Dreams

Isn't it amazing you can go to be looking for something, whether it is an object or an answer, and wake up the next day with so much clarity you can walk over and lay your hand on whatever it was you lost, or sometimes the bigger picture you feel tangled up in but cannot get enough distance from to fully comprehend?

Well, in this respect, I think dreams are like the practice of meditation.  I am a Buddhist. I was born a Buddhist. Took me til grade 8 to find it again, but when I did, I knew it was for me.  I looked at other religions and philosophies, but Buddhism always spoke to me the most!

Dreams give your subconscious a way of sorting through the heavy layer of conditioning and emotions we all carry.  Yes, there are dreams that are prophetic, but by and large, most dreams are just messages from ourself to ourself.  I for one, have never had a useless dream, even the most bizarre, for in the end, they are serving a purpose.

With meditation, you don't stop your thoughts.  How would you do that?  No, the thoughts are always there just like even in your sleep state your dreams are there.  The thing is about a waking mediation, is that you learn to embrace your thoughts, allow them to be and then practice letting them go.  Like a tapping of a feather, you ackowlege the thought, come back to your breathe, and the now.  Over and over you do this until in time, thoughts become like the flutter of butterfly wings that are just there, then they move over a little and give you some space, they are still there but they don't control or lead your consciousness, they just are, eventually you can do even more with them as the distance becomes greater.

The same can be said of dreams.  It is sometimes called "lucid dreaming".  I learned a long time ago when the need was there, to go into my dreams and change the outcome. I learned how to consciously manipulate what is happening. I learned to put the same distance that the practice of mediation (of certain kinds) gives you, into play in my dream state. I never tried flying. I didn't feel I needed this, but to be able to make changes, yes, this was very helpful.

Now I don't bother with the lucid dreaming. I think I have let that go and decided I just wanted to waken with an answer, I guess I am getting lazy in my older age.

Either way, in the end, it is all about doing what works for you and using the gifts of creativity you were given in whatever way serves you best.  Perhaps you find your answers in tea leaves, or a walk in nature, or by writing it down.  All good, and all necessary I think if we are going to navigate this journey called life!