Some HotD Clarifications

[The Madame X]

HotD Clarifications
By Madame X
2006 (2012 review)

Family
We of the Dreaming are not just a Vampyre Family, we are a Spiritual Family, a Nightside Family purposefully and mutually chosen by the Family itself. We are not just vamps but also therians, otherkin and wielders of magic and mysticism. We do not run our Family like a corporate organization where the elders are the CEOs, nor is it a monarchy where the Elders are kings and the other members merely subservient… As Matriarch of the Family I am NOT the authority figure. I am simply a guide for what you must do yourself. HotD is run as a Family in the truest sense of the word. HotD is not for everyone, nor do we wish it to be.

Membership
Access to the discussion forum is not automatic membership into our Family. Access to the forum will make you a Guest, no more and no less. HotD is unlike other families that automatically take you in as a cousin or stepchild; we consider you’re a welcomed guest until we (you and our Family members) jointly decide that it is time for a deeper commitment …and, we take our time getting to know our prospective members both on line as well as in person.

Potential Dreamers
A Potential Dreamer is not someone with a particular degree or lineage, instead they are those gifted individuals that demonstrate: A genuine connection with The Family, a desire to seduce with their talents, art, music, or poetry… aka Glamour, a regal, noble or chivalrous demeanor, a dynamic passion for life, a rational and skeptical foundation, a desire to connect with the Dragon Within be it magically or otherwise, an awareness of what lies beyond the physical and sensory reality, and a strong desire to achieve highly for themselves in both Dayside and Nightside endeavors.

Code of Honor
Loyalty is of extreme importance to us, as is Introspection, Presence, Resolve, Acumen and all 13 bastions of our veil. Each Nightside Family in the community (House, Coven or Den) should have a code of honor, and the Veil of the Waking Dream is ours. The Veil of the Waking Dream focuses on character development and it applies specifically to our family members. As a guest or participant on this forum you are expected to uphold these same principles. We may come from different paths but it is these very principles that are our common bond, uniting us peacefully under one roof. House of the Dreaming will not tolerate duplicity, dishonesty, scandal, or predatory behavior and will deactivate the accounts of any that exhibit these traits on or off our forum.
The Black Veil is a community document that many well known families throughout the community adhere to. Both Veils are to be conduct guidelines.

Tradition and Terminology
There are terms in our documents that are a matter of tradition. The term “Matriarch” for instance does imply Mother, but I have not given birth nor have I sired all our family members. Like Matriarch, the term “insurrection” is a strong term and used only because of Tradition, not just within our family, but within the community at large. And yes, if the Family finds that a member of our brood has behaved in a matter offensive to the Family or Community, atonement is encouraged.

Twilight
Dayside is of great importance to us of the Dreaming. Our biologic family, our careers, our financial responsibilities, and our personal projects - we of the Dreaming all have these to contend with and we need to know (learn) how to prioritize all our needs and interests accordingly. Loyalty and Respect to our Family should NOT interfere with our Dayside responsibilities, in fact one should propel the other and conversely. We are strong advocates of Twilight, the balance between Dayside and Nightside involvements. We of the Dreaming do not have two distinct personalities, one for Dayside and another for Nightside matters; we mesh our being both sides weaved into one complete individual, which both delves fearlessly into Dayside responsibilities and revels in Nightside ventures.

Self-Interest
Self-interest is a welcome motivator for discovery and learning; in time we hope that “the greater good” becomes a significant part of that self-interest. We recommend you read our Creed, Veil, and Parlor sections, to become better acquainted with what our family is about. When you enter our forum you need not surrender your self-interest, your individuality, your personal control, or anything else. In fact we trust that it was your self-interest that led you to us and that you allow it to guide you and blossom into more altruistic long-term goals. Should you have worries about unnecessary surrendering, I encourage you to speak with our membership.

The Path
As a member of House of the Dreaming, your primary focus is personal growth and discovery. There is no one way. Each one of us is on a very different life path to discover our own truths. The Awakening is a never-ending process of discovery. It is your choice to embrace this challenge with conviction, resolve and follow-thru that can only be germinated within you. As a House of Ronin we welcome newly awakened as well as seasoned community members knowing that there is always yet another thing to discover, improve or sharpen.

