Thread: Techniques For LUCID DREAMING - Preparing Oneself For The Endeavor

@Darkmatters:
Hi,thanks for the suggestion about 'The 4 Agreements', it seems interesting. Will check it out. Btw, about Castaneda. Yeeap,quite messy it seems, may be even true First time ive read them all i did not follow any order. So ive let my brain to fix the puzzle itself. I got some general idea. The other 4 times ive read it in order. Every time it seemed that i was reading a new book. Cool. With all this i meant that it may seem quite fucked up book but actually contains lots of information in weird form. Also it requires certain amount of experience in order to understand more. Like life itself. So i like Castaneda's books Once in a while i grab one and read. Btw, now i am reading 'quantum psychology' by R.A. Wilson. Amazing. There i found smth interesting: The more unpredictable the text the more information it contains.

Originally Posted by Origami

I don't even think you need to mention this 420Dreamer. You say that people should find their own way and learn it themselves, but obviously you don't think DV should be disbanded. So everyone is allowed to look up guides but shouldn't just be led hand in hand to easy LD's? Well I have yet to come across anyone or anything that can lead everyone to simple, effortless LDs. So really what you're saying is that you would like it if there was no simple way for newbies to "cheat" to an LD. Well luckily enough no such method or person can do that for you.

lol where did all this come from? i swear people think of the most randomness ways to flame -.-
ok let me break this down for you. I never said any about effortless LD. Never said anything about "cheat". Never said anything about DV being disband.
You making all these assumption shows how naive you are. all im saying is that you can lead a camel to the water but you can't make it drink. how did you not get that?

I'm now reading The 5th Agreement, written by Don Miguel Ruiz along with his son Don Jose Ruiz, who like his father is also a Nagual. I wondered why this book is so much thicker than its predecessor, but it turns out it's because the first half is going back over the 1st 4 agreements - in much greater depth and detail (and with much greater power). The 2nd half introduces the 5th agreement. The original book, while excellent, is written in a sort of light New Age self-help way, very PC. Don Ruiz comes across as almost a Toltec Tony Robbins . He also states that he had tried to introduce the 5th agreement to his students previously but it didn't 'take' - though when his son started teaching it to HIS students they embraced it enthusiastically, probably he said because his son had the same enthusiasm for it.

Well, this sets the tone for this entire book - with the addition of Don Jose things get much more powerful and less PC/New Agey. Most of the info from the 1st book is still present in different form (though there were parts of the intro to the 1st one that I liked that don't seem to have made it in here) - but now they go into so much greater depth and detail that it's like reading an entirely different book. A far better book. Because it's hard to let go of the secret agreements you've been taught from birth to make - the ones that divide up and dole out all your innate power and freedom to all and sundry. Hell, it's hard to even UNDERSTAND them coming from a regular Westernized social standpoint - we take them all for granted and assume there's no other way to live. So, as Don Juan Matus says so many times in Castaneda - repetition is how we learn. Also good in-depth detailed explanation. And we get that here in spades!

Words are magic.

We cast spells on each other all the time - obligations, responsibilities, guilt, anger, love, joy - all of these are spells we cast on each other, and if we believe in them then they have great power over us. Some of them are good in the right context, some aren't, and some are deeply debilitating. By understanding that we can begin to take back some of our innate power and free ourselves from the many spells that we labor under in our day-to-day lives without even realizing it. By doing this we begin to attain a state similar to that of a Buddhist monk or a mystic - a state that allows unprecedented concentration and focus. This is the key to controlling your life and your dreams - the dream of life as well as the dreams we have at night.

Plus this book really REALLY helps you to understand what the hell Castaneda was talking about!!

As long as we're talking about Good Bookso read....

(RECOMMENDED READING from QuantumShamn with Della Van Hise - read through the entire site... very nice site)

Rather than list lengthy publishing info for each & every entry, we recommend you check with Amazon.com or your local bookstore for availability. Though some of the books on this list might be hard to find, each and every one has proven to be of inestimable value to The Quantum Shaman. Try your favorite used bookstore, or check out eBay or get an online book dealer to do a book search. You won’t regret it! Luckily, though, most of the books on this list are in print and readily available.

OUR RATING SYSTEM: In parentheses to the right of each title, you will see a number between 1 and 5. What does that mean?

1 = MUST READ! Critical to understanding.
2 = HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Also a “must read.”
3 = RELATED & RELEVANT, don’t miss it!
4 = WELL WORTH READING, but lower on the list.
5 = WORTH A LOOK after all of the above.


