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Lucid Dreams

Text of article published in Positive Health magazine

Issue 40, May 1999, pages 130-15

Dr Keith Hearne (BSc MSc PhD)

A 'lucid' dream is one in which you suddenly become perfectly aware - while still asleep and dreaming - that you are actually dreaming. It's more than just a vivid dream - it's like being awake, yet knowing that all the scenery is 'fake' and that the very 'real' characters (who converse sensibly with you), are also constructions of your own mind.

It can be a startling experience, especially the first time, to find yourself in a world of inner creation which is so detailed, with its own consistent logic and physics - different from the world of waking existence.

The realisation of dreaming usually comes about as a result of noticing some glaring inconsistency in the dream scenery. Normally, in dreams, our 'common sense' is absent. We observe ludicrous scenes, say, of a talking cat, and yet we accept it virtually without question. However, sometimes a scene is so clearly unlikely or impossible - such as seeing someone whom we know to be dead - that the thought occurs that the only explanation is that it is a dream.

At that point a transformation occurs, as if all the memory circuits of wakefulness have switched on. The paradoxical situation then arises of being conscious yet within a dream.

Another main characteristic of lucid dreaming is that the dreamer can control the events and settings in the dream by mere thought. Essentially, what you think, you will then dream. Thus, you can fly, select a new location, or conjure up a specific person (say, by finding a door and 'willing' that person to come through the door). It is intriguing that we behave like ghosts in dreams - we can walk through walls. 'Gravity' in dreams is like that on the moon. We float gently down to earth from a height.

In the 1970s, the topic of lucid dreaming was somewhat esoteric. I came across Celia Green's book Lucid Dreams, and was instantly enthralled. It was not known then whether lucid dreams were real dreams occurring in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep or were some form of waking imagery.

I began to plan experiments. My thinking was that it should be possible to signal out information from within the lucid dream state. The big problem, though, was that in REM sleep the body is profoundly paralysed (some people continue to experience that paralysis for several seconds upon waking). The phenomenon is probably designed to prevent us acting out our dreams. However, a subject could not even press a micro-switch in REM sleep.

The idea struck me one day that volitional eye-movements should be possible because, after all, dreaming sleep is termed REM sleep. In the sleep laboratory at the university of Hull, I wired up a subject who had fairly frequent lucid dreams, with the instructions to make a series of eight left-right ocular movements on becoming aware of dreaming. On the morning of 12th April 1975, I was incredulous when the eye-movement tracings in the chart-recording of the subject (in indubitable Stage REM sleep) made a series of such left-right excursions. It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment of discovery and seemed like receiving signals from another solar system. A channel of communication had been established from within the lucid dream to the outside world.

Philosophically it was mind-blowing. Here was a person who was asleep and 'unconscious', yet in his own vivid reality, signalling to some other 'dream world', which was my waking reality. My signalling discovery was conveyed to sleep researchers at Stanford and Chicago universities in 1975.

I completed my current research at Hull, then moved to Liverpool university to conduct detailed sleep-laboratory research into lucid dreams. After three years many discoveries had been made. Lucid dreams were clearly genuine dreams associated with REM sleep and lucidity was found, invariably, to appear after a REM burst. Subjects could 'mark' events in the lucid dream by coded eye signals, and the sequence of signalled events corresponded in estimated duration with the waking report. This technique showed that dreams operate in real time (they are not over 'in a flash' - a common misconception). Many other such new findings presented themselves.

At that time I invented and patented the first 'dream machine' - a device which detected the increased breathing rate of REM sleep and could then perform several functions, including : increasing dream recall by waking the user in REM, interrupting nightmares, and experimentally inducing lucidity by providing pulses to the wrist (the pulses provide a 'cue' to the dreamer without causing waking).

Another discovery was the light-switch phenomenon in lucid (and ordinary) dreams. If you try to switch on a light in the dream scenery, it doesn't work. The effect was confirmed by giving the task to lucid dreamers, all over the country, to perform. There is some kind of physiologically-set ceiling limit on imagery 'brightness' at any one time and attempts - using dream control - to exceed that current level lead to the dream-producing-process giving a 'reason' why it can't happen. Thus, the bulb may appear to have 'fused', or the switch might be 'faulty'. Consistent anomalies like this are revealing important truths about the nature of dreams.

Such effects cannot be 'interpreted'. A Jungian might assert the metaphor of 'not being able to see the light' and a Freudian might link the inability with impotence, but they would both be wrong - the light-switch effect represents a basic limitation in dream construction.

There is a fascinating state that is related to lucid dreaming - the 'false-awakening'. It may sometimes immediately follow a lucid dream, or can happen independently What happens is that you dream that you are awake. There is the full critical awareness of wakefulness and lucidity, and the dream scenery (usually your bedroom) can be totally accurate in every way. Eventually something happens that makes you realise it is a dream.

CONVERTING NIGHTMARES TO LUCID DREAMS

I have devised a technique (Hearne, 1993), which is proving to be extremely effective, for helping frequent nightmare sufferers. The method converts nightmares into pleasant lucid dreams. Firstly, though, there are two types of nightmare experience - each associated with the two basic states of sleep, Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) and REM (associated with dreaming). These two state alternate in a roughly 90 minute cycle. Some 96% of nightmares are true nightmare dreams occurring in REM sleep, while about 4% happen in SWS and are termed 'night terrors' or pavor nocturnus.

Interestingly, my own research into REM nightmares (Hearne, 1991) has shown that they occur, overwhelmingly, in the first half of the night's sleep. That's odd, because they should, like lucid dreams, occur mostly in the second half of the night, when there is much more REM sleep. It seems then that, like the SWS type, REM nightmares are triggered by some sensitivity early in the sleep period. Indeed, a personality assessment that I conducted showed typical REM nightmare sufferers tended to be : emotional, apprehensive, tense, undisciplined and self-sufficient. Nightmare sufferers are generally jumpy people.

With night terrors, the person awakes suddenly, often in great fright and screaming, but typically there is no dream activity reported. Interestingly, the individual usually has no recall of the episode in the morning. It is of concern only to those around. There are no physiological indicators that the night terror is about to happen. Sometimes, a sudden noise (like an electrical system clicking on or off) can precipitate a SWS nightmare, and I have suggested that for sensitive people, ear-plugs could be worn, or white noise or music could be played during sleep to mask any sudden sounds.

The vast majority of nightmares are frightening REM dreams. Quite a lot of people suffer from them. Surveys indicate that perhaps a million people in Britain experience nightmares at a frequency of two or more a week. Physiological measures start to increase perhaps several minutes before waking. Heart rate and breathing rate climb steadily until the sufferer wakes in a state of great anxiety. Not surprisingly, some nightmare sufferers develop a distinct fear of going to sleep because of the certainty of waking in such an unpleasant state.

