Dreamer 1: Thank you so much for your speedy and supportive reply. I look forward to joining your lucid dreaming research group. At the moment I am not getting much sleep - never mind dreaming. By the way I kept a dream diary in the late 70s and got around four or five dreams a night easily. I don't know if you recommend this but if you give each dream a title it helps with recall. Even now if I look at that dream diary (that's 25 years old!) and read the title of a dream I have quite a lot of recall on it.

Marc: Definitely! Keeping a dream journal is not the easiest thing to do, but it certainly is one of the most effective ways fo increasing your dreaming progress, and giving each dream a title is a perfect way of increasing your recall of it at a later date. Isn't it great to have access to an extra set of memories! Some of my vivid lucid dreams seem like they happened just yesterday. They were so intense that they became wonderfully embedded into my memory banks.

Dreamer 1: Can I relate something that happened during that time which I cannot understand properly? Could you throw some light on this? At that time I worked as a secretary. I have a non-identical twin sister and she was working in a different country. Anyway I went away and I did not think to tell anyone where I was - I just went off for a couple of months. When I got back my sister was frantically trying to trace me because of a 'dream' she had. What happened was she dreamed that in her dream I was calling her name. She 'awoke' in the dream and could not see me - she just saw the darkness around her. She asked me where I was and I said, 'I am dead'. I was apparently annoyed that she could not see me. I have forgotten most of the other details. Needless to say, my sister was distraught because she had no idea where I was. When I got back and we met I looked through my dream diary to see what I dreamt of that particular night and in one of the dreams I dreamt I was skiing down a dark tunnel and lost a ski and lost control. So I was traveling down into what felt like the interior of the earth fast on one ski. That's all the detail I had written and all I can recall now, but I can remember the dream even now.

I have never consciously had an out of body experience. What do you think that was all about?

Marc: It is difficult for me to say with certainty since the most important meanings will come from you as the dreamer, but for starters, it goes to show how handy and useful a dream journal can be when making future references just as you did. A seemingly unimportant dream may take on new meaning when examined at a later date with a new perspective.

I think it is also worth mentioning that twins really do display an uncanny ability to mentally communicate between themselves. Possibly, sharing some time together in one womb could set up a stronger telepathic link or a stronger energetic link and/or connection. I also believe there is a similar link or bonding between a mother and child. With that in mind, your twin's dream being of that nature and intensity should be examined for meaning.

I often try to approach life more symbolically and dreams more literally to get as much as possible out of both waking and dreaming experiences. Your waking events can hold as much meaning and symbolism as your dreams if you begin to look for the patterns. Developing your awareness in this way can help create a new set of eyes to experience your waking world. Synchronicity begins to replace coincidence as your awareness the waking world regains its youthful magic through these newly formed eyes.

First, I would try to approach the dream from several angles within this literal to symbolic range. See if you can act upon it somehow or at least try to learn something from it. You could begin with a literal, practical approach by asking if you often slalom ski (on one-ski) or if you ever could foresee yourself as being in a similar situation. If this is the case, be sure to look for any possibility that this could be a precognitive dream. If so, have your hindsight activated to pick up on any similar events in the future. When possible you can try to alter the outcome of the waking version by making different decisions and acting differently than the original dream to change the results. If you have little recall to work with from the original dream just keep a respectful (but not paranoid  :) awareness of this intuition.

Next, try to interpret the imagery and symbolism for meanings. What does the act of skiing symbolize to you? How about skiing with only one ski? Does the dream reflect any scenario, activity or relationship that was on your mind during that time? or possibly on your mind now? By trying as many angles and exploring many potential symbolic meanings you can often find several meanings that can apply to the same dream. In my opinion, there is no right or wrong approach to dream interpretation as long as you are learning something about yourself along the way.

Dreamer 1: Two other things I would like to ask you if you don't mind replying to queries are: Firstly, I am very afraid about heights - would this prevent or interfere with a conscious out of body experience?

Marc: It could at times until you deal with the concept of fear itself, but this would apply to anyone about any fears not specifically fear of heights. In an altered state you can become exhilarated and sometimes even perceptually Hypersensitized. If you become conscious in a dreamscape where anything can possibly happen and this dreamscape is largely influenced and linked by your thoughts themselves, any fears can play a role in influencing the experience itself. Thoughts of fear can alter the actual fabric of the dreamscape and make for some incredible spooky experiences if you do not keep the fear in check. More on fear in the next query, but for now, it is safe to say that you could begin a process of dealing with fear itself in your dreams.

