"Life Is But A Dream"

                     Paris Guffey posted:

Using a potent method of guided imagery, you will conjure therapists, healers, and endless
Utopias in your waking dreams. 

                         LIFE IS BUT A DREAM

The dream Yogis of ancient Tibet were known for an extraordinary mental feat. Using a potent
method of mental imagery, they retreated more and more deeply into themselves until they
started to dream; and they did so without ever loosing conscious awareness. According to the
Tibetan Book of The Dead, edited by Oxford scholar W. Y. Evens-Wentz, the dream Yogis had
almost total control over broad aspects of these "waking dreams." By consciously controlling
these dreamlike images, the Yogis created endless Edens, explored alternate realities, and
came to terms with such issues as the nature of reality and the meaning of life. In the latter part
of the twentieth century, the dream Yogis' exact methodology remains obscure. Now, however,
we present "high lucidity," our version of the Tibetan Yogis' conscious dreams. 

In line with our own research, we base our version of high lucidity on a technique known as alert
relaxation, in which the body becomes increasingly relaxed while the mind remains alert.
Athletes often enter this alerted state of consciousness to mentally rehearse their manoeuvres.
Cancer patients tap this realm, rallying their immune systems to fight the burgeoning cells that
threaten their lives. And people interested in altered states of consciousness have even used
the technique to experience the expansive feeling of sensation between body and mind. 

In the exercises presented below, you will learn to use alert relaxation to intensify your
spontaneous mental imagery until it evolves into a conscious dream. Because you will maintain
conscious awareness through the entire experience, high lucidity should provide you with a
greater degree of control than you would have even in a lucid dream - a dream in which you
become aware that you are dreaming WHILE YOU ARE FAST ASLEEP. Once you have
learned to induce high lucidity, you can learn to change dream weather, alter dream scenery,
and gain greater insight into the range of symbols and feelings inhabiting your unconscious
mind. 

It would be most unusual for anyone to report problems as a result of the exercises below -
especially since they do not attempt to replace psychotherapy in any way, shape, or form. If you
have a history of emotional or psychiatric problems, however, or if you feel at all uncomfortable
about any of the exercises, we suggest that you check with your therapist or psychiatrist before
proceeding. In such cases, you might wish to carry out the high lucid exercises under his or her
clinical guidance. 

We also want to emphasise that our dream healer exercise in no way replaces conventional
medical treatment. If you have cancer, AIDS, or some other very serious illness, we suggest
that you practice these techniques only with the help of a guided-imagery professional referred
to you by your personal physician or by a teaching hospital, and in conjunction with all
recommended medical procedures. 

Please remember, the best way to master high lucid dreaming is one step at a time. Give
yourself time to focus on each of the exercises, and don't rush any of them. Although the
regimen described in the following pages is designed to be carried out in ten days, do not feel
constrained if you prefer to take longer. 

We do not recommend completing the exercises in less than ten days, however, or trying to
squeeze an entire week's worth of exercises into one weekend. Although most of the exercises
we present are conceptually simple, their combined impact could be profound. 

We recommend that you allow your abilities to evolve gradually, giving yourself an opportunity to
adjust. Moreover, since high lucid dreams, much like ordinary dreams, reflect your current
mood, a balanced approach should increase your enjoyment and the overall scope of your
adventures. 

Finally, please do not be discouraged if you do not immediately have vivid waking dreams.
Achieving this altered state takes considerable practice. We recommend that once you have
learned the basic technique on days one, two, and three, you continue practising on a nightly
basis throughout the next two weeks. We have every expectation that by following these
procedures, you will eventually learn to enter the intense state of high lucidity directly from
waking consciousness, claiming ever more power over your life and your dreams. 

A TEN-DAY JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF WAKING DREAMS 

During the next three days you will descend through layers of consciousness until you have
learned to generate images as rich and evocative as those in your nightly dreams. 

DAY ONE: ALTERED STATES

On day one you will learn the technique of alert relaxation, in which the body enters a state of
deep relaxation while the mind remains acutely alert. While in the altered state of alert
relaxation, you will remain mentally alert while slowly becoming so relaxed that, in a physical
sense, you will virtually fall asleep. Through this process, you should be able to enter your
dreams without ever loosing conscious awareness. 

Before you proceed with this exercise, please read the rest of the instructions for day one in
advance. If possible, ask a friend to guide you through the relaxation exercise that follows. If
that is not possible, record your own voice reading the following instructions on a cassette tape
before you begin. (If a friend does conduct the exercise the first time through, we still
recommend that you tape the reading so that you will have it for the future.) Whether you or your
friend records the instructions, remember to pause where indicated for a second or two. 