It has not really been possible to deal with nightmares medically, but now a simple self-help method is available. I noticed that most frequent nightmare sufferers report that a familiar dream situation occurs that triggers the thought in the dream, 'Oh my god, here's the nightmare'. Now that is guaranteed to bring on the nightmare. As was mentioned earlier, any thought in a dream brings about supporting imagery. The mad axeman appears immediately of course - he was summoned by the dreamer.

What nightmare sufferers need to do is simply to change their mind-set from 'Oh my god here's the nightmare' to 'Great ! Wonderful ! Here's the nightmare. That means I'm dreaming, and I know I can control my dreams !' The new thoughts can be practised a few times during the day, and before sleep (hypnosis can potentiate the attitude-shift). What happens is remarkable. The dreamer's whole way of thinking concerning the situation is turned around.

Should the mad axeman appear, the realisation of dreaming makes it easy and almost comical to deal with him. One method is to point your fingers at him and imagine laser-beams emanating from them. He will be 'zapped' because you've directed that to happen, and then - with a sense of supreme mastery - you can 'will' yourself to a new situation of your choice. One method is 'cover' your (dream) eyes, and think strongly of a place where you'd like to be. You then 'open' your eyes and find yourself there - it might be a desert island or wherever you want.

Frequent nightmare sufferers are lucky in a sense because having a frequent and consistent reminder of being in a dream can be used as a stepping stone to lucidity and dream control. What might start as being chased by a 'thing' in the woods can transform to flying effortlessly through a beautiful landscape, say, or making love with one's current film-star idol. Many people now can't wait for their next 'nightmare'.

LUCID POTENTIALS

We can really make important use of lucid dreams in a number of ways. From a self-therapy point of view, the sheer exhilaration and beauty of lucid dreams can lift one's mood and banish stress. Their recreational value is immense. We can revel in our own in-built virtual reality system. An exciting dream can 'make your day' as we all know, and if you can find yourself - with full awareness - gliding with arms outstretched above the grand-canyon half an hour before sitting on the train with the grim-faced commuters, you will retain a certain residual feeling of happiness, that will probably show for hours.

Another area of great promise is to exploit the creativity of lucid dreams so as to enhance one's own creativity. This will be a boon to artists, designers, composers, architects - and scientists too. Many significant scientific discoveries and artistic creations have come directly from dreams. Elias Howe perfected the sewing machine after a dream showed him the answer to a problem that had been blocking its development. One man, Otto Loewi, obtained a Nobel prize for discovering the chemical conduction of nerves as the result of being shown an experiment in a dream. There are hundreds of other such cases.

The great composers often dreamed music and many writers have simply described situations that that they encountered in dreams. Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was generated in a dream. Artists have seen original works and re-created them in wakefulness, and poets like Masefield have read poems in dreams and written them on waking. There is no doubt that the unusual linking of ideas that occurs naturally in dreams can be utilised profitably. For the creative person who is a lucid dreamer, situations of originality can be specifically set up - say visiting an art gallery, concert hall, or futuristic planet - and new creations from those places can be harvested in wakefulness.

For those who are disabled or incarcerated, lucid dreaming provides a wonderful escape to a world that is bright and vibrant - where all things are possible.

INDUCING LUCIDITY

How is dream lucidity attained ? Different techniques work for different people. For some, simply having read this article will be enough to enable the recognition of an incongruity in a dream, so causing awareness of dreaming. Reading fuller background material, especially books on the topic, will also aid that process. Keeping a dream diary is particularly helpful because it increases your dream recall and focuses attention on dreams.

Another technique is to ask yourself many times in the day whether or not you are dreaming. This practice effect will increase the likelihood of you asking the same question during a dream.

I devised a method with the acronym of F.A.S.T. (False-Awakening with State Testing), which is successful for some people. You need an assistant who will come into your bedroom and go out again every half-hour or so after 6 am (when you will be experiencing much REM sleep). The assistant simply enters, potters around for a minute, says a few things and leaves.

Expectation is a powerful psychological effect and your unconscious will be anticipating the visits. In some, that expectation will act as an instruction for a dream in which the person enters the bedroom. The dream will in fact be a false-awakening and may be extremely life-like.

If you religiously and automatically carry out a series of 'state-testing' behaviours whenever you think someone has come in - even if you are absolutely certain that you are awake - there will come an occasion when you discover to your astonishment that you are dreaming.

The sort of tests to conduct are : switching on a light, attempting to float, listening for sounds that should or should not be present, attempting to press your hand through a wall. Any anomaly must be taken as an indicator of dreaming. A final test might be to jump off a chair. If you float down, you are obviously dreaming.

Then, you can 'will' yourself elsewhere or simply amaze yourself by inspecting, with conscious insight - although asleep - the intricate details of the scenery. After, perhaps seconds or minutes, you will awake or drift into an ordinary dream.

Lucid dreaming is a remarkable untapped resource in humans. It is a unique condition in which the full power of our imaging ability - across all the senses - is employed to produce scenarios that we can consciously direct to happen. However, with the additional super-component of the infinitely knowledgeable and wise unconscious, the future possibilities of the state may be found to be nothing less than incredible.

BIBLIOGRAPHY & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

Green, C. Lucid dreams. Institute for Psychophysical Research, Oxford. 1968.

Hearne, K. Lucid dreams - an electrophysiological & psychological study. PhD thesis, Dept. of Psychology, University of Liverpool. 1978.

(Available on web-site : http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dreamthemes)

Hearne, K. A light-switch phenomenon in lucid dreams. Journal of Mental Imagery, 5 (2), 97 - 100. 1981.

Hearne, K. Lucid dreams and ESP. Journal of the Society for Psychical

Research, 51 (787), 7 - 11. 1981.

Hearne, K. Effects of performing certain set tasks in the lucid dream state.

Perceptual & Motor Skills, 54, 259 - 62. 1982.

Hearne, K. A new perspective in dream imagery. Journal of Mental Imagery, 11 (2), 75 - 82. 1987.

Hearne, K. Visions of the future. The Aquarian Press, Wellingborough. 1989.

Hearne, K. The dream machine. The Aquarian Press, Wellingborough.1990.

Hearne, K. Hypnosis in the conversion of nightmares to lucid dreams.

European Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 1, 12 - 17. 1993.

Hearne, K. & Melbourne, D. Understanding dreams. New Holland

publishers, London. 1999.

Melbourne, D. & Hearne, K. Dream interpretation - the secret.

Blandford Press, London. 1997.

Melbourne, D. & Hearne, K. The dream oracle. New Holland publishers, London. 1998.

Saint-Denys, Hervey de Dreams and how to guide them. Trans. Nicholas Fry, ed. M. Schatzman, Duckworth, London. 1982 ; orig. 1867.

Van Eeden, F. A study of dreams. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, XXVI (part LXVII), 431 - 61. 1913.

Copyright © 1999 Dr K Hearne. This article is made available free for personal use and private study only.
No part of this publication may be reproduced for any purpose other than personal use and private study without both acknowledgement and the prior written consent of the copyright holder.

