What does blackness in a lucid dream mean?

[ileisou]

Hi,

Since it's still impossible for me to astral project from an awake state for now, I'm trying to astral project from a lucid dream. Whenever I manage to become lucid in an ordinary dream, I tell myself to stop playing in the non-physical (I love to fly or pierce things with my hands) and try to boost my awareness in order to astral project, and as soon as I have this thought complete blackness appears. Why does this happen? What does that blackness mean?

What happens next varies. Sometimes I experience false awakening, sometimes the lucid dream keeps going in a different scene. Once, while I was trying to get out of my body struggling with what seemed like a magnetic force, I think I managed to see my astral arms, but I'm not sure, because since the blackness shows up the experience lasts no more than five seconds.

Thank you for any help you might give.

[EscapeVelocity]

In my opinion, you have already demonstrated more instinctive understanding than you realize you have. You 'know' that you can fly or pierce walls with your hands; no fear, no doubt...this is what I mean by instinctive NP (Non-Physical) knowledge. We all have some NP knowledge, some more than others; it can be developed and increased with repeated experiences and a little direction from others when we get lost. The problem is that we have no one to give us directions, so we remain stuck where we are.

That is partly why this forum is so valuable: the sharing of ideas and perspectives to help us get the car out of the ditch.

Ileisou, you need to shift your perspective. You are thinking of Astral Projection from a PR (Physical Reality) perspective. You are spending much of your effort in trying to have what is generally regarded as a RTZ or Etheric Projection, where you feel your 'energy' body float up from your physical body like a ghost and go floating around your bedroom, your house and your neighborhood. That is a perfectly valid and true form of projection but it is only one form and a somewhat limited one; there are others. Many of us start out with these types of projections, but we move on from them into other forms of AP (such as LDs). In your case, I think you have already moved ahead and are experiencing aspects of these other forms of AP; you just don't recognize or understand this fact and therefore you are stuck.

For those people who get this far it seems to be a fairly normal predicament. I have seen it with others and experienced it myself, to a degree. It is one of the first big lessons in demonstrating just how much your PR-based perspective needs to change...and it will not be the last time! lol

You have described a perfectly mature understanding of the opportunity that a Lucid Dream affords you. You know not to fool around and waste time, you have a clear Intention to turn it into an Astral adventure and exit your Physical body. The problem is that you are already 'out'; just not in the manner you were expecting!

At this point in your experience, your desire to have that RTZ/Etheric floating-out-of-the-body experience is moving backwards in the process, and you are setting up an internal conflict...a computer command that results in 'this does not compute'. Do you ask a kid in the 7th grade to go back and repeat the 3rd grade?

The fact that you are getting False Awakenings and alternate Lucid Dreams or the 'fight with the magnetic pull' is probably your higher self/inner self/guide/mentor/teacher trying to show you that you are already 'out' and that your continued efforts at a RTZ exit are pointless. I would compare it to starting your car in the morning and continuing to engage the starter when the car is already running.

You may have been expecting something else, but by accepting the idea that the 'fun and games' of the Lucid Dream world have to finally come to an end and that it is time to look for other challenges in the NP...well, you might have entered the NPR school system and it is now expecting you to learn some very basic ideas; this system seems to sharply curtail any further 'joy rides'. Each experience you will encounter will have aspects of fun, challenge, fear, and testing of your abilities. You can go to sleep with the Intent and expectation of a certain experience, but if you then find yourself in a LD with a different experience, you should accept it as a learning experience and 'go with the flow'...this will involve a combination of your rational skills and your instinctive skills and the ability to know when to use either one. Great fun! I screw up all the time!

Eventually, you realize that every NP experience is a learning experience, carefully designed, crafted and executed for each one of us. And probably everything in this world, as well...

The 'blackness'...

This is the essential experience that ties your other experiences together and tells me just where you are.

