THE NATURE OF DREAMs
What are Dreams?
Dreams have enthralled, fascinated and scared us silly since the dawn of time. They are magical and mysterious and, well, sometimes downright strange or disturbing.
Some people wake in the morning full of suspicion after being treated badly by loved ones in dreams.
After lovers have cheated on them in peculiar surroundings, then flown away in bright red flying machines after chopping down the sky-high magic-bean vine that was growing outside their dream cottage, towering into the pink clouds...well, they're bound to feel a bit fractious, maybe even downright annoyed.
Dame Wotta Tripp receives many letters from people who are most upset at the actions of their nearest and dearest while in the dream world, so much so that they have ceased talking to them for days or even physically attacked them.
Of course, if you wake up to find your significant other leaning over you glaring angrily, it can be a bit disconcerting, until you find out what you did.
Everybody dreams, but not everybody remembers when they wake. It's probable that you will remember interesting dreams at least some of the time.
Most people do remember a portion of their dreams, and out of this group, a small percentage have learned to actually gain control of their dream-time, as we shall discuss further on.
What Does Science Say?
The current scientific theories regarding dreaming are many and varied.
What we do know is that major dreaming occurs during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. This was discovered in 1953. While we are sleeping we undergo REM sleep periods approximately every 60-90 minutes throughout the night.
It's in these peak periods that we experience vivid dreams which we can later remember. During this state, which is also known as paradoxical sleep, our eyes move rapidly back and forth beneath our eyelids.
There are different stages of sleep, and in-between the REM stages are NREM (Non-REM) periods.
NREM sleep has 3 stages characterized by different
brainwave activity, such as theta, delta etc.
The brainwaves of someone who is experiencing the REM stage of sleep are fairly similar to those produced when they are awake, and yet people are harder to arouse during this stage.
That's why it's called paradoxical sleep, but in actuality it's that way because you are as busy as you are when awake, but in other worlds, and your brain is processing it all.
Suffice it to say that despite the research done, scientists are not that close to fully understanding the workings of the human brain during sleep. Many of them have little understanding of their own personal motivations even while awake.
There are other, better ways of knowing the dream world, ways that will bring us closer to understanding the true nature of the vivid, kaleidoscopic imagery we see in our dreams.
The only time to become worried about dreams and nightmares is if you are experiencing them while wide awake.
So What are They Really?
They are wonderful windows into other worlds and realities. The experiences we have are no less real than those in our waking world. It's just that the dimensions we move through in dreams have a plasticity which is very different from the fixed landscapes and conditions we experience in the third dimension.
Dreams are the holographic realities in which we play, learn and experience while we are in our subtle, or astral, body. It's a world of archetypes, symbols and visionary landscape, and it's fully habitable and inhabited by spiritual beings, including yourself.
Our 3D world is also a holographic reality. It vibrates at a much slower rate, giving the illusion of solidity and allowing us a slower, more permanent-seeming, less-pliable 'reality' in which to experience co-creating with life here on Earth, bound by laws of gravity and time.
Where do We Go in Dreams?
We go all over the place, but really it depends on several different things.
As people evolve and become more multi-dimensional they take on a more and more conscious role in their dream-life.
There are different locations to visit.
Some people are studying and refining or developing talents and skills. Others have jobs and tasks which they choose to undertake.
As in waking reality, there are folks who just want to experience sensation and the world of the senses. These pleasure-seekers are often drawn to the denser areas of the astral, where they like to frequent the equivalent of night-clubs and bars, seeking astral sex and other similar energetic thrills.
Some people might meet and enjoy the company of loved ones who have passed away, or friends who reside in the heaven-worlds that abound in higher dimensions.
Still others are dedicated to exploring, and they may venture farther afield to other lands and locations within the astral, or even enjoy 'travelling' by exploring areas of the Earth itself and visiting other planets in their quest for more knowledge and understanding.
Basically, you may travel wherever your own personal vibratory rate will allow you to go. You will gravitate to a place that you are comfy in. You will not be able to enter kingdoms that vibrate at speeds that aren't compatible with your own wave-form.
Sweet Dreams or Frightful Nightmares?
Most people experience both pleasant dreams and occasionally nightmares as well. Like the recurring dream described below, nightmares are often a necessary warning of imbalances and problems that need our attention.
They may become part of the fabric of your night landscape to bring you insights into aspects of your life that are in some way detrimental to your progress.
