Dream Interpretation, Meaning And The Dream Journal
Dream interpretation, the practice of deam meaning by use of the dream jourbnal is an extremely effective
When we achieve a certain state of sleep, normally at night, our Astral Body, our Soul, together with our integrated immortal Spirit actually leaves our physical body. During this time Universal Energy is received in order to replace the Energy used during the activities of the previous day, and also to increase reserves of Energy for the day ahead. This is one reason why we normally awaken in the morning feeling completely refreshed. During this time our Astral and Mental bodies interact directly with the inner spheres of reality. This process can be considered to be the same as Astral Projection, the major difference being there is usually no conscious awareness of the experience actually occurring.
With the normal sleep process both the Mind and the body are asleep and there is no conscious awareness. However, with Astral Projection, the body is asleep but the Mind, conscious awareness remains fully awake. Astral Projection is therefore as natural as sleeping and dreaming and is the reason why dreams are such a natural aspect of these sleep time Astral Projections, and why the process of dream interpretation or determining dream meaning is so valuable.
Although the Astral Body retains full awareness and control during these night-time unconscious travels within the Astral realms, the physical level of Consciousness is in a state of deep sleep. In the case of light or interrupted sleep the level Consciousness is such that the Astral Body is content to simply recharge itself with Energy with only a low level interaction with the Astral world, corresponding to the area the personal psyche. At other times the Astral Body will engage in full interaction with the Astral worlds resulting in vivid or Lucid Dreams.
There are also several interim states of Consciousness where for example the Astral Body, the Soul, will travel to the level of the Astral planes corresponding to the collective human Consciousness of the sleep state, and interact with other people in a sort of collective fantasy land. Normal low-level dreaming takes place at the lowest level of the Energy continuum, just below that of the human group Consciousness and in the area of the personal Consciousness sometimes known as the psyche. Here the unconscious Mind will create its own scenarios within the Astral Ether, often based upon waking thoughts, and in particular the last thoughts on the Mind before drifting off to sleep, appearing as dreams of varying intensities.
This is another reason why it is extremely important to take only the most positive, peaceful, harmonious thoughts to sleep with you. Should you carry inharmonious, negative or chaotic states to bed and into your sleep state, these will be reflected in your dreams and be subsequently carried into your normal waking state the next morning. During particularly light sleep the level of interaction might only be at the level of the personal subconscious Mind in which case dreams will reflect the actions and aspirations of the subconscious Mind. This is still well worth keeping in Mind. There are many states of dream experience and recollection varying from no recollection whatsoever to a state known as “Lucid Dreaming”, where not only is everything extremely vivid and real, because in fact it is indeed very real, but the lucidity aspect arises when a person becomes fully aware of the fact they are dreaming and can then assume full control over the dream. In this state the Lucid Dreamer can create any scenario they wish simply by means of the imagination, the same primary method of creation as when consciously living in the inner spheres of life and reality. Again, dream interpretation can be a very valuable way of determiing what has been going on in your Mind during sleep, and a reason for maintaining a dream journal.
Lucid Dreaming is an ability that can be learned, and is used by people for such purposes as entertainment, creating and living within their wildest fantasies and for healing. Lucid Dreaming is also valuable for facing up to and defeating waking fears and phobias. For example, a person who has a fear of spiders or any other creatures can create dreamscapes containing these creatures and then face them within the dream. In this way phobias and other problems can be faced and conquered within the psyche, later taking the resulting confidence in these situations into the waking world.
Many people have experienced a state known as “waking paralysis” or “catalepsy”. This usually happens immediately upon waking in the morning whereby a person finds it very difficult or even impossible to move any part of the physical body. This is due to the fact that the Astral and Mental bodies have not yet fully returned to the physical body, and therefore the centre of conscious awareness and control still resides within the Astral Body. Any attempt therefore to move any part of the physical body will not usually succeed.
