Improving Dream Awareness

[ThaomasOfGrey]

Hey guys,

I have been turning my attention more and more towards astral projection in the sleep/dream state during the night. I haven't had any success in my last ~100 attempts of meditative projection but I reliably have conscious dreams each night and I feel this plays to my strengths.

My short term goal is to move from dreams where I am consciously aware into dreams that I consciously control. There seems to be a mental barrier of some kind between my awareness in dream realities and this reality. While I am making conscious decisions in the dream, I still don't realize that what I am experiencing is a dream most of the time. I feel like if I could flip that switch I would access a new realm of possibilities.

I have been scrubbing my memory for dreams each morning and have started writing down what I remember. It is a powerful technique and is allowing me to recall up to 2 or 3 different dreams in a given night. There is one reoccurring theme that I have noticed about these dreams. They almost always involve fist fighting some intimidating character, whether it is a stranger in the house, a zombie in some kind of haunted house or a giant in the super market.

Does anyone have any advice for me pertaining to raising my awareness in dreams?

[Lumaza]

I have been turning my attention more and more towards astral projection in the sleep/dream state during the night. I haven't had any success in my last ~100 attempts of meditative projection but I reliably have conscious dreams each night and I feel this plays to my strengths.

It's always good to go with your strengths. Last year while I was having problems consciously Aping I too relied solely on my LDs.

My short term goal is to move from dreams where I am consciously aware into dreams that I consciously control. There seems to be a mental barrier of some kind between my awareness in dream realities and this reality. While I am making conscious decisions in the dream, I still don't realize that what I am experiencing is a dream most of the time. I feel like if I could flip that switch I would access a new realm of possibilities.

Actually I have found that many times it is important not to become consciously aware in my Dreams. I know that doesn't sound like it makes any sense. But many times the realization of being in a LD stopped my dream/simulation cold. I then learned how to become a actor in them without actually ending the current scenario. I was fully consciously aware of my own actions though and just went with the current script, per say. I did that until something disastrous occurred, then I would find myself re scripting the scene repeatedly until a better outcome was found. This re scripting was actually taught to me spontaneously a couple of years ago. After a while I learned it was a valuable tool. After I learned how to stay conscious in the dream, I could stay in the same dream/simulation for quite a while.

I have been scrubbing my memory for dreams each morning and have started writing down what I remember. It is a powerful technique and is allowing me to recall up to 2 or 3 different dreams in a given night. There is one reoccurring theme that I have noticed about these dreams. They almost always involve fist fighting some intimidating character, whether it is a stranger in the house, a zombie in some kind of haunted house or a giant in the super market.

Does anyone have any advice for me pertaining to raising my awareness in dreams?

A Dream Journal is very important if you wish to learn how to consciously maneuver in your dreams/simulations. Even a couple of key words written in the morning means a lot when you go back after about a month and try to find patterns. I have noticed though that I needed to tone down my intent to remember everything from every dream I had. I was awaking 3-4 times a night just after a dream. That got to be exhausting after awhile, especially if I had something important to do the next day. I have had many of the fight/survival, what I call "Hero" dreams as well. These taught me how to extinguish a confrontational scenario in a non violent way.

...on your request for raising your dream awareness, there are many things you can do. You can yell out for "Lucidity Now". You could ground yourself to the scene. After while of logging your dreams you will see patterns and repeat scenarios occurring, these will help you become consciously aware that you are in a dream/simulation event. You can rub your hands or even look at your hands. What do you think would help yourself to know you are dreaming?

[ThaomasOfGrey]

It's always good to go with your strengths. Last year while I was having problems consciously Aping I too relied solely on my LDs.

Actually I have found that many times it is important not become consciously aware in my Dreams. I know that doesn't sound like it makes any sense. But many times the realization of being in a LD stopped my dream/simulation cold. I then learned how to become of a actor without actually ending the current scenario. I was fully consciously aware of my own actions though and just went with the current script, per say. I did that until something disastrous occurred, then I would find myself re scripting the scene repeatedly until a better outcome was found. This re scripting was actually taught to me spontaneously. But after a while I learned it was a valuable tool. After I learned how to stay conscious in the dream, I stay in the same dream/simulation for quite a while.

It is interesting that you mention realization of being in a dream stopping it; I have experienced the same thing, usually after realization I wake up within seconds. I understand allowing the scenario to carry you but I haven't experienced replaying a scenario, I want to try this.