The 3 Dimensional Blackness, the Void-

You know it when you see it; you know it when you are there...it is variously described as an infinitely deep blackness, other times like a huge underground cavern where you only suspect the walls are just out of sight. Some times just inky blackness, sometimes with a faint star field or points of light. There can be seen and/or you can 'feel' a certain texture to the darkness, almost velvet or a kind of 3 dimensional depth.

Some people have described it not as a blackness, but an incredible whiteness...IDK

I have read that it is the fundamental essence of the Universe/Multiverse, the basic un-defined essence that God/the Source uses to construct the various Realities. Maybe it is Dark Energy. I don't know except that it is very awe-inspiring on a very deep level within me whenever I am there. It is an incredibly calming place to spend time in, very healing.

The Void is also a kind of launch pad to take you anywhere you want to go; you only have to express your thought or Intent. It is like Square One. In that sense, it is also a very basic lesson...you express a desire to dissolve the fabrication of a Lucid Dream, such as you did ileisou, and you are left with a clear sheet of paper, a blank computer screen...the Void...and its' lesson is asking you...okay, where would you like to go? The Multiverse is at your command...

You can ask a question within it and often get an answer, you can express an Intent, you can focus on a point of light or a section of the 'texture' that 'pulls' you and be taken to an adventure...or you can just hang out and relax like I did in my Fieldtrip experience until 'someone' reached out to me...

I hope that answers some questions and gets the car out of the ditch and back on the road. All you need to do is ask for what you want every night; they are now listening for you. Set your Intention, be polite and respectful of those who may be guiding you. You may get an experience that meets your Intention, but often 'they' will have something else in mind; be willing to accept that now.

And have fun!

EV

[ileisou]

Hello EscapeVelocity,

Thank you so much for you long response, it is extremely valuable for me, I assure you. I also want to thank you for your warm welcome as a new member on this forum.

I'm so glad that I finally made up my mind to take part on this forum. I've been reading a lot of posts and educating myself about AP for a long time but, although it seems obvious, it's now, after reading your answer, that I realize how helpful it is to be given advice for your own barriers and doubts by a knowledgeable person. After so many continuous failures (more accurately what I thought were failures) I realize I needed someone to tell me that I'm actually on the right path since I was a little disheartened.

This forum is so great... I have no experienced person to whom I can talk about this matter in my real life, so here I can get the help I wouldn't find otherwise.

I think I get the point of everything you told me. Your words make a lot of sense to me, I feel I connected with your message somehow. You gave me a new pespective, the right approach I suspect. I'm going to think about everything you said carefully, there's a lot of stuff to take into account.

I'm looking forward to put this into practice, which is for me a sort of revelation.

[EscapeVelocity]

You are very welcome ileisou!

If you allow your Lucid Dream to unfold and develop on its' own, if you don't immediately force changes within the environment, you will likely find that that there is a story/a theme/a challenge that you should attempt to follow. Often you get no instructions, you have to proceed with the storyline until you realize the purpose of the simulation. Along the way you will get small tests, many of which you will only recognize afterwards. You will also be introduced to new abilities and given opportunities to demonstrate them.

And given a number of these experiences, you will probably be given that RTZ/Etheric exit experience, sort of thrown in as a bonus at some point.

Here is an experience that illustrates some of the ideas I have mentioned and the excellent advice I was given in interpretation of it. It begins with a Phasing exit, but the resulting environment is much like a LD environment.

http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_projection_experiences/grass_gravel_and_an_old_friend-t44831.0.html

[ileisou]

Thank you very much again, EV. I find the thread rather interesting.

So far I was trying too hard to get a specific experience in the Etheric Plane and I was disregarding anything else that didn't meet my expectations. From now on, as you said, I'll just go with the flow, I'll accept and enjoy any experience in the NPR as a new chance to learn a lesson and improve my NP skills. Maybe it's just not time yet to get what I want. I'll be patient.

You mentioned the ungranted desire to make contact with you Guides in the thread. There are a lot of reasons why I want to astral project and one of the paramount ones is to get in touch with my Guides, I have important questions for them that I feel anyone else can answer properly. After reading the posts now I know that it is not an easy task, they likely won't show up. It's good to know that in advance as I'll avoid being frustrated.

