Did you know that in a dream you can communicate with … yourself?
Advanced dreamers have noticed that by referring to the dream as a whole, and not to a specific character, it becomes possible to communicate with their so-called "second consciousness."
In his book Lucid Dreaming: The Path to the Inner Self, experienced oneuronaut Robert Wagoner calls the phenomenon of the presence of background consciousness in a dream "awareness behind the screen of a dream." Often this consciousness appears to be wise and even all-knowing, it can give useful recommendations for solving life problems or answers to questions asked by the dreamer.
Access to such a great source of knowledge is another undeniable benefit of lucid dreaming. Let's try to figure out where background awareness comes from and how to establish contact with it.
How to communicate in a dream with your "second consciousness"
Fortunately, the technique is quite simple.
The next time you wake up in a dream, use Wagoner's trick and give your subconscious mind a little test:
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Completely ignore any specific characters or symbols
Shout your question into the space of awareness beyond the dream
Yes, it's that simple. Just throw your head back and clearly shout your request “to nowhere”.
You can ask any question - and get an answer in any form. It could be a writing on the wall, a voice from heaven, or a new situation that suddenly comes true in your dream.
Sometimes the answer may come as a big surprise to you, but remember that it comes from your "second consciousness", which often knows much more than you might think.
My experience of interacting with "second consciousness"
Since I discovered this method, I have asked my second consciousness countless questions.
Sometimes I don't get an answer right away and I have to repeat my question (as a bonus, this deepens my awareness even more). Overall, Sleep rarely completely ignores my requests.
I don't have any high expectations regarding the reaction from my subconscious. I just calmly wait for some time while my dream formulates the answer to my request.
I want to share with you a couple of examples of my communication with my background awareness.
Ape man
Once, waking up in a dream, I was walking along a vaguely familiar English street. It was gray and dim all around, as in ordinary life, but I knew that I was dreaming, and because of this, I was drawn to smell. Without further thought, I shouted: "Show me something fun!"
The next thing I saw was a multi-colored fluffy monkey the size of an adult, which was walking towards me with an easy graceful gait. (It looks like it was some kind of distant relative of Sally from Monsters, Inc.) The creature's fur looked very realistic, like in the high-resolution picture. It passed me by with such a carefree air, as if it blissfully did not care about all worldly affairs.
This strange character that came out of nowhere was really very funny and I couldn't help but giggle. It was charming. I woke up, overwhelmed by the sense of humor of my own subconscious.
Inner goddess
I was surrounded by a magnificent landscape: beautiful trees, vast fields stretching to the horizon. Realizing that I was dreaming, I shouted: "Show me something amazing!"
The sky lit up with light, and an amazing orange sunset suddenly appeared on it. I saw a huge female figure in orange clothes with long, wavy brown hair appear in the sky. She seemed to glow from the inside.
She said nothing, but suddenly a feeling of immense power and confidence came over me. I felt that what I see in the sky is a projection of myself, or at least a generalized cultural projection that can make me stronger. This was one of the most beautiful moments in my dreaming life.
In the above examples, I simply asked my dream to show me all sorts of interesting things. In other cases, I asked specific questions about my personal life when I was not sure what to do (definitely, the support of the subconscious adds weight to the decisions made).
Among other things, our inner self is an inexhaustible source of creative energy, capable of turning a dream in a new, unexpected direction, as in this story:
To infinity … and beyond
I am at home, outside the window is night. I go out into the street and draw in the air an eight turned on its side - a symbol of infinity.
Immediately I look around, notice the stars twinkling in the night sky and the fact that the landscape around me is brighter than it should be at this time of day. I solemnly proclaim: "To infinity … and beyond!"
At first, nothing happens … only a few sparks flare up in the air, as if at this moment some kind of magical engine is launched.
I decide to try again. This time I draw Omega as a symbol of absolute infinity, and loudly repeat the phrase I said earlier: "To infinity … and beyond!"
