/fringe/ - Fringe

Sorceric Dreaming Thread

The purge of infinifringe has finally prompted me to create a thread on this topic. I am not claiming to be an expert on any of the information herein, but I have been travelling down this particular tangent (among others) for some time and gained substantial results. Enough, in my opinion, to warrant sharing this with others. Look at this more of a very basic introduction of sorts. I figure that if this thread points just one person further down their own path, then it will have been worthwhile.

This is NOT a dream interpretation thread. Dream interpretations have their own thread. Please post there instead.

So, what is Sorceric Dreaming?

Sorceric Dreaming techniques are based on the writings of Carlos Castaneda, especially in his book The Art of Dreaming. This is not a discussion about Castaneda's character and what he chose to do with his life, but rather the information that he puts forth. I'm going to use some pretty basic terminology in these first few posts just to get a general message across and hope that I convey it accurately. Planar mechanics and occult theory as they relate to other systems of thought can come later.

Sorceric Dreaming allows sorcerors to develop their dreaming energy body by crossing certain thresholds or 'gates'. It utilises lucid dreaming; lucidity here meaning when one is consciously and presently aware that they are dreaming. As the sorceror gains control over their dreaming body, they become able to enter what I going to very tentatively refer to as astral-dream space. I hear the word 'astral' used in so many different systems for so many different planar experiences that I feel like it is an obfuscating term more than anything, but hopefully it gets the message across.

"Sorcery is the act of embodying some specialized theoretical and practical premises about the nature and role of perception in molding the universe around us.

Our world is only one in a cluster of consecutive worlds, arranged like the layers of an onion. Even though we have been energetically conditioned to perceive solely our world, we still have the capability of entering into those other realms, which are as real, unique, absolute, and engulfing as our own world is.

For us to perceive those other realms, not only do we have to covet them but we need to have sufficient energy to seize them. Their existence is constant and independent of our awareness, but their inaccessibility is entirely a consequence of our energetic conditioning. In other words, simply and solely because of that conditioning, we are compelled to assume that the world of daily life is the one and only possible world.

Believing that our energetic conditioning is correctable, sorcerers of ancient times developed a set of practices designed to recondition our energetic capabilities to perceive. They called this set of practices the art of dreaming. It's the gateway to infinity.

Through dreaming we can perceive other worlds, which we can certainly describe, but we can't describe what makes us perceive them. Yet we can feel how dreaming opens up those other realms. Dreaming seems to be a sensation–a process in our bodies, an awareness in our minds.

Dreaming instruction is divided into two parts. One is about dreaming procedures, the other about the purely abstract explanations of these procedures: an interplay between enticing one's intellectual curiosity with the abstract principles of dreaming and guiding one to seek an outlet in its practices."

- The Art of Dreaming

The 7 Gates of Dreaming

These are also known as the 7 Obstacles of Awareness. Don Juan, Casteneda's teacher, describes setting up Dreaming as the first step to Power. The Gates of Dreaming, when crossed, mark changes in the utilisation of our energy bodies. They must be crossed in order. It is possible the have dreams which are similar to experiences one might expect from later gates before one has reached that point in development, but these do not constitute crossing that gate.

There are several components to each gate. There are the experiences of reaching a gate, the practical method one utilises to develop the energy body in order to cross the gate, and then the actual crossing itself.

The First Gate of Dreaming

To cross the First Gate only requires that one become lucid in their dreams. Don Juan recommends that Castaneda look for his hands while dreaming, hoping to trigger this event. He also tells him to intend to become aware of falling asleep. When one becomes lucid, they engage their dreaming attention.

There are many ways to go about achieving lucidity, and the internet is full of many different recommendations. What works for you might not work for somebody else. A few common practices involve doing reality checks at regular intervals throughout the course of the day with the assistance of a watch alarm, or when a certain trigger event occurs (ie. every time I walk through a doorway I will look at my hands). Reality checks are just designed to test whether you are dreaming or awake in the physical, such as pushing your fingers through your hand or balancing on your heels to test the gravity. The reality checks, however, are not the important part; it is the intent to become aware.

