How to do a Waking Dream
In my last blog entry (Getting Unstuck, April 20), I talked about dreams being a method of seeing where we are stuck in our lives, and of getting unstuck. One way of getting unstuck is to do a waking dream. In that entry I posted a video of a Dream Group member, Angela, talking about a waking dream that she did to resolve a repetitive dream (stuck) she had had for years. This blog tells how you can do a waking dream with your dreams.
Waking dreams are a method of going back into a dream while awake in order to address its necessity. Not every dream has a necessity – Great Dreams, for example, simply give us a message that we are to heed in our waking life. We know these dreams because they are clear, composed of intense, bright primary colors, (or sometimes all light) and they feel resolved. Other dreams, like nightmares, repetitive dreams, busy dreams or clear dreams remain unresolved – they contain a necessity. Addressing the necessity of a dream brings it to resolution and, in doing so, creates an inner shift.
Finding the necessity of a dream is the first step in doing a waking dream. For example, I once had a series of repetitive dreams in which I stayed too long in a meeting with Donald Trump which made me late for my meeting with Oprah, with whom I was going to write a book. I really wanted to meet with Oprah more than anything, but for some reason I kept getting stuck too long with Donald Trump. In this dream, the necessity is to leave the meeting with Trump. It’s that simple.
Other examples of dream necessities might be monsters that need to be wrestled with and overcome, crying children that need to be fed, held or comforted. Dark figures may need to be faced, their hoods taken off to reveal what is underneath, and the light may need to be turned on in a dark room or overflowing toilets flushed. Any of these interactions with the dream will create a change.
The moment we respond to our dreams by addressing their necessity they move and respond back to us. Images will shift, scenes and characters will transform. As the images change, simply stay in response to them, answering their question and heeding any other necessities that arise. Once all necessities have been addressed and you feel the dream is resolved, and complete, then the waking dream is over.
While we don’t know how the images will respond when we interact with them, we do know that we can respond to them because dreams give us all the tools we need. You can also protect yourself before going back into the dream if it is frightening. For example, if it is dark, produce a flashlight, or pull down a sunbeam. You can also use a sunbeam to tie a rope around yourself, tethering you to the light, to make sure you will get back out of a cave or dark place you might need to enter. Or, you can surround yourself with light, fashioning a light cocoon, or make a shield of light. You can even ask an angel to accompany you in your task and provide help.
So, once you have identified the necessity of your dream, you are ready to re-enter the dream as a waking dream. Here is the exercise for it:
The exercise for a waking dream is done by sitting back in a comfortable position, arms and legs uncrossed, and closing your eyes. Watch your breathing a moment and then, on an exhale, breathe out seeing the number three. Breathe out again to the number two. And then, breathing out, see the number one tall, clear and very bright. Now, re-enter the dream and address the necessity. Watch carefully what changes and respond to it. When you feel all necessities have been addressed, and the dream has been resolved and completed, breathe out slowly, and open your eyes.
