Lucid Dreaming as a Sacred Art
(Condensed from Chapter Four)
The best way to navigate one’s self through the sacred dreamscape is in the state of lucidity. If you know you are dreaming, you can think reflectively about sacred dream content while still in the midst of it. And even more importantly, if you are confronted with a dream presence, you can immediately interact with it and perhaps even discern the spiritual significance of the dream before you wake up. Though some people seem to be more naturally prone to lucid dreaming than others, with practice and patience, just about anyone can master the art and develop it as a spiritual practice with exhilarating results and endless possibilities.
Stories of spiritual lucid dreaming from the history of the world’s religions abound. Shamans of many indigenous cultures have guided the souls of the departed into the land of the dead in lucid dreams for untold centuries, and Native Americans still rely on conscious dreaming for their vision quests. The Muslim Sufi mystics have traditionally utilized lucid dreaming as a means of ecstatic union with Allah, and the twelfth century Christian mystic, Hildegard of Bingen, documented her frequent lucid dream encounters with God, who appeared to her in the form of a circle of life energy.
By far the most sophisticated philosophy of lucid dreaming as a spiritual practice has been developed by Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition. As previously mentioned, the purpose of sacred lucid dream discipline, or yoga, taught by the Tibetan Masters is to train the consciousness to be able to direct itself through the liminal realm that it will encounter after physical death. Because going to sleep is like dying in the sense that it is a journey into the unknown, in the Tibetan tradition it is believed that a proficient lucid dreamer will be prepared to navigate his consciousness through the bardo, or the state of liminality of the afterlife, and into a desirable rebirth. One who has actually perfected spiritual lucid dream technique, according to the Tibetan Masters, will be able to pass out of the bardo and enter into the clear light of liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
Aside from the Tibetan Bön tradition, the other comprehensive method of lucid dream practice offered to the world is that of the famous dream psychologist Stephen LaBerge. He proved lucid dreaming is a real phenomenon to the satisfaction of Western scientific thought in the late 1970s by performing prearranged eye-movements during REM sleep in a laboratory. When the EEG registered the uncharacteristic left-to-right pattern at one to two minute intervals, it was conclusive that LaBerge was cognizant of the fact that he was asleep and dreaming, and was able to carry out a dream task that he had intended before he went to sleep. LaBerge went on to devote his career to the study of lucid dreaming. Drawing to some extent on ancient Tibetan lucid dream yoga, he developed several techniques to help dreamers acquire the ability to enter lucid dream states and navigate themselves successfully and joyfully through them.
In comparing and contrasting the spiritual approach to lucid dreaming as used by the Tibetan Bön Masters to the more scientific approach of LaBerge (whose focus is not on the sacred nature of dreaming), some useful methods of cultivating and navigating through lucid dreams can be gleaned for those who wish to develop the art of sacred dreaming in general.
Whether one has already had some lucid dream experience or none at all, according to studies conducted by LaBerge, just about anyone who is willing to make the effort can cultivate the ability to experience lucid dreams on a regular basis. Since lucid dreaming is essentially the state of being aware of the fact you are dreaming, the best way to reach this awareness is to ask yourself whether or not you are dreaming while you are still dreaming. The most effective way to train yourself to ask this question during a sleeping dream is to purposely do it on a regular basis while you are awake. LaBerge recommends asking the question, “Am I dreaming or am I awake right now?” at least five to ten times during the day. He says it is important not to immediately declare yourself awake, for if you develop that habit you will do the same thing while dreaming.
The practice of training the mind for lucid dreaming during the day is framed a little differently in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. As we have seen, waking life experience is perceived as the same as dream experience, because both are seen as projections of the mind resulting from karma – or that which is wrought by past experience and action. Therefore, in The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche suggests that simply reminding oneself throughout the day that she is dreaming will help prompt the dreaming mind to do the same, which should ultimately prompt the lucid dream state during sleep. “Throughout the day,” Tenzin Rinpoche says, “practice the recognition of the dream-like nature of life until the same recognition begins to manifest in dream.” He gives practical suggestions on how this should be done:
Upon waking in the morning, think to yourself, “I am awake in a dream.” When you walk into the kitchen, recognize it as a dream kitchen. Pour dream milk into dream coffee. “It’s all a dream,” you think to yourself, “this is a dream.” Remind yourself of this constantly throughout the day.
