Does bed-time reading lead to dreams?
Christopher Sanderson’s Online Journal
I recently bought The Second Half of Life: Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom by Angeles Arrien. By mistake, I ordered the kindle version instead of the paperback. But every cloud has a silver lining don’t they say. And so, for the last two nights, I have read some of Angeles’ book on my kindle, just before going to sleep.
Well, the dreams returned no end. Last night in particular I can honestly say that I was very close to lucid dreaming itself. I was pretty sure that I was aware that I was dreaming in the real-time of the dream.
The book, like much of my reading, talks about how to live one’s life. And in a real deja vu moment, Angeles described the phases of life, changing from one of ambition to one of need for reason. Well, blow me if I hadn’t written exactly the same thing a couple of weeks ago, in one of my several journal types of writing.
Is this serendipity showing me her wares, or is it yet another simple coincidence, in a lifetime of simple coincidences. Or should I congratulate myself and say: Christopher, this is real insight, you are clearly developing the powers of perception. But then along comes Eckhart Tolle with his Presence Meditation.
I can no more find the emptiness (which is my deeper self) than I can fry eggs without bursting the yolk. No, this morning the chatter is constantly with me. No sooner do I try to enter the silent space than my mind is asking me about my dream. Yes, that very same mind that had the dream is now asking me to remind it of the details.
So the big question? Do I go to sleep quietly, avoid the lucid dreams and enjoy, peacefully, my morning meditation. Or do I carry on with the bedtime reading, encourage the lucidity of lucid dreams, then wake to find a new way to engage with Mr. Tolle. Your experiences and advice are welcomed. Here is a random poem of mine to assist you, or perhaps not:
Tellers of Tales
Almost without waking, yet still without dreaming, almost seeming
Almost hoping, yes hoping, yet still not knowing reason
Also in the valleys, on the road through the black mountains
To be told of the worlds greatest thief
And his even more ingenious apprentice
It is the blue-sky morning, with the sun’s heat warm and rising
It is the great humanity, shared by those who love sharing
The days are ever better, with the nights reserved for singing
Mingling with the poets, whose life is of all the seasons
We are jingling, two together, for the two together’s dreaming
Originally published at http://coastmoor.blogspot.com on January 28, 2021.
