Transformational Dream Techniques

[Lin Neiswender]

Transformational Dreaming Techniques

In transformational dream work knowledge of dreams and the skill to
interpret them are only two skills among important others. In
transformational dream work one further learns: how to enter the sleep
and dream states; how to gradually and progressively over time work
within the dream state while dreaming; how to emerge from the dream
and sleep state; and how to reenter for greater dream memory and
understanding. Sage in future correspondences will explore and present
many of these tools.
ENTERING SLEEP
To enter sleep and dreams one should not be too exhausted. One should
be relaxed and stress free. If not take a short gentle walk, listen to
relaxing music or do deep breathing and relaxation exercises. When in
bed continue relaxing and practicing gentle, slow, even breathing. Let
your body melt into the mattress as if it were a warm wet rag.
Ideally, the body should become so relaxed in bed, you are not aware
of it. There are various ideal postures, but for now let's keep it
simple. Sleep on your back or on your right side. (Don't' sleep on
your stomach, though).
In later issues of Sage, elaboration on working with the breath and
focusing the mind will also be introduced. For now, one can enter
sleep and dreams by meditating through watching the breath while
becoming absorbed in its sound, and the awareness of being aware -
that one is pure consciousness, the inner Self. Let the in-breath and
out-breath be of equal length - five seconds or longer each way. One
should particularly note the space between the in breath and out
breath, in which the breath stills and stops for a spell. Let this
stillness at both ends of the breath be of equal length, and rest in
this "space." This is when one easily experiences the inner Self.
One who has learned the currently popular Christian meditation called
the Prayer of the Heart - focusing on the breath and spiritual heart
center while repeating a short prayer or name of God - can integrate
this practice here as entering sleep.
As one meditates in this way, one eventually enters a protected and
sacred "sleep" and experiences and passes through higher dreams, or
by-passes most dreams and enters a deep rejuvenating dreamless sleep
in a higher state of consciousness. One may or may not remember these
deeper experiences of the night, but one may feel the effects on
awakening from the feelings of greater peace and rest.
In an ancient Eastern text, the Yogavasistha, there is the story of
Bhusunda a sage in the form of a crow who lives in a wish-fulfilling
tree. He has lived longer than any on earth has ever lived. When
questioned by the sage Vasistha how he lived so long, Bhusunda
attributed his longevity to his contemplation (meditation) on the
life-force (prana) centered in his heart. He tells Vasistha that
through constantly watching his breath and the movement of the life
force with it, he has achieved a state of purity and an unshakable
state of mind - "total equanimity" - which he does not lose "whether I
am awake, asleep or dreaming." The Concise Yoga Vasistha {Swami
Venkatesananda, 285, 1984}.
AWAKENING FROM SLEEP AND DREAMS
On awakening in the morning it is important to remain perfectly still
before arising. If one doesn't move a muscle and keeps the mind quiet,
one can more easily keep a continuity of consciousness with the dream
state and thus more readily remember one's dreams.
While keeping the body perfectly still in the position you began to
awaken, trace back in your mind any dream impressions. At first these
may be fleeting. Just go back in your memory to whatever images or
impressions you were aware of. It may have just been a feeling or
thought, a color or simple form; a part of a dream or a whole dream.
Whatever it is, trace it back from the last part of it that occurred
back in time to earlier parts, if possible. Then, gently arise and
immediately write it down. If you remember or trace back a whole dream
experience, go to its beginning and then trace back further to see if
the time before it, leads you into an earlier dream. You may remember
the ending first, but no matter - trace it back until you recall as
much as possible. Always look to see if there was an earlier dream or
some other faint impression after finishing recalling all or parts of
a dream.
When immediately writing these down after arising, write in the order
they occur in your mind. You may find they occur in the order you were
recalling them in bed. After writing one dream or those segments
remembered, always look inside your memory for recollections, no
matter how faint of another. Thus, you will trace back in time while
writing as you did while in bed. You may even recall dream segments or
whole dreams as you write which you did not recall in bed. Over time
you may even begin to have spontaneous insights into the meaning g and
nature of the dream. It is important to know both the nature of the
dream and the meaning of the dream.
To learn more about Transformational Dreaming, I invite the reader to
explore my book Dream Yoga of Light: Dreams, Transformation and the
Evolution of Consciousness.

http://home.att.net/~dreampsychologist/pages/dreament.htm