A look at fear in dreams

[terra incognita]

Fear in my dreams seem to spring from some fundamental causes which I think we all deal with. Fear in the physical world can stem from an immidiate danger which can cause us real bodily harm. Thus the fight or flight reaction. In dreams, I believe, the same thing is happening but on a different level. The dream mind, which may or may not be conscious, perceives a danger within the dream imagery. But, from where does the dream imagery come from? I believe that, at least in my case, the dream imagery comes from the dream mind interpreting the activities of the projected double as it tries to leave the physical body.
A recent dream I've had gives a pretty good example of what I mean: I was hanging from some exposed tree roots over an extremely deep and misty gorge. The trail I had been following was slippery and had an extreme angle tilting toward the chasm. I was holding onto the roots after slipping and was deathly afraid of falling into the alligator-infested waters far below. My feet were kicking upward, trying to hook onto something to save my doomed life. I thought, "I hope I die from hitting the rocks before the croc's can give me the old one-two-three." After this somewhat humorous thought I realized I was dreaming and my awareness popped back into my projectable double which was wildly kicking it's feet and waving it's arms. I was partially stuck in my mid-section and was not able to free myself. Then I woke up after a brief period of unconsciousness.
In past cases I've allowed myself to fall from great heights due to a mild case of lucidity and popped back into my body under intense sensations of vibrational shift which felt like falling.
Is it possible that every dream sensation (this would include good and bad sensations) are due to the dream mind interpreting it's projectable double's attempted projection according to hypothetical physical experiences which may match the psychological trauma? In other words, if the dream mind had the experience and vocabulary to interpret it's projectable double's activities as they were actually happening would we then be able to transfer a copy of our conscious mind to the projectable double more easily?
Maybe the fear that I feel in my dreams are the byproduct of a split mind i.e. the more conscious and lucid I become the less fear-filled my dream imagery becomes and the more I am able to break from the dream scenario into my actual projection experience.
Maybe we need the jarring experience of hanging from great heights over crocodiles to awaken our minds from the dream state.
Is it possible that the more terrifying the dream, the greater the call to lucidity and projection?

*The fear on the face of my dream
is a mirror on the wall of my mind.
I look at myself in the face of an Angel.
My guiding spirit becomes my danger,
I run, leaving progress behind*

[Beekeeper]

I think you're absolutely right that "the dream imagery comes from the dream mind interpreting the activities of the projected double as it tries to leave the physical body." But this might only be for part of our dreaming.

I can certainly relate some of my experiences to what you're saying and have been considering the possibility for some time. In one dream last year I was an angel. I was flying over an old fashioned town with steeples, giving my kids a ride and a friend a lift - all was bliss. Then it changed, my family andI walked up an incline and were accosted under a bridge* by two bandits, one of whom took me hostage. (There was also a kind blonde woman walking by who smiled at me and, whom I presumed was also taken hostage- she reappeared in subsequent dreams as different kinds of guides). Then, all was completely black, I was gagged and in a coffin or trunk. I couldn't move (and if I have any phobic tendency then it's towards claustrophobia) and I was in an absolute panic. I started screaming in my throat. That's when I became aware I was dreaming and it took all my will to break out of sleep paralysis. (I was only just beginning to read about AP at the time and didn't really know much about such things).

Another time I fell asleep while trying to AP. I felt myself drifting right before I nodded off. I dreamt I was walking my dog and, after a while, for some reason I closed my eyes. Then I wandered off towards the left and hit a fence which made me wake up. I'm sure the fence was my physical body.

Obviously, there's also a lot of symbolic meaning in such dreams and to agree with your statement isn't to deny this.

What I find myself thinking about today is where are we and what are we doing when we're just asleep and not dreaming.

*I subsequently read somewhere on the link between liminal places (like doorways, bridges or the edge of a dark forest and a well lit cleared space or any other threshhold) and AP.

I had a dream when I was 5 that I was in a tree and a wolf was standing at the bottom of the tree. It was scary and I knew it would eat me if I came down and I became aware that I was dreaming and decided to wake myself up, which I did, right after letting go of the branch.