ABELAR, TAISHA
The Sorcerer's Crossing (2)


BACH, RICHARD
Illusions (1)

CARROLL, PETER J.
Psychonaut and Liber Null (1)
Liber Kaos (1)
Psybermagick (5)

CASTANEDA, CARLOS
The Teachings of Don Juan; A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1)
A Separate Reality(1)
Journey to Ixtlan(1)
Tales of Power(1)
The Second Ring of Power(3)
The Eagle’s Gift(1)
The Fire From Within(2)
The Power of Silence(2)
The Art of Dreaming (3)

Taken as a whole, the books of Castaneda should be in a class by themselves with regard to their relevance to the The Quantum Shaman. If you have time for no other reading, these should be first priority. There are a couple of other books by Castaneda, but it is The Quantum Shaman's feeling that the crux and the backbone of don Juan's teachings are contained within the volumes listed above.


CROWLEY, ALEISTER (2)
Magic Without Tears
*Crowley's works are a bit difficult to follow at times, but if you're approaching the journey from the angle of chaos magick, they're well worth the effort.

DICK, PHILIP K.
In Pursuit of Valis (3)

DONNER, FLORINDA
Being In Dreaming(3)
The Witch's Dream(3)

ELIADE, MIRCEA
Shamanism: Ancient Techniques of Ecstasy (4)

HARNER, MICHAEL
The Way of the Shaman (1)

HARRINGTON, ALAN
The Immortalist (1)

KRISHNAMURTI, J.
Freedom From the Known (1)
J. Krishnamurti has so many books & collections it would be impossible to list them all. Read as much as you can.

LACARRIERE, JACQUES
The Gnostics (1)
*An excellent look at the process of gnosis. Get past the language, transcend the religious overtones, and this is one of the best explorations of gnosis ever written.

MINDELL, ARNOLD
The Shaman’s Body(1)
Quantum Mind (1)

Mindell has also written many other books relevant to quantum shamanism, including books on lucid dreaming. His books are particularly good for those seekers new to the path, or to any of us who need to occasionally be reminded of what is possible, through perception and will.

McKENNA, JED
Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing (1)
Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment (2)

Jed has at least 3 books. Read them all for an enlightening look at the state of enlightenment.


McKENNA, TERENCE
True Hallucinations (1)
Archaic Revival (2)
Food of the Gods (5)

Perhaps the best books ever written on the subject of power plants and the evolution of human consciousness.

NISKER, WES
Crazy Wisdom (1)

PEARCE, JOSEPH CHILTON
The Crack In the Cosmic Egg (1)
Exploring the Crack in the Cosmic Egg (2)
*The Crack in the Cosmic Egg is a life-changer with regard to perception!

RICARDO, MARTIN V.
Liquid Dreams of Vampires (2)
A look at other-realms and how concepts thought to be "myth" can take on a reality all their own through the human will.

RUIZ, DON MIGUEL
The Four Agreements (1)
A condensed & concise series of four agreements by which many warriors live their lives. A good starting place for new seekers, a good refresher course for all concerned. Ruiz has also written many other books about Toltec wisdom.

RUMI
Many books available. Excellent for inspiration and the clarification of abstract thought. Read all you can.

STRIEBER, WHITLEY
The Secret School (1)
The Key (1) (available only through Whitley's website: http://wwwlunknowncountry.com/
Communion (3)
Transformation (3)
Breakthrough (3)

*Of all Strieber's books, I have found THE SECRET SCHOOL to be the most enthralling for its treatment of what I refer to as "memories that never happened" -- events in our lives which we remember with the same clarity as linear-time memories, yet these events never actually occurred inside linear time. "Memories that never happened" will eventually have a page all its own on The Quantum Shaman as the site continues to develop.

TALBOT, MICHAEL
The Holographic Universe (1)

VALLEE, JACQUES
Dimensions (1)
Confrontations (2)
Revelations(2)
Forbidden Science (2)

VAN HISE, DELLA
Quantum Shaman: Diary of a Nagual Woman (1)

Originally Posted by kenietz

@Sorcer:

I have a question though but first to explain my problem. Almost every time i go to bed i try to enter my dreams consciously but i have a 'problem' i think. I relax well my body, slow down my breathing and concentrate on one bright yellow spot. During that time i try to stop my conscious thinking and just focus on the spot. After a while the hypnogogics start. Then i watch and i can choose which one to explore. But i think i do not enter a dream, i enter into another state. Something like darkness, the void maybe i dunno. Its strange i know im not awake yet not dreaming. Usually it lasted for 30-40 min but lately it prolonged to above and hour. After that i wake up and feel really well refreshed. Then i need some more time to fall asleep. Its nice but i would like to enter the dream by my will.

