Steve-Roberts-Zhine-Tibetan-Dream-Yoga-CD - 2.pdf

7/29/2019 Steve-Roberts-Zhine-Tibetan-Dream-Yoga-CD - 2.pdf

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In the Name of Allah

EdiTEd AND CONVERTED INTO PDF VERSION BY RIGHT.

SOURCE: www.plotinus.com


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TI BETAN DREAM YOGA - CALM ABI DI NG " ZHI N"

Par t 1

Concen t ra t i on on the T ibetan l e t t e r " A "

Concentration on the letter A

An interesting way of unfolding the mysteries of the inner process is through dream yoga. Asuccessful seeker in dream-work must be stable enough in presence to avoid being sweptaway by the winds of karmic emotions and lost in the dream. As the mind steadies, dreamsbecome longer, less fragmented, and more easily remembered, and lucidity is developed..Waking life is equally enhanced as we find that we are increasingly protected from being

carried away by the habitual emotional reactions that draw us into distraction andunhappiness. Dream -work can instead develop the positive traits that lead to happiness

and support the seeker in the spiritual journey.

All yogic and spiritual disciplines include some form of practice that develops concentrationand quiets the mind. In the Tibetan tradition this practice is called calm abiding (zhine). Werecognize three stages in the development of stability: force fu l zh ine, na tu r a l zh ine, andu l t i m a te zh i n e. Zhine begins with mental fixation on an object and, when concentration isstrong enough, moves on to fixation without an object. (Same principle as working with the

Perfect Model presented to you on this website).

Begin the practice by sitting comfortably on a chair or in the five-pointed meditationposture: the legs crossed, the hands folded in the lap in meditation position with palms upand placed one on top of the other, the spine straight but not rigid, the head tilted down

slightly to straighten the neck, and the eyes open. The eyes should be relaxed, not too wideopen and not too closed. The object of concentration should be placed so that the eyes can


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look straight ahead, neither up nor down. During the practice try not to move, not even toswallow or blink, while keeping the mind one pointedly on the ob jec t . Even if tears should

stream down your face, do not move. Let the breathing be natural.

Generally, for practice with an object, Zhine practitioners use the Tibetan letter A as theobject of concentration. This letter has many symbolic meanings but here is used simply asa support for the development of focus. Other objects may also be used the letter A of

the English alphabet, an image of your Perfect Model, or any other sacred Image , thesound of a mantra, the breath almost anything. However, it is good to use something

connected to the sacred, as it serves to inspire you. Also, try to use the same object eachtime you practice, rather than switching between objects, because the continuity acts as asupport of the practice. It is also somewhat preferable to f ocus on a phys ica l ob jec t t ha t

i s ou ts ide the body , as the purpose is to develop stability during the perception ofexternal objects and, eventually, of the objects in dream.

. Concen t ra t i on on the T ibe tan l et t e r " A "

If you wish to use the Tibetan "A" you can write it on a piece of paper about an inch

square. Traditionally, the letter is white and is enclosed in five concentric colored circles:

the center circle that is the direct background for the "A" is indigo; around it is a blue

circle, then green, red, yellow, and white ones. Tape the paper to a stick that is just long

enough to support the paper at eye level when you sit for practice, and make a base that

holds it upright. Place it so that the "A" is about a foot and a half in front of your eyes.


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The Tibetan Letter " A"

Many signs of progress can arise during the practice. As concentration strengthens and the

periods of practice are extended, strange sensations arise in the body and many strange

visual phenomena appear. You may find your mind doing strange things, too! That is allright. These experiences are a natural part of the development of concentration; they arise

as the mind settles, so be neither disturbed by nor excited about them.

FORCEFUL ZHINE

The first stage of practice is called "forceful" because it requires effort. The mind is easily

and quickly distracted, and it may seem impossible to remain focused on the object for

even a minute. In the beginning, it is helpful to practice in numerous short sessions

alternating with breaks. Do not let the mind wander during the break, but instead recite a

mantra, or work with visualization, or work with another practice you may know, such as

the development of compassion. After the break, return to the fixation practice. If you are

ready to practice but do not have the particular object you have been using, visualize a ball

of light on your forehead and center yourself there. The practice should be done once or

twice a day, and can be done more frequently if you have the time. Developing

concentration is like strengthening the muscles of the body: exercise must be done

regularly and frequently. To become stronger keep pushing against your limits.

Keep the mind on the object. Do not follow the thoughts of the past or the future. Do not

allow the attention to be carried away by fantasy, sound, physical sensation, or any other

distraction. Just remain in the sensuality of the present moment, and with your whole

strength and clarity focus the mind through the eye, on the object. Do not lose the

awareness of the object even for a second. Breathe gently, and then more gently, until the

sense of breathing is lost. Slowly allow yourself to enter more deeply into quiet and calm.

Make certain that the body is kept relaxed; do not tense up in concentration. Neither should

you allow yourself to fall into a stupor, a dullness, or a trance.


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Do not think about the object, just let it be in awareness. This is an important distinction to

make. Thinking about the object is not the kind of concentration we are developing. The

point is just to keep the mind placed on the object, on the sense perception of the object,

to undistractedly remain aware of the presence of the object. When the mind does get

distracted and it often will in the beginning, gently bring it back to the object and leave it

there.

NATURAL ZHINE

As stability is developed, the second stage of practice is entered: natural zhine. In the first

stage, concentration is developed by continually directing the attention to the object and

developing control over the unruly mind. In the second stage, the mind is absorbed in

contemplation of the object and there is no longer the need for force to hold it still. A

relaxed and pleasant tranquility is established, in which the mind is quiet and thoughts

arise without distracting the mind from the object. The elements of the body become

harmonized and the prana moves evenly and gently throughout the body. This is an

appropriate time to move to fixation without an object.

Abandoning the physical object, simply fix the focus on space. It is helpful to gaze into

expansive space, like the sky, but the practice can be done even in a small room by fixing

on the space between your body and the wall. Remain steady and calm. Leave the body


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relaxed.

Rather than focusing on an imagined point in space, allow the mind, while remaining in

strong presence, to be diffuse. We call this "dissolving the mind" in space, or "merging the

mind with space." It will lead to stable tranquility and the third stage of zhine practice.

ULTIMATE ZHINE

Whereas in the second stage there is still some heaviness involved in the absorption in the

object, the third stage is characterized by a mind that is tranquil but light, relaxed, and

pliable. Thoughts arise and dissolve spontaneously and without effort. The mind is

integrated fully with its own movement.

In the Dzogchen tradition, this is traditionally when the master introduces the student to

the natural state of mind. Because the student has developed zhine, the master can pointto what the student has already experienced rather than describing a new state that mustbe attained. The explanation, which is known as the "pointing out" instruction, is meant to

lead the student to recognize what is already there, to discriminate the moving mind inthought and concept from the nature of mind, which is pure, non-dual awareness. This is

the ultimate stage of zhine practice, abiding in non-dual presence, rigpa (awareness) itself.

OBSTACLES

In developing the zhine practice, there are three obstacles that must be overcome:

agitation, drowsiness, and laxity.


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Ag i ta t i onAgitation causes the mind to jump restlessly from one thought to another and makesconcentration difficult. To prevent this, calm yourself before the practice session by

avoiding too much physical or mental activity. Slow stretches may help to relax the body

and quiet the mind. Once you are sitting, take a few deep, slow breaths. Make it a practiceto focus the mind immediately when you start the practice to avoid developing the habit of

mentally wandering while sitting in meditation posture.

