DREAMS

Reserched and Written by Tara Ciampa - EDITOR

..The Hypnagogic State is that transitional period you reach -between- consciousness and sleep. During this nodding off period its possible that you could hear voices or see visions. It's been suggested that hypnogogic dreams can be controlled to a certain extent. There are those that experience a falling sensation before reaching sleep. Other people describe hearing a stirring noise or a flash of light, a type of sensory shock. The involuntary jerking movement often experienced is known as a myoclonic jerk which could be a result of this sensory shock.

..The hypnogogic state could bring about precognitive images or visions of future events. However... its important to know that most hypnogogic imagery does not contain meaningful messages. This may be due to the fact that conscious thought are present at that stage.

..There have been instances where premonitions during this stage were highly accurate. People's dream visualization skills vary greatly and there is a logical explanation for that. The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the human brain allowing them to work in tandem. The left brain is the side used for logic, verbal and analytical functioning. The right brain is responsible for non verbal and creative functioning. Visualizing comes natural to someone with a high functioning right brain.

..Visualization for Healing: The power of suggestion during the hypnagogic state can be amazing. It is important to maintain positive thoughts. You don't want deep seated negative thoughts on your mind draining you. You can study meditation and prolong the hypnagogic state. Surprisingly, a dedicated person that keeps practicing can maintain the hypnagogic state indefinitely.

..Now are are going to discuss how visualizing certain colors can have a profound effect on mood, health and well being. Call it "self healing" if you will. For those overly logical left brained people who will have difficulty creating imagery here is a technique to use. You will need to gaze at a colored object with a distinct shape. Now close your eyes and conceptualize the image as clearly as you can. Here are the colors you can use for the purposes that I have listed:

There are -5 Phases- of the sleep process.

Stage 1: Light sleeping takes place and you drift in and out and can be awakened easily. Muscle activity alows and the eyes move slowly. There may be sudden muscle contractions and/or a sensation of falling

Stage 2: Brain waves are slower with an occasional burset of rapid brain waves. Eye movement stops. Almost half of sleep time is spent in that stage.

Stage 3: Extremely slow brain waves called delta waves are intermingled with smaller, faster waves. Deep sleep occurs.

Stage 4: Brain is producing delta waves almost completely. Deep sleep also occurs.

Stage 5: REM period. Breathing is more rapid. Eyes jerk rapidly and muscles are temporarily paralyzed (aka sleep paralysis). Brain waves resemble those of an awake individual

Royal Blue - Vitality
Violet - Inspiration
Midnight Blue - Spiritually helpful, restfulness
Gold - Spiritually helpful, Vitality
Amethyst - Spiritually helpful, Sparks inspiration
Red - Increases circulation, relieves fear, worry and reported to counteract blood disorders. Affects base of spine, acts as a tonic, increased vitality
Orange - Good for bronchial and chest condition. Rules the solar plexus. Renews energy. Good for depression
Yellow - Good for skin diseases, acid neutralization
Green - Good for cleansing and abnormal tissue growth. Influences heart.
Blue - Good for throat ailments, fevers, insomnia, headaches, rheumatism, inflammation and worry
Purple - Good for stiff joints, rheumatism, epilepsy, neurosis, neuralgia, mental, nervous and cerebral diseases

(Editor’s Note): What follows is the personal knowledge and experiences regarding DREAMS from the Shaman Hurley, which I have had Very Positive -PERSONAL- Psychic readings with.

..Hypnagogic State: This area of consciousness between waking and sleeping can be a powerful state in which we are walking in both worlds. I had an experience that was life-changing and I can still recall nearly every detail. At the time I was in a fearful and vulnerable state of mind due to recent health issues . I clearly recall getting out of bed to use the bathroom, and as I crawled back into bed, feeling wide awake, my bedroom became filled with brilliant white light. I remember looking up at the ceiling light thinking I had accidentally turned it on. But that light was turned off, and I thought to myself a light bulb illuminating the room it would be hurtful to the eyes to stare up at it.

..This light was different: it was the brightest light I have ever experienced and seemed to envelope me, and I felt a sense of peace as I have never even imagined possible. Then a voice spoke these exact words: "I will always take care of you". After another minute or two the light faded and I was left sitting on my bed in the same position as before the experience. I truly believe the voice was that of one of my Spirit Guides or Higher Being. Now I look back with gratitude at being blessed with this experience as it helps me cope with the chaos of our human lives. I have never felt alone since, it validated to me that Spirit was always there if only I would ask for its help.

