Why am I writing about this? Because this has been happening to me spontaneously since childhood and when I discovered Carlos Castaneda’s book »The Art of Dreaming« I was very happy to receive some incredibly accurate explanations of what had been happening to me.

Let us look at the First Gate of Dreaming according to don Juan’s teachings.

Contrary to common belief, don Juan claims dreaming is (seemingly paradoxically) a process of awakening!

We know our world is material world made of material objects. We see them, we touch them, we bump into them, they exist without any doubt! Don Juan invites us to see beyond “just material objects”. Perceiving this reality as reality of material objects was necessary for our ancestors to survive, but after thousands of years of such perception we are forced to believe that these objects are all this world is made of. Matter exists, of course! However, don Juan calls upon us and challenges us to perceive this reality as primarily made of energy. If we don’t perceive it as primarily energy-based reality, we will never be able to perceive energy directly! We’ll always be stopped by the physical certainty of the hardness of objects.

Let us enter the world of dreaming! Dreams that we dream as “ordinary people” usually come to us without our intent and control. They are delusions, reflections which do not radiate energy and which do not show us other worlds are realities. With practice and intent we can learn how to consciously travel into other realities, dimensions, timelines, we can move beyond time and space as perceived here and now.

There are entrances and exits in the energy flow of the universe – gates to the other worlds. To be able to really Dream and cross these entrances we need to open and go through seven gates of dreaming. We experience these gates as obstacles we need to overcome in order to reach the next level.

Foundation for Crossing Gates:

In order to cross the gate we need sufficient amount of energy. Each one of us has a certain amount of personal energy. In daily life we lose it for “useless” matters such as: what others are going to say, to maintain ego-created self-image, to keep up with quick tempo of life, to be envious, sad, frightened… If you are motivated for practicing the art of dreaming, claim and gain back your lost energy! Forget about 1001 worries of everyday, forget about demands of your ego… You are going to need every piece of energy you can get! As don Juan says: “The trick is to reach the energy body. For that you need energy.”

The First Gate:

First step: The first gate is a threshold we must cross by becoming aware of a particular sensation before deep sleep. A sensation which is like a pleasant heaviness that doesn’t let us open our eyes. We reach that gate the instant we become aware that we’re falling asleep.

How do we know we are about to fall asleep? By power of intent. One just intends to become aware of falling asleep. Good news is we do not have to try hard with our mind. We try to be as light as a feather. Intention does not have to reach our mind, but energy body. To intend this means to work without working, to wish without wishing. Just convince yourself that you are a dreamer and that you can reach your energy body and let go.

Second step: When dreaming try to focus on objects that you see in a dream: what are they, what color are they, where are they standing… Then sustain the sight of whatever you are looking at in a dream. Start with 3, or 4 objects, not more. Usually objects will start dissolving, disappearing when you look at them. It means you are on the right track!

Contrary to common belief, don Juan claims dreaming is (seemingly paradoxically) a process of awakening, of gaining control. It is a sober process, waking us up into our true potentials, liberating us out of the small box we’ve lived in until now.

Dreams are doors to other worlds. It is so important to observe objects in them because they are portals to these other worlds. For those who have read Harry Potter books: J. K. Rowling writes of such portals also there, calling them “portkeys”. Among objects there are bursts of foreign energy that come into our dreams and as we learn to recognize them, our dreams dissolve and scenery suddenly changes completely.

So, if you can memorize details – great! If you are able to notice when you are about to fall asleep – even better! In the last few years dreaming patterns have changed and dreams are more and more accessible to us all. Have you noticed any changes in your patterns of dreaming? More about it next time.