Dream Yoga And The Practice Of Natural Light: Awakening to Your True Nature Through Dreams

Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light by Namkhai Norbu. Systems for dreamwork and dream awareness have been found for millennia within Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sufism, and traditional cultures throughout the world. These dreamwork systems were and are often still cloaked in secrecy and reserved for the initiate. The recorded dream experiences of traditional peoples whose cultures are still relatively intact may help expand our understanding of the possibilities of dream work and dream awareness, including the phenomena of lucidity, telepathy, and precognitive dreams. The possibility of developing awareness within the dream state and of subsequently having intensely inspiring experiences as well as the ability to control dreams is well documented. The practices outlined in this book shows how it is possible.

Rinpoche gives instructions for developing clarity within the sleep and dream states. He goes beyond the practices of lucid dreaming that have been popularized in the West, by presenting methods for guiding dream states that are part of a broader system for enhancing self-awareness called Dzogchen. In this tradition, the development of lucidity in the dream state is understood in the context of generating greater awareness for the ultimate purpose of attaining liberation.

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The other type of dreams are dreams of clarity. Why do we have dreams of clarity? Because everybody, since the beginning, has infinite potentiality; that is a quality of the natural mind that we all possess. Sometimes, even if we are not doing a particular practice, a dream of clarity will manifest because we have that nature. If you are doing the practice of the night and becoming more familiar with it, then not only occasionally, but on a regular basis, you will become familiar with manifestations of dreams of clarity.

The most important point is that when you fall asleep, you try to have this 1*1 present. Initially, it should be accurate and sharp; afterwards, you relax. Relaxing does not mean you drop the 1*1 or that you give it up. You retain a sense of its presence, and you relax, and thus you fall asleep. You should try to do the practice of natural light each night, just as you should try to be in the state of contemplation continually. For every moment and every activity there are ways to do Dzogchen practice. If, however, Dzogchen practice of the night is difficult for you, and you have had more experience doing Tantric style dream practice, and you have had an initiation on a particular deity, then perhaps it would be useful for you to continue with your Tantric practice. For example, if you do the practice of Vajrayogini, then upon sleeping, you should try to visualize a very tiny Vajrayogini at the center of your body. We call this tiny being Jnanasattva, which means wisdom manifestation.

You keep this presence and continue your sleep. There are other visualization practices similar to Guruyoga in tantric dream practices. For example, you might visualize Vajradhara as the unification of all your gurus and manifest that visualization in the center of your body. You would keep the presence of this visualization, relax, and slowly, slowly go to sleep. Because these are tantric exercises, you should practice only the special instructions you receive from your master.

It is also very important to remember the practice of the white when you awaken in the morning. If possible, you may sound ahh immediately. If you cannot sound loudly because there is someone else sleeping, it is enough that you exhale with ahh. As long as you can hear yourself and feel the presence of that white this is a method of Gurayoga, It is not necessary to say many words or prayers; simply having the presence of the white ifcj and recognizing that the is the unification of the mind of all your gurus is sufficient. Then you integrate this into a state of contemplation, or rigpa.

Starting your morning yoga in this way is wonderful and will help you very much with all your practices and particularly your practice of the night. There is a kind of a connection that you make by remembering the white US when you are going to sleep and, then again, in the morning.

Dream Yoga and the Practices of Natural Light addresses the possibilities of lucid dreaming. Tibetan author Namkhai Norbu, an internationally respected teacher of the Vajrayana traditions of tantra and dzogchen, instructs as well on evoking passages into natural light (a nonconceptual display of consciousness) after falling asleep but before dreams begin. The introduction, beautifully written by Michael Katz, provides an historical account of the relevance of dreams and their value in several different cultures. It also emphasizes the importance of awakeness during both sleep and dreaming.

With dream yoga being a tantric tradition, students must first pass an initiation before understanding the secrets of this sacred science. Experience is ultimately the key to unlocking an enlightened understanding, so a student of dream yoga must first have developed a keen self awareness, which is what allows for conscious lucidity during the dream-state.

Tibetan dream yoga is possibly the first form of lucid dreaming ever practiced. The aim is to gain control over dreams and carry out certain tasks while sleeping. Learning how to master your dream state is thought to enhance your awareness and take you closer to enlightenment.

