Emotions,
Intentions, and
Implications of
Knowing I
Dream in the Moment
Workshop
for the 2012
International Association for the
Study of Dreams
PsiberDreaming Conference
©
Beverly
(Kedzierski Heart) D'Urso, Ph.D
I
have learned through my involvement in Lucid
Dreaming/Lucid Living [1], as
well as through my spiritual school and seminary [2], that becoming lucid, or knowing I dream
while I dream, allows me
to expand into the dreamer
of the
dream in the same way that self-realization allows masters to
expand into Beingness.
In other words, expanding
into the dreamer in the sleeping dream state serves as a
microcosm of expanding
into Beingness in the waking state.
When I get lucid, I can draw from
the powers, also called
aspects of essence, of my expanded self that exist beyond my
sleeping-dream-self or even my waking-personality-self. These
powers allow me
to, for example, experience unusual magic in my sleeping state
or amazing strength
in my waking state.
I view the implications
of lucidity, a way of understanding self-realization, as more
valuable than the
adventures I had when I first began having lucid dreams, or at
least more
important to this period of my life. The
implications of
lucidity, such as
knowing that I exist as more than just my body, help me better
understand how
I
define myself, my potential, and my world.
To
understand
what I mean by implications,
it helps to have had a lucid dream. In order to become lucid, I
regularly
question whether I might be dreaming in the present moment. I do
this in my
sleeping state or my waking state because I view any state as a
dream if I
experience a body and/or an environment [3]. I also sense, look, and listen for clues, such
as unusual
situations in my environment and my body.
Two
of
my favorite ways to become lucid involve: (1) fully
experiencing my strong, difficult emotions, such as the
fear of facing the
scary witches of my recurring
childhood nightmare [4],
and (2)
clearly knowing my heart-felt intentions,
such as my deep desire to get married, raise a child, and
experience
connection. Note that my heart-felt intentions seem to get
realized not by
control, but merely by my expansion into Beingness, or what I
call the Dreamer of
life, when I do not resist the process.
In
this workshop, you will come up with ways that you block your emotions and intentions, as well as discover your own implications of knowing that you dream in the
moment. I have
created an exercise that requires spontaneous answers to
specific questions. I
modeled this exercise after the exercises of the Diamond Approach spiritual path [5]. In the
Appendix, I’ll give
some sample answers to the
exercise questions. You may want to try the exercise both before
and after you
read the sample answers.
The
exercise works best when done with a partner. You can pick
someone from this
conference as a partner and set up a Skype session or phone
call. This will
help both of you get to know each other better, as well.
Alternatively, you can
choose a friend or family member as a partner. You might both
benefit from
recording the exercise.
If
you do not want to work with a partner, you will have to both
ask and answer
the questions yourself. You can speak them into an audio
recorder, write them
down on paper, or type them up.
The
exercise attempts to access your subconscious ideas and beliefs,
so try to
respond as spontaneously as possible. Do not spend time
‘thinking.’ Just say
whatever comes to mind. With a partner, the exercises should
take about half an
hour, or if you work alone, about fifteen minutes.
I
will present a series of three questions.
Each partner will take a total of five minutes
to answer the question over and over again during his or her
turn. This amounts
to ten minutes per question or thirty minutes
for the entire exercise. A timer helps, or at least a clock.
The
exercise works like this:
Partner
A asks partner B the question, exactly as it appears, for B’s turn at answering. B
responds with a quick answer of a few words or a few sentences
for
approximately ten or twenty seconds.
After
B answers, A says “Thank you,” and asks the same question
again. B responds
with a new answer to the
same question, and A
says “Thank
you” again.
If B says nothing after
about twenty
seconds, A merely
says “Thank you,”
and then asks the same question again. Use common sense for the
timing, and let
the exercise flow in a natural manner. A
must not say anything but the question, exactly as it appears,
and “Thank you”
during B’s turn.
This
process of A always
asking the same
question over and over again, and B
always answering, goes on for five minutes.
Then,
the partners switch, where B asks
and A answers, in
the same manner as
above, again for five minutes.
After
both partners work with the first question, they move on to the
second question
for five minutes each. Finally, they both work with the third
question.
Questions:
1.)
Tell me a way you avoid experiencing your feelings.
2.)
Tell
me how you get in the way of fulfilling your intentions.
3.)
What
does it say about you and reality when you know you are
dreaming?
In
conclusion, you can become lucid by fully experiencing your
difficult emotions,
especially the strong ones that occur often. Remaining conscious
of your
heart-felt intentions
in the moment
can help them come true through the power of your expanded self.
Finally, the implications
of knowing you dream in the
moment, or becoming lucid, can assist you in better
understanding how
you
define yourself, your potential, and your world.
After
you complete the exercise and reflect upon your results, post
your comments and
answers to share with others if you wish.
Appendix:
Sample
answers:
Question
1: Tell me a way you avoid experiencing your feelings.
I
don’t stay in the present moment.
I
justify them.
I
discharge them, for example by yelling.
I
see myself as too mature to have them.
I
numb myself with too much food, etc.
I
wake myself up.
Question
2: Tell me how you get in the way
of fulfilling your
intentions.
I
don’t believe I can fulfill them.
I
think I must do so in a certain way.
I
focus on something going wrong.
I
get caught up in activities.
I
don’t make my intentions clear.
I
think that I don’t have enough time.
Question 3: What does it say about you and reality
when you know you are
dreaming?
I
can take risks.
I
don’t need to struggle nor worry.
I
view all that I experience as part of my expanded self.
I
see unlimited possibilities.
I
know that I exist as more than just the body that I currently
experience.
I
recognize a different reality in which I sleep.
References
[1]
Lucid
Dreaming-Lucid Living: Papers and Work
of Beverly D'Urso.
[2]
The Ridhwan
Foundation. The nonprofit
spiritual organization established to support and preserve the
integrity of the
Diamond Approach
teaching.
[3]
Could You Be
Dreaming Now?
D’Urso. D’Urso, Beverly (Kedzierski Heart).
Workshop Presented at
the IASD PsiberDreaming
Conference, September 2011.
[4]
Lucidity
and Self-Realization through Emotional Surrender. D’Urso,
Beverly (Kedzierski Heart). Paper Presented at the IASD 29th
Annual
Dream Conference, Berkeley, CA., June 2012.
http://ahalmaas.com/Books/unfolding_now.html