You cannot be physically harmed in your dreams. You may "feel" scared and even terrified within a dream, but you will not feel pain in your dreams. Try to ingrain this notion, the idea that you CANNOT be harmed in your dreams. No matter how scary, no matter how high in the air you may be, it can cause no harm to your physical body. The experiencing of the fear itself is as bad as it will ever get. In a sense fear acts as an illusion albeit a strong and persuasive one. You should view it as a menacing dog with a loud bark, but no teeth. It barks and threatens your conscious mind trying to scare you away, but if you have confidence that you cannot be harmed, you can work on keeping the fear in check. Once you have more practice dealing with fear in general you will be better equipped to take on specific fears like a fear of heights or fear of the dark or whatever fears may be mentally harboring within you. In the next query, a powerful technique for confronting your fears will be outlined.

Dreamer 1:

2. Whenever I am troubled, my fear seems to be symbolized (well often) in having to experience falling or nearly falling from a great height in my dreams. On a number of occasions like this (and other dream states also) I awake with a churning in the solar plexus. It is so strong and so 'whirring' that I have to get up and walk around the room - curled up - as though in pain - but it is not pain it is a discomfort that seems to have its origin in my etheric body but transfers into the solar plexus chakra.

Any ideas what this may be?

Marc: I often experience similar falling sensations, but have become accustomed to the dropping sensation and actually enjoy it. Then again, I love roller coasters so it may be a personal preference issue as well. I believe that these sensations are linked to the issue of fear again. If you have a strong fear of something like a fear of heights it can serve as a channel for any fear that arises in a lucid dream or out of body experience. Once you become scared or spooked in an altered state the mental reflex to make sense of the experience kicks in and presto-chango... the next thing you know, you are falling from a cliff even if you were initially spooked by a strange character or a dark alley. The experience gets processed as fear and then manifested as falling since it is a predominant fear.

I have found that becoming aware while dreaming or while having an out of body experience can often throw the conscious mind for a subjective loop especially in the beginning stages. Your fear arises within the dream-realm.

Most commonly, a quite justified fear of the unknown can begin to influence the experience itself. I believe fear arises as a natural blockade to experiencing lucid dreams or going out of body with your awareness. These fear barriers are in place to prevent us from going "beyond" the current envelope of our accepted beliefs.

This natural psychic defense mechanism may prevent those who are not ready for this type of advanced inner development. For example, a person may have many unresolved issues and many conscious or even subconscious fears. If this person were to become lucid in a dream or travel out of body, these issues and fears could easily manifest in the dreamscape or astral realm. While dreaming or experiencing an altered mindstate, the communication lines open up somewhat between your conscious and subconscious minds. This direct interaction can create some peculiar experiences. In almost all cases, fear is one of the first obstacles to address and overcome. From a positive, developmental perspective, you can view fear as a signpost for inner growth. Whether conscious or subconscious if an experience triggers your fear reflex, simply learn to deal with it and try to get to the core issue and address the cause instead of the symptom that is the experience of the fear.

Dreams are ideal for this type of inner development because they provide a nightly, no-harm environment for you to practice your ability to manage fear. I say manage fear because it is usually present (or can be) to some degree when experiencing many altered states of consciousness like dreams, lucid dreams, out of body experiences and other forms of trance meditation. This fear reflex is practically hard-wired into our neural networks so trying to remove it entirely is pointless. You simply deal with the fear and learn to "see it" for the mental barrier that it truly is. I recommend using fear as a cue to become alert and check your surroundings to see if in fact you are dreaming or experiencing some form of altered state.

TECHNIQUE FOR CONFRONTING YOUR FEARS:

If you do feel a rush of fear or panic, do not fight it or try to remove it since this will place the power of your awareness upon the fear itself and will often magnify the effects. Instead of fighting it, you should try addressing it, accepting it and approaching it in a loving manner. Say Ahello@ to it and ask it what it is trying to tell you. This simple technique of facing your fears in a dream can create some miraculous insights and often tip the dream-scales in your favor. On many occasions I have tried this techniques with incredibly positive results.