I have long simulations as well, sometimes it feels like hours and covers multiple scenarios. I tend to lose most of the memories though, I recall the most significant moments from each experience. Once you are in conscious control of the dream, have you ever been able to transition into other types of experiences like real time zone or high astral planes?

A Dream Journal is very important if you wish to learn how to consciously maneuver in your dreams/simulations. Even a couple of key words written in the morning means a lot when you go back after about a month and try to find patterns. I have noticed though that I needed to tone down my intent to remember everything from every dream I had. I was awaking 3-4 times a night just after a dream. That got to be exhausting after awhile, especially if I had something important to do the next day. I have had many of the fight/survival, what I call "Hero" dreams as well. These taught me how to extinguish a confrontational scenario in a non violent way.

Interesting, I have been thinking that there probably is some kind of lesson in these dreams, but I never imagined that non violence could be it.

...on your request for raising your dream awareness, there are many things you can do. You can yell out for "Lucidity Now". You could ground yourself to the scene. After while of logging your dreams you will see patterns and repeat scenarios occurring, these will help you become consciously aware that you are in a dream/simulation event. You can rub your hands or even look at your hands. What do you think would help yourself to know you are dreaming?

Ah, repeating patterns. This is an excellent piece of info, I think it will work for me. I am aware of the tricks to solidify a dream but I usually never think to do them. Even at times I am aware that I am dreaming but I still forget to do anything other than go along with it. Triggers to really bring about that certain awareness that the event is a dream sounds like a good start. In the past these triggers have been seeing someone that I know to be dead in this reality and sometimes the detection of something which is just too bizarre.

Last time I became aware forgot to use the real techniques to determine if it was a dream. Instead I tried to inspect the physical reality and found it indecipherable from this one. Then I tested the psyche of the group of people by yelling "this is a dream!". Their reaction was what I would expect in this reality, but on some level I could still tell that I was the source of these entities.

Great advice, cheers!

[Lumaza]

Once you are in conscious control of the dream, have you ever been able to transition into other types of experiences like real time zone or high astral planes?

Yes, I have. This happened by willing a doorway into the scene and going through it. I have had higher plane experiences though, like what I call "Downloads" for instance. These seem like info is being transmitted to my brain from some source at a high rate of speed. Sometimes I can actually slow them down enough to see symbols or text/language of some kind. But to my waking mind, these symbols, etc. make no sense. I have also been to realms of just light. These were incredible and words can't really explain what you feel there. It's like a form of "euphoria".

the only times I transitioned to a real time zone event was briefly awaking in a bout of SP and seeing it through. I then felt myself shooting out of my body, going down my hallway and out my patio window. But that's where the RTZ experience ended though. Because on the other side of my window was another realm completely different then this one.

Last night I had a horrific simulation/adventure that should have ended in re scripting. It all happened when I found myself out of body and just kind of cruising around. I walked by all kinds of people, went through walls, flew up, flew down. This part was very enjoyable.

But then I passed by a woman. She was attractive and in either her late 20's or early 30's. She stood out in my mind for some reason. So after I played some more, I decided to search her out. I came up to a Motel and looked inside the room. What I saw was horrific. A man, I assume it to be her husband or boyfriend was attempting to smother her with a pillow. There were 3 small other bodies in the room as well. I take this to be her children. They each had taped boxes on their heads. I guess this was to smother them slowly as well.

I immediately passed through the wall and grabbed him by his throat and held it until I rendered him unconscious. I then took the boxes off the kid's heads and tried to revive them. They seemed to be okay, but were quite lethargic. I then went to the Mother to help her and found she was lethargic as well. I figured the guy must have drugged them first. Then I put him into a weird vile I had. For some reason he had shrunk so I could do that. I then went looking for my "Superiors" to see what I should do with him next. The scenario then ended.

I sat in my bed for awhile just thinking about what I should have or could have done differently. Yes I know Monday morning quarterbacking didn't help after the fact. But, I was still disturbed by this whole scene. Could it have been a "Retrieval" of some sort? Yes, it could have been. A test maybe? Yes, but it caught me off guard and I acted by impulse instead of reasoning.

I take it I failed this time!   I did save the Mom and kids though. So, it wasn't a total failure. I wonder what happened to the guy in the vile though. I have a feeling my Superiors frowned upon the way I dealt with that one.

[ThaomasOfGrey]

Incredible experience. I am fascinated by your mention of "superiors". Is this something that was unique to this dream? The concept sounds a little abstract in the context of this OBE. Do you imagine the superiors as "spirit guides" of some kind of a deep subconscious understanding of what was meant to be achieved in this test?