[terra incognita]

I agree with you, BeeKeeper, about the multifaceted nature of dreams. Although I made a broad statement about the nature of dreaming being only a result of the projected double's attempts to escape the physical, I should also take into account the reason that some specific image or situation was chosen by the dream mind. Thus, important symbolism should have some place in the interpretation of the dream state. Also, possible fragments from projection memory downloads might mix into the consciousness also.
But, what is the place of dreams? Are they a metaphorical preschool for ultimately achieving the out-of-body state? Maybe built as a springboard for our conscious mind to come to terms with it's spiritual self? In other words, why don't we perceive the actions of the projectable double directly, without the need for dream mind interpetation?

*On the other side of every fear is a freedom.*

[terra incognita]

Futureguy, it would be my form of interpretation to say that your dream mind was perceiving the vibrations as the wolf. Growling and slavering at your feet creating a gut level fear. The same fears could be equal proportionally to a subconscious fear of the vibrational shift. In my opinion, the vibrations could have begun in your feet and caused the mind to feel fear eminating from that direction (beneath you). I find that my heart center and throat center and solar plexus have been the cause of being stabbed or punched in a dream. Only later was I able to equate different sensations with the actual cause during projection. Maybe the ultimate goal is to get rid of the dream mind entirely (this is just hypothetical) and perceive the projection experience as it is actually happening. It may take lifetimes to do this but it seems to me that the dream mind is kind of inefficient in it's way of communication. I mean, why can't it just speak American? :wink: :wink:

*Some people don't think God is as popular as everyone thinks he is.* :?:

[terra incognita]

Beekeeper, it's interesting how topics on this forum can make us more sensitive to our inner world. Earlier, when you mentioned liminal places it must have planted a seed within my mind. So, here's a dream I had that night.
Dream: I was walking down a long hallway in an old school. To my left and right are doors to individual classrooms. Through the small panes on each door, I can tell that the rooms beyond are dark. Suddenly, a pair of double doors leading outside at the end of the hallway bang open. Coming through the doors is an extremely bright light. I am drawn to this beautiful, glowing threshold. As I approach, the vibrations become stronger as I feel the light radiating through myself. Just before I reach the doorway, a dark classroom door flies open to my left and bangs into the wall. As soon as I look, I am drawn into a heavy dream with minimal lucidity.

This same effect has happened to me many times. i.e. Traveling down a tunnel of swirling light, I can see many dreams taking place outside the walls of the tunnel. If I stop and look too closely at a specific dream, it will pull me in and I will loose all lucidity.

So, I think the link between places (portals) could symbolize a shift in vibrational stages. It's interesting how liminal places can have a luminescent quality on a subliminal level!


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[Beekeeper]

Thanks for sharing. I find people's dreams fascinating! It is amazing how something in passing can resonate so powerfully in the subconscious.

Do you ever ignore the dream doors and go straight to the OBE/lucid dream doors?

[terra incognita]

There have been many times when I have gone straight into the OBE state without even dreaming. But, I think that lucid dreams will provide a more stable basis for accessing the OBE state (on a daily basis) until I'm developed enough to access it from a conscious state. I've been able to achieve conscious projection only after brief periods of unconsciousness. Usually after doing intense amounts of energy work.
I'm really interested in the rhythm napping technique (in the morning) in conjunction with Robert's daily energy work program. I would be surprised if Robert doesn't include something like it in his next book as a part of the daily program. Although he mentions doing energy work eary in the morning, the rhythm technique takes advantage of the natural sleep patterns and allows increased lucidity in the later phases of the sleep cycle. Have you tried rhythm napping?

[Ziltron]

This is kind of off topic, but do you have any strategies for remaining in a frightening dream after becoming lucid? I want to try the lucid-dream-to-OBE transfer, but I keep waking up because nightmares are the only dreams I can get lucid in. As soon as I realize that it's just a dream, my brain yanks me awake in order to escape what it still sees as a dangerous situation.

[Beekeeper]

Hi terra incognita,

I feel we've had simialr experiences but I haven't had your number of lucid dreams. I'm with you, I think there's a lot of potential in rhythm napping. I tried it once when my husband was away. I didn't succeed but I think that was because I needed to fine tune the method. I'd like to create another opportunity to try it soon.

