Sacred Circles' Coven

Dream Magick
From: S. LaBerge & H. Rheingold, (1990).

EXPLORING THE WORLD OF LUCID DREAMING.
New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-37410-X
From NIGHTLIGHT 1(1), 1989, Copyright, The Lucidity Institute.

Introduction

For centuries, sleep and dreams have been widely used in the magickal/spiritual practices of many cultures. Many feel that dreams reveal much to the dreamer and, sometimes, if one focuses their mind hard enough, one can change their life or, better yet, find their "direction" in life through their dreams.

Since even science hasn't been able to explain away all the mystery regarding sleep and dreams, old fears and ideas about our "nightly adventures" remain today. Just saunter on down to your local bookstore or page through a current magazine on "psychic" phenomena. There are tons of stuff on how to lucid dream, how to interpret your dreams, how to keep away nightmares, tell the future through dreams, etc. Sometimes there's so much "stuff" it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.

In this page, I'm going to deal with the little known practice of Dream craft; a practice within Wicca in which one uses their dreams to bring about needed change and accomplish specific goals. Just keep in mind that my "expertise" is on the spiritual side of dreams. My spiritual practices, beliefs, etc. may or may not reflect your own.

For starters, I will go into just a general description/ over-view of what Dream craft is...

Most of us who keep a dream diary or journal already do some Dream craft. A dream craft-y person (practitioner) recalls their dreams and records them, either by writing them out in notebook form or recording them on audio tape, in order to later study and analyze them. Dreams, I'm sure you'll agree, have a lot to say about us and the way we perceive our world. By studying the Images in our dreams, we can come to a better understanding of ourselves and our world. Sometimes we can weed out specific information from our dreams which we can use to help us deal with a situation or resolve a problem. And what better way to deal with what bothers us than by "sleeping on it?!"

Have you ever, before going to sleep or while in the process of daydreaming, successfully recalled an image of a friend, place, or specific sensation (such as a scent, taste, or sound) and were actually able to re-experience that image/sensation without actually "experiencing" it? This is Creative Visualization and it is the key to all magickal operations/ practices, especially so in Dream craft.

Thinking visually is natural for us, but focusing on your visual Images is a bit harder. Dream craft practitioners, through meditation and actual dreaming, recall and concentrate on a specific image that represents a person, place, thing, or situation which they wish to gain insight on. Through this visual "focusing", they can program their minds into re-experiencing a dream or real life event.

The benefits of this are practical: in order to have power over our "inner-enemies" (which are our problems, insecurities, obstacles, etc.) we must name them and know them and not allow ourselves to walk "blindly" through life where we won't be able to learn from them and resolve them.

When we are faced with a situation where normal answers fail and frustration sets in, the last resort most of us turn to is the realm of the Spirit (this is where prayer comes in--where we appeal to that which is higher than us for guidance and intervention). To a magickal person (such as myself), dreams are an invaluable spiritual and practical resource of helpful information. In dreams all physical laws and worldly logic are set aside. It is here, in The Dreaming, that we can produce the most change--this is what Magick (not the Disney "magic") is all about. Anything is possible within our dreams. Use this power!

The main point of Dream craft is to gain insight on life, confront that which perplexes us, change our perception of "what's going on" to "what's _really_ going on", and do something about it in waking life.

How To Remember Your Dreams

Remembering your dreams is the starting place for learning to have lucid dreams. If you don't recall your dreams, even if you do have a lucid dream, you won't remember it! And, in order to be able to recognize your dreams as dreams while they are happening, you have to be familiar with the way your own dreams work. Before it will be worth your time to work on lucid dream induction methods, you should be able to recall at least one dream every night.

Getting plenty of sleep is the first step to good dream recall. If you are rested it will be easier to focus on your goal of recalling dreams, and you won't mind so much taking the time during the night to record your dreams. Another benefit of getting plenty of sleep is that dream periods get longer and closer together as the night proceeds. The first dream of the night is the shortest, perhaps 10 minutes in length, while after 8 hours of sleep, dream periods can be 45 minutes to an hour long. We all dream every night, about one dream period every 90 minutes. People who say they never dream simply never remember their dreams. You may have more than one dream during a REM (dream) period, separated by short arousals that are most often forgotten. It is generally accepted among sleep researchers that dreams are not recalled unless the sleeper awakens directly from the dream, rather than after going on to other stages of sleep.

It can be useful while you are developing your dream recall to keep a complete dream journal. Keep the journal handy by your bed and record every dream you remember, no matter how fragmentary. Start by writing down all your dreams, not just the complete, coherent, or interesting ones--even if all you remember is a face or a room, write it down.

