Sometimes waking up (in the dream) is hard to do

During a spell when I was having trouble getting lucid in my dreams (knowing I was dreaming while I was dreaming), I experienced some fun “misses”. Twice I was in a dark room and tried to turn on a light, but the lights didn’t work.

Lights not working is one of my signs that alert my sleeping mind that I’m dreaming, and if I’m aware enough I can use this as an invitation to get lucid. But in both cases I just rued the broken lights and kept dreaming. Another lucid opportunity lost.

Finally, during a mundane dream of walking through a 1970s-era split level house I realized I was dreaming. Though I often use an unusual occurrence (such as the lights not working) or object to spark lucidity, in this case there was nothing in the bland environment to prompt lucidity–but I realized I was dreaming, nonetheless.

I managed to remember to try all the things I’d learned from my studies with lucid dream expert and author Robert Waggoner over the years. Waggoner often suggests rubbing one’s hands together to stabilize the dream environment, then asking the awareness behind the dream to show me “What I needed to see now for my greatest good.”

I spun around within the dream with my eyes closed  and said, “When I open my eyes I’ll see what I need to see … ”

I “saw” a drawing of a heart. I smiled. “Of course, love.” Then another heart was “drawn” inside the big heart. My smile grew. “Lots of love.” Then an owl was drawn beside the heart. “Wisdom,” I thought, when I saw the owl.

When I woke the next day I saw owls everywhere (in drawings on billboards and signs, etc….). Then I visited a friend in another city and accepted her invitation to spend the night rather than drive home in the dark. Right across from the “guest bed” outside the window on the neighbor’s terrace was a statuette of a tall owl, staring right at me.

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Recently, the owl returned to my dreams, flying right through a window in a dreamy hotel. So, in her honor I am sharing this post, so you too can enjoy some dreamy wisdom–and hopefully wake up to more lucidity–or clarity–in your dreams and waking life.

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International Owl Day is August 4th! Celebrate the Owl and the wisdom and magic these birds of mysterious beauty hold for you!

FOR MORE SOURCES OF DREAM WISDOM …