..I had another powerful experience with a ''Prophetic dream'' right before the 9/11 attacks. I call it a dream because even though I was fully awake I saw this vision, comparable to a daydream state. I was looking out of my living room window and a jumbo jet came crashing through. Instead of panic, I felt peaceful as I watched the hundreds of souls that were aboard that plane walk en masse into the Light. There was an instant knowing that these souls had come together and were part of a Higher Plan to which they agreed before coming into their human physical bodies at birth.

..Of course the events of 9/11 were tragic, but at the same time I listened to the stories of all the people who were supposed to be at the World TradeCenter but were somehow detained, and then others who would normally have no purpose to be at that location but had somehow found themselves in the midst of that horror. Many psychics and mediums have gone to Ground Zero thinking there would be many lost souls, but miraculously they have yet to find any earthbound entities. These Spirits had all crossed to the Other Side without any hesitation. Their life's purpose fulfilled.

..For the most part, many of us take our dreams too literally, especially when the dream was an unpleasant experience. These dreams are very complicated and we tend to expect doom and gloom after we awake. When I do dream interpretations for my clients I keep it as simple as possible. After listening to the details of the dream I ask my client to find a word or two that closely described the experience. For instance, if someone dreams they are being chased and their loved ones are in peril. The specific word or phrase may be "Fear of being caught", or perhaps feeling "they must escape to save their loved ones." I then concentrate on just the word or phrase they came up with. I ask them to explain that word or phrase to me as if I was, as crazy as it sounds, an alien that had no understanding of this feeling they had.

..For example: fear of being caught may be described by that person as a feeling of needing to keep a step ahead or keep a steady pace lest this 'thing' catch up to them. The meaning of the dream then becomes clear, the person may be feeling very stressed out by work or family, and they have a fear of failure or of letting their loved ones down. When bringing the dream to a simple phrase or word, the frightful details of the dream fade away, and instead the client will take an inventory of their personal life and discover what is causing them to feel this way. The dream is now an opportunity for personal and spiritual growth.

..Finally, there are dreams in which we meet up with loved ones who have crossed. These dreams are very vivid and easily remembered. It is my belief as a shaman that the person who had the dream actually did interact with the lost loved one. Our physical bodies and minds require rest, but our Spirit is always active. When we are in a state of sleep we have the ability to journey and discover different realms because our logical mind is no longer telling us that what we are experiencing is humanly impossible. Our Spirit is free during this time of sleep, there are no limitations. That is why it is so important to keep a dream journal so one can look back on these experiences, again the dream is now an opportunity forboth personal and spiritual growth. ......SOURCE: -shamanhurley-

..Dream Recall is best immediately after a dream. It is common to forget the dreams you have had very rapidly. This most likely so we don't confuse our dreams with reality. Your sleep should be interrupted as little as possible to accomplish the best dream recall and to elminate dream fragments. The brain is actively dreaming during REM and if awakened during REM a person could be disoriented. The memories are not erased, just filed away where they cannot be accessed easily. This obstacle will need to be overcome if those dreams are to be analyzed.

..Lucid Dreaming means dreaming while you are aware that you are dreaming. The term was coined by Frederik Van Eeden, who used the word "lucid" in the sense of mental clarity. Did you ever have a dream that seemed to real that you mistook it for a real life event? This is what is called a Lucid dream. Roughly only five to ten percent of people experience lucid dreams regularly. This type of dreaming, like the hypnagogic state, is influenced by the conscious mind. Those people that experience lucid dreams tend to become more spiritual. Interpreting a lucid dream would not be advisable since they are too clouded with thoughts from the conscious mind.

..Lab Analysis of the Lucid Dream: Dr. Keith Hearne is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on lucid dreaming. Dr. Hearne did a study of lucid dreaming in the sleep laboratory. Working on the assumption that an individual would be conscious in the dream, then there should be a way to signal the outside world. The body's musculature is paralyzed during REM sleep, however, the eye muscles are not. Dr. Hearne wired up the subject that reported having lucid dreams once or twice a week. The subject was instructed that upon becoming aware of being in a dream, he should make 8 regular eye movements from left to right. These would then be picked up by electrodes positioned above and below the outer part of each eye. Other electrodes were placed on the top of his scalp and below the chin to monitor brain waves and muscle activity.