Throughout the practice of experiencing waking life as dream, Tenzin Rinpoche says it is important to keep the focus on yourself as a dreamer rather than the actual events of the dream. He suggests you imagine yourself as an illusion, as a dream figure, in a body that lacks solidity. If you can master this technique until you remain in this awareness, Tenzin Rinpoche maintains, you will experience greater lucidity not only while dreaming, but also while awake.
LaBerge developed a method for prompting the consciousness to ask itself if it is asleep while it actually is sleeping. He suggest that one should train his mind to look for what he calls “dreamsigns” that can be like neon lights flashing in the darkness signaling, “This is a dream!” Dreamsigns can be anything in the dream that seem bizarre or out of place – like words that mutate, fickle digital clocks, or as in one dream example he used, cobblestones that were out of place in an otherwise realistic scene. If you train your mind to watch for such odd occurrences while awake, they are more likely to trigger lucidity while dreaming. Another method of using dreamsigns to flip the consciousness switch to awareness is to recognize recurring patterns or symbols in one’s dreams and train the psyche to recognize those in future dreams. Sacred dream symbols that you may have developed into regular dream patterns from the sacred dream practice in chapter two can become particularly potent sacred dreamsigns.
I became adept at lucid dreaming by using the dreamsign method in the year following the death of my sister. She came to me frequently in dreams, so before I went to sleep every night, I avowed that when I encountered her in a dream, I would realize I was dreaming so I could talk to her. It worked with amazing regularity, and since then, even without the prompt, I experience lucid dreams at a much higher rate. Once the consciousness is trained to recognize it is dreaming, the door is flung open to the infinite and amazing world of sacred dreaming.
Once you have entered a state of lucidity, you can train your dreaming mind to do just about anything you want it to. After I routinely entered lucidity in dreams where I encountered my sister, I started to program my dream-mind that when I saw her in future dreams, I would fly. It worked like a charm. She visited me in my bedroom and after a lovely talk, I excused myself and took off. I enjoyed lucid dream-flight so much that in the subsequent months, as soon as I become aware that I was dreaming, I instantaneously became airborne.
Frequent lucid dreamers consistently report that their senses are heightened in this state to the point where their experiences are richer, broader, deeper, and more pleasurable then in waking life. Lucid dreams are often characterized by brilliant light or colors, intense emotions, and a sense of liberation or exhilaration. Some dream researchers and lucid dream adepts believe that it is better for the dreamer to passively allow the events of a lucid dream to unfold rather than trying to control the narrative action of the dream. In the case of spiritual dreaming, I agree that in some dreams, especially those that involve a sense of a sacred presence that has come to impart an important message, taking a more receptive role can be more productive. In these cases, a lucid dreamer with spiritual sensibilities would probably understand this and react accordingly. For the majority of mystical dreams, however, I tend to take the same stance as Tenzin Rinpoche when he claims that “it is better for the lucid and aware dreamer to control the dream than for the dreamer to be dreamed.” Even in sacred message dreams, the ability to lucidly converse or react with the sacred presence within the course of the dream will usually enhance the sacred dreaming experience and exponentially increase the benefits that can be derived from it. Herein lies the true art of sacred lucid dreaming.
Dream psychologist Tracey L. Kahan has scientifically proven that during the lucid dreaming of REM sleep the mind is capable of metacognitive skills including self-reflection, intentionality, and self-regulation. Lucid dreaming allows us to not only interact with mystical dream figures, light, events, and symbols, but we can also often analyze and enhance the spiritual character of the dream itself, within the actual sequence of the dream. This has tremendous ramifications for dreams that are highly charged with emotional or metaphoric value. If a mystical dreamer can reflectively question what aspect of her life is ending during an actual dream in which she is dying, not only will it significantly alter the macabre mood of the dream, but she is also likely to awaken with a feeling of empowerment about leaving something she no longer needs behind and looking forward to the new prospects of life that are dawning as a result.
Instead of simply watching the narrative of a sacred dream, as we often do in non-lucid dreaming, one can consciously enter the events of the mystical lucid dream to gain a clearer understanding of the sacred dream message or even affect the course of events. With lucidity a dreamer can move toward, into, and through a spiritual beacon of light to find to fully experience the essence of its brilliance or the reality that lies beyond it. With lucidity, the nuances of mystical dreams of prophecy and reassurance can be affirmed within the course of the sacred dream. In the same way, the confusion that often accompanies sacred dreams can be overcome and mystical nightmares can be transformed into wonderful dreams. Because the dream process is largely driven by symbols and metaphors relevant to the dreamer’s experience and emotional concerns, the ability to reason with intention and reflection during the lucid dream state allows the dreamer to analyze the symbolic content of the dream while it is going on. In turn, this enables the dreamer to take full advantage of the sacred content and meaning of sacred dreams.
