In “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming,” (affiliate link) Dr. Stephen LaBerge uses a phenomena he calls dreamsigns as a trigger event for conscious (lucid) dreaming. With a practice, a dreamsign alerts the dreamer to the fact that he is dreaming. Once aware of the dream state, the dreamer can consciously participate and even direct the events of the dream.
LaBerge recommends the keeping of dream journal and suggests setting a
clock for the early morning hours to help facilitate dream recall. I
was doing this for sometime with good results but found it necessary to
put the practice on hold temporarily. I am resuming tonight and going
forward with the program.
I have reviewed my dream journal this morning and identified my dream sign style.
LaBerge identifies three basic types of dreamsigns. Each is a clue
that what is occurring is not our ordinary waking reality and can
become, in the words of the author, a neon light flashing the message in
the dark that the situation in which we find ourselves is one that we
have dreamt.
Inner Awareness: A peculiar thought, strong
emotion, unusual sensation or altered perception which would not occur
in our usual waking state, This can include inappropriate or oddly
overwhelming emotions, feeling of paralysis or out of body states or
magical thinking. Examples follow.
- Thoughts: “I’m trying to figure out why the furnishings are from another era and realized this is an odd thing to be thinking about” (unusual thought). “When I realized I didn’t want to crash the car swerved back onto the road” (magical thinking).
- Emotions: “I am filled with extreme anxiety and remorse” (over whelming emotion). “I am so angry at my sister over a minor event that I throw something at her” (inappropriate emotion).
- Sensation: “I seem to lift out of my body” (OBE). “It feels like a giant hand is squeezing me” (odd sensation).
- Perceptions: “I could see perfectly without my glasses” (not usually possible). “There were hundreds of colors that I had never seen before” (not usually possible).
Action: The dreamer, a dream character or an object
in the dream do something unusual or impossible in waking life. This is
an actual dream event as opposed to a dream thought.
- Ego Action (dreamer): “I’m riding home on a unicycle” (unusual). “I was under water but had no problem breathing” (impossible).
- Character Action: “The hairdresser refers to a blue print to cut my hair” (unusual).
- Object Action: “A large flashlight floats past” (impossible).
Form: The shape of the dreamer, dream character or
that of a dream object is oddly formed, deformed or transforms. This
may also be applied to setting. Includes anomalies of hair and dress.
- Ego Form: “I have very long arms” (oddly formed or deformed). ” “I turn into a butterfly” (transformed).
- Character Form: “Her face changes to that of another person as I look at her” (transformed). “Contrary to reality Gs hair is cut very short” (anomaly of hair).
- Setting Form: “I open the closet door and step out onto a wide terrace surrounded my ornamental gardens” (my dream – oddly formed). “I get lost because the streets are not as I remember them” (transformed or oddly formed).
- Object Form: “I see a tiny purple kitten” (oddly formed). “My purse turns into a steamer trunk” (transformation).
Context: The place or situation in the dream is
strange. The dreamer may find himself somewhere that he is unlikely to
be in waking life, involved in a strange situation or playing an
unaccustomed role. Objects or people may be out of place or the dream
may occur in the past or future.
- Ego Role: “We’re fugitives from the law.”
- Character Role: “My best friend, T., is now my husband.”
- Character Place: “My friends from high school are at the office meeting.”
- Object Place: “My bed was in the street.”
- Setting Place: “I’m in a colony on Mars.”
- Setting Time: “I am in my first grade class.”
- Situation: “A commercial is being filmed at my house.”
Dr. LaBerge recommends that the dream journal is examined after 30
consecutive dreams and that a dreamsign inventory be taken. I have done
that and found most of my dreamsigns to be contextual (ego role,
character role, setting place) or oddities of setting in regard to form.
As I reacquaint myself with my dream journal I plan to set the alarms
for 5:30 AM everyday and immediately ask myself about my dream and
write an entry at that time. Later after I have made some tea, I plan
to record the dreamsign, perhaps at the back of the book.
Will share any interesting dreams (most aren’t especially 
here!
here!
*Most the example given as well as all of the definitions come from
Dr. Stephen LaBerge’s wonderful book, “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreams" (affiliate link).