Hi Zitron,

I'd love to answer your question but I lack the knowledge. Actually, something has popped into my head. I remember reading about people who face the fearful creature/event and it loses its power and discontinues appearing in their dreams. But that doesn't solve that immediate, instinctive and uncontrollable flight to wakefulness, does it? :(

I'm sure someone here will help you. I hope it happens for you soon!

[CFTraveler]

This is kind of off topic, but do you have any strategies for remaining in a frightening dream after becoming lucid? I want to try the lucid-dream-to-OBE transfer, but I keep waking up because nightmares are the only dreams I can get lucid in. As soon as I realize that it's just a dream, my brain yanks me awake in order to escape what it still sees as a dangerous situation. My answer is almost the oppossite of what you want, but maybe you can get something useful out of this: When I was young, I had a period of very disturbing nightmares. It seemed the more I dreaded going to sleep, the worse they got. Then I had an idea: Before sleep, I called the nightmare and experienced it in it's every horror. I basked in it until I went to sleep. The nightmares stopped, and I also became more lucid in my dreams. (I also projected, probably as some sort of side effect of this). This won't help you stay on the nightmare, as is your wish (although we're all different, so who knows) but somehow it helped me to be more lucid.
:oops: sorry for busting in, I just coudln't resist! :)

[Beekeeper]

CF,

I think that was the idea: for those who knew an answer to get involved. I know I'm always interested in what you have to offer. :)

[Ziltron]

I'll try something like that, CF. Since doing this helped stop your nightmares, it will be interesting to see if lucidity and 'calling' the bad dream as unreal automatically gets rid of the fear. Because in that case, it would seem that nightmares come about because of non-lucidity and feelings of lack of control.

[terra incognita]

I think there is a relationship between fear and growth. Think about this; how many times have you been jarred awake by intense feelings of happines? I think the association between fear and growth are needed in primary levels of development because there is so little else to push us to change. There may also be a charge of energy built up in the base energy centers (to forcibly cause brief periods of lucidity) due to the fight or flight reaction which allows us to gain lucidity when it otherwise might be impossible. I do think it happens for a reason. (I think that is a run-on!)
We might just float through our dream life never questioning it's reality if fear wasn't present occaisionally. I wonder why, if children have been so recently on "the other side", why they are subject to night terrors more than adults. If night terrors are (in my opinion) just the side effects of the projectable double's experiences while it tries to project, maybe this could give us more insight into the development of a "new mind" theory. The idea is that we each receive a new consciousness when born into this world. The "new mind" idea might be likened to a ring on a tree. A new layer of consciousness which must come to terms with it's spiritual core. This might also explain why we don't consciously remember previous lives.
I think the question about remaining in a fearful dream is interesting because it contains a conundrum. To remain in the dream means to remain within the 'reality boundaries' of the dream. But the real power in the fear is that it gives you more power to break through the dream walls.

[terra incognita]

Ziltron, I think you are right on the money about that. Also, I think CFTraveler is exactly right too. Imagine encountering a ravenous beast in your dream state. It gnashes it's teeth and crouches as if ready to spring for your throat. There are two ways to deal with this situation. One is to turn and flee. That is a subconscious reaction bred into us from millenia of survival. If you are less lucid, this is how you will respond every time. Now if you bring lucidity into the situation, you can recognize this fear and embrace it. You can give the ferocious beast a great big hug :D and it will disapear. It may turn into the vibrations or you may just wake up with an intense feeling of satisfaction.
Once, I embraced a zombie that was walking down a dank musty corridor toward me and it smiled and disapeared. I know this all sounds slightly corny but it really works.
The key is lucidity. When you are lucid you can take control of the situation thereby feeling less or no fear. Energy building. Developing the ability to do effective reality checks (sometimes they fail in dreams too!). It's all in Robert's MAP book. Some people walk around in their bare feet on lush grass and swear it helps them gather energy.
Ultimately there are two paths to follow. One path is unconscious dreaming which causes us to leap awake (the path of non-lucidity). The other path is to use the energy of fear which causes us to leap to conscious projection (the path of lucidity).