In conclusion, though I have drawn on LaBerge’s lucid dream techniques, I believe lucid dreaming can be a foundational sacred experience and should be valued as such. Like the Tibetan Bön masters, I believe that lucid dreaming can be considered a human capability similar to that one encounters when passing from this life and into the next. However, I disagree that lucid dreaming is only a tool for teaching the mind to transcend the normal limits of consciousness in preparation for afterlife – whether it be reincarnation, liberation from the cycle of rebirth, or ascension into heaven. I am convinced that when regarded and practiced as a high form of sacred art, every lucid dream can be a meaningful experience of noetic spiritual knowledge, growth, and fulfillment.
I have integrated elements of LaBerge’s lucid dream techniques as well as some of the ritual techniques of the Tibetan Buddhist yogas for dream and sleep in formulating my own method of guiding the mind toward sacred lucid dream activation and navigating the dream body through it. The following practice has worked well in facilitating my own lucid dream experience, and has proven to be successful for sacred dreamers I have worked with.
Sacred Dream Practice
Lucid Dreaming as a Sacred Art
1. Condition your mind for sacred lucid dreaming.
Throughout the course of the day that you spend in waking consciousness, stop at intervals, look around, and consciously relate to what you see and feel while saying to yourself, “This is a dream. This is a wonderful, beautiful, sacred dream.” Make sure you do this at least five times a day, but do it more often if you can. Say it while you do things you regularly observe as sacred – while praying, attending church service, walking in the woods, watching a beautiful sunset – but also repeat this exercise while doing things you normally experience as mundane – washing dishes, filing papers, or driving children to soccer practice. You may be struck with the realization that every aspect of your life is infused with spiritual energy.
As soon as you feel yourself being drawn into the sacred character of the moment in which you make your sacred dream acknowledgement, allow yourself to think through or move through the mystical dreamscape you are experiencing. If this were a sleeping dream, what might happen next? How would you feel? What might you encounter a sacred presence and how might you interact with it? Naturally, you would not throw yourself off a building expecting to be able to fly like you would be able to in your dream body, but allow yourself the luxury of experiencing waking life reality in the manner of a lucid dream to the fullest extent that you can.
I find the method of reminding myself on a regular basis that “this is a dream, a wonderful, beautiful, sacred dream,” is more conducive for cultivating spiritual lucid dreams than LaBerge’s method of asking yourself whether or not you’re dreaming for several reasons. First, it honors the continuum of the sacred character of the personal psyche between states of consciousness and the experience of life as a sacred process of spiritual understanding, growth, and renewal. Second, gently reminding ourselves of the sacred dream-like quality of life throughout the day gives us occasion to periodically leave the pressures and cares of our regular course of business and truly appreciate the beautiful, sacred character of our existence in this remarkable world. In this respect, it gives us space to live within the sacred fullness of the moment, and as Tenzin Rinpoche maintains, it helps us to live our waking lives with more “lucidity.”
A third reason why I personally prefer repetition of the awareness of the dream quality of life in terms of it being wonderful and beautiful, is not only that it continually helps to refocus my attitude about life in a positive way, but it also helps to cultivate a sleep-dreaming consciousness that is more prone to wander into wondrous and positive mystical dreamscapes than those that might result in nightmarish scenes or sensations.
2. Perform pre-sleep sacred dream rituals.
Perform your own pre-sleep dream ritual sequence that should include some degree of dietary and cleansing purification, light or fire, and some form of physical body involvement whether it be movement or vocal. Throughout the course of your ritual, remind yourself, “This is a dream, a wonderful, beautiful sacred dream,” and experience the fullness of your ritual as such.
3. Practice pre-sleep sacred lucid dream meditation and intention.
It is not necessary to tell yourself you are dreaming after you lie down. If you have done this several times throughout the day, it should be programed into your consciousness well enough that it will be likely repeat itself automatically during a REM sleeping cycle. At this point it is best to free your mind of everything but pre-sleep meditative breathing and your lucid dream intentions.
As in the previous sacred dream practices, lie in a comfortable position and straighten your spine. Take a deep, comfortable breath and “feel” it as soft, bright light, traveling the length of your spine. Hold the breath momentarily, feeling its energy radiate in the area between your throat and heart. Exhale slowly. Repeat breathing in this manner until you are completely relaxed, and it becomes natural enough to continue without mental effort.
