prescience
Lucid Dreaming
When we experience a lucid dream we are aware that we are dreaming. Dreamers also report that when they are having a lucid dream, they seem to be able to control the dream to some extent and they also tend to remember them better. In my experience it is like being half asleep and half awake. One time, I actually got up for a drink of water in the middle of a lucid dream, went back to bed, and continued my dream right where I left off!
For me lucid dreaming feels like being in the state of hypnosis – a ‘light’ state of hypnosis in which you have some control over how the session goes. You are in the dream state, but still aware of things around you. You are in a have heightened state of awareness.
Everyone I have discussed the subject of lucid dreaming with usually say they enjoy the experience. Some even say they wish they could stay is that frame of mind longer. When you lucid dream, write down your experience. Enjoy the movie of your mind.
The term ‘lucid dream’ was coined in 1913 by Dutch psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden in his article A Study of Dreams. It usually happens during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. When we sleep cycle through phases of non-REM and REM. REM sleep happens about an hour to 90 minutes after we fall asleep and this is when we tend to have vivid dreams.
It is estimated that at last 50 percent of adults have experienced at least one lucid dream in their lifetime. I have them all the time. The first lucid dream I can remember was when I was about thirteen years old. I was having a lucid dream of talking to my dad. But unlike our normal waking interactions, this conversation went exactly as I wanted it to go. I asked if he would let me go to New York for three weeks, and he said yes!
Since that time, it became increasingly common for me to slip into the lucid dream state. For me it usually happens in the morning, as I am waking up, but then going halfway back to sleep.
Discovering The Power Of Intuitive Guidance
I always smile when I think back to the time I discovered the true power of intuition and the inner guidance of Spirit.
I recall that Thursday afternoon as if it were yesterday. There I was, sitting on the couch in the living room. I was totally fed up and impatiently debating whether I should go and get the evening newspaper, so that I could scour the vacancies page for any job offerings.
It was September 1978 and I was only 18 years old. Unemployment was high in the United Kingdom at the time. Sadly, I was one of those jobless young people, desperate to find work.
“Relax,” said my mind, “it’s too early to go for the evening paper now. You can get a newspaper anytime until 6pm.” ”
“You must go now,” said my heart and gut, “there may just be a job offer in the paper, and it may be exactly the kind of a job you are looking for!”
I continued with this inner battle for a while, until my heart and gut finally won, and off I went. As I stepped out onto the street, I noticed that the bus was approaching at great speed. Then saw, right in front of me a baker’s van parked outside the nearby grocers and then, to my horror, a little baby boy in a buggy outside the shop. The baby’s buggy was slowly being carried by a strong wind, taking it directly towards that oncoming bus!
My heart pounded, my mouth went dry, everyone around me gasped, and time literally felt like it was standing still. All I could think of was to run. And run I did, like an Olympic athlete. Then I pushed the buggy back onto the pavement and out of the way of the oncoming bus.
Was all this a coincidence? I think not, as I was being urged by my intuition to be in a particular place, at a specific time, to stop something potentially horrible happening. Some people whom I have told this story to have just put it down to luck. All I can say is that I am glad I listened to my heart and gut, and not my head. I do not want to imagine what might have happened, had I gone a minute later for that evening paper.
Connecting With Your Inner Wisdom
In a world rife with uncertainty and daily challenges, most of us are bound to turn to other people in our life to help us deal with our problems or regain a sense of direction. While this is perfectly normal and human to do, spirit teaches that it is best we also connect with our higher self to find the answers we are seeking.
Unfortunately, trauma and stress can significantly block the clarity of our intuition, prevent us from gaining access to our inner wisdom and divine guidance. The following strategies can help us reconnect with our inner being and build a stronger connection with our inner guidance system.
Ignore The Noise
Stop listening to the opinions and views of others. I am not suggesting that you should never take good advice, but be selective about who you choose to listen to. And if their opinion does not resonate with your inner being, walk away.
Too much external ‘noise’ can really block your instincts if you become preoccupied with what others think. There is also the fear of upsetting others or not living up to certain social norms or family expectations. If you were to give in to this, you may very well find yourself living other people’s dreams and ambitions instead of your own.
Avoid the kind of ‘well-meant’ advice that usually only serve the needs of the one advising you. Politely thank them for their interest and concern, but disregard their opinions and simply go ahead with what your inner voice advises. The Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu said, “He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”
Do You Follow Your Head, Or Your Heart?
As a practicing astrologer, I often assist clients who are facing the head versus heart dilemma. Should they go with what their head is telling them, or should they follow their heart?
“My head tells me he’s so perfect for me. He is my dream guy on paper, ticks every box. He has a successful career, earns a solid income. He is someone my kids would love, the male role-model they so desperately need,” a client recently explained.
“But my heart feels so hesitant, like its beating for someone else I haven’t met yet. He is a great guy, but there no butterflies. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand why my heart is yearning for someone different?” she lamented.
“I can’t afford to be picky and my friends and family tell me I’m crazy to even question this incredible guy who seems to tick all the right boxes, but doesn’t put a flutter in my heart!”