"I acted by impulse instead of reasoning" is how these scenarios have been playing out for me most of the time. After reading this post though I had another OBE that night, yet another one of these hero dreams taking place in a video store from my home town. This time I was faced by a person from my past that gave me a lot of trouble in school. The situation with this individual reached a climax in my final year and I badly wanted to fight this guy but I had to resist because I was a school captain. I have been carrying that event heavily with me ever since and I feel like it may be the reason I keep having these fighting dreams.

I think that this post stuck in my mind during the OBE because I was able to resolve the encounter with this person without any violence or trouble. Literally moments later I broke out into a fight with another stranger in the same room. Seems like I learned to respond better to people of my past but I still respond negatively to threatening strangers. No doubt there will be more iterations of this until I learn the lesson :p

[Lumaza]

Incredible experience. I am fascinated by your mention of "superiors". Is this something that was unique to this dream? The concept sounds a little abstract in the context of this OBE. Do you imagine the superiors as "spirit guides" of some kind of a deep subconscious understanding of what was meant to be achieved in this test?

The Superiors, the "Others", "Guides", they can be known my many names. I believe there is a definite structure in the "NPR", as in rules and if there are rules there must be a structure that keeps those rules. If there wasn't structure there, then why is that most people's descriptions on NDEs seem to follow the same path, as in tunnels with other deceased people in them, etc.? Also another question, many people seem to encounter a "shadow figure" of some kind when they have their first OBE. Now I know it's a fear test. But why is it we all or most of all of us have the same initial fear test? Once again, these questions are hard to answer, unless you enter "structure" into the equation. One day I am going to make a thread here on "structure". I would enjoy hearing other member's opinion on this as well.

Just one last thing to add here about structure n the NPR. If there wasn't structure, then who initiates the Retrievals? Szaxx, I would like to hear your view on that, if you could. Do we just go out blindly search for "lost souls" purely from intent or are we "assigned" them and what about the place we bring them, is that part of our own making as well? This is another thing that many that do Retrievals have in common. The first spontaneous one that we had seemed to be along the same line as many other people that have had them as well. Coincidence? I can't believe I used that word because I don't believe in "coincidences'.

"I acted by impulse instead of reasoning" is how these scenarios have been playing out for me most of the time. After reading this post though I had another OBE that night, yet another one of these hero dreams taking place in a video store from my home town. This time I was faced by a person from my past that gave me a lot of trouble in school. The situation with this individual reached a climax in my final year and I badly wanted to fight this guy but I had to resist because I was a school captain. I have been carrying that event heavily with me ever since and I feel like it may be the reason I keep having these fighting dreams.

These are lessons in forgiveness and everyone has them. Although most people aren't consciously aware of them.

I think that this post stuck in my mind during the OBE because I was able to resolve the encounter with this person without any violence or trouble. Literally moments later I broke out into a fight with another stranger in the same room. Seems like I learned to respond better to people of my past but I still respond negatively to threatening strangers. No doubt there will be more iterations of this until I learn the lesson :p

A test within a test. You will get used to these. It's like a obstacle course sometimes. Just as you jump one hurdle another one presents itself to be leapt as well, lol!  

[Szaxx]

A test within a test. You will get used to these.

Indeed, they present themselves and you'll be torn between the correct action to take and one you'll think is good. 
A very clever guide would say that you need to assess each aspect of the presented situations into two categories. These are needs and wants. They actually apply to you.
To take action on what needs to be done correctly, isn't always the same action you'd want to take.
This differentiation is very important.
In retrievals, your mind is running at top speed with no room for errors. A small one can be corrected at your expense. A large one is a fail.
Time is absorbed at speed when you're indecisive so the correct mindset is required.

In tests, things move slowly and they can repeat in a similar way if you didn't quite do what was required. A recurring dream sort of thing. It clicks eventually and another one follows with increasing difficulty each time.
You can always solve them, it appears these tests condition you to think correctly and not as in your physical world personality.
To answer a question.
Everything is equal including things you detest in the physical. If its your mission to help one of these characters you don't like, you do it without question.
They will learn what they need to learn from it. That is more important than your emotional frame of mind.
As you can guess, you are assigned the task as its within your abilities to be successful. We as individuals do things differently and it appears the 'powers that be' select the best person for the job. I've been offered a few and sent on thousands with no say.
As I've been asked to do certain missions, my assumption was they could easily fail. This extra pressure doesn't help too. Within these few, doing what was correct against doing what I wanted made the job successful.
You rarely find out the details as they don't matter. You do feel something good though, it may be a way of showing you were successful.
Failure is not an option, that's my motto and I don't recall one fail in the last 30 years of doing retrievals.
I'm touching wood now lol.