There also is another possibility that might occur in conjunction with episodes of waking paralysis or be separate from it, and that is “seeing” through closed eyelids; that is to say the physical eyes are fully closed, and yet a person can still vividly see their surroundings as if the physical eyes are fully open. This is a much more common occurrence than people realise, and is again due to the fact that the Astral and Mental bodies have not yet at that stage completely reunited with the physical body, being slightly out of phase with it. This situation is known as “Astral sight”, due to the fact that “vision” is being received through the Energy of Astral senses directly rather than through the physical eyes. During this time the centre of vision is still based in the Etheric plane, and therefore the vision or impression of viewing the surroundings is actually an Etheric reflection of the physical surroundings rather than the actual physical surroundings.
During these situations it is sometimes possible to see other beings such as deceased people or beings from the Astral worlds. Deceased relatives are sometimes seen in these circumstances for example. If this happens do not panic; they usually mean you no harm whatsoever, and in any case simply cannot harm you; the best thing to do is to simply observe without any emotion and communicate if appropriate. If this happens do not panic; simple allow the process to take place; no harm can come to you, and then record everything in your dream journal as soon as you fully awake.
To interrupt waking paralysis and Astral sight it is necessary to cause your Astral and Mental bodies to rejoin your physical body by willing yourself to become fully awake. If this does not work moving one of your big toes often to causes the physical body to awaken. These episodes do not last long and are nothing at all to be alarmed about, especially now you know why they happen; it is a completely natural process involving your physical and subtle bodies, and state of conscious awareness. Those who practice out of body experiences will often welcome such a state of catalepsy as an ideal state to completely project from the physical body in order to enjoy an out of body experience, often then projecting inwards to the Astral worlds. Dream interpretation, analysing the meaning of dreams will provide considerable feedback about these natural processes.
One extremely useful aspect of Astral travel during deep sleep is the possibility of receiving valuable teachings and other information from inner beings, sometimes by attending places known as “Spirit schools” where valuable lessons are learned, often about Spiritual matters either in general terms, or relating specifically to the individual person attending the school. Although such lessons are not usually remembered in the physical memory in the morning after waking, they are nevertheless firmly and permanently stored in the memory of the inner bodies of the causal spheres to be recalled whenever the time and circumstances are appropriate.
These are all ongoing aspects of Spiritual progression. Just as learning lessons at physical school and during life generally is vital for progression in the physical world, so too are they in the Astral and Mental worlds. At other times during sleep time Astral travels it is quite possible to meet deceased relatives or friends or to simply explore the Astral worlds. Recently deceased relatives frequently make use of the dream state of loved ones in order to make contact and provide assurances of their presence, well-being and happiness.
One of the most important aspects of interaction with the inner spheres during sleep time is in receiving valuable information relevant to waking life. This information might also be in the form of warnings, for example of drinking or smoking, or of other possible sources of danger.
Sometimes dreams can be “pre-cognitive”, in other words a vision of the future whereby you view a situation you might wish to avoid by altering the course of your future. This information received during sleep time can arrive in many different forms varying from highly graphical dreams involving various scenarios through to much more symbolic imagery that might require interpreting. Whatever the form of information received in dreams it is a most valuable ability to be able to fully recall dreams in the morning soon after waking, and to subsequently analyse them.
Dream recollection using the dream journal for later dream interpretation is also very useful in developing the abilities of Astral Projection. You might well be recalling anything from Astral travels including meetings with deceased people, information received from these people and from other beings, pre-cognitions, all the way through to symbols and other imagery requiring interpretation. In lower level dreams where deep sleep was not involved you might be recalling dreams generated by your own subconscious Mind, again most useful in interpreting the actions of your subconscious Mind or psyche, and also in providing clues as to what influences your subconscious Mind is seeking to exert over you. Examining the subconscious Mind is also valuable in determining the results and progress of the process of ennoblement as discussed in the previous section.
Recalling dreams using a dream journal for dream interpretation, i.e. inanalysing dream menaing, is clearly therefore a most valuable and most worthwhile ongoing exercise. An additional benefit of dream recall is that your dreams will become progressively more vivid, and more interactive.
