Dreaming by Jan Engels-Smith

We intuitively are aware of the disjointed and incongruous nature of our life within a civilization that struggles to define itself by attempting to justify what we know is inherently wrong and in conflict with our “better selves.” The reliance on the analytical left brain is limited by “facts” too meager to explain even the simplest questions of why we exist or what we can become. Some us seek to balance this logical and rational side of our intellect with the rich and underutilized right brain that employs a sensuous aesthetic that comprehends holistically and draws meaning from sources far more magical and mysterious than we can manage with our left brain alone.

One of the ways we access this creative and imaginative side of our brain is through our dreams.  When dreaming, we release our control of our thinking and some interior “autopilot” takes over and we move freely through arenas of thought that we could not access in our waking hours. However, this dream state can be achieved in a waking reverie if we are able to release the artificial bonds of our rational mind—not to become irrational but to access a non-rational state where we become cognizant of a truer reality. If we stand on one side of a wall, we might say that nothing exists on the other side because we cannot see it. In one sense, this is the way the left brain functions in its need for tangible proof.  But what if the proof of what exists on the other side of the wall is accessible to us but not with our normal sight?  If we think of the wall as the barrier imposed by our rational mind, then we might imagine the right brain as the window into the hidden world.

Dreaming help us to understand that there are actual dimensions of reality where physical laws are not defined as we normally perceive them, or where such rules are suspended or non-existent.  Metaphysically, dream messages are coming from a different place—the fourth and fifth dimensions. Life, as we know it in everyday existence, takes place in the third dimension.  We are born into this dimension and few of us in Western society ever transcend its imprisonment.  Third dimension reality is a product of left-brain thinking.  The third dimension is often referred to as the mental thought reality.  In this reality we have the ability to remember the past and project into the future. The present moment is hard to obtain.  Those that meditate know what I mean.  The present NOW is fleeting and only truly felt when the mind isn’t absorbed in its incessant chatter of what has happened, what is going to happen, what you thought about what happened, etc.  It goes on and on and the NOW disappears in a blur of rambling thoughts.  We remain locked in a cause/effect, time/space paradigm because the past is imprisoned in our subconscious mind.  This is an ego-based existence.  The ego is only found on the left side of the brain.  Again since we are a left-brain dominant culture, we are also an ego driven culture.  We have rules, laws, boundaries, separation, and judgment!  The judgment is blatant and drives countries, families and societies into conflict.  Ego can cause greed, jealously, threat, unhappiness, depression, anger, violence and all the lower frequency feelings.  The heightened ego will eventually be the demise of people as it is based on the principle of scarcity, rather than abundance. The ego assumes that one must win at the expense of others.  It harms the body in multitudes of ways, ruins relationships, and diminishes the quality of life.

Shamanic values and new age ideas have offered a different way of being.  We have all heard of the concepts of unity and oneness, living in love, and focusing on our commonalities rather than our differences.  These ideas are actually fourth and fifth dimension realities.  In this realm, we become aware of how we are connected to each other and to the universe. The spirits and the non-physical beings that share this planet with us are commonly revealed in these dimensions. I have had the experience of being in many cultures that are right-brain dominant cultures.  Their life styles are inclusive and alive with spiritual interactions throughout each and every day.