Into The Spirit: Dreams 2

NIGHT JOURNEYS

We discussed in the previous post that for something to exist, it is natural and has a function it plays in nature; even if we don't understand it. The term "supernatural" is simply a label we give to something beyond our present level of understanding or world of reasoning.

There is much to our human anatomy that is not presently understood in our time. Yes, this is especially true of our "modern Christian world", which generally makes the error of disregarding or labelling as evil anything it does not understand.

I say "modern Christian world" because the ancient men knew, understood and lived what many would consider to be "supernatural lives". The term "supernatural" only exists in the comparison of two things. If something exists, it is natural; we just need to understand what nature is.

It does not matter if it is believed or not, the earth rotates on its axis. When our present geographical region in the planet begins to turn towards the sun, we experience what we call 'sunrise'. When it begins to turn away from the sun we say "the sun is setting".

This truth and fact of our world is not dependent on our beliefs. The reality we 'experience' might be dependent on our beliefs, yes, but reality in itself is not.

The sun will shine and continue to carry out its daily labours whether we believe it or not. Ours is to know the sun and understand what it is so we can learn how to work with it; it does not need our belief.

It does not matter if it is believed or not, every night that 'our body' goes to sleep, we, the soul, escape our fleshly shell and carry out activities in worlds or dimensions beyond this three dimensional region; even though many think this physical world is all there is.

This is a very natural and mechanical process, similar to the beating of our hearts or the metabolic processes in our intestines. It happens with or without our help; with or without our awareness; with or without our belief.

Upon the soul's return to the body, after its sojourn in other planes, the memory retained of the activities carried out and experiences garnered are what people call 'dreams'. There is however more to this topic and to that label that meets the eye.

Dreams, in a basic sense, can be defined as the memories of activities carried out 'unconsciously' or 'semi-consciously' in regions beyond the three dimensional plane.

For many of us who spend our waking moments caught up in fantasies and daydreams, so also would it be when we leave our bodies at night. We will simply continue what we were already doing whilst in our bodies; though unconscious of the fact that we in fact are outside our bodies.

When we fall asleep, our thoughts and imaginations become tangible and we interact with characters of our own creation; characters within our mind and emotion; characters that are completely illusory in nature.

On good days we dream of purple elephants and rainbow monkeys, on bad days unknown monsters pursue us and we wake up in a cold sweat.

Most of the time, all these characters are simply elements within our own mind and emotions; effigies we ourselves created with our thoughts and feelings. Sometimes however, it could be something outside of us.

When however, we begin to spend our waking moments in contemplation upon the Spirit, we begin to experience realities beyond the bubbles of our emotions and mind. We begin to experience what in the bible are called 'visions of the night'.

There are some who have these experiences and remember them upon waking, as if they watched a movie. There are others however who are truly conscious outside their bodies and partake in the activities in a fully alert manner. The entire book of Revelation is evidence of this.

'Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; ' Acts 18:9

'Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. ' Daniel 7:2

'Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.”' Genesis 46:2

A vision of the night can also be called a dream but for the sake of context, it's best to separate them to avoid confusion. It is best to explain what visions of the night are.

Most of us fall asleep and enter into the subtle dimensions of nature in a mechanical and unconscious manner. We do not know when we leave our physical bodies, we do not know what we did when we went out, we do not know when we return to our physical body.

We sleep and wake up with a blank in our memory. Sometimes we 'remember' fragments of things we engaged in and say 'I had a dream last night'. The truth is that this process occurs every time our physical body goes to sleep, whether we remember or not.

It is however possible to do these things in a conscious and voluntary manner. Thus, having complete control and awareness of one's choices and activities in those regions, as well as perfectly retaining memory of all activities and interactions in those planes.

The same way it is possible to breathe in a conscious and voluntary manner, even though our respiratory system functions with or without our awareness, is the same way one can deliberately go in and out of what some might call the 'dream world' at will.

The truth is that the term 'dream world' is not entirely accurate, seeing as there are many worlds and dimensions one can find themselves in after they fall asleep.

That we believe that the three dimensional plane is reality and every thing else is 'not real', does not mean that our ignorance will be respected by nature. If we believe that a grown lion in the wild is a puppy dog, and proceed to treat it as such, we might not live to repent of that mistake.

Our ignorance or awareness does not matter, nature remains what it is and would continue to do what it does with or without our awareness or belief; even if we are affected positively or negatively by it.

An ant does not comprehend the world of man and probably does not believe in it. Its lack of belief however does not stop the world of man from affecting the world of the ant.

The same is true with us, in relationship to worlds beyond this physical plane.

