The Key to Enlightened Dreaming: The Spiritual Survival Guide Beyond 2012

Copyright © 2012 by Robert E. Denton. 123036

ISBN: Ebook 978-1-4797-2150-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of Action. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[email protected]

Acknowledgments

1 would like to thank Diane and Clélie for their continued help and guidance in the creation and design of this book.

Thanks also to Michael Manning for his assistance in the early stages of the manuscript.

And finally, thanks to all my extended family, friends, and acquaintances who have shared their dreams and spiritual experiences with me over the years. I know that spirit will continue to be with you.

Contents

THE KEY TO ENLIGHTENED DREAMING

ATTITUDES & PREPARATIONS

INNER PREPARATION

INCREASING DREAM MEMORY

YOUR DREAM JOURNAL

INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS

CHARACTERS

LOCATIONS

SYMBOLS

PROPS

VERBAL INTERACTION

SIGNS OF CHANGE

DOORS

FIRE

ANIMALS

SQUIRREL MAN

SPIDER JOE

INSECURITIES AND FEARS

VEHICLES

THE MATRIARCH

YOUR POINT OF VIEW

TYPES OF DREAMS

PAST-LIFE DREAMS

JACK OF ALL TRADES

NIGHTMARES

PROPHETIC DREAMS

FATHER STEVE

BUMPS, BRUISES AND HEART ATTACKS

EVENT DREAMS

TESTING DREAMS

CREATIVE DREAMS

LUCID DREAMS

ANSWER DREAMS

SHARED DREAMS

WAKING DREAMS

MOVING TOWARDS ENLIGHTENMENT

BEYOND THE DREAM WORLDS

BECOMING A VEHICLE FOR SPIRIT

THE HEALING LIGHT

HELPING LOVED ONES PASS

THE THRONE SPEECH

THE NATIVE CONNECTION

JOHN’S CONNECTION

SPIRITUAL BALANCE

MORE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

SURRENDERING YOUR LIFE TO SPIRIT

HIGHER STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

CONCLUSION

RIVER OF SPIRIT

NATIVE ANIMAL MEANINGS

BOOK TWO

CHAPTER ONE: VISIONS OF LIGHT

CHAPTER TWO: THE FUTURE OF THE EARTH

CHAPTER THREE: THE JOURNEY OF SOUL

CHAPTER 4: WORLD SAVIORS GIVE THEIR BLESSING

CHAPTER FIVE: MOVING FORWARD ON THE PATH

CHAPTER SIX: STUDENTS OF ENLIGHTENED DREAMING

CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION

Author Biography

Book Summary

BOOK ONE of The Key To Enlightened Dreaming was originally published in 1998. It is intended for all ages as a key to understanding the messages in dreams and their connection to the spiritual worlds. It gives dreamers unique instruction on how to break down the components of our dreams so we may see the message as it applies to our life in the present, as well as prophetic messages of the future time line. It includes the teaching of all aspects of our inner voice through detailing experiences of waking dreams, visions, and Soul experiences that are the focal points of most spiritual experiences.

THE KEY TO ENLIGHTENED DREAMING

Sandra, my wife, had a recurring nightmare in which she would be woken from sleep by an eerie noise in the yard. She would get out of bed and make her way through the darkness to the kitchen. Once there, she would flip the light switch, but the lights would not turn on. The entire house remained in darkness. Some homemade soup was always cooking on the stove however, so she knew that the stove was working.

As she looked out of the window, she could see the yard, covered in snow, and on one of the snowbanks, a radio making the eerie noise that had woken her. She would try and get to the radio to shut it off, but the darkness prevented her.

At the same time, both our children were having similar unpleasant dreams. Sarah dreamed she saw a man sneaking in through our back gate towards the side of the house with a knife in his hand. Colin dreamed that none of the lights in the house would turn on. Yet he could not turn his television off. When he went outside, men were scaling the side of the house and severing the power-lines with large shears.

What is the significance of these similar, yet separate, dreams? What do the lights and power-lines mean? The house? Why was the stove working? And why was our family dreaming about them?