To start, please find a private and comfortable place to lie down. Then play the tape you have
made or have your friend slowly and quietly read the instructions aloud step-by-step, exactly as
they're written below: 

    Take a deep breath, let it out slowly, stretch your muscles, and relax. Now imagine that
    warm currents of mental energy are very slowly moving up from the sole of your feet
    toward your ankles. 

    Feel the muscles in your feet gradually warming and relaxing as you imagine the
    currents passing through them. 

    [Pause] Imagine that the currents continue moving up your calves [Pause], into your
    thighs [Pause], through your hips [Pause], and buttocks [Pause], and into your lower
    back and abdomen. 

    [Pause] Proceed very slowly, giving yourself time for each group of muscles to begin
    fully relaxing before allowing the imaginary currents to move on to the next area of your
    body. [Pause] Feel the muscles in your legs becoming heavy, warm, and relaxed and
    sinking into the chair beneath you. [Pause] When you feel your legs becoming deeply
    relaxed, imagine the currents moving in a clockwise motion around your abdomen
    [Pause], up along your spine [Pause], and through the front of your torso into your chest
    [Pause], and shoulders. Feel the muscles in your stomach and lower back releasing any
    tightness or tension as the current passes through them. [Pause] Allow a feeling of
    general well-being to begin flowing through your body with the imaginary currents as you
    continue to relax [Pause]. 

    When the lower half of your body feels relaxed [Pause], imagine the currents flowing
    upward through your ribs and shoulders [Pause] - warming and relaxing the upper part
    of your body [Pause], and leaving your back and chest feeling warm and completely free
    of stress or tension [Pause]. Imagine the currents turning around to move downward
    through your arms and toward your fingertips [Pause], swirling around through your
    fingers and hands, and then moving upward once more [Pause], back through your
    arms and neck [Pause], toward the top of your head [Pause]. 

    Now feel the muscles in your neck and face gradually becoming warm and relaxed as
    the imaginary currents pass through them [Pause]. Then imagine the currents flowing
    out through the top of your head [Pause], leaving your entire body feeling comfortably
    warm [Pause], heavy [Pause], and relaxed [Pause] and sinking down into the chair
    beneath you. 

Once you gain experience, you should be able to enter the state of alert relaxation more and
more quickly without needing anyone to read the instructions to you. For day one, however, it is
sufficient simply to practice becoming deeply relaxed while maintaining a state of mental
alertness, taking as much time and using as much assistance as you need to comfortably
achieve this state. 

Once you have entered the state of alert relaxation, maintain it for 20 to 30 minutes before
gradually bringing yourself back to full waking consciousness. You may accomplish this simply
by wiggling your fingers and toes, concentrating on your immediate surroundings, and opening
your eyes. 

DAY TWO: THE ADVENTURES OF GUMBY

On day two you will move a step closer to achieving the state of high lucidity. Today's session
should be conducted at least three hours before you normally go to sleep. This will make you
less likely to just fall off into sleep while following the instructions. Begin by selecting a private
room where you can lie down and relax without being disturbed. The room should be one in
which you can play a television set at low volume. It would be ideal if the television is connected
to a videocassette recorder (VCR), though this is not absolutely essential. 

What is essential is that the television or video recorder be set up to play a cartoon show or
nature feature for at least an hour. As far as your choice of program material, public-television
nature programs would work well for this exercise because they are broadcast without
disturbing commercial interruptions. We especially recommend, however, playing a video
cartoon or other animated feature rich in the kind of surrealistic imagery often found in dreams.
Our own favourite choice for this exercise would be any adventure featuring the beloved
Claymation character Gumby. 

The Gumby character exists in a completely surrealistic and flexible reality that often succeeds
in capturing the quality of dreams. Gumby, the master of this reality, also possesses the kind of
creative imagination it takes to respond effectively and with good humor to his dreamlike
experiences. Other appropriate cartoons include "The Real Ghostbusters," "Jim Henson's
Muppet Babies," "Smurf's Adventures," and "Fantasia." We also recommend "Pee-wee's
playhouse." 

Once you have selected an appropriate video or television feature for this exercise, turn down
the lights and turn on the program at a low but clearly audible volume. It would also be helpful to
reduce the brightness on your television set as much as possible without obliterating the picture.
Find a comfortable place to watch the TV without straining your neck. Get cosy and enjoy the
show for at least half an hour. Imagine yourself existing in the reality of the television or video
characters you're observing, and let yourself absorb the images as fully as possible. 

After roughly 30 minutes have passed, roll over on your back, close your eyes, and continue
listening to the television or video program playing in the background. Allow your imagination to fill in the pictures to go along with the sounds you're hearing. 

As you do this, take a deep breath, stretch your muscles, and relax. While continuing to focus on the background sounds and any image they help to generate in your mind, imagine warm
currents of mental energy very slowly moving up from the soles of your feet toward you ankles.
Then enter a state of alert relaxation as you did on day one. 

