The projection of the Astral Body (1929)

A few mornings ago, I awoke at about six o’clock and lay awake for about twenty minutes. Then I dozed off to sleep again, and dreamed that I was standing on the same spot which I occupied in the metronome dreams-in the instances I told you about before.

I dreamed that my mother was sitting in a rocking chair, and she said to me: "Do you know you’re dreaming?" I replied: "By gosh, I am, aren’t I?" That ended the dream, and it seemed that I had no sooner said" By gosh, I am" than I awoke in the physical body, in bed. I was conscious, but unable to move; I could not utter a sound, could not move my eyelids. This condition prevailed for about three minutes, and all the time my entire body kept twitching, especially the limbs . Then I suddenly became normal.

About two seconds later a loud rap sounded-as if some one had struck the iron of the bed a blow with a heavy mallet. The noise was so loud that I "ducked," as it rather frightened me… Remember, I was perfectly conscious for about two seconds before this rap sounded. No one was anywhere near, and this occurred in full light. These physical manifestations are certainly interesting to me, at least-as I never before have experienced such things. But then, neither have I ever tried; these things came about by themselves…

If obtaining access to information in lucid dreaming seems natural from a mystical or esoteric point of view (in light of various fields of information and other such phenomena), then how would it be for a materialist who doesn’t even believe in such things?

Assume that lucid dreaming state is just an exceptionally unusual state of brain and that perception within it is no more than an unusually realistic play of its functions. Assume that a practitioner in lucid dreaming decides to travel to a forest. To do so, the translocation with closed eyes technique is used, and, as a result, a forest appears.

What happens if the vision contains very detailed knowledge of forests, what forests consist of, and where forests originate? The brain creates a hyper-realistic space superior to that of everyday reality, consisting of millions of blades of grass, leaves, hundreds of trees, and a multitude of sounds. Each blade of grass has depth and build, not just a point. Each leaf also consists of component parts. A unique, natural pattern makes up the bark of each tree.

Suddenly, a wind begins to blow through the forest, and millions of leaves and blades of grass, following a mathematical model of the propagation of air masses, begin oscillating in a wavelike fashion. Thus, a certain resource inside us is capable in mere seconds not only of creating millions of details in the desired scene, but also to control each of those details individually!

Even if lucid dreaming is just a state of mind, this does not mean that there are no sources of information within it. The mind possesses great computing ability and is equipped to imagine the full extent of the impossible. No computer, however powerful, is capable of similar feats. A practitioner is able to somehow tap into amazing resources while in lucid dreaming. It only remains to learn exactly how to achieve mastery.

It is possible that lucid dreaming space is governed by the subconscious mind. This means that the practitioner is able to contact the subconscious while in lucid dreaming state. During everyday life, the subconscious mind sends information based on calculations determined by enormous capabilities. However, humans neither hear nor perceive these signals because people are accustomed to receiving information linguistically. The subconscious mind hardly operates within the limitations of language. Communication with the subconscious mind on a conscious level is only possible within lucid dreaming. If all lucid dreaming objects are created and controlled by the subconscious mind, then it is possible to use them as translators. For example, when talking to a person in lucid dreaming, normal words are heard while the object and communicated information is controlled by the subconscious mind.

An explanation of how information is obtained in lucid dreaming can hardly be unequivocally proven. Perhaps there are other undiscovered resources. But that is not so important. The most important thing is definitely known: how to obtain information in lucid dreaming.

The algorithm for obtaining information from lucid dreaming is not complex. After entering lucid dreaming, only the techniques for obtaining information and the methods of verifying it need to be learned in order to increase the amount of knowledge gleaned from lucid dreaming.

Based on the pragmatic explanation of the nature of lucid dreaming as an unusual state of brain controlled by the subconscious, it may be assumed that the amount of information obtained in lucid dreaming is limited. If lucid dreaming exists within the confines of the brain, then the brain can only operate on data that has been received by it since birth. Indeed, it appears that everything perceived through the sensory organs is remembered and correlated with other data. This is true not only of the perceptions we are aware of, which comprise only a small fraction of total sensory input, but also the enormous volumes of information registered at the subconscious level.

If any event is actually a consequence of other events, which were, in turn, also consequences of previous happenings, then nothing occurs by chance. The initial data is known – therefore it is possible to calculate what is implied by it.

As a result, if everything is based solely on the resource of the subconscious mind, then information may be obtained about everything that is related to an individual life: the practitioner’s experiences and the experiences of those with whom the practitioner experiences life. Both our own future and past, and the future and past of others can be figured out. All in all, in order to approach knowing the whole of the information available in lucid dreaming, personal knowledge capacity would need to increase by 100 or even 1,000 times.

The only information that is not available in lucid dreaming is that about which the subconscious mind does not have any preliminary information. For example, where to purchase a winning lottery ticket that will win millions of dollars cannot be learned since there is no data that could support the necessary calculation. The subconscious mind will also not be able to show the practitioner what a random street in a small town on the other end of the Earth looks like. A practitioner should not try guessing what information the subconscious mind has to offer and what it doesn’t because mistakes are easily made. For example, if a practitioner has never been to Paris and never seen the Eiffel Tower, it might be assumed that the practitioner’s subconscious mind knows nothing about it either. However, over the course of his life, his mind has already received an enormous quantity of information about it from pictures, photographs, stories, videos, books, and so forth.

