The greatest gift I have received … is the understanding that our minds are dreaming 24 hours a day

 

Many of you have probably heard about or practiced “Lucid DREAMING.” During the night sleeping dream, the Lucid Dreamer awakens to the awareness that he or she is dreaming. In that moment of “lucidity,” the sleeping dreamer knows that because she is dreaming, she is in control of the dream and can dream it in anyway she wants to. If the bad guy is chasing the dreamer, she knows that the outcome is up to her-- she can stop him, confront him, or change him into a cute puppy. One of the ways that people are instructed to remember they are dreaming is to learn to find their hands in the dream.

I had a friend who ordered a special pair of goggles for lucid dreaming. They were sensitive to the rapid eye movement that signals the night dream, and flashed little red lights in his eyes to remind him that he could "wake up" in the dream and change it. Unfortunately, my friend reported that the only dreams he had were about emergency vehicles with flashing red lights!

The greatest gift I have received from the Toltec teachings is the understanding that our minds are dreaming 24 hours a day. The only difference between day and night is that during the day your mind is using images and experience that are being collected by your sensory perceptions-- and when those senses shut down during night sleep, the mind uses stored images to create your dream. The mind is creating images and emotions during the awake dream and the sleeping dream. There is no difference in the “reality” of the dreams.

Lucid Dreaming is a great practice. The best thing it trains you for is Lucid LIVING. What a great gift to give yourself, to understand that you are dreaming during the day. You find your hands, you wake yourself up, and realize that you are dreaming... AND that you can change your dream in any way you want. WOW! What would you create? Who would you be? Would you dream yourself as hurt or betrayed by others? Would you dream that what you wanted was impossible to achieve? Or might you say “wow", I was dreaming those limitations, but they are not the truth! How do I want to dream in this moment?" The possibilities are limitless.

I suggest that you try it right now. Find your hands (or your computer) and wake yourself up in this dream. Ask yourself “ What was I dreaming just now, and do I want to believe it, or would I like to change it to something that makes me happier?” You are the one dreaming. You have been domesticated and programmed to dream a certain way. When you awaken in the dream, you get to re-program your mind, and create a new dream. That is being a Dream Master in the Toltec tradition. And that is LUCID LIVING !