Drows inessThe second obstacle is drowsiness or sleepiness, which moves into the mind like a fog, a

heaviness and torpor that blunts awareness. When it does this, try to strengthen the mind'sfocus on the object in order to penetrate the drowsiness. You may find that drowsiness is

actually a kind of movement of the mind that you can stop with strong concentration. If thisdoes not work, take a break, stretch, and perhaps do some practice while standing.

Lax i t yThe third obstacle is laxity. When encountering this obstacle you may feel that your mind iscalm, but in a passive, weak mental state in which the concentration has no strength. It isimportant to recognize this state for what it is. It can be a pleasant and relaxed experience

and, if mistaken for correct meditation, may cause the practitioner to spend yearsmistakenly cultivating it, with no discernable change in the quality of consciousness. If yourfocus loses strength and your practice becomes lax, straighten your posture and wake upyour mind. Reinforce the attention and guard the stability of presence. Regard the practiceas something precious, which it is, and as something that will lead to the attainment of the

highest realization, which it will. Strengthen the intention and automatically thewakefulness of the mind is strengthened.

Zhine practice should be done every day until the mind is quiet and stable. It is not only apreliminary practice, but is helpful at any point in the practitioner's life; even veryadvanced yogis practice zhine. The stability of mind developed through zhine is the

foundation of dream yoga and all other meditation practices. Once we have achieved astrong and reliable steadiness in calm presence, we can develop this steadiness in all

aspects of life. When stable, this presence can always be found, and we will not be carriedaway by thoughts and emotions. Then, even though karmic traces continue to produce

dream images after falling asleep, we remain in awareness. This opens the door to thefurther practices of both dream and sleep yogas.

Note: The extr acts contained here are for personal use only, and m ay not be reproduced for

commercial distribution.)

(These are excerpts from two different Dzogchen Dream Yoga books - "Dream Yoga and the

Practice of Natural light" by Namkhai Norbu and "The Tibetan yogas of dream and Sleep" by

Tenzin Wangyal Rimpoche)


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. A

TI BETAN D REAM YOGA

Part : 2

How dreams can help - Cultivating our innate ability to wake up within the dream can -Awakening within a dream - The six yogas of Tibet - Spiritual benefit of Tibetan dream yoga -Dreaming - The practice of Tibetan dream yoga - Daytime practice - Mirror practice - Partnerexercise - Wake-up practice - Night time practice - Deepening your practice - The life longpractice of Tibetan dream yoga

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama said: "Tibetan Buddhism considers

sleep to be a form of nourishment, like food, that restores and refreshes thebody. Another type of nourishment is samadhi, or meditative concentration. If

one becomes advanced enough in the practice of meditative concentration,

then this itself sustains or nourishes the body."

Dreams are a significant part of our life. They are as real and unreal as life

itself. Dreams are extremely personal - and transpersonal, too. Our dreams are

a reflection of ourselves: in dreams, no matter how many characters appear,

we meet ourselves. Dreams are mirrors to our soul. They can help us to better

understand ourselves, our world, and the nature of reality. Dreams introduce

us to other dimensions of experience. Here, time and space are much more

liquid and plastic; they can be shaped and reshaped almost at will. Dreams hint

of other worlds, other lives. They are a glimpse of our afterlife. Everyone

dreams, although not all dreams are remembered equally. Fifty-six percent of

Americans have had a lucid dream - that is, a dream in which one is aware thatone is dreaming. Twenty-one percent say they have a lucid dream once a


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month or more. Meditators report vividly clear, self-aware dreams weekly and

even more often.

How Dream s Can He lp UsGreat healers have long recognized the power of dreams to inform and support

us. Hippocrates said, Dreams are one of the most important ways to diagnosea patients illness." Sigmund Freud's turn-of-the-century work. The

I nterpretation of Dreams, marked the beginning of the era of modern

psychology and psychoanalysis. Certain dreams can convey subconscious,

valuable information to the dreamer. A week before the event, Abraham

Lincoln dreamed that he would be assassinated. The emperor Constantine

dreamed of radiant Greek letters spelling the name of Christ and was

converted, leading to the dramatic conversion of the entire Byzantine Empire.

I, myself, have received messages, teachings, and blessings through my

dreams from the spiritual masters I have known and loved in this lifetime.

Some contemporary psychologists consider lucid dreaming a valuable practice

for personal growth. This model is, however, different from Tibetan dream

yoga. The spiritual practice goes deeper, helping us work with the great

passages of life and death. Tibetan dream yoga teaches us how to navigate the

groundlessness of moment-to-moment existence, which typically makes no

intellectual sense. It is at this level that we cut through the illusory nature of

mind and truly experience our marvelous human existence.

Cu l t i v a t i n g o u r i n n a t e ab i l it y t o w a k e u p w i t h i n t h e d r e a m c an :

Increase clarity and lucidity, both waking and sleeping

Help us realize the transparent, dream-like nature of experience

Free the mind

Release energy blockages and accumulated tension and stress

Loosen habits and make us more open, attuned, and flexible

Unleash and mobilize creativity

Bring repressions and denials into consciousness

Clarify and dispel confusion

Solve problems Reveal the process of death and rebirth

Heal and relax us

Expose fantasies

Unlock aspirations and potentials

Facilitate direct encounters with our shadow nature

Provide spiritual blessings, visions, and guidance

Help open our innate psychic capacities

Remove hindrances and obstacles

Help prepare (rehearse) us for death and the afterlife


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A w a k e n in g w i t h i n t h e d r e amThe seminal Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu dreamed he was a butterfly.

Upon awakening, he wondered whether he was a man who had dreamed he

was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was a man. Chuang Tzu's musings

underscore a fundamental truth: life is like a dream.

Spiritual life is about awakening from the dream of unreality. The word Buddha

itself is from the word bodhi, "awakeful." Buddhist wisdom and practice help us

to awaken to who and what we truly are, and to recognize the difference

between the real and the unreal in our daily life. All of our spiritual practices

are designed to awaken us from the daydream of illusion and confusion, where

we are like sleepwalkers, semiconsciously muddling our way through life.

Self-knowledge through spiritual awakening helps us become masters of

circumstances and conditions, rather than victims. This is why the Armenian

spiritual master George Gurdjieff said: "Contemporary man is born asleep, lives

asleep, and dies asleep. And what knowledge could a sleeping man have? If

you think about it and at the same time remember that sleep is the chief

feature of our being, you will soon understand that if man wishes to obtain

knowledge, he should first of all think about how to awaken himself, that is

about how to change his being."

South American shamans call this awakening from the dream of life"shapeshifting": entering into a spiritual journey with the explicit

purpose of transformation. Shapeshifting and other forms of consciousdream-work can, through regular practice, help us experience otherrealms of existence, visit our dear departed, and achieve spiritual

mastery.

Australian aborigines say we all live in the dreamtime: we are like dream

characters, living out our lives beyond the illusion of being born and dying.

Tibetan masters call this dreamtime the bardo, or intermediate stage. Bardosexist between the ending of one state and the beginning of another, such as

birth and death - or death and rebirth. Dreaming, too, is a bardo, marking the

seemingly unstructured zone between waking and sleeping.

