Nightmares or change fate in a dream
Full, "daytime" consciousness during sleep can only be achieved by true adherents of yoga. However, in any case, the dream-action is of great importance, since it gives a person power over the events of his life and great psycho-energetic possibilities. The following episode is given in Satprem's book Sri Aurobindo, or The Journey of Consciousness.
"X. had a dream that she was walking with her friend along the shore of a lake, the water of which seems incredibly clear. Suddenly a snake jumps out from the bottom of the lake and bites her friend on the throat. X. tries to save her, but then she herself is horrified: the snake is now chasing her, and she runs away "back home", to her physical body. The next morning, she finds out that her friend is ill and has completely lost her voice. Throughout the day, she herself is haunted by a series of minor troubles, internal and external misfortunes. If she were actively and consciously focused, then nothing would have happened - the hostile forces would have fled. There are many examples of how “miraculously” it was possible to avoid accidents, when the day before, if not the person himself, then his friend, who came to the rescue in a dream, overcame them”.
The ability to be conscious in a dream (all the more so to such an extent as to reflect the attacks of hostile forces) is a rather difficult ability to achieve. In order to achieve it, a long and persistent work on oneself is necessary, the method of which is described in Living Ethics, in the "Facets of Agni Yoga" and in the integral yoga of Sri Aurobindo. In addition to special knowledge, there is one generally available and simple means of protection during a dream - these are prayers before sleep, an appeal to the Higher Reason and the Forces of Light. Of course, to be effective, such prayers must be based not on thoughtless mechanical repetition of a memorized text, but on a meaningful, conscious appeal to the Forces of Light. The text of the prayer is not so important, you can pray in your own words. The content and, so to speak, the spiritual level of prayer has an important meaning. After all, prayer can be a request for good only for yourself,or it can carry feelings of gratitude and gratitude to the Higher Forces for everything that They have done and are doing for everyone.
Of course, when a person thinks not only about himself, but also about others, and especially about the Higher Forces, he thereby expands his consciousness beyond his “I”, and at the same time enhances his spiritual and energy potential. Turning to the Forces of Light is the best protection against nightmares because it fills the human aura with light energy. Man is what and how he thinks. If his thoughts are overwhelmed with negative experiences - anger, envy, resentment - the energy of his body, and especially the subtle body, is polluted and weakened. Light, pure thoughts harmonize the human body and its psyche. In the astral plane, where the subtle body of a person appears during sleep, there are different layers. The lower layers of the astral plane are overflowing with the suffocating, negative, dense energy of negative psychic manifestations of society. The energy of light thoughts and feelings, due to their inherent high, subtle vibrations, "rises" to the higher layers of the astral plane. The lower layers of the astral plane - the place of residence of vampiric subtle essences and disembodied souls of evil, vicious people - are filled with heavy and dark energy. The middle and higher strata of the other world are luminous due to the qualities inherent in uncontaminated astral matter and energy.
Where, in what layers does the astral body of a person fall after its separation from the physical shell during sleep? It all depends on the quality of a person's thinking. The law “like attracts like” also operates in the Subtle World. If a person goes to bed, being dominated by bad thoughts, his subtle body, burdened with negative, heavy thought energy, ends up in the lower layers of the astral plane. If a person fell asleep in a good mood, with bright thoughts, especially spiritual thoughts, thoughts of prayer, his subtle body, saturated with light, high energies, will be able to ascend to the higher layers of the astral.
And because each person, with the exception of individual cases, is in his usual worked out "mental mode", then the travels of his subtle body in a dream have beaten paths. It is the thoughts and feelings habitual to a person that determine the "height" of the layers of the Subtle World accessible to his astral body. The higher the spiritual level of a person, the stronger and purer his energy, the richer his inner world and the higher the astral layer is available to his subtle body in a dream.
It has long been noticed that a person with a high intellect and spiritual level, with developed creative abilities, dreams of vivid, rich, colorful dreams, not to mention the well-known creative activity in a dream, which often leads to incredible discoveries. Mozart in his dreams heard amazing music and, waking up, recorded it. Pushkin and Mayakovsky in their dreams "received" ready-made poems, Mendeleev saw in a dream a table of elements, and Niels Bohr - a model of the atom. The creative activity of consciousness in a dream is intensified and facilitated, since the astral shell released from the physical body is a more convenient "tool" for the implementation of energy-informational exchange with space.
Promotional video:
The Living Ethics says that the subtle body of a spiritually developed person can stand out over long distances, “flying away” from its dense material shell. The astral body of an undeveloped person, on the contrary, during sleep "dangles" in space next to his physical body. Primitive people, living only by material needs, generally do not see vivid, meaningful dreams, often do not remember them at all. Although the problem of "remembering" dreams has another side. People whose spiritual level is so high that in a dream their subtle body is carried away to the highest layers of the astral plane can also not remember their dreams. But the energetic vibrations of such layers are so high that the physical brain cannot perceive and capture them, and therefore the ordinary "earthly" consciousness does not retain the memory of these ultra-subtle experiences.
The finer the energies and the higher the vibrations, the more difficult they are imprinted on the physical matter of our brain. In fairness, it should be noted that not so many people are able to perceive the higher vibrations of other worlds, even at a superconscious level. Most prefer not to think about the spirit world at all. An average level of consciousness, an average, "gray" life with its usual worries and problems often tightly close the path to the wonderful, higher, multidimensional reality of the Cosmos. And therefore, for many people, dreams are only chaotic, incoherent fragments of daytime impressions, very far from the amazing revelations and prophetic dreams available in a dream to creative natures. If we could understand the true nature of sleep and learn to consciously use this "window" to another world, given to us by nature itself, our life would change greatly. There would be much less accidents and disasters, quarrels and misunderstandings between people, mental and physical illnesses. A miraculous key that opens consciousness to an entrance to another reality, and at the same time the possibility of consciously adjusting its fate, is given to us every night.
The psychoenergetic significance of sleep for the entire human life is enormous. The creative potential given to us by the contact of consciousness with another reality is also enormous. The challenge is only to be able to take advantage of this potential.
More reasons why you have nightmares
It may sound trite, but a common cause of nightmares is overeating before bed. An overloaded stomach works at full capacity and does not allow the body to relax. The feeling of heaviness, discomfort as a result of overeating, will also adversely affect your rest. Nightmares can also dream during alcohol intoxication or a hangover. Too much alcohol has a negative effect on the whole body, and sleep problems are a common consequence of this condition. In severe illness, with a fever, it can also cause nightmares. Starting or stopping the use of certain drugs that affect the human nervous system, can lead to disturbances in restful sleep. If you have taken a sedative or antidepressant before and stop taking it abruptly,nightmares can be a consequence of this. Unfavorable conditions for sleep: unpleasant smell, uncomfortable bed, noises, etc. The brain in such conditions simply cannot function normally and tune in to a healthy sleep. Watching a horror movie at night. Especially impressionable people, after watching "horror films", have nightmares. Nightmares can dream after experiencing terrible events in real life. In case of excessive physical fatigue.