One's relationship with God takes a much more deeper turn when one starts to look inward, and see that the world within is much larger than the world without. For the sake of this topic, it's necessary we delve into aspects of the human anatomy that are not conventionally understood.

THE INNER ANATOMY

We all know of our five carnal senses, being: taste, sight, smell, hearing and touch. What however, about our ability to close our eyes, think of mother, and have her image appear?

Where and how does she appear? We say "it is imagination" but what is imagination and where is it?

We say "I feel happy", "I feel sad" but where is this feeling taking place and 'how' are we feeling these things?

Surely we can 'express' our feelings with our physical body, through gestures and speech but 'where' are these feelings and thoughts actually taking place?

When we go to sleep and 'have a dream', we hear, see, taste, touch and smell; this is true. Have we however asked how we are able to use these five senses without our physical body?

When we think, we are able to 'hear' a voice in our 'head', even if our ears are clogged or we are physically deaf. How?

It is important these questions serve as a premise before we gradually delve deeper into this subject, seeing as the things that would be said henceforth might be considered 'exotic' to some readers.

A 'body', we can say, is a 'device' that first and foremost has bounds and parameters, is an expression of its environment and is able to assimilate into itself things from that environment and 'process' them for its maintenance or improvement.

Our physical body has bounds and parameters, it is also an expression of this planet, atmosphere and dimension; we know this. This is why the physical body is maintained and improved with elements from this planet, atmosphere and dimension.

If this physical body was dropped on Mars, it will surely perish because they do not share the same constitution.

No matter how much you 'feed' a person with emotional energy such as love or hatred, if their physical body does not consume the energy or food that pertains to its constitution it will perish.

A body must consume the fuel that pertains to its nature, in order for it to function effectively. Kerosene is not poured into a car, neither is diesel poured into a plane.

No matter how much one feeds the physical body, if the emotions, mind and soul are not fed with the food that pertains to their world and constitution they will perish. Jesus said:

'But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. ' John 4:32,34

You see, Jesus meant exactly what he said here in the most literal sense. Though the concept of 'literal' for him, who is conscious and simultaneously active in multiple realms, is very different from someone who is only aware of life in his flesh.

There is food for the body, food for the emotions, food for the mind and food for the soul.

As the physical body can be overloaded with food or drained of food, so also can we be emotionally and mentally overloaded or drained.

As the physical body can be exhausted and become in need of fresh vitality, so also can we be emotionally and mentally exhausted; needing fresh vitality.

As the physical body can be poisoned with bad food, so also can the emotions and mind be poisoned with bad food. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are not physical ailments but ailments of the emotions and mind.

How come our emotional and mental centres perform similar functions to the physical body?

This is because our emotions and our mind are just as much a body as our physical one. Each of the bodies are made up of the same material of the world in which they function in.

Each of the bodies are subject to the laws of the world in which they function in. Each of the bodies can be utilized like the physical body in the world they function. There is nothing spectacular about this, this is what ought to be natural for a human being.

As our physical bodies are made up of atoms and particles of planet earth and this three dimensional region, so also are our emotions and minds made up of the atoms and particles of the emotional and mental planes.

For one to dwell in a particular country, one needs the passport or green card of that country. This principle also applies to the regions of the emotions, mind, soul and spirit. The passport is the 'body' or vehicle which corresponds to those regions.

Even though many may not know it and many may not believe it, a human being possesses more than one body and is capable of functioning in the different 'garments' it possesses. This phenomenon is achieved every night in an involuntary manner, just like our heart beat.

It is however possible to seize control of this involuntary process and achieve this feat voluntarily and consciously. This is how many saints acquire direct knowledge and teachings from God.

Our first evidence of this is our ability to use the five cardinal senses in the world of dreams without the physical body. Paul said:

'I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. '

II Corinthians 12:2

Out of body experience

How was he 'caught up' to experience things so vivid, that he did not know if he was 'within' his physical body or without it? That he hints the possibility of being caught up in or out of his body is a clue that tells us that 'we are not our body, we are IN it'.

The physical body is not the only vehicle we possess. It is called a vehicle because we, the soul, use bodies to move about and acquire experiences in worlds that pertain to them. These are not things to be 'accepted' or 'rejected', these are things to be understood.

Every night when we fall asleep, we use these bodies to move around and interact on the different planes of nature called 'heavens'; even though majority do this unconsciously.

They are called 'heavens' because they are regions above this physical plane. The word 'heaven' is in reference to the physical sky, but the ancient men used the physical sky 'above' as a symbol to describe dimensions 'above' ours.

