Dreams or Something Else? The VOICE

I am starting to wonder after reading many of these posts if I am just dreaming or if something else is going on? Lately this has been really eating at me. I have been lucid dreaming since probably 3 years old when I saw a Lion staring at me through my window and after being afraid of it for a couple of weeks and my parents coming in and telling me nothing was there I became friends with it. I did this with many nightmares where I became friends with my fears. Even the big gorilla looking one that ate my friends and spit out their bones. Eventually he became my friend and carried me on his shoulder everywhere. I was so painfully shy as a child that I really LIVED in my dreams. I enjoyed going to sleep and eventually what I call the VOICE was teaching me about life, making me think about my decisions, and was so calming and smart and I made friends with the voice as well. The VOICE is the constant who has been with me all of my life. I always thought of the VOICE as my teacher. I cannot tell you how many time I was given solutions that I myself would never have thought of. This VOICE is far more intelligent than myself. I never thought of it to be me? But after seeing someone mention your higher self, could this be what I have been learning from all my life? I feel it is a man, yet I don't see it. It is very comforting yet I never mentioned it to anyone for fear they would think I was crazy. When I am going to sleep I hear my name being called from a far distance and it appears to come from my left. I often have visions when I am trying to fall asleep and even my husband laughs at me when I tell him what I see. Just normal people doing normal things quite often.
I have never trained for lucidity, never read about anything to do with psychics or any of that. I am not very religious because I question everything. As of this past year I feel I am supposed to be doing something and someone is trying to send me a message but I don't know what it is. If anyone is familiar with this, or how I should handle this being a newcomer who appears to be doing many of the things you all TRY to do without even meaning to do if that makes sense? I feel I was given a gift and I am wasting it. At least I know there are words for these things now ;-) so maybe I am not that crazy.

Hi Serene :) Yes I do get a lot of that stuff too - voices telling me stuff about life and situations etc etc and also getting messages about something important about to happen or for me to involve in ~ someone trying to make contact with me through my dreaming etc.

It's mostly in the non Lucids and I will be there scrambling for info as my awareness try's to bring meaning with rationality kicking in - frustrating sometimes - it happens so much these days I am ok with it and see it as a part of my life/puzzle/journey - I keep on asking questions and trust in my dream work etc -

The more time goes on the more I feel these messages and happenings are all me playing out my
" dream" ...doing what I need to do, learning what I need to learn ...so by taking notice of it I feel I am listening to myself and that feels good :alien:

Thank you so much for replying. I am extremely aware in these dreams and feel I am much more so then in real life. I have many ah ha moments in my dreams. Very peaceful and exciting. When I start getting symbols and messages that aren't clear to me I feel my dreams are trying to challenge me. I enjoy every moment and feel very lucky!

Sounds great :D I feel so lucky too to have the dream world as it is such a part of me :hug::wizard:

It's great to be here too and share stuff like this! Thanks :)

I have never meditated. Do you? What is your opinion on meditation?

Yes I have learnt to meditate - from the Tibetan Buddhist Lineage ( I have a few teachers that have been very dear to me over my life) I am 45 now and found help and guidance in my late teens. I meditate formally mostly twise a day for an hour as a routine but having presence and mindfulness during my activities and daily life is most important I find.. The formal meditation deffinatelly helps with remembering to be mindfully present at any time during any moment

So yes :) I do it and I feel it helps - it's grounding and brings me to what/where feels like home again and agin and I love home :D

You are lucky! I wish I had that kind of guidance growing up (even now). I think I will get there eventually! I am 52 so ummmm I think I am a late bloomer.
Better late than never! I guess being shy I was too afraid to ask and we didn't have internet in the OLD DAYS lol.

Hey thanks :) we all have our fair share of stuff though hay - I was a reckless teenager with lots of stupidity to burn off ( messed my self up plenty from early teens so I needed the help ~ believe me ) I might have wound up dead or mad if I had not met with the Tibetan wisdom and kindness. Anyway that's why I value meditation - coz it helped me stableize my mind/emotions and feel normal agin - took time - feel normal now anyway:alien:

The way Sageous, on this site, explained about the importance of " self awareness " really struck a cord with me too. Now ~ how I see it is that learning to focus in a relaxed way through meditation daily has helped me to " be" more present and essentially self aware. The more self aware we are the more we are aware of our own presence within our world and interactions etc right now become interesting and real. The more we remember this the more we are really here - not just in our heads making it all up etc ...Also :wink: What I am trying to say is I think this helps a lot with LDreaming - this mindset.

