Dreamception

Borrowed from Christopher Nolan directed movie, Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead movie, dreamception is the state of dreaming within a dream and being lucid. Lucidity refers to the state of being aware, conscious or present.

It takes practice to be aware that you’re dreaming and to ‘wake up’ or become lucid in your dreams. There’s a difference between lucid dreaming, herewith termed dreamception, and astral projection. With lucid dreaming, the dreamer ‘wakes up’ in their dream and realises that they can influence their dreamscape (the dream environment) and that they can influence the themes of learning. Say for instance you have been curious about a certain medicine you dreamt of and want to find out about its uses and how effective it is. You can achieve this through lucid dreaming.

Astral projection, on the other hand, is a bit more complex than just the awareness that you’re present/conscious/aware in a dream even though the physical body is asleep. Energetically, a person is made up of a number of layers. There are philosophies and schools of thought that postulate about the levels of energy a human body contains, but I will stick to just 3 for the sake of simplicity and not to delve too deeply in woo-woo spiritista realm. Credo Mutwa in one of his books, I think it’s Indaba My Children or Zulu Shaman (can’t remember) , writes about the layers that make up a human body beyond the physical (I’d read with a pinch of salt because we know what happens to indigenous knowledge when it is produced and sold for the white gaze).

There is your physical body that contains your vital organs, muscles, blood etc. We shan’t get too anatomical. There’s your emotional body, that contains the emotional state of your people as a clan and yours as an individual. An example would be Bafokeng are a calm people or that Bakoena are feisty. These are just examples, do not take them literally. Your emotional state as an individual fluctuates according to your personality, environmental factors, nurture, illness etc, so it is not a fixed state. You may meet someone today and you find their energy quite aggressive athe they’re going through something that requires them to be defensive and aggressive in their approach. You meet this person again a week later and you are drawn to their laughter, smile or ease with which you share deeply personal things with.

Then there is the part of you that is able to ‘travel’ to other spaces and dimensions, while your physical body lies peacefully. This is not a state of death, please. You will also not die hle motho wa Modimo. This body that can travel to other spaces and dimensions, is your astral body. Astral projection is when this astral body leaves your physical body and it travels elsewhere. It may not be far, especially because there’s a lot of fear at first.

Typical signs that you’re experiencing astral projection include, but are not limited to:

• A high-pitched sound that you perceive as you fall asleep.
• Vibration of the physical body
• A lapse in time-space continuum (5 minutes could feel like a split second)
• You will notice that this body is commanded differently than the physical body. You may attempt to lift your arm in the way that you’re used to, but find it won’t work, until you employ intent (an emotional energy).
• You will also notice that your emotions play a pivotal role here. Too much of any emotion will draw you right out of this experience and have you plummeting back into your body. It isn’t pleasant to experience. It’s actually a good way for you to see how much your ego gets in the way sometimes, with the aid of emotions.
• Sometimes, you will feel as if you’re going into sleep paralysis and it is your emotional energy that will determine whether you experience sleep paralysis or a pleasant astral experience. Approach with fear and you will have a horrible experience, approach with a safe level of curiosity and a genuine intent to learn, and it’ll be positive.

In both lucid dreaming and astral projection, it is important to employ safe practices.

*Pray first and ask God (or whoever you believe to be the creator), the angels, ascended masters, your ancestors/guardians etc., to help foster a safe journey for you. It is important to invite kganya/ukukhanya/light.

*Lucid dreaming and astral projection should not be approached with the intent of escaping your lived experiences on earth, aka escapism. Uzolimala.

*If you experience it spontaneously, it is normal to feel fearful. It’s a strange experience and I won’t lie about that.

*There is no way to work through the fear, except through experiencing it.

*If you experience a being whose energy feels sinister, unwittingly, call upon your guardians and breathe before you go into frantic panic.

*Do not go into these practices with sinister intent. O tla nyela.

Sinister intent includes, but is not limited to, spying on your friends, family, lover; scaring your ‘enemy’; ukuthakatha (o tla nyela hle). Basically, don’t dabble in darkness and you should be fine.

How to?

It is difficult to write steps for lucid dreaming and astral projection. I would say the first step is the ability to still your mind. Carlos Castaneda has written extensively on the art of dreaming. Maybe look for his books and see if they won’t help.

Lying facing up, down, on your side can also help. It is easier to go astral when you’re laying on your back, unless you’re an experienced wanderer and you can leave at any point. Izifundiswa/batho ba rutehileng speak of brain activity and waves in order for spiritual experiences to occur. Go to this link to read up on the different states. In my experience, you need to be deeply relaxed, with a clear mind and goal of what you want to achieve. Just as you’re falling asleep, you set the intention to ‘leave’, in the case of astral projection.

With lucid dreaming, you must focus on an object on your physical body or in your environment. Say you had a bangle on your wrist, set the intention to focus on that bangle to make yourself aware of the fact that you’re dreaming. Again, these concepts are difficult to impart to others because you have to experience them for yourself to grasp the theory sufficiently.

With astral projection, it helps to disrupt your sleep and stay up for 30 minutes or so. This suggestion is a challenge for those who experience difficulty falling asleep. Let’s say your sleep is disrupted in the early hours and you stay up for 2 hours or so. When you feel yourself getting drowsy, sleep on your back, set the intention to ‘leave’ and wait for the vibration and high pitched sound. If you get too excited or fearful at this stage, you won’t leave your body.

These states can also be achieved during the day. Lie on your bed or a couch and cover yourself with something appropriate for the weather.Your physical body will feel a bit chilly when you go into these states and if it becomes unbearable, your experiences will be disrupted. Rather warm than sorry.

I’ve slept with an amethyst stone under my pillow and it helped with astral projection. Perhaps do research on crystals and which ones help.

Otherwise, everything has a place and a time. You can practice for years without achieving the expected results and then have it happen randomly on a certain day. Keep practicing because ke skill ntho ena.

Remember not to be fucky in your intentions. There are beings infinitely more powerful than you and they will squash you. If you feel your mental health, physical health and emotional wellbeing being affected by your attempts to lucid dream or astral project, stop immediately. Get into other practices to still your mind. Draw, dance, meditate, write etc. Take your prescribed medicines. Focus on other things.

Enjoy ❤️

Lesedi bana ba thari e ntsho ❤️