A New Year! More on Moss, Dreams and Connections

If you have not read Robert Moss, do so, just to amaze yourself at the connections he can show to your own dreams and personal experience. My dreams shift from those that are reflections of events of the day, to those with deeper meaning happening closer to the time I wake up. My mindfulness practice tends to sometimes allow my mind to wander into seeking the meaning behind what I dream. I was particularly struck by Moss’ description of approaching the ancient Temple of Dream Healing for its similarity to the beginning of Zen training. In seeking to learn from a Zen master, traditionally the student sits outside the monastic gateway and demonstrates that they are truly interested and dedicated to the pursuit of enlightenment until they are noticed and brought inside this “gateless barrier”. In my case this process was metaphorically achieved through an online application and subsequent interview process with a seemingly interminable waiting period. I recall that feeling of anticipation and impatience as I stumble forward through dream quests.

Two years ago, I undertook first degree Reiki training and experienced a confluence of imagery from dreams, and from regression work. During the workshop, after the master had completed my own attunement and moved on to another student, I distinctly felt a fatherly hand upon my head, whether in blessing or reassurance, I am not sure. It reminded me of specific experiences from one of my regressions and led me to a series of images that were so strong that they could have been the remnants of a dream. I subsequently conducted a self-regression and gained further insight into these images. All of this makes me think of Moss’s idea that we “can sometimes meet master teachers” in dreams. A quote by Kekulé reported by Moss seems to be especially true for me: “Let us learn to dream, gentlemen, then perhaps we shall find the truth.”

Keep on dreaming!

References

Amoroso, J. (2012). Awakening past lives. Virginia Beach, VA: 4th Dimension Press.

Hoshin, A. (1992). The bodymind of the way: Zen teachings on Dogen zenji's Shinjin Gakudo. Ottawa, Canada: Manuscript in preparation.

Moss, R. (2009). The secret history of dreaming. Novato, CA: New World Library.

Reed, H. (2005). Dream solutions! dream realizations!: The original dream quest guidebook. Mouth of Wilson, VA: Hermes Home Press.

Shibiyama, Z. (1974). The gateless barrier: Zen comments on the Mumonkan. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications Inc.

Dreams, Robert Moss and Regression, Wow!

I spent a full year faithfully recording my dreams in a dream journal. Dream journaling yielded many interesting connections to other areas of my life and my studies. Several of my dreams involved going on a journey, several involved various forms of secrets and hiding places and several involved interesting women. Most had great plots and inspired me to include elements of them in the fiction that I write. The settings of most of these dreams have been places like trains and hotels that seem vaguely familiar but more like a composite of places I have actually been rather than any particular real location. In many of the dreams, I was searching for something.

All of this travelling and searching really made me notice passages from Moss’s The Secret History of Dreaming such as where he notes “The map is inside the dream … but to follow it you must become a traveler in two worlds.” Meanwhile, mindfulness meditation seems to dovetail nicely with some of Moss’s remarks such as the comment that “Ayurvedic physicians maintain that we are deluded if we believe we are fully awake and conscious in our everyday lives”. This reminds me when I asked my Zen Dharma teacher about dreams and their place in mindfulness. Her reply was that before I started worrying about awareness in dreams, I had to wake up and become aware of reality. As Moss says, “What we think is reality is a mundane dream”.

My dreams seem to shift from those that are reflections of events of the day, to those that have some sort of deeper meaning or symbolism as the night goes by. It makes me agree with the Dalai Lama’s advice to pay attention only to those dreams that happen “around dawn”. Last year I finished writing a novel based upon a man who becomes obsessed with a vision in a dream and then strives to find the lady of his dreams in the real world. The novel’s structure is modeled upon the Hero’s Journey or the “Monomyth” showing a modern man’s voyage into another world that he is not sure has any basis in reality. The ancient philosopher Sinesius said “dreams show us the future, because dreams are experiences of soul”. An excellent summary of my protagonist’s hope that his dream girl is real.

Moss’s book also references past lives. I have experienced amazing regressions despite my initial reluctance to accept the likelihood that such remembered lives are real. I have made peace with the idea that even if not real, the past life regressions that I have personally experienced and helped guide others through represent direct communication with sources of wisdom within oneself – the subconscious or superconscious mind. Amoroso speaks of finding one’s soul purpose reflected in multiple lifetimes of experiences and I have found some semblance of that purpose for myself through regression work. Jewish mysticism holds that Gabriel is the bringer of dreams and the soul’s knowledge of its destiny. I cannot help but wonder if my dream locations that have vague familiarity are echoes of past experiences that point me to the future.