[ThaomasOfGrey]

I don't know the answer to who initiates retrievals. My naive guess at these mechanics is that the individuals involved have some kind of special energy connection or attraction for whatever reason. It is a little strange to think that there are conscious entities arranging it but I can't discount that possibility.

I once had an astral projection that I am not sure whether it was a retrieval scenario or not. I was sitting at a table with an old neighbour that had died some 15 years previously. In the context of the dream the old man was dying and I was trying to explain to him what he could expect to happen to ease his mind. He was in flat out denial mode, I don't think I achieved anything.

If this really was a retrieval I wouldn't say it is random. Perhaps I am the only person from that man's life that has the answers he needs and that is the energy that draws us together.


The point I am getting from these last posts is to act like loving person regardless of how I feel in all realities. I suppose that actually feeling it comes in time, like faking it until you make it?

[Szaxx]

Almost correct, think about this outside of the physical world. If you fake anything, the mind reading ability that's common will kick your faking it into the open. Then your intent as to why your faking it  will be known. The intent is very important. For most practitioners in their early days the mind reading ability isn't developed enough for them to see into others minds. If you are with an entity from the environment your visiting, you'll soon learn that they'll either communicate or avoid you. They see your personality and can read you before you've even thought of something. If you've anything on your mind, they see this too. That's how your guides help you, they always know before you do.
Intent is everything, that's why being annoyed in the physical isn't a good time to go to the NP. You may end up in an environment matching your mindset at that time. These locations are not that nice, you see yourself being reflected back at you. If you wanted to hurt someone rather than forgive with understanding, this will be directed at you in your experience as a learning experience. You may see the light immediately, if not you soon will. That's why doing as asked in things like retrievals is exactly what you do. If you hate it or its almost pushing you past your limits, both parties learn from the experience.
You become a better personality from these experiences in the NP and it reflects your decision making in the physical.
Can you see the full circle here?
You develop spiritually and physically too.
It's a life changing art we participate in.

[ThaomasOfGrey]

I think I understand, but this part is still a little foggy; taking action on what needs to be done versus what you would like to do. In a hypothetical situation where a given individual needs help and I do not wish to help them, it is obvious to me that the correct thing to do is to help them, however, a 3rd party entity that can read my mind would know that I didn't want to do it.

This is what I was getting at when I said "faking it", but maybe that is the wrong thing to say. What is the difference between doing something you know is right that you don't want to do, and doing something you know is right and also wanting to do it?

[Szaxx]

Not wanting to do something and actually not doing it will help no-one.
Along the line one day when you're mindset is happier and you recall not doing the job. This may remove your pleasantries somewhat.
You lose out for not helping when you really should have and if there's not enough happiness in the physical for you at the time of the recall, it reverberates negatively.
Why lower yourself this way when the art of projection promotes spiritual growth?
Youre working for the greater good. That's one way of looking at it.
Going out of your way to help others that need help is very positive in every way (assuming no negative connotations follow).

[ThaomasOfGrey]

I understand the importance of helping others for spiritual growth and positivity. I think we have been side tracked a little because I am trying to talk hypothetical or past tense here. I am not a negative person, nor am I out to hurt anyone. In the past I did feel a lot of anger and hatred towards to people that bullied myself and others; that was nearly 10 years ago.

The reason I have carried these events in my heart is not because I have a vendetta against these people. It is because I was faced with a situation wherein I felt like I needed to make a stand against bullying but was unable to because violence wasn't an option and I had no non-violent solution. I think a lot of it is a matter of pride; I feel like I let others and myself down.

Back with doing things you do not wish to do, I suppose that there has to be motivation for any given action. When someone I don't really know asks me to go out my way and give them a ride to the airport, I do it, even when it is a big inconvenience for me. I make these decisions because it is the "right thing to do" or I can empathize with their situation. I also wish to live a positive life, but I think there is a big difference between doing something because you know it is right and that is the kind of person you want to be and doing something because taking the right action is its own reward.

Perhaps the question I am trying to ask is, should we accept that we do things we do not want to do, or should we fundamentally change our thinking so everything we want to do is always the right thing?

Is a person whose motivation is to become a better person but still recognizes inconvenience to themselves "faking" it from a mind reading perspective?

[Lumaza]

Perhaps the question I am trying to ask is, should we accept that we do things we do not want to do, or should we fundamentally change our thinking so everything we want to do is always the right thing?