The Dream Oracle

a new technique for obtaining messages from the unconscious via dreams using an alphabetic code without requiring interpretation

by Dr Keith Hearne (BSc MSc PhD) & David F. Melbourne

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dreamthemes

ABSTRACT

In this initial study, sixteen subjects (8m,8f) demonstrated the efficiency of a new method that has been devised for obtaining significant communications from the unconscious through the medium of dreams, using an imposed set of meanings based on an alphabetic code (i.e. A= Avarice, B= Brevity, C= Consequence, D= Divinity, etc) with several possible aspects of each key word.

The subjects simply read the alphabetic code meanings before sleep (the first of six possible 'incubation' levels to enhance psychological expectation). Within days, and usually on the first night, each of the subjects experienced a dream in which a particular letter of the alphabet was apparent because : most of the objects in the dream began with that specific letter ; the letter appeared directly, visually, in the dream ; or the sound of the letter was spoken in some way by a dream character (as a single letter or the initial letter of several words). An automatic process awoke the dreamer immediately after the letter presentation.

On waking, subjects again consulted the alphabetic list and found a link between an aspect of the alphabetic code dream meaning and a current life situation.

Since, in intended use, the new technique involves requesting 'hidden information' on a personal issue, the analogous description The Dream Oracle has been used. Apart from the validity of the method, based on standard psychological premises, the new system also permits the incorporation of paranormal information, in line with long-standing world-wide acceptances and some modern scientific evidence.

The technique may also be used as an aid to becoming 'lucid' in dreams.

INTRODUCTION

There is evidence that we possess a knowledgeable yet submerged or 'unconscious' component to our mind. Before Sigmund Freud drew particular attention to the unconscious, its existence was postulated as the 'hidden self' by William James and the 'subliminal self' by F.W.H. Myers.

Freud (1900, 1961), Jung (eg 1964) and others accepted that the unconscious stored much privileged information about the individual. Sometimes, certain items could be presented in dreams - which if properly interpreted, might be of great usefulness to the dreamer in providing previously unrecognised insights and advice - say, in revealing the true basis of a desire, or warning the dreamer of being too one-sided in nature. Activities of the unconscious mind have also been noticed in dream creativity (Hearne, 1990) and prodromic dreams - of developing illness (Hearne & Melbourne, pending).

The problem with dream interpretation in modern times has been that the different schools have propounded highly disparate explanations of dream events, based on incompatible models. In addition, the discovery of natural, universal effects in dreams, such as the light-switch effect (Hearne, 1981, 1990) and the scene-shift effect (Hearne, 1973, 1990) have confounded recent approaches to dream interpretation and emphasised their inherent limitations.

The very latest, pragmatic, dream interpretation techniques have reverted to the straightforward methods used by the ancients, brought up-to-date with efficient data-gathering (the MHQ questionnaire), listing the dreamer's own personal associations to dream items, and the use of a cross-referencing system (Melbourne & Hearne, 1997).

We were left in the position that we knew that the unconscious held significant and potentially helpful knowledge for us, but that a careful and possibly laborious process of dream interpretation was necessary to correctly uncover the information.

Then, in 1997, dream expert David Melbourne came up with a major and simple new concept on how to receive information from the unconscious through dreams. The idea (which appropriately, came to him in a dream), would impose a new universal language of dreams based on letters of the alphabet. Interpretation would not be necessary.

After a long period of meditation, Melbourne established the 'alphabetic dream code' :

Avarice

Brevity

Consequence

Divinity

Envy

Faith

Greed

Hope

Ire

Joy

Karma

Lust

Meditation

Nature

Overuse

Patience

Quest

Repentance

Sloth

Talent

Understanding

Vanity

Will

X-ray

Yesterday

Zen

Several possible aspects are given for each of these key words. Thus, E= Envy covers straightforward envy in the dreamer, or in others, a necessity to : take stock of a situation ; look for deeper things ; be unpretentious ; consider if one is causing envy in others.

O = Overuse was included as an in-built limitation, should The Dream Oracle be consulted too frequently (overuse also has other aspects).

In proper practice, the user would, apart from taking in the dream alphabet meanings and utilising an incubation level, concentrate on a particular topic that required resolution - say, a problem concerning a relationship, job, project or financial situation.

Early trials showed that the selected letter becomes obvious to the dreamer upon waking - which happens spontaneously immediately after the alphabetic code dream - when it is noticed that virtually all the dream objects begin with the same letter. Alternatively, a large version of the specific letter may suddenly be observed in the dream, or words heard in the dream emphasise the letter.

It soon became abundantly clear that the method worked on anyone with ordinary dream-recall who understood the notion and read the alphabet-code meanings. From a psychological viewpoint Hearne realised that dream incubation techniques might potentiate the new method. The ancient notion of dream incubation - practised at Thebes, Memphis and many other dream temples in the near and middle East - was a way of producing a very powerful expectation effect. The Dream Oracle user therefore utilises one of six levels of increasingly complex incubation - from simply reading the book, through learning the alphabetic code, using cleansing and purifying rituals, to sleeping at a sacred site.

In the new and welcomed, holistic, scientific approach to areas which were previously and unscientifically ignored, erroneous and naïve reductionistic ideas have been abandoned. In this new spirit, the ancient wisdom that dreams sometimes contain what we would now term paranormally acquired information, has also been accommodated into The Dream Oracle. Apart from the extensive accumulated historical anecdotal accounts, evidence exists tending to suggest that dream telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition, are real phenomena (Ullman et al, 1970 ; Hearne, 1986, 1989), and so it is accepted as a possibility that some of the information produced by the new technique might originate in a place other than the mind of the dreamer. The possibility is open, and long term experiments should be able to ascertain any such effects.

METHOD

The full background to the new technique, incubation suggestions, and list of imposed meanings of the alphabetic code are described in the book The Dream Oracle (New Holland publishers, London).

Sixteen persons, who simply reported having dreams, volunteered to be subjects - there were eight males and eight females. They were simply instructed to read the alphabetic code dream meanings thoroughly (level 1 incubation).

RESULTS

Each of the readers of The Dream Oracle started to have dreams in which they noticed many dream objects beginning with the same letter, or the sound of a letter was heard within the dream. In some of the subjects, specific letters were observed, blatantly exposed, within the dream. Here is the first such dream from each of these sixteen volunteers.

Subject 1 :

Male (40s)

'I had to re-write a book in a fortnight, which meant working past midnight, seven days a week. I have a chronic eye condition which is activated by strain. The night I finished - at 3 am - I went to bed and had a vivid dream in which a colleague approached holding out another chapter for inclusion. On the cover-page was a huge letter O, in bold. The surprise woke me up. The message was definitely about my eye-strain. The problem was pinpointed exactly- Overuse. In fact, my eyes became sore for several days.'