Wake-Induced Lucid Dreaming is also a possible method. This involves holding onto your conscious awareness while your body falls asleep and then transitioning straight into a REM cycle. You retain your lucidity when entering the dream.

I've found that nightmares make excellent triggers for lucidity. When confronted by a fear, it is felt by the energy body as well. One need only use the fear as a grip to draw their conscious awareness into the dream in order to confront the fear. Sorcerors are sober of mind, and fear is intoxication. Once lucid within the nightmare, one is presented with an excellent opportunity to control and bend the dream to their own will, or choose to wake up into the physical world.

Once one achieves lucidity, there are a few exercises that are optional that one can perform. Practise exercising control over the dream space; creating and changing objects, people, set-pieces. I also recommend practicing to achieve stability and cohesion of the Assemblage Point (which I will talk about in the next post). To do this, one can examine their hands and then use that as a point of departure, looking at other items that they find around them, and then returning to their hands again. Do not be alarmed if your hands look quite strange (same goes for any reflections you may see). I've also found sitting down to meditate within the dream space for some time to stabilise the environment and my own perception of it. Don Juan advises Castaneda to use the 'twin positions', where upon achieving lucidity, one lies down within the dream to go to asleep and 'wakes up' into the dream again.

The Assemblage Point

Don Juan tells Castaneda that the universe is comprised of the flow of energy, and that by opening the gates of dreaming, he is allowing the energy to flow in a different manner. He says that the ancient sorcerors, after learning how to see energy directly, described the energy bodies of people as luminous eggs. Moreover, everyone had a point like a tennis ball about a foot behind their shoulders which they called the Assemblage Point. They saw the universe as multitudes of fibres of energy, and the fibres which passed through this point dictated the perception of the individual.

The Assemblage Point could also move from its position. When the position changes to one that is still within the luminous egg it is described as a 'shift' and produces minute changes of perception, sometimes unnoticeable. When it changes to a position outside of the luminous egg, thereby stretching it, it is described as a 'movement'. The experience of other worlds and non-human perception lies in the movements of the AP. By utilising our will to focus on objects or change dreams within dreaming, we are developing our ability to be chohesive, or to maintain a new position of the AP. Dreaming is the art of changing the position of the Assemblage Point. Stalking is the art of holding it in place.

Stopping the Internal Dialogue and Recapitulation

When we intend to stop the internal dialogue, the stream of thoughts or chattering mind, we are actually shifting the Assemblage Point, and therefore, practicing dreaming. That is, practicing changing the position of the AP. We are diverting energy that was being expended by our minds to validate their own existence and maintain their sense of reality to be utilised elsewhere. This practice stacks, the more often we do it, the better. We have a limited amount of energy at our disposal to be used, and to progress in dreaming, we need to make use of everything we can. Stopping the internal dialogue also has the benefit of helping us understand that we are not our thoughts, which is important to understand for later on, and something that anyone who has engaged in meditation can also tell you.

Recapitulation is another method of redeploying energy from our lives to be used for dreaming. It is quite more rigorous and involves recreating every moment from our past and then withdrawing the energy from it, accompanied by a series of breaths. Don Juan recommends that Carlos make a list of all the people he has ever met in his life, grouped into themes or locations, and then go back through them and relive every experience he has ever had with them. The physical details of each setting are built up in the mind, followed by the interaction with this person, and then the examination of one's own feelings at the time. This is accompanied by rhythmical breathing; the head is moved slowly from right to left while exhaling, and then back from left to right while inhaling. He describes this process as regurgitating our lives. Average people lack volition in dreams because they are loaded down with heavy emotions likes fears or hopes. Recapitulation helps end self-importance and dependence on our pasts for existential validation or a sense of self. The more we are able to release, the more airborne we become. Yes, it is tedious, but also worthwhile.

