In this post series about how to work with your dreams, so far I have focused on dreams you already have had. Now let’s take it to the next level, and learn how to ask for the dream you want to have. Known as dream incubation, this ancient method for asking for guidance from the dreamworld is scarily effective.
The ability to have control and consciousness in the dream
state, also known as lucid dreaming. According to Hereward
Carrington (in his book Higher Psychical Development, 1924)
dreamers can keep conscious control up to the moment of falling
asleep. He advises:
‘‘When you have learned to do that, then construct before
yourself, mentally, a definite scene, which you must hold firmly
in mind. Then, as you are falling to sleep hold this scene before
you, and at the very last moment, before you fall asleep, consciously
transfer yourself into the scene—in other words, step
into the picture; and if you have developed yourself to the requisite
point, you will be enabled to carry over an unbroken consciousness
into the dream state; and in this way you have a perfect
continuity of thought; there is no break in the
consciousness; you step into the dream picture and go on
dreaming consciously. That is the process of dreaming true,
and after this dream is fully enacted, then you should remember
perfectly all that has transpired during the sleep period.’’ In the book The Projection of the Astral Body by Sylvan J. Muldoon
and Carrington (1929), Muldoon remarks that these instructions
are in harmony with the method of dream control
used to induce the astral body to move out into space. An article
in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research (vol. 26,
July 1913) records van Eeden’s experiments in dreaming true.
The British psychical researcher J. Arthur Hill vouches for the
truthfulness of
the experiences in The Dreams of Orlow (1916),
by A. M. Irvine.
J. Gordon Melton, ed., “Dreaming True,” in Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, vol 1. (Farmington Hills: Gale Group Inc., 2001), 449.
There’s a world that lies on the border between wakefulness and sleep, in the realm of the subconscious. Between the conscious and unconscious, sounds and images auto-generate rapidly in a seemingly random succession, much like they do in the dream world. This world is witnessed only while you fall asleep, in transit. Whether you are inducing a lucid dream consciously or falling asleep in a normal fashion, you will pass through this in-between realm, which is similar to a lucid dream, yet noticeably different. It’s a blendbetween the physical world and the dream world… a crossroads of some sort. Thoughts take on a new quality here… they become vaguer and occur more automatically, with less intention and effort. Events, people, places, things, and sounds all appear underneath your eyelids while you still vaguely sense your physical surroundings. This is the place from which you cross into the realm of the unconscious mind (the dream world).
When we dream, we have out-of-body experiences on the astral plane. Conscious astral projection involves getting into a meditative state, moving your astral body out of your physical body, and traveling around on the astral plane.
Astral Body
Between you as spirit and your physical body there is an intermediate body known as your astral body. It is lighter and more changeable than your physical body. But the astral body has more shape and density than pure spirit. Your astral body may often be recognizable as your human form, but it can also change appearance, shift shapes, and do fun things like moving through walls.
Astral Plane
The world between the physical and spiritual world is known as the astral plane, or the astral. While it is commonly referred to in the singular as the astral plane, there are actually many different levels of the astral, or astral planes. We move through these astral planes in our dreams.
Astral Travel
The astral world is much more fluid than the physical world. Astral travel is not bound by the limitations of time and space. You can visit different dimensions and travel to past or future experiences on the astral. For many people, it is also easier to connect with deceased loved ones on the astral.
Astral planes vary from the ordinary, to the phantasmagorical, to the divine. Defying easy definition, the astral planes intersect with both physical reality and the symbolic realms of the dream world. Astral travel can take you to dimensions beyond your imagination.
Astral Dream Experiences
Your astral body plays a key role in creating new developments which have not yet manifested in your physical life. The astral is like a giant laboratory in which you experiment with your life and your creations.
The astral can also offer great insight, as it allows you to come at things from a different angle. Astral dream experiences allow you to see things from a different perspective than your normal awareness. As a result, astral dreams can be especially useful for working on situations that–for one reason or another–may be difficult to face directly in daily life.
Astral Projection Meditation
Astral projection typically involves getting into a meditative state so you can consciously move your astral body out of your physical body. With practice, astral projection allows you to develop greater awareness of out-of-body and astral experiences.
