Help with Numinous Dreaming
Oct. 17th, 2004 08:45 amA couple of weeks ago, I took Nyquil several nights in a row as I battled a cold. Taking Nyquil usually results in my dreams being even more vivid and intense than usual, and this episode was no exception. But two dreams, on consecutive nights, were unusually meaningful. Their symbolism was as un-subtle as a brickbat, but the underlying meaning has proved more challenging to discern.
I spent most of my appointment with my spiritual director on Thursday discussing the dreams. He asked if I had received any insight from subsequent dreams. The answer was no. He asked if I had gone to sleep with the intention of receiving more information. That answer too was no.
So the last couple of nights I have gone to sleep with a conscious desire to find out more about what my subconscious was so urgent about. And to my complete shock and surprise, that has been happening. The dreams I have had the last couple of nights have been nowhere as vivid and memorable as the first two, but the themes and the symbols continue to resonate along the same themes. My frustration is that they are so 'ordinary' that just about everything outside the key images fades quickly into blur when I wake.
This process is fascinating enough, and the substance of significant enough interest to me, that I have been tempted to take Nyquil again for a couple of nights, to see what impact it has. But it occurs to me that there are probably better ways to encourage numinous dreams. I'm sure that it will be easy enough to do a web search, or dig through some of the books on my shelves to find some recommendations, but I thought I'd raise the question here, to see if any of my esoterically-minded friends have any experience and advice in this area.
I spent most of my appointment with my spiritual director on Thursday discussing the dreams. He asked if I had received any insight from subsequent dreams. The answer was no. He asked if I had gone to sleep with the intention of receiving more information. That answer too was no.
So the last couple of nights I have gone to sleep with a conscious desire to find out more about what my subconscious was so urgent about. And to my complete shock and surprise, that has been happening. The dreams I have had the last couple of nights have been nowhere as vivid and memorable as the first two, but the themes and the symbols continue to resonate along the same themes. My frustration is that they are so 'ordinary' that just about everything outside the key images fades quickly into blur when I wake.
This process is fascinating enough, and the substance of significant enough interest to me, that I have been tempted to take Nyquil again for a couple of nights, to see what impact it has. But it occurs to me that there are probably better ways to encourage numinous dreams. I'm sure that it will be easy enough to do a web search, or dig through some of the books on my shelves to find some recommendations, but I thought I'd raise the question here, to see if any of my esoterically-minded friends have any experience and advice in this area.