I see myself as a late bloomer too in many respects just coz I am a bit of a dreamer in general - you know - busy looking at the way the shadows fall on the water and things like that - you sound like your way ahead to me :goodjob2:

Heya Serene :)

I found my way here for similar reasons to you and can relate alot to what you say. I also get 'the voice' it quite often laughs at me, but in a very loving way.

I don't really have any answers - I'm jut winging it! One thing I have found is that my dreams are teaching me stuff, sometimes it takes weeks or months and some lessons seem to have been going on all my life! I'm clearly a slow learner too ;)

Anyhooo, just wanted to say Hi!

I am soooooooo soooooo thankful I came to this site! It is so nice to be among people who experience what I do. I think because of my childhood, I grew up extremely empathic and compassionate. I have honestly lived my entire life in this mindset. Very aware, almost too aware. I feel everyones happiness as well as pain. I have always been the one saying why can't we all just get along? I see the good in people, I sometimes have to search really hard to find it but I do try. Every day for me is a new day and a new day to give people a chance. I always have a smile even though I don't speak much. I am inwardly extremely happy and if I died tomorrow, I would have had a fulfilled life even though I never traveled or did much, I feel peace inside me. It is so nice to see the beauty in everything rather than focusing on negatives which I see most people around me doing, and why I choose not to be around them.
I have spent my life as an observer, appreciating everything in my life. I am the person everyone tells their deepest secrets to because they know they can trust me and my lips are sealed. I value trust and honesty. I am not book smart but I have always felt one day I will find my purpose and feel that my purpose is something BIG! I just don't know what it is yet. I hope I can figure it out ;-).
I think because I learned from an early age that when tragedies happen to us, we can only count on ourselves to feel better. We all have the strength within us to overcome anything!! TRUST ME! If not, I would be a total basket case! I learned to appreciate life and look at it as a humongous challenge and we are in charge of our own results. We can just be depressed and anxious (which I do have depression and anxiety, I don't take medication) or we can visualize ourselves rising about the pain and suffering and choosing to make our life happy. Happiness within is the greatest gift I have learned on my own. I never had help, my parents didn't have the money to send me to counseling, I begged them in my early teens. Turns out, that was when the VOICE in my dreams took to teaching me about myself and actually giving me the tools I needed for survival. Like I said before I am not religious, but I do believe that when people are at their weakest points in life, they have the choice, and I chose to listen to the VOICE within :-). I am glad I have a place to share, even if noone reads it haha.

Hi Serene, yours is a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing. I am quite envious that you have such an amazing dream guide who has helped you through your life. Of course the guide is your inner self, so he's not more intelligent than you!
You said at the start that something was eating at you, but I didn't quite understand? What you have described by your lucid dream experiences and your dream guide won't surprise many on this forum. Hopefully that is putting your mind at rest?
If you are able to have regular, vivid lucids, then you have a gift. I would recommend you look into the experiences of the likes of Stephen LaBerge and others about what you can do with your gift, in terms of a higher purpose.

Thank you Goldenspark. I will look up Stephen LaBerge and really appreciate your replying. This is so exciting to see that I am not so crazy after all. Phew that's a relief! Just wish I learned this as a teen. I could have really been a pro by now ;-)

In reply to Goldenspark, heya!


I'm curious as to how you 'know' the voice is within? Not asking to be confrontational but as a deep thinker :)

Every time I think I get it something happens to me that makes me feel like I've been shaken upside down so my ideas fall out... it's a good thing as I get to look at if from the outside and decide what I think I should put back in again!

I'll give you an example. Last time this happened.... was actually reading a dream book. It was about 'soul retrieval' - a bit about me, I'm not invested in any dogma but open to all suggestions. I was reading this book as it seemed to fit with my ideas that I kept finding and integrating bits of 'me' in dreams. They'd be in a puzzle, or a game or hidden behind a mask animals, children boogy men... but when I solved it or accepted it it would join me with a woosh of realisation.

In this book, it was calling it soul retrieval, it sounds a bit like what psychologists would refer to as personality dissociation but on a very mild scale. Anyhoooo the book was talking about dream re-entry and helping people go back to do soul retrieval. In one chapter it mentioned the 'dream teacher/shaman type' taking someone back to her younger self. I was ok with this, as my dreams also tell me time is errr not what we think it is on earth and everything happens at once and all possibility's are played out (my dreams fit with quantum physics) - I'd also dream of 'healing the past' though the details were sketchy it felt totally real on waking.


