I once presented a lecture on my observations and
developing notions about a communal dream quest, and a
member of the audience provided a crucial clue. William
Lord kindly asked me if I had ever heard of the American
Indian ceremony that was designed as a community
vision quest, called the Sun Dance. The question startled
me. I recalled that shortly after my dream of the
"research dance," I dreamed I received a letter
addressed to me c/o "Sundance College." It was a dream
letter that apparently I had never opened and I am
grateful to Bill for suggesting that I do so.
      Doing some reading, I learned that the Sun Dance is a
seasonal ceremony of rejuvenation. The purpose of the
ceremony is to receive visions that will benefit both the
individual dancers and the community as well. It is often
because of a dream encouraging participation that a
person decides to dance in the ceremony. According to
some traditions, the Sun Dance came from a dream; and
thus the ceremony is itself a communal enactment of a
dream.
      Central to the Sun Dance is a pole, hewn in a sacred
manner from a tree. Around this pole the dancers are
attached to it by means of long leather strips fastened to
the chest. Sometimes the dancers are ornamented with
symbols from their prior individual dream quest. Each
person dances in place until overcome by a vision. At the
conclusion of the 2-3 day ceremony, members of the
audience who are sick may be healed by touching the
center pole.
      The Sun Dance ceremony is much more complex than I
describe, and it is but the visible portion of a
comprehensive, religious world view. What I want to
convey in my brief account is that there is some
similarity, in both form and purpose, between the Sun
Dance and my dream of the "research dance." In form,
both are dances around a central focus of life energy,
with the dancers displaying personal symbols. In
purpose, both attempt to encourage revelation for
individual and community.
      When I read about the Sun Dance, I was surprised to

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