LIFE IS BUT A DREAM

From: LUCID DREAMS IN 30 DAYS - The Creative Sleep Program KEITH HARARY & PAMELA WEINTRAUB

The first step in this process is a detailed exploration of waking reality, which you must learn to differentiate from dreams. On the face of it, of course, waking reality seems vastly different from the world of dreams. But in many ways dream sleep and total wakefulness are just two of the states along the continuum of consciousness you experience every day. For instance, you might be fully awake in the morning, daydream in the afternoon, and enter a hypnagogic state, characterized by vivid but conscious imagery, in the late evening as you're falling asleep. Then, throughout the night, you sleep and dream. Given all this, it's our feeling that greater awareness of the waking world will enhance your sensitivity to the full spectrum of inner states, including your dreams. To begin, choose a nearby location reminiscent of some of the scenes you've seen in your dreams. Depending upon your dreams, a beautiful cathedral, a peaceful suburban street, a busy train station, a sculpture garden, a cafe', or the roof of a building overlooking a neon sign at night might serve you well. If at all possible, the place you choose should be vibrant and evocative, capable of stimulating all your senses. Most important, it should present you with images that seem as dreamlike and surreal as possible. Since you're reading this paragraph, we'll assume that you are now in the middle of some interesting, dreamlike locale. Look around at the spot you've chosen. Notice exactly where you are in relation to everything and everyone around you. Take it all in, giving yourself plenty of time to completely absorb the aesthetic and emotional impact of your surroundings. Then, consider the fact that the place you have chosen is a reflection of your own personality and imagination. Out of all the possible places available to

you for this exercise, this is the one that you decided to select, right down to the very spot in which you are sitting now. In other words, your current surroundings reflect your personal and subjective approach to everyday reality. Did you choose one of the places we suggested or come up with a place of your own? Did you choose a place you've been before, or someplace totally unfamiliar? Now, as you look around, ask yourself the following question: What is it about this place that reminds me of my dreams? To find the answer within yourself, reflect on the nature of your dreams. Have you ever dreamed about this place? If you were dreaming about this place right now, what might you expect to happen next? Observe the other people in your immediate surroundings. As you watch them, say to yourself in your thoughts, Every-body here has dreams. In fact, consider the possibility that those around you have at some point also dreamed about this place. Some of you have probably known this place in two separate realities: the waking world and the world of dreams. Indeed, how many of the buildings, products, and artifacts around you were inspired by unconscious images while some creative individuals were asleep and dreaming? Could your experience of waking reality, including everything from the street you live on to the music you love, be, on some level at least, a conscious expression of images from your own and other people's dreams? Now get up and walk around the area you have selected for ten or fifteen minutes. As you walk, notice possible dream images all around you. After you have finished this exercise, go about the rest of the day in your usual fashion.

That you have become a dream observer at the waking world; continue to look for images that may have been inspired by dreams. You may find such images in architecture, advertising, Movies, music, art, science, and literature, among other places. From now on, whenever you notice a particularly compelling collection of dreamlike images, say to yourself, I may dream about these images sometime in the future. Then let the thought go as soon as you recognize and acknowledge this possibility.