Before I begin, I admit to having some college level teaching on the subjects of psychology and the nature of dreams. But these were not my primary fields. And I do not claim any professional authority as a basis for this telling. Neither do I claim to be a professional authority on how to ride a tricycle. But I have had the ability to become cognitively aware within my dreams, as well as ride a tricycle, since I was a small child. This is a scenic tour of my dream cycle from the moment I close my eyes until I awaken. And not once will I drift off into slumber during this tour.
When I work intensely for prolonged periods of time, the constant ringing in my ears will gradually become so intense that I cannot hear anything other than the mental feedback of my own mind. This is when I know I need to take a break. The medical term for the intense ringing in the ears is called tinnitus and can also occur as a result of taking too much aspirin. But the same effect has occurred with me since my earliest childhood and has nothing to do with any physical condition or substance. The intense ringing is simply my call to sleep and download what I have experienced into my subconscious mind for processing.
Once I close my eyes, the swirling images I see on the back of my eyelids are not random or imaginary. I have seen each image at some point between the time I woke up and the time I closed my eyes. These images appear to swirl and float before my mind's eye. This effect is caused by the speed at which the subconscious portion of my mind processes the raw data. This is too rapid for my conscious mind to see clearly. Simply focusing on the blur of images will allow me to take a mental snapshot and view the data. I often recognize the snapshot as a pen or a stapler or my keys. This downloading of data is vital to our ability to understand our surroundings in the abstract. These abstract concepts must be processed and reinforced daily or we lose them. When we are no longer capable of processing our daily data, we see our keys but can not grasp their function. This is what it's like to suffer from Alzheimer's. Things we have known our entire lives are lost during the course of a day.
Once I understood the importance of the downloading/processing stage I stopped taking any sleep medication or substance that would induce sleep. Also I avoid going to bed mentally exhausted. The moment the mind loses consciousness and enters sleep the downloading stops and all data not yet processed is lost.
After the data is completely processed the mind will begin shutting down stimulus to the body. This prevents me from getting up and physically acting out my activities in my dreams. My ability to remain cognizant during this stage results in tingling that turns to a numbing sensation or feelings of strong vibrations. There is no metaphysical aspect to this state. My mind is simply preparing my body for sleep. When this is completed I am effectively in a state of full paralysis. I can panic, become claustrophobic or will myself awake and regain function of my body.
Once control of my body movement is shut down I enter what is known as REM sleep. I have read books stating one should focus on a point to maintain cognitive awareness. This is precisely what causes me to drift off. Distraction during this stage is a type of hypnosis that causes the mind to drift into deeper states of sleep. People become immersed in the scene playing out around them. It is the same effect caused by the pocket watch a psychiatrist dangles in front of them. Reaching the REM state while cognitively aware, and doing so repeatedly, is the only effective way to lucid dream at will. During REM sleep, the portion of the mind that is active while awake does not shut down. It simply takes a back seat to the portion that becomes active and dominant during sleep. Maintaining a cognitive awareness of my external physical surroundings is vital to the completion of my goal. My goal for this experiment is to remain fully aware until I reawaken the following morning.
While still adjusting to the REM state, I am never beyond the effect of the pocket watch. At any moment I can become mesmerized by some distraction and drift off. While in this state I am highly susceptible to suggestion. Again, where books tell me to focus, I find it more stabilizing to not focus on anything at all. I describe this like walking through a hallway of mirrors ignoring the images within them as I pass by. Practice makes perfect and repeatedly achieving REM sleep while maintaining cognitively aware will eventually ensure you remain aware for longer periods.
I can not use auto hypnotic suggestion to induce this state at will. I stated earlier I am highly susceptible to suggestion during REM sleep. This is not spoken suggestion. My now dominant subconscious does not recognize any written or spoken language. It does not discern colors or sounds. My subconscious responds only to emotion and desire. I can not verbally say I want to go somewhere. I must desire to be there. During a traditional dream all of these are superimposed on top of the dream memory by my conscious mind upon awakening. As stated earlier, remaining aware of my actual physical surroundings centers my conscious mind which is now in the back seat. It will fill in my dream environment with colors, sounds and translate the desires and emotions of my subconscious into spoken words and text as needed.
Everyone we encounter in life will elicit a unique emotional response in us. To recall the memory of people and interact with them, I must remember this unique emotion associated with them. This is not the spirit of the actual person but a dream representation of them. I have not ever considered myself outside my physical body or actually visiting a distant location. I have wandered around my immediate surroundings which appeared no different from the way they actually are. But again, I would not convey I was actually interacting beyond the scope of my own mind's recreation of the environment. Perhaps this is possible, but I personally could not say definitively.
I go to sleep twice when I lie down. After I have secured myself cognitively within the dream state, I have no worry of slipping deeper. If I remain cognitively aware in my dream state I will awaken at some point unable to return to sleep. I will not be rested and the ringing in my ears will remain. While still completely lucid in my dream state I must curl up and drift off to achieve a restful sleep.
I have always taken great care to avoid superimposing any supernatural or metaphysical connotation to my dreams. In almost every respect I have been able to discern the nature and purpose of every step of the process. I have performed many unscientific experiments that have posed more questions than answers.
I have closed my eyes and torn a random page from a magazine, folded it and placed it on my table. I have unfolded the page in my dream and then wrote down what I remember seeing after I woke up. The image was easy enough to jot down. It was a face profile of some sort. The words were not so easy. As I said before, spoken or written language is not our subconscious strong point. I could make out the bold print near the top and two rows of text. There was a gold star marking the end of the article. I opened the magazine page and it was essentially the same. The actor's facial profile grinned at the camera and the article told of his recent Hollywood activities. There was a yellow star at the end of the text.
For this reason I question the accuracy of any dream that I must recall a dialog or reading of dream text. If my higher power visited me in a dream I would convey to the masses that he has sent me to raise the dead. When in the dream he warned me I was getting low on bread. I would make a poor excuse for a prophet. I would not advise anyone to place any faith in my lottery picks either.
My tentative experiments have either been inconclusive or very surprising in their accuracy. But I still cannot discern any real world usefulness for these odd abilities while dreaming. I can sense trouble around another person over any distance but I must share a strong emotional connection to that person.
I hope you enjoyed the tour through my dream and hope this article helps you in your own dreaming endeavors.
Previously Posted on FullofKnowlege.com
No comments:
Post a Comment