As this month's column is published, researchers at the College of Metaphysics in the United States are receiving dreams from around the world as the most recent GLOBAL LUCID DREAMING EXPERIMENT on "Dream Incubating Answers To the Economy" is in full swing. I'll have more on this topic in the months to come, for now enjoy this introduction to lucid dreaming. It may aid you with your own dreams and, if you are a parent, with your children's.

THERE ARE MANY REASONS why people desire the experience of lucid dreams. The first usually involves the pleasure and excitement of being able to control one's dreams and achieve actions that are not possible in the waking, physical world. The most common of these dreams is the ability to fly. The second is to experience situations or outcomes like living in luxury, traveling other places, or fulfilling a sexual fantasy. The following dream has both.

Eric, a young dreamer from the United States, writes, "Ever since I had my first lucid dream I became so fascinated with this 'Outer World'. Most of my lucid dreams go beyond normal explanation, and I haven't met anybody who can give me insight about them until now. I hope by sharing more of my experiences, you guys can help me learn more about myself, and help me better myself. I would like to share my first lucid experience and would appreciate if you could also give me insight."

MY FIRST LUCID DREAM
I have a dream where I'm in my school during the daytime. It's very foggy and no one is there but me. I stand there and think to my self, "What the heck am I doing in school at this time? How did I get here?" Then I realize the only explanation is that I have to be dreaming.

Right at that moment I instantly become lucid. It was as if something just clicked in my head. It was as if I all of a sudden became conscious that I was dreaming. The first thing that comes to my head, was that I know this is a dream, so there are no consequences, no death, no boundaries, no limits. So I do the thing I always wanted to do, I start to fly. I can't explain the joy I had during this moment. Flight the thing that I thought I would probably never experience was all out possible. I just thought, man, I could do ANYTHING I WANT!!!

When I had this dream I was in elementary school in about the 5th grade. The elementary school I went to at the time was connecting to a middle school and a high school, but they were separated my gates. So now I get down to the ground and just decide to head out and do whatever comes to my mind. I go through the gate, and go to the other side of the school to the middle school. When I got there I made some kids appear. I made a girl appear. It seemed kind of difficult to make the girl appear the way I wanted her to but I didn't care she was still a girl. I get the girl and start to have sex with her I thought, "Hey this is a dream, my imagination, no consequences, no nothing." But while this is happening I start to wake up. I try real hard not to wake up, and try to stay asleep.

NOW THIS IS THE WEIRDEST PART OF THE DREAM!

As I'm trying to wake up I find myself conscious in my dream and in my bed at the same time. This was one of the most profound experiences I had in my dream, my entire life. It is hard to explain but it's like I was lying in my bed trying not to wake up but at the same time in the dream trying not to wake up, both at the same time. Doing different action but I was both of them. I was me in the dream and I was me in my bed in reality with my eyes closed trying not to wake up. It's as if I was able to exist in two different planes (dimensions maybe), ubiquitously performing two different actions, have two different thoughts, but all with one mind, conscience of everything all at once.

Before when I thought about God being everywhere at once, I knew it was possible, but it was inconceivable to me, the idea of it was mind boggling, but after that experience, I have no doubt. I believe it now. Now that I had that experience, it seems much more conceivable than before.

Eventually my dream-consciousness went away and only my physical lying-in-bed-consciousness was left. I lay there in bed and tried to go back to sleep to experience the dream again but couldn't. So I just got up and went on with the rest of the day telling my mom and my friends about this wonderful experience. This was just another one of the very weird, strange, but also profound, and amazing experiences I had while lucid dreaming.

Researchers call the place where dreams happen, the inner world rather than the "outer world" as this dreamer describes it. Eric describes the dream experience as outer world because, like most people, his point of reference is the physical, material world. Anything out of the ordinary reach of the five physical senses, then, is separate and away from the Self.

In actuality, the dreams are inner experiences within the mind. The physical mind is the furthest extension of Mind outward away from the source. What's the source? All Holy Scriptures of the world and quantum physics scientists agree that, at our essence, we are Light. The intelligence that is Light expresses through the mind, the different levels of the mind existing for the purpose of creating and manifesting thought. The term lucid dreaming comes from the Latin "lux" meaning light. When we become conscious in our dreams we are closer to the Source of our being than we are when awake and moving through our daily routine.

When you create something in your conscious mind (through intention which is visualization or through wishing which is daydreaming) your subconscious mind, the part of you that dreams, will seek to fulfill it. The conscious and subconscious minds. working together, fulfill your desires, thus creating your life. When people talk about incubating dreams, they are referring to this very process of enlisting the aid of subconscious mind to draw to you what you desire.