There are three basic techniques for obtaining information in lucid dreaming. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages that must be studied and learned before use.

Moscow, Russia

The following all occurred after I woke up, and then began to doze off again. I lay on my side and was beginning to fall asleep, when I saw some fuzzy images from a previous dream. My body began to fill with heaviness, I practically stopped feeling it. Mild vibrations arose. I immediately remembered about lucid dreaming, and just relaxed… Imagine my surprise when I felt that I was separating. My heartbeat abruptly increased during the process. I separated, and found myself suspended in the air (I still couldn’t see yet). So I started flailing my arms and legs, spinning in the darkness, trying to fly as far away as possible from my body. I came up against something solid (the ceiling, I think). My legs then swung down to the left, and I assumed a vertical position. I started rubbing my hands, trying to see them. My vision gradually came to me.

I finally saw my own hands. They were smaller than in reality, and seemed to have a green hue to them. Then I reviewed the situation: I was in my old apartment, but the furniture was chaotically arranged. I began to palpate and scrutinize everything. My vision was incredibly sharp, much clearer than in reality (I’ve become quite nearsighted over the last two years). Strangely enough, I felt as if my eyes were closed, but that I could nevertheless see. I then was somehow able to turn off my vision. I dove into the floor (M.R.: no plan of action).

I flew down for some time. Then, I stopped and turned my vision back on. I was in outer space, and saw totally strange planets. Because I’m afraid of heights, I turned off my vision again and wished to find myself in another place, one where I’d have something solid to stand on. After a few moments, I felt I was standing on something. I turned my vision back on. I was in the desert. Strange animals were grazing, there were pigeons everywhere, and poker chips scattered all over the sand. For some reason, I figured I was near Las Vegas. I walked around a bit. Once I started looking around, my field of vision began narrowing. As soon as there was nothing but a small peep-hole of vision left, I began rubbing my hands together and looking at them. My vision returned after several seconds. Then, a pigeon ran up to me with the clear intention of biting my leg. I began running away, kicking up sand at the bird (M.R.: wrong action). That’s when it all ended. I found myself back in my body, and opened my eyes (M.R.: no re-entering).

Working in pairs is considered the second most effective non-autonomous method of entering lucid dreaming. One practitioner is to be the active one, and the other fills the role of helper. The active practitioner attempts to enter lucid dreaming while the helper provides various types of support to this end.

For example, the active practitioner lies down in bed while the helper stays nearby, waiting for the active one to fall asleep. When sleep occurs, the helper observes the eyes of the active, watching for the signs of REM sleep, which is mainly characterized by quick eye movements. When REM is apparent, the helper whispers to the sleeper, communicating that everything the practitioner is experiencing is a dream. The helper may vary the volume of the whisper, use touch to strengthen the signal, or shine a flashlight on the sleeper’s eyelids – which is very effective.

The active practitioner should detect the signals without waking and indicate a state of conscious awareness by performing quick, cyclical eye movements. If no such indication is given, the helper continues to rouse the active practitioner, who may finally wake.

If the active practitioner is unable to stay in the dream, indirect techniques should be performed. The active practitioner should under no circumstances move upon awakening or waste valuable seconds before transitioning to indirect attempts. If lucid dreaming entrance does not occur after exercising the techniques, the practitioner should again fall asleep with the intention of making another attempt.

Generally, several such attempts are enough to glean results. Working in pairs is best performed just prior to a daytime nap, or with the same deferred method used for indirect techniques – an early-morning interruption of a practitioner’s nighttime sleep.

Non-autonomous methods of entering lucid dreaming are various types of external influences that are able to help put a practitioner into lucid dreaming state. Computer programs, devices, various physical actions, the aid of a helper, or even chemical substances are examples of non-autonomous methods. In rare cases, these methods actually help, while some hinder the possibility of a genuine lucid dreaming experience.

Never count on a magical substance or machine to automatically eliminate the difficulties associated with lucid dreaming entrance. If such a substance existed, the whole topic of lucid dreaming experimentation would exist at an advanced level of development and prevalence in society.

In actuality, there are no devices or methods able to consistently provide access to lucid dreaming state. At best, these exist in a largely supplementary capacity, and the more a practitioner is able to do on his or her own, the more helpful and effective these supplements are. If lucid dreaming entry has not been mastered autonomously, then results through the use of supplements will be totally accidental.

The reason behind the weak effectiveness of non-autonomous methods of lucid dreaming entrance rests in the fact that the physiological process responsible for lucid dreaming experience cannot be exactly defined. Only generalities are known, nothing else. In order to gain a clear understanding of the state, the processes that give rise to it must be discerned and analyzed. All existing technologies have either blundered down a clearly mistaken path (synchronizing the hemispheres of the brain), or traveled toward the detection and use of indirect indicators (cueing technologies).