As you become more and more deeply relaxed, however, allow your thoughts to drift off into the mental images generated by the television show you've been watching. These images may be generated by memories of the show and by the sounds continuing to play in the background.
Before long you'll probably find these images taking on a kind of spontaneous life of their own,
having less to do with the external sounds in the room than with your own evolving internal
processes. Don't try to force this process; rather, allow it to emerge on its own. As much as
possible, consciously observe your internal images without loosing awareness. You can
accomplish this by deliberately directing your attention back toward the sounds coming from the television set whenever you notice yourself beginning to loose consciousness. 

As you do this, tell yourself that you are consciously alert and observing the impact that these
sounds have on your thoughts. 

For now you should not be trying to fall asleep while practising this exercise. Rather, you should attempt to sustain a deep state of alert relaxation. If you should find yourself accidentally losing conscious awareness while practising this exercise, however, don't worry about it. The moment you feel yourself returning to consciousness, continue the exercise from wherever you left off. 

After 30 to 45 minutes, complete the exercise by gradually focusing more and more of your
attention on the television sounds playing in the background and on your physical presence in
your immediate surroundings. 

Just before you are ready to go to bed, spend some time quietly watching the same type of TV
program you used for the first part of this exercise. Then once more enter the state of alert
relaxation, but this time you let yourself drift off to sleep. 

DAY THREE: HIGH LUCIDITY

On day three you will take the exercises of the past two days one step further and in the process
reach the threshold of high lucidity. Your goal for today: generate what's known as hypnagogic
imagery, vivid but conscious mental pictures that emerge as you hover between wakefulness
and sleep. You should be able to follow your hypnagogic images directly into a high lucid dream. 

Begin today's session an hour before you would normally go to bed. This will enable you to carry out the exercise completely and then follow it directly into your full night's sleep. As before, practice in a private room where you can relax and then sleep without being disturbed. Again, arrange to play an appropriate television or video program, at low volume and brightness, for at least an hour. Please make sure that the episodes you watch today are different from those you viewed the day before. We also recommend that, if at all possible, you arrange to have your TV turned off after you have fallen asleep. If you are using a video recorder, it should simply turn off automatically at the end of the tape. If you are watching a TV without a VCR, you might hook your set to a separate timer so that it will automatically disconnect. Or, alternatively, you can ask someone to quietly slip in and turn off the television at a prearranged time. 

After you have made the arrangements, lie back and absorb the images you've selected. After
about 30 minutes, roll over on your back and close your eyes. Then continue listening to the
program playing in the background while filling in the pictures with your own mental images. As you do this, gradually enter a state of alert relaxation. 

As you become increasingly relaxed, focus on your mental images while also doing your best to
maintain conscious awareness. Allow your images to become as spontaneous as possible,
using the audio input from the television to help generate fresh images as earlier ones fade. As
much as possible, allow all of your images to blend and interact with one another and to take on a life of their own. As the exercise continues, these images should become increasingly
spontaneous, or hypnagogic, in nature. Whenever you feel yourself losing conscious
awareness, focus your attention more intensely on the sound of the television and say to
yourself, "I'm entering a dream." Once again, the more spontaneous and lifelike your mental
images become, the more likely you will be able to move directly into a dream without losing
conscious awareness. 

Please be aware this is not a simple process for most people. In our experience, most people
who successfully achieve the state of high lucidity do so only with continued practice. Even if
you don't immediately find yourself moving directly into dream lucidity from a waking state, for now it is sufficient to simply learn and practice the basic technique. 

If, by some chance, you do achieve a state of high lucidity tonight, we advise that you passively
witness the dream without attempting to influence the images in any way. (You can handle only
so much at once.) 

DAY FOUR: WINDS OF CHANGE

You will learn to shift your moods by controlling the thunder and lightning in your waking dreams. 

Today you will continue to explore your potential for high lucidity, in the process gaining control over the details of your waking dreams. Begin by choosing a new video or television program to play for at least an hour. Once again, begin this exercise about an hour before you normally go to bed, and use a room where you can follow it through directly into a full night's sleep without being disturbed. Watch the program that you have chosen for about 30 minutes, absorbing the images and enjoying the show. Then roll over, close your eyes, and enter a state of alert relaxation while concentrating on the sounds of the television in the background. 

As you become increasingly relaxed, focus on remaining alert while the images in your mind
become more and more spontaneous, eventually turning hypnagogic in nature. Then do your
best to follow these images directly and consciously into a high lucid dream. 

As soon as you notice that you're having a high lucid dream, study the immediate dream
scenario. Remind yourself that every detail in your dream is the product of your unconscious
creativity, memories, and imagination. Indeed, you have not only created the most general
aspects of your dream setting but also the tiniest and most specific details, from the
architectural design of a particular dream building to the number of books on a dream shelf. 