BAM - millions of white dots are thrown right in my face. I find myself traversing space, floating through an indescribable void, full of stars and darkness at the same time. The stars are rapidly disappearing from my field of vision, as if rushing past me at an infinitely high speed. Soon I can no longer stand the magnificence of what is happening and wake up.
As you can see, this is not just a question and answer game with your dream character. You are interacting with your inner awareness, with the hidden director of your dream. You may not necessarily see a specific person to whom you can directly address (in fact, in 9 out of 10 cases, personification is absent). Nevertheless, you will feel that behind everything that happens there is some kind of conscious beginning, which forms your dreaming reality. This is without doubt one of the greatest wonders of the dream world.
What is your Self in a lucid dream?
Robert Wagoner put forward his own theory about the nature of this mystical observer:
“In addition to the intelligent and conscious dream characters (which may be fragments of consciousness or sub-personalities), the dreamer appears to be able to come into contact with something more comprehensive and conscious, which can be called the“subconscious self”,“inner ego "or" inner self."
Pay attention to how this inner observer differs from ordinary characters or dream objects. He is the dream itself.
His communications and visualizations, thoughts and ideas instantly become a building material in the workshop of a dream, changing it, introducing new images and sounds into it. If, in response to a question expressed to a dream, you hear something broadcasting to you in a loud voice, this is a great signal that now you are really communicating with your subconscious.
Wagoner does not dwell on his own theories - he goes further, explaining how they resonate with Carl Jung's reflections on the internal mental system of consciousness:
“… Experienced dreamers talk about numerous cases of interaction with the inner ego, which can be characterized as a responsible, intelligent and purposeful beginning. The nature of these interactions implies the existence of an independently functioning and perceiving psychic structure, or inner self, to which we gain access in lucid dreaming. Some dreamers call this structure more poetically: "the creator of the dream."
Probably the biggest candor is the stable, logical nature of the inner observer. Unlike Freud's theory of a primitive unconscious, governed by instincts and repressed emotions, "subconscious awareness" appears to be healthy, functioning in parallel with consciousness, a system hidden behind our awake self.
Ernest Hilgard's research suggests that we can contact the "hidden observer" in deep hypnosis as well. After talking with the hidden observer, his hypnotized test subjects shared their impressions: "The hidden observer is always on guard, he is mature, rational and has information that we do not have." Others added: "At that moment he was perceived as a special, all-knowing part of me."
Therefore, when talking in a lucid dream with a hidden observer, we do not necessarily interact with a repressed unconscious in Freud's understanding - it is likely that we are communicating with our "brother in reason." Thus, one part of this tandem (our inner self) performs the function of tracking, while the other part (our waking self) is responsible for making decisions and taking actions. For this very reason, sometimes we can receive unexpected answers from our hidden mind: our waking consciousness would simply not have thought of them.
10 things to ask your inner self for in a dream
It is best to formulate your requests while awake, when you have time to think about what you really would like to know or dream about.
Take some time to write down your questions right now, or at least memorize them well so that they are "at hand" the next time you become aware.
I was very interested to know the expert's opinion on what it would be worth asking our second consciousness, so I contacted Robert Wagoner. Here is a list of what he recommends:
1. Show me something fun!
2. Show me something that would be important for me to see!
3. Let me experience the feeling of unconditional love!
4. Let me experience the feeling of absolute self-confidence!
5. Show me this dream the way you see it!
6. Let my body feel completely healthy!
7. Show me how to start experiencing more lucid dreaming!
8. Show me my most successful past incarnation!
9. Let me see a pet from my childhood, _!
10. Show me the most effective way to solve my _ problem!
Remember, if you are not addressing directly a specific character in your dream (which, quite possibly, represents some part of your psyche or is an element of a dream program), the answers to your questions will be received directly from your inner Self, which is an important source of intuitive insights. …
Moreover, this part of consciousness is not limited to the inner Critic and Skeptic, which are activated with awakening, therefore, in this environment, the answers that come to you are more bold and ambitious than you might think in everyday reality.
And this is the main reason why I love this technique so much.
By Rebecca Turner