There is responsibility in the inner realms, although it is different from that found in the physical world. Eric is astute; the physical limits are not the same in the inner planes. Perhaps you have heard people say that there is no time or space in the inner worlds. Closer to the truth is that time and space is measured differently in the inner worlds than in the physical, waking world. The rising of the sun, the setting of the sun, determines the measurement of time and therefore the experiences in conscious mind. In subconscious mind, time is measured by your understanding in the experience, not the experience itself.

Learning and applying concepts like these are one way to enhance your response in the inner planes. If you liken your inner plane experiences to being a newborn infant, this can give you a fuller picture of what you need to learn and how you might grow. The newborn is surrounded with sights and sounds and smells and tastes and feelings that are at first alien, foreign, strange. In the nurturing care of those who love him, he is ushered into awareness and knowledge of the physical world. He is taught "red" is red and "soft" is soft and "sister Ann" is sister Ann and "home" is home. In time, our life takes on meaning. Much of how our lives turn out depends upon what and how we learn about experiencing, life, and ourselves in those first seven years. The same is true with inner level experiencing.

A New Meaning to "Split Personality"
Eric's choice to fly in his lucid dream is a common one. It is an expression of the inner urge in mankind to be free, unlimited, and creatively responsible.

In the Universal Language of Mind, flying (without benefit of a machine like an airplane) in a dream symbolizes movement in the inner planes, otherwise known as astral travel or astral projection or out-of-body experience. Anytime you dream, you are moving in the inner levels of mind, the difference with flying in a dream is your point of focus. You are examining how you move. To go back to our analogy of the newborn, learning how to manipulate the body is a top priority for the newly incarned soul. After all, until you learn how to move those arms and legs, lift that head, roll over and pull yourself up, your experience is going to be pretty limited. The same is true in the inner planes. As a dreamer, it is the conscious mind that needs to learn how to use the inner level body. This body is made of etheric energy rather than flesh, blood, and bones.

What Eric describes - "It's as if I was able to exist in two different planes (dimensions maybe), ubiquitously performing two different actions, have two different thoughts, but all with one mind, conscience of everything all at once" - is natural. One of the benefits of becoming conscious of astral projection is realizing the dual nature of the self. Buddhists and Hindu describe this as the Real Self. Christians call it the soul or spirit. There is an outer you and an inner you.

Anyone who has had a conscious out-of-body experience understands Eric's reference. It is not weird or strange or abnormal. Rather it is super-normal, an experience beyond the average and mundane. Just because others do not understand, does not lessen nor does it increase one's experience and one's need to respond to it. There is a reason these experiences are coming to the individual, and this is what the lucid dreamer needs to pursue!

Eric indicates part of that reason in what he writes. The sexual activity in his dream, quite a natural phenomena at the onset of puberty, has promoted the freedom and connection with his inner subconscious self, his dream self, his Real Self. There is much he has yet to identify about the inner worlds and his place (space) in them. This search and discovery is eternal. The quest for enlightenment, of "Who Am I?" is the meaning in life and the answers we find give meaning to our lives. Because Eric has brought awareness of what is beyond the physical sensory world to self, he is ready for greater responsibility.

A second step Eric can begin now, is a means to consciously build a skill that he will find useful in developing his full potential. In the waking world, we use our physical bodies to get us from one place to another. When we want to walk to the door or pick up a cup of coffee or hug someone, we direct the muscles of our body to move. This is accomplished through thought. We must think of doing something before the command is given for the body to move.

Thought is cause is one of the fundamental expressions of Law in our Universe. Will is the mental muscle that empowers thought to move. Therefore, developing one's will is elemental in knowing the whole Self. This is a significant step in Eric's growth.

Why do we lose the Ability for Lucid Dreaming?
It is common for the young to experience and recall dreaming. It was a dream at the age of six that set me on a life-long journey toward inner level awareness. When we are awake while asleep we experience entering into the dreamstate. This is different from remembering experiences while asleep - this we call dreaming. Being awake during the dreamstate is termed lucid dreaming. Being awake between dreams is the white dream state, a state of consciousness beyond dreaming.

Sometimes dreamers, who possessed the ability for lucid dreaming when young, find it fading over the years. Many miss the freedom in the experience, wanting it to return and not knowing how, or even if it is possible. Those who do try to recapture the ability, tend to tire from the effort. In large part, this loss is relevant to, although not caused by, advancing age.

Losing the ability for lucid dreaming is the result of continued interaction between consciousness and the finite material world. Unfortunately, this happens with most people. This won't change in a couple of minutes of reading a book but we do expect the ideas we give you will shine a light on your experiences and maybe even spark a desire on your part to start learning again.