Do you have some advice on how to enter the dream when im in that strange state of mind looking like the void? Usually they say one has to concentrate on one of the hypnogogic visuals and thats all. May be i do something wrong?

I'd say ur doing a lot of things right...

But lets just take some branching paths for a minute here. If ur focusing on a brite yellow point of light then it sounds like you are in a very focused and zen-like meditative state. Shortly after the hypnogogic images/sounds start in they normally lengthen and resolve into the elements of a dream. You are using your will to hold the 'point at which you have assembled' steady (your perceptual focus). You must also excercise your will to section off a part of yourself to watch the slipping of the assemblage point into a new state of consiousness... without interruping it.

If you are entering into a 'void'-like state in which you are surrounded only by darkness... then you may be "closing all your eyes". A part of us often implicitly agrees to stop seeing things for a while immediately after we lay down to go to sleep for the night. Instead of allowing this to happen... continue to try to see, while you are awake, even while your eyes are closed. See whatever you can. Don't close you.r mind and think of only a point of light, but rather ... see, hear and feel as much as you can. We are surrounded by energy whether sleeping or awake. Open yourself to that energy and take in as much as you can.


You say that your state lasts 30-40 minutes... now up to an hour. What if we take it in the other direction? Try to keep doing this for 2 hours. And if that doesn't work try to do it for two more. What would be the point perhaps you are asking? Call it a dare. Your body, mind, spirit, emotions.... whatever you want to call it, whatever it is that you are is going to depart from this world almost entirely for lengths of time every hour and a half or so. If you can maintain that point of light long enough ... you will have the opportunity to experience your entire being as it comes apart at the seams... this 'abyss' ... will not be as empty as the void that you described, because with every fiber of your being you will feel your energetic self extended out from it ... just as your body extends away from the gravity of earth.

You are much more than a single point of immensely bright light... so just try not to close "all your eyes".

- Sorcer

Originally Posted by Sorcer

As long as we're talking about Good Books...

*copied-saved-put on wishlist for future purchase*

Sorcer can you explain the sitting position technique? I feel like I can sit in that position a very long time and not get boored, and that's actually the way I meditate.
But do you mean that I am supposed to fall asleep in that sitting position and that will make me more aware of my dreams ? Anyway I am going to try tonight.

I just finished the first castaneda, but it seems I have a lot more to read
Is it better to read a separate reality, or first Don Miquel Ruiz to better understand castaneda?

btw I found a datura plant in someones garden yesterday I was tempted to harvest a bit, but I don't think I want that teacher without knowing exactly what to do.

I cannot recommend Ruiz highly enough for making sense of Castaneda. Just get the 5th agreement. If you already have Separate Reality go ahead and read that till Ruiz comes in, but really the sooner you get Ruiz the better. All will become so clear!!

Ok thanks! I'll be checking out Ruiz

There's so much to learn from your article, Sorcer, I don't even know what to comment about. I must have spent a good two hours slowly reading it to fully understand everything you were saying. Everything was simply fascinating and intelligent. I really liked how you focused on what it really means to lucid dream and what one must understand to fully achieve one because that really is more important than any technique you'll read out there. If one's not prepared to lucid dream, then they won't have much success in actually having one.

This is an excellent example as to just how intelligent DV and its users are!

Originally Posted by Sorcer

I'd say ur doing a lot of things right...

But lets just take some branching paths for a minute here. If ur focusing on a brite yellow point of light then it sounds like you are in a very focused and zen-like meditative state. Shortly after the hypnogogic images/sounds start in they normally lengthen and resolve into the elements of a dream. You are using your will to hold the 'point at which you have assembled' steady (your perceptual focus). You must also excercise your will to section off a part of yourself to watch the slipping of the assemblage point into a new state of consiousness... without interruping it.

If you are entering into a 'void'-like state in which you are surrounded only by darkness... then you may be "closing all your eyes". A part of us often implicitly agrees to stop seeing things for a while immediately after we lay down to go to sleep for the night. Instead of allowing this to happen... continue to try to see, while you are awake, even while your eyes are closed. See whatever you can. Don't close you.r mind and think of only a point of light, but rather ... see, hear and feel as much as you can. We are surrounded by energy whether sleeping or awake. Open yourself to that energy and take in as much as you can.