When you awaken in the night and recall what you were dreaming, record the dream right away. If you don't, in the morning you may find you remember nothing about the dream, and you will certainly have forgotten many interesting details. We seem to have built-in dream erasers in our minds, which make dream experiences more difficult to recall than waking ones. So, whenever you remember a dream, write it down. If you don't feel like writing out a long dream story at 3 AM, note down key points of the plot. Also write down the precise content of any dialogue from the dream, because words will almost inevitably be forgotten in a very short time.

Possibly, all you will need to do to increase your dream recall is to remind yourself as you are falling asleep that you wish to awaken fully from your dreams and remember them. This works in a similar manner to remembering to awaken at a certain time in the morning. Additionally, it may help to tell yourself you will have interesting, meaningful dreams. A major cause of dream forgetting is interference from other thoughts competing for your attention. Therefore, let your first thought upon awakening be, "What was I just dreaming?" Before attempting to write down the dream, go over the dream in your mind, re-telling the dream story to yourself. DO NOT MOVE from the position in which you awaken, and do not think of the day's concerns. Cling to any clues of what you might have been experiencing moods, feelings, fragments of Images, and try to rebuild a story from them. When you recall a scene, try to recall what happened before that, and before that, reliving the dream in reverse. If after a few minutes, all you remember is a mood, describe it in a journal. If you can recall nothing, try imagining a dream you might have had--note your present feelings, list your current concerns to yourself, and ask yourself, "Did I dream about that?" Even if you can't recall anything in bed, events or scenes of the day may remind you of something you dreamed the night before. Be ready to notice this when it happens, and record whatever you remember.

If you find that you sleep too deeply to awaken from your dreams, try setting an alarm clock to wake you at a time when you are likely to be dreaming. Since our REM periods occur at approximately 90 minute intervals, good times will be multiples of 90 minutes after you go to sleep. Aim for the later REM periods by setting the alarm to go off at 4.5, 6, or 7.5 hours after you go to sleep. Once again, when you wake up, don't move and think first of what you were just dreaming before writing.

To remind yourself of your intentions and get yourself into the spirit of your dreams, read through your dream journal at bedtime. Learning to remember your dreams may seem difficult at first, but if you persist, you will almost certainly succeed--and may find yourself remembering four or more dreams per night. Of course, once you reach this level, you probably won't want to write them all down--just the significant or compelling ones. And, the more familiar you become with the style of your own dreams, the easier it will be to remember you are dreaming while you are dreaming--and explore the world of your dreams while still on the scene.

Dream Spinning

Some years ago I had the good fortune to discover a highly effective technique to prevent awakenings and produce new lucid dream scenes. I started by reasoning that since dream actions have corresponding physical effects, relaxing my dream body might inhibit awakening by lowering muscle tension in my physical body. The next time I was dreaming lucidly, I tested the idea. As the dream began to fade, I relaxed completely, dropping to the dream floor. However, contrary to my intention, I seemed to awaken. But, a few minutes later I discovered I had actually only dreamed of awakening. I repeated the experiment many times and the effect was consistent--I would remain in the dream state by dreaming of waking up. However, my experiences suggested that the essential element was not the attempted relaxation but the sensation of movement. In subsequent lucid dreams, I tested a variety of dream movements and found both falling backward and spinning in the dream to be especially effective in producing lucid dreams of awakening. Here is a method for spinning to remain in the dream state:

The Spinning Technique

1. Notice when the dream begins to fade When a dream ends, the visual sense fades first. Other senses may persist longer, with touch being among the last to go. The first sign that a lucid dream is about to end is usually a loss of color and realism in your visual imagery. The dream may lose visual detail and begin to take on a cartoon-like or washed-out appearance. You may find the light growing very dim, or your vision becoming progressively weaker.

2. Spin as soon as the dream begins to fade As soon as the visual imagery of your lucid dream begins to fade, quickly, before the feel of your dream body evaporates, stretch out your arms and spin like a top (with your dream body, of course). It doesn't matter whether you pirouette, or spin like a top, dervish, child, or bottle, as long as you vividly feel your dream body in motion. This is not the same as imagining you are spinning; for the technique to work, you must feel the vivid sensation of spinning.

3. While spinning, remind yourself that the next thing you see will probably be a dream Continue to spin, constantly reminding yourself that the next thing you see, touch or hear will very probably be a dream.