We must understand that earthly things are used to describe the heavenly; tangible things are used to describe the intangible. That we know what a heavenly dimension is "like", does not mean we know what it is; only by truly experiencing a thing can it be known.

Many think that any dimension above the physical plane is automatically a paradise, free of all evil personalities, but this is not true; only beyond the region of the soul does that exist.

The dimensions of the emotions and mind are filled with many angels as well as demons, as well as creatures that would surprise the modern man. I speak from that which I have seen and lived firsthand, these are not things I 'believe' in.

Many people even think that there is only one dimension or one heaven above us but Genesis 1 clearly states:

'In the beginning God created the HEAVENS and the earth. ' Genesis 1:1 1

The truth is, every human being exists on 7 dimensions. This is why the number 7 occurs incessantly throughout the bible and many other scriptures. Every human being has 7 layers and the work of transformation, death and rebirth must happen on each one of those layers.

This is the reason why man was made in 7 days; this is the reason why the Israelites had to defeat 7 nations who were occupying their promised land, before they could build the temple. This is why all the 7 churches in revelation had to be cleansed.

All these pertain to internal realities but because we are on the subject of dreams, we will focus on the layers which we call 'emotional' and 'mental'; seeing as majority of dreams occur within these regions.

There are many names for these regions in many religions and cultures. Some call it the 5th dimension, dream world, astral plane and many other things. A label is one thing, a reality however is another. We are here talking about realities, whatever we choose to call them is our business.

We know that our emotions are a 'body' because our emotions are not boundless, they exist up to a point; our emotions have a framework and set parameters and bounds.

The fact that metabolic and digestive processes occur in our emotions and mind proves beyond any doubt that they are indeed 'systems' and 'organizations' of their own.

Just like the physical body, the body of our mind and emotions can grow and expand. This is evidenced in the fact that as adults, we are able to process or digest experiences much quicker than we did as children.

Things that pushed us to our emotional limits are now 'too small' to achieve the same effect.

If the same things that made us emotionally or mentally overloaded five years ago still achieve the same effect in us today, then it is obvious we have not grown in those areas. Mentally or emotionally we have become stagnant and need to expand.

Once upon a time, learning the times table pushed us to our mental limits but now multiplication is "child's play" compared to the things that push us to our mental limits today.

All these that we have expressed is to help us 'intellectually' grasp the concept of our emotions and minds being bodies in themselves; seeing as they tick all the criteria that make up the definition of a body.

This however is just the beginning and as we proceed, we will soon understand why it is absolutely necessary these things are first explained before venturing deeper into the subject of dreams.

It is something undeniable that life exists on multiple dimensions. Our ability to think and feel is our first evidence of that but there is so much more.

When the physical body falls asleep, we, in an unconscious manner, temporarily discard our physical 'garment' and travel around in the other 'clothes' we possess.

'But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. ' Matthew 12:25

When Jesus exhibited the ability to read the minds of people around him, it was because he was conscious and active in the mental and physical worlds simultaneously. We humans of this era think that our thoughts are 'hidden' but this is an illusion.

It is only hidden from people who are unconscious to the mental world. In that world, nothing is hidden; all thoughts are clear for all to see.

On the mental plane, our thoughts take shape and form and appear around us like figurines. If we are thinking of harming someone, on the mental plane, the scene of harming them will take shape around us like a movie and our thoughts of harming them will actually reach them.

The degree of harm will however depend on how much energy we are able to devote to that malicious thought. This is why Jesus said a man who lusts after a woman in his heart has already fornicated with her. It is not a figurative statement, it is factual and true of the mental plane.

This is why we must be very careful with our thoughts and feelings, especially when we are growing in intimacy and power with the Holy Spirit. Our thoughts and feelings become more potent and can do much good or much evil.

As a gymnastic instructor can teach us how to bend and use our physical bodies in sophisticated ways, so also does the Holy Spirit teach us how to use our minds and emotions in more sophisticated ways. As the physical body can perform wonders if it is trained, even more so the bodies of the emotions and mind.

When our physical body falls asleep, we automatically eject from it and become conscious in the world of the emotions, mind, soul, spirit or beyond. It does not matter if we believe it or not.

This is a biological and involuntary process that happens with every human being, even if they do not retain their memories of their journeys when they wake up in the morning.

For the physical body to recharge itself, the soul must temporarily eject from it during the hours of sleep. The reason why a sleeping person is not aware of what transpires in his/her immediate physical environment is because THEY ARE NOT THERE.

The moment our attention or consciousness is in region A, it seizes to be in region B and vice versa. Only highly developed individuals are able to be conscious in multiple places simultaneously. This is called "omnipresence" or the power of ubiquity.