You say that your state lasts 30-40 minutes... now up to an hour. What if we take it in the other direction? Try to keep doing this for 2 hours. And if that doesn't work try to do it for two more. What would be the point perhaps you are asking? Call it a dare. Your body, mind, spirit, emotions.... whatever you want to call it, whatever it is that you are is going to depart from this world almost entirely for lengths of time every hour and a half or so. If you can maintain that point of light long enough ... you will have the opportunity to experience your entire being as it comes apart at the seams... this 'abyss' ... will not be as empty as the void that you described, because with every fiber of your being you will feel your energetic self extended out from it ... just as your body extends away from the gravity of earth.

You are much more than a single point of immensely bright light... so just try not to close "all your eyes".

- Sorcer

Hi Sorcer,
thank you for your reply. I think i got what you mean.
Btw, just to give some more info. For me the point of light is relatively easy task. Sometimes that is the only way to fall asleep when i have many problems on my mind and is difficult to stop thinking. I concentrate and stop my mind. I do that and for a while i have no thoughts of the conscious type. Just the light in front of my mind. After a while though the light starts to transform itself into whatever. On the other hand there is that split in the mind. I mean thoughts start to appear by themselves and some part of me knows that i did not think of them consciously but they appeared by themselves. So i do not stop these ones. Also while the hypnogogics are on i can observe them patiently and only sometimes ignore them, cos they are too strange and weird, and continue with whatever comes next. Then i can concentrate on a particular hypnogogic and expand it. But when i enter that realm, i am observing and knowing that i am wherever i am, still it does not feel like im dreaming. During all that process my body feels quite energized as well. The energizing starts from the beginning though. The moment i lie down, relax and concentrate on the light, the power is on. I feel all my body as one elongated energy field, no head, arms or other body parts. Just the vibration of the energy. After my hour or so i just open my eyes and that is all. It does not feel like i wake up from a dream.
Hope i made it clear.

@Dawnseeker:
Why don't you read all of Castaneda's books. I mean the ones with Don Juan. Read them and let your mind take as much as it can and observe how your brain is resolving the puzzle by itself. Then read Ruiz. If they say that Ruiz's book is clearer(i will go through Ruiz soon) then your mind will take the info and adjust Castaneda's puzzle even better. Just an idea

Yeah, that's how I did it - and there's something to be said for it. Maybe its better to struggle with the meaning (which seems to be part of Castaneda's intent) rather than have it clearly laid out in a way that might somewhat distort the meaning while trying to simplify it.

To shed some new light on this: since the dawn of the information age I have been referring to sorcery as hacking.

It may be a bit of a double-post... but i wanted to place the final straw in this hat so that all four portions of the original text can be found in the same thread... This thread now contains, in addition to the first post, three other lengthy posts (by myself) dealing with Lucid Dreaming and the Mastery of Awareness.

Dream Entities (A Catalog of Inorganic / Ephemeral Life)



Sorcerers don’t get lonely.

If ever you thought that you were alone in an otherwise empty room, you were quite mistaken. A host of entities surrounds each of us at every moment. Slow down the range of your perception and a legion of inorganic beings, each with individual awareness, will shift to the onion’s surface. Something about us attracts the attention of inorganic life as moths to a flame. We are candles burning at both ends, magnificent firework explosions for beings whose consciousness spans time immeasurable as compared to our own brief existence. Before explaining a method by which you may come to traverse this plane of perception, it would be fitting to prepare you for what you may come across. If your experiences are anything like your peers, it is likely that you will eventually encounter a half dozen different types of sentient beings. During these shifts of perception you must strive to maintain an aura of confidence and a sense of clarity, resolve and well-being. You need only view the Discovery channel or step out into the real world in order to be reminded of the fact that the universe can be a hostile place. Except during periods of rest, you are either the hunter or the hunted. Mankind spends a great deal of time as top predator. With this in mind, you must be prepared to step back from facing a spider on its own web. After all, there are places that we aren’t meant to go and sights that we aren’t meant to see. This point aside, the vast majority of the beings that you encounter will have either no interest in harming you or no ability to do so directly.

