NMR ISSUE 22

Astrological Forecast 22
Butterfly
Choosing a Medicine Name
Editorial
Finding a Magickal Teacher
Holidays
Humanity: The Next Step
Letters 22
Panda
Protection from the Intoxicated
Psalm to the Goddess
The Oldest Magick
The Witch of Wookey
Understanding Your Dreams
Why Spiritual Groups Succeed or Fail
You've Seen Me

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Understanding Your Dreams VII

Astral, Telepathic and Lucid Dreams

Diana Haronis

Dreamwork is one of the best ways to develop your psychic and telepathic abilities. When understood, the messages received in dreams are often more clear and accurate than those received during meditation. This is because, during the dream state, we are completely open to receiving truth, without the judgments or denials of the conscious mind. Dreams are the bridge between our waking selves and our soul consciousness. We often travel astrally out of our bodies during sleep, although we don't always remember our excursions when we awaken. Sometimes we visit people we know and have conversations with them during these travels. A strong desire for communication usually triggers this. If two people are blocked from communicating during waking life, their astral bodies will gravitate together during sleep. If you remember these conversations upon awakening, you will usually find them to be true and accurate! Sometimes we don't remember at all, but wake up with a strong feeling of having been with a certain person.

At times a friend may appear or manifest to you during the night. I have had this happen to me on several occasions. Unless it's a case where the person is highly skilled at inducing and controlling astral experiences, this usually occurs because of a strong emotional need or an intense desire to be with someone. As an example, one time I was talking on the telephone to a friend who was very upset over her divorce. I talked to her late into the night, and then hung up and went to sleep. I awoke later that night and got up to get a drink of water. I was amazed to see her sitting on a chair in my room! She smiled at me and said, Surprise! I got my water and returned, expecting to talk to her and she was gone!

Astral communication and telepathy often takes place between people who share a deep emotional bond, such as a parent and child, lovers or close friends. During our waking life we are constantly tuning into one another psychically, merging energies and communicating telepathically to varying degrees. During sleep, this ability is intensified.

Dreams of flying or floating are usually astral experiences. We are not always aware that we have left our body. Have you ever been drifting off to sleep, and then jar yourself awake because you felt as though you were falling? That falling sensation is your astral body moving out of your physical body. It is not so much a matter of learning to astral travel, as it is a matter of learning to control and remember our out-of-body experiences. One way of doing this is through the practice of lucid dream techniques. When in the lucid state, you are aware that you are dreaming while the dream is taking place. Once this shift in consciousness has occurred, the possibilities are endless! Simply by becoming aware that you are dreaming, you can then begin to control your dream. You may decide to visit a friend, review a past life, or contact your spirit guides. The soul is free to travel where it will, collecting information, helping others, or relaying messages.

Here are several techniques that will help you to have lucid, astral or telepathic dreams:

1. Be sure to go to bed with a clear mind. Drugs, alcohol or exhaustion can inhibit dream recall.

2. As you drift to sleep, concentrate on where you wish to go, or the person you wish to contact. Keep the subject you want to dream about clear in your mind. You may even wish to place props around your sleeping area that will help to stimulate your mind in the direction you wish to go. For example, one night, during the full moon, I wanted to go flying. I placed my witch’s broom next to the bed as I fell asleep. Sure enough, my astral body took the broom, (actually its astral counterpart), and went flying!

3. Most importantly, you must program your mind to wake up within the dream. An effective way of doing this is to conduct reality checks from time to time during the day. One sure way to know if you are dreaming is if you have the ability to alter things with your mind. In a dream, you can change a cloud into a spaceship or a frog into a prince simply by concentrating on it with your mind. In waking life most people can't do this! During the day, you should stop every so often and check to see if you are dreaming, by trying to alter the scene before you with the power of thought. (It's safer than jumping off a building to see if you can fly!) Of course you know you are not dreaming, but the process of doing this will train your mind so that you will remember to do a reality check when you are in a dream!

Once you find yourself in a lucid dream, there are a couple techniques that will help you maintain that lucid state for longer periods of time. If you feel yourself coming back before you wish to, it often helps to stare at your hands. By concentrating this way, it serves to focus your energy, again, on the dream you are having. Another practice is to spin. If you are out of the body, this prevents you from returning before you are ready.

If you feel yourself leaving the body, but are having trouble getting completely out, it often helps to spin or bounce. You can actually jump out of your body this way.

Through our dream life, we realize the truth of our existence as unlimited, spiritual beings. In reality, all of life is but a dream and we the dreamers, trying to wake up and interpret the dream!

Sweet Dreams!

1991, Diana Haronis