Tibetan Buddhism is unique among Buddhist schools in teaching us how to

awaken within the dream and how to practice spiritually while sleeping. This is

the essence of Tibetan dream yoga, and the focus of all the practices

associated with it. The Yoga of the Dream State, an ancient Tibetan manual on

the practice of dream yoga and lucid dreaming teaches that we can learn five


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spiritually significant wisdom lessons through assiduously practicing this path of

awakening:

Dreams can be altered through will and attention

Dreams are unstable, impermanent, and unreal much like fantasies,magical illusions, mirages, and hallucinations

Daily perceptions in the everyday waking state are also unreal

All life is here today and gone tomorrow, like a dream; there is nothing to

hold on to

Conscious dreamwork can lead us to the realization of wholeness, perfect

balance, and unity.

For centuries, Tibetan masters have taught their students how to usedreamtime and dream space to further spiritual progress by increasing

awareness during the dream state. Tibetan Dream Yogabrings you these same

techniques for realizing the five wisdom lessons and reaping the benefits of

awakening within the dream.

The Six Yogas o f T ibet Tibetan dream yoga is one of the renowned Six Yogas of Tibet, an ancient

Buddhist teaching that originates with the enlightened yogic adepts (siddhas) -

of ancient India. These yogas (or practices), utilized for a millennium by all four

schools of Tibetan Buddhism, help us to utilize the body/mind/spirit as avehicle for awakening and enlightenment by day, by night, and in the

afterlife (bardo).

The Six Yogas are: Inner heat (mystic incandescence) yoga

Illusory body yoga

Dream yoga

Clear light yoga

Bardo yoga

Conscious transformation yoga

The Six Yogas tradition was first brought to Tibet thirteen hundred years ago

by the Indian tantric master Padmasambhava, founder of the Ancient School

(Nyingmapa) of Tibetan Buddhism. Padmasambhava himself received the

teachings he codified as The Yoga of the Dream State from a mysterious yogi

named Lawapa. In ensuing centuries, as Buddhism grew and flourished in

Tibet, Marpa the Translator and other Tibetan sages made the grueling journey

on foot to India to study from yogic masters, then brought the teaching back

with them.

Through practicing the Six Yogas, we come to realize the infinite

emptiness/openness, ungraspable quality, and luminosity that is the true


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nature of reality. Dream interpretation, the use of dreams for predictions and

healing, and the development of psychic powers and healing abilities can arise

naturally from the continuous practice of dream yoga and the related yogas

(especially clear light, inner heat, and illusory body).

The Sp i r i t ua l Benef i ts o f T ibe tan Dream Yoga

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has this to say about awakeningour dream body and using it for spiritual progress and development:

"There is said to be a relationship between dreaming, on the one hand,and the gross and subdue levels of the body on the other. But it is also

said that there is a 'special dream state.' In that state, the special dreambody is created from the mind and from vital energy (prana) within the

body. This special dream body is able to dissociate entirely form the

gross physical body and travel elsewhere."

One way of developing this special dream body is first of all to recognizea dream as a dream when it occurs. Then you find that the dream is

malleable, and you make efforts to gain control over it. Gradually youbecome very skilled in this, increasing your ability to control the

contents of the dream so that it accords to your own desires. Eventuallyit is possible to dissociate your dream body from your gross physical

body. In contrast, in the normal dream state, dreaming occurs within thebody. But as a result of specific training, the dream body can go

elsewhere. This first technique is accomplished entirely by the power ofdesire or aspiration.

There is another technique that arrives at the same end by means ofprana yoga. These are meditative practices that utilize the subtle, vital

energies in the body. For these techniques it is also necessary torecognize the sleep state as it occurs.

According to sleep researchers, we typically experience four stages of sleep.

Hypn agog ic s leep - the state of drowsiness we experience as webegin falling asleep Ord inar y s leep- here, we enter a true sleeping state, but can still beeasily awakened

.Deeper s leep - vital functions slow down, and we are more likely to


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sleep through disturbances Deep s leep - muscles are totally relaxed, and it would be difficult towake us up (we only spend about fifteen percent of our sleeping hours atthis stage)

It takes about an hour to cycle through all four stages; then we go backin reverse order to stage 1. Before beginning the cycle again, however,we experience rapid eye movements (REM) under our closed lids.Research shows that this is when we dream. We spend twenty totwenty-five percent of our sleep time in this state. In order to practicedream yoga, we must introduce awareness during the periods of REMsleep (which last from a few minutes to half an hour). If we can identifythat stage while asleep -perhaps with the help of an assistant or adream-light device - we can further incubate, develop, and enhance the

awareness practice of becoming conscious and lucid within the dreamstate.

D re a m i n g Tibetan dream yoga texts teach us that, in general, there are threetypes of dreams: Ordinary, karmic dreams, arising mostly from the day'sactivities, and from previous life activities, thoughts, experiences, andcontacts.

"Clear light" dreams: spiritual visions, blessings, and energy openings

Lucid dreams, which are characterized by awareness that one is dreaming

Under t hese thr ee broad divisions, dreams can be divided into a fu rt her six

categories:

Dreams of events that occurred while we were still awake

Dreams about other people, alive or dead

Forgotten elements emerging from the subconscious

Archetypal content, evocative symbols, and so on

Extrasensory perceptions, profound dreams, and omens Radiant, luminous, spiritual dreams

Recurrent dreams, nightmares, dreams of death, and other kinds of commonly

reported dreams all fall within the first four dream categories. In the interests

of developing deeper awareness of your dreams, you may find it helpful to

identify the category that applies whenever you recall a particular dream.

The Prac t i ces o f T ibe tan Dr eam Yoga

It is important to create a spiritual context for the practice of Tibetan dreamyoga. Lucid dreaming can easily be misused to perpetuate the problems we


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experience in our waking lives. For example, one might direct one's dream

toward a gratifying encounter or a vengeful fantasy. You will find that the

techniques on Tibetan Dream Yogasomehow don't work as well when used for

such purposes.

Tibetan dream yoga practice compr ises thr ee parts:

Daytime practice, designed to help us recognize the dreamlike nature of all

existence and thereby prepare us to experience our dreams as vividly as we do

our waking activities

Morning wake-up practices that help us recall our dreams, and confirm our

determination to recall more of them

. Night time practice, which prepares the ground for lucid dreaming andspiritual

Dayt im e Prac t i ce :

During the day, practice these four points: Contemplating the body as illusory and unreal

Contemplating the mind and mental activities as similarly insubstantial

Regarding the world and all phenomena and experience as dreamlike,

insubstantial, impermanent, and unreal

Recognizing the relativity and ungraspable quality such as time, space,

knowledge, and awareness

Reminding ourselves of these four truths throughout our waking hours helps to

dissolve the barrier between the dream of life and the sleeping dream. As we

become more adept at these practices, we begin to regard our nighttime

dreams as continuations of our waking dream and we learn how to bring

habitual awareness to both.

Mi r ro r Prac t i ce

The following mirror practice is an effective way of perceiving the dreamlikenature of reality, and especially of self. From time to time during the day,

take a few minutes to do it.

1 Stand in front of a mirror and look into your own eyes.

2. Hold up a hand mirror behind your right or left ear and look at its reflection

in the larger mirror. Keep angling the hand mirror so as to fragment and

multiply your image as much as possible. Let your mind fragment along with

the image.


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3. After a few minutes, angle the hand mirror back until you return to the

original, single image in the mirror in front of you.

The analogy of a mirror image is, like dreams, traditionally used to describe the

insubstantial nature of our everyday experience. The mirror practice helps

bring that teaching to life. The fragmented image is the kind we might see in a

dream; yet we are seeing it while we're fully awake or are we?

Allowing your mind to "fall apart" also helps ventilate the solidity we typically

attribute to our world, and especially to our "self."