After confidently, acceptingly and lovingly approaching a menacing figure within a dream, the once-bad guy will often transform into a friend or someone who is ready to help you, or they may run away entirely. In either case, you dealt with it and confronted it and now you are no longer in a fear-induced and fear-perpetuated situation. I suggest practicing this fear confrontation technique whenever the opportunity arises within a dream or even in your waking world. You will see that waking fear can be as much of an illusion and a barrier to experience as it is in the dreaming state. With practice of confronting your fears in your dreams, you wind up having better dreams and a better ability to remain self-assured and self-confident in both your dreaming and waking worlds.

ENERGY AWARENESS:

Concerning the intense whirring, energetic sensations in the solar plexus, there may be several issues involved. My initial guess would be that you are becoming more consciously aware of the flowing of energy as it courses through the biocircuits of your energy body. Altered mindstates often correspond to an increased awareness of your energy body. Many people experience this energetic flow in different ways, but it is common to hear it described as you have as a Astrong whirring@ sensation. In your case, the energetic flow seems to be pooling its energy and intensity and as a result, this may be overwhelming the nearest energy center located at the solar plexus. Some extremely intense experiences, particularly fear, will cause increases in overall energy usage and flow in the energy body along with increased neurochemical and electrical activity in the physical body. With practice you should find that the energy body becomes better able to handle these energetic surges and much like developing your physical body, it requires some time and practice to develop and strengthen your energetic pathways.

In the meantime, if you are having negative experiences with these energetic overloads, do exactly as you have done by walking around the room. Moving around helps decrease your energetic awareness and creates a shift back to your waking physical awareness that is less energetically sensitive, at least not at conscious levels. You may also want to perform an energy-grounding ritual. This exercise below can be used to release excess energy and hopefully, it can help remove the physical symptoms.

"Energy Grounding" Exercise:

1.) Stand barefooted

2.) Become aware of the energetic build-up

3.) Begin to mentally allow the excess energy to flow down and out of your body into the ground. Imagine all excess energy to be swirling and draining from your body, downward through your legs and feet into the ground.

4.) While doing this visualization, repeat an affirmation as a trigger phrase to reinforce the effectiveness of this energy grounding activity.

For example, you could say, "I am calm. I am peaceful. I release this excess energy and allow it to become grounded in the center of the Earth." Feel free to make your ritual and affirmation as simple or complex as you desire. The crucial empowering factor is the belief that your awareness is capable of making energetic shifts in this manner. The more you believe it, the more you feel it, the more results you will experience...just like in your dreams.

**If possible try to do this exercise outside, but if this is not possible, try to be close to ground level or even in a basement. Wherever you do it though, the results will work if you have the right beliefs in place.

**Along the same lines, you do not need to barefooted. It only helps the process and reinforces the exercise. 

READER SIDE NOTE: I have recently started trying out Robert Bruce's NEW System, New Energetic Ways. I find the background information and material excellent, and the exercises are great vehicles for increasing the awareness of one's energy body. If anyone is interested in more information on the energy body, I highly recommend Robert Bruce's website at http://astraldynamics.com . Check out the "Training Guides" link to access the NEW SYSTEM and also read his "Treatise on Astral Projection" if you have time. They are both wonderful awareness guides. The ASTRAL PULSE website is a virtual gold mine of resources on out of body consciousness, energy work and other awareness-related topics. Be sure to check out when you get a chance, you will be happy that you did!

Dreamer 1: Thank you for your gracious reply and I look forward to being involved in your research project(s).

Marc: It is my pleasure. We are happy to have you on board. You can check out the new website for The Dream Initiative at: http://come.to/dreamresearch and feel free to email me if you have any questions. I am always happy to help when I can.

Dreamer 1: Oh, and please do not be impressed with my background - I am a newby!

Marc: Aren't we all though...  J 

all the BEst,

marc ^v^

Lucid Dreaming Resources: Get Info

http://how.to/luciddream

Lucid Dreaming Research: Get Involved

http://come.to/dreamresearch

BRAINWAVE MIND VOYAGES:

Get the Brainwave Advantage...

http://www.brainwave-entrainment.com

*new C D Releases*

"It is a great feeling, the feeling to fly with your own wings in the open sky of life.

It is a great joy, the joy to be yourself." -Shanti