The Ultimate Goal - Lucid Dreaming

The purpose of Dream Yoga is to use lucid dreams as a pathway to what the Yogis called the CLEAR LIGHT. Dream Yogis realized that human beings are addicted to the physical reality. Anything which is perceived with the five senses is unquestionably real for most people. Yet in dreams, anything you can touch, see, hear, smell or taste is also unquestionably real - until you wake up that is. The Yogis believed that both the physical world and the world of dreams were equally unreal, but that dreams could be used as a means of discovering the true nature of reality - The Clear Light. Only lucid dreams could be used for the purpose. Yogis developed a number of techniques for achieving lucidity in dreams. Part of their training involved going directly into the dream state from the waking state without actually falling asleep. It is called "Body Asleep, Mind Awake". Once there, they consciously strip away all dream imagery until they can perceive the Clear Light.

Levels of Dreams

• Level Zero: If you recall no dreams at all upon awakening, and do not remember even that you dreamed, then you are dead to the inner world as you may also be to the otter world. This is level Zero.
• Level One:If you remember that you dreamed but are unable to recall a single image or feeling, some small portion of yourself was awake within the dream state. This is level one.
• Level Two: If you recall disjointed fragments of dreams, or isolated images or feelings, then you were even more awake within the dream state. This is level two.
• Level Three: If you seemed to be watching yourself in your dream rather than participation in the dream action, this means that you have achieved level three.
• Level Four: When you achieve full participation in your dream action then you have reached what is called level four.
• Level Five: When you participate in the action and the dream plots are long and involved and you remember a good deal of it then you have reached level five.
• Level Six: Level six comes when all previous are present and also you remember color and sound and they are especially vivid. Generally speaking the more detail you recall in a dream the more awake you are within it. This is level six.
• Level Seven: The presence of textures, smells and tastes indicate the extraordinary degree of wakefulness of level seven.
• Level Eight: The ability to think rationally, using mental processes characteristic of the waking state to solve a problem. That's level eight.
• Level Nine: If you rationally apply the miraculous powers available in the dream state - the ability to fly or to alter your environment at will, for example - then you have achieved level nine.
• Level Ten: In level ten your usual waking consciousness becomes fully present within the dream state - upon recognizing that you are in fact dreaming. At this point it becomes possible to have a full out-of-body experience. Visit friends in the physical, visit your long deceased grandmother on the other side, go to the dark side of the moon, what ever you my think of -the possibilities are limitless.

Techniques for lucid dreaming

The technique of using lucid dreams to enter the Astral plane is simple, but it takes time to develop. First you must begin paying attention to your dreams. Keep a dream journal - it's an excellent way to stimulate wakefulness in dreams. Upon retiring each night, suggest to yourself that you will remember your dreams. In order to increase the wakefulness in your dream state - increase your degree of interest in them. Make a commitment to write them down every morning. It will take some time but will be well worth the effort. A person can get much in site from their dreams. Play with your sleep schedule if possible. Set your alarm to wake you at 4:00 or 5:00am - You will probably remember a dream you just had - stay awake for 10 to 15 minutes and then go back to sleep. On awakening at your usual time you will remember more dreams. Make notes, you will start seeing patterns in them. Also just before falling asleep try to program yourself by think of something specific you would like to dream about. It is also helpful to program yourself to notice something specific in your dream so as to help you wake within it. Such as a flock of birds, when you see a flock of birds it will trigger the thought that you are in a dream. This is an excellent way to become lucid. Another method that is useful is that I have created out of material a doorway that I pinned up on my wall and each night before I fall asleep I make a point of going through it several times in my mind. This will help you to have a lucid dream or even an out-of-body experience. (they are very much alike) Becoming lucid in a dream or having an out of body experience is one of the greatest adventure a human can ever have.

The Dream Experience

according to Webster

A dream is the experience of envisioned images, sounds, or other sensations during sleep. The events of dreams are often impossible or unlikely to occur in physical reality, and are usually outside the control of the dreamer. The exception is lucid dreaming, in which a dreamer realizes that s/he is dreaming, and is sometimes even capable of changing the oneiric reality around him or her and controlling various aspects of the dream, in which the suspension of disbelief is broken. Dreamers may experience strong emotions while dreaming. Frightening or upsetting dreams are referred to as nightmares The discipline of dream research is oneirology .

• Suspension of disbelief refers primarily to the willingness of a reader or viewer to accept the premises of a work of fiction, even if they are fantastic or impossible. It also refers to the willingness of the audience to overlook the limitations of a medium, so that these do not interfere with the illusion. However, suspension of disbelief is a do ut des: the audience agrees to provisionally suspend their judgment in exchange for the promise of entertainment.
• Oneirology is the scientific study of dreams.The term comes from the Greek oneiro which means dream. A person that studies oneirology is called an oneirologist.

Timothy Freke on Dreams

In the words of Timothy Freke "Pssst! Wake up you're dreaming" He tells us that life is not what it seems and we are not who we think we are. Our lives are a collective dream that we have all agreed to participate in - Our physical lives are no more real then that of our dream state. think about that.

Carl Gustav Jung on dreams

In the beginning, Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1960) studied under Sigmund Freud. Eventually, their differing views on dreams caused a major rift and each went their separate ways. Like Freud, Jung believed in the existence of the unconscious. However, he didn't see the unconscious as animalistic,  instinctual, and sexual; he saw it as more spiritual, a way of communicating and acquainting ourselves with the unconscious. Dreams were not attempts to conceal our true feelings from the waking mind, but rather they were a window to our unconscious. They served to guide the waking self to achieve wholeness.  Dreams offered a solution to a problem we are facing in our waking life.

Dreams also indicate the way to self actualization. Jungian therapy in fact deals extensively with dreams and fantasies The works of Carl G. Jung are voluminous and profound. He developed the study of the unconscious part of the psyche beyond the negative aspects emphasized by Freud, and found within the collective unconscious the source of all inspirations and instincts -- including the beautiful and spiritual. The uniting or integration of the conscious (thinking) mind with the unconscious mind became the foundation of psychological wholeness and balance in Jung's practice of modern psychology. He believed a dreams content uses symbolic language. He proposed that a dream expresses collective racial unconscious memories and instincts shared by all people. These are basic ideas that are themselves symbols. These include the hero, monster, mother, father, mandala, sacrifice and the mask.

What do your dreams mean?

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