Par t ner Exer c ise

Here is a traditional dream yoga practice you can do with a partner. This is an

immensely useful technique, not only for challenging the distinction between

sleeping dreams and the dream of being awake, but also for applying your

training to practical, everyday situations.

1 - Insult, blame, and criticize your partner. Your partner should listen toall of this as echoes; empty sounds.

2 Trade places. Now have your partner disparage you, while youpractice just hearing the sounds and not taking the words to heart

3 Try doing this same exercise using praise and flattery instead of

blame. In either case, the listening partner should practice not reactingin any way, recognizing what is being said as a dream. At first, you mayfind it difficult to maintain equanimity while you do this practice. Stay

with it you will find that doing so yields rich rewards over time.

Wake-u p P rac t i ce

The moments immediately after waking are the most fertile for recalling

dreams. The following practices are designed to support and strengthen your

recall. They will also facilitate a mindful transition between the sleeping andwaking dream states. Upon waking in the morning, practice:


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The lion's out-breath - breathing out with the sound "ah "

The lion-like posture for awakening and purifying - sitting up in bed with

raised head and gazing and emphasizing the exhalation, repeating the "ah" out

breath three times

Raising the energy - standing up, reaching the fingertips to the sky, and

repeating the lion's out-breath

Entering into mindful reflection on the transition between the states of

sleeping, dreaming, and waking reality - coming into the present moment,

recording dreams. Thus, you will enter the day recognizing that all things are

like a dream, illusion, fantasy, mirage, and so forth.

Nigh t t im e Prac t i ce

After going to bed, practice these four points in order to create the conditions

for mindful, lucid dreaming.

Chant the following prayer three times to remind you of and strengthen your

resolve to awaken within the dream, for the benefit of the ultimate awakening

of all beings: May I awaken within this dream and grasp the fact that I am

dreaming, so that all dreamlike beings may likewise awaken from the

nightmare of illusory suffering and confusion.

Lie on one side with your legs together and knees slightly bent. Let your

bent arm take the weight of your torso by resting your head on your open

hand. This is the posture of the sleeping Buddha, as he has been traditionally

depicted at the moment of passing into nirvana(death).

Bringing your attention to your throat chakra, visualize your energy rising up

out of your body. Feel it rise up from your heart chakra with your breath and

pass into your "third eye" or brow chakra: the point between your eyebrows.

Visualize it as a full, luminous moon behind your eyes. Go into the light.


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Visualize the letter "A" (symbolizing infinite space) on the surface of themoon.

Notice whatever images begin to appear on the sphere of light behind your

eyes.

Deepen ing Your Prac t i ce

To progress still fur ther in Tibetan dream y oga,

Pay careful attention to your dreams

Record your dreams in a dream journal upon waking each morning

Recognize recurrent images, themes, associations, and patterns

Contemplate the archetypal, symbolic content and meanings of your dreams

Reflect on the similarities and differences between night dreams, daydreams,

fantasies, visions, ideas, projections, and so on

Wake yourself up during the night to reaffirm your resolve to awaken within

the dream and grasp the fact that you are dreaming

Sit up in meditation posture while sleeping to maintain continuous awareness

while inducing and incubating lucid dreaming

Have a dream assistant at hand to guide you while asleep, helping you learn

to retain conscious presence during dreams

Meditate alone in darkness to develop the inner clarity of the Clear Light Mind

- the mind unaffected by illusion

During the day, maintain awareness that everything you experience is like a

dream

Chant the dream yoga prayer by day and by night to help reinforce your

intention to awaken within the dream. (if you want, or change the wordings)

A


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THE LI FELONG PRACTI CE OF TI BETAN DREAM YOGA

Like any spiritual practice, Tibetan dream yoga will reveal more substantial

benefits the longer and more consistently you practice it. In the Buddhist

tradition, however, discipline alone is not enough to bring your practice fully

alive. Motivation the reason you practice in the first place - is considered as

crucial as technique and commitment.

You will have noticed that the Tibetan dream yoga chant includes an aspiration

to help free all beings of their suffering. This intention lies at the root of all

Buddhist practice. The underlying teaching is that all living beings are

interconnected: none of us can be completely free so long as any of us is still

asleep.

As you practice Tibetan dream yoga, recognize that the suffering you seek to

alleviate through spiritual practice is, in fact, universal. Recognize, too, that the

more awake you are, the more helpful you can be to those you care about in

fact, to, to everyone you come into contact with. Practice with the intention of

working with your own individual part of the whole, in order to bring all of

human awareness to a new level. In this way, you will derive the greatest

possible benefits from your dream yoga practice.

Som e say ings abou t d reams :

Dreams are a reservoir of knowledge and experience, yet they are often

overlooked as a vehicle for exploring r eality - Tar th ang Tu lku Yoga Prac t i ce

All that we see is but a dream within a dream-Edgar Al len Poe

"A dream not interpreted is like a letter not read"-The Ta lmu d

Dreams are real as long as they last. Can we say more of life? Henry Havelock El l i s

You beings on earth who are deep in slumber Stop sleeping! Wake up! What

are you waiting for?-The Zohar

There are some who are awake even while asleep, and then t here are those

who, apparent ly awake, are deeply asleep Lal la

Do not sleep like an animal that mixes sleep and reality - Tibe tan

i ns t ruc t i on fo r d r eam yoga p rac t i ce

Let sleep itself be an exercise in piety, for such as our life and conduct have

been so also of necessity will be our dreams Saint Basi l


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. A Note: The extr acts contained here are for personal use only, and may

not be reproduced for com mercial distr ibution.)

(These are excerpts fr om th ree different Dzogchen Dream Yoga books

Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural light by Namkhai Norbu - The Tibetan

Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rimpoche - Sleeping, Dreaming,

and Dying by the Dalai Lama )

GuidelinetoDreamInterpretationHow do you relate to dreams? A framework for dreams

Pain t ing by Bob Venosa

All dreams work to accomplish one of two th ings

1 To solve the problems of your conscious, waking life.

2 To present you with access to new potentials and creativity. Becausedreams come from all levels of your being, understanding the imageryand type of dream is the key to understanding and actualizing themessages you receive during sleep.

3 Symbols express those things for which we have no words. By workingwith them, we use both hemispheres of the brain and tap thesubconscious mind more fully, which in turn opens the doors to ourintuitive self

A dream symbol could literally represent itself as well as its possibleinterpretations. The images and symbols may also represent aspects ofyour personality. When you begin to reflect on the symbols, always start


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by registering your first impressions but dont stop with the obvious.Dreams are symbolic representations, not reproductions. The dreamimages always represent more than themselves, and so the more youwork with them, the more you will understand them.

Dreams do not come to tell you what you already know. Look at thedream images and symbols as pieces of a puzzle that you can puttogether only by finding out what they mean to you.

H o w d o y o u re l at e t o t h e d re am ?

1 Start by looking at how the dream could be reflecting something goingon in your daily life.

2 Then move on to the more subtle, free association with the dream

images.

3 Whats the first thing you would normally think about in connection tothat symbol or image, activity or person appearing in your dreamscenario?

4 doing more than representing themselves. They may also representqualities or characteristics that you have "projected" on them. Forexample, you may dream of your grandfather, a man who was very kindto you. The quality of kindness is therefore associated with your

grandfather, so dreaming of him could symbolize kindness. (You willknow the difference between a symbolic representation of a quality orcharacteristic and a real "psychic" contact with a loved one.)

5 Examine the emotions within the dream scenario. What is thepredominant emotion associated with the dream? Remember that it maybe the emotion aroused that is the key and the scenario is simply avehicle to deliver the message.

