At a recent workshop, a wonderful pianist named Mary Anne told me the following story of sharing a dream experience with another person who was able to confirm it the next day.

At a regular coffee klatch, a community organizer told her that she had a terrific idea for a new project but rushed off before she gave the details, leaving Mary Anne puzzled and slightly frustrated. That night, still wondering about the nature of the project, Mary Anne dreamed that she met the organizer, who explained that the project involved “taking music to the kids”.

Dreaming, we can cover days or weeks of experience in a minutes of ordinary clock time. At dream speed, Mary Anne, found herself playing piano with lively groups of young children aged five or six, and showing them how to make their own music. She was delighted by a spirited young girl with reddish curls. The organizer introduced her to an avant-garde composer who had volunteered for the project. His work was brilliant and challenging, and his scores were idiosyncratic, featuring shapes and numbers as well as musical notations.

The pianist woke feeling happy and excited. She called the organizer and told her, “I dreamed about you.”

Without a moment’s pause, the organizer responded, “I had a dream about you. Wasn’t the little girl with reddish curls great?”

It was clear, from that moment, that they had not only dreamed of each other; they had shared the same dream. The organizer proceeded to confirm that the project was indeed about “taking music to kids” and revealed that – otherwise unknown to Mary Anne – she had arranged for her to meet an avant-garde composer who had offered to help with the project, the coming week.

As this episode confirms, dreaming is not only a personal experience; it is social and transpersonal. Dreaming, we get around and meet other people. Sometimes we prepare together for coming events; sometimes, in dreams, those events are conceived.