..From these readings Dr. Hearne can determine the sleep state of the subject as well as monitor deliberate eye movements. This study took place April 12, 1975. The subject (while in REM) suddenly signaled eight clear left-right eye movements. The subject was asleep and unconscious but in the dreamworld he perceived himself to be fully awake and conscious. Upon waking he described how in his dream he was walking around the university and suddenly became aware of dreaming, so he signaled immediately. Dr. Hearne also taped a micro switch into the palm of the subjects hand and though the subject dreamed of pressing it the bodily paralysis prevented this action from happening. Investigations suggest that outdoor unfamiliar locations were the common settings for lucidity.

..Light Switch Effect: Many lucid dreamers have tried to switch on a light but were unsuccessful. Dr. Hearne wrote to eight different lucid dreamers and asked them to report what happened if they tried to switch on a light in their dream. These people were all from different parts of the country and they obviously had no contact with each other. All of them reported that when they tried to switch a light on, it was as though the light was burned out. Its an interesting phenomenon that to increase the level of light in a dream was a limitation that was probably psychological in nature. Not one school of dream analysis has suggested dreams could have limitations, up until now. From a theoretical perspective this shows the dream is not totally free.

..Nightmares... Here are some of the contributing factors that can increase the chances of having those troublesome nightmares: Illness (fever in particular), stress, troubled relationships, traumatic events such as robbery, rape, mugging, etc., as well as experiencing a fire, a flood, earthquake or other natural disaster. These events can trigger lasting persistent nightmares.

..Effects of Drugs and Alcohol: Drugs and alcohol appear to increase nightmare frequency by increasing activity in some part of the REM system. If you go to sleep while drunk, you will most likely sleep soundly, dream a little until five or six hours into sleep. When the alcohol’s effect has almost worn off the brain has to make up for lost REM time. The result being you will dream more intensely than normal during the last two hours of sleep. This intensity tends to cause unpleasant dreams. There are a few drugs that seem to increase nightmares. One of the more well known drugs is I-DOPA (used to treat Parkinsons) and beta blockers (used to treat heart conditions). Research shows dreams occur during periods of intense REM activity. It is believed amongst some researchers that the drugs that cause nightmares can also cause lucid dreaming. The attitude of the dreamer determines whether the dream will be pleasant or unpleasant.

..Where do Nightmares Come From? Since nightmares are forged from our own fears the best way to deal with them are in the dream world. Fears are caused by expectations. More explicitly, why would we fear something we can’t imagine happening. These expectations are present in our waking lives and then more so they can determine our dream content. It would be safe to say that most of us harbor some pretty unreasonable or useless fears. Such an example would be speaking in public. No bodily harm will result from speaking in public yet some people are just as frightened by the thought as they would be of a life threatening situation.

..Nightmares from Childhood Abuse: Nightmares that result from being subjected to abuse in its various forms being mental, physical or sexual are the most common type. People do adapt and most manage to buy this past trauma and move on with their lives. However, all one needs to do is turn on the televisions or read the newspaper and a person that has a past history of abuse could resurrect those latent memories and could then trigger a series of nightmares.

..A person who has nightmares as a result of abuses they have suffered most likely are going to have dreams with the following themes: They could find themselves in a hospital environment surrounded by filth, blood and disease. They could be witnessing surgery being performed sans anaesthesia. The dreamer may the one performing the surgery or even the patient. There may be dismembered corpses and they may be compelled to clean up pieces of flesh. The dismembered bodies may be covered in feces or covered or sprayed with urine. Another theme is being trapped in a confined space and feeling you are in danger. There may be venomous snakes or people may be spitting on you.

..Other themes would include things that were part of your childhood such as toys or pets. You may dream of a favorite dog, cat, hamster, rabbit or some other creature you had an attachment to. The animal then would begin to suffer from some horrid disease or ailment such as cancer, boils etc. The pet rarely dies but is at death’s door and its survival represents how the victim survived abuse. There may be damage to toys or decay of surroundings.

..Ridding Yourself of Nightmares: Some things you can do to help rid yourself of these night terrors are: writing them down and/or sharing them with a trained professional that can advise you. Such activities causes the subject to confront their pain and start the healing process. A professional could instruct you on implanting positive thoughts during the hypnagogic state. The more anxiety you feel in reaction to these dreams the more power they have over you and perpetuate the cycle to continue. A professional could help you through any feelings you may have of being unclean or in any way being responsible for th abuse. Just assuring them they were not in any way responsible for these abuses has a very therapeutic effect and generally has stopped the nightmares. It should also be noted that some drugs can cause nightmares. The professional you seek should be made aware of any medications you are taking since medications can induce nightmares.