"There are self-existent dragons and there are worms that are changed into dragons.”
- Yuan Kien Lei Han

“Yea, we are day and night beset with millions of devils, when we walk abroad, sit at our board, lie in our bed, legions of devils are round about, ready to fling whole hell into our hearts.” - Martin Luther

(A Catalog Of ...) INORGANIC LIFE

There is, generally speaking, more danger is being unaware of the host of entities that surrounds us than in being fully aware of their presence. Would you change your aims and your thinking patterns if you knew without a doubt that your ancestors could see your every action and hear your every thought? If they do not judge you, then it is because they know exactly who you are (at all times) without having to do so. Beings that you have never known in this world have your interests at heart as well. In a sorcerer’s world karma is instantaneous. Contemplate some hideous thought and a hideous face will shoulder in and join the entourage that previously surrounded you. These are our ‘guardian angels’, except that the bent of their character matches our own. We reap what we sow with every action or obsession. If we center ourselves and attempt to live in a zen or christ-like manner, then the entities around us will be positive and benign in nature. The entourage that surrounds us contributes to our perception of the world, at a subtle level, as being either cheerful or macabre. Persons whom we meet subconsciously sense the presence of the multitude around us and it affects their perception of us as being either honest or sly, likeable or uncharismatic. A larger entourage means that more energy is available to us and we exert a correspondingly greater influence over the thoughts and actions of others with our presence. It becomes advisable, on more levels than one, to ‘surround yourself with happy thoughts’. Free up the mind of selfishness and obsession. Let go of ego attachments and the belief that you are superior to those around you because of this reason or that. Resist compulsion and seek to devalue the items that are in your possession. “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Inorganic life is as diverse as organic life, with endless variety in size, shape, and temperament. There are several types, however, which are either more abundant or easier to observe. Following is a brief profile of the entities which are most ‘visibly’ prolific in their interactions with mankind. The name given to each type of entity is only vaguely appropriate. If another culture of sentient entities were attempting to label mankind they could end up calling us ‘Bi-pedal Flesh’. In our profile they might mention that we seem to spend one third or our time engaged in seemingly purposeful activity and another third at apparent rest. These profiles must be taken in a similar vein.

Full Ephemeral Figure - It is likely that there is at least one, if not several of these, nearby. These entities tend to position themselves as organic beings would in the same surroundings. Our life is lived in a flash compared with their much lengthier existence. Thus, they tend to lean casually against a wall, stand nonchalantly or even sit on the floor rather than take a seat on furniture which will be moved innumerable times during the length of their stay. Some of these entities attach themselves, at least for a time, to a particular person and follow the drama of that person’s life as it unfolds. Others are attached to a particular building or location and are apt to stay put while persons come and go around them. As with human beings, most of these entities prefer to roam freely, staying put for a while when something catches their fancy and then moving on when it seems that some other pasture might be greener. The veil that hides them from our sight is one-sided. At all times they see both their world and our own. This might be why they seem to be more patient and intelligent than the average person. They seem alert, but in a casual and relaxed manner. There are, however, exceptions. From time to time an agitated full ephemeral figure manages to gain someone’s attention for a moment in time, adding more fuel to campfire ghost stories. As we may shift the range of our perception in order to see them, on occasion one of these entities may bodily shift into our normal perceptual range. These entities needn’t always be agitated in order to make this type of shift, but this is often the case. My first experience with this type of entity came when I was very young. I awoke in the middle of the night and crawled out of bed to go pee. I walked into the unlit bathroom and saw, plain as day, a gentleman wiping his hands on the bath towel. My heart leaped into my throat. I turned on the light and he was gone. I turned the light off – and there he was again. Three dimensional as myself, though seemingly made of mist or smoke, he finished up with the hand towel and turned to look in my direction. I quickly turned the light back on and left it on. Many years later a friend and I were walking along the gravel back roads of the small town that I grew up in. As we reached a point in the road that was parallel to the railroad tracks, the bell started to toll and the flashing crossing arms started to lower. We both looked up simultaneously to see the full ephemeral figure of a frightened deer running along the tracks under the bright light of a full moon. A moment later a train came along in fast pursuit. We can only hope that the nocturnal flight of that night has since given way to roaming with hooved friends in greener pastures.

Floating Faces - With human-like features, for the most part, these apparitions float ear-to-ear at approximately arms length across our entire field of perception. A person is likely to have just a few full ephemeral figures nearby, if any at all, but we are surrounded at all times by more than a dozen of these other entities. Our state of mind seems to affect this type of entity even more strongly than the full figure variety. Full figures occasionally move about and shift positions, but don’t often arrive at or depart from a location. Floating faces, however, seem to pop in and out of view at the speed of thought. While full figures take interest in our thoughts and actions, floating faces seem more attentive to our emotional energies. The type of emotion that we radiate is dependent upon our current mental health and emotional well being. Some of these entities bask in the presence of kindness and humility, while others feed off of hostility and perversion. Thus, our entourage is representative of our innermost self and the percentage of healthful versus macabre thoughts that we indulge in. Some of these entities lose interest rather quickly, while others stay with us through times that are both pleasant and unpleasant, cheerful and morose (though rooting for us to gravitate in one direction or the other). And so, these entities, too, might be thought of as our guardian angels. Or, for persons of a more troubled nature, the monkey on their back. Occasionally, someone that we know may seem very close at hand though actually residing a great distance from us, and appear as a floating face while interacting with you.

