Dream Yoga Finds Guru Within

The purpose of dreaming is to awaken your relationship with your higher self. This approach to dreamwork is what characterizes the attitude of Swami Sivananda Radha in her new book on dreams, Realities of the Dreaming Mind (Timeless Books). It may seem unusual to see a book on dreams by a yogi, for we are accustomed to believing that the Hindu tradition has disdain for dreams as an aspect of maya or illusion. But the author, an active participant in the human potential movement and transpersonal studies as well as an initiate of the Hindu guru tradition, has brought together East and West, and integrated the devotion to the known and exploration of the unknown, in her teachings. As an example, she dedicates the book to Hugh Lynn Cayce and writes that it was this gentleman who introduced her to dreamwork. For a guru with a large following and an active ashram, she also humbles herself by sharing many of her own dreams in this book. It is easier to learn from her how to learn, because we learn from her how she herself learns.

If dreams are to be a path, a yoga, they must lead us. Thus topics such as dreams of self-knowledge, of guidance, of prophecy, of visions of past lives, of warning, of decision making must be part of our learning and are included in this book.

What about the guru? Swami Radha writes that she doesn’t share the common Hindu belief that one’s guru is always with the person. One can dream about one’s guru without it being the presence of that teacher. We can learn in our guru dreams what we have done to our teacher, whether we are turning that person into a saint or a police officer. Sometimes the guru in the dream is the personification of one’s higher self. As this higher self the guru may also reflect the presence of divine influence in the dream. Thus, there can be many levels to a dream, just as there are in waking life.

Dreams, like waking life, are fueled by desire. What is your desire? Like reflecting upon your ideal, by becoming aware of what desires are shaping your life and your dreams, you can harness this force for spiritual growth. The desire to have a relationship with the Divine can be granted in a dream. Focusing on Divine Light can manifest your desire for such a relationship. Focus on this light as you fall asleep.

More intense and concentrated practices of dream yoga exist and are described. They require that the sincerity, the concentration and the ability to manifest the intentions that one has developed during the daytime as a result of meditation practice be carried over into one’s sleep. "I can do it in my sleep!" would be the operating phrase for dream yoga. Sleep on your left side, for example, and breathe through the left nostril by keeping the right one closed. Be mindful of your affirmation or mantra about the light, such as the Divine Light Invocation, and visualize it as well as think about it as you fall asleep. Swami Radha recommends this type of intention-perseverance in dreaming rather than trying to program your dreams in a particular way, stating, "...you have to maintain your focus on the Divine and surrender to the wisdom within." She reminds us that we live in a physical body now, but when we die, we will live in our light body. We can prepare that body now, in our dreams. (Digest by Henry Reed)