6 When you wake up, does a particular feeling remain? For example, areyou frightened, frustrated, happy, excited?

Dreams often exaggerate emotions, qualities and situations to get aparticular message across to you. This does not mean that you have thatquality or will experience that situation to the intensity you experiencedwithin the dream. When this occurs, you are often being given a strongthump on the head to pay attention! This is what nightmares do. Theyare dynamic calls for your attention. They show you your greatest fears,fears that must be confronted.

Dreams often come in a series. Various dreams in a single or successive

nights may be different ways of saying the same thing. The subconsciousmind may be communicating the same message to you in different ways


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to make sure that you get it. Look for relationships and symbols thatreoccur and notice the similarities. Ask yourself what they have incommon.

Proper dream interpretation leads towards greater understanding of

yourself, but do not lose touch with your common sense in dream work.On the surface, dreams may seem to predict futures events or alarmingsituations, but do not jump to conclusions. With practice, you will be ableto discern if a dream is precognitive (reflecting future events) or not.

Dreams use symbols to make you develop and understand your personalsymbolic language. This language comes directly from your soul anduses symbols and images from impersonal archetypes and from personalexperience to make a strong or subtle impact on your psyche. Thissymbolic language is unique, given just to you, in the hope that it will

make you conscious of your real needs and problems. This language ofthe soul also helps you to unfold your creativity and activates thespiritual dimension within your psyche.

Pain t ing by John Vega

A fr a m e w o r k f o r dr e am w o r k m i g h t b e:

1 Choose a d ream .

2 Determine the dream type, issue, crisis, a block, a resolution alreadyincluded in the dream.

3 Make a list of the symbols in the dream.

4 Find out the relationships between symbols.

5 Find out the relationships between the dream ego and the symbols.


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6 Find out the similarities and contrasts in the dream.

7 List what the dream ego is and is not doing in the dream

8 Find out about the egos relationships with other items in the dream.

9 Make a summary, and list what you have discovered.

This is a basic method of working with dreams that helps you developself-analysis, observation, and a "conscious" and "lucid" state ofconsciousness. You can follow it up with different methods.

Dream work helps those who want to know themselves, since like amirror, it not only projects who we are but also displays what we need todo. In other words, dreams are the best guides to reveal what you have

on your conscience, what needs to be worked out in your life, and how tobecome a better and happier person.

Finally, keep a dream journal that represents the "mirror of your soul"and helps you understand yourself better. Write your dream down assoon as possible, even just a few words, to remind you of your dream,for the more importance you give to your dream work, the more innermessages and intelligent guidance you will receive

It is during my Psychosynthesis training, in London in 1984, that I was

given this Guideline to Dream Interpretation.

(Author Unknown) taken from a Psychosynthesis paper

DREAM YOGA


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TEACHING IN DREAMS

There are numerous examples in the Tibetan tradition of practitioners who received

teachings in dreams. Often the dreams come in sequence, each night's dream starting

where the previous night's dream ends, and in this way transmitting entire, detailed

teachings until a precise and appropriate point of completion is reached, at which point the

dreams stop. Volumes of teachings have been "discovered" this way, including many of

the practices that Tibetans have been doing for centuries. This is what we call "mind

treasure" (gong-ter).stabilize in consciousness without identifying with the conventional

self. The practitioner whose clarity is unobscured by karmic traces and samsaric dreams

has access to the wisdom inherent in consciousness itself.

Authentic teachings discovered in dream do not come from the intellect. It is not like going

to the library and doing research and then writing a book, using the intellect to collect and

synthesize information as a scholar might. Although many good teachings come from the

intellect, they are not considered mind treasures. The wisdom of the Buddhas is self-

originated, rising from the depths of consciousness, complete in itself. This does not mean

that mind treasure teachings will not resemble existing teachings, for they will.Furthermore, these teachings can be found in different cultures and in different historical

periods, and can be similar even though they do not inform each other. Historians work to

trace a teaching back in time in order to point out how it was influenced by a similar

teaching, where the historical connection took place, and so on, and often they find such a

link. But the underlying truth is that these teachings arise spontaneously from humans

when they reach a certain point in their individual development. The teachings are

inherent in the foundational wisdom that any culture can eventually access. They are not

only Buddhist or Bon teachings; they are teachings for all humans.

If we have the karma to help other beings, the teachings from a dream may be of benefit

to others. But it may also be the case, if we have karma with a lineage, for example, that


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the teachings discovered in a dream will be particularly for our own practice, perhaps as a

specific remedy to overcome a particular obstacle.

Imagine entering a cave and finding a volume of teachings hidden inside. This is finding in

a physical space. Mind treasures are found in consciousness rather than in the physical

world. Masters have been known to find these treasures both in dreams of clarity and

when awake. In order to receive these kinds of teaching in a dream, the practitioner must

have developed certain capacities, such as being able to stabilize in consciousness

without identifying with the conventional self. The practitioner whose clarity is unobscured

by karmic traces and samsaric dreams has access to the wisdom inherent in conscious-

ness itself.

Authentic teachings discovered in dream do not come from the intellect. It is not like going

to the library and doing research and then writing a book, using the intellect to collect and

synthesize information as a scholar might. Although many good teachings come from theintellect, they are not considered mind treasures. The wisdom of the Buddhas is self-

originated, rising from the depths of consciousness, complete in itself. This does not mean

that mind treasure teachings will not resemble existing teachings, for they will.

Furthermore, these teachings can be found in different cultures and in different historical

periods, and can be similar even though they do not inform each other. Historians work to

trace a teaching back in time in order to point out how it was influenced by a similar

teaching, where the historical connection took place, and so on, and often they find such a

link. But the underlying truth is that these teachings arise spontaneously from humans

when they reach a certain point in their individual development. The teachings are

inherent in the foundational wisdom that any culture can eventually access. They are notonly Buddhist or Bon teachings; they are teachings for all humans.

If we have the karma to help other beings, the teachings from a dream may be of benefit

to others. But it may also be the case, if we have karma with a lineage, for example, that

the teachings discovered in a dream will be particularly for our own practice, perhaps as a

specific remedy to overcome a particular obstacle.

(From The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rimpoche)


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I MPORTANCE OF DREAMS I N THE MYSTI CAL PROCESS

Par t : I

D reams a re too ls - Dreams and t he psyche - The I nne r P rocess o f d ream s -

Dream s as Teach ing s

The re i s bas ica l l y no d i f fe rence be tw een the w ak ing s ta te and t ha t o f d r eam, excep tt h a t o n e se em s m o r e st a b l e t h a n t h e o th e r . On l y a f t e r t h e re i s aw a k e n in g i n t h e

fo rm o f e n l ig h te n m e n t i s i t r e a l iz ed t h a t t h e w a k i n g w o r l d i t s el f i s in d e ed n o th i n gbu t a l ong d ream r esu l t i n g f rom m en ta l d i sposi t i on - a m ovem en t i n Consciousness

in w h ich w ha t seems a so l i d body and i t s su f fe r ings a re rea ll y an i l l us ion .Ram esh Ba lsekar

Pain t ing b y Mar ica S. Lauck & Deborah Kof f -Chap in

Th is chap te r i s ded ica ted to r eaders w ho have p roven t o th em selves th a t d ream sa re m o re t h a n j u s t d r e am s , t h a t t h e y a re i n d e ed " t o o l s" t e a ch i n g u s t o l o o k a t

ou rse lves in an impar t i a l and imp ersona l w ay .