Both sweet dreams and nightmares may be supplying us with the keys to unlock the door to healing energies.
Dreams and healing have been associated together for thousands of years, and the history of the subject is well worth studying.
People of the ancient world attended dream-incubation healing temples where they slept overnight. They knew that their understanding and attention of the dream-worlds was vital to their well-being.
Dream interpreters abounded, and as today, some of them were better than others at their craft.
Wotta Tripp is certain that the ones who got it wrong at the expense of the client were sworn at roundly and curses against them inscribed on the popular lead cursing-tablets of the times. These would then have been tossed into small bodies of water, which served as a sort of anti-wishing well.
Recurring Dreams
Dreams that repeat in the same or similar ways are very useful to us, in the same way that nightmares can be. In fact, studies show that recurring dreams are quite often unpleasant. Of course, sometimes they are enjoyable and we look forward to their occurrence.
Frequently the message is so important that it is repeating over and over, like a garlic and onion-laden supper, hoping you will soon notice and do something about it.
By self-analyzing these dreams we may receive important clues that have a direct bearing on situations that are relevant in our lives.
This doesn't mean that the themes in these dreams should necessarily be taken literally, but the inner mind often forces us to pay attention to problems or opportunities by using the symbolic language of the subconscious, which knows everything that is going on and has access to supranormal information.
If we are not in touch with our inner selves at an intuitive level then it is somewhat harder to figure out, but we need to try and translate the language of dreams and what they are saying to us.
Our difficulty often lies in the fact that the conscious mind uses the practical quality of logic and sorts through information received largely through the physical senses while our subconscious literally uses the symbolic and intuitive language of the dream world itself.
Wotta Tripp must caution you about indulging in psychoanalysis as created by Sigmund Freud. Dame Wotta Tripp knew old Schlomo personally and had many an argument with him over the years, and in the end he was a stubborn, irritating and misguided man, with some very strange ideas about sexuality and some darned peculiar habits of his own.
Do not take his advice, but rather hearken to the most excellent advice of Dame Wotta Tripp.
Otherwise, you will be throwing your hard-earned (in some cases) money away, which will disturb your sleep still more.
Sleep Paralysis
A small percentage of the population suffers from sleep paralysis and many of these people are scared half to death by their eerie experiences.
This phenomenon typically occurs as a person is waking up or falling asleep.
Upon waking up they find that they are completely paralyzed, unable to move a muscle.
As pleasant as this might briefly be for their families, it is for them terrifying.
While we are dreaming we are subject to complete muscle atonia, which means that we are paralyzed for the duration of the dream.
This is so that we can't act-out our dreams, roaming the streets naked except for a yellow lurex scarf and injuring or possibly even murdering spouses, mother-in-laws and bosses.
It's a good job too! Wotta Tripp can only imagine how her work-load would expand.
For those suffering from this condition, it's probable that as they are waking or falling asleep the paralysis begins a little too soon, or conversely doesn't stop quite when it should, continuing after they have actually awoken, and at a time when they would normally be able to move.
Unfortunately, the experience doesn't always restrict itself to paralysis, but for many people extends into an event where they, feel, hear and see what are often very frightening scenarios.
The pictures and scenes we see as we are waking up are known as hypnopompic images, while the ones we experience as we fall asleep are called hypnogogic images.
These are dream-like in quality. Often during sleep paralysis the victim sees and hears frightening visions in which they are threatened or attacked.
These scenarios are extremely real and include physical sensations. The experiencer is convinced that these frightening events are really taking place, but is unable to move or even cry out, even though they are struggling with all their being to do so.
This phenomenon has been documented for centuries and certain races seem slightly more susceptible to it than others.
Some people feel an evil presence near to
them. This presence has been named many things in different places but is known simply as 'the intruder' in modern times.
In actual fact, it is true that certain interdimensional entities, and even aliens and some of the more secretive rogue branches of the military, have learned how to temporarily paralyze the appropriate area of the brain, or take advantage of the natural occurring onset of sleep paralysis, to interfere with human-kind.
But Dame Wotta Tripp also would like you to know that with a little courage, this state, which she is very used to herself, can be utilized as a stepping-off point, rather like a diving board, from which you can leap bravely into other worlds.
Very often during sleep paralysis you are partially out of your body, literally in two worlds at once, and momentarily unable to act coherently in either one.
