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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