Dreams a re too ls

D reams a re too ls o f t r ans fo rm a t ion . Moreover , a t a ce r ta in l eve l o f inne r w o rk ,d ream s s top be ing d ream s and ins t ead becom e sp i r i t ua l l eve ls o f consciousness .

Bu t , i n the m ean t im e , d ream s open inv i s ib le doors to sub t le r l eve ls o f sp i r i t ua lg ro w th , a w a k e n in g i n s ee k e rs o f t r u t h a n d w i sd o m , o u r p e rm a n en t w i t n e ss or s o u l

w i th in ou r consc ious selves.

Let us f i r s t i n t roduce the sym bo l o f the t r i den t , t he logo o f the sea -godPoseidon / Nep tune . Wha t connect ion does th a t have w i th t he p rocess o f d reamin g?Poseidon , the god o f seas and oceans , ho lds the t r i den t as a mark o f h i s comm and


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o f t h e w a te r s. I n t h e c on te x t o f d re am w o rk , h e re p re se n t s t h e k i n g o f t h esubconscious levels o f t he psyche. I n fact , w i th h i s t r i den t , Pose idon a l so

co m m a n d s t h e m o n ste r s o f t h e d e e p, w h i ch re m i n d s u s o f t h e d e e p w a te r s of t h esubconscious and i t s ow n m ons te rs and shadow y f i gu res . The subconsc ious canth e re fo re be com pared to t he abysm a l dep th s o f the ocean ; the bo t t om less deep

w a te rs symbo l i ze the subconsc ious and unconscious pa r ts o f ou r psyche w heree m o t i o n s a n d i n st i n c t s m i n g l e a n d m i x w i t h o u t p u rp o s e o r d i r e ct i o n .

The th ree m enacing e longa ted p rongs o f t he t r i den t l ook l i ke w eapons and a re usedfo r pene t r a t i ng , scra t ch ing and w ound ing , so in th e sym bo l i c con tex t o f d ream

w o rk , t h e t r i d e n t i s a p e n et ra t i n g d e v ice , ef f e ct i v e l y " w o u n d i n g " a n d s cra p i n g w h a ti s use less and needs to be sepa ra ted and r em oved f rom th e v i rg ina l aspec t o f t hepsyche . Bu t t h i s w ound ing opens th r ee deep ho les tha t a l l ow s the penet r a t i on by

th e sp i r i t ua l l i gh t o f t he sou l th a t nou r i shes and i l l um ina tes the unconscious par t i nus . Throug h t h is pur i f i ca t ion , our un conscious becom es conscious o f i tse l f . Thus the

t r i den t sym bo l i ca l l y opens these th ree "ga t es" to h ighe r l eve ls o f en l i gh tenm en t .Le t u s e x a m i n e t h e s e t h r e e " w o u n d s" a n d t h r e e " g a te s."

The th r ee w ounds have th e pow er o f t ransm ut ing ou r se lf - consciousness f rom i t sdua l is t i c aw areness to i t s sour ce , Cosm ic Consc iousness. I n p ie r c ing and

pe r fo ra t ing ou r " sel f - conscious " aspect , t h e p rongs t ransm ut e the ego t i s t i c andlow er psych ic cha rac te r t r a i t s i n to t he i r sp i r i t ua l pe r fec t i dea ls. Thus th e t r i d en t i s

an aw aken ing dev ice a pow er fu l sym bo l fo r ou r pu r i f i cat i on and sp i r i t ua la d v an c em e n t t h ro u g h d re am w o rk .

From a re l i g ious aspect , t h e t r i den t and th e ne t rep r esen t t w o symb o ls o f Ch r i s t as" Fisher o f Man . " Fu r t he rm ore , the t r i den t s p rongs a re o f an equa l l eng th ,symb o l i zing th e Tr in i t y . Hence , th e t r i den t i s an e f fect i ve ins t ru m en t o f pu r i f i cat i onand pu rga t ion fo r aw aken ing the in fe r io r pa r t s o f the psyche and sens i t i zing th em

to h ighe r sp i r i t u a l im pu lses coming f r om th e psyche th a t a re in f l uenced by thep e rm a n e n t w i t n e ss .

Moreove r , th e t r i den t , as a sym bo l o f Tr in i t y , im p regna t es and penet r a tes w i th i t st r i une sp i r i t ua l ene rg ies the low er and h igh e r aspec ts o f ou r se l f - consc iousness . I n

Chr i s t i an t rad i t i on , the t r i den t i s p laced in Sa tan s hands as an ins t rum en t o f

pun ishm en t . How eve r , eso te r i c t rad i t i on and sp i r i t ua l psycho logy te l l us tha t w eneed to go deep w i th in ou rse lves to d i scover t he b locked ene rg ies , and th en , " f i sh "th em ou t , as i t w e re , so as to b r ing t hem in t o the l i gh t o f consc iousness . Tu rn ing

o u r a t t e n t i o n w i t h i n s u b t l y d e v e lo p s t h e i n t u i t i v e f a c u lt y o f o u r s ix t h s e n se t o h e lpu s u n d ers ta n d w h o w e are a n d w h a t w e n e ed t o d o t o r e i n t e g ra te o u r p e r f ect

m o d e l .


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T i ra tna

I n B u d d h i sm , t h e t r i d e n t i s t a k e n a s a s y m b o l o f t h e T i r at n a , o r t r i p l e j e w e l( Buddha , Dha rm a , Sangha , mean ing t he Aw akened One , the Tru t h expounded by

H i m , a n d t h e f o l l ow e rs li v i n g i n a cc ord a n ce w i t h t h i s Tru t h ) . I t m a y a ls o b ere g a rd ed a s t h e t r i p l e cu r re n t o f e n e rg y i n m a n . A n d i n o u r o w n s p i r i t u a l co n te x t ,

t h e t r i d e n t r e p re s en t s t h e i n s t r u m e n t m o v i n g t h e se sa m e e n e rg i es w i t h i n o u rpsyche.

Top

Dream s and th e Psyche

Dreams he lp us look deeper w i th in ou r ow n psyche , to d i scove r th e Myste ry o f Man .Bu t un less w e devo te ou rse lves and a l locate t im e to w o rk w i th t he energ ies and

m ean ing o f d ream s , th ey w i l l alw ays rem a in unso li c ited and st r ange phenom ena .Tha t i s w hy ou r psyche needs to d r eam, s ince d ream s are a sou rce o f kn ow ledge

he lp ing us in t he p rocess o f re leas ing unw an ted ga rbage . D ream s a re g i ven t o us torescue us f r om le tha rgy and un consc iousness .

Prev ious chap te rs have com pared the psyche to a m i r ro r re f l ect i ng w ha teve rp reoccup ies i t . Wh a t i s re f l ected in d r eams a re the t hough t s and em o t ions o f ou r

good and bad in ten t ions and expe r iences . I t i s i n the m i r ro r o f ou r psyche tha t r ea lpu r i f i ca t i on and un de rs tand ing t ake p lace , s ince w e mu s t becom e conscious o f w ha t

appears on t he su r face o f ou r psyche . The conscious im pressions com ing f r om ad ream have an im por t an t r o le to p lay in the aw aken ing p rocess as a w ho le , and

each d r eam, each sym bo l en r i ches th i s p rocess , s ince sp i r i t ua l d r eam w ork takes

in to accoun t th e sub t le pu r i f i cat i on p r ocess o f th e w ho le man . D reams abou tp u r i f i ca t i o n a re g i v en t o t h o se o f u s w h o w a n t t o a w a k e n o u r p e rm a n e n t a n dsp i r i t u a l w i t n e ss es . To d o t h a t , w e m u s t u n i t e t h e m i n o u r " o rd i n a ry " l e v el o f s el f -consc iousness . The re fo re , w e m us t become aw are o f ou r unconscious t r a i t s tha t

n e ed t r a n s form a t i o n . W i t h o u t t h i s , ou r e g o ca n n o t c o n t i n u e o n t h i s j o u rn e y .