So back to the book.....

What I realised though reading this chapter was that I'd done this.... I was 18 when my Mam died, the night she died 'something' was with me, it wasn't 'Jesus' or the ghost of my mam I knew that but it was familiar and with me with it's hand on my shoulder.

As I read this book - the realisation hit me like a bus, that that night - it was me, that had been with younger me. I'd gone back from my 'future' to be with little me on that night, not to say anything or do anything but to reassure'

This possibly sounds bonkers :P blugh, I know it dose!! It just makes me realise it's probably future me that's the 'voice' I just don't recognise it yet.

Hi Dreammouse, in answer to your question, I only "know" that the voice is from within as a belief, but a belief based on scientific reasoning and the balance of probability. For me the simplest answers are usually the right answers (Ockham's razor), and the idea that dreams are simply the constructs of the mind is the simplest explanation. Now I'm not saying that I totally dismiss more spiritual explanations, but I'm not aware of any references that are backed by hard data for such things so while I try hard to keep an open mind, I still see the mind creating this voice as the simplest answer. It is also beautiful, and I don't think it needs any fantastical embellishment.
Your time travelling example is, for me, a case in point. I have had not dissimilar time travel experience in dreams, and one lucid. I don't want to give the impression that I am belittling your experience in any way. It was obviously an epiphany for you, but I would say it is simply your mind coming up with the concept, making it seem like it was a future you coming back to console and support you, but I think it highly unlikely that it was in any way a real future you.

On your point about "soul retrieval", I'm not even sure what the soul is, or even if anyone else does, so I can't really comment on how it relates to anything.

I think you both have amazing minds. The great thing about being here is I get different perspectives. I can say that I find it hard to believe that the Voice is me in any way shape or form. When I say it is smarter, I mean it seems to be all knowing. I literally wish I could remember every dream because I feel I could learn a lot from it ;-). I have only gotten positives and I have learned so much already. I wish I could explain it and hope one day I will figure it out. I never asked its name, but may try that. Honestly I can see where people would think it was God talking to them, however, I am not religious.

You have a wonderful opportunity to question your voice and find out. There are a number of people that I have read about who have done this, that is interacted with their subconscious. This can be a verbal interaction, but be ready to expect all manner of curious replies to your questions.
One thing I would suggest, Is not to think that your voice being "just" your own subconscious talking is some form of let down. On the contrary it is an amazing thing to happen and is a fantastic gift. You have an opportunity to "discover yourself" in a way that very few get an opportunity to do.
Bear in mind that the subconscious can be a very fickle beast, that reflects your conscious thoughts, so if you challenge your voice, it could even get defensive.

You might even think about "re-joining" with your voice, embracing it as part of you, which could actually enlighten you with all its knowledge. This is not as far fetched as it may sound. LaBerge talked about a similar thing when accepting his nightmare demons were part of him, and he found they transformed when he accepted them and actually had loving thoughts towards them (find this on Youtube).

(hope that hasn't freaked you out ; -)

That's what I ment about soul retrieval Golden-spark (the daemon part)... soul retrieval is a name I found in a book.... not my name for it. It means bringing bits of you that are hidden back... I think of it as finding bits more of me. The last think that joined me was a massive chocolate lab... it started to try suck a toffee out of my cheek and then jumped into my dream body with me :P

Serene, I'm wondering - Do you hear words in languages you don't know - my 'voice' often tells me words in Sanskrit, at the time that started I knew nothing about the language or even what it was I just started to google the wired words.... a few nights ago I got a Hebrew word! It's odd as when I go look up the word I'll find out it fits within the context of the dream :)

No you don't freak me out. I always felt so different and so thrilled to be around people who can give me ideas. The Voice is the one thing that has had me puzzled, because I have never had any information or anyone to talk to about this. All of this just comes to be without doing anything. I don't meditate or do reality checks, I never purposely tried to make this happen. I looked up Stephen LaBerge and I am impressed. So much that he says I can relate to. I believe I have always had lucid dreams. My earliest memory, (not even sure if it was a dream) is of me in a crib tracing a symbol that I think now is infinity. I remember falling asleep doing that. Strange yes! I remember giving thought how my finger never came off the crib wall. I had horrible nightmares and somehow learned to become friends with the things that frightened me. The lion when I was 3, the big gorilla that ate my friends eventually carried me all over and protected me. He was awesome. There were only two recurring nightmares that I could not control. One I had fairly recently. They are plane crashes. Most of the time I am watching someone I love crash. The other was a childhood recurring nightmare that scared me so much I wouldn't talk about it. At 7 or 8 the voice taught me about having a positive attitude and visualization. That carried me through so many hard times as well as my dreaming. I have nothing but good things to say about my dream life and wish it was common to everyone. I have had several nightmares come true, but not exactly as the dream. Different family members, different locations, and some several years after the nightmare, but way too close and too similar to not be something that makes you go Hmmmmm. I will definitely try to get a name from the Voice lol. I am curious!

