12/22/2006 ↳ esoteric

The Process of Sleep

It is possible to enter a lucid dream directly from waking. Usually thisentails lying down, relaxing, and allowing the body to fall asleep while

the mind stays awake. Difficulties include falling asleep along with the body, or thebody staying awake with the mind. Decoupling body and mind so that the latter canstay awake while the body falls asleep is difficult but possible.

To enter normal sleep we begin by letting our thoughts wander until they turn intodaydreams that either dissolve into oblivion along with our self-awareness and volitionor else spontaneously evolve into hypnagogic imagery (short vivid hallucinations) thateventually cohere into a full-blown three dimensional dreamscape.

Whether drifting off takes us into oblivion or into a vivid dreamscape can depend onhow far we are into our nightly sleep cycle. Early in the cycle, sleep tends to consist ofdelta brainwave activity and no REM (rapid eye movement), which indicatesconsciousness is off elsewhere. Most likely the soul is running its astral errands whilethe body does its repairs. Later in the cycle after these tasks are out of the way, orwhen taking a nap, the delta stage is replaced by immediate onset of hypnagogic andREM activity after mental relaxation. But these are passive dreams since lack of lucidityin them implies impaired volition.

Why are dreams so much more vivid than imagination? Because the images are beingprojected by the subconscious, not the conscious mind. Why do we lose self-awareness when we go to sleep? Because as we let our thoughts wander, thesubconscious starts to influence our consciously projected internal images(imagination, visualization, daydreaming, mind chatter) while the conscious mind takeson a more passive and self-obliterating role. Not long after that, the subconscioustakes over the role of projector and that is when mere mental images become virtualrealities. The trade-off is that we have already abandoned ourselves by the time thedream projection kicks in.

We can understand the various states of internal imagery as being the result of eitherthe conscious subconscious either directing or projecting these images:

active dreaming: conscious directs while subconscious projects.

passive dreaming: subconscious directs and projects.

daydreaming: subconscious directs while conscious projects.

visualizing: conscious directs and projects.

Inducing lucid dreams from a waking state therefore requires that the conscious mindretain its awareness and volition while the subconscious is given free reign to beginprojecting the dreamscape. The prerequisite is total relaxation of the body, usuallydone in a step-wise fashion from head to toe, either by focusing on relaxing aparticular body region, or tensing and releasing that region. A good exhaustingworkout that leaves you wiped out can also accomplish this.

Watching Phosphenes

One method of keeping your mind awake while falling asleep involves watching thephosphene images behind closed eyelids. These are the glowing blobs of static noisepatterns that always fill our vision but are more easily noticed in the dark. Unlikepassive dreaming, this keeps one’s visual faculties active and focused on real senseimpressions instead of turning within and getting lost in consciously projecteddaydreams or visualizations.

Why is this important? Because notice that in dreams your “eyes” are focused on anenvironment existing “outside” you, seemingly as real as anything you might see withyour physical eyes while awake. Also notice that in a dream, despite both yourthoughts and the dreamscape being all “in your head”, you can still imagine thingsinternally that are separate from the surrounding dreamscape. This means that the fullblown 3D dreamscape is always perceived as an external phenomenon to your fivesenses, than mere imagination which is internal and runs in parallel to yoursurroundings. So staring out into the field of phosphenes involves a similarlyexternalized point of focus, even though eyes are closed. In this way, one aspect of thedream experience (the external visual focus) is already established. It therefore doesnot take long for hypnagogic images to start up this way, although these can startleone back into full consciousness. With repeated exposure they become less startling,especially if you cultivate a calm, detached, nonplussed attitude and ease into theseimages without becoming self-conscious and excited, which can snap you awake.

The next issue is becoming so quickly absorbed in the phosphenes and hypnagogicimages that one loses self-awareness before the subconscious is ready to begin fullyprojecting a dreamscape. To counter this, a second technique may be employed:quickly opening and shutting your eyes every two or three breaths. This allows enoughreal sense data to come in, and is so intentionally controlled, that the mind has betterchances of staying alert. And yet since this involves mere movement of the eyelids, therest of the body is not prevented from doing its thing to fall asleep. One can keep thisup until the hypnagogic state kicks in, then continue watching those and thephosphenes.

Sleep Paralysis

Very soon the body falls asleep by entering sleep paralysis, which feels like a suddensinking, melting, tingling feeling. This is not your body going numb with boredom fromhaving lain still for an hour. Sleep paralysis comes with a release of the soul from thephysical body, and that induces the sinking or melting feeling. You may also notice yourbreathing suddenly becoming deeper, effortless, and automatic as theparasympathetic nervous system takes over. If your mind is still highly active, yourbreathing restricted, and your body simply numb from lack of stimulation then you’renot in sleep paralysis. You literally have to fall asleep, but with your awareness intact.

The subconscious is then at the verge of fully projecting the dreamscape, and one hasonly to retain enough self-awareness throughout the onset of sleep paralysis to allowthe final consciously directed nudge to kick off a dream. (After catching your bodyfalling asleep, before a dream begins you can visualize and intend to roll out of bed andthat will induce an astral projection instead of a dream). Or you can visualize somethingand “get into it” and that will initiate a dream.