Th is k ind o f sp i r i t ua l w o rk i n i t se l f exposes the psyche to t he in f l uences andi n tu i t i o n s p o u r i n g i n f r o m th e p e rm a n en t w i t n e ss ( s ee Ab o u t t h e M y ste r y o f M a n ,

pa r t s 1 4 ) . Th is i s th e f i r s t im po r t an t m eans o f access, the " key " open ing th e doo ro f Pose idon s m ys te r ious pa lace in w h ich a re ga the r ed a l l t he pas t and p resen t

expe r iences , al l t h e fea rs and s t r esses im pr i soned s ince t im e im m em or ia l . Thoseunconscious doub ts and w or r ies l i nge r hope less ly i n the dep th o f da rkn ess aw a i t i ngth e r i g h t m o m e n t f o r t h e t h u n d e rb o l t o f c o n sci o u sn e ss t o p e n et ra te t h e m a n d b r i n g


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t h em to t he l i gh t o f und e rs tand ing . As a consequence o f th ese de l i ca te ope ra t ions ,th e re t r i eved o r " f i shed ou t " b locked ene rg ies f l oa t on th e su r f ace o f d ream s

cap tu red by ou r sel f - consc ious ego . To he lp us unde rs tand t he i r m ean ing , they t ake ,n d r eams , the shape o f po ten t pe rsona l and un ive rsa l symbo ls and a rche typ es. The

ego mus t p r ocess th ese w i th sub t le ty , i n tu i t i on and sens i t i v i t y , so tha t t he i r

m ean ing becom es c lea r and i l lum ina t ing .

A t f i r s t , t hese t ypes o f d ream s a re usua l l y expe r ienced as n igh tm ares since ou rconsc iousness has to reo rgan ize and focus i t s a t t en t ion on t he inne r dynam ics o fd ream w ork . Wi th ph an tasm agor i c , i ncompr ehensib le , and sense less d ream s , w em u s t t r y t o f o c u s o u r a t t e n t i o n a n d u se o u r i n t u i t i o n t o g ra sp t h e i r r a t i o n a l w i t h i nou rse lves. So , w e shou ld no t i gno re d ream sequences tha t m igh t have no th ing in

c om m o n w i t h e a ch o th e r o r a p p e ar n o n s e n si ca l . I t r e a ll y d o es n t m a t t e r i f t h ebeg inn ing o f a d ream doesn t m a tch w ha t fo l l ow s i t . Ana logous to a j i gsaw puzz le ,w e sh o u l d u s e ou r i n t u i t i o n t o r e t r i ev e t h e " s ee d i d ea " a n d m e an i n g o f e a ch p a r t o f

ou r d r eams . The expans ion o f the " seed ideas" and " m ean ing " i s imp or t an t , and i td o e sn t m a t t e r i f o u r i n t u i t i o n r e v ea l s d i f f e ren t s y m b o l s or m e an i n g s t o t h e d re a m .Wh a t coun ts i s th e ef fo r t exe r ted by ou r psyche to un r ave l a new d im ens ion . Our

e g o m u s t t u rn i t s at t e n t i o n t o w i t h i n i t s e lf , i n t h e s il e n t s p ac e w i t h i n B e in g , w h e reth e impe l l i ng m agne t i c p resence o f t he in te l l i gence o f the hea r t re igns .

Thus , i f d r eam s f i rs t appear con fu s ing , i t i s because these types o f d ream s re leaset he p r essur e and s t r essed energ ies b locked in our psyche. To re lease st ress in

d ream s , th e sym bo ls are m agn i f i ed so as to m ake an impac t and em phas ize ce r ta inaspects o f a p rob lem . Ano t he r r eason fo r d i s tu rb ing d ream s i s to h e lp us become

consc ious o f the na tu re o f ou r s t ress o r anx ie t y . We shou ld use ou r i n t u i t i on to l ooka t t h e i n co n g ru o u s sy m b o l s i n o u r d r e am s , t r y i n g t o " r e sp e ct " t h e i r m e an i n g .I n t u i t i on assis ts us in " read ing " w ha t goes on in ou r psyche , s ince l ike a m i r ro r , it

r e f l ect s w h a t g o e s o n w i t h i n u s . Th i s is h o w , f r o m o u r p e rm a n en t w i t n e ss , w ereceive some p r act i ca l so lu t i ons and in te rp re ta t i ons . How eve r , the exchange o f

in t u i t i ve i deas and fee l i ngs be tw een ou r psyche and ego occu rs on ly i f ou r ego i so p e n t o ch a n g e. I f w e are w i l l i n g t o w o rk w i t h t h e sy m b o l s, t h e n a sp e ci a l f l o w o fe n erg y s t r e a m s f r o m o u r p e rm a n en t w i t n e s s, a ll o w i n g u s t o u n d e rs ta n d w h a t w e

m u s t d o t o r e m o v e t h e p ro b l em , an d t r a n sfo rm w h a t n e e d s t o c h a n g e.

Top The I nne r P rocess o f D ream s

Sp i r i t ua l psycho logy looks a t th e eso te r i c and in tu i t i ve aspect o f d r eam w ork , and i sbased on inne r g u idance. How eve r , psycho logy i s based on t he in t e rp re t a t i on and

ana lysi s o f psycho log ists o r faci l i t a to r s . These tw o app roaches may sound and evenook t he sam e, bu t th ey a re no t . The f i r s t i s so le l y based on inne r reve la t i on and t he

second on f eedback and ou t s ide gu idance . The f i rs t i s used by my s t ics , t hose gu idedby th e i r sou l , w ho seek a c loser re la t i onsh ip w i th t he i r pe rm anen t w i tn ess . The

second i s used by those w ho a re on ly i n t e rested in f i n d ing so lu t i ons to p r ob lems ,new d i rec t ions and m ean ing in t im es o f c r i si s .


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B oth a re u s efu l a n d i m p o r t a n t d re a m w o rk t o o l s t o p u r i f y a n d t r a n s form t h e p s y ch e .I f w e w a n t t o k n o w w h o w e ar e , t h e n w e sh o u ld s t ar t w i t h t h e p sy ch o l og i ca l

app roach , e i the r a lone , in a g rou p , o r w i th a the r ap ist . W e shou ld a l so seek th egu idance o f th e inne r m aste r , o r p r esence w i th in . Wh ichever w ay w e choose, ou rf i r s t s tep shou ld a lw ays be w i th t he psycho log ical app roach be fo re s ta r t i ng any

o th e r k ind o f sp i r i t u a l w o rk , since, th i s app roach takes us to t he dep th o f ou rpsyche and i s pa r t o f an a l chemica l p rocess . Th is i s ou r descen t i n to th e w or ld o f

Poseidon w here ou r un consc ious se l f w a i t s . The ques t to aw aken ou r sp i r i t ua law areness can beg in on ly af t e r a ce r ta in am oun t o f pu r i f i ca t i on and t r ans fo rm a t ion

o f t he psyche . Our consciousness , hav ing t aken th e dow nw ard j ou rn ey , iseven tua l l y d raw n tow ards an ascend ing pa th . Then , w ha t w e rece ive becom es m ore

s u b t l e an d e n l i g h te n i n g s in c e i t c o m e s w i t h o u t d i st o r t i o n d i r e ct l y f r o m th e s o u l .