Eyes Alone - The eyes of all that have ever been peer down at us still. Eyes of entities that were never organic in nature look to us as well. These eyes may appear close to you and loom larger than your own or watch on from a great distance, out by the clouds or the sun. As part of us remains alert to signs of danger from the external world even as we sleep, so too, does a part of us remain dreaming even while we are awake. And so, the eyes hovering around you may belong to an entity that you would otherwise never meet or to the dreaming soul of a person that you currently know. Floating eyes at a close proximity usually indicate direct interest or interaction at a personal level. Eyes seen at the distance of clouds usually appear in large number and seem to comprise a veil across perception, as if lining the wall of the vortex that we ride in. This type of entity is more likely to appear to the neophyte sorcerer than the previous two, though full figures are the most common phenomena experienced by the average non-sorcerer. Though these entities are ever-present, our perception of them (as well as their interest in us) is usually short-lived and sporadic.

Distinguished Presence - A friend and I were visiting a local state park in the late evening hours when both of us were suddenly overcome by the sensation of a dark and foreboding presence. We fled from the location almost immediately and later discussed the entity that we had come across. The incident registered in both of us as a dual phenomena. We both sensed a cruel masculine presence detaining a fearful feminine presence. Some days later we mustered our courage and went back to the park, but the presence was gone. I later learned that just a week or two prior a group of six men and women were sitting by their campfire and drinking beer when, all at once, they looked up at each other, jumped to their feet, hopped into their vehicles and fled from the same park. Perhaps the only thing that we had to fear was fear itself. Only a couple of times in my life have I had the unpleasant experience of backing down and running from a fight. Though I regret both instances, I can’t say in either case that the adversarial relationship would have been beneficial or have led to a positive outcome if I had stuck around. A distinguished presence, more generally, is a presence for which there is a measuring stick. There are identifiable personality traits that make sense in an earthly context. This presence has no physical or ephemeral form, there is nothing to see or hear. None-the-less, ideas and feelings may be communicated directly. The presence may be entirely inorganic or it may originate from a person or animal that has passed on or still exists among the living. When there is a great love between two persons or they share a blood relationship – a person may feel another’s presence from a great distance and experience the other person as being very close at hand for a short duration of time.

Physical Ephemeral - These entities are fond of habituating statuary, dolls, pictures, and the knots present in wood paneling. Cognizant of the fact that these items draw our interest and focus our attention, they take up residence therein. Each time that our attention is drawn to the eyes of a favorite stuffed tiger, for example, the entity is able to bask in the glow or our attention. This is harmless to us, for the most part, as we constantly pour energy out of our eyes as light from the sun or heat from a flame. Related to this group, if not one-in-the-same, is the physical ephemeral entity which seems to actually bend or arrange the physical formation that it inhabits. Rather than being just a spot on the wall, the wall itself may seem to shift and bulge outward at times with features that may appear quite human. I find this group of entities particularly interesting for their ability to not only bridge the gap of perception which separates physical from ephemeral but because they can influence to a degree the shape and nature of the material world or, at least, our perception of it.

Dark Spots – These entities are just as they sound. They are the ameobas of the ephemeral world. They may flit around a room much as the white reflection caused by the face of a wristwatch being struck by sunlight. Ranging in size from approximately a golf ball to a softball, they seem to glide along walls in an unpredictable manner. Their movement, however, leaves no doubt as to a sort of sentience. They aren’t shadow so much as a miniature void which is creating an absence of light.

DREAMING ENTITIES

All of the entities previously profiled, with the exception of ‘physical ephemeral’, may be encountered in a dream. Due to their inherent nature, however, some types are more commonplace on the dreaming plane than others. Full ephemeral figures, for example, are generally drawn more strongly toward the physical material world than the world of dreams. Floating Faces, on the other hand, are equally attracted to the emotions we emanate as individuals regardless of whether we are dreaming or awake. It is quite common to encounter them in either realm. Due to the shift of perception that takes place, the hazy veil and semi-conscious state that exists between dreaming and awake may be the best vantage from which to observe them. Our range of awareness is much more fluid in the world of dreams, and so, the number and type of entities that we may encounter is significantly greater while we are dreaming than that which is available to us while we are awake. The contextual information which helps us to make sense of the physical world is no longer binding when we are asleep and adream. Differences between the following entities and ourselves make it very unlikely that you will ever encounter them while you are awake.

