karmic traces

In The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep, Wangyal Rinpoche uses the term, "karmic traces" quite a bit. To me it seems as though what he is talking about are really habits of thought. Thought habits that are so much a part of the furniture of our minds that we no longer notice them, and yet they create experiences for us not only in waking life (although in waking life the results may be more subtle) but in dreaming.

Continuity of consciousness is a phrase I first heard back in the early 70s when I was reading the Alice Bailey material. She was one of the first "channels." Her books were published in the 1930s and 40s. She was channeling a Tibetan master named Djwhal Kuhl. At the time he was supposedly alive in Tibet. Continuity of consciousness is one of the purposes of becoming lucid in dreaming.

We let go every night into a variety of worlds, some of which we retain the memory of in the morning and some of which we don't. Yet we trust--and this, to me, is the important thing--that awareness will eventually float to the top. We let go into unconsciousness and trust that we will awaken--somewhere.

Seth, in The Unknown Reality, Volumes One and Two, took a more playful approach to encouraging readers to become conscious in the dream world and learn to bring back their treasures in their mental hands.

According to Wangyal Rinpoche, it is possible to be conscious and lucid all through all experiences night and day. He remains conscious in all levels of dreaming, and if something cannot be understood or worked out or experienced in the waking dream, he does so in the sleeping dream. And of course he emphasizes as do the western lucid dreaming people (I'm not done with the book) the fun that can be had in sleeping dreams, once you are the controller and are not being dragged hither and yon by karmic traces or habitual mindstates.

So noticing the furniture of your mind is important, if awareness has some value for you. Karmic traces are like the commercials of the dream world. They play over and over again. Becoming lucid is a little like having a Tivo, and a satellite dish.

According to Wangyal Rinpoche, one good reason to get a grip on your habitual thoughts and to learn to steady the mind and to choose wisely which mental teacher you listen to (in ACIM terms the Holy Spirit or the ego) is that it will help you avoid simply drifting unconsciously into samsara again from the after-death state.

Seth also says that the after-death experience is more similar to the sleeping dream state than it is to this waking dream, and places a lot of emphasis on learning to negotiate the dream state.

We are actually quite comfortable drifting around and losing consciousness, assuming that eventually the tuner of our minds will align itself with the station known as this dream of a self in physical life, or samsara. And it will, because that is our habit and also our problem. It's this tendency to wander and drift endlessly, mentally, identifying with the mind-states that arise, that ultimately can be seen as the greatest tool of ego. Keeping us mindless is its goal.

However, although I feel that the best methods we have at our disposal in terms of untying this knot are meditation, mindfulness, and forgiveness, I personally haven't found a description of the after-death state that I'm comfortable believing. So for me, it's one of those things, like the mystery of consciousness, that is best seen as something that cannot be understood with the mind I have presently at my disposal.

Comments

[Simon]

I do put *some* effort into daily mindfulness and conscious lucidity while awake. But the concept of lucid dreaming is so far beyond my ken right now that I wouldn't even know where to begin.

[marian]

Simon, this is something I completely put aside while my son was growing up. Sleep was the main thing then. Before he was born, I was really interested in it and had some little successes. Right now my interest is still fairly lukewarm in terms of effort. Waking life seems like such a lot that I find myself craving oblivion at night more than lucidity--for better or worse.

[Simon]

Ah, sweet oblivion!
There was a time
I could find you
In the night.
I go there now, faithfully,
Every ending of the day,
And seek for you
With my eyes wide shut
And my senses adrift
And my consciousness slipping
Into the abyss
Where I know you reside

Only

To be pulled back from
The precipice
By the somnolent slap
Of tiny feet whose
Body and soul
Want to snuggle at
Two in the goddamn morning.

[marian]

I love that!!!! Did you write it?

At any rate, I thought to add that apparently (and I seem to remember that this is true) lucid dreaming sleep is much more restful than unconscious (usual) dreaming sleep. The effort takes place in the half hour or so before bed, when suggestions and alignment and intention have to be worked on. That's the rub, right there...

[Simon]

I did write that. Just sort of banged it out in five minutes with the honest sentiment swelling within me. On the plus side, I got seven hours of interrupted sleep last night for the first time in WEEKS and feel five kinds of fabulous this morning.

The only work I do in the half hour before bed is sometimes half-heartedly flirt with my wife, or read a chunk of the current bed-side book. So there's no effort made for lucid dreaming just yet.

Someday maybe...

[Aileen]

I love Simon's poem! I remember the days -- years -- when uninterrupted was a luxury.

Marian, thank you for sharing a variety of topics. I'm new to Buddhism and I find it interesting to hear about it from you. I practiced (western) lucid dreaming for a while years ago. I used some tapes to facilitate the process. Often, I couldn't tell the difference between an OBE and a lucid dream. Both experiences felt the same except on occasion for the content. The dream world is more fantastical. I found it useful in that in a lucid dream, because the dream is thought-responsive, you're able to consciously break though physical limitations like gravity, etc. That translated for me into seeing more clearly how limitations in the the waking dream though seemingly more solid, are just as unreal. I'm not practicing lucid dreaming anymore, but once in a while I have a lucid dream and I enjoy the feeling.

[marian]

Hi Aileen. You're welcome. I always like to integrate ideas from different sources--seems to be my thing for the moment--and I'm grateful to have readers who appreciate it. Although I'd probably keep doing it anyway! Good to have you back!