4. Test your state wherever you seem to arrive Continue spinning until you find yourself in a stable world. You will either still be dreaming or have awakened. Therefore, carefully and critically test which state you are in (see Chapter 3).

Commentary

If I think I have awakened, I always check the time on the digital clock beside my bed. This usually provides a foolproof reality test.

Frequently, the spinning procedure generates a new dream scene, which may represent the bedroom you are sleeping in, or some more unusual place. Sometimes the just-faded dream scene is regenerated in all its vivid glory.

By repeatedly reminding yourself that you're dreaming during the spinning transition, you can continue to be lucid in the new dream scene. Without this special effort of attention, you will usually mistake the new dream for an actual awakening--in spite of manifest absurdities of dream content!

A typical false awakening would occur if, while spinning, you felt your hands hit the bed and you thought: "Well, I must be awake, since my hand just hit the bed. I guess spinning didn't work this time." What you should think, of course, is "Since the spinning hand that hit the bed is a dream hand, it must have hit a dream bed. Therefore, I'm still dreaming!" Don't fail to critically check your state after using the Spinning Technique.

From: S. LaBerge & H. Rheingold, (1990). EXPLORING THE WORLD OF LUCID DREAMING. New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-37410-X

Getting Places In Dreams

On a more basic level, to get the most out of lucidity, you need to know how to get around in the dream world. For many lucid dream applications, you may wish or need to find a particular place, person, or situation. One way to achieve this is by willing yourself to dream about your topic of choice. This is often called "dream incubation." It is a timeless procedure used throughout history in cultures that consider dreams valuable sources of wisdom. In ancient Greece, people would visit dream temples to sleep and find answers or cures.

Dream temples are probably not necessary for dream incubation--although they certainly would have helped sleepers to focus their minds on their purpose. This is the key: make sure you have your problem or wish firmly in mind before sleep. To do this, it is helpful to arrive at a simple, single phrase describing the topic of your intended dream. Since for the purposes in this book, you are trying to induce lucid dreams, you need to add to your focus the intention to become lucid in the dream. Then you put all of your mental energy into conceiving of yourself in a lucid dream about the topic. Your intention should be the last thing you think of before falling asleep. The following exercise leads you through this process.

Exercise: Lucid Dream Incubation

1. Formulate your intention Before bed, come up with a single phrase or question encapsulating the topic you wish to dream about: "I want to visit San Francisco." Write the phrase down, and perhaps draw a picture illustrating the question. Memorize the phrase and the picture (if you have one). If you have a specific action you wish to carry out in your desired dream ("I want to tell my friend I love her."), be sure to carefully formulate it now. Beneath your target phrase, write another saying, "When I dream of [the phrase], I will remember that I am dreaming."

2. Go to bed Without doing anything else, go immediately to bed and turn out the light.

3. Focus on your phrase and intention to become lucid Recall your phrase or the image you drew. Visualize yourself dreaming about the topic and becoming lucid in the dream. If there is something you want to try in the dream, also visualize doing it once you are lucid. Meditate on the phrase and your intention to become lucid in a dream about it until you fall asleep. Don't let any other thoughts come between thinking about your topic and falling asleep. If your thoughts stray, just return to thinking about your phrase and becoming lucid.

4. Pursue your intention in the lucid dream When in a lucid dream about your topic carry out your intention. Ask the question you wish to ask, seek ways to express yourself, try your new behavior, or explore your situation. Be sure to notice your feelings and be observant of all details of the dream.

5. When you have achieved your goal, remember to awaken and recall the dream. When you obtain a satisfying answer in the dream, use one of the methods suggested earlier in this chapter to awaken yourself. Immediately write down at least the part of the dream that includes your solution. Even if you don't think the lucid dream has answered your question, once it begins to fade, awaken yourself and write down the dream. You may find on reflection that your answer was hidden in the dream and you did not see it at the time.

Design Your Own Dreams

(Segments of an introduction statement:)

"Most people don't realize they've been dreaming until after they've awakened and the dream has come to an end. Some people, however, are conscious that they're dreaming. These people, called lucid dreamers, can literally direct the content of a dream..."

"Some people may succeed in having a lucid dream the first night they use the techniques; others ... may need to practice for several weeks before getting results."