Yes Dreammouse. I have heard different languages in the past, but it was before google haha. Thank goodness I have to opportunity these days to learn more about this through internet. I didn't even know what language it was. I sure wish I had written down my dreams all of my life. What a treasure that would be today.

Ok Dreammouse, fair enough that you give a very loose definition of "soul". I'm not being picky but that word can be very emotive to some who want to apply all sorts of spiritual levels to it, which usually means it's very difficult to talk about!

Please report back on your progress with your voice Serene. It's fascinating!

No luck! I think I put too much pressure on myself, I sure don't want the voice to go in hiding ;-). I will just take time and let it happen naturally, which is best for me, I am not big on controlling my dreams, more an observer and keep the powers for when necessary hehe. Big hugs to all of you for your time and I look forward to seeing what I can learn.

Hi there, welcome!

In regards to questioning your voice, like Goldenspark said:

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Originally Posted by GoldenSpark

You have a wonderful opportunity to question your voice and find out.

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i would recommend to practice meditation for this, in particular Jhana meditation (taught in Theravada Buddhism). Why so? Because after emerging from first, or second Jhana you can propose questions to the mind, wait a few seconds and the mind itself comes up with an answer. This doesn't mean the answer is true, you have to test it sometimes, but the answer it gives will be very clear.

You can watch Dhamma on Air #7 for some information on Jhana. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmZvqyaRBRg

From minute 5:32 to 6:10 it talks about how clear the mind is and gives a simile (I recommend hearing this piece). At minute 23 says some things that are requisites to enter absorption (Jhana). It is not easy to practice Jhana, some people take a short time, some months, and others years. But either months or years you learn a lot in the process and it's really cool.

Also some people after emerging from Jhana meditation instead of proposing questions, try to check what their earliest memories are, and they would go to memories when they were babies. Then after seeing that they ask again, earlier please. So they go when they were born. If you continue to do this you get to see earlier memories as well, such as how you died, and how your past life was. This is usually done with the purpose of discarding views such as nihilism because you know for yourself there's continued birth (because you had an earlier life you now remember).
How is it possible to know about past lives if the information is not stored in the brain (because of course when you were born the body had a brand new brain)? This might be because the non-locality of consciousness. This is a new concept i heard about, and could help explain about The Voice, as instead of voice as non local consciousness.

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Originally Posted by Serene

No luck! I think I put too much pressure on myself, I sure don't want the voice to go in hiding ;-). I will just take time and let it happen naturally, which is best for me, I am not big on controlling my dreams, more an observer and keep the powers for when necessary hehe. Big hugs to all of you for your time and I look forward to seeing what I can learn.

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I only had a quick look at what Lichi has suggested - that's all a bit heavy for me really :)

It is just possible that because you now have some expalantion for your voice, or even some understanding, that it will disappear. It would of course be more interesting for you to be able to spend some more time with it, and see for yourself the ending of "duality", but maybe that won't happen.
It is probably the case that if you want it enough, you can have that ending, or you could even continue to have your voice, simply by your affirmation (a well known technique in dreaming and LDs).
You will be able to LD again, but if your voice doesn't return of its own accord, you can still inteact with your dream (your subconscious) in many ways.
If it has gone, don't be sad. Think of it now as being part of you. The duality has ended are you are one.

Quite philosophical really!

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Originally Posted by Goldenspark

I only had a quick look at what Lichi has suggested - that's all a bit heavy for me really :)

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Yes, true. Sorry about that.

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Originally Posted by Lichi

Yes, true. Sorry about that.

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Sorry, didn't want to put you off or seem dismissive!
I have dipped into dream yoga and some of the Tibetan teachings, so I do have an open mind about such things. I'm sure you meant well ;-)

I truly love and appreciate everyone's knowledge and willingness to share! I love that we are all so different and have different ideas but if we all keep that open mind we will learn so much more in life. Big hugs to you all!