As you continue to breathe, declare emphatically, “Tonight when I dream, I will become lucid.” If you have been focusing on a sacred dream symbol that has been working for you, or have come to recognize a recurring dream pattern, integrate this into your declaration. For example, “Tonight when I see a feather falling I will know I am dreaming and become lucid.” Adding a dreamsign affords two different cognitive tools with which to help your sleeping mind recognize it is dreaming and achieve a state of lucidity. When you see the sign in your dream, you will probably automatically say to yourself, “This is a dream, a wonderful, beautiful sacred dream.” It is also fine to add a sacred lucid dream request or intention into your pre-sleep avowal, such as, “Tonight when I realize I am in the company of a deceased loved one, I will know I am dreaming and I will ask him what heaven is like.”
The key is to pattern your declaration on whatever you think is most likely to happen in the dream state that you might recognize from your prior dreaming experience and to use this as a conscious guide to prompt lucidity and a meaningful sacred dream experience. Above all, make the declaration emphatically to the cosmos and to your psyche audibly as least once, and then repeat it in your mind in rhythm with your meditative breathing until you fall asleep. If you wake up without memory of having had a sacred lucid dream, repeat the process. Remember, most people have longer periods of REM sleep in the early morning hours, after they have already passed through a couple of sleep cycles. It might take a few nights before you experience a sacred lucid dream; however, with the dreaming process, persistence will almost always be eventually rewarded.
4. Navigate your dream psyche and body to and through the sacred aspects of your lucid dream.
If you have had prior experience with lucid dreaming, you may have already developed a means of navigating yourself consciously and “physically” through them. If you have not, when you first become aware you are asleep and dreaming, affirm to yourself that you are dreaming and take a moment to appreciate the freedom and fluidity of your dream body. If you cannot seem to raise your dream body from the bed, relax and watch the dream with mild curiosity. You will probably drift back into a short interval of dreamless sleep and revert quickly to a lucid dream in which you are already “up,” and ready for action. Test some of your regular limitations – like flying or changing your physical size or shape— in the manner suggested by LaBerge and Tenzin Rinpoche’s Tibetan lucid dream yogas. Then reaffirm the fact that what you are experiencing is a wonderful, beautiful sacred dream, and start to look for or sense what is at work within the dream that is sacred in nature.
If you see or sense a sacred presence, interact with it in the way that seems the most appropriate. A better way to think about this might be to concentrate on trying to articulate what your relationship is with that presence and then act accordingly. For example, you might feel compelled to move near to the presence of a deceased close loved one and talk with compassion and relative freedom; however, you may well approach the presence of a divinity with a little more awe and reverence. In many cases, you may find yourself in the company of someone or something you sense has spiritual significance, but are not at all sure why, in which case it might be prudent not to make a move one way or another, but just to wait and see what happens. If it feels right, ask the presence whatever questions seem apt, such as “Who are you?” “Why have you come into my dream?” “Do you have a message for me?” “Is there something you want me to do for you?” or “How should I deal with such and such problem?”
I have found that most people who have sacred dreams of pure or intense light usually feel compelled to move toward it, and actually enter it, if possible. In some cases the light moves toward them, or is found present within their dream bodies from the onset of lucidity. However, there are cases in which a divine light seems unapproachable, or tends to purposely “deflect” the movement of the dreamer for one reason or another.
All dreams, especially those of a spiritual nature, are personal in narrative and emotional content, so no better advice can be given on how to move through sacred lucid dreams than to try and identify what is of a mystical nature within the dreamscape, then follow your own instincts. However, in most cases, respectfully trying to engage the dream presence in dialogue will usually help to explain what the significant message of the dream is within the course of the dream itself, or give valuable clues with which you can work with later.
Again, persistence is the foundational medium of sacred dreaming. The more you practice these sacred lucid dream techniques, the more you will experience sacred lucid dreaming, and the better you will become at navigating yourself through them. And ultimately, the sacred art of dreaming can enrich your life with spiritual wisdom and growth on an entirely new level.
Dr. Swick’s book, Dreaming – The Sacred Art is available for purchase from most major book retailers. It is available in paperback and e-book through Skylight Paths Publishing. A book signing will be held at the Arboretum Barnes & Noble on September 6th from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
Dr. Swick will also be holding a Dreaming as a Sacred Art Seminar Series from September through December 2014. Details are available on her website: www.loriswick.com