Subject 2 :

Female (30s)

'I live on the Isle of Hoy in the Orkneys, and I was one of the first people to try out The Dream Oracle's alphabet-code technique. I was feeling despondent. There is hardly any employment on the island and I had long attempted to make a living as a writer. I thought I was competent but lacked confidence and was about to give up writing. I read the set word-meanings and asked my inner-self for guidance. A dream occurred in which all of a sudden a page of a book was shown to me. A very large letter F, in old Victorian, flowery style, and taking up the whole page, was before my eyes. It was quite a shock and I awoke. Immediately, I thought of The Dream Oracle code. F referred to Faith and that was a very meaningful word to me at that time. It was telling me to have faith in myself, trust in my abilities to succeed and believe in myself. I have since gained much success. My unconscious knew, beforehand, that I could achieve it.'

Subject 3 :

Male (50s)

'Within a few days of reading the alphabetic dream meanings, I had such a dream. It was a vivid, busy, colourful dream. I was at a bus-stop and saw those words clearly. There was a baby with a balloon. I noticed the big breasts of a woman with a large bag. There was a bridge. A bicycle came by .... I suddenly woke up and instantly saw the connection of all the different objects. It was the letter B (Brevity)! I looked at The Dream Oracle again and knew that the particular aspect for me was the one about being stuck in a rut. It motivated me to move on !

Subject 4 :

Female (30s)

'I read The Dream Oracle meanings. That night I dreamed the same dream, and awoke from it, three times. I was working in the coffee shop with 16 y.o. Jason, who we call the Boy. We were very busy when suddenly a whole load of bagels turned up. I didn't know what to do. I turned to the Boy and said "Shall we bin these ?" But he said even though we were both really busy we had to put them on sale. So the Boy and I stood there buttering bagels in the busiest period of the day. It was so obvious on waking that the letter B was important. When I read again about B for Brevity, the words jumped out of the page. It mentioned being decisive and not letting another opportunity slip through my fingers. The dream made me decide to go ahead and move into another type of work. Everyone's looking for answers, but this has really worked for me.'

Subject 5 :

Male (50s)

'I simply read the list of alphabet eanings. That night had a dream in which I noticed some patio doors. I went inside the building and saw a naked person. My thoughts were 'pink pigs'. The police came and he was taken to prison. I was very conscious when I recalled the dream in the morning, of the number of items and words in my mind during the dream, that began with the letter P (Patience). I could relate well to the message telling me to be patient. It was unusual because I don't normally '

Subject 6 :

Female (30s)

'The first night after having read The Dream Oracle, I had a dream in which I was in a car, in the countryside looking for somewhere to sleep. I couldn't make out whether the ground was grass or a crop. The thought was that of it was a crop I shouldn't be sleeping on it. There was a chance I would be caught. In the end I went back to the car. I had a cat with me - a neighbour's cat named Champas. I had to leave it, and even though it seemed cruel, I put him in a plastic carrier bag.

The scene then changed and I was in a restaurant with my mother. She was complaining that I wouldn't eat ham. I think she said I only ate Muslim meat. Elmira was there (when I hear the name Elmira outside the dream, the emphasis is always on the 'mir' because it means both 'peace' and 'world' in Russian). I woke when I saw a man I nearly had a fling with.

It seemed clear to me on waking that the letters C (Consequence) and M (Meditation) had both been presented to me in the dream. Both letters were meaningful to me because of decisive circumstances in my life.'

Subject 7 :

Male (50s)

'I attended a talk given by Dr Hearne. He read out a shortened list of dream alphabet-meanings. That night I had a dream in which I was in a cave. I was thinking 'this is crass'. I came out of my body and then saw several chairs dancing. I thought 'I must tell Carol' (I don't even know a Carol). Then I woke suddenly and immediately understood that the letter communicated was C for Consequence. In fact, I realised that the dream was important and next day went through my list of projects and made various adjustments. Definitely, The Dream Oracle worked well.'

Subject 8 :

Female (40s)

'I read The Dream Oracle meanings. That night I had a dream in which I was in a boat on the ocean, and the word ocean went through my mind. I saw an octopus, and then I fell overboard. My husband was looking over the side at me. He said "The onus is on you to get yourself out of this one." Then I woke up. It was so obvious to me that the letter O was being repeatedly given to me. The Dream Oracle meaning was Overuse. It fitted precisely. I had been really overdoing things. It was a timely warning.'

Subject 9 :

Male (30s)

'I had a vivid dream I which I saw a copper (policeman), a lot of Chinese people around, and a cow. I instantly woke up then and could see that it was an alphabet dream. It was Consequence. I instinctively knew the topic and when I went into work that day things happened as a result of previous circumstances. In a sense I was prepared because of the dream.'

Subject 10 :

Female (30s)

'Very shortly after reading the book, I was in a dream in which I was in a bar, drinking Sangria in my dream (something I would never drink in reality). I went into a corridor and saw stacks and stacks of sugar. Then someone came and took some of the sugar up the staircase. I seemed to be aware of several things beginning with the letter S. Then I woke up. When I later recalled that S meant Sloth, it had a definite link for me, because I have had a long-lasting problem with procrastination.'

Subject 11 :

Male (50s)

'I read through The Dream Oracle meanings. A couple of weeks later I had a clear dream in which I kept seeing salt and sodium chloride. I woke from the dream and thought at once that it was an alphabet meaning. Later, I looked up the meanings and saw the connection. S was for Sloth. I had been putting off a major repair job about the house. I decided there and then to get on with it, so went out and bought the materials.'

Subject 12 :

Female (20s)

'I read The Dream Oracle text for the first time, and went to bed 'incubating' a helpful dream on the topic of an ongoing financial problem. That night I was walking along a pavement and I saw a man coming towards me. Suddenly, he stepped out in front of me and said "I". I reacted by saying the same thing back to him - then I woke up immediately.

It was clear to me that it was an Oracle letter. I re-read what the Oracle said about Ire and realised that the money situation had made me very angry - although I had not really been aware of that. I can see that I need to channel that negative feeling in a more positive way.'

Subject 13 :

Male (50s)

'My dream happened the night after I'd read the alphabet meanings. Someone was saying the word 'Why' to me over and over. I woke in a state of confusion but then realised that it was the letter 'Y' (Yesterday). It was a touching communication from my unconscious because I have dwelt too much on the past and become depressed. The message, I can see clearly, is encouraging me to turn away from past events and look forward to the future. The message is unequivocal and highly important from a deep and understanding part of me.'

Subject 14 :

Female (80s)

'I had read The Dream Oracle and had an alphabet-code dream soon afterwards, but forgot about it. Then I was asked to incubate a dream. I went to bed, concentrating on the low self-esteem that I had been feeling lately. I had a dream in which I was in a dining-room, with a large dining-table. There was a dog in the room. Dave came through the door. The dog came up to me and then I woke up. It was very obvious to me on waking that the letter D abounded in the various images. Divinity is of particular significance to me at this time, since one of my daughters has terminal cancer. It all tied in with my feelings of inadequacy.'