Exercise One: Affirmation

A number of techniques facilitate lucid dreaming. One of the simplest is asking yourself many times during the day whether you are dreaming. Each time you ask the question, you should look for evidence proving you are not dreaming. The most reliable test: Read something, look away for a moment, and then read it again. If it reads the same way twice, it is unlikely that you are dreaming. After you have proved to yourself that you are not presently dreaming, visualize yourself doing whatever it is you'd like. Also, tell yourself that you want to recognize a nighttime dream the next time it occurs. The mechanism at work here is simple; it's much the same as picking up milk at the grocery store after reminding yourself to do so an hour before.

At night people usually realize they are dreaming when they experience unusual or bizarre occurrences. For instance, if you find yourself flying without visible means of support, you should realize that this happens only in dreams and that you must therefore be dreaming. If you awaken from a dream in the middle of the night, it is very helpful to return to the dream immediately, in your imagination. Now envision yourself recognizing the dream as such. Tell yourself, "The next time I am dreaming, I want to remember to recognize that I am dreaming." If your intention is strong and clear enough, you may find yourself in a lucid dream when you return to sleep.

Exercise Two: Dream Flying

Many lucid dreamers report dreams in which they fly unaided, much like Superman. Some lucid dreamers say that flying is a thrilling means of travel; others, that it has helped them return from one of the more harrowing dream experiences -- the endless fall. Flying is so important because it's a form of dream control that's fairly easy to master. It gives the dreamer an exhilarating sense of freedom. And it's a basic means of travel in the dream world. During the 2-week period of your experiment, try to focus on dream flight. If you're falling, turn that fall into flight: Remember, there's no gravity in dreams. And if you're simply going from here to there, do it with flight. This simple activity will cue you in to the fact that you are, after all, in a dream.

How do you make dream flight happen at all? We suggest that before you retire for bed, you simply repeat these words: "Tonight I fly!" Then, while still awake, imagine that journey. If you find yourself flying, it will be a clear sign that you are in a dream. In any case, when you realize you're dreaming, remember that you want to fly. When you actually feel yourself flying, say, "This is a dream." Make sure you start modestly, by simply floating above the surface of your dream ground. As you gain confidence both in the notion that you are dreaming and in your ability to control that experience, you might experiment with flying a bit more. Run, taking big leaps, and then stay aloft for a few seconds, so that you resemble an astronaut walking on the moon. Try sustained floating and then flying at low altitudes.

As your confidence increases, so will your flying skills. While asleep, work on increasing your altitude, maneuverability, and speed. As with speed sports, you should perfect height and maneuverability before speed. Of course, you couldn't really hurt yourself -- it's only a dream. But you COULD get scared. After you have become proficient in dream flying, remember to ask yourself these questions: "How high can I fly? Can I view the earth from outer space? Can I travel so fast that I lose awareness of my surroundings and experience the sensation of pure speed?" Throughout your efforts in dream flight, remember that you're in a dream. With this in mind, your fear will be held at bay, and your control over the dream will be greatly enhanced.

Exercise Three: Dream Spinning

Even if you're a frequent lucid dreamer, you may not be able to stop yourself from waking up in mid-dream. And even if your dreams do reach a satisfying end, you may not be able to focus them exactly as you please. During our years of research, however, we have found that spinning your dream body can sustain the period of sleep and give you greater dream control. In fact, many subjects at Stanford University have used the spinning technique as an effective means of staying in a lucid dream. The task outlined below will help you use spinning as a means of staying asleep, and, more exciting, as a means of traveling to whatever dream world you desire.

As with dream flying, the dream spinning task starts before you go to bed. Before retiring, decide on a person, time, and place you would like to visit in your lucid dream. The target person and place can be either real or imaginary, past, present or future. Write down and memorize your target person and place, then visualize yourself visiting your target and firmly resolve to do so in a dream that night. When following this procedure, it's possible that you might find yourself visiting your target in a nonlucid dream; you will be aware that this has happened, of course, only after you awaken. Nevertheless, you should strive for lucidity by following the techniques outlined in exercise one. Then proceed to your goal.

To do so, repeat the phrase describing your target in your dream, and spin your whole dream body in a standing position with your arms outstretched. You can pirouette or spin like a top, as long as you vividly feel your body in motion. The same spinning technique will help when, in the middle of a lucid dream, you feel the dream imagery beginning to fade. To avoid waking up, spin as you repeat your target phrase again and again. With practice, you'll return to your target person, time and place. When spinning, try to notice whether you are moving in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

Exercise Four: Creative Dreaming

Up until now we have had little control over the occurrence of creative dreams. But with lucid dreaming it may be possible to intentionally access the creativity of the dream state. You can help determine the feasibility of this idea by attempting to solve a problem in a lucid dream. Before bed, decide on a problem you would like to solve. Frame your problem in the form of a question. For example, "What is the topic of my next book?" "How can I become less shy?" If you have an illness, you might consider the problem, "How can I regain my health?"

