Hypnagogia

I’ve been working on this particular blog entry for a little over two weeks. I’ve been exploring the topic of “hypnagogia” for a very long time; but recently DEB informed me that it was the “in thing these days” and that people were using this “dream technique” to practice shape shifting. For starters hypnagogia isn’t so much as a dream technique as it is a step in the process of dreaming. As for being helpful in shape shifting – I find the idea fascinating; but I remain somewhat skeptical towards the hopeful, expected end results.

Have you ever heard of hypnagogia?

It refers to the moment just before you fall asleep. If you pay attention you’ll notice that just as you are about to fall asleep the mind randomly feeds us with a series of images, colors and sounds. I’ve even notice different flavors as well. Basically it refers to when the mind is shutting down; getting ready for sleep; and literally empties itself of all kinds of impressions. I’ve practiced hypnagogia for over 30 years, mostly because I like the experience, and because I’ve always been incredibly curious and fascinated with the fact that my mind and my body can produce an lucid illusion of reality with the memory of it.

How do you practice hypnagogia? It is simple, all you have to do is relax, and allow the mind and body to do their thing… I basically sit at the rear of my consciousness and watch. I can do this for almost 20 minutes, just be a witness to the brain’s cleansing process.

I often watch the hypnagogic slideshow of faces and events with fascination. I’ve always wondered where does the mind find these images because for me many of them are unknown? Were the faces from people I absentmindedly crossed at the supermarket, or corner street during the day? How much is stored away; why is my brain remembering it; and is it useful in the end? I have so many more questions on the topic… Yet, one thing is for sure many of my dreams are often created with the help of this collection of sounds, colors, sights, flavors etc… There’s a genius behind the details, a producer / director who brings the pieces together and creates a story that always conveys the exact message I need to hear.

Scientists explain the phenomenon of hypnagogia through the discovery of small crystal, which exist in the cells of the brain. These crystals create a magnetic moment where we can suddenly sense energy fields. It would explain our intuition and many other paranormal experiences. Scientists suggest that our pituitary and pineal glands use knowledge from the Earth’s magnetic force to regulate the hormones released in our brain. Where elders and Medicine People have been saying for millenniums that “we are impacted by nature and the stars” – the scientists are just now confirming it. What is unfortunate is just as we are discovering how much of an impact the Earth has on us our Planet is sending the message that it’s in trouble. If the earth begins to struggle there’s no doubt that we will too.

I’ve been researching this topic for a very long time because I’ve always had strong “paranormal skills.” In childhood it was awful. I often called it a “curse.” I felt incredibly different in comparison to others and to be honest, there wasn’t any support or resources in order to deal with some of the experiences I went through. Modern society is extremely judgmental and cynical when it comes to psi-abilities. Ironically it was scientific findings, which helped me deal with what I was living. For example, I discovered that children do show higher paranormal skills in comparison to adults because they have a higher concentration of beta-carbolines in the pineal gland. Obviously I must have been producing more than average person… I’ve noticed that with age the skills have subsided or evened out (so to speak), which makes sense because beta-carbolines decrease with age. For me this is where magic and science connected and made sense.

Another good example is in relation to melatonin and pinonline (hormones), which are produced at night and are said to trigger dreaming. As someone who can remember dreams dating back to infancy this kind of knowledge has been incredibly valuable. It helps to understand that our human physical body similarly to plants produces its own hallucinogen. We have what it needs to be telepathic, clairvoyant, and lucid dreamers, it’s a simple matter of accessing it. Some people will approach Shamans, Medicine People and plants to trigger their body’s potential.

MA shared her story with me recently and I thought it fit right into this topic. Here’s what she writes.

“I was taken to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon and on Thursday I had surgery to remove my gallbladder. As I lay drifting in and out I found myself standing in the desert and I watched as shapes in the sand made their way towards me. First came a wolf, followed by a slightly chubby eagle and then, a large shark, which kept shifting from looking like a “proper” shark into a cute cartoon. The wolf was patient as the eagle and the shark made me laugh and laugh… They flowed on and I saw my husband’s face clearly pouring love towards my surgical wounds. All four of them flowed in front of my consciousness like a river in the sand...”

I was pretty amazed when I received her message because it was a perfect example of hypnagogia, synchronic obviously to the blog entry I had been writing for a while. I was impressed with the fact that the totems she mentions are mine, G’s and J’s. I can vouch for a fact that both G and J are great healers combined with my dreaming skills – it can bring great healing to the dreaming. The rest of her message shows countless words of appreciation showing that she had already identified each of us and the role we played in her inner world. Again, isn’t it incredible the way the body recognizes, associates and remembers? What I found most impressive was how she unconsciously (so to speak) identified at the end of her hypnagogic session the actual presence of the crystals in her brain. She writes “all four of them flowed in front of my consciousness like a river of sand.” In fact, the pituitary gland produces secretions which scientists have named “brain sand,” and it is these secretions which act as crystals in order for us to receive information from our environment.

There’s no doubt that MA journeyed into the supernatural after her surgery. Her vision and dream no doubt gives her all of the necessary information for her to heal, learn and grow through this latest event in her life. I have countless paranormal experiences which are connected to my hypnagogia sessions.

Do you?

P.S. Notice that the picture is of ME sleeping with my dogs (Murfle and Bella). I've come to notice through the years that sleeping with others (humans or animals) has an impact on my dreams. I've had to even find ways to denote my dreaming territory as to not always be dreaming the reality of others. Obviously that's a topic for another blog entry.