The question is indeed, why would one trust an illogical feeling that can’t be quantified and measured using the neat little pros and cons list of the mind? In my Astrology practice, I have see this conundrum play out many times.
Interestingly, I find this vexing situation is often related to a Mercury Square Moon aspect in someone’s chart. Such a person will often take one side over the other, usually the head over the heart, and this habitual battle can result in a lifelong pattern of bad choices.
Culturally we’ve also been conditioned to always choose reason over feelings. And what others think often also factors too highly in a personal choice that’s best made selfishly. In my opinion, relationships are one of the few areas in life where we get to be selfish, because if we choose someone who will not make us happy, everyone will suffer in the end.
We are often told ‘trust our gut’ for good reason. Your intuition or inner guidance system knows far more than you do! But like a muscle, we must build it up, we must work it, flex it, to clearly register the signals it’s sending us.
Embrace Your Intuitive Psychic Experiences
We all experience déjà vu. It’s that feeling you get when you sense you have experienced a present situation in the past, or you have been in a certain place before, doing exactly the same thing or talking to the same person as you are right now. Note the word feeling, because this is important.
Déjà vu is a psychic phenomenon that many people experience in their lifetime. I have experienced this ‘out of the blue’ familiar feeling many times myself.
Apart from déjà vu, we also experience a variety of other psychic intuitions, such as hunches, gut feelings and strange dreams. These experiences are glimpses of the past, the present and the future.
I believe these types of psychic experiences are meant to show us that we are spiritual beings and that our spirit guides and angels are with us. They travel with us through life and let us experience these things as a sign that we are not just human and that we are never alone.
Do not fear the feeling of déjà vu, do not resist your hunches, do not ignore your gut feelings. Embrace all of it and know that you are a beloved, protected and guided spirit being in human form.
As you go through life, always be aware. Be awake and open to receive any messages from the Universe that need to be downloaded in any moment. Every unusual sensation or feeling or thought is usually there for a reason, even if you do not understand the reason in that moment.
For example, I stopped driving on a certain road the moment I felt in my gut that it was not safe for some reason. Later, I found out that there was an accident just a short ways up the road that I thus avoided.
Tune Into The Guidance Of Your Emotions
I believe our emotions are an additional ‘sense’ we use as a means of interpreting our life experiences, in the same way the normal five senses enable us to perceive and understand the world around us. Our ‘emotional sense’ help us make decisions about our preferences all the time.
For example, I love chocolate. My sense of taste tells me that chocolate is for me! It’s a very clear and obvious signal from my taste buds to my brain. We receive and process stimuli all the time and our senses help us to ‘make sense’ of that input.
Your emotions are also giving you information about your preferences and if we listen and pay attention, we can gain a lot of guidance from it. Our emotions don’t just come from nowhere. They arise in direct response to stimuli or input, just like our senses do.
I have also heard emotions described as an internal guidance system, or our inner compass, which helps us decide what we want to create more of, and less of, in our life. We sometimes get confused though, because just like the other senses, we have different preferences.
For example, some people love coconut desserts, but I detest then. Not thanks, keep your coconut out of my chocolate! The thing is, I’m not confused about the fact that I don’t like coconut. I also don’t feel I have to change my preference because other people love coconut. And I also don’t force myself to eat it, just to make other people happy.
When one of our five physical senses tells us something we tend to listen, because it’s visceral. We feel it undeniably in the body. Emotions are no different!
When you are heartbroken, do you not feel it in your chest as a physical pain? When you are embarrassed, do your cheeks or ears not become flushed? Or how about when someone you love hugs you so warm and deliciously, all your muscles just ‘melt’ into that person? These are all physical responses the accompany our emotions.
The Meaning Of Psychic Dreams
Dreaming is a universal human experience, although we do not fully understand how or why we dream. In a spiritual sense, a dream is our soul interacting with the boundless, greater Universe where things may not always make sense as they do when we’re awake, and where this time-space reality does not exist.
Whether we consciously remember our dreams or not, dreams can add profound depth to our everyday spiritual practice. A clairvoyant dream or precognitive dream, for example, can predict events in the future or make us aware of upcoming life challenges. One might dream of the arrival of a long-lost friend, a financial windfall, or meeting a new romantic partner.
Clairvoyant dreams can sometimes be distressing, especially since these dreams sometimes precede a tragedy. Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of Abraham Lincoln, had such dreams before the famous U.S. president’s assassination. Many people also reported clairvoyant dreams of contemporary events like 9/11 and the Challenger disaster.
But don’t think these dreams are all doom and gloom. If you are given such insight in a dream, see if there is any way that you can make use of it for the greater good.
No doubt many of our dreams can be truly intriguing. However, popular culture and movies often create unrealistic expectations of psychic phenomena and the nature of dreams.
The most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to precognitive phenomena is timing. What you’ve foreseen in a dream may not necessarily come to pass any time soon, or when you’re expecting it – perhaps not even in this lifetime! The Universe always has perfect timing.
When it comes to psychic phenomena and metaphysics, it is important to keep an open mind. Always be on the lookout for daily clues. Spirit is subtle and it easy to overlook something in plain sight. That ‘Mr. Right’ you foresaw in your dream might just run into you when you least expect it!