As you observe your dream, pay special attention to the weather. Chances are that in this
dream, as in most dreams, the weather is something you would ordinarily take for granted.
Consider, however, that the weather in your dream most certainly expresses something
symbolic about your present state of mind. A bright, sunny spring day might signify a strong inner hopefulness, for instance, while a barrage of hail could indicate you feel you're being attacked. 

Now that you've noticed the weather, focus all of your energies on deliberately changing it. If
your experiencing a sweltering summer afternoon in downtown Los Angeles, for example,
concentrate on making it snow. If you're lost in the middle of some desert, try invoking a heavy
rain. Even if your dream takes place in a house, there's nothing except the boundaries of your
imagination to prevent you from creating a thunderstorm within its walls. And even if your dream takes place underwater, you might still summon a gentle spring wind. 

As you deliberately alter the weather in your high lucid dream, notice how the new climate both
reflects and influences your underlying mood. By consciously influencing weather as suggested
above, you will take an important step toward custom-designing broader aspects of your waking dreams. You will also have learned a simple method of assessing, in symbolic terms, the underlying atmosphere of your own psychological state. Perhaps most important, you may use this technique as a means of deliberately influencing your state of mind as you dream. You
might invoke a thunderstorm, thus expressing anger, or calm yourself by creating a gentle
dream rain. You might even stimulate your potential for self healing by envisioning yourself
absorbing the nurturing rays of the sun or burning out a fever in an active volcano. 

Please remember to record all your high lucid dreams, paying special attention to the weather.
Take special note of the relationship between your dream weather and your mood. 

Also remember that altering the details of a conscious dream takes practice. At first, such
efforts may even result in the termination of the dream. If this occurs, just continue to change
the dream weather in your imagination. At the same time, allow yourself to fall back into your
high lucid dream. 

DAY FIVE: SHIFTING SANDS

Traverse continents and centuries through a simple expression of conscious free will. 

By now you should be ready to generate hypnagogic imagery on your own, without the
assistance of a television playing in the background. Therefore begin by lying on your back in
bed and entering a state of alert relaxation. This time, however, leave the TV off. Because
you'll once again be following this exercise directly into a night's sleep, you should begin about
an hour before your usual bedtime. This time, instead of focusing on the television playing in the background, focus your attention on any hypnagogic images that emerge. 

In most cases these images will emerge spontaneously, without conscious assistance. If this
does not happen for you shortly after closing your eyes, the process may be helped along by
pulling up random memory fragments from experiences you had earlier in the day. Think about
some of the interesting things you've encountered during the course of your day, and imagine
them interacting in some surrealistic fashion in your mind. For instance, you might imagine that
a chicken wing you had for lunch sprouting a mouth and eyes and starting a conversation with
your car radio. 

As you fell yourself becoming increasingly relaxed, give yourself permission to have a high lucid dream. Then remain alert while observing your hypnagogic images, doing your best to follow them consciously into a high lucid dream. 

Once you find yourself in a high lucid dream, observe your immediate dream surroundings,
taking particular note of the weather. Then imagine a compelling place completely different from the one represented in your current dream. If your dream opens up on a city street, for
example, you might imagine a clearing in the forest. If you dream opens on a Tibetan mountain, you might conjure the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge. 

When you've thought of a suitably compelling location, concentrate on transforming the original setting of your dream into the new dream environment. Just close your eyes while focusing on the new locale. With practice, you should be able to will your original dream setting to dissolve while the new setting emerges from behind it. Continue practising this exercise until you've managed to experience at least one recognisable change in your high lucid dream environment by a simple expression of conscious free will. 

If your dream images halt when you shift the scene, continue the exercise in your
semiconscious imagination. Please remember to record any high lucid dreams, taking special
note of shifts in weather and locale. Consider the possible psychological and symbolic
significance of your dream scenarios and record these as well. 
 

DAY SIX: TRADING PLACES

From Wonder Woman to Barbara Bush to the Blob, you can be anyone you want in your high
lucid dreams. 

Tonight you will trade places will your dream characters in hopes of gaining direct insight to the significance of their presence in your high lucid dreams. 

Once again, begin by entering a state of alert relaxation and inducing a high lucid dream. When
you find yourself in a waking dream, pay particular attention to the characters you encounter. If you happen to be alone at the start of your high lucid dream, go for a walk, swim, or fly around until you come across some other life form. Whatever the appearance of this life form - be it Wonder Woman, the Cheshire Cat, or the Blob - there can be no doubt that its presence is a function of your own unconscious creative processes. As dream researchers have long pointed out, every character who appears in your dreams - even those who play the part of familiar figures in your everyday life - express some aspect of your inner self. Put simply, YOU play the part of every character in your dreams. It is therefore within your power to consciously shift perspectives with any one of your dream characters. 