..What follows is a nightmare account that was experienced by a personal friend of mine over the course of three days. The text that follows is an unedited account of the event:

..DAY 1: Sitting in a crowd of people, mostly in rows. I look around the people and find that we are flying on a plane. Though I have no vision of the plane itself. I see only the people on it. And the ground that looked to be around 30-35 thousand feet. I get out of my seat to see if there is a captain to the plane. As I make my way to the front. I realize I’m the only one alive one the plane. So I try to feel around the cockpit of the plane looking for the controls with no luck in finding anything to use. The plane crashed in slow motion. Anything that the plane hit on the ground was immediately visible.

..DAY 2: I wake up next to the plane. I get up and start walking around on nothing I was looking for the dead people from the night before. But no one is there. Nothing is there, just me and the plane in wreckage. After a drink of water in my kitchen, I started to see the world and this time I seen everything. It’s winter time and the snow is warm, and black. Still no dead bodies though they disappeared from me? Playing in the snow, throwing black snow at car’s, building a black snowman. Fire whistle? Fire whistle…. Phone rings.

..DAY 3: Sitting on a park bench feeding the birds. I see two people shooting them next door. I walk over and see it’s my cousin. I ask him to not shoot the birds. And I hear. You should not have killed all those people. I ask, what people? He says the people on the plane. He shoots another bird with his shotgun. I say, fuck you asshole! Stop shooting my birds! He says ok, points the gun at me and pulls the trigger. I’m back on the plane. And everyone can see and talk to each other. But in my efforts of gaining their attention to say that the plane will crash are unsuccessful. I’m on the ground and I look down to myself to see my chest is full of blood.

..Nightmare Defense: Below is a list of some common nightmare themes along with coping mechanisms to accomplish a more positive outcome. It is necessary to become lucid during the dream to accomplish these coping mechanisms.

(1) Being Pursued - Suggestion: Stop in your tracks and face your pursuer... deal with the entity and try to comunicate with it in a calming manner. This may cause the person or creature pursuing you to disappear. Try to start a personable dialog with the person, animal, etc.

(2) Being Attacked - Suggestion: Do not flee or be meek and give in. Face your attacker and defend yourself or try to engage in reasonable dialog.

(3) Falling - Relax and then allow yourself to land. It is a myth that you will die if you hit the ground. You can possibly transform falling into flying.

(4) Paralysis - Do not panic. Relax as much as possible. Tell yourself that the dream will soon end.

(5) Being unprepared for an exam or speech - You can simply leave the room. You may also choose to give a spontaneous speech on a topic of your choice.

(6) Being naked in public - There is no need to be embarrassed since dreams are private. If you realize you are dreaming you can control your anxiety.

(7) Car out of control - Could represent a life that is too hectic. Look for solutions for a more peaceful life.

(8) Stuck in slow motion - Can represent feeling stuck in a situation in life. Ask yourself what you can do to change it.

(9) Personal Injury - Can represent a part of your life is being neglected.
(10) Trapped, locked in - Feeling trapped in life. Ideal outcome: Exploration, new courses of action. Could represent denying emotions. Suggestion - More acknowledgment of your feelings. May have to work on overcoming vulnerability issues.

(11) Helpless or abandoned small animal - Can represent your inner child. You may need to laugh more and be more spontaneous and enjoy more personal warmth and intimacy.

..Out of Body Experiences / O.O.B.E.: Every night while you are in REM sleep for a two hour period your body is almost completely paralyzed. This is quite normal and does prevent us from acting out dreams. in 1996 there was a case where a woman reportedly had her hair turn white after a terrifying dream during sleep paralysis. She described herself as being paralyzed and hallucinated that the devil was licking her neck. If she had understood the methodology of sleep paralysis she may have been able to overcome this most unpleasant experience.

..Sleep Paralysis is also experienced by narcolepsy sufferers. Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain's inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. It quite often is unrecognized and undiagnosed. Generally, one in 2000 people have this condition but in Japan the statistics are one in 600. It affects every racial and ethnic group. At various times of the day the urge to sleep takes over. They may fall asleep for a few seconds to several minutes. At various times of the day the urge to sleep takes over. They may fall asleep for a few seconds to several minutes.

..For some it is possible to induce an out of body experience a/k/a astral project during sleep paralysis by forcing your consciousness through the top of your head then re-entering the same way. About one quarter of adults report they have had an out of body experience. For centuries people have described their OOBEs. Its fascinating to imagine actually separating our consciousness from our physical body and traveling on the astral plane. Their are cultures that accept OOBEs without question. The ancient Egyptians believe the ka (meaning soul) could project. Similar ideas were prevalent amongst early Greek and Roman civilizations. In Tibet they refer to the bardo body as a spiritual replica of our body which contains our consciousness and leaves the physical body behind at death. They also believe we can make temporary excursions from it while we are still alive.