Through our continued study of this and other dreams, we have learned to do what this book is about: Enlightened Dreaming. This book will help you understand why we dream, why and how to encourage dream recall, how to interpret our dreams, and how to use them in our daily lives.

It will also teach you how to share and interpret your dreams as a family unit, allowing you to work through family problems. If possible, try and get family members or friends to read this book with you. The rewards are endless for raising children, and we can all learn more quickly if we share our experiences and insights into the dream worlds with others.

Any good book on dreams will give you information on dream interpretation. This book goes a step further by talking about enlightened dreaming, or how to find enlightenment through two specific kinds of dreams: the ones we experience at night; and waking dreams—daily experiences that speak directly to our hopes and goals.

Besides information on dreams and their interpretation, you will find throughout this book many techniques for out-of-body travel, viewing past lives through dreams, and creative projects arising from dreams. In addition, there is a section at the end which deals specifically with a simple, yet successful, method of pursuing advanced states of consciousness in our everyday lives.

My life and spiritual searching are shaped and guided by my dream state and my travels beyond the physical, which have given me the experiences I needed to write this book. For over thirty

years, I have been a student of many of the highroad paths to God that exist on this planet. Beyond all this, 1 am a loving husband and father, trying to act always as an example of love for all those around me.

Why Dreams?In a Gallup poll conducted in the United States in 1995, 33% of the people surveyed said they believed they had had some type of spiritual experience. One of my favorite TV programs involves recreations of some of these stories of the so-called unexplained, and it does not surprise me that most of these experiences involve dreams as they are one of the most common forms of spiritual experience.

What is Enlightened Dreaming?The most important aspect of developing the dream experience is that we make a daily, personal connection with our higher power. This is Enlightened Dreaming. The dream state is our connection to the inner worlds. By starting a journey through our inner worlds of dreams, we are serving notice that we are ready to receive any dream images or messages that our higher power may have for us at this time in our unfoldment as soul. If you choose to start this journey, be prepared for the biggest adventure of your life. No adventure story that exists on the physical level can match the grand adventure of soul as it begins the last stages of its incarnations in the physical worlds.

Perhaps you are thinking that your dreams do not give you these experiences—that they seem more like random images of your subconscious mind. There may be even more of you who believe you do not dream at all, or at best, rarely. This is not true. We all dream—but we do not all recall our dreams. It is the act of recalling our dreams that needs to be developed.

As dreamers, we must prepare ourselves to receive. If we make the necessary preparations, our dream images will take on a whole new meaning. Many doors will open—through methods such as exploring past-life images—that might help explain why we are having problems in particular areas of our lives.

During this lifetime, I studied many of the high roads to God before I discovered a path of direct spiritual experience in 1978. There comes a time when the seeker must put down the books and prepare to receive direct spiritual experience, to become someone who has personal insights into truth, rather than someone who reads about the insights of other people. This is what the Buddha meant when he said, To read is to forget, to be shown is to understand, but to do is to know.

Many people in the western world who knowingly seek God are doing so only out of curiosity. We don’t have the time for—nor do we want—the spiritual disciplines or structure that an organized religion or path gives us.

Any spiritual practice worth its salt starts the new student working with the dream state. This being so, there is no reason why people who are not followers of a specific spiritual practice can’t make some spiritual progress, jfthey can create an inner connection to their higher power through dreams.

I must say at this time that there is no complete substitute to becoming a student of an organized spiritual practice that is rooted in truth. There are some good ones out there today. The best situation is for a student to have an inner and outer Master, as did the disciples of Christ. By inner Master, I mean a spiritual guide who is present in our inner life, during both the dream and waking states, to guide us. By outer Master, I mean a guide who has a living body here on earth, which gives him or her the benefit of having a finger on the pulse of society in order to deal with us directly. It also allows them the physical presence to create a direct lineage for their teachings.

The best situation is to have a personal relationship on the outer with a guide, as well as an inner relationship during our travels through the inner worlds of spirit. These guides are simply ancient friends, or past spiritual masters who have an interest in our spiritual futures. True guides do not seek our worship, only our love. They are simply souls like us who have made it through to the higher worlds and are with us now to show us the way. They are co-workers with the higher power, however, and act completely under its direction.