Inorganic Beings

Don Juan tells Castaneda that just as humans are considered organic beings, there exist in this universe other entities unlike humans, which he calls inorganic beings. They exist in a parallel world to our own and are our closest relatives in this universe. There are many parallels from other cultures that describe these beings; the djinn of Arabia, or the sidhe of British Isles among them. I can assure you that they are very real. They are natural dreamers and expert projectionists. They are able to create dreamworlds and objects with ease. When we see them in dreaming, the visuals of their body of choice may seem clear, but they are projections also. Just because you think you see them, does not mean you are actually looking at them. And don't always expect them to take on the same appearance every time. When we share a dream space with them, we are actually in their dream, they are not in ours (except sometimes in the case of Allies). Their dreaming attention is so strong that they automatically dominate the scene, but also grants us a nice boost of awareness. I find it far easier to become lucid and cohesive in the dreams of inorganics than on my own. They can also have a very hypnotic quality about them, mesmerising us into following their own little dream-plots that they create for our amusement. This is so they can take our energy without giving any in return. Be wary of plots that feed directly into your egomania when they are present.

The Inorganic Beings have very different energy bodies to our own, appearing more like thin sticks than orbs. Castaneda describes much of what he learns about them in the Art of Dreaming. They exist together in a space known as the Labyrinth of Penumbra, a place which it is indeed possible to visit. It appears as a sponge-like structure, filled with hollow tunnels branching out in all directions. The tunnels themselves are inorganic beings, as are the smaller scouts that live within them, existing as a co-dependent megastructure. Here, they offer to teach Carlos many things, tempting him with all the knowledge he could ever desire, but he is warned by Don Juan that the inorganics like to trap people here. They promise sorcerers many gifts, in return hoping that they will voice their intent to stay with the inorganics forever. This is a no take-back situation. We're all occultists here, making rash deals with alien entities is never regarded as a smart move.

The inorganics can be employed as allies, sorcerer's assistants. Some people find the inorganics to be very friendly and eager to be of help. Others are plagued and terrorised by them. They are individuals, just like us, but have existed for far longer than we can begin to imagine. They can be startlingly different to us, we are from different worlds. It is best to demonstrate sobriety and resolute intent while in their presence. They see us as children, and will not respect us unless we are able to show that we are worth respecting as equals.

Sorcerers may also access a force known as the Dreaming Emissary. It is often perceived as a voice, and tells one things about sorcery, but only that which it was already in their capacity to know. It can be addressed in dreaming, and cross into the waking world as well. It originates in the inorganic realm, and many experience this entity differently, as with the disposition of all inorganics.

Foreign Energy Scouts

As the sorceror goes through their dreaming practices, they may come across times where foreign energy scouts enter their dream space. These are scouts from alien worlds and often appear as irregular or incongruent objects in our dream scenes. As time goes on, dreamers often find that their dreams become more orderly and without quite so much of the bizarreness that people often talk about when referencing ordinary dreams. Scouts visit them less frequently, but this means that they are also now more noticeable.

The Second Gate of Dreaming

This is where things start to get really interesting. Don Juan tells Carlos that one reaches the Second Gate when one is able to change dreams at will in an orderly and precise manner. He gives him the drill of learning how to wake up from one dream into another in order to teach him this, but Carlos is able to do so without following his advice. Another drill example is to use objects to trigger a scene change. The drill is just a prompt to assist us in our endeavours. The First Gate is about entering into the dreaming energy body; at the Second Gate is the energy body that is learning how to move. The Art of Dreaming is about perfecting and completing the energy body so that it can be fully utilised by a sorceror.