Other Dreamers - Most of the persons that you encounter in your dreams will be figments of your own imagination. They aren’t completely illusory, however, as each is a very real manifestation of a different aspect of your innermost self. They may represent your fears, your hopes, your darkest subconscious perversions or your most sagacious potential. As we sleep, it is quite common to don an assortment of masks and become unrecognizable to ourselves. This self-involved puppet theatre gives credence to the idea that each individual person is actually a community of selves. After this realization, while awake you may come to experience the sensation that those around you, yourself included, are simply ‘different faces of the same god’. Though this is a metaphysical possibility in an organic world, the same sensation in a dream should remind you of the fact that the conversation that you are having is with yourself. Not everything that you experience ine your dreams is entirely fantastical. Barriers that exist while we are awake begin to crumble as we lose consciousness. Whether dreaming or awake, we exude an electromagnetic pulse, an unending signature which reports every aspect of our being. When the walls are down, through sleep or sorcery, the energies of two persons may encounter one another in a manner which leaves distance nothing to measure. In our dreams we are often drawn to persons that we have already met in the physical world. We may also encounter persons that we have never before met while awake. It can be disheartening to know that some of the persons that we have just met we may never meet again. Have you ever fallen in love in a dream? Unfortunately, if you are like most persons, you wouldn’t remember it if you had. We lock away our dreams from our conscious self, though now and again they may surface or we find a way to keep them fresh and available to conscious recall. It happens on occasion that two persons share the same dream, awake, and together are able to corroborate the details of that singular event. For the most part, however, if you are skilled or lucky enough to remember a dream in which you encountered another dreamer, it is likely that that person will forget. Persons that have passed on don’t necessarily let that little inconvenience stop them from further dreaming, though a slight shift in there magnetic signature will likely leave no doubt as to their now incorporeal nature. The bonds that tie one soul to another may be strong enough to find (in dreaming) sanctuary beyond the hazy grasp of death. Many animals, especially mammals, dream quite regularly. Taken together, don’t be surprised if you discover yourself sharing a dream with a beloved pet which has recently passed on.

Shape Shifters - These are entities whose apparent form isn’t actually tied to any organic (physically related) construct. Any shape they appear to possess is illusory as their true form is simply an energetic configuration. The form that they choose isn’t necessarily a predisposition, but rather, suits their current purpose. While dreaming, most of us habitually envision ourselves as human-shaped. Shape shifters may do the same, even taking the appearance of persons that we know by coming into alignment with our expectations. They may also observe unobtrusively in the guise of an inanimate object such as a street lamp, a book, or a clock on the wall. While entities encountered in the waking world communicate indirectly with ideas, feelings or gestures - dream entities may also communicate with the spoken word. Very few have anything of interest to say, as most are simply attracted to the energy that we radiate. The legendary succubus is a shape shifter of sorts. This entity basks in the emotionally charged aspects of interaction. They elicit our involvement by entertaining our interests in procreation and horizontal athletics. They may fixate our attention to such a degree that upon awakening we find ourselves unable to move for a short duration of time. Dreams involving copulation take on a whole different flavor when the dreamer realizes that their partner may be more than appearances would suggest. Though shape shifters are quite pervasive, more often than not the individuals that you encounter in your dreams will be other dreamers or fantastical persons created by your own overactive imagination. Easily distinguished from a true shape shifter, there is a somewhat similar dreaming creature that I will temporarily dub a ‘grimalkin’. These ephemeral creatures do have a true form which is humanoid in nature and are only partly successful in taking on the appearance of something else for any duration without noticeable distortion.