Whether or not we consider ourselves spiritual people, we all have one thing in common as soul. We all dream.

ATTITUDES & PREPARATIONS

In order to prepare ourselves to practice Enlightened Dreaming, there are several things to consider. Preparation occurs both inwardly and outwardly, and requires an understanding of both how and why we can receive dream images.

INNER PREPARATION

Before we proceed to the meat of the book—how to encourage and interpret dreams—I must take a brief side trip.

For myself, I cannot separate the importance of pursuing my study of dreams from the importance of certain spiritual exercises. Throughout The Key to Enlightened Dreaming, I refer to various techniques I use to enhance my dream studies and interpretations. This does not mean that it will be impossible for you to have results without using spiritual techniques, but since this book is about enlightened dreaming, it makes sense to use an enlightened or spiritual technique to achieve the ultimate results. I use a variety of techniques, but the most important to me involves the sound, and by this I mean the sound of God, or what I know as the HU.

The first thing I can do to encourage my dreams is to sing the HU before going to sleep. HU is an ancient, secret name for God that is still used by the followers of Sufism and other highroad paths. The Stolo Indians of Vancouver Island and some African tribes also used this sound as a signal that all was well when approaching a village. There are hints of its use long before the existence of biblical writings, and it is the Word that is spoken of in the Bible.

Before anything else existed, there was the HU, or the sound of spirit. As spirit moves through the worlds of God, it creates an inner sound as it flows from that place where it originates in the highest world of God. It can be heard while out of the body, or during a spiritual exercise or experience. If you would like to connect with the highest soul plane of consciousness, then use the sound HU.

However, I think it is important for you to use a word or sound that works for you. If you are uncomfortable using the HU, then use a sound that is familiar to you. For example, if you have a spiritual leader whom you look to, such as Jesus or Buddha, you can sing their name. Christians may prefer to use the sound Alleluia which is a form of the HU that has been used for centuries. I do encourage you to go beyond your normal practice, however, and try this most powerful sound.

Begin the spiritual exercise by relaxing and taking a few deep breaths. Put your attention on the area of the third eye, which is the point between the eyebrows, or what I will sometimes refer to as the screen. I use this terminology because when you close your eyes and gaze forward, it is very similar to staring at a blank TV screen.

As you relax, try and let go of all thoughts of the day. If negative thoughts come into your mind, rather than forcing them out, put a picture on your screen of yourself rising abo ve the world of negativity. Any forcing of the mind will only create more thoughts. Then, softly begin to sing the sound you have chosen on your outgoing breath. After a few minutes, stop and listen inside. You should hear the sound come back to you. You can repeat this process for up to twenty minutes. If you do not experience concrete results the first few times, please do not be discouraged. This technique will work with time, especially if you do it on a daily basis. In the meantime, the spiritual energy generated will begin to have a healing effect on your dreams and many other aspects of your daily life. In a later chapter, More Spiritual Exercises, I will go into more detail on the sound.

If you have been angry or upset throughout your day, please try and put these thoughts aside. Listen to a little positive music first or do something that relaxes you. Doing these techniques with love is the key to success.

This technique will appear frequently in our discussions of dreams, their symbols and interpretations.

How is it that we can receive images, teaching and insights through our dreams? The most common psychic ability that we all have and use is the ability to send thoughts to others. Most of us have seen examples of this, especially with loved ones, where a monthly long-distance call from our mother is almost always anticipated just before the phone rings. The strong signal of love that a mother sends to a child can be received anywhere in the universe if the receiver is in the right state of consciousness to receive it.

However, it is not just loved ones who can send their thoughts to other people. It is a common phenomenon among people who have established bonds, such as co-workers in an office.

Obviously, if regular people can send thoughts or images, your higher power—whether you believe it to be Christ, Buddha, God Itself, or any of the spiritual masters—has the power to send us visions and to program our dream state. But we have to invite them in first. Singing your spiritual word is like sending an invitation written in gold.

Some of you may have already noticed some vivid dreams just before buying this book. That act in itself is a sign to your higher power that you are ready to begin.

