Discussion Post I submitted for my Atlantic University TP6000 Course – March 19 2020
Several times this semester work from TP6000 found its way into the other course I’m enrolled, which is TP6100: Principles of Parapsychology. Now, it’s the other way around as this week’s topic touches upon concepts we’ve studied in TP6100. Because I was taking this course, I chose to do one of my two required book reviews in TP6100 on a work that encompasses elements of both courses. I chose Psychic Dreaming: Dreamworking, Reincarnation, Out-of-Body Experiences & Clairvoyance, authored by our Mentor, Loyd Auerbach.
Regarding lucid dreaming, Auerbach says that such dreams “may provide a more direct access to the internal workings of the mind-body connection and therefore a valuable tool in healing ourselves” (2017, p. 104). Jeremy Taylor provides a vivid and powerful example of such healing with a dream he relays from “Alex,” whose fiery dragon turns out to be a symbol for his smoking habit. Since he was lucid dreaming, Alex had the ability not only to learn from the dragon during a conversation that it represented his addiction but he had the wherewithal to “say with all my heart, ‘Get away from me! I no longer want you in my life’!” He never smoked again, according to Taylor (2009, pp. 181-182). Talk about transforming oneself in a single shot! I wonder how many failed attempts he made over the years to kick the habit.
Taylor’s description of how the leaders of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition incorporate lucid dreams into the education of “a child that is observe to exhibit the ‘sacred signs'” is powerful once you get over the shock that the boy’s taken from his parents and raised by the monks (2009, p. 192). I read the “Tibetan Lucid-Dreaming Incubation Exercise” with particular interest, since, as I’ve mentioned previously, I want to learn how to lucid dream myself. I was encouraged by Taylor’s remarks that the technique works “even if the dreamer does not believe in the Tibetan Buddhist theology that inspired it” (2009, p. 193-194). So, I’m ready to give it shot tonight.
The story Taylor relayed regarding “Eric,” an autistic boy he was providing therapy, reminds me of an outstanding Hungarian movie I saw in the last year or so. In the film, “On Body and Soul,” two co-workers find themselves having the same reoccurring dream where one is a fawn and the other a stag. They end up falling in love in the dream as they frolic around in nature, which then, like the story of Eric, has repercussions for their waking lives. The backdrop of the movie is a dark existence for both as they muddle through life as slaughterhouse employees, so the dreams provides them with a real healing opportunity. As Taylor notes, “the high incidence of this kind of ‘cross-dreaming,’ and the other ‘shamanic’ dreams and experiences of this sort…leads me to keep a very open mind with regard to the reality of what has traditionally been called telepathy, and its role in ‘shamanic healing'” (2009, p. 212).
Finally, I found Robert Waggoner’s “Precognitive Pattern Process” very useful. I was curious why my dreams regularly involve the sports teams that I follow. I found it particularly odd that while we’ve been in the midst of hockey season for the last several months (at least we were until a week ago), I continually have dreams that involve football. He notes that “inclusion of time-specific dream symbols is another major precognitive annunciation,” and adds how in a dream where as he saw a sold sign on a house, he heard the roars of a football game (2002, p. 2). He realized in his waking state that it was likely that his home would sell in the fall as football is tied to that time of year. Since many of my dreams involve various transitions, as well as football games, I’m thinking the fall looks pretty busy for me!
What I took away from this week’s material on paranormal phenomena, and really from the entirety of both courses this semester, is that the dream state and the waking state are intricately linked. And each state can have a profound impact on the other. The dream state, in particular, with its ability to shut down the “monkey chatter” that follows us around during the waking hours, is extremely fertile for psychic phenomena like telepathy, OBE’s, ESP, remote viewing, and especially self-healing.
References
Auerbach, L. (2017), Psychic dreaming: dreamworking, reincarnation, out-of-body experiences & clairvoyance, Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publishing
Mesterházy, E. (Producer), & Enyedi, I. (Director). (2017). On body and soul [Motion Picture]. Hungry: Inforg-M&M Film Kft.
Taylor, J. (2009). The wisdom of your dreams. New York, NY: Penguin Group (U.S.A.) Inc.
Waggoner, R. (2002), “Identifying precognitive dreams through patterns: a prospective approach,” ASD’s Second PsiberDreaming Conference, Retrieved from: https://asdreams.org/telepathy/paper_waggoner.htm