For tonight's exercise pick out an interesting dream character and imagine how your dream
experience might appear from the other character's perspective. Imagine yourself actually
trading places with this character and then looking back at the character you were previously
playing in your high lucid dream. What would your new dream self say to the old dream self
about the scenario you're presently experiencing? How do your feelings about yourself and your dream shift when you take on the viewpoint of the other character? 

Continue to practice this exercise until you've managed to experience at least one role reversal
in the course of your high lucid dreams. You may then either practice consciously changing
perspectives and taking on the roles of additional dream characters or just opt to complete the
dream from the new character's perspective. You may even decide to return to your original
character, tapping any insights you may have gained from your role-reversal experience. 

If you feel yourself returning to normal consciousness in the middle of the exercise, complete at
least one role reversal in your imagination. 

Please remember to record your role reversal dream on a piece of paper, taking special note of
any insights you may have gained by trading places with various dream characters. 

DAY SEVEN: DREAM SHRINKS

You will gain access to hidden stores of energy, wisdom, and experience from the
psychotherapist of your dreams. 

Some of us pay our psychotherapists thousands of dollars a year just to clarify our thoughts,
putting into proper perspective things that, in the deepest recesses of our mind, we all ready
know. On day seven you will learn to call upon the higher wisdom of a therapist in your waking dreams. Invoking this personal dream guide, you should gain access to information hidden in the farthest reaches of your unconscious mind. 

To prepare for this dream session on the analyst's couch, spend the day observing your
relationship with the world. How do you interact with other people? How is your mood influenced by your surroundings? How do you react to different types of weather, traffic, music, conversation, and noise? How do you feel about your life and yourself? Can you chart the ebbs and flows of your moods as you go through the day? 

Sometime during the day, find a quiet place where you can sit and reflect upon the condition of
your personal life. Where are you at this point in your life, especially in relation to the fantasies
you had as a child? Are there any recurrent themes or ideas that have motivated you as you've
grown older? Are there any psychological blocks or other obstacles that have prevented you
from achieving all you once dreamed of? Allow your thoughts to come and go easily. 

Now imagine what it would be like to have a personal confidant and therapist who completely
understands your inner-most thoughts and feelings and could also offer you remarkable insights
on overcoming the difficulties you face. Imagine, in as much detail as possible, exactly what
such an individual would look like. Would this person be a wise old woman with flowing grey hair, a middle-aged male psychiatrist in a three-piece suit, a hard-boiled detective from a Thirties movie, or a giant white rabbit named Binkey? Would he or she wear perfume, carry a briefcase, smoke fat cigars, or consume a constant supply of fresh carrots? Imagine yourself sitting with your "therapist" at this moment, sharing your most personal feelings with him or her. Continue with this part of the exercise at least half an hour before going about the rest of your day's activities. 

Begin the next part of this exercise about an hour before you plan to go to sleep. Gather
together a small number of objects that symbolise some significant aspects in your life. You
might, for example, choose your baby shoes, a photograph of yourself as a child, a diploma, an
old love letter, your Congressional Medal of Honour, and a religious or spiritual symbol. While
you're at it, choose one additional object that expresses some recurrent concern in your
personal life - a tattered valentine to represent seemingly constant troubles in romance, for
instance, or an uncashed payroll check to symbolise your ongoing angst and confusion about
where you're going in your career. Place these objects on a night table or chair beside your bed
and quietly contemplate their individual significance. You can also enhance the atmosphere by
burning incense and playing music in the background. 

When you're ready, get in bed and take out your dream journal. Then create a phrase that
expresses some overall concern you have about the current state of your life. For this exercise
don't just focus on narrow concerns, such as your perpetually confusing relationship with your
boyfriend, Melvin. Instead, direct your attention toward more global concerns, such as the
generally troublesome ongoing history of all your sexual relationships with men or women. For
example, instead of writing, "Do I really love Melvin at all?" write something like, "Why do I
always seem to end up with shallow, egotistical, insensitive, ill-mannered, and unfaithful slobs
like Melvin?" Then turn out the lights and enter the state of alert relaxation. Once you have done so, attempt to enter the state of high lucidity directly from waking consciousness. 

We suggest that you allow your unconscious mind to provide you with a suitable dream scenario for exploring your concerns. Your main focus should be upon seeking out a dream therapist to assist you in gaining insight into your waking life. 

Toward this end, as soon as you find yourself in the midst of a high lucid dream, look around for the therapist you envisioned earlier in the day. Don't worry, however, if you don't encounter this individual right away. Just explore your dream environment in any way that seems appropriate to the setting - by foot, by car, or even by flying. Continue to explore until you come across the individual you're seeking. And remember, once your unconscious mind has added its input, your dream therapist may not look exactly like the individual you consciously imagined.  

Once you encounter your dream therapist, you may use the opportunity to seek his or her
advice and insights on your life in the waking world. Since your therapist is the embodiment of all the memories and experiences residing in your conscious and unconscious mind, he, she, or it should have access to the most intimate details of your life. Therefore your dream therapist
should be able to offer you some surprisingly candid and straightforward input about how you're handling your personal existence. Put simply, your inner self may know more about what's good for you than your conscious self may be willing or able to admit. By meeting this inner self in the form of a personal therapist or guide in a high lucid dream, you may be able to consciously benefit from the hidden wisdom of your unconscious mind. The more often you practice this exercise, the more incisive your insights should become. 

Please don't worry or feel pressured if you don't meet your dream therapist the first time you
practice this exercise. Chances are that the dream you DO have will express your unconscious
thoughts and feelings about the concerns you focused on during the day. With continued
practice you may eventually learn to meet with your dream therapist on a regular basis. You may even establish a whole society of dream therapists from a variety of high lucid dreams.
Remember, under no circumstances should you ever use this exercise to replace conventional
psychiatric treatment. 

DAY EIGHT: DREAM HEALER

Imagine a personal healer who monitors and enhances your physical health. 

Today you will expand on the dream therapist technique by invoking the image of a personal
dream healer to assist you in boosting your immune response. 

When you first wake up in the morning, notice the way your body feels as you get out of bed. Do you feel full of energy, ready to jump in the shower and bound off to work like a powerful
gazelle? Or do you feel more like a hunted deer, shot by a tranquilliser gun and fading fast?
Does it take several gallons of strong, black coffee to get you moving? Or are the morning
sunshine and a glass of chilled orange juice enough to make you feel alive and alert? 

Notice the kind of relationship you have with your body as you go about your day. Do you
purposely avoid even the slightest opportunity for exercise and gorge yourself with junk food?
Do you smoke? Or do you maintain a macrobiotic diet and typically spend your evenings at the
health club sipping tomato juice, taking aerobic classes, and lifting weights? In short, what is
your attitude toward your body? How does this attitude reflect in your diet, dress, and general
level of physical activity? 

As you did during the last exercise, find a quiet place where you can relax for 30 minutes during the day and consider the current state of your health. Are there any chronic health problems that have troubled you for a long time? What about other health concerns that may have begun troubling you only recently? Do you think of yourself as generally robust or as a more or less sickly individual? Allow your thoughts about your physical health to come and go easily without holing on to them or analysing them too closely. 

Now imagine what it would be like to have a personal healer who constantly monitors your
personal health and assists you in taking care of your body. What would such an individual look like? A primitive witch doctor in full regalia? Or an elderly surgeon with a white coat and
stethoscope? Picture yourself sitting with your imaginary healer, describing your personal health history from childhood on. Continue with this part of the exercise for at least 30 minutes before going about the rest of your day. 

Begin the next part of this exercise about an hour before you plan to go to bed. Choose an
object that symbolises some significant concern about the current state of your physical health.
You might, for example, choose a giant bag of greasy potato chips to symbolise concern over
your diet (don't make the problem worse by eating them!) or an old shoe to symbolise problems
with your feet. Place the object near your bedside while quietly contemplating its symbolic
significance. You might consider enhancing the atmosphere by burning incense and playing
music in the background. 

When you feel ready, get in bed and express your most pressing health concern on a sheet of
paper. You might write, "How can I loose 50 pounds?" or "What can I do about my allergies?" 

Then turn off the lights and use the alert relaxation technique to induce a high lucid dream. Once you've entered the state of alert relaxation, focus in your mind's eye on the image of the object that you have chosen and on the words in the phrase you have written down earlier. Also focus on your general thoughts about your body. 

Once you are in the midst of a high lucid dream, focus on finding your dream healer as you
focused on finding your dream therapist the night before. When you do finally encounter this
individual, seek advice about your most pressing physical concerns. 

Remember, your dream healer represents a symbolic bridge between your conscious and
unconscious minds. He, she, or it may therefore help you communicate with yourself at a deep
inner level about the steps you need to take to improve your physical condition. 

If that were all this exercise is good for, however, the dream healer would be little more than a
very specialised version of the dream therapist. In fact, the real potential of the dream healer
exercise begins where the dream therapist technique leaves off. 

To experience the greatest benefit from your dream healer, you might request a symbolic
remedy for some physical problem. Your dream healer might lay his hands on some part of your dream body and offer you some "healing energy." Your healer might also offer you medicine or guide you to some healing environment - such as a warm salt sea, where you can envision yourself thriving in the healing rays of the afternoon sun. 

In an advanced version of this exercise, you may even serve as your own dream healer,
directly incubating therapeutic dream scenarios. Indeed, a mounting body of scientific evidence
strongly suggests that such creative visualisation exerts a powerful influence over your immune
system by assisting you in mobilising your inner defences and boosting your psychological
response to disease. Nowhere has this concept been shown more clearly than in the work of
radiation oncologist Paul Simonton and his wife, Stephanie, a psychotherapist. Using mental
imagery along with traditional medicine, the Simontons have shown that attitudes and feelings
can affect basic health: Patients coming to their Cancer Counselling and Research Centre in
Dallas, in fact, have a recovery rate of twice the national average. 

To mobilise your body's immune system in this way, first find an appropriate symbol for the
offending illness or disease and place it near your bed. If you suffer from migraine headaches,
for instance, you might imagine the symptoms in the form of a twisted, overgrown weed. You
could then envision digging up such a weed in a nearby lot or park. Before you induce a high
lucid dream, just write, "I will now overcome my headaches in my dreams" on a sheet of paper,
and focus on that idea as you enter the state of alert relaxation. Once you find yourself in a high lucid dream, seek out the weed and somehow destroy it: You might, for instance, kill it with poisonous gas, blow it up with dynamite, or chop it to pieces with an axe. 

Alternatively, you might simply use this advanced method to try to boost your immunity to
disease. For instance, envision your immune cells as tiny seeds. In your high lucid dream, you
can generate imagery in which these seeds grow into lush, healthy plants. 

Whether you invoke the image of a dream healer or use the straightforward guided imagery to
boost your health, we caution you to evaluate the input of your dream healer in the light of
common sense. Under no circumstances should you ever use this exercise to replace
conventional medical or psychiatric treatment. Dream healing may, however, help you respond
positively to such treatment, thereby providing an additional line of psychological defence
against disease. 

Please don't worry if you do not meet your dream healer the first time you practice this exercise. Any dream you do have will probably provide you with insights, drawn from your own unconscious, into the way you've been approaching your physical health. 

DAYS NINE AND TEN: TOWARD HIGHER
CONSCIOUSNESS

Exploring the land of illusions, you will encounter reality beyond the phantasmagoric veil of the dream. 

There is a moment, upon just waking up from a dream, when you experience a startling shift in
perspective; in that moment, you realise that the life you were most recently leading - the life of
your dream - was merely a product of your imagination. In this transition period, your return to
the waking world often seems like the termination of an illusion. As you must realise by now,
moreover, awakening from a high lucid dream can be just as startling. That's because the
conscious realisation that you are dreaming does not dilute the power of your dream identity at
all. 

In one of our all-time favourite dreams, the dreamer found himself in an amusement park,
confronting a magnificent roller coaster with a sign that read, "LIFE." The dreamer took a seat in the front car of the coaster and handed his ticket to the operator. "Ready to go?" the operator
asked the dreamer. "You know, it's a hell of an illusion!" 

"I'm sure I can handle it," the dreamer said. "I've been on this ride before." With this, the roller
coaster ride commenced. The scenario of the amusement park faded, and the dreamer found
himself being born as an infant in another reality. Before long, the dreamer saw himself growing up, going to school, graduating, developing a career, getting married, having a family, growing old, and eventually dying. All of this seemed to cover a life span of roughly 70 or 80 years. As the dreamer finally felt his life fading away, he heard the sounds of the roller coaster slowing down in the background. In a moment, he found himself back in the amusement park, looking up at the ride operator from his seat in the roller coaster's front car. 

"Well," the operator asked him, "how was it? Learn anything?" 

"That was pretty incredible," the dreamer said, suddenly aware that he was experiencing this
alternate reality in a dream. Now thoroughly lucid and hoping to take the dream further still, he
handed the operator another ticket. "This time," he said, "I'd like to be someone else." The roller coaster started again, and the dreamer immediately woke up. Needless to say, upon waking from this dream, the dreamer could not help but wonder whether he was returning to an
absolutely tangible reality or was merely experiencing yet another graphic, convincing illusion. 

The dreamer came away from this dream somehow changed: The moment of awakening jogged
something in his mind so that he experienced a sense of expanded consciousness. The illusory
nature of his dream helped him understand something profound about the illusory nature of his
own waking life. Moreover, the dreamer felt more comfortable with the concept of death. Indeed, he viewed it more than ever as a part of the larger, cosmic scheme of things - something he could, in effect, transcend. Perhaps most important, he recognised in his dream identity a deep and long hidden part of his inner self. 

Indeed, high lucid dreamers who spend a great deal of time merely manipulating their dreams
may eventually lose sight of their greater potential: to consciously explore the unconscious, thus getting a better grasp of what they want in life and who they are. 

On days nine and ten you will embark upon a journey toward higher consciousness. Your goal
will be to explore the shift in perspective you undergo as you wake up, turning from an imaginary character in dreamland to your everyday self. By doing so, you can literally carry the lessons of your dreams into your everyday life, becoming a more fulfilled and self-aware version of the person you truly are. In the process, you may also gain insights into philosophical dilemmas
ranging from the nature of reality to the meaning of death to the concept of God. 