INCREASING DREAM MEMORY

There are several ways in which we can increase our dream recall. First, we must relay our intent to our subconscious—to program or instruct ourselves. This is the inward form of preparation.

Find a comfortable sitting position, or prop yourself up in bed. Close your eyes and gaze at your screen. Put a picture of something that represents love on the screen. It might be the face of your child, your guide or master—if he or she is known to you—a loved one, or perhaps your favorite scene of serenity. Choose something that gives you a feeling of love. For me, singing the HU is singing a love song to God. I sing this sound slowly and lovingly for at least ten minutes. You too may have some experiences with the light by using this powerful sound. When you are finished, repeat to yourself, or out loud, Tonight, I will remember my dreams. Repeat this phrase five times, pushing it gently out to the depths of your screen. By placing this command on the subconscious mind, you will be more likely to wake briefly after most dreams with a memory of them.

Keep a pad of paper and a pen beside your bed. If during the night you wake from your dream, write a few words which best describe it. Your brief description should bring the dream back into full detail in the morning. For example, if you were playing basketball in the school gym in your dream, the words basketball and school would probably bring the dream into context.

When you wake up in the morning, write the dream in your dream journal, giving as much descriptive detail as you can. If you were driving a red 1955 Chevy in your dream, put this down in the journal. I want you to practice remembering as much detail in your dream as possible. Even the most unassuming detail can prove to be important symbolism once you break it down. In time you will learn the difference between what is important im agery and what is mind fluff. Sometimes what we think of as nonsense turns out to be part of a dramatic message.

If you are still not remembering your dreams, it is important to continue with the command until you do. Remember that you are programming yourself.

And finally, a quick word on drugs. Drugs, especially marijuana, will effect your dream memory. Some prescription drugs will produce unusual cyclical dreams. Unless your drugs are prescribed or advised by a medical practitioner, try to give them up. If you cannot give them up at this time, at least try to limit their use, or else don’t expect to get results. Drugs frustrate the efforts of your guide, because your dream memory will not be able to surface through the haze of the drugs.

Abuse of drugs is a negative experience, and like any other negative event in our lives, we have the ability to turn it to the positive and reap the benefits from the experience. The drug experience may be part of your beginning in spirituality, but it will never see you to true enlightenment.

Many people believe that drugs are a source of spirituality, but in reality they are a trap that has been placed here on this planet to halt our spiritual progress. A person who is trapped in apathy and boredom may smoke pot, or take some tranquilizers, and have some spiritual thoughts, but spiritual compared to what? This in itself is the trap. Drugs create astral experiences at best and beguile the dreamer on a downward spiral.

I will be the first one to tell you that I have certainly not led a perfect life. I fell into many of these same traps in my search for God. I am talking from experience.

YOUR DREAM JOURNAL

Even if we have good recall of our dreams, we need to record them properly. Keeping a dream journal takes self-discipline, but it is well worth the effort. Writing the dream down is a good exercise in itself, as it brings the dream out in full detail and solidifies it in the mind for further reference.

Keeping a journal also helps us to figure out our own dream symbols. There are books on dream symbols available in the book stores, and I’ll go over some of the more common symbols, but we should never rely on other people’s experiences. As we have all had different experiences in our lives, many of our symbols may differ also. For example, for most people the symbol for God or spirit is water, but if you are afraid of water, your symbol for God would probably not be water. Your symbol for your higher power may be a bright light, or a serene view of a forest. In time, through the use of a dream journal, you will come to know your own personal symbols as they apply to your life. Researching your own symbols from previous dreams will become the key to unlocking the dreams of your future.

Some of your interpretations, especially of prophetic dreams, may take time to check for validity. Your records will be a source of fascination to you as you check back to see how your dreams foretold specific events that were about to take place.

On the opposite page, there is a chart, which is duplicated at the end of this book. You can photocopy this to make your dream journal, or you can use it along with your regular dream journal as an extra aid in your dream interpretations. This is where you can break down the components of your dream. By doing this, you will learn to notice quickly the important parts of your dreams.

INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS

The best situation for a true reading of our dreams is to make our own interpretation. However, in order to encourage people who come to me for help with their dreams and for the purpose of this book, I have given my own interpretations. Usually, this helps people to begin to make their own interpretations. It’s not as difficult as you think. Read on, sweet dreamer.

CHARACTERS

The people in your dreams are very important. If you meet a dream character in the waking state, the reason for their presence in the dream may be obvious. But if your dreams include random cameo appearances by acquaintances or strangers, you are usually looking at reflections of yourself. There is no easier way to point you towards what you should be working on than to show you a familiar attribute or flaw in another person. You’d probably never recognize it if the dream showed you performing the action yourself. This is the kind of symbolism I look for in my dreams.

Colin is a wonderful loving son, but like any boy, he loves to tease Sarah—his younger sister—and her friends. One day he got a little rough on Cassina, calling her brace face and midget. 1 warned Colin that his remarks were hurting Cassina, but he continued.

The next morning Colin came to me as always with his dream.

Dad, how come I had all these pictures of the meanest kids in school flashing in front of me just before I woke up?

I reminded Colin of his behavior the day before. You’re being shown a part of yourself that obviously needs work, Colin.

That day, I noticed Colin graciously refereeing a game of badminton between the two girls, treating them with kindness and respect. He rarely listens to me in these situations, but if a dream tells him something, he takes it very seriously.

When your dream experience involves another character, first look for the attribute that is being portrayed, or the flaw that bothers you the most in that person, and see if you can recognize that flaw or attribute in yourself in your present situation. If it does not seem to apply, you’ll have to look for further symbolism through other props and interactions taking place in the dream.

One thing that I have learned through living on this planet is that we are all flawed here in the physical universe. Once you understand this, your life can continue with a lot less stress.

The earth is a big schoolhouse, and we are all in school working on our particular flaws. It’s useless to spend your time worrying about someone else’s flaws. Concentrate on your own.

LOCATIONS

In your dream, the location is very important as it usually points to the area of your life that the dream is referring to. Your house or dwelling is a common symbol for your life. If a house seems to be a prominent prop in the dream apply this symbolism.

Let’s look at a few examples of how the house is used as symbolism.

My younger sister Beverly has gone through some major changes over the last ten years. The events that have created these changes may have seemed negative to her at times, but they have been necessary to guide and secure the spiritual future for her and her children.

Bev has been having a repetitive dream where she finds herself wandering in Aunt Anna’s house. Many fascinating objects lead her from one room to the next, but she is always seeking, never knowing what she is looking for or finding it.

Aunt Anna is a refined woman who has always had a romantic mystique about her. Her house in southwestern Ontario’s tobacco country was filled with objects of wonder and beauty. Uncle Thomas collected North American native artifacts and antique automobiles. Their house was always fascinating.

It is this refinement that Beverly looks for in her life. The fact that she is seeking in someone else’s home refers to a desire for further change in her life. Aunt Anna gives Bev the direction for that change. The objects or props that Bev encounters in the house will give her clues as to how to begin these changes.

Then there’s Ruta, an old friend of Beverly’s and mine. We grew up together, spending part of our summers on Camp Lake in the Muskokas. Every year when I am back in Ontario, the three of us make a point of getting together and sharing our spiritual insights. Ruta reads tarot cards for fun, so it’s always interesting to track her predictions from the previous year. Although we approach these readings from the interest level only, we note that she has never been wrong.

Let’s look at one of Ruta’s dreams and see what her house has to tell us. There is only enough space for Ruta and an unknown figure in a blue-gray robe whom she looks to on occasion for guidance. At her door a lineup of people waits to get in. Ruta is happy in her house, but occasionally she will open the door and scan the lineup. If there is someone she wants to see, she allows them to pass through her door. There could be lovers, or friends, or a host of others who may be somewhat undesirable.

Ruta has a good system that fits a high spiritual example set by the spiritual masters for personal and impersonal love. The masters advise us to give impersonal love to the world, but to give our personal love only to those who can give us the same quality of love back. This allows us to give love to all without being dragged down by the negative energy that exists around us.

Ruta can use this dream—and the help of her guide—to pick and choose the people she can safely allow into her life. This dream has been given to Ruta because of the pain that she has endured in the past from allowing the wrong people in.