To actually cross this gate one must isolate and follow a foreign energy scout. It involes a movement of the assemblage point, but we do not have to be the one to move it ourselves, the inorganic beings do it for us in order to take us to their world. 'Following a scout is a high accomplishment and when dreamers are able to perform it, the second gate is flung open and the universe that exists behind it becomes accessible to them. This universe is there all the time but we cannot go into it because we lack energetic prowess, and in essence, the second gate of dreaming is the door into the inorganic beings' world, and dreaming is the key that opens that door.' - Don Juan

Sorcerors require inorganic energy to progress past the Third Gate. This can be gathered from just spending time in their world, or making direct contact with inorganic beings themselves, although the former is arguably more reliable. In my own experience, the world of the inorganics feels like the access corridors behind regular ordinary dreams. Through the tunnels, one can easily enter into other dream spaces, and even encounter other dreamers.

This is all for tonight. More to come.

Good read, looking forward to reading more from you.

I have had many successes with LD and AP and with using them for magic, but lately my practice suddenly came to a stop. Perhaps I'm too distracted by mundane world or there is some other explanation for that, but I think that this is a good occasion to remedy the situation by trying out Sorceric Dreaming.

Waiting for more info, so far so good, thanks OP. I will be following the instructions and maybe posting my experiences in this thread.

>>3065

>LD and AP

By AP I meant astral projection and not Assemblage Point as the latter term was used in >>3052 and I don't want any confusion.

I've never practiced anything from Castenada's teachings so I'm excited for the occasion.

I went to bed last night after reading this thread, and I had a lucid dream. While that's not unusual for me, the second I became lucid I remembered this thread, looked at my hands, and started to manipulate the environment around me. It was probably one of the more productive lucid dreams I've had in a while. It was so exciting because when I become lucid in a dream I normally struggle to remember what goals I set for myself or I'll get too lucid and wake up. Anyways, thanks for the thread OP, it seems to have really helped my lucid dreaming.

The Third Gate of Dreaming

"The third gate of dreaming is reached when you find yourself in a dream, staring at someone else who is asleep. And that someone else turns out to be you." - Don Juan

The Third Gate is about merging the realities of the dreaming energy body with the daily world. In this way, the energy body is completing its connection. Once Castaneda reaches the point of seeing his own body asleep, don Juan advises that he practise moving his energy body around and examining the items in his vicinity. The energy body has already learnt how to examine and move at the First and Second Gates, now it must muster what it has learnt in order to cross the Third. Returning to the First and Second Gate practices of looking for your hands or changing dream scenes can be an invaluable refresher when you come up against this gate.

In essence, one is attempting to use the awareness gathered into the dreaming body to perceive the physical waking world. It no longer needs to operate under the illusion that it has arms and legs or the superficial form of a human. It is able to experience itself fully as a dream entity, a concentration of energy. Don Juan give Carlos the task of discerning a reliable means to determine whether he is actually seeing his physical body or merely dreaming of seeing it. In the end, after he hears of Carlos' experiences, he informs him that it was no longer necessary because the intent of discerning between the two was taken up by his energy body and it was able to determine this itself.

Seeing Energy

At the Third Gate, don Juan also gives Carlos the task of learning how to see energy. If the energy body is complete, dreamers see energy every time they gaze at an item in the daily world. When dreaming, if one sees the energy of an object or entity, they know they are dealing with a world of reality, regardless of how distorted that world may appear. Energy cannot be seen when gazing at projections or ordinary, illusory dream worlds. Real worlds generate energy, phantom worlds do not.

At this point, don Juan gives two new definitions of 'dreaming' to Carlos, hoping to develop his understanding of the sorceric use of dreaming. Dreaming is "a process by which dreamers isolate dream conditions in which they can find energy-generating elements." and "the process by which we intend to find adequate positions of the assemblage point, positions that permit us to perceive energy-generating items in dreamlike states." He instructs him to examine items in his dreaming and determine whether they are energy-generating or not.

The ability to see energy becomes incredibly useful when dealing with foreign energy scouts or other entities. Not all scouts come from the realm of inorganic beings, hence it is useful to gauge where they may lead based on their energy.