A digest for conscious living
In spite of my efforts, my mind was scattered and my energy unfocused this morning during my meditation. Sometimes this makes me feel frustrated, but today I simply continued with my session and tried to maintain equanimity. To my surprise, I felt very calm and clear throughout the day in spite of being very busy and not having slept enough. There is a temptation when a meditation session is not “working” to give up and go do something else. Today is confirmation that in these instances, it is important to remind myself that my perception of my own situation is always subjective- and that my subconscious my be having a different experience all together…
Anyone can attest to the fact that a realistic dream is virtually impossible to tell from wakeful experience. When we dream, we inhabit a world that seems complete and substantial; replete with the same kinds of landscapes, autonomous characters, and details which characterize our waking world. In a dream, when we do encounter some remarkable or wondrous event, situation, or character, unless we are practiced in the techniques of lucid dreaming, we are unlikely to even recognize its bizarreness. We most likely take it for granted, and accept it all without question as fundamental reality.
It is possible however to become aware that one is dreaming without actually waking up the body- to become Lucid in a dream. If this happens, it is not the case that the dream loses any of its significance to the Lucid dreamer. On the contrary, once one becomes aware that one is dreaming, one can begin recognizing the dream’s true significance by realizing that the world which one is occupying is made up of symbolic imagery continuously being created by ones own subconscious.
It is estimated that on average the conscious mind comprises only about 15% of a person’s brain activity. That vast majority of the mind that makes up who and what we are is a complete mystery to most of us. It seems absurd to me then to try to live our life, make decisions, create goals, have relationships etc. without addressing the question: To what degree do I really have any influence over my situations, if the conscious “me” has such a small influence on my behavior?
Psychologists have long known that symbols and images, rather than rhetoric and reason are the working language of the subconscious. Since a dream is not happening on the waking or material level (its literally all in your head), and is being created entirely by one’s subconscious mind, it stands to reason that that everything within the dream is a symbolic reflection of some deeper reality within the subconscious. If one understands symbolism and imagery, then becoming lucid in a dream can be a very effective way to communicate with the subconscious mind.
I have come to believe that what we experience when we dream is simply a dream within a dream- yet another expression of the fractal nature of the Universe- its the same reason that a hurricane has the same fundamental shape as a spiral galaxy.
Its getting late, so I will continue on this topic tomorrow…
Sweet dreams!
KIKTÁ
Hey Ace,
Although I did have a period where I experimented with lucid dreaming and had some transformative experiences with it, I have not been practicing it recently. It is not necessary to prepare for dream activity- we always dream, whether we remember or not. The skill in lucid dreaming is training oneself to become aware that one is dreaming. This must be done during waking hours but does not necessarily have to be done when going to bed. One technique which has been effective for me is to get into the habit of looking at your hands during the day. For some strange reason, looking at your hands in a dream seems to be a universal trigger for recognizing that this is not actually your waking reality. Particularly when something strange or out of the ordinary happens during your day, get in the habit of asking yourself: “Is this a dream?” and then look at your hands. If you get into the habit of doing this throughout your waking day, you will then eventually do it when you are dreaming, at which point you will recognize that you are in a dream. Keeping a dream journal is also invaluable. If you want to know more, there is an amazing book about lucid dreaming that I can definitely recommend. Its called: “Lucid Dreaming- Gateway to the Inner Self” by Robert Waggoner. I consider it a must read!
Well done again… I’ve wondered if you have techniques you use to prepare for dream activity when you go to bed.