You can start on day nine by choosing a 30-minute period during some quiet part of the day;
spend the time considering the things that make you uniquely you. Do you wear big, floppy hats? Blue mascara and aquamarine contact lenses? A giant fur coat you bought from the Salvation Army in 1966? Do you make love at midday in the office rest room or have a penchant for mayonnaise on your salami sandwich for lunch? Do you give ten-dollar bills to the homeless or hang posters of John Travolta on your wall? Whatever your quirks, whatever your specialities, review them now. When the period has ended, drop this line of thought and go about the rest of your day. 

Just before you go to bed, write these words on a piece of paper: "Let my deepest self find
expression in my dreams." Then turn off the light, enter a state of alert relaxation, and induce a
high lucid dream. Whenever you recognise that you are dreaming, pay particular attention to the way you feel toward the identity you have assumed within the dream. Ask yourself, "Who do I seem to be now?" and notice the way your sense of yourself subtly shifts when you loose focus on this question. Instead of attempting to change elements in your dream just for fun, allow your dream personality to explore the rich and varied environment your subconscious has seen fit to create. See that dirt road down there? Instead of changing it to a superhighway, just follow it. If, along the way, you see a mountain range, climb or fly over it to see what lies beyond. And if you pass a house by the side of the road, take this opportunity to go inside. If the house harbours a witch, listen to her incantation - and, if you can, tell her the details of your life as an entity in a dream. 

Remember, dream control is best approached only as an aid to greater discovery. One
particularly effective - and very advanced - way to accomplish this is not to deliberately change
a particular dream prop, scene, or character but to call upon your dreams to alter themselves. In this way their symbolic meaning may become especially clear. 

You might, for example, turn toward the image of Godzilla chasing you through the dream ruins of Tokyo and ask, "Who or what are you, and where the hell am I?" As you express this thought, your dream images might actually "weave" themselves into a form that makes their meaning clear. Does Godzilla ravaging Tokyo turn into an image of your mother kicking over your blocks in your room when you were three? Or does the famous Japanese monster turn into a fleet of shiny new Toyotas devastating your Chevy dealership? As your dream symbols become increasingly clear, you will realise they represent yourself, your job, and your family, as well as death and reality and God. 

As you navigate the dream terrain, remind yourself that you are in the midst of your own,
self-induced illusion and that a much broader reality exists beyond the veil of the dream. Do not be concerned if turning your attention toward such thoughts has the effect of terminating a
particular high lucid dream, since the next part of this exercise is meant to be practised
immediately upon awakening from such an experience. 

In the moment that you notice yourself returning to waking consciousness, repeat the question
that you asked yourself in the dream: "Who do I seem to be now?" Remember the way you felt
about yourself in your most recent dream and compare that experience with your sense of
yourself in this moment. Look around at the everyday world and ask yourself if there may be a
broader reality - in whatever way you wish to define this concept for yourself - beyond the limits of your ordinary perceptions. Is this other reality a deeper, more vibrant realm that you simply cannot perceive from the waking state, just as you cannot perceive waking reality while in a dream? 

Continue asking yourself these questions from time to time throughout day ten: "Who exactly do I seem to be now? Is there a broader reality beyond my everyday perceptions?" Also think
about the dream exploration you conducted the night before; focus especially on the precise
moment of transition between sleep and wakefulness. 

You will bring this exercise to its conclusion on day ten, when, if you are fortunate, you will attain a sense of transcendence and deeper understanding of the waking world. Before you go to bed, consider what the experience of transcendence might include for you: a sense of connectedness with something greater than your individual identity; a feeling of timelessness that blurs the distinction between past, present, and future; a feeling of profound meaningfulness in which you experience insights into the nature of reality and existence; a sense of religious reverie; or simply a sense of objectivity toward mundane concerns. Also remember the last time you felt such feelings in a deep and profound way. 

Then, right before you go to sleep, draw a picture - any related picture that comes to mind - on a sheet of paper. Finally, focus on that drawing as you induce a high lucid dream. Then remember to seek those special feelings of transcendence as you explore the rich dream terrain. In this way you can call upon the wisdom of your inner self to provide you with a transcendent waking dream. Remember, the moment you wake up, note how your sense of reality shifts. In that moment, also consider the universe that might be beckoning from beyond the limits of your
senses - if the veil of ordinary reality could only be swept away. 
 

Copyright (c) 1989 by Keith Haray, Ph.D., and Pamela Weintraub. Reprinted
from the book "Lucid Dreams in 30 days: The creative sleep program," recently
published by St. Martin's Press, Inc., New York. 

This article was copied from an ONMI magazine by Paris Guffey (see mailto link at top of page)