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Stephen! I am terribly sorry to respond so late (the divorce has been harder than I expected). Though I am comforted in the words of one of our first communiques about the meandering and slow pace of the forum. In any event, please pardon my tardiness.
I wish I had more to offer to your question about what might be at work other than the clumsy and bumbling words that follow. Well, it is a curious thing, this matter of timing and consciousness. I suppose as most people grow older there comes a certain suspicion of invisible powers beyond the veil viaing for influence in this realm of ours, which may crystallize for some into certainty, not withstanding the empiricism of our modern era.
And perhaps there is something to dates and numbers through which those invisible powers exert their influences upon us. The whole thing is rather mysterious to me, but I find that in researching and learning about matters such as these, often reading between the lines harvests just as much, if not more knowledge, than what is often communicated directly. Perhaps it has to be this way for some unknown reason. It has been said that the Gods delight in hints and clues, but never explicitly convey their knowledge. Perhaps there’s something to that.
The whole thing is rather ineffable and leaves one committed to discovering the truth of these matters with no choice but to make their determinations and conclusions based on their own experiences and results, whatever they may be. Still though, many find that there is a certain alignment and thematic thread with these experiences, and the knowledge and wisdoms found in ancient mythology and religions, which does provide a certain level of validation and confirmation, however old and antiquated and out of alignment those things may be with modern fashions.
And Mars, as to your excellent question, yes, I do believe you’ve hit the matter on the head! Awareness and consciousness are at the very center of these ineffable mysteries – how deflating it is to say how little we truly know about them and their true nature. Still though, I find one of the most significant hints for me in this regard comes from quantum mechanics and the double slit experiment in which the presence of an observer determines whether a photon manifests as a particle or wave. Talk about an identity crisis!
Joking aside though, yes, I do think there is certianly something to the idea that something “clicks into place,” as it were, when consciousness becomes aware of certain things, and that perhaps combined with a power of intention, or of asking, in sequence with ancient timings, makes for the fortuitous planting of seeds for whatever desired experiences, or outcomese, whether dreams or otherwise. Maybe it is that prayer, fasting, meditation and other practices on the equinoxes helps manifest whatever one is attempting to bring about, however much such a notion is at odds with more current ways of understanding our world. I don’t know. Nevertheless, the whole thing is indeed a rather fascinating puzzle, to be alive in the world, and to dig into matters such as these.
Oh, and Mars, please pardon my ignorance, what does vv refer to?
For it is only in questioning the things we have been presented with as being the most basic and fundamental of truths, that we can ever hope to uncover it.
One meaningful observation I have made is that my dreams tend to be more intense and vivid on nights of 20ths – 22nds, and if I fast on these dates, that really seems to turbo-charge them even more.
Another aspect that’s important when it comes to astrology is one’s perception of the shape of the earth. If we’re living under a dome, with stars in fixed postions in a firmament rotating above us, like a grand clock, astrology takes on much deeper meaning, whereas if we’re on a planet that’s the result of a random “big-bang,” this makes astrology seem less important and credible.
The shape of the earth is, curiously, something Campbell devoted quite a lot of pictures to in Hero, as well as the repeated pharse, “the world navel.” It has always struck me as interesting, the number of images in the book that portary the shape of the earth. For example, figures 8, 59, 60, 66, from different parts of the earth, from a time when people were supposedly unable to communicate with each other, all convey an identical conception of the earth’s shape, which could not be more of a juxtaposition to the final figure of the book, number 84, on the last page. Interesting, isn’t it?
To my mind, living under a dome on an essentially flat plane, would imply a sort of intelligent creation, which would absolutely make astrology more of a focal point of life, and the timing of various critical activities – conception, farming, spiritual and religious practices – of the utmost importance. Whereas, living on a planet, naturally astrology moves to the background in favor of prevailing cultural values and perceptions.
For it is only in questioning the things we have been presented with as being the most basic and fundamental of truths, that we can ever hope to uncover it.
Hi Stephen,
Thank you for the warm welcome, and for adjusting the link; I agree that will make it much more convenient.
I completely agree with you, dreams, whether lucid or not, are such powerful and mysterious experiences, often giving us sprinkles of hints of the future that only make sense once they have come to pass, for example, as with your dream of the hotel balcony. Sometimes, I will have a dream and it is only years later, when re-reading the journal, that I make a connection, or connect the dots, as Steve Jobs put it. This gets into all sorts of fascinating questions about the nature of consciousness and time itself.
One of my own most important lessons, back when I was following a strict lucid dream induction practice, was allowing “the dream to unfold on its own,” as you so aptly put it. I think for many people new to lucid dreaming, as I was at that time, the will comes to the forefront of the lucid dreaming experience, experiencing that power and control is exhilarating, especially at the beginning. But you’re right – dreams contain messages, usually in the forms of images, symbols and story, and when we impress the will too deeply upon the dream, we run the risk of losing that message. Certainly, we can conclude that there is an intelligence, a consciousness, behind our dreams. Is that a part of us, our sub/unconscious mind? Or is it external to us, for example, as displayed in one of my favorite paintings, the Annunciation of Saint Emidius, somehow beaming dreams down to us, as in the painting? These are big questions.
In any event, over time, I have come to see that the deepest joys of lucid dreaming come not from will and power, but connecting and co-creating with that mysterious presence, and not overdoing it – we need non-lucid dreams in order to receive those messages in their most pure, unadulterated form, untouched by the creative force of lucidity, in order the gain the most from their guidance.
Anyway, I am sorry, I’ve rambled on so much! I suppose it’s inevitable when it comes to matters such as these, so close to the heart.
For it is only in questioning the things we have been presented with as being the most basic and fundamental of truths, that we can ever hope to uncover it.
