I found myself talking to a friend the other day and the topic of dreaming came up. When it does, people have two responses. Either they dream or they choose to ignore the concept for its chaotic and cryptic nature stating, “No, I do not dream.”
What I find interesting is that we spend roughly 1/3 of our lives sleeping. Assuming one lives to be 90 years old, that is 30 years of your life sleeping. To write off 30 years with the snap of a finger seems almost criminal. I am 33 now and to think of ignoring my life to date just because it is not well understood or clear at times would seem like insanity.
Hard to tell sometimes where one world ends and another begins – Arizona sunrises
So, for a moment, let us assume everyone dreams and it is actually a matter of simply accepting the fact. Once one says yes to the idea, we can begin to access this alternate and hidden life that we spend so much time living. If we accept that, perhaps one might consider the idea of lucid dreaming. Have you ever had a lucid dream? That moment when you realize you are dreaming and suddenly you can choose what to do, who to talk to, where to go? Most of my lucid dreams have quickly evolved into trying to fly, it’s a lot of fun.
The practice of lucid dreaming might surprise you but is largely a learned trait. Like a muscle, it takes practice and exercise to realize. It is known that adjusting lighting and reading time while dreaming is very difficult if not impossible. Thus, one of the best ways to start practicing is to go to a light switch while you are awake and ask yourself if you are dreaming before flipping it. If you do this regularly, you will begin to do it as well while dreaming. Suddenly, when the lights don’t go on or off, it is a good chance you will realize you are dreaming and thus begins that wild adventure of lucid dreaming.
What I find even more interesting is the people I’ve had conversations with while dreaming, the places I have gone, and wild experiences that have often left we waking up with a knowledge of some new intention that carries me through the day.
But are all dreams important? Do they hold intrinsic value and what do they mean? Why do we dream? A lot of these questions are still unknown. Yet, I wonder if you could picture yourself having a conversation with a cave man? How would you describe a cell phone, the internet, or the idea of landing on the moon or driving an electric car? Sounds incredible right? Especially from the cave man’s perspective. Thus, just because these questions of dreams have yet to be answered, does by no means exclude them from eventually being understood.
I personally have this strange inclination that dreams are our connection to the ether of life. They are where we came from and where we will go back to. It is where the physical world ceases to exist; we can find each other, we can talk to those of lives past, we melt into each others energy and if directed with enough intention, could shoot across the universe like a star. But that is a conversation for another time. Wild you say… maybe it is just a dream.
What is clear is that in this precious and short life, you will spend roughly a third of it asleep and you could be dreaming, you could be flying; exploring other worlds and philosophizing with the greats or meditating of one’s life goals. Seems like an awfully lot of time to waste by not dreaming. Are you a dreamer?