Subject 15 :

Male (--s)

'I had my first results with the Dream Oracle without really trying. I never asked a question, but I had been reading the book just before going to sleep, so was no doubt suitably programmed. The dream was undoubtedly a 'B' (Brevity) dream as it featured a flashing neon sign with 'Bar-diner' written on it, a Baseball ground with a particular reference to a Baseball Bat I was using, and another main impression of a Black dog, The colour seemed to be the important element.'

Subject 16 :

Female (30s)

'After becoming familiar with the dream-code, I had a dream that night in which someone was loudly and repeatedly saying the letter 'T'. I woke at once. T stands for Talent. I have for some time felt that I have not been achieving what I am capable of. I know my unconscious was telling me strongly to become aware of my potentials. It has changed my attitude considerably already and I am determined to develop my creativity.'

DISCUSSION

All the subjects reported experiencing alphabetic code dreams. Thus, the first clear observation is that the technique seems to apply universally in normal dream recallers. Subjects reported their first alphabetic code dream usually within days of reading the meanings, and subjects have since reported experiencing other alphabetic code dreams. It is anticipated that with more involved stages of incubation, the frequency would be even greater. Certainly, the dream-producing process takes to the technique with great facility. The received messages were so obvious to subjects that their significance was at once recognised and, in some cases, major life changing decisions were made, such as with subject 4.

Four main ways were observed in which the alphabetic code letter was communicated. The most frequent form was where many different items in the dream began with the same initial letter (visual initial-letter presentation). In some cases, a single letter was prominently displayed to the dreamer (direct visual letter presentation). There was also a situation where the crucial letter was prominent in words spoken by dream characters (verbal initial-letter presentation). Another method involved the key letter itself being spoken in the dream by a dream character (phonetic letter presentation). Additionally, to a lesser extent, sometimes one of the initial-letter words was thought, with emphasis, within the dream, and so aided the identification. In some cases, more than one of these methods were utilised. In all types of presentation, the unconscious awoke the dreamer so that the code-letter became obvious to consciousness.

Thus, a remarkable two-stage process has been demonstrated in which not only the appropriate code-letter is selected and presented, but also the identification of that letter is ensured by a deliberate waking procedure engineered by the unconscious. This arousal itself goes absolutely counter to Freud, who posited that the function of the dream was to maintain sleep. The study also demonstrates that dreams can at least occasionally harbour messages - in contradistinction to the idea of computer-like processing of information from the day (Evans & Newman, 1964 ; Crick & Mitchison, 1986).

Clearly, with The Dream Oracle technique, an intelligent process in sleep recalls a topic focused on consciously before sleep (or raised spontaneously during sleep), recalls the alphabetic dream code, and arranges a sequence of images and / or words beginning with a particular letter - in order to convey a specific and selected communication. The universality of the process indicates that messages may have always been conveyed by a simple symbolic process during dreams but that the language has until now been difficult to understand consciously. It is conceivable that the unconscious dream-producing process will revel in this new, consistent and precise form of communication. Perhaps, before this method, the unconscious often experienced a feeling of frustration in being unable to make itself understood. Advice and warnings can now be transmitted accurately to the conscious mind to the considerable advantage of the whole person.

In ancient times, when cultures were isolated and relatively homogeneous, it is conceivable that dreams - then conceptualised as coming from the gods - might have been a completely natural and widely understood form of communication from the unconscious. Specific symbols might have been accepted within the group, so interpretation was relatively easy. In some cultures today that may well still be the case. However, in western societies, cultural mixing and religious castigation of the topic as 'sorcery', must have devalued the power of the dream. Many dream meanings, for instance, are based on verbal puns - which do not translate from one tongue to another. A great confusion has resulted. However, with the introduction of a novel universal dream language in the form of the alphabetic code, a reliable form of communication has once again been established.

The simplicity of this new system allows individuals to become more aware of their inner processes for the purpose of self-insight and self-development. It is seen as a technique to aid greater understanding within and between people, and of their individual and combined spirituality.

Therapists and dream researchers will also benefit from the Dream Oracle technique. Communications from the unconscious are always relevant in matters of mind-healing. It is anticipated that the method will become an invaluable and necessary tool in such situations. Dream and mind researchers have a fascinating new method of tuning into the unconscious and seeing how its messages are conveyed through dream images. Clearly, the unconscious can produce - almost playfully - numerous images based on a single letter of the alphabet.

A potentially highly important consideration would seem to be that once the oracle has been absorbed, it could be on stand-by so to speak, for the rest of the person's life, ready to produce a significant communication whenever necessary - a warning of some kind perhaps, a reassurance, advice, or whatever. Such a communication could prove to be highly beneficial to the user.

Finally, some subjects reported that the sudden realisation within the dream of the unconsciously-selected alphabetic letter, has prompted dream lucidity (Hearne, 1978, 1990). The Dream Oracle may also therefore prove to be useful to persons attempting to achieve awareness of dreaming and the ability to control their dreams.

Recent findings show that occasionally, two alphabetic code letters may be communicated. One subject produced alphabetic code combinations in which the letters K (Karma) and W (Will) were produced individually and then combined - an actor, Kenneth Williams, was seen. In another example, after single representations of the letters R (Repentance) and H (Hope), a car was seen in the dream with the name Ron H.... sprayed on the bodywork. The communicated letter-code messages were said to be highly significant to the dreamers.

Much additional support for the new technique is coming in. Dr Hearne gives frequent seminar/workshops. He has discovered if a short version of the alphabet-code (available from the web-site) is read out to a class when they are in a state of relaxation, some three-quarters of the group will report an alphabet-code dream the next day. Also, David Melbourne was interviewed in January 1999 on South Africa's leading national radio programme 'Total Exposure'. The interviewer, John Richards, had read The Dream Oracle, and stated on air that he had a dream in which everything began with the letter R (Repentance). He admitted that the alphabet-code dream provided an unmistakable, significant and timely message for him.

CONCLUSIONS

A completely new concept has been devised for eliciting potentially significant messages from the unconscious, through dreams, by means of an alphabetic code of fixed words, having different aspects. This initial study found that the technique worked on all sixteen subjects - the relevant letter of the alphabet being represented by many objects beginning with the letter, or a single dramatic presentation of the letter, or words heard in the dream. It seems that the unconscious, immediately upon communication, then often deliberately wakens the dreamer. Subjects found that an aspect of the alphabetic code word related to a current life situation. The results show that coded unconscious messages can be conveyed from dreams.

Once read and absorbed, it seems likely that the Dream Oracle process might remain latently available to communicate important messages at any future time, for the benefit of the user.

Individuals are likely to use the technique for self-knowledge and development, and therapists will find the unconsciously communicated information valuable. A whole new field of research has been made available concerning dreams and the human mind. Further research by the authors is in progress.

A note :

One of the authors (Hearne) has developed the idea of The Dream Oracle generalising (once a person has read the alphabet-code meanings) and thereby also unconsciously manifesting in : hypnagogic imagery, the imagery of wakefulness, waking thoughts and speech, creative works and in auditory and visual hallucinations. It is anticipated that persons who are aware of the alphabetic dream oracle meanings will be, during wakefulness, unconsciously likely to select more words beginning with a letter that is currently significant to them. As with The Dream Oracle situation, it would represent an attempt at communication from the unconscious. This could be of great usefulness to therapists. It is intended to search for this effect and the other predicted phenomena.

BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES

Evans, C. & Newman, E. (1964) Dreaming - an analogy from computers.

New Scientist, 24 : 577-579.

Freud, S. (1900, 1961) The interpretation of dreams. George Allen & Unwin, London.

Hearne, K. (1973) Some investigations into hypnotic dreams using a new technique. BSc project, Dept of Psychology, University of Reading (see Hearne 1990)

Hearne, K. (1978) Lucid dreams : an electrophysiological and psychological study. PhD Thesis. Dept of Psychology, University of Liverpool.

Hearne, K. (1981) A light-switch phenomenon in lucid dreams. Journal of Mental Imagery, 5 (2) : 97-100.

Hearne, K. (1989) Visions of the future. Aquarian Press, Wellingborough, England.

Hearne, K. (1990) The dream machine. Aquarian Press, Wellingborough, England.

Hearne, K. & Melbourne, D. (1999) Understanding dreams. New Holland, London.

Jung, C.J. (1964) Man and his symbols. Aldus books, London.

Melbourne, D. & Hearne, K. (1998) The dream oracle. Foulsham publishers.

Melbourne, D. & Hearne, K. (1997) Dream interpretation - the secret. Blandford Press, London.

Melbourne, D. & Hearne, K. (1999) The meaning of your dreams. Orion (Blandford) Publishing Group, London.

Ullman, M., Krippner, S., & Vaughan, A. (1973) Dream telepathy. MacMillan, New York.

The authors :

David Melbourne has been an interpreter and investigator of dreams for some 25 years. He has written extensively on the topic of dreams and devised a new method of dream interpretation based on a cross-reference flow-chart system. He has drawn attention to the 'trigger' effect - the deliberate waking by the unconscious, identifying a message-bearing dream. This latest idea, The Dream Oracle, came to him in a dream.

Dr Keith Hearne was the first to discover the ocular signalling technique from lucid dreams (1975). He went on to conduct the world's first PhD research into lucid dreams, at Liverpool University, England, establishing the basic physiological and psychological features of lucid dreams, discovering the pre-lucid REM burst and several universal features of dreams. He invented the 'dream machine'. Hearne has authored many scientific papers and several books, some with David Melbourne.

The Concept of the Virtual Self

(Text of article published in Positive Health magazine, Issue 44, September 1999, pages 11-13)

by Dr Keith Hearne (BSc MSc PhD)

Dr Hearne has developed the concept of the Virtual Self - a psychological self-image that includes present, childhood and seeming past life information. We become in life, he says, what we think we ought to be, based on such background material - which he thinks is genetically determined (the 'genego').

There are similarities with the physical body image that we also possess, and he refers to phantom limb pain. Frozen-in-time phenomena occur with both the physical body image and psychological virtual self.

It seems that we possess - at a central psychological level - a conscious and unconscious image of who and what we are. But that construct exists in the unconscious in a condition where there are no boundaries of time and space, so there is no clear distinction between one's recent memories, childhood memories and memories from seeming past or even future anticipated lives (real, imagined or both). All these informational elements can strongly influence the Self as a whole, acting to limit or enhance one's role.

In therapy, the object is often to make clear to the unconscious, the delineation of such groups of memories. It is a condition of modern living - but rather alien to our innate nature - to have a clear sense of what is current and 'real'.

When I wake in the morning, experiencing the daily miracle of returning awareness, a memory system - strongly stamped in - reminds me of who I am, my current life and so on, with much potentially accessible back-up information of childhood memories etc. But like everyone else, I can, under certain circumstances of induction, produce descriptions of events from past lives. Now those events do not change. I can enter several seeming past lives, on different occasions, but the sequence remains consistent.

Are they purely fantasies - simply made-up stories - or are they true? In a sense it doesn't matter. Whatever the source, the material reflects what I, at a deep level, think might have happened to me - or did actually happen to me. Just as in art therapy, our productions are representations of our psychological state. We cannot help but portray our innermost self.

If I am constantly a victim, say, in such exercises, then the idea is present in my unconscious - especially if the events were traumatic - as strongly as a childhood observation or even memories of recent events. Whether the past lives are transferred into consciousness or not, the same 'story-lines' or 'memories' still exist within me, ready to surface. Certainly, our unconscious fully accepts the idea of reincarnation, regardless of any conscious biases. We are, then, what we think we deserve to be. That notion of course resonates with the ancient eastern insight of karma.

The virtual self appears to consist not only of the person we think we are now, but the people our unconscious believes we once were - like a sort of longitudinal group mind. There is a blurring of information, though, so it all seems to be a unitary set of experiences to the unconscious.

I think that we are actually born with a concept of who we are and of who we were and where we have been. I anticipate that genetic research will uncover that virtual psychological self - then perhaps termed the 'genego' (genetic ego) - that will tie in with the behaviours and thoughts of the individual and help to explain why people do what they do in life. Their reported past lives will be equally predictable. (Genetics to me being a mere organising process in a greater scheme of things in a mentalistic universe).

There are various other clues to such programmed behaviour, as with the cases of identical twins separated at birth, who go on to live remarkably similar lives.

Let's look more at the universally experienced phenomenon of recalling past lives. It's a concept that was always accepted (it was naturally embraced by the early Christians) until one man, the Emperor Justinian, forbade it to exist, for political purposes, in 553 AD. He jailed the pope and did not allow the western bishops to attend the 5th ecumenical council, where by 3 'votes' it was decided that we have only one life. The notion of reincarnation then became a punishable heresy. Proponents would burn in eternal hell fire.

There is some evidence for reincarnation, which is beginning to be researched. Professor Ian Stevenson has collected many cases where birth marks and defects in children who claim to be reincarnations of someone else who was injured or maimed before their death, correspond closely. His two-volume work Reincarnation Biology provides copious material including many autopsy photos and presents a statistical method of comparing wound positions.

Past-life regression therapy (like present-life regression therapy) would have to be invented if it didn't already exist. Patients sometimes quite spontaneously find themselves in some apparent previous scenario. A technique for dealing with that condition has to be in readiness. It would be foolish, unprofessional and counterproductive to ignore such arising situations.

As an example, a female patient aged fifty, in an altered state, was simply discussing an abortion she'd had in her twenties. Superficially it was no problem, but she then began to sob. She had never grieved and blocked emotions were releasing. Suddenly, though, (by a process known as the 'affect-bridge') she found herself in a past life, where she was a priestess but had 'sinned' and had a baby. The baby was taken away and she was reliving the episode. The vivid images were a complete surprise to her and she excitedly described each scene.

