A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming (25 page)

When you come across a dream character, or conjure one to

appear, don’t waste time on small talk. Who knows how

long you have before you wake up or lose lucidity? Use your time

wisely. There’s no need to dillydally by talking about the weather.

Ask the big questions, the ones you really crave the answers to.

Here are some questions you can start with:

• Excuse me, who are you?

• Why are you here?

• Is there something I can help you with?

• Would you like to show me something?

• What is your name?

• Do you represent something important?

• What should I do next in life?

• Where are we?

• Take me on an adventure!

• Can you sing me a song?

GOT A PROBLEM?

Seek out an expert. dream characters can be very useful guides in helping
solve some of our waking life challenges. have Albert einstein explain your
dissertation to you. Ask Thomas Jefferson to help you understand American
politics. Take a walk with your old grandpa or ask a stranger in the dream to
help you. you will be pleasantly surprised by the sort of information and insights
your dream characters provide.

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I notice a young woman not far away, dancing on the beach in

a kimono.

usually I wouldn’t care, but something felt odd about her, and I

got the sudden urge to investigate. I grab a handful of sand and

start walking toward her, slowly letting the sand escape from

my hand. . . . She has long dark brown hair, moving about as

she dances.

“hi!”

I don’t think she heard me. I have the odd sensation that I some-

how know her, but not really. I raise my voice:

“hello, friend!”

“oh, hello there!”

I wonder if she’s a fellow dreamer, but I’m not really sure how

to ask her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for inspiration for a story I’m writing.”

“I see. dreams are an awesome source of inspiration, aren’t they?”

She stops dancing and looks at me surprised.

“you’re a dreamer, aren’t you?”

“yes, I am!”

I want to ask her her name, but suddenly she says she’s found

something, takes off, and flies away. —JeFF Z.

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Dream Etiquette

Let’s talk about manners. We’ve been guilty ourselves of this

faux pas, but messing around or harassing dream characters is

not cool. Some people love to run around in their dreams, treating

the natives like playthings. A popular activity among lucid dream-

ers is to bluntly ask, “Do you know that you don’t really exist and

you’re in my dream?” Almost always, the native will look at you

like you’re bonkers or they’ll get highly offended—I’m not real?!

In a 2005 study at the Harvard Medical School participants

were asked the question “Do your dream characters feel something

toward you?” Participants said that 80 percent of the time they

sensed that the characters in their dreams felt something. So it’s

possible that these people have emotions just like anyone else. Do

as your mama taught you and treat others the way you want to be

treated. If these dream characters are a part of yourself, then that’s

exactly what you’re doing.

What Are Dream Characters?

While you’re conversing with the natives, you may start to

contemplate the bigger question: “What are dream charac-

ters?” You know that they’re not just cardboard cutouts, but might

they even have the faculties of thought, willpower, and autonomy?

Here are two possible answers to that head-scratcher.

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b
Projections of you?
No one knows exactly what and who

dream characters are. The most logical explanation is that

they spring from your subconscious mind; they are you. If the

dream world is the realm of your imagination, then the dream

characters grow out of your subconscious, as weeds grow from

the ground. That’s no reason to ignore them of course. If they

are a part of your mind, then theoretically they have access

to incredible amounts of knowledge and wisdom. Any intel-

ligence and resolve that your dream characters possess come

from the well of your subconscious. Ask a dream character

something personal, find an answer to an important life ques-

tion, or simply love them for who they are: YOU.

b
Independent beings?
Bear with us while we get a little “out

there.” Many lucid dreamers have witnessed the natives dis-

playing curious abilities and behaviors. Frequently some

characters act like intelligent, autonomous individuals, many

report. Personally, we thought this concept was a bit crazy until

we began to have similar experiences. Not all, but some dream

characters seemed “otherworldly” and completely conscious.

They possessed their own perspective, desires, and motivations

and had cognitive abilities. Sometimes these characters were

the ones asking the questions and teaching us, and they often

seemed sharper than anyone else in the dream world, as if they

were in focus while other dream characters were blurry.

Carl Jung ran into the bigger question when he met a wise

dream character named Philemon, who returned to him again

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