These are simple directions for an astral meditation that is suitable for beginners…
ASTRAL PROJECTION EXERCISE:
Preparing the Space, Preparing Yourself…
Find a quiet, comfortable place for yourself–where you will not be disturbed. Create a relaxing atmosphere. You may want to light a candle, burn incense, or play some quiet, soothing music in the background. Begin to relax in general. Take some deep breaths and perhaps do some light stretching. Sit upright in a comfortable position with an open posture.
Part I: Aura Meditation
Get yourself centered and grounded by doing the Aura Meditation in How to Meditate. You will also need to repeat this after your astral projection meditation.
Notice how you experience yourself before doing the Astral Projection exercise. Then close your eyes and focus your attention inward…
Part II: Astral Projection Meditation
Be aware of your body. Notice how you experience the density of your physical body. Then be aware of your aura about an arm’s length all the way around your body. Notice how you experience the lightness of your spiritual energy. Then start to open up your awareness of an intermediate body between your physical body and you as spirit. Notice how you experience the vibration of your astral body.
Allow yourself to shift your awareness to your astral body. Be present in your astral body.
Float your astral body up to a corner of the room. Be present in your astral body in that upper corner of the room. From that upper corner of the room, be aware of your physical body down below you, sitting in the chair. Notice how you experience your physical body down below you.
Then float your astral body up through the ceiling and be on the roof of your building. Be aware of your astral body standing on the roof of your building. On the roof, move around a bit in your astral body. Notice how you experience being in your astral body. Be aware of the world around from the roof of your building. Notice how you experience the world from your astral body.
Then bring your astral body down through the roof and be in an upper corner of the room again. From the upper corner of the room, notice your physical body sitting in the chair below you.
Float your astral body above your physical body. Notice what it’s like to be above your physical body. Then gently lower yourself down into your physical body. First be aware of being in your astral body in your physical body. Then allow yourself to shift your awareness to your physical body itself. Allow yourself to come back fully into your physical body.
Part III: Repeat the Aura Meditation
Get yourself centered and grounded by doing the Aura Meditation in How to Meditate. Draw all of your energy back from above you. Feel your feet on the floor. Feel your legs, torso, arms, neck and head. Be aware of your aura an arm’s length around your body. Notice what it’s like to be grounded back in your body.
When you feel ready, take a few deep breaths, gently open your eyes, and slowly begin to move. Notice how you experience yourself after doing the Astral Projection exercise. Give yourself some time to integrate this experience and enjoy being relaxed before moving on to other activities. (Especially after you first start practicing this meditation–you may want to journal your experience, have a cup of tea, or go for a quiet walk.)
If you practice astral meditation on a regular basis, it will become easier to do and your out-of-body experiences will gradually become clearer. – Oakwulf
And the exploration of yet another Tunnel of Set ends.
There is this funny thing that happens to me with magick. No matter how long I’ve been into it and even into this work of exploring the Tunnels of Set one-by-one, there are moments in which my skeptical self takes control and thinks “Maybe it was all a coincidence and the visions were meaningless. Probably nothing more is going to happen”. Then reality kicks my ass and something huge turns my life upside down again.
Like meeting a fascinating existence that shouldn’t be alive to begin with. And this event had perfectly synchronized with the Characith working.
I also suspect when this all ends I won’t even be living in my country anymore. And probably with 7 tunnels remaining I can’t begin to suspect how different my life will be when it all ends.
I would get personal but I don’t like getting personal through words in Tumblr. I prefer the subtleness of the images and reblogs. Its more comfortable and it lets me express myself deeper, even though it looks like I’m not saying anything very specific.
In Characith I learnt a bit more on how magick works and on how reality reacts to your innermost beliefs about it. If I want my music to go anywhere I have to believe I am a musician, and to do it deep enough that I become unconscious of such belief, “its just who I am” (then again, is such a belief worth burying in the unconscious?). And the same goes with any other aim. Yet there remains the really important question here, and I guess this might be related to the Zamradiel tunnel I am now opening. Which aims are really worth? Aren’t personal aims sort of wasting the potential of magick? I need to re-learn how to think big. In the end sometimes it feels like magick flows stronger when your vision gets wider and your aims become more relevant not just to your petty desires but to the society and culture you’re living in.