_____
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you buy a book using one of my links, I may receive a small commission at not cost to you.
Can't wait to use this lovely journal. My gift to me!
On the last birthday of the blog (which happens to be my birthday as well) I talked a bit about how the blog started and what it had become. This year, I want to talk about what keeping this blog has done for me.
When I started The Mystic in August 2010, my life was very different than it is now. I had just made a difficult and traumatic career transition and money was in short supply. People close to me were either largely absent, frequently unwell, or going through their own personal traumas. And I felt very much alone.
While I knew that something was missing, traditional religious practice just wasn't filling the void.
And then I found New Age spirituality. It offered something no other spiritual practice had. In embracing it, I found the freedom and tools which made defining my own path to spirit possible. For this, I will be eternally grateful.
This blog became my way of focusing on what I was learning and my way of sharing what I found resonant. It held me accountable. It helped me to grow. It allowed me to clarify my beliefs and chart my own course. And somehow, over the course of that, I became a better person than I had been before.
I have a long way to go. But I do understand where I want to be and much of what I need to do to get there. In the coming year, I will continue to review contemporary New Age materials but there will be other posts as well.
My backyard though not really (legally) mine and well outside of my ability to protect. Still in this space between what was and what will be - we walk, take deep breaths and look out from one mountaintop to another. Beyond the the trestle and past the curve of the river, just out of view of this picture, is the land that once belonged to my grandfather. Land that I won't see up close again. Everything changes but the moment is always eternal. I'm grateful for all that offers.
A spot along our path. This area is home to several crows, a small flock of turkey vultures, rabbits, two very happy woodchucks and a raccoon. I wish them well.
A surprising patch of purple-pink and an absolutely perfect Sunday morning!
Catch me as a guest on Christiana's Psychic Cafe with host Christiana Gaudet as we discuss tarot, angel cards, spirit and more! Great insight on angel card reading by Christiana, as well :)
UPDATE: This interview took place during my New Age phase where I'd temporarily renamed the blog The New Age Review. I went back to The Mystic Review about a year later. But it is true that my 3AM (video) encounter with Eckhart Tolle was the original impetus for the blog.
The Reading
This is a reading I did in a recent spiritualist workshop on connecting with our spirit guides. The idea in this psychic exercise was to get 10 pieces of information on a possible spirit guide. The information below is what I came up with.
Name: Reginald
Age of Passing: 54
Cause of Death: Trauma, violent, crushing lower jaw. Alone or not at home when he passed. Not killed in a battle but may have been attacked. Grief at not being with family.
Description: Tall, strong, shaggy reddish hair. Beard, belt, tunic, sword. High-boned face. Colors bright orange-red and green. Strong sense of a powerful, very upright presence.
Mental Makeup: Stern, sharp mind, strong, loyal, bright, exacting, curious, considered, serious.
Home: Second floor or higher tower room: scrolls, maps, stars, observing sky directly. This where he studied what he described to me as "ancient wisdom, even then." Also a large open room on first floor, exposed timber, plain. Big hearth /fireplace, stone.
Closest Relative: Children and wife (who was blond). He loved her deeply.
Friends: Strong, rough men. In some ways he did not really have much in common with them. Also brothers. He was loyal even when loyalty was not deserved.
Greatest Challenge on Earth: Not especially challenged. He felt up for any challenge. Being loyal to those who did not deserve loyalty was really not an issue for him - honor is on you, not them. Only real conflict was that his interest in learning and study was not really part of his station in life - something he could not share widely or devote himself to entirely.
Political or Humanitarian Figure Most Admired: A King or Duke. Wallace. An older teacher or tutor (very wise)
I had seen his face with photographic clarity (which is unusual for me) and heard the word king but I had the sense he was a leader but not the actual king (perhaps this was a clue to his name).
It seemed to me that Wallace might be William Wallace. I wasn't sure about that as Reginald, however, which was not, to my ears, a Scottish name. There was something about stirling too, but I failed to write down how that came up.
Anyway, I decided I should research the info I received.
The Research
What follows it the short version of my research. A longer, and to my mind more interesting, annotated version exists but is way too long to share here. I hit upon the name almost immediately after googling Reginald, Scotland, Knight.