I f w e are se r i o u s i n o u r w o rk w i t h t h e sp i r i t u a l l ev e l of d re a m s , w e m u st a l s orea l i ze tha t d ream s a re l ike seeds con t a in ing po t en t ia l w ho le t r ees. Dream s ,

th e re fo re , con ta in th e seed ideas coming f r om th e pe rm anen t w i tness . The i rpu rp ose i s to t rans fo rm ou r o r d ina ry l eve ls o f consciousness to h ighe r sp i r i t ua l

ones, s ince som e d ream s a re in t hem selves exam p les o f sp i r i t ua l p lanes co -ex is t i ngin ou r psyche th a t a re t he seeds w a i t i ng in ou r subconscious to be recogn ized and

aw akened by ou r ego . I n o t he r w o rds , they a re ou r sp i r i t u a l l eve ls o f consc iousnessth a t pe rm ea te in to ou r eve ryday consc iousness . Th is i s th e g roun d ing aspect o f th e

w ho le p rocess o f d ream s since, i f w e need to f a thom th e Myste ry o f Be ing ande x p er i e n ce ou r o w n h a rm o n y a n d u n it y w i t h i t , t h e n t h e n a tu re o f ou r d re a m s

changes. Moreover , t he essence and m ean ing o f ou r d ream s take a m ore abs t rac tand i r ra t i ona l qua l i t y tha t canno t be sha red w i th anyon e , s ince they come d i rec t l y

f rom ou r pe rm anen t w i tn ess as a l anguage o f ou r sou l , a l anguage tha t can on ly beunde rs tood on ly i n t u i t i v e l y . .

The sp i r i t ua l d im ens ion o f d r eam s cou ld be descr ibed , at bes t , as de l ica te andsub t le expe r iences g i ven d i rect l y by ou r pe rm anen t w i tn ess to ou r consciousness in

o rde r t o fos te r a hea l ing and pu r i f y ing , l ead ing t o a new leve l o f consciousness inu s , w h i ch w e m u s t a l l o w t o u n fo l d i n o u r o rd i n a ry l i v e s.

Wh a t r e a ll y m a t t e r s h e re i s ou r w i sh f o r i n n e r t r a n sfo rm a t i o n , si n ce s t r o n g d e si r e t oun fo ld a h ighe r l eve l o f consciousness i s an i l l um ina t ing cata l ys t t ha t ene rg izes ou r

psyche . Th is is an impor tan t e lem en t i n d ream w ork . The pow er o f concen t ra t i ona n d a s t r o n g d e si r e t o w o rk w i t h d re a m s a s t o o l s f o r o u r o w n t r a n sfo rm a t i o n o p en sn a tu ra l l y a n d d ir e ct l y t h e i n n er p a th t o t h e p e rm a n en t w i t n e ss .

Top

Dream s can becom e my s t ica l Teach ings

D re am w o rk i s co m p a ra b le t o l e arn i n g a n e w l a n g u ag e . Fi r s t w e m u s t l e arn t h ea lphabe t . Dream s a re a new sym bo l i c w o r ld open ing u p in ou r sel f - consciousness .

Wh y do w e say " se l f -consciousness"? Because, un less our se l f -consc iousnessa w a k e n s w h i l st d r e am i n g , o u r d re a m s w i l l h av e n o im p a ct a n d w e w i l l n ot

r e m e m b e r a n y th i n g o f g re a t i m p o r t a n c e. Th u s w e m u s t g ra d u a ll y s t i m u l a te a n d


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aw aken ou r se l f - consciousness du r ing d ream s so tha t th ey can be som eth ing m oreth an m ere s t ress re lease .

Late r , w hen ou r ego o r sel f - consciousness " aw akens " t o i t s t ru e na tu r eth eim persona l Cosm ic Consc iousnessth en dr eam s and th e inner p rocess t ake a new

d i rec t ion , and w e see , unde rs tand and expe r ience th em in a t o ta l l y d i f f e ren t w ays ince , f rom th en on , ou r ego o r sel f - consc iousness rea l i zes tha t i t i s j us t a veh ic le

fo r Cosm ic Consc iousness . W e then p erce ive a l l k inds o f d r eam s and ast r a lp ro j ect ions d i f f e ren t l y , s ince the ve i l separa t ing t hem f rom Cosmic Consciousness i s

n o m o re . Ou r e g o k n o w s t h a t i t i s j u st a r e f l ec t i o n o f t h e b l a zi n g l i g h t o f t h ep resence o f God o r Pu re Be ing . When t he ve i l i s to rn , and ego and sou l m ee t andm erge , th e t rue iden t i t y o f th e Crea to r and in i t i a to r o f ou r i nne r p r ocess becom es

even c learer . The im persona l Cosm ic Consc iousness w i t h in u s is th e so le crea t o r o fd ream s , and i t s l im i ted se l f - conscious coun t e rpa r t , ou r ego , i t i s seen a t t he o th e r

end o f t he p rocess as th e receive r o f d ream s .

The m ission o f Cosmic Consciousness w i th in m an i s to en l i gh t en m an s ego . I no t her w ord s , Cosm ic Consc iousness ac t ive ly gu id es t he p rocess o f aw aken in g th e

ego to i t s t r ue na tu r e , hence i t d i r ects the inne r w o r ld o f d ream s and ast r a lp ro jec t ions dur ing s leep . Cosm ic Consc iousness takes over and c rea tes w hat ever isnecessary fo r ou r se l f -consc iousness t o und ers tan d and exper ience our ego . Tha t is

w hy p roph e ts , sa in ts and d i scip les o f a l l re l i g ions and ph i l osoph ies have beene n l ig h te n e d a n d h a v e re ce iv e d k n o w l e dg e a n d w i sd o m th r o u g h t h e i r d re a m s ,

v i s ions and ast r a l t r ave ls. The w ays tha t ou r sou l ca r r i es ou t i t s i n i t i a to ry cou rse ofa ct i o n t o a w a k e n o u r e g o a n d o p en u p t h e " r a i n b o w b r i d g e t o i n f i n i t y " i s a s ou rc e of

g re a t g ra t i t u d e a n d a w e .

A g o od m a n u a l t o r e a d ab o u t a st e p -b y - s t e p in t r o d u ct i o n t o w o rk i n g w i t h d re a m sis : " The Dream w ork Manua l " by St r ephon Kap lan Wi l l i am s - Pub l i shed by " The

Aquar ian P ress" .

w i t h f r am e sI MPORTANCE OF DREAMS I N THE MYSTI CAL PROCESS

Pa r t I I

PI CTURES


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The Inner Process awakens from within...

Poseidon the God of the Sea with his Trident the Tool of the

Awakening process from the deep unconscious self...

Tiratna, or triple jewel

Dolphin and Trident Keys for the inner process

Trident of Purification

The Three Nails symbolic

tools for the awakening process


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1 2

1 - In the sealed vessel sits Poseidon/Neptune,

with his trident and the two Witnesses.

2 - Detail of the hermetically sealed vessel with the Sun and Moon

symbols of our Permanent and Spiritual Witnesses. TheEnd

Right The

Prophet

Digitally signed by Right The ProphetDN:cn=Right TheProphet,o= ,

ou,[email protected],c=US

Date:2007.03.2204:05:32+03'30'


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