References

Amoroso, J. (2012). Awakening past lives. Virginia Beach, VA: 4th Dimension Press.

Apostrophe S Productions (Producer). (1988). Joseph Campbell and the power of myth. [DVD]: Available from Mystic Fire Video.

Moss, R. (2009). The secret history of dreaming. Novato, CA: New World Library.

Using Your Brain

Scientists can summarize how the brain works in carrying out simple tasks like picking up a pencil. The thought of picking up the pencil arises; the eyes locate the pencil; the occipital lobe registers the image; the temporal lobe finds past associations that lead to new thoughts or choices arising; the frontal lobe maintains attention while it also works with the parietal lobe to initiate the body movement to reach for the pencil and to establish the sensory anticipation in the fingers of what the pencil will feel like when finally grasped; the parietal lobe confirms the feeling of the pencil in the hand; and the cerebellum simultaneously directs fine motor control to actually reach out and grasp the pencil. Throughout the process, electrochemical activity is ongoing through the nerve cells as neurotransmitters pass the messages required to coordinate this symphony of activity.  Once the pencil is grasped, however, the actual creative process to use that pencil to write or sketch or tap out a rhythm becomes more mysterious. Andreasen describes the understanding of how creativity happens as “hunches, buttressed by modest evidence”.
          My own use of hypnosis to access a person’s subconscious allows exploration of associations, episodic memory and free associations. Hypnotic induction provides access to memories of events in a trance state that were not physically experienced (whether considered past life experiences or fantasies). Inner life explorations such as dreamwork and meditation can also demonstrate these aspects of the mind. I believe that creativity stems from some access to unconscious mental places where words, thoughts, and ideas can combine freely and take shape as creative output. I also believe that like any mental process or learned skill, neural pathways can be built and strengthened by repeated use, so once one starts to create, one can get better at it just as repeated hypnotic inductions make it easier for a subject to enter the trance state. Similarly, post hypnotic suggestions can help us better access and make use of our own subconscious associations. We can use such creative processes and supports to keep our brains active, if not evolving using our natural ability of neuroplasticity.
          Ultimately, creativity is the product of the creative person interacting with their specific environment including both internal and external factors. Nature and nurture work together to shape the human mind. Similarly, I think that the brain’s chemistry and the unique personal circumstances of each individual work together to shape creative work.

References

Amoroso, J. (2012). Awakening past lives. Virginia Beach, VA: 4th Dimension Press.

Andreasen, N.C. (2005). The Creative Brain. New York, NY: Plume.

Dispenza, J. (2007). Evolve your brain: The science of changing your mind. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications Inc.

Hinshaw, S.P. (2010). Origins of the human mind: Course guidebook. Chantilly, VA: The Great Courses.

Kappas, J.G. (2009). Professional hypnotism manual: Introducing physical and emotional suggestibility and sexuality (5th Ed.). Tarzana, CA: Panorama Publishing Company.

May, R. (1975). The courage to create. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company Inc.

Hopes and Dreams

As a hypnotherapist, I believe that everyone's dream symbols are unique. This is rather strongly and clearly supported by the fact that dreams are direct communication in the language of the subconscious mind. Also, stronger meaning behind the dreams that come later in the night is explained by the stages of REM sleep that occur during the night. It is not until the third stage of REM sleep that "Venting Dreams" where there is stronger potential for symbolic meaning and presentation of what the subconscious is trying to communicate occur. The typical timing of this later stage of REM sleep puts it close to dawn for many of us.

The Ashanti culture says that "dream incidents are real events". It makes me wonder how much of the symbolic messaging of our dreams is being driven by the proactive work of focused meditation, positive affirmations, or setting our own intentions before we start to dream as opposed to just receiving what the subconscious chooses to present. This is the true power of the dream quest. It is not just a matter of learning from your dreams, but of actively directing them to help augment what you are trying to achieve. That is pretty cool and aligns nicely with ancient Tibetan “dream yoga” that says that dreaming provides us unlimited possibilities. Even though we can make changes to our dreams, we should always try to drive those changes toward the positive support of our goals. It is important to have both hopes and dreams.

References

Hypnosis Motivation Institute (Producer). (2006). Dream therapy. [DVD]: Available from Panorama Publishing Company.

Moss, R. (2009). The secret history of dreaming. Novato, CA: New World Library.

Reed, H. (2005). Dream solutions! dream realizations!: The original dream quest guidebook. Mouth of Wilson, VA: Hermes Home Press.

Wangyal, T. (1998). The Tibetan yogas of dream and sleep. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications.