Request for a dream interpretation

[Anon]

I had a dream with spiritual phenomena two days ago. I would like to know more about the significance of the dream and associated phenomena. I am going to describe the dream in the hope that a member of the GWV can give me some insight.

I omit some details in the following description. The significant part of the dream occurred towards the end of a dream sequence. I only describe what I think is the significant part.

I was outside at night on a forested hill. Above me were two women controlling me with reins attached to a bridle that was fitted over my head. The women led me to some buildings where I encountered some people who struck me with implements of torture. My headgear was such that it compelled me to submit to my tormenters, not just physically but mentally.

The women led me to a lit up door outside of a concrete building where I saw a monk in saffron robes. The women passed the reins to another woman. This woman made me follow the monk. She and the monk took over my torture from the other women. The woman made me follow the monk into the building. He gave me strict instructions about how to walk.

The inside of the building was dark and blue. The monk lead me to a stylized wooden chair, and he sat down on it to face a group of female students sitting on the floor. He commanded me to sit down on a ledge next to him. The woman who controlled my reins sat with the other students. The monk began to lecture, and I knew I was obliged to pay very close attention to him.

I sensed the woman controlling my reins (call her "A") was coordinating this event. A started speaking lightheartedly to another female behind me with long, supple limbs (call her "B"). The monk changed his demeanor towards me and became more gentle. I felt free to remove my headgear, so I took it off. A went to the center of the sitting students, and I turned away from the monk to look at her. She smiled ecstatically as she arched her back into a bridge position and recited an incantation. The room danced around her, and I felt intense dread.

B was still behind me, and where she was was a black void. She extended her long arms towards my neck, and placed her smooth, dextrous hands on it. She removed something from behind my head as she commanded me, in a mind-to-mind communication, See! My vision became very lucid, and my peripheral vision expanded greatly. Then she turned my head to the chair where the monk was sitting. The monk and chair were gone, and in their place I saw myself nailed to a crucifix with a virtual reality headset covering my eyes. I understood B to be disconnecting me from a virtual reality world. I thought, This is what is meant by awakening, and B confirmed.

At this point I awoke saying feebly and in terror "Oh my God!" Strong chills, or tingles, were running up my spine to the top of my head. Reflecting on what I just experienced, I remembered reading a remark from a vipassana ajharn to the effect that the awareness associated with "path fruition" would drive an ordinary mind insane. The next night I thought about the dream, and the spinal chills returned briefly. I felt subtle chills as I was writing the above as well.

Well, there it is. Any thoughts?

[Jhanananda]

The first half of your dream reminded me of my two ex-wives.  The first monk reminded of the false gurus that I followed.  Seeing through the puppeteering in the second half is a level of enlightenment.  So, keep going, and keep shedding the layers of the self through deep meditation practice.

[Anon]

Thank you for your comments, Jhanananda. I think the controlling females symbolized control by lust, and the monk and crucifix symbolized control by religion. The feeling of electricity surging through my spine, the chills or tingles, was similar to meditative phenomena I have seen described on the GWV site. Kundalini comes to mind. A web search tells me that people experience transmission of kundalini in dreams from another figure. I have also read kundalini is associated with the Hindu goddess Shakti. Could she bear some relation to the female who caused me to have the electricity sensation at the end of the dream?

I discovered that what I experienced was very similar to sleep paralysis:

"Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon in which an individual, either during falling asleep or awakening, temporarily experiences an inability to move, speak, or react... It is a transitional state between wakefulness and sleep, characterized by an inability to move muscles. It is often accompanied by terrifying hallucinations to which one is unable to react due to paralysis, and physical experiences (such as strong current running through the upper body). These hallucinations often involve a person or supernatural creature suffocating or terrifying the individual, accompanied by a feeling of pressure on one's chest and difficulty breathing. Another common hallucination type involves intruders (human or supernatural) entering one's room or lurking outside one's window, accompanied by a feeling of dread." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis, bold text added.

Last month, I had a similar dream experience to the dream experience I described in the original post. This one involved a sense of supernatural intruders outside my window and in my room, and a feeling of pressure on my chest. The Wikipedia article says that lying supine increases the chance of sleep paralysis. In my most recent experience, and the experience of last month, I was lying supine.

[Jhanananda]

Thank you for your comments, Jhanananda. I think the controlling females symbolized control by lust, and the monk and crucifix symbolized control by religion.

I agree.

The feeling of electricity surging through my spine, the chills or tingles, was similar to meditative phenomena I have seen described on the GWV site. Kundalini comes to mind. A web search tells me that people experience transmission of kundalini in dreams from another figure. I have also read kundalini is associated with the Hindu goddess Shakti. Could she bear some relation to the female who caused me to have the electricity sensation at the end of the dream?

Yes, the "feeling of electricity surging" through the spine, and the "chills or tingles," are similar to meditative phenomena that we have discussed here on this forum, and the GWV videos and archives.

While most religions have a context for these phenomena, we have to remind ourselves that, therefore, no religion "owns" the religious experience; however, some are better at describing these experiences than others.

I discovered that what I experienced was very similar to sleep paralysis:

"Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon in which an individual, either during falling asleep or awakening, temporarily experiences an inability to move, speak, or react... It is a transitional state between wakefulness and sleep, characterized by an inability to move muscles. It is often accompanied by terrifying hallucinations to which one is unable to react due to paralysis, and physical experiences (such as strong current running through the upper body). These hallucinations often involve a person or supernatural creature suffocating or terrifying the individual, accompanied by a feeling of pressure on one's chest and difficulty breathing. Another common hallucination type involves intruders (human or supernatural) entering one's room or lurking outside one's window, accompanied by a feeling of dread." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis, bold text added.

Correct, and we here accept that Sleep paralysis is a common precursor to the OOBE.

Last month, I had a similar dream experience to the dream experience I described in the original post. This one involved a sense of supernatural intruders outside my window and in my room, and a feeling of pressure on my chest. The Wikipedia article says that lying supine increases the chance of sleep paralysis. In my most recent experience, and the experience of last month, I was lying supine.

Yes, and I have found that lying supine promotes the OOBE experience.

[Anon]

It is good news that my experience was a common precursor to the OOBE. I look forward to having an OOBE. I will continue to lie supine.