F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction Author

Sleep

Dreams

by

Don't Sleepwalk Your Life--or Your Dreams--Away. (Sleepwalkers, © 2001, F. P. Dorchak, ISBN: 0-75963-950-7)
Don’t Sleepwalk Your Life–or Your Dreams–Away. (Sleepwalkers, © 2001, F. P. Dorchak, ISBN: 0-75963-950-7)

Do you remember your dreams?

How many do you remember?

Have you ever changed the direction or outcome of a dream?

Not everyone believes this, but we all dream…and we also dream while we’re awake.

I’ve learned most of what I know about dreams not only from direct experience, but from reading the Seth Material. One of the things mentioned was just this: that we dream while we’re awake. That statement intrigued me—still does. But I believe it. It actually makes sense to me. I’ve felt “dream links” while awake…some of which I’ve had that actually “reach back” to dreams I’d had years and years ago, sometimes to the same dream, sometimes to a version of it, that, perhaps, kept going on and I just “dipped” into it. And…I do remember a lot of my dreams. Have recorded them for as long as I can remember. I have always remembered my dreams. I (and we all do) have multiple dreams—sometimes simultaneous dreams—and I usually remember several of them. Lately, I’ve been remembering an average of about three dreams a night. One night, geeze, maybe some 10 or 12 years ago, I once recalled a double-digit number of dreams from a single night. It was on the insane order of something like 13 dreams! It took me quite a while to write them all down to some level of detail, and it was about then that I allowed myself to, ummm, forget them. Or remember only the coolest ones. Sometimes [conscious] life just gets in the way…thing is, we can always change our direction and allow ourselves to, once again, remember that which we directed ourselves to forget….

The dream world is similar to the awake or conscious world, in that it is a world of its own, so to speak, with its own (again, “so to speak”) timeline. But what most do not realize is that both the dream and awake lives are intertwined and interact with each other. We don’t just dream images that we’ve encountered while awake…but all of life is linked, so, yes, you will dream about things from your awake life, just as you will see also things in your awake life from your dreams. But which came first? It’s not a matter of linear sense. It’s a matter about multi-dimensional, Venn diagram-like interlaced interaction! Perhaps you’re dreaming a lot about work, say, or an issue that’s plaguing you. You may be dreaming about these things to “let off some steam,” or release stress, for example in the dream state. Or maybe you’re dreaming about them to help you in the awake state—or both. But it’s up to each of us to discover these reasons…these interactions. And it doesn’t matter if we’re right or wrong about our “findings”…what matters is that we’re trying to delve into them…to understand them…and that we’re using our own capabilities as we do so.

About a year or so ago, I developed a condition that requires me (so far) to take some medication that seems to affect my memory of my dreams (yet I remembered remembering them, I like to say)—I was not happy about that. But, I made a concerted effort, and no kidding, I’m now back to remembering my dreams…as I said, on average about three a night. And they’re just as intense as I remembered them. I think what this drug does (as I analyze things) is that it “turns off the memory switch” really quick.

Just like the proverbial light switch.

But I found that if I really put in the effort to remember them immediately upon awakening, I’d remember them. I’d have to stay in bed, sometimes in the same position I woke up in, and they’d come back to me. They also seem to leave quicker, i.e., I forget my dreams quicker, with this medication. They may still come to me later in the day—or even later in the week—but it really seems as if this medication works exactly like some weird-assed dream light switch, which I do not like. But I can force the issue…which I have been doing…and it actually works.

So, back in the mid-to-late nineties, I decided to write a novel about the dream world, Sleepwalkers, and I eventually published it in 2001. It was a fun book to write, and, after I published it, a friend of mine—who’d been having marital problems and forgot her dreams or just experienced nightmares—used the techniques I wrote about (and got from the Seth material) and began remembering her dreams and dispelled the nightmares! That was the coolest thing I’ve ever heard from something I wrote! When I first wrote the novel, I’d hoped it would help others out there…and that is exactly what had ended up happening…I’d actually helped a real person in need.