As you prepare for bedtime and just before you close your eyes to sleep, tell yourself that you are going to have a dream in which you are fully conscious. You can also remind yourself of this intention during the day in order to prepare your mind for a dream yoga experience. If you do not experience lucid dreaming at first, do not despair. Increase your intention to master your dream state by visualizing yourself being in a lucid dream when you are in a relaxed, dreamy state.

Once you have harnessed your dream powers, develop the intention to meet enlightened beings while you sleep. Ask that they bestow you with important knowledge and help your growth toward higher consciousness. You can also intend to travel to different planets and planes of existence, and take on the body of a creature such as an eagle or bear, experiencing what it is like to be them. Ultimately, dream yoga can help you recognize your limitations and blockages to growth and provide opportunities to overcome them. You can gain confidence, and even heal from your past when you become proficient at this ancient art.

The Nyingma lineage holds that there are 'Seven transmissions' (Tibetan: bka' babs bdun[4]), or 'sacred streams of blessing and empowerment' (Tibetan: dam pa'i byin rlabs) that may iterate the mindstream of a tantrika. Transmission is a communion of mindstreams though at the substratum there is a mindstream 'singularity' or 'oneness' (Wylie: gcig). Though the fortuitous emergence of these seven modalities or channels of transmission may occur in the waking state if the time, space, circumstance and karmic connection is opportune; they may similarly be initiated in a lucid, dream yoga state. One transmission type particularly emphasized in relation to dream yoga, symbolism and iconography, and trance states, is that of 'pure vision' (Tibetan: dag snang[5]) and the perception of Sambhogakaya thoughtforms and yidam simulacrum.

Another meditation manual by Gampopa also explains how the yogi should attempt to see Buddhas and dakinis giving them teachings in their dreams, and how this gives rise to blessing. It also recommends to practice kumbhaka breathing before sleep.[11]

In Tsongkhapa's system, it is necessary to become acquainted with the tummo, radiance/clear light and illusory body practices before practicing dream yoga (which he sees as an extension of illusory body yoga).[12] According to Tsongkhapa, before practicing dream yoga, one must first master the yoga of retaining the radiance/clear light that arises at the moment of falling asleep (through experiencing the visions etc.) as explained above. If one practices this before sleep, when a dream occurs, one will realize that one is in a dream.[13]

Dream yoga in Tsongkhapa's system consists of four trainings: "learning to retain [conscious presence during] dreams; controlling and increasing dreams; overcoming fear and training in the illusory nature of dreams; and meditating upon the suchness of dreams."[14]

Dream yoga practice begins by first acquiring the skill to recognize one is dreaming within the dream. If one is not successful in recognizing one's dream through the practice of retaining the radiance of sleep,"one should cultivate a strong resolution to retain conscious awareness in the dream state. In addition, one meditates on the chakras, especially that at the throat."[15] If one can make this resolution to recognize one's dream strong and continuous throughout the day, one will be able to recognize one's dream.[16] One can also practice the visualization meditations on the throat and forehead chakras during the day so as to enhance one's ability at night. One may also meditate upon oneself as the deity, and on guru yoga, offering prayers so that one may experience clear dreams.[17]

Once one has recognized the dream, one can begin to learn to control it. One first practices controlling basic elements such as flying, going to the heavens, traveling to buddhafields etc. One can also train in "increasing", i..e multiplying dream objects, including one's body, into numerous duplicates. The practice of controlling the vital winds will enhance one's ability to control the dream.[21]

Evans-Wentz describes Tibetan dream yoga in his book Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines as one of the six subtypes of yoga elaborated by the Tibetan guru Marpa and passed down by his disciple Milarepa. The author describes six stages of dream yoga. In the first stage, the dreamer is told to become lucid in the dream. In the second stage, the dreamer is instructed to overcome all fear of the contents of the dream so there is the realization that nothing in the dream can cause harm. For instance, the lucid dreamer should put out the fire with his hands and realize fire cannot burn him in the dream. Next, the dreamer should contemplate how all phenomena both in the dream and in waking life are similar because they change, and that life is illusory in both states because of this constant change. Both the objects in the dream and objects in the world in the Buddhist worldview are therefore empty and have no substantial nature. This is the stage of contemplating the dream as maya, and equating this sense of maya with everyday experience in the external world. Next, The dreamer should realize that he or she has control of the dream by changing big objects into small ones, heavy objects into light ones, and many objects into one object.[24] 2ff7e9595c