It’s in Your Dreams

We are all fascinated by dreams, we also spend half our lives dreaming. Yet we don’t often understand the relevance of dreams. These days, the western world talks a lot about lucid dreaming but that’s just one part, and often concentrates on an aspect of manifestation. Not many people are aware of something called Dream and sleep yoga in Tibetan Buddhism. It’s a proper sadhana that is taught.

Even in Mexico and Toltec practices dream reading is a practice that is taught by the teacher. It’s sacred and has various practices including knowing how to use an Obsidian mirror.

The Tibetans and Mexicans have similarities in these practices. One common thing they both say is that dreams are powerful spaces to continue with spiritual sadhana. In Tibetan Buddhist practices, it is said that 8 minutes of meditation in a dream is equivalent to many years of practice in what is called the waking state. Osho speaks of how you can transcend to samadhi in the dream state.

Even in our Vedic practices, it is said a lot of karma from lifetimes can be burnt out in your dreams. Of course like I said this is a sadhana like any other and the Mexicans mention the need to practice it for 52 years to be called a true dream walker. In the Tibetan system, the masters remark that the first control of the dream can take about nine years.

Though I am no dream master, I have through the grace of my guru had a particular dream I remember very vividly as something that helped me work out my karma. It seemed destiny had a car accident in the plan for me, it would have been a fatal one, perhaps even something that would have cost me my life.

I remember very vividly the entire accident was something that panned out in my dream space, in my full awareness, and I knew and felt the karma drop off. And all through it, a voice-guided me. When it was done, I knew exactly what had happened. This is not the only karma I have busted in my dreams. There have been more.

Dreams are powerful spaces, yes manifestation also happens in them, but one needs to understand the dream space was provided for us to help us transcend our ego-self.  So often people get caught up in the idea of manifestation and don’t really use the potential of this space. But both Mexican and Tibetan teachings remind you to go beyond.

This is also the space where masters visit and guide you. You might begin to wonder, how do we do this. There are many methods and steps, I won’t go into that. But very simply the first thing needed is intention. So if you want to explore your dreams first hold the intention.

The Mother from Pondicherry, speaks about how when we fall asleep there is a certain time at night when the universal brahman merges with us, and if we can hold our awareness at that time we can enter a state of samadhi.

Sweet dreams.