Cults
While I can certainly understand the concern over cult like organizations, I recommend that you read Bholanath´s essay on Cults presented in our Parlors section. We have no intention of making anyone, member or guest, do, believe or worship anything they do not feel comfortable with. Your individual opinion is always encouraged. To this end, you may like to read the articles in our Parlors section and note the different perspectives often presented by our membership. It is our differences that make us stronger.

Our Forum
Our discussion forum is our portal to the community; it is a place for individuals over 18 who are interested in The Dreaming, or seeking a deeper commitment to us. The Dreaming (full members), Guests, Kitral (donors), Abbon (friends of the family), and black swans (other friends and associates) participate in our forum. HotD values all perspectives equally but does not tolerate drama; as such our Family does not subscribe to moderation of questionable posters. Instead, we simply hold the right to remove harmful posts and deactivate the account in question.


And remember Questions are Always Welcome as are any further points you´d like to make.

[Syngin]

This was an excellent post especially the part about cults. Its always a good thing to remeber that not everyone in the community follows a pagan path many are christian or members of other faiths. This is something I tend to forget myself at times. There is a very big difference between spiritual growth and religion and that is something we all should keep in mind.

[deacongray]

Madam X Wrote: Snip-"And yes, if the Family finds that a member of our brood has behaved in a matter offensive to the Family or Community, atonement is encouraged. "


How would the house detrimine what is proper for such an atonment?


Deacon Gray

[Syngin]

I guess that would depend on the offense and on the note what would be considered an offense besides the obvious things like murder ect... ?

[The Madame X]

[nar'suan'ark]

Hmmm i will have to read these... I forgot thay were here whoops...

[The Madame X]

I have been asked in more than one occasion about the planing and growth of our Family. I thought I would share my last response with you.

Everyday HotD grows with the thoughts, ideas and contributions of each of our members. HotD is perhaps a special case because the founders already existed as close friends years before the house was made public. If by Planning you refer to the House goals, mission, philosophy and design - to us it was a no-brainer, because we shared so many common ideas and ideals, and since we had dealings and exposure to other houses and knew what we liked and did not like...we ultimately knew exactly how we wanted The Dreaming to be.

When we decided to go public, it might have taken us a long time to actually introduce ourselves publicly but we had all the manifesto written in a week, as we were very excited. It was a very spiritual process for us, and very much connected with dreams.

Since our public inception a few modifications have been made to the manifesto in order to communicate our intention more efficiently, clarify or use a common term. Most of our doctrine is now also available in Portuguese, which means HotD now reaches five continents. HotD's structure has remained unchanged since our family's establishment, and that is something we are very proud of.

Growth is something that needs to happen naturally. We view HotD as a beacon, a candle in the dark, and there will be those that are attracted to it because of our special radiance. HotD is focused of self awareness and development towards applying your dreams. We work as a family to do this. Its a beautiful thing. We have met many wonderful people in our journey, and feel very proud of our current membership. Our intention is never to be a house of hundreds, but to be a house of distinction.

Our Discussion forum is of great importance to us since its the primary way we get to know those interested. From there those who are interested in membership come forth and may become Dedicants. The Dreaming are very selective, and we consider this a very private step, crucial to establishing the family bonds needed for Membership.

Feel free to read thru our website as it presents details on the design of our family, our mission and our membership. And should you have any questions, let me know.

[The Madame X]

I am often asked about the spiritual path of our Family regarding inclusion and diversity. I thought I would share my thoughts regarding our focus and beliefs with you as to clarify any possible misunderstandings. As always, I welcome any questions.

Many Hearts, One Dream
By Madame X
Abridged Revision ©2010
Original text ©2002


We of the Dreaming choose to live in harmonious co-existence among seekers of different spiritual paths, yet we are far from being utopian in the way that we do expect, nor strive, for the unity of truths under any one spiritual belief. Although noble in intent, we of The Dreaming have no interest in pluralism, universalism, inclusivism, we do not set out to proselytize any form of particularism, nor do we seek to declare any ultimate exclusive spiritual truth. We know there is at least one truth for each of us. These truths are gems we seek to discover in the wilderness and hope to apply them in our journeys so that we may further our understanding of our true nature and the beating of our own heart.

Our Family recognizes, respects and values the spiritual diversity of our membership to be a source of strength as we collectively, yet independently, reach out toward enlightened individuality.
We recognize, respect and value unique individuals and their rare gifts and talents; therefore our members are encouraged, distinguished and recognized for their uniqueness, service and study.
We recognize, respect and value the individual’s desire to explore past-life regression and, or the prevention of the ultimate death, yet neither study is required of our membership; our collective focus is placed on the experiences of this lifetime.

House of the Dreaming is a Family of Ronin, as such we believe in self-actualization, personal empowerment and the precious value of the Solitaire. Similarly, we believe in the enhanced power of group energy, the nurturing vitality of Family and the dynamic strength of sharing in the Dream. We have chosen to come together here as Family – one Family, one Honor, one Dream; yet we understand each of our hearts has its own special rhythm, each of us has a very specific energy signature, demeanor and drive. To deepen our understandings we choose to channel our innate talents as a vehicle toward in our journey. These are three roads: Kitra, Mradu and Ramkht. Often these roads overlap, juxtapose and parallel; where none outweigh or out-value the other. These can be perceived as each individual sees fit, either as permanent casts, service choices to the Family, or focused study paths.

Our Family encourages both the Nightside and Dayside development and blossoming of each of its members thru the nurturing of personal and interpersonal wisdom, self-reliance, mentorship, secrecy, dialogue, self-control and self-expression. Our way is one that honors and abides by the ethical principles outlined in our Veil of the Waking Dream. We feel that these bastions are essential toward personal fulfillment, meaning and awareness. Our Veil encourages us to become ascended individuals, to offer support to others and to strive toward the greater good.

The Dreaming recognize achievement and family bonds with celebration and solemn moments of focused group meditation. Our House Ceremonies are specifically crafted to appeal to the devout, the spiritual, the agnostic, as well as the non-religious. These are celebrations of our Family bonds, the individual, and of mutual respect. Should the celebrant choose to include visualizations of their particular spiritual path they are most welcome to, but such are not necessary requirements.

We are not for everyone, nor do we have an open door, in fact we are very selective and are proud of our exclusive tight-knit membership and low turn-around. Family is forever. Our formula is simple: “Come to us not to find yourself, but to better understand yourself.” Know thyself and the beating of your heart then, come to us to share in our dream.

[Ookami]

Thank you very much for this. Many many questions were answered and in turn some new came up.

As a house of ronin how does house of the dreaming treat those who wish to be more formalized?

[The Madame X]

What do you mean by "formalized"?
Initiated? We do have a formal initiation.
Mentored? Our Senior Members can be persuaded to take on wards.
Sired? Some of our Senior Members embrace chylder.

[Ookami]

That is very good news but I was referring to the house itself.

It was not for myself but rather because I was curious. Seeing as House of the Dreaming is a Family of Ronin it does not ask all its members to follow one path or hide from the rest of the world. I was wondering how it may be for those in house of dreaming who wished it was different. But then again If they wished for something different I am quite sure they would of looked for a different house. After all the diversity of ideas from what I have been able to pick up so far is one of This houses Strong points. And a good one at that.

I ask that you be a little understanding, I may be misunderstanding the different kind of houses there are and the vampire community in general. If that is the case I hope my ignorance does not remain with me much longer.

[The Madame X]

Again...Im still not sure what you mean by formalized even with respect to the house.
Our House is recognized in the community and we are represented in both Dark Nations and Voices of the Vampire Community, as well as other less known councils. We are certainly not beyond considering other representative groups and we do intend on publishing at some point in the future. No doubt a worthy publication would be a good way of formalizing and attaining recognition. I guess we tend to be more focused on inner development than some other groups.

[LadyGigiFrost]

The Madame X,
Thank you for putting a lot of time and effort into this information and clarification. I loved all of it, but what I read that I found comforting was loyalty to You and the family. The other was encouraging spiritual path, interest and maintaining our day lives.

[The Madame X]

Please note that a clarification has been added with reference to what qualities a potential house member should demonstrate. I am often asked if we are selecting members from a particular lineage, if they are expected to have a certain type of education, or if they are expected to demonstrate a particular set of talents.
I hope that the inclusion above clarifies what we are looking for

[Kate]

This is a beautiful lovely thread.
And I honour the magic woven into this House to hold it together for so long.
A couple of questions, if I may?

Those of us that live so very far away, who will never probably cross the ocean to meet with you in person, how can we get involved and teach and be taught loyalty to a family we will never meet? As I have little understanding of spiritual families, this concerns me.

I am a little confused on the teaching and mentoring process here.

I would like to be taught what it is needed to become part of the family here? Can this be done over the distances between us? What do I have to learn, adapt to and understand to complete this process? Yes, I understand I may not be suitable, but how do I find out?