There are a lot of dream interpreters out there who would have you read their descriptions of symbols and their interpretations of said symbols…but what I would have you do is to interpret them yourself (and, yes, I got this from the Seth Material). Whether or not your versions of symbols match with others’ interpretations is not the issue—what is the issue is that you are not doing the work; you are allowing others to do it for you. What is important about dream work is: 1) that you make the effort to remember your dreams, and 2) that you make the interpretations yourself. It doesn’t matter whether or not your interpretations are “correct”…what matters is that you exercise your own conscious analysis of your own dream symbols. Doing this awakens and strengthens the “metaphysical muscles” you have and allows them to grow, which, in turn, will lead to other metaphysical growth. Don’t make another outside of you your dream guru. None of us needs “gurus”…we all have within us the capability to answer our own questions, our own problems. It’s okay to discuss our dreams with those we are close to, but do not let anyone else tell you what your dreams mean. What these people are actually telling you—when you really think about it—is what your dreams mean to them.

Do not place the power of directing your life in another’s hands.

Okay, here are some things I’d like to throw out there that any of you can try, to get more out of your dream experiences. It’s fun, and really stretches the mind!

  1. Tell yourself and expect yourself to remember your dreams! It’s that easy! Now, it may take some time for some, but we all dream—no exceptions. We just don’t remember them. So, if you don’t remember dreams, just be kind to yourself and allow yourself to remember. As soon as you wake up—stay in bed and open your mind to “what you just came from.” Keep with this until they come—they will. Many times I “remember remembering” them and leave them at that. After all, you have the rest of your life to remember dreams!
  2. When remembered, write them down! First, write out the dream(s) as well as you remember them, then do an analysis of all things in the dreams, from how you felt, to any and all of the symbols in your dreams. List the date and time you’re writing them down. I bold the dream dates and times of the dreams that are as intense and as real as my awake consciousness, and also insert a “Very there” at the start of each of these kinds of dreams. Yes, this can take a lot of time, and you don’t have to do it for all of them, but doing it for even one helps you tremendously in doing your dream work! And if you just can’t get around to writing them down, don’t worry—just remembering is enough. Becoming conscious of the unconscious is what’s important!
  3. If you don’t remember upon awakening, allow yourself to remember later in the day or week, or whenever. I frequently remember additional dreams later in the day. Sometimes a day or so later! If I can, I still write them down. Sometimes they feel tied to something I’m doing, which is probably why I remember them later when I do.
  4. While remembering dreams you might feel that you’ve recalled one or more dreams that actually happened at the same time. This may very well be what has happened: simultaneous dreams! They actually have happened at the same time. I frequently recall simultaneous dreams, and mark them as such.
  5. Here’s are really cool and fun thing to try during the day (or night!) when you’re conscious and not sleeping: try to imagine your dreamworld during the day…and that there are things going on in it while you’re awake, in a parallel life. I do this and periodically feel my dreams as still on-going. Can even feel the same “dream feel” from my dreams while awake. It can be very “mind expanding” and opens up a whole new world of imagination and consideration!
  6. Throughout the day, ask yourself: What am I actually conscious of at this moment? What this does is get your consciousness aware during your dream states, so you can play in a far more richer and rewarding dream experience while actually being conscious in your dreams (it does many other things, but read the Seth Material for that, in particular, Seth, Dreams, and Projections of Consciousness…). Become aware that you’re dreaming…and (this is also really cool) getting you to the point where you can actually change the direction of your dreams! Is something happening that you don’t like—are you having a nightmare?—then consciously change that dream into something of you do like..or merely tell it “No!” and to go away. It’s really cool when you find you can do this. My favorite type of dream are flying dreams, so I love to change my dream directions and take to the air. When I’m aware enough to do so, there are times I’ll tell myself that I can fly (even if a part of me niggles me that I can’t), and I either just take off running, or simply blast up into the air like Superman and fly. These are truly my favorite dreams! I can really feel all the sensations of flying and performing intricate and gnarly aerobatic maneuvers!

These are just some things we can each play around with and try. As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve had reincarnation dreams, as well. But read some of the Seth Material, in particular the book, Seth, Dreams, and Projections of Consciousness. It might be [philosophically and metaphysically] too much to read at first, if you’re not familiar with the Seth Material, so I do recommend you at least read Seth Speaks, first. You really should read them in order, but if you’re open-minded, you might be able to handle the dream book first or second.

In either case, try the above six items I’ve presented here, and see what you come up with—or share your experiences, here, as comments!

Happy dreaming!

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