Name: Sir Reginald Crauford, Knight
Born: Abt 1248
Place: Loudoun, Ayrshire, Scotland
Died: 1297 (apx age 49)
Married: 1275 to Cecelia (most likely) nee Swaine of Dannish descent (blond?)
Children: Sir Reginald Crauford, Knight (1296 to 1307)
Office: Sheriff of Ayr
Ethnicity: The name Crauford is of Norman origin
Extended Family: Reginald did have at least one brother. His sister Margaret was the mother of Sir William Wallace, the famous patriot. The Craufords rallied with Sir Wallace in his fight against the English.
Contemporaries: Sir Reginald was a "firm friend of King Robert the Bruce."
Manner of Passing: Sir Reginald Crauford, Sheriff of Ayre, was murdered by the English at the Black Parliament of Ayr c. 1297. (The Scottish nobles murdered at Ayre were lured to a meeting then hung. This event did not happen when Wallace was a child a la Braveheart but when he was an adult. Wallace was apparently warned of what was happening at Ayre, avoided Sir Reginald's fate and later avenged his death, along with many others.)
Colors: Pic of a historical reproduction of the Crauford tartan follows (stated colors red and green). (Note I did not see Sir Reginald wearing these colors but rather as an association.)
Home: Fireplace consistent with the time, Tower is historically correct
Stirling Connection: There was a battle of Stirling fought in 1297 which Wallace led. I am not sure if this was before or after Ayr or if Sir Reginald was present.
What was of great interest to me in this reading was that all pieces of information fit a real historical figure with several significant life events accurately represented. Details such as the Crauford colors, home, fireplace (a relatively new but very popular advancement in Sir Reginald's time) and clothing seem to be consistent as well. While I like history, I have never read anything about Scottish history and certainly wasn't familar with Reginald Crauford.
This is my first historical reading and I found it very validating!
Please check out the following images:
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| Historical Reproduction of the Crauford Tartan |
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| Crawford Castle Motte and Bailey |
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| Loudoun Castle Ruin (I'm not sure if Sir Reginald ever lived here but like the pic above, it has a tower) |
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| Wiliiam Wallace (the clothing of the day) |
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| Norman Fireplace Popular in Sir Reginald's Time |
This month, just a couple of weeks short of its third birthday, The New Age Review broke 100,000 all time page views. And, while I know there are blogs out there getting this many page views in a week or even a day, I consider 100,000 (100,222 as of this morning) a milestone.
I remember checking my stats in the early days of the blog, and seeing that no one had visited the blog. I remember how exciting it was when even one or two people read an entry and the sense of validation and purpose I felt when those numbers, oh so slowly, began to grow.
I wrote those early posts because I needed a place to talk about what I was learning and because I believed that somebody out there might need to be led to the books and resources that had helped me so much. When people commented and emailed me to say that something I had shared helped them, I was ecstatic.
In spite of that however, The New Age Review isn't really about reviewing the material I write about. It's about experiencing it.
Put another way - my reviews, or the best of them at any rate, are largely experiential.
I made a decision very early on about the way I would review things. I decided that while I would acknowledge material not resonant for me, I would not write pointedly negative reviews focusing largely on criticism.
Not everyone understands when I can't (or won't) do a review. And luckily I can usually tell if something is going to work for me or not. But even when I can't I stick to my process because it fits my review style.
Working and applying the material in order to report back on that process only works if that material resonates. Taken this idea a step further, I think that experiential reviews provide a clear picture of how a given resource works. And why.
Sometimes the resource works because it triggers a new idea or approach to something. Sometimes, it is an agent of change or transformation. Both of these are good.
Sometimes the resource works because it triggers a new idea or approach to something. Sometimes, it is an agent of change or transformation. Both of these are good.
Not everything I write here is review oriented however. Over time, much of what I share is simply my experience as I attempt to evolve into somebody better.
Lately, this had led me to think about changing the name of the blog but this morning I decided I wouldn't. And it occurs to me for the first time, that The New Age Review DOES review metaphysical resources very nearly exclusively. Some of these resources just happen to be the direct influence of spirit and the lessons the universe so generously provides.
As my approach to spirituality becomes more and more experiential it's likely that my reviews will as well.
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