[Subtle Traveler]

Thank you very much again, EV. I find the thread rather interesting.

So far I was trying too hard to get a specific experience in the Etheric Plane and I was disregarding anything else that didn't meet my expectations. From now on, as you said, I'll just go with the flow, I'll accept and enjoy any experience in the NPR as a new chance to learn a lesson and improve my NP skills. Maybe it's just not time yet to get what I want. I'll be patient.

You mentioned the ungranted desire to make contact with you Guides in the thread. There are a lot of reasons why I want to astral project and one of the paramount ones is to get in touch with my Guides, I have important questions for them that I feel anyone else can answer properly. After reading the posts now I know that it is not an easy task, they likely won't show up. It's good to know that in advance as I'll avoid being frustrated.

Welcome to the forum Ileisou ...

I met my primary guide when out of body. It was one of my primary objectives also, when starting out with OBE's. However, what I eventually learned is that communicating with your guidance does not require being out of body (or projecting). There are many ways to contact guidance in the physical - writing is one that I currently use. I keep a notebook by my bed and usually jot done a question or comment. If you do this, leave time for them to respond (sometimes days), because humans are ones who live in a time-based reality (not non-physical guides). I most often have vocal or "knowing" contact by them in dreams and in the hypnogogic state just before waking up.

When working with your guidance (successfully), it is important to be aware of the energy you are holding or projecting. So ... if you come forward and present as "frustrated" then this will be reflected back to you ... if you are simply "open and appreciative" then this will be reflected back to you. I mention this because you are already starting off with a critical energy (e.g., "they won't show up"), and you are going to attract what you are holding forth (e.g., you do not perceive your guides showing up).

Guidance is always there, and they want to engage or help or whatever is necessary for the moment. Try listening to this video (from Abraham), and listen especially to the final (4th) suggestion about "acknowledging guidance". It is very instructive about how to establish the energetic needed for contact with guidance. I can tell you from my own experience that this works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_RHbbMY8LU

[Bloodshadow]

from your post it seems that the blackness that you experience is just a transitioning, between that blackness and where you want to get there is a decision or action that need to be made, to determine where you wind up next. I say create a portal within the blackness leading into the NP, thru this portal you want to envision your room on the other side, and just step thru.

[ileisou]

Hi Subtle Traveler

Thank you for sharing your insight as to communicating with guides. I agree with you about taking care of the energy we project with our thoughts and attitude, not just regarding guides but anything else. You did well to remind me of that since it's something I have to work on.

I already knew there were other easier methods to get help from guides. For instance, I tried asking them while falling asleep. I didn't succeed though. Or maybe I was given some signs or symbolic dreams as an answer that I couldn't figure out, I don't know. Anyway, what I would like is to have an interview face to face with my guides but I understand that it's not how it works most of the time. So I'm open to that occurring, but in the meantime I'll try again with other methods like the one you described. Thank you for the video as well, I'm sure it will help.



Bloodshadow,

I think you used the right word. It's like the black transitions we sometimes see in movies to separate different scenes or stories.

While in the blackness, I used to ask firmly (even shouting sometimes) to appear in my bedroom but it always ended up like I described in my post above.

[Nameless]

Hi ileisou and welcome to the forum. Sorry I haven't responded earlier, I've just been a bit busy lately.
The reason I'm responding now is to let you know how very lucky you are. EV (Escapevlocity) and ST (Subtle Traveler) are two of the best responders I know. They each give excellent advice and have a real grasp on the finer things involving astral projection. There is really nothing more I can add at this point to what they have said but am enjoying reading your progress. Hugs

[ileisou]

Hi Nameless,

Thank you for your welcome.

I couldn't agree with you more. As I said earlier, I'm very happy to be here and I really appreciate the help they both gave me, I'm excited to read such a good advice from knowledgeable people.