You may already be familiar with the concept of lucid dreaming, a dream in which you are able to recognize you are dreaming and then control your dream, but did you know that lucid dreaming can be a shamanic healing method?
When you are aware that you are dreaming and you can control the dream, you can create dreams that help you.
I have been studying dreams since I first realized I was capable of out of body experiences (a topic for another time) and lucid dreaming – when I was about 14. Every time I woke up I would grab my favorite Dream Dictionary and look up everything I could remember. Eventually, I started journaling my dreams, often spending 30-40 minutes and writing 7-10 pages of details which I would later look up.
In my longest lucid dream, I first recognized I was dreaming when I heard myself say “When I wake up, I’ll have to look that up in the dream dictionary.” My practice of always looking up meanings had transferred over into my dream and I was then able to recognize I was dreaming! I spent the rest of my time noting everything in the dream for my journaling later.
The dream ultimately was a “tour” of a Victorian house, where each room represented an aspect of my life which needed attention. I was able to honor those parts of myself that were feeling neglected, a great healing for me.
Once you have recognized that you are dreaming, another tip that has helped me control my dreaming is to focus on my hands, then arms, body, legs, etc. until I was aware of every part of myself within the dream. It may seem easy but it can be tricky, and may take some practice.
Eventually I had a lucid dream where I was standing on my Dad’s apartment balcony instructing myself to step on the edge and then I flew off like a bird! It was exhilarating to control a dream like that, but it was also extremely exhausting. I used a fair amount of mental energy controlling my arms and legs and then directing myself to fly. But if I can do it, so can you!
If you’d like to learn more about Lucid Dreaming, World of Lucid Dreaming is a great resource.
I just watched a movie about lucid dreaming last night! It's called "The Good Night." The film wasn't very good (actually, quite boring) but the topic is interesting for sure.
ReplyDeleteI have found lucid dreaming totally fascinating since I was 14! Too bad the movie was no good. Have you read Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self by Robert Waggoner? I heard that was THE BOOK to read on the topic. I havent read it though, but its on my amazon list.
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