It is the intent combined with visualization that puts the subconscious fully online, anda dream begins. Then you can do reality checks (flipping a light switch, looking forinconsistencies) or astral checks (seeing your body still in bed with correct clothes on)and lucidly go from there.

Take note that because this technique requires immediate access to REM sleep, itmust be done after already having slept five or six hours, or during the day whennapping. If you’ve had a long day and are beat, and crawl into a cozy bed for lights out,you’ll have a tough time retaining awareness and your brain won’t initiate heavy REMactivity right away. Rudolf Steiner talked about remaining aware regardless as being aqualification for occult initiation, and that in doing so you get to witness what happensduring the delta non-dream sleep. He says one visits the spirit realm and experiencesthings there are harmonies and colors (which is probably all that the conscious mindcan decode of that experience at first, whereas the subconscious or higher mindduring this experience is probably having a very involved time “up there”). But foractive dreaming purposes, later in the sleep cycle or during a nap is better.

Some induction techniques start off with visualization, whereby the conscious minddirects and projects mental imagery until the subconscious takes over the role ofprojector. The above technique of staring into the phosphene void and looking athypnagogic imagery that arises does not use intentional visualization until the finalnudge, thereby allowing the subconscious to start projecting more easily because itdoes not have to wrestle that role away from the conscious. To repeat, visualization isnot necessary until the final stage when the body is asleep, otherwise it might interferewith the subconscious stepping into its role as projector. You can indeed usevisualization, and Steiner’s method as well as Theun Mares’ method employ that,

whereby an imagined visual suddenly blooms to life when the subconscious takes overand turns it into a dream experience (Steiner himself got that technique from Goethe,who wrote of experiencing exactly such a imagination -> dream phenomenon).

Applications

Why is active dreaming important? Because it allows access to the dreaming faculty atwill and is therefore more repeatable at will compared to other methods of lucid dreaminduction involving autosuggestion, dream signs, periodic reality checks, and so on.However it is also more difficult to implement due to having to be conscious themoment the body falls asleep. But like any activity that requires finesse, whetherhitting a golf ball or parallel parking, it can be trained with practice.

When you have achieved this state, which Robert Monroe termed “mind awake, bodyasleep” then you are effectively on a launch platform for dreaming, astral projecting,scrying, remote viewing, healing, entity evocations, past life exploration, spiritreleasement therapy, subconscious reprogramming, communicating with the higherself, etc. This state of mind, which some claim consists of theta brain wavesoverlapped with high frequency gamma waves, is the state from which most occultmaneuvers are performed.

Mnemonic Anchoring

When the body has entered its melted tingly state, it is possible to anchor thismnemonically using some tongue position, breathing pattern, eye movement,visualized sequence of symbols, hand mudra, or command phrase. When the anchor isrepeatedly associated with this state, later the anchor can be invoked to cause thebody to reflexively enter the state, dramatically shortening the induction procedure.But creating the association takes much repetition. Theun Mares’ technique and theSilva Method employ such mnemonic triggers.

Trance Clairvoyance

If the dream state is induced with the eyes open, then visual perceptions are no longerfiltered or interpreted by the normal waking linear mind. Some data streams includeenergy patterns that normally escape our perception, such as etheric critters,thoughtforms, machinery, or intelligent beings positioned around us. What we seewhile in this state, or at least the visual image of it, is not actually outside of us butrather projected onto our field of vision from within by the subconscious. Thesubconscious projector overlays upon the visual field an interpretation of the incomingdata stream. It is like an internal HUD (heads up display). Science attributes these tohypnopompic hallucinations, but I doubt these images are always mere phantasms.

Be informed, however, that this state of clairvoyance is not the only way to beclairvoyant. True clairvoyants aren’t in sleep paralysis and halfway detached from theirbodies. They are fully in their bodies, however their souls have grown psychicappendages that act as periscopes or transceivers to the occult realm. In this way theycan be awake, walking and talking, while peering into the etheric data layer ofexistence.

Direct Etheric Data Access

You may have noticed that dreams communicate to us messages from thesubconscious via symbolic images, plays on words, and allegorical themes. But reallythe subconscious is just a portal to intelligences outside our linear conscious minds,one of these being the higher self or higher mind. The dream projection, whichemploys the visual sense mostly, is therefore an indirect communicator allowinginformation flow across the conscious/subconscious gap. It is possible to do away withthe visual aspect entirely and allow direct communion between yourself and the higherself, or at least between your consciousness and the true essence of things rather thantheir visually interpreted representation. With eyes open, rather than seeinginterpretations of the data stream one could, after sufficient levels of development,experience the data directly — this would be equivalent to seeing the “code of thematrix” so to speak.

Conclusion

Exploring inner space can therefore be quite productive, and it is the most rewardingand immediately evident superior alternative to technological substitutes that threatento disconnect us from our conscious abilities. In terms of detail and effects, luciddreams far surpass any available video gaming system. Of course it is easier to hit apower button than train to actively dream, but the thought that we carry within us suchuntapped power does evoke awe.