She then gasped and said "It's the same baby !" She had gained a life-changing insight, comprehending that the same spirit had approached her twice. She then experienced great relief when she understood in her own way that her daughter (born a year after the abortion, and to whom she is particularly close) contains that same spirit. The results were powerful. Whereas the woman had been subject to great panic attacks, her whole attitude to life changed. Something significant had been resolved to the satisfaction of the woman's unconscious mind. All the images and insights came completely spontaneously to the woman. The symptoms left her and she was transformed.

I personally can accept that the event happened to her in a previous life. Based on my research into lucid dreams, precognition, psychology and therapy, I believe that we live in an informational, non-material, dream-like universe (despite appearances !), where absolutely anything is possible. Others might resort to an explanation concerning fantasy and imagination. But whatever, it was real to the patient. At a deep philosophical level, reality is a variable and is totally unique to the individual.

Seeming past lives are also spontaneously accessed in, say, deep-tissue massage work. The client may start to sob for no apparent reason. Memories of childhood and apparent past lives can be 'trapped' in muscles. A simple form of words - "Recall a previous time you felt that way", can release a stream of vivid images on such occasions.

One potentially highly useful aspect of past life regression is to predict later illness in the current life. Often, illness and accidents that happen in this life correspond to analogous anniversary events in apparent past lives. Thus, a woman who developed a bad back (for no apparent cause) at the age of 27, regressed to a time in a previous life when a cart ran over her spine, breaking it, at the same age. It is a definite area for further research.

There is an analogy between my concept of the psychological virtual self and that of the physical body image that we have. Most people who undergo limb amputation, continue to 'feel' the lost limb. It could also be any other part of the body that has been removed - a breast, say, or a penis. This phantom limb phenomenon provides considerable insight into brain operation. We have a representation - or homunculus - in the brain of our body. When we strike a thumb with a hammer, the pain is not actually felt in the thumb, but in the body image in the brain.

It should be of no surprise, then, that pain can be experienced in non-existent limbs. The pain in a dysfunctioning limb or organ is often still felt even after the part's full removal.

Now, significantly, persons born without limbs can also experience phantom pain. This indicates that we possess a genetically determined body image. It is probably the case that we develop physically to conform to a predetermined body image shape, rather than just by uninfluenced physical development. In the same way, I suggest that we fulfil our predetermined psychological roles according to our virtual self image.

There is another link between body image and the virtual self. Both can produce situations where the individual becomes stuck or fixated as a result of a trauma.

Let us look firstly at bodily traumas. The pain of that last moment is retained by a sort of imprinting process. Melzack gives the story of a man who got a bad splinter in his finger. As he was driving to get medical attention, his car was involved in an accident which resulted in him losing that same arm. Subsequently he could constantly still feel the pain of the splinter in the phantom finger. The brain's information had not been moved on.

Interestingly, Ramachandran, working with phantom pain sufferers, discovered that the position of the limb seems to be stuck (in the body image) to the time of the trauma. He found that using a 'virtual reality box', having a mirror which could give to the sufferer a virtual picture of the missing limb, the 'stuck stage' could be progressed and the pain alleviated. I think that this is a major insight into the condition, and cannot reasonably be put down to, say, a placebo effect. It reveals profound internal processes and may be of great help in the understanding of, say, anorexics - who really see themselves as grossly overweight. Their body image is greatly distorted.

Now, the 'stuck' stage also happens with psychological traumas. A sort of psychological amputation occurs in response to severe mental shock. A part breaks away and can form a sub-personality fixated at the trauma and isolated from other updating information. The event gets frozen in time and continues to hurt the individual emotionally.

Much of the therapy that I do consists of telling the unconscious that it is alright now - the emotional pain is over. Taking the person forward.

This frozen-in-time scenario also exists in spirit releasing therapy.

In real therapy with real people, as distinct from theoretical therapy, clients sometimes behave as though someone is speaking through them. It is usually a seeming earthbound spirit which is fixated at the moment of death and has attached to a living person. The very ancient therapy of releasing release the spirit to the light is extremely effective. Again, a therapy has to exist for such cases. To deny the phenomenon or ignore it because of practitioner bias is, in my opinion, tantamount to malpractice.

In summary, I think that we become in life what we think we ought to become, according to the innate status-image of the virtual self - which includes past life and even future life scenarios. I suspect that it is largely genetically determined (via the 'genego'). That notion reduces our free-will somewhat, but deliberate cognitive striving and self-development can probably overcome the innate programming.

Bibliography and articles

Head, J. & Cranston, S. (Eds) Reincarnation - the phoenix mystery. Julian Press, N.Y. USA

Lucas, W. (Ed) (1993) Regression therapy - a handbook for professionals. Vols 1 & 2. Deep forest press. USA

Melzack, R. (1992) Phantom limbs. Scientific American, 266 (April). 120-126.

Stevenson, I. (1997) Reincarnation biology. Vols 1 & 2. Prager. USA

Wall, P. & Melzack, R. (1994) Textbook of pain. Churchill Livingstone.

Weiss, B. (1988) Many lives, many masters. Simon & Schuster. USA

Woolger, R. (1987) Other lives, other selves. Crucible books.

Past Life Paradoxes

by Dr Keith Hearne (BSc MSc PhD) - Principal of the European College of Hypnotherapy

The man screamed in pain as the wheel of a wagon crushed his outstretched hand. He'd tripped to the ground rushing from a concert hall after suffering a panic attack when a string of his violin broke. He'd been a virtuoso performer, but now he could never play again.

RESIDUES

As we will see later, this is a typical case in past life regression therapy, where the observed principle is that 'residues' from apparent past lives continue to influence the individual in subsequent lives - especially if there was trauma in a previous life. It's known that with any trauma, we tend to make decisions which can become unwise prejudices - for example, "I shall never love again" or "Men are not to be trusted".

Emotional states may also continue to have an effect on the person, for no apparent reason, so that a recurring feeling of hatred or revenge may be present. Often these were, it seems, the last experienced emotional state from the previous life.

Physical residues are another variety. A bad skin condition now may have had its origins in a bodily trauma, such as being burnt alive, in a prior existence. Migraines may sometimes have developed from being struck on the head in an earlier lifetime.

Very few Queens of Sheba are encountered during past life regressions - usually the characters discovered are ordinary men and women. It's a surprise though to some people when they discover themselves to have been of the opposite sex, or of a different race, in previous lives.

How is past life therapy conducted ? The therapist, who must have been trained in the area, usually uses one of two approaches. The first, involves

hypnosis - or relaxation - linked with suggestions to go back in time - perhaps bit by bit or by, say, imagining walking along a corridor and being drawn to a door through which a previous life may be entered. The technique triggers images and experiences which seem to be from the past.

Another approach is where the therapist encourages the individual to concentrate on the problem that is of concern to them now and, by linking to the emotions of the past life by means of a 'bridge' method, allowing images and sounds to generate.

The therapist simply asks open questions, without guiding in any way, and the resulting experiences may be evaluated by the individual as to any relevance they have. Usually, a strong beneficial effect occurs.

