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Dreams play a significant role in our life, meaningfully affecting us in the development of our personality and our spiritual journey. They are an everyday experience for any human being. Dreams have always been of great interest to poets and philosophers alike since ancient times and examples are aplenty in Indian and Western scriptures. However, it is an uphill task for an ordinary person to fully appreciate the intricacies and significance of dreams in the day-to-day life. It is here that this book proves as an invaluable guide providing deep understanding on the nature of dream and sleep. This book is a repertoire of human wisdom – gathered for centuries and attested by the modern science – offering enormous insights into our dream and deep-sleep states. It asks, from a common man’s point of view, many a question that perturb us and provides answers to them from the scientific and spiritual perspectives in a captivating way. Some such questions include: • Do we see dreams in black and white or in colour? • What does a visually-challenged person see in his dreams? • Why are some of our dreams extraordinarily vivid with electric colours, the clarity and brilliance of which, we may never encounter in our ordinary waking lives? • Why are we non-reflective, irrational in our dreams? • Are the dream time and waking time equal? • How does our memory work in dream state? Why do we forget our dreams and is it possible to improve dream recall and cultivate awareness in dreams? • Why do we fail to distinguish a dream object from the physical world object while we are dreaming? • If the dream experience exactly feels like the real world and we fail to distinguish it from the waking world while we are dreaming, how can we be certain that we are not dreaming now? • How does a dream contain various persons exhibiting opposite emotions at the same time when all the dream characters including the witnessing dreamer are produced out of single mind of the dreaming person? • Can we intentionally transform the dream scenarios? If so, what would be the philosophical implications of it? • Can dreams and sleeps be utilized for spiritual elevation? … and many more questions we always wondered about the daily eight hours of our bed time, but never got the right answers to! We find new meanings and ways in dealing with our dreams in this volume, therefore, it is a must read for every dream enthusiast as well as any serious spiritual seeker. “ CONTENTS Benediction Prologue Acknowledgements List of Tables and Figures 1. The Enigmatic Nature of Dream and Sleep The Fascinating World of Dreams The Problem of Dream in Western Philosophical Literature The Problem of Dream in the Eastern Literature The Dream Problem Dreaming and Dreamworld in Popular Culture Dream: A Grand Illusion Dreams as Insanity and Delirium Dream as a Land of Depravity and Moral Turpitude Dream as Archetype of After-Death Experiences The Psychoanalytical Views on Dreaming The Power of Dreaming Mind Prophetic and Precognitive Dreams When Do We Experience Dreams in Our Sleep? Nightmares: The Devils of the Dreamworld Dream Time Stress is Highly Dangerous Dreams, Conscious Control and Lucid Dreaming Dreams, Waking Life and Consciousness Spectrum Is Unitary and Unbroken Awareness of Existence in All Three States Possible? 2. Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Views on Dreaming Sleep for Survival and Revival Stages of Sleep The Chemistry of Sleep Understanding Sleep through Brainwaves Other Significant Sleep States The True Sandhyopāsanā What Is the Nature of Dreams? Dreams as Some Form of Psychosis Why Dreams Are the Way They Are? Modern Psychological Theories of Dream Are Dreams Meaningful? The Neuroscience of Dreaming Dreaming, Dhyāna and the Consciousness Spectrum How Do We Wake Up? Critical Analysis of Dream Theories of Neuroscience Why Do We Forget Our Dreams? How to Recall Dreams? Chemicals that Help Improve Dream Recall Are Brain and Mind One and the Same? 3. The Awe-Evoking World of Lucid Dreaming The War of Titans: The Clash of Consciousness with Unconscious Dream Awareness and Conscious Dreaming But Why Can‘t We Normally Realize that We Are Dreaming Historical Overview of Lucid Dreaming What Is Lucid Dreaming? Kinds of Lucid Dreaming Who Can Learn Lucid Dreaming? Timing the Lucidity Lucidity Spectrum Developing Self Awareness and Control: The Art of Lucid Dreaming The Technique of Mind Control Benefits of Lucid Dreaming Lucid Dreaming as a Preparatory Spiritual Practice for Facing Death Consciously The Future of Lucid Dreaming 4. Ontology of Dreaming Dream Experiences Are Real as Long as They Last! The Western Philosophers’ Take on Dream Experiences How to Distinguish Perceptual Experiences from Conceptual Mental Experiences? Do We Have Discretionary Mind while Dreaming? Identifying Dream Signs Cultivating Watchful and Alert Mindset Recognizing the Dream The Fantastic World of Dreams Worlds within the World Some Philosophical Implications of Dream Experiences The Thought Worlds Are Dreams Meaningful? What Is Reality? Understanding Reality Dream: A Grand Illusion Reality from a Different Perspective What Happens When We Experience the Illusion with the Realization that It Is Just an Illusion Dreams and Virtual Reality 5. Epistemology of Dreaming The Difference between Thought, Idea, Memory, Perception, Visualization, Hallucination and Dream Why Waking Time Visualization Is Less Tangible than Vivid Imagery of Dreams? Are Dream Time and Waking Time Equal? Do We See Dreams in Black and White or in Colour? What Does a Visually Challenged Person See in His Dreams? Why Are We Non-Reflective and Irrational in Our Dreams? How Does the Memory Work in Dream State? Why Do We Forget Our Dreams and Is It Possible to Improve Dream Recall and Cultivate Mindful Awareness in Dreams? How Can We Ascertain that We Are Not Dreaming Now? Why Do We Fail to Recognize a Dream Object as such While We Are Dreaming? Are Our Inner Being and Its Mental World Also Products of Physical Atoms? Is There an ‘Experiencing Soul’ of Dream and Waking Lives? Dream Experiences and Their Philosophical Implications ‘Waking Up’ from One Mental State to Another 6. Svapna Darśana: The Dream Yoga What Is Dream Yoga? Consciousness and Karma How Are Dreams Generated? How Do We Dream? Three Kinds of Dreams Understanding Our Dreams Prayer: A Powerful Tool for Lucidity and Dreams of Clarity Kārmic Traces and Dreams Mystical Uses of Dreams Mindfulness: The Key to Lucid Dreaming and Lucid Living The Main Practice Developing Flexibility The Hindrances Dream Yoga: A Holistic Approach to Integration Sleep Yoga The Culmination 7. Advaita of Dreaming Discussion on the Dream State in the Brahmasūtras Discussion on the Three States of Consciousness in the Upaniṣads The Allegorical Hindu Way The Allegory of Conscious States in the Mythology 8. Epilogue The Future Ahead Bibliography Index