Lucid dreaming is quite possibly the easiest technology to master in all of esoterica. That
doesn’t stop people from selling over complicated techniques that might
actually hinder people though… Gotta pad that book/dvd
with something right? Have fun. Lurv you guys! :3
Have you ever had the experience of wondering if what was happening to you was a dream or real? If so, you’ve likely experienced a lucid dream.
A lucid dream is a dream in which you know you are dreaming. During lucid dreaming, you can control the characters, the environment, the narrative, and the outcome of the dream.
Is it really a thing? It is. I have experienced a lucid dream, though, I didn’t know that’s what it was at the time. I didn’t realize I could lucid dream until I did some research as to what lucid dreaming was all about….
Lucid dreaming is when you are in a dream but fully aware that you are in a dream, leading to you often being able to control the outcomes or certain aspects of the dream. You are able to live your fantasies and also are more likely to remember your dreams come morning.
With work Lucid dreaming can be improved into astral projection via sleep or dream walking where you can exit your dreams to enter the dreams of others or walk about the “dream plane”. Skilled lucid dreamers also often use their dreams for divination and problem solving due to how vivid they are and how it is easier to remember them.
Herbs for Lucid Dreaming: African Dream Bean, Blue Lotus, *Datura, *Mexican Dream Herb, Lavender, Mugwort, Rose Buds, Valerian Root, Wild Asparagus
Essential Oils for Lucid Dreaming: Lavender, Mugwort, Patchouli, Rose
Other things to achieve Lucid Dreaming:
Keep a dream journal and write in it regularly.
Interpret the meanings behind your dreams after recording them
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and smoking cigarettes before bed
Keep a regular sleeping schedule
Sleep in complete darkness if possible
Meditate before going to sleep
Openly state before you go to bed “I will lucid dream tonight” and repeat this either out-loud or in your mind as you get ready for bed. When you lay in bed continue focused on that in your mind
Along with that before bed tell yourself, preferably in a mirror if it helps, that you will remember your dreams come morning
Do “reality checks” meaning in your dream check to see if you are dreaming. If you see mirrors, see if you can see the background behind you or if it is misty/blurry. If see a clock look at it, look away, then look back, often in dreams the time will change. This is the same for signs and street signs. You can also before going to bed mark up your hand with ink and in your dream look down and see if it is there still. If its not you know you’re dreaming. Look down at your feet, often in dreams they will seem oddly unfocused. If you see a bookshelf, see if any of the book titles are visible or repeat.
Okay, I know I am dreaming, now what do I do?
Well now you practice. It is rare to immediately be able to control your dreams completely. To gain full control you need to practice. Start small and take baby steps. Try hopping in place in your dream, see if you can make yourself hover for even just a second. Keep at it, try to float in place longer and longer with each jump. In time and with practice and patience you will be able to soar through your dreams one night and it’s easy from there. If you come across a locked door try opening it while saying out loud “this door is unlocked”. Keep at it, because hopefully you will be able to open it soon enough.
Start talking to the ‘characters’ in your dreams. Try to influence their behavior such as suggesting they do something. You can also approach a ‘stranger’ in your dream and see what happens if you state that you two are friends. If they start acting as if they know you and are indeed your friend, you know you have improved your control.
Take notes in your dream journal on these tests. Write down if they failed or succeeded and keep at it. With time you will be able to change things in your dreams with ease.
The Positives of Lucid Dreaming:
You can control your dreams! That is just awesome, you can live out things you can’t do in real life.
Prevent or stop nightmares, when you are lucid dreaming you can just tell whatever is causing you the nightmare to ‘fuck off’ and usually they will. Nightmares can be quickly changed into enjoyable dreams
From my personal experience and experiences of others, after a lucid dream you feel more awake and alive come morning, it’s almost energizing to wake up from
Its calming, I can relieve my stresses from the day and not worry about them in my dreams
You can attempt to solve your real life struggles in your dreams or making plans
Eventually you can work your way to Astral Travel and Dream Walking
Using your dreams for divination
Improve sleep, many people who lucid dream fall asleep faster and deeper than most people leading to them having improved sleep patterns and habits
For artists and story writers, dreams can really inspire you and help you test out your ideas
Deity communication, for those who do worship deities you can communicate or even interact with them in your dreams if you welcome them in.
Spirit and entity communication, just like deities lucid dreamers can interact with entities in their dreams by letting them in. Many lucid dreamers interact with their guides and guardians through dreams as well
Occult Aspects 