Consider this, you, the Real You that thinks and creates and feels, exist beyond the physical body and the physical world. This Real You is talked about in every culture on the planet. It is often described in different words, more often because of the differences in languages than the differences in the idea that the words describe. If you can absorb this concept in your thinking, then you can probably also accept our use of the word soul or subconscious mind as a means to identify this Real You.

Now consider that the soul enters into the physical world for the purpose of gaining understanding. The veracious appetite for learning in babies, toddlers and children, is readily apparent. It operates naturally as a function of mind harmonized by Universal Law, and continues unless the environment shows us - one way or another - that there is something not quite right about innocence and openness, purity and trust.

People lose the ability for lucid dreaming when the people, places, and things in their physical waking life become more important than the purposes, intent, and discoveries available in the inner mind. If you consider yourself among these ranks, you probably got there by allowing what was occurring in your physical life between the ages of 14 and 28 to overtake your desire to know yourself. As a result you have missed opportunities for Self growth. One of these is losing your ability for lucid dreaming.

This can be rectified. You can move forward in your understanding of consciousness. It may have been years since you've ridden a bicycle but once you are on and rolling, it all comes back. The same will be true in your quest for lucid dreaming.

Fixing the Economy without Getting out of Bed
Lucid dreaming begins with dream recall. Dream recall is retrieving the memory of a dream. This is not the same as lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is becoming awake in the dreamstate. This means a dream is progressing and at some point the conscious mind-you becomes aware that a dream is occurring. You look at the dream-apple in your hand and think, "This isn't a real apple. This is a dream." Or you have been watching the dream action and all of a sudden find yourself propelled into the action, yet nobody else sees you. You note this change. You are aware, awake in your dream.

Dream recall occurs as the daily exchange between conscious mind and subconscious mind occurs. Like an ebb tide, the inner, subconscious mind withdraws its attention from the conscious mind allowing a space for the conscious mind to surface once again beginning its active and dominant dance of a day in the dreamer's life. As each outgoing tide comes and goes, more beach is exposed, along with the treasures the sea left behind. Our dreams are like the shells left on the beach. Waiting for our inner light to bring them to our attention. When it does, we remember one of those dreams.

Recording your dreams upon awakening communicates to your subconscious mind the genuineness of your desire to remember dreams. Be diligent and disciplined. Do not pollute your dreams with chemtrails from overindulgence in drugs or alcohol. There are three definitions for lucid:

• Suffused with light
• Having full use of one's faculties
• Clear to understanding

The meaning of lucid is why Dutch author and psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden placed the word with dreamstates. Centuries earlier, Tibetan Buddhist teachings spoke of clear light dreaming. In light, we can perceive more truthfully.

The light you invite into your dreams comes from how you have lived the day before. This light reveals the messages most significant to your waking life. Clear light comes from a day well-lived, a calm and centered mind, connected with the Source of creation and focused on reverence for life.

As some of you know, dreamers around the world have recently been shining their light for a common purpose. As this column is being published, our team of researchers is studying hundreds of dreams from those who were incubating answers to the economy during the GLOBAL LUCID DREAMING EXPERIMENT being conducted at the College of Metaphysics in the USA. What did insights did these incubated dreams reveal? Next month, we'll share our findings here at PlanetLightworker!

Until then, strive for clear light in all you do.

© 2009, Dr. Barbara Condron

Want to learn more about lucid dreaming? You can by going to www.dreamschool.org. Hundreds of interpreted dreams are at your fingertips. While there, be sure to contribute a dream for the Q&A's Top Ten Dreams of the Week (be sure to note that you are a PLW subscriber) and check out the Dreamschool Program for Dreamologists. Until next month, sweet dreams!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Since 1977, Dr. Barbara Condron has made guest appearances on radio and television shows and been interviewed by newspapers here and abroad. From WGN in Chicago to WGNO in New Orleans, from PBS Latenight in Detroit to BBC Radio in London, her expertise in her subjects and her ease as a public speaker have made her a media favorite especially on call-in shows. Her affection for using media to connect people was behind the National Dream Hotline®, the annual weekend of sharing dream research sponsored by the School of Metaphysics, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to developing spiritual potential. She served as International Coordinator for the hotline from its inception in 1989 to 2000.

In 1997, Barbara created www.dreamschool.org to share School of Metaphysics research and answer questions from dreamers online. Now she is pioneering global dream awareness through heading the Global Lucid Dreaming Experiment at the College of Metaphysics in the Midwestern U.S. The experiments seek to collect the largest body of experiential knowledge to date concerning specifically, lucid dreaming, and to analyze the data making it widely known. Her books include The Dreamer's Dictionary and Every Dream is about the Dreamer. She also created the documentary Ten Powers of Dreaming, a study of dreams that have changed the course of history.