There will always be things that we don't want to do, but do them anyway. You will find that relationships whether by friend, Family or romance are filled with time like these. It could be the "right thing" to do for many reasons. No we don't need to fundamentally change our thinking on that. That's what makes us Human, the ability to reason and accept things are actions for what they are.

Is a person whose motivation is to become a better person but still recognizes inconvenience to themselves "faking" it from a mind reading perspective?

If you wish to become a better person, you do things to work towards that goal. But you will still recognize inconvenience. It's just that you won't show it on the outside. That's where your "inside voice" comes into play, lol. Yes you are faking it from a mind reading perspective. That's one of the many reasons that "Telepathy" hasn't become a real thing in this current physical reality "yet". But, Telepathy is the chosen mode of conversation in the "other realms". So is quests, tests and puzzles. I think this is because quests, tests and puzzles don't need the use of verbal language. If a entity didn't speak our Human language, they could still get their meaning to you by challenges and quests. It's just that after the fact you need to discern what the actual message they were trying to convey was.

[ThaomasOfGrey]

Thanks for the clarification, this answer resonates with me.

I am fascinated by the concept of extra reality experiences as a method of communication. I have read of the use of images and emotions but not something so complex as a quest. It makes sense as a most efficient mechanism of understanding. Is such an experience decipherable from a normal lucid dream?

It seems you are suggesting that some of the lesson based experiences we have in other realities could be messages from other beings. If this is the case I would have to wonder "why me?". One day when I meet a spirit guide I anticipate that the scientist in me will want to ask a pile of technical questions, haha.

[Lumaza]

It makes sense as a most efficient mechanism of understanding. Is such an experience decipherable from a normal lucid dream?

It depends, what's a "normal" Lucid Dream? 

If this is the case I would have to wonder "why me?". One day when I meet a spirit guide I anticipate that the scientist in me will want to ask a pile of technical questions, haha.

Why you? Because you have shown you are ready to see this.

You can do that. But first you need to get over the excitement of just having a other realm experience. That seems to take quite awhile. When I first started to become aware on a regular basis I was told constantly to "just observe". My questions were then answered when they felt I was ready to "listen".

[Szaxx]

I think perspective has been mixed on this. Your question,

Perhaps the question I am trying to ask is, should we accept that we do things we do not want to do, or should we fundamentally change our thinking so everything we want to do is always the right thing?

We should fundamentally change our thinking so everything we NEED to do is always the right thing.


Is a person whose motivation is to become a better person but still recognizes inconvenience to themselves "faking" it from a mind reading perspective?

No, if they are wanting to achieve the motivational goal with flying colours.
If its just something they're putting up with to 'look good' then they're faking it. This is then a selfish ego based attitude showing itself.

One reason why you can't attain the dream control state you mentioned in the first post is possibly due to an overly physical world oriented mindset. When many try but fail its not their ability, its more their lack of knowledge on how the physics work.

I'll try to put all of the above into perspective.
Let's take a hypothetical situation you may find in both the NP and the physical. I'll take the perspective from both sides.

A guy is crawling up a steep riverbank, he's covered in filth and his clothes are ripped. Nothing but him seems out of place.

A physical perspective,
I see the guy and wonder what's happened. My thoughts are, is he a threat? Is he suffering from something harmful? I can only deduce why he's in this state from the local environment.

A non-physical perspective.
I see the guy and look into his thoughts to initially find his intentions. Then I'll let him know I'm here and send him mental images of where to look. While he's doing this I may read deeper and see what he's gone through to be in this predicament. I have the ability to do this without his knowledge of me reading him. I can also playback his memories and emotions that led to this (in some environments). I rarely use this as you become him and feel everything he did. This can be an emotional strain in certain circumstances.

The automatic method of assessment is totally different for the two environments.
In the physical I'm trapped with sight being the best sense to use.
In the NP I have telepathy available. Sight is second rate by far in comparison.

To move an object to aid his escape from the steep riverbank is limited to its size and weight in the physical
In the NP he can be levitated clear with a thought.


If you are unfamiliar with the way things work, they most likely won't. You can't expect a baby to drive a car the same as you can't have full control of everything in your first NP experience. You take small steps and eventually this teaches you how it works. Once you have grasped how to use thought, things open to you.
We all have the basics within us and it appears some of us have a knack almost instantly.
This is shown in LD's, the more control, the better. If you've had many LD's, it makes things easier to learn.
Your inherent level of awareness is the guide.