I had what I believe was the my first lucid dream in quite a while. Instead of waking within the dream, I entered the dream from a waking state, using a technique similar to some discussed by Steven LaBerge in his works. I’m pretty sure the *key* was my intention to dream this particular dream, and the mental focus and concentration that I was able to maintain…
As I was starting to relax towards sleep, I imagined myself descending a long, pleasant flight of stairs. Down, down. I noticed the lighting, the intricate nature of the handrails, and walls, and the steps themselves; a rather gothic image. I was descending into the Earth…down, down. I had planned that when I had descended deep enough/become relaxed enough, I would come upon a Golden Door. Upon reaching the door, I would open it with the mantra *Aum*. The more I chanted, the wider it would open. When it opened wide enough, I could pass, and enter a tunnel. The tunnel would descend down, down. It was very dark. Yet, I would proceed…
[Creative commons photo credit at flikr: The Golden Door & Subterranean Library]
By the time I came upon a light, that was the
Library, I believe I was
dreaming, because some elements of the image were within my control, while others were not. I wanted to visit a library that would contain information about all of the world’s cultures. It was well-lit, and huge. The stacks seemed to go up for several stories, and I could not see the end of any of the aisles. I could not understand the organization, so I spoke to a library employee who did not really want to talk to me (he kept brushing me off), and asked about where the
History section was…that was of the United States…that was of the 21st Century (I kept having to clarify). I was then lead to a section containing tens of thousands of books or more. I was surprised to see how large that section was, even though I knew I shouldn’t be…The interesting thing is that I *
could not read* any of the books! They all seemed to contain a series of very strange symbols that I did not recognize, and seemed to be rearranging themselves, swimming on the page. This was very frustrating to me, and more than this, I found it extraordinarily difficult to concentrate on the image of the page, or even to select a book to pull off the shelf. When I did attempt to look at a page, I could only focus for a few seconds before my attention was pulled away; even when I did see the page, it seemed to waiver,
distort, teeter on the edge of my perception, and finally fall away, and I could gain no meaning at all from it. At some point in my struggles to read/understand/see the text, I became exhausted and must have fallen into an
unconscious sleep, because I knew no more until I awoke and remembered the dream…
This was truly a fascinating experience, and I’m definitely going to attempt this dream again. I would like to try to talk more with the library ‘employees’, and inquire about the best way to try to read the books, and learn from them…
October 12th, 2007 by Brian
Posted in Lucid Dream, Golden Door, Subterranean Library, Tunnels, Books, Dream Strategy, Steven LaBerge, Dream Technique |
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October 12th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Its quite a feat to be able to simply continue a dream at will where you left off when you go to sleep again. Many people experience something akin to what happens atop of The Magic Faraway Tree (a book by author Enid Blyton). This magical tree has worlds rotate around above it on the tops of clouds. Each world arrives at the top of the tree for a while and then, the cloud moves on unpredictably to make room for the next incoming cloud world. Similarly, many night-time dreamers recall fragemented experiences that pitter off. Then, dreamers go on to another dream, never knowing or being able to find out what happened with the last one. At the other end of the spectrum, some people get so wrapped up with the why or how of a dream and forget to find meaning in the journey itself.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Hi Liara…
The metaphor of the Magic Faraway Tree is certainly an interesting way of looking at dreaming. It is definitely a balance to seek meaning within a single dream, and the overall context of the waking world in conjunction of past dreams…
Perhaps it is ambitious to try to enter back into the dream, but my thinking is that if I use the same symbols (Golden Door, etc.), then I might trigger the same general aspects of mind/experience that I was accessing earlier. We shall see. Have you ever attempted to read text while in a dream?
October 12th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
…have had similar dreams, my husband thinks it’s the Akashic records…
October 13th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Hmmm… I wondered about that. I suppose they are a little different to everyone who views them?
I also realized that this is actually the second time I was unable to read in a dream… In an earlier dream of teaching, I could write on the chalkboard, but the chalk would somehow break apart in my hands, and what was on the board looked like a kind of spray. Strange…
October 13th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
That’s an interesting approach to lucid dreaming. Sound a lot like you used the WILD technique. Your description of the process was wonderful - I liked the concept of the golden door particularly.
It’s also worth noting the difficulty that you had reading the text in the books. I’ve never paid the idea much heed, but most people report that it’s not possible to read or write anything whilst lucid dreaming. I’m really not sure why that should be, especially if you are making a conscious effort to do read the text of the books. Perhaps you should ask the librarian to interpret for you - to act as some sort of gateway to your unconscious…
October 14th, 2007 at 7:43 am
Aloha, thanks for your comment…
Yes, actually, the WILD technique from LaBerge & Rheingold was the inspiration for this effort. I have not been able to replicate my success, but I will continue trying…
Thank you for the info regarding reading in dreams (or lack thereof). I did find that effect most peculiar. Cognitive theories of dreaming (e.g., W. G. Domhoff) generally presume that mental processes during dreaming are not all that different than during waking. Perhaps this is evidence of one difference? Then again, can we really *visualize text* with any level of sophistication during waking hours? Perhaps the problem isn’t with the reading, but with the construction of the words. In any case, it’s definitely an issue worthy of more investigation…