Once you have selected a problem question, write it down and memorize it. When doing the lucid-dreaming introduction exercises, remember your question and see yourself looking for the answer in your next lucid dream. Then, when in a lucid dream, ask the question and seek the solution. You might be most successful at problem solving if you try a direct approach. For instance, if your problem is health, try to heal yourself in your dream. Then reflect on how your dream solution relates to the waking problem. It may help to question other dream characters, especially if they represent people who you think might know the answer. You can even combine this task with the dream spinning and flying tasks, visiting an expert on your problem. You can also just explore your dream world with your question in mind, looking for any clues that might suggest an answer.

http://www.spiritonline.com/dreams/design.html

Keys to Remembering Dreams Attitude

In order to begin recalling your dreams accurately, you must go to sleep with the right outlook on dreaming. If you place too much importance in the physical activities of life and view the mindscape as inferior or a trivial part of your life, you are keeping yourself from remembering your dreams. You must consider the activity of dreaming to be a valuable occurrence and you must truly desire to recall and understand your dreams.

Willingness and Preparation

Dreams reveal answers to questions we have buried deep in our minds, they uncover parts of our consciousness, mind, and spirit that we never knew existed. They reveal things about ourselves that we never examined or even knew existed! Like anything else new and unusual, the personal revelations dreams often bring can be difficult for us to accept. It is for this reason some of us subconsciously choose to not only forget our dreams but erase them from memory. You must be willing and in anticipation of the truths dreams will show you.

Ask Yourself Questions

Before you take off for dream land, sit down and think up a question to ask yourself- a questions whose answer will be given to you through your dream. Consider it and ponder it for awhile... then write it down! You can even use an audio recorder to take down the dream, as long as you have it "saved". Place it by your bedside and when you awake, record the reply your dream has given you! Often this will be in the form of symbols instead of a straight verbal answer. When you awake from the dream, record what you already know. You can save the uncoding for when you get up in the morning if you need to sleep more, or for later when you are more clearheaded.

Sleeping Conditions

Your physical health, environment, and other factors will affect what you dream. Experiment with the basic variables of your physical sleeping space. Try sleeping in a different room, outside in a tent, even just in a different position on your bed. See how it affects your dreams, they might just be more memorable!

Drugs and excessive amounts of food can often distract your mind when you sleep and keep the focus on your physical self. Often these variables can have adverse affects on your dreams, so avoid anything that will alter you negatively before you sleep. If it bothers you when you are awake, it will bother you in your dreams, too!

The amount of time you sleep also decides what you will recall upon awakening. Try sleeping about 4 or 5 hours, and then awake and record your dream, and sleep for another hour or two. This can be difficult when you first begin it but once you adapt you will find that you dream recall turns out much more vividly!

Transition into Wakefulness

It is important that when you awaken from a dream, you make the transition as gentle and smooth as possible. If you are used to an alarm shocking you into awareness, try awakening to your internal alarm clock some morning. As you awake, it is imperative that you not move from the position you awoke in! Lie still and breath deeply, calmly, as you call back your dream. And whatever you remember should be recorded in a dream journal of some sort.

Keep in mind that dreams love attention... the more of it they get, the more vivid and fulfilling they will be. As you slowly recall bits of dreams you will see that day by day your dream recollection expands and improves

January

- To dream of this month, signifies financial gains, a mystery will be solved and beware of a false friend nearby.

February

- Usually associated with health problems and many worries. There is hope for beneficial events to come.

March

- To dream of the month of march portends disappointing returns in business and enemies could cause damages.

April

- It signifies that much pleasure and profit are in the horizon, but if the weather is miserable, it is a sign of distress.

May

- To dream of this month denotes prosperous times and pleasure for the young. Do not be discourage.

June

- Will have good earnings but must rely on own good judgment. Avoid rivals.

July

- To dream of July, foretells unusual gains in all undertakings. Use caution in your affairs.

August

- Overall a positive month . All will go well in life, will take a long trip, and will receive unexpected good news.

September

- To dream of September means good luck, changes for the better and desires and hopes will be accomplished.

October

- To see yourself in October means you are enjoying the fruits of hard work and will make lasting friendships.

November

- To dream of November, augers a time of happiness and success in all affairs.

December

- It is a month that foretells accumulation of wealth, but loss of friendship. Will be very fortunate in love affairs.

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