Overt Presence - While the entity dubbed ‘distinguished presence’ (normally encountered in the waking world) lends itself easily to personification, the typically dream related overt presence is more difficult to describe. Its existence is so far removed from our ordinary range of perception that aside from a very atypical dream, you will likely never encounter one at all. If one of these entities takes a passing interest in you, it will be a ‘dream’ that you can not forget. Some dreams have such a strong sense of realism that they are unaffected by the veil which keeps most ordinary dreams from our conscious recall. Once, a long time female companion and I were sleeping next to each other – each dreaming our own dreams. The sudden appearance of one of these entities awakened us both to the same dream - a dream in which we sensed both it and each other. We both experienced a sense of its vastness. I could tell that it’s power was greater than my own, yet I was unafraid and confident in my ability to find calm and strength in the center of my being. My companion knew fear in the face of this entity and that fear was magnified until she was certain that something terrible must come to pass. Then, as suddenly as it came, it was gone, and we both awoke. “Night Terrors”, as described by a recent textbook on child psychology, provides evidence for the impact of the overt presence. (Kalat) Psychologists distinguish between nightmares and night terrors in the following manner; a nightmare is an unpleasant dream, but a dream none-the-less, while a night terror creates a sudden arousal from sleep accompanied by extreme panic. Night terror almost always occurs during sleep stage three or four, not during REM sleep. Fairly common in young children, frequency tends to decline with age. Children have very fluid awareness. They have not yet developed a shield to protect against the energies that surround and bombard us. This combination may leave them vulnerable on unfamiliar ground. As adults, we have learned to erect mental barriers and to avoid conscious recall of this territory altogether. When we sleep without dreams, we are not far from death. It is not uncommon for us to stop breathing for up to ten seconds while we are asleep. Then we remember not to die, not to let go completely. At this juncture, even the dreaming body comes apart at the seams. Disintegration of the ego and the individual self means a necessary break in memory. In this way, several times each night we die and are reborn to self and consciousness. It isn’t difficult to imagine why a child encountering an incorporeal, impersonal and predatory entity which hovers near to this field of perception would come straight awake, remember little, and be quite terrified.

Thanks man!

Sorcer - wondered if you have ever come across the books of a teacher (current) who refers to himself as 'Belzebuub'..? The reason I'm asking is cos he gives very specific techniques for self-protection whilst in LD's - a circle of protection technique, and also, for the case of attack whilst in the astral , 2 techniques using strange verses, one know as 'Bellilin', and one known as 'Jupiter'. I have heard they are very effective......

Bloody 'ell, I hope you're writing a book.

Edit. Seems you are.

Originally Posted by Wolfwood

Bloody 'ell, I hope you're writing a book.

Edit. Seems you are.

One of the reasons that i have never tried to publish the book that i have worked on for some 15 years now is that parts of it have always been incomplete. Namely, it needs 1.) a more coherent conclusion on the subject of immortality and 2.) at least one more technique for purposefully encountering some of the entities that i have described in the Waking / Physical world...

In a previous post (see 'Dream Entities - A Catalog of Inorganic Life, a separate thread) I did share a way to 'see' ephemeral entities by maintaining lucidity and keeping your eyes open whilst shifting more towards a dreaming state. But do any of us truly trust our dreaming minds? Isn't it even easier to fool ourselves into believing outlandish things while we are unconscious or approaching the dreaming state? There are many paths for reaching the same destination, but i hope to now offer persons a new method.

No use looking for a spell, a cantrip, incantation or ritual - when acts of Sorcery take place Here and Now. But in this case, there is only one thing to Remember ...

"Memory is its own Magic." With eyes open, see everything in your field of vision at once. Focus on nothing in particular and ensure that the room is only dimly lit. Quiet the mind. Silence the internal dialogue. Place all of your available energy on the task at hand, which is this: remembering visually what the room used to look like. There will always be a real difference between what you currently see and what you remember - as the light in the room (be it candle or dimmed flourescent) always fluctuates due to the ebb and flow of electricity. Noticing the differences will help to 'slow down' your vision and allow you to focus more clearly on the shifting Ephemeral World. Some of these differences will resolve into inorganic / ephemeral life. Of course, nothing prevents us from trying to 'see' even with our eyes closed. This type of heightened awareness of what you are seeing probably coincides with a greater activation of the LGN visual processing center of the brain (which also happens when a person takes L.S.D.) as you are literally taking in and processing more visual information.

It probably sounds very simple. And it is. But i think it can increase the likelihood of your catching the Needle in motion as it weaves the Ephemeral World.


Regards,
Sorcer

Originally Posted by Sorcer

One of the reasons that i have never tried to publish the book that i have worked on for some 15 years now is that parts of it have always been incomplete. Namely, it needs 1.) a more coherent conclusion on the subject of immortality and 2.) at least one more technique for purposefully encountering some of the entities that i have described in the Waking / Physical world...

You are acting like an immortal being that has all the time in the world. I am confident that you can 1.) conclude the subject of immortality more coherently and 2.) describe another technique in your usual style, filled with magic, that we have all come to love. In a single evening.

Your reply to this could very well be your last act on earth. And what a shame that would be if you have not published your book by then: https://www.createspace.com/. We would all be indebted to you (still owe you that twenty) and you will leave the earth a less magical place.

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I honestly can't decide if this is all really advanced spiritual stuff or a bunch of bullcrap.