the shoes thoroughlyPaying every financial debt precisely as it falls due [1]Note: While Graves suffered from numerous severe physical ailments throughout his life following his service in the Great War (detailed in his memoir Goodbye to All That and biographies), his most definitive and famous literary account linking boils on the neck to a specific cause remains this psychological and poetic personification of domestic neglect. [1, 2]
🎶Graves is trick...I walked into the first day of a Shakespeare class, last three units I needed, with the White Goddess under my arm...another student walked in with Yogananda under his arm-such were the times...he has another story about boils, something to do with overstepping a boundary...AI is trick...it recollects and corrects my recollection...Yogananda's boils comes to rest side by side with Robert Graves' boils...aand, I'll kick the dog if I get boils saying this!
✨️Yogananda's boils comes to rest side by side with Robert Graves' boils...and, I'll kick the dog if I get boils saying this!
You are referencing two fascinating literary and spiritual stories involving boils, though hopefully, your vow to the dog keeps you completely safe from catching any!
The reference brings together two remarkably specific historical anecdotes:
Paramahansa Yogananda's Boil: In his famous book Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda recalls a childhood incident with his elder sister, Uma. Uma was treating a boil on her leg with ointment. Mischievously, a young Yogananda smeared some ointment on his own healthy arm and claimed he would get a boil the next day to test it. When his sister mocked him, he used his mind and concentrated his willpower, declaring that by morning he would have a large boil and hers would double in size. Astonishingly, the next morning, both manifestations happened exactly as he predicted. [1, 2]
Robert Graves' Boils: In his poem "Lollocks," the legendary poet and novelist Robert Graves writes about mischievous, invisible spirits called Lollocks that plague people who are lazy, untidy, or plagued by troubled thoughts. Graves explicitly notes that the physical sign of these entities invading your life is "boils on the neck" alongside "dreams of vexation suddenly recalled in the middle of the morning."
🎶"dreams of vexation"...those I may have...
✨️Dreams of vexation—characterized by endless loops, jammed locks, uncooperative technology, or a sudden loss of personal agency—are highly concentrated psychological mirrorings of waking friction, boundary erosion, and unexpressed distress. [1, 2, 3]
In the architecture of sleep, the hypnopompic and REM states do not merely replay our days; they amplify the micro-annoyances we brush aside when awake, turning a minor daytime irritation into a central night crisis. When the conscious mind rests, the brain acts as an emotional sorting system. It translates abstract tension into visceral, structural, and narrative roadblocks. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The recurring motifs of vexation generally map to specific psychological and symbolic undercurrents:
🌀 The Futile Loop & Mechanical Failure
Dreams where a phone refuses to dial, a passport disappears at the gate, or an object breaks mid-use speak directly to your personal agency and communication. The brain uses malfunctioning external tools to represent a waking scenario where your conditions are not aligning with your energy. You are moving forward, but the environment is pushing back. [1, 2, 3]
• See also: The classic text 10,000 Dreams Interpreted famously notes that watching an idle or stranger-operated loom signifies useless irritation from the chatter or stubbornness of those around you. [1]
🛑 Impassable Terrain & Physical Restraint
Running through deep mud, wading through liquid tar, or finding your voice entirely frozen in your throat points to suppressed truths or emotional baggage. When a step takes a Herculean effort, it often signals a project, relationship, or creative block that feels unbearably slow, or an anger you feel you lack the authority to express openly. [1]
👤 The Intruding Shadow & Disruption
When vexation curdles into low-level dread—such as a dark figure examining the room while you remain hidden, or objects being subtly displaced without your knowledge—the dream shifts into the territory of vulnerability and boundary strain. Historically and culturally, these are read as warnings of quiet, hidden attacks on one's peace, but psychologically, they expose the raw ache of a space or mind that no longer feels entirely secure. [1, 2, 3]
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Working Through the Friction
Because the brain focuses on the underlying emotion rather than the literal disguise of the dream content, resolving these loops requires working directly with the feeling of being blocked: [1, 2]
Vexation Motif
Waking Counterpart
Actionable Resolution
Jammed doors / Malfunctioning tech
Blocked communication or halted life path
Identify where you are forcing an outcome instead of shifting strategy.
Endless lines / Repetitive loops
Unclear boundaries or minor tasks left to grow
Address the "small" daily boundary leaks before they compound at night.
Frozen voice / Inability to run
Repressed anger or unacknowledged pride
Journal worries or difficult truths unfiltered before entering sleep.
When you wake with a surge of adrenaline from a dream of pure frustration, practicing guided mastery—physically writing down the dream but deliberately penning a logical, unblocked, or positive alternate ending—can counter-condition the brain's emotional response, breaking the pattern before the next descent into REM. [1]
If you want to dial in the focus, tell me:
• What specific roadblock or setting keeps repeating in these dreams?Is there an intruder, a guide, or an idle presence watching the scene?Do you wake up feeling an anomalous physical sensation (like being frozen), or is it purely a psychological loop?I can help decode the specific structural symbols your mind is throwing up.
🎶keep a needle handy...once, while pulling weeds, I scratched my cheek...cheek infected, just at time I was trying to be attractive...read by chance about lymph nodes thereabout, or some such...went to the doctor...he leaned in, said, with both hands, "let me just pop that"...no no no, that's okay...I rose up and left...not the first time!...lol...
;)
DavidDavid