Here is another example of how a house is used in a dream to help solve a very serious problem.

Sandra and 1 went to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia recently for a visit with some old friends. When we arrived at their house, I could tell that Cynthia had something on her mind that she wanted to share with me.

A horrific repetitive dream had been replaying almost nightly for some time. 1 could tell it was affecting her in a negative way. In her dream, Cynthia would be knocking on the door of a strange house. After knocking for a long time, her parents would answer the door. She was allowed to enter, but was always warned against going upstairs.

One night she decided to take the dream a little further, and she sneaked upstairs. To her horror, the rooms were lined with beds filled with rotting corpses.

I asked Cynthia if her parents or family had any unresolved family secrets. She said no. I then asked if something dramatic had happened to make her parents feel guilty. She confided that her brother, who had been in the military, had committed suicide some years back because of a girl. At that time, her father had had quite a drinking problem and had felt partly responsible for his son’s death.

The symbolism in this dream looked obvious. The parents’ secret house represented the inner turmoil in their life which they kept hidden from the world. The forbidden upstairs of the house represented the false guilt over their son’s death—a topic of conversation that was forbidden within the family. The corpses further symbolized the object of their guilt. The horrific image of the unburied, rotting corpses related to the fact that the parents had not psychologically laid their son to rest.

There is still more unfinished business here. Cynthia’s other brother and sister had not accepted the death, and they felt anger towards this act of suicide. They would not discuss their brother or the incident. Things had not been right in the family since the tragic death.

Cynthia then told me another dream concerning her brother in which he would be sitting at the kitchen table for a family holiday meal. Everyone at the table was in shock because he was dead. How could he be sitting at the kitchen table when he had died years earlier? The family would sit with their mouths open in shock, but the dead brother would continue with his meal as if everything was normal.

Cynthia asked me for the meaning of this dream.

While she was telling me this dream, I could feel a cold brush of wind across my cheek even though it was 85 degrees outside. There was a definite presence in this house. Cynthia said that she believed her brother wandered in her house at times. She had had similar experiences with a cold wind. In one particular incident, she had actually felt a cold hand on her shoulder while she was doing the dishes.

I believe that Cynthia’s brother is trying to contact her, as he sees Cynthia as his strength here in this world. After his suicide, Cynthia was the only one in her family who seemed to stay positive about her brother. The deep love she felt for him got her through the negative emotions that have plagued the rest of her family since his death.

Cynthia’s brother has undoubtedly created a major karmic action because of this selfish act of suicide. If this is true, he will probably remain drawn to his family until the grief he has caused them has passed.

Cynthia is her brother’s trump card here in the physical world, because the love she has for her brother has not been changed by the suicide. The dream at the supper table is spirit’s way of telling Cynthia that he will be hanging around until this situation is settled.

I told Cynthia that if she wants to help her dead brother, she should work on her father, other brother, and sister, to see if she can change their negative emotions from guilt and anger, back to love. Only then will her brother be released from this cycle.

Repetitive dreams usually repeat because there is an important message in them that needs to be realized. Once the message has been interpreted, and the solution is put into action, the dreams will stop.

Cynthia was also concerned with her brother’s visitations, as she found them quite frightening. I gave her the HU and told her to remember how much she loved her brother. Love can always conquer fear if we can just remember to love.

This family tragedy is an excellent example of the concept that within the ultimate reality there is no such thing as sin. Even though the brother had committed this heinous act and caused the family so much grief, things are slowly turning around to the positive. Cynthia’s father quit drinking soon after the death of his son, and everyone else in the family has been put through a process where they have had to search themselves for an understanding of the event. Sooner or later, this search leads back to love. In the end this act of suicide will benefit all of them in their journey back to God. This is how our higher power uses negativity, so we may learn and move closer to It.

Some of you have seen similar cases where this does not seem to be so. Remember that it sometimes takes more than one life to see the end result of a pattern or situation.

The earth was not created to be a heaven or place of rest. The earth is a training ground for us to learn in. All is in its proper place here.

We can see in this example how the family homes of Cynthia and her parents were used in the dream visions as the settings