Once the physical body falls asleep, the soul escapes that garment and continues its business within the other clothes it possesses. It becomes conscious in the subtle regions of nature.

If this does not happen then the body cannot recharge itself. When a body is not recharged, all manners of chemical imbalances take place within it; sickness becomes inevitable. The body must sleep and for it to do so, the soul must temporarily eject from it.

This is how God designed it, ours is to understand this design.

Once ejected, like a sleep walker, most of us go around in those regions, completely unaware that we are outside our physical bodies; ignorantly moving around as though we are in the physical world, eating the same foods and drinking the same drinks.

Sometimes we even go to visit our friends and have the same conversations, not realizing we are out of our physical bodies. Sometimes we are actually interacting with our friends in those regions, other times we are interacting with the 'images' of our friends which we have created in our minds.

This happens because even whilst in our physical bodies, we are completely engrossed in our imaginations and fantasies. We physically stand in front of people but mentally we probably are dreaming of someone who offended us, or imagining having a million dollars.

The reason why we "zone out" and lose complete awareness of what transpires in our immediate environment is because for a moment, our attention seizes to be present in that room and become present in our imaginations.

Wherever our attention is, so are we; our physical bodies may be in a room but "we", are elsewhere.

The reality of this phenomenon becomes more tangible once we leave our bodies, our imagination literally becomes the world we experience in those regions. We become "deceived" by our own fantasies, swimming in a "phantasmagoria".

The truth is that even if we are physically present in a room, most times we are living inside of our imaginations and perceiving everything around us through what we are feeling or thinking.

Hardly do we see a person for who they truly are or experience a circumstance for what it truly is. We are always judging and labelling things according to our understanding; never seeing things for what they actually are.

We spend our day to day living in daydreams and fantasies, unable to perpetually pay attention to one thing. When we leave our bodies, we continue in these daydreams; except that these daydreams become tangible and 'seemingly real' to us in those regions.

This is why it is very hard for people to know they were dreaming until they "wake up". Up until the point when they returned to their bodies, they truly believed what was happening was real.

In that world, every feeling is a place and every thought is a thing. Our thoughts and feelings take shape, and the reality of the mental and emotional interactions that take place within us on a day to day become tangible.

Seeing as majority of dreams are built upon characters within our emotions and mind, no dream is useless; seeing as within each dream lies a reality of our heart, mind and spiritual development.

Learning how to study one's dreams is absolutely crucial in life. Those who think this aspect of life is not to be regarded are severely ignorant. Studying one's dreams is really just the beginning.

In those worlds, all manners of scenarios can be simulated and in our reaction to those scenarios the true nature of our hearts become clear.

There are many people who are kind on the physical plane, but wake up from a dream where they were inflicting great harm on a person for this or that reason.

For a dream like that to occur means that such an element exists within that person, such a person must introspect and ask God to help him/her terminate that nature.

The worlds beyond the physical plane are less dense, which make those regions very subtle and poetic. Most things are communicated through symbols and dramas, things are not as literal as they appear even though they can be.

I am right now reminded of Pharaoh's dream of 7 fat and skinny cows. Many failed in interpreting this symbol because they failed to see the reality behind it, it took the help of God for Joseph to see and accurately interpret this reality.

Often times, God gives us direct messages by infiltrating our dream bubbles or by lifting us up to higher planes after we fall asleep. This subject however deserves singular focus and would be reserved for the next chapter.

Most dreams occur in the regions of the emotions and the mind and it is not only possible to become aware that one is within a dream, it is also possible to break out of whatever imaginative simulation we are experiencing and investigate that dimension for ourselves.

It is in those planes that one is able to sit and discuss with their inner Christ or many angels face to face. It is in those planes that one can receive direct teachings and guidance from one's inner father, as well as other saints who are very advanced in their development.

There are many divine schools and colleges in those regions and the mysteries of God are taught to those who are considered worthy. Even though this might sound incredible, this is a daily reality for many. It is perfectly normal, it is not supernatural in any way.

Just like all things in life, the worlds of the emotions and the mind have their superior and inferior regions.

There are places swarmed with divine beings and there are places swarmed with truly sinister creatures; to say otherwise would be absurd. The forest has deers and bunnies but it also has leopards and tigers.

We however have to become more aware of these things, seeing as they are as real as this physical world which we live. The human being is not limited to a life in this gross material body. To become more aware of who we are and the world we live in is not 'supernatural', it really is natural and fear and skepticism must be discarded.

In the next chapter we shall delve much more into this topic of dreams, in relationship to our spiritual walk with God and growth.

Selah.