..Psychic Voyages is a publication that describes cases of people having OOBEs under lab conditions. The astounding results are hard to ignore, however scientific establishments tend to do just that. Dr. Hearne wired up three people with electrodes who claimed they could astrally project at will. The unusual experiences were during Stage 1 (the very onset of sleep). Their experiences consisted of perceiving extremely vivid images of floating through the ceiling and then traveling rapidly to another location. OOBEs are widely reported by people who have been pronounced clinically dead.

..A typical report consists of floating above the area where the medical team is repairing or recusitating their body. Some people describe the experience as frightening. Anyone that has had a genuine OOBE loses their fear. They view it as the most exhilarating journey the mind can embark on. The astral traveler is notaffected by paralysis or even constrained by parameters of a dream. That sets it apart as a fantastic and totally unique experience. Some people describe themselves as being points of light during their experience. Could such points of light be the very beginning of our existence.

..Telepathic Dreams Telepathy is simultaneous communication from one mind to another. There is evidence that thoughts, feelings, images and other sensations can be transferred from one person to another without regard to distance and without any physical communication. This kind of dream is different from the precognitive type because during a precognitive dream the event “has not” yet occurred. In the case of a telepathic dream the information is already existing in one person’s mind and reaches the mind of another.

..Many people know, skeptics included, someone that has had a telepathic experience. It is actually more widespread than you may think. There is a very comprehensive collection of such experiences in the book “Phantasms of the Living” by Gurney, Myers and Podmore. Also reference: Dream Telepathy: Experiments in Nocturnal ESP: Montague Ullman and Stanley Krippner with Alan Vaughan, McFarland, NC, 1989, 252 pp

..Charles Hornorton - Parapsychologist: Charles Honorton (1946 - 1992) was, first and foremost, a parapsychologist. From his early childhood, his interests were centered on the mind, consciousness and its potentials. As a teenager, he corresponded with Dr J B Rhine and, while he was still a high school student, he traveled from his home in Minnesota to Durham, North Carolina to spend his summer months at the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University.

..Honorton collaborated with Dr Stanley Krippner and Dr Montague Ullman at Maimonides Medical Center (Brooklyn, New York) in the classic "dream telepathy" experiments. Honorton later became the Director of the Division of Parapsychology and Psychophysics at Maimonides. In 1979, he founded the Psychophysical Research Laboratories (PRL) in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1991, he went to the University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh, Scotland) to pursue a Ph.D. degree. He died of heart failure on November 4, 1992. He left an extensive collection of publications of his years in parapsychological research. A listing of Honorton's publications can be found here: http://www.parapsych.org/members/c_honorton.html

..The Criminal Mind: It is possible to actually get telepathic imagery from the criminal mind. It is in this way robberies and murders are seen in dreams and reach the mind of the receiver. The criminal being the sender. The receiver (the person actually viewing this imagery in dream form) would be picking up on the ill will of another.

..In the 1970s Ullman and Krippner (referenced above) conducted lab experiments on telepathic communication at the Maimonides Laboratory in New York. One such experiment used 8 pairs of senders and receivers. The receiver was in a lab 14 miles away and the sender was located in a sensory bombardment chamber. There was 6 general themes used and these themes were carried out with strong visual and auditory stimulation using slides and music. The receiver reported his dreams after awakening. Judges would then link the themes to the dream transcripts. Highly significant statistics were achieved. By chance alone matching results would have been achieved only once in 250.

..A disaster causes a heightened sense of emotion. The sender may actually transmit signals of distress. Imagine the receiver acting like a television set and receiving signals and witnessing sights and sounds of these events. The receiver can also experience smells, tastes and other senses being stimulated. Witnessing a tragic event in person or even seeing it on TV can really trigger a strong emotional response from seeing this human suffering. Even if you wake up without remembering the dream you could awaken in a state of distress from experiencing disturbing events.

The opinions, beliefs and practices presented within this article are- NOT- necessarily those of the Visionsmagazineonline.com editorial staff. However, we do believe in giving our readers diversity in the many subjects we put forth in front of you. The words in this article are those of the author. They are edited for content and clairification. The Author's methodology, procedures, and evidence presented here in this article are theirs and theirs alone. We are not endorsing nor condemning them for these practices. We are presenting you with information of what other people involved in paranormal investigations today are doing on a worldwide basis. The choice is yours.

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