This can certainly be confusing and frightening, but if you stay calm, you might find yourself consciously in your astral body.
When you first attempt this in that conscious state, you will find yourself flailing around, possibly even sightless, trying to move and coordinate your astral limbs, which you can ordinarily manage very well when your conscious mind is not involved.
You will be like a baby. learning to use a new and strange body, but once mastered, you will have more ease of movement and precision than ever you did in your physical body. You will also find that you can breathe underwater and fly in the sky.
If this happens to you during sleep paralysis and you find yourself suddenly out of your body, be brave. Take a dive into the unknown! The worst that can happen will be the presence of a lot of amused and possibly jeering entities hanging around to watch as you stagger around trying to get your bearings like an intoxicated infant.
Lucid Dreams
When we are consciously participating in the dream-world and we are clearly aware that we are 'dreaming' then we have become lucid within the dream.
A few people have several over a lifetime, and these dreams tend to stand out due to the vividness of the experience, but many people are never blessed with one.
Others dream lucidly nightly, flying, soaring and interacting with the entities, animals and people they meet with full consciousness.
Life for these people has taken on a deep new inner meaning and they are learning to be multi-dimensional beings, that is, aware of and capable of conscious choices and actions in other dimensions, and with full memory when they awaken.
The good news is that we can almost all of us learn to dream lucidly. It's a teachable, learnable art. There are exercises you can do and steps you can take in your waking life that can lead to you enjoying full, lucid dreams on a regular basis.
Wotta Tripp suggests that you study the subject and then avail yourself of one or more of the many excellent books and courses that are available. Internet research will equip you with all the information you need to get started.
It's the stuff that dreams are made of!
Astral Projection
People who think that astral projection is not a reality are deluded, as people who regularly consciously and deliberately project already know.
The astral body, also known as the dream-body, is composed of more subtle material than that of your physical one.
It's designed to travel freely when your physical body lies supine, snoring loudly. This fully-functional astral body comes complete with all the senses present in the physical body, and more.
While using your astral body (when your consciousness has been transferred to it) you are able to experience the entire range of emotions that you feel in your Earth-body.
When you are sleeping, you regularly transfer your consciousness to your astral body and exit the physical body to go about your other life.
This is known as an OBE (Out of Body Experience) and has nothing to do with the OBE (Order of the British Empire), which there is a tendency to award to people who go off to other countries and make trouble on behalf of the monstrosity which is the Empire.
Dame Wotta Tripp did not receive her OBE in this manner.
Many of the experiences you have while out in the astral are transmitted back to you, influencing your dreams and giving you the strange feeling that you really have been somewhere else while your body lies sleeping. You have. This is the true nature of dreams.
The ability to learn how to consciously astral project is a skill that most people can learn. There are many excellent books and videos on the subject.
You will have the time of your life, especially if you combine your astral projection efforts with those of attaining lucid dreaming. There is so much to do while you're sleeping, there really is no excuse for hanging around in your bedroom like a limp rag.
For those of you unfortunate enough to be presently staying in a barbaric prison, mental institution or a Butlin's Holiday Camp, but who also are fortunate enough to gain access to Dame Wotta Tripp's excellent advice, you are encouraged to try your best to learn about and master this ability, as well as that of lucid dreaming.
This will bring an incredible new gift into your life and allow you in any time you have alone to enter, participate in and enjoy worlds where you are completely free.
Time passes differently in the dream world, allowing you to enjoy hours or days worth of experiences in just a few minutes of physical Earth-time.
Keeping A Dream Journal
This is not the place to venture information regarding dream meanings, but Dame Wotta Tripp gives you excellent advice by recommending that you become acquainted with your dreams, learn how to interpret what they are saying to you and also begin to keep a dream journal.
Buy a nice journal that will please you aesthetically, because this will also please your subconscious mind and enhance the entire process.
Make sure you keep it somewhere private, for if it were discovered by some interfering busybody who determined incorrectly they what were illicitly reading were facts, you might be arrested for crimes you didn't commit in this world.
Write a detailed account of each dream you remember and don't forget to add the full date. This will be of great help to you over the years, and you will see both yourself and your motivations much more clearly.
A practice which can bring insight and help you to understand the rich inner world of the real, authentic you, journaling will pay abundant dividends, allowing you a clearer, deeper understanding of who you truly are, what you need to accomplish and what your ultimate goals are for this lifetime.
Sweet Dreams!