REINCARNATION

Past life regression is based, of course, on the notion of reincarnation.

The peoples of the east have long accepted multiple lives, and had developed the idea of karma - where one's good and bad deeds in life directed the nature of one's next existence. The Hindus propounded the concept in their early Vedas and Upanishad teachings.

Buddhists, too, have reincarnation as a central part of their scheme of things. The ancient Tibetan Book of the Dead fully described what we call today near-death experiences, and the process of death and rebirth. The Dalai Lama has been selected in each incarnation by teams looking for a child in the locality who would, among other tests, recognise objects belonging to the previous ruler.

Reincarnation was also accepted in ancient Egypt, Greece, China and indeed by the early Christians. However, as the result of political chicanery by one man - the emperor Justinian - the idea was suppressed throughout Christendom.

At the 5th ecumenical council - convened in 553 AD by Justinian - it was 'decided' by three votes that we have only one life. The vote was somewhat unfair because the then pope was in custody and none of the western bishops attended. It then became a punishable heresy to believe in reincarnation. Naturally, the ban affected western thinking for many centuries. Only at the end of the 19th century was there a resurgence of the notion in the west, through the Theosophists.

EVIDENCE

What is the evidence for reincarnation ? Even today, in this country, the topic is viewed as a somewhat taboo area to official orthodox science. But in another, relatively unbiased culture, America, one researcher has worked carefully for decades collecting cases.

Professor Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia has produced a vast amount of data in support of reincarnation. Typically, a young child will start to talk of some other home and family. Many cases have been investigated and the child has sometimes given strong evidence in, say, revealing the location of hidden valuables.

Stevenson's latest meticulous research, has found links between birth marks or birth defects and the wounds inflicted in the seeming previous life.

With past life therapy it is not practical or necessary to determine whether the individual's previous life was recorded somewhere. But sometimes people do feel compelled to find out.

Jenny Cockell, as a child living in England, had persistent dreams and flash-backs of a family home in Ireland. Eventually, she managed to trace the house and made contact with the people she is convinced were her children - now of course older than her.

Occasionally, events emerge which seem to support an individual's account. One man, Dave, had always had a fear of water and bees, and thoroughly abhorred the smell of bananas. No apparent reason could be found for these dislikes.

In a regression, Dave found himself in a past life. He was running along a river bank with a swarm of bees attacking his body. He dived into the water to escape, but drowned. These events explained to him two of his dislikes, but it wasn't until a year later that he understood the third. A documentary programme on TV stated that when bees go into a stinging frenzy, they release a chemical that smells of - bananas.

PICTURES FROM THE PAST

A new technique has been devised, by this author, for actually 'seeing' what the person undergoing past life regression sees. The person is hypnotised and a drawing board is placed in front of them. A past life regression is conducted and the imagery is stopped on command by the

therapist. The subject opens their eyes and 'projects' the freeze-framed picture onto the board. They are then given a pencil and are instructed to trace the still scene. They are asked to describe colours, which are filled-in later.

The past life imagery may be stopped and started, so that eventually, a whole sequence of such images may be obtained - providing an incredible amount of detail. The method provides a considerably enhanced amount of information for the therapist and research, as well as a fascinating permanent record of the experience.

Christine Shirley has produced many such traced pictures. One shows her past life husband in a temple in ancient Greece. Another picture is of a mercenary soldier who attacked the village but was killed. (See illustrations)

A NECESSARY THERAPY

There is no doubt that past life regression is becoming a very valid form of therapy. People sometimes spontaneously enter apparent past lives in other therapies - even when undergoing deep tissue massage - so there has to be an established and formalised way of dealing with the experiences. They can't just be ignored.

It is an area though, where the therapist needs to be thoroughly knowledgeable and skilled. Proper training is essential. That is why the College of Past Life Regression Studies was formed.

THE MUSICIAN CURED

Returning to the opening paragraph where the violinist fled from the hall, this 19th century scenario was vividly and emotionally experienced, during a past life therapy session, by a present day guitarist, Karl, who plays in West End musicals. He was undergoing past life regression to try to deal with an intense obsession he had about keeping excessive numbers of spare strings and instruments by him.

Focussing on his problem, in a state of relaxation, Karl's imagery had automatically taken him to the panic on the stage. The events were powerful and unpleasant, but to his amazement, Karl found that subsequently he no longer had the compulsion. At some unconscious level, an explanation had been accepted - something had been released and he was cured.

Spirit Releasing Therapy

by Dr Keith Hearne (BSc MSc PhD) - Principal of the European College of Hypnotherapy

The very ancient therapeutic technique of 'releasing spirits' is rapidly becoming recognised again as a highly valid and effective form of treatment in appropriate cases. One of this country's top experts, psychologist Dr Keith Hearne (BSc MSc PhD), explains the background and the technique.

Susan was in a hypnotic trance. The leader of a group of fifteen attached entities within her was speaking to me using Susan's vocal apparatus. He was aggressive and unco-operative, refusing to consider that they should all move on to the light. Susan had, years previously, undergone a disastrous 'deliverance' conducted by an inexperienced church person. The spirits had been treated in a hostile way and called 'demonic'. The result then was that Susan's psychological agony became much worse.

My task was to mend the damage and bring about a successful releasing of the seeming spirits which had caused Susan to behave in uncharacteristic ways. I spent over an hour assuring the earthbounds that I respected their right of existence and encouraged them to move on. Eventually, one of them agreed to go and look into the Light and report back to the others. The sight must have been enticing, because within a short time they all agreed to go into the Light. They offered an apology to Susan for their invasion of her body and Susan accepted with good grace.

Instantly, there was a completely different look on her face as they departed. She was smiling, relaxed, calm, and serene. For the first time in many years (they had attached early) Susan felt free and was at last able to discover her real self. It was an immensely significant progression in her life.

What are we to make of such cases ?

In the real world, in real therapy, there is no doubt that clients sometimes actually do seem to have discarnate entities within them. They often simply manifest spontaneously. Therapists can't ignore them, so there has to be a protocol for dealing with such situations.

The entities that are usually encountered seem to be the spirits of human beings who, upon dying, for various reasons failed to go into the Light (universally reported by resuscitated persons and referred to in many ancient texts including the Tibetan Book of the Dead) and instead re-attached to a living person. They exist as spiritual parasites in a human host.

If spirit releasing therapy did not exist it would have to be invented - but of course such treatment has a very long history. In ancient times the notion of earthbound spirits causing psychological and physical problems in people was perfectly accepted. There are many references to the phenomenon in the Bible for example. About a quarter of the healing of Jesus involved releasing spirits.

What are the signs of spirit attachment ?

Often, the client has a sense of such violation. Their unconscious knows what has happened and tries to communicate the information to consciousness. A sudden change of personality may have occurred, or a new interest or skill may have manifested.

Often, a woman with an attached entity will report that it has sex with her. The spirit of a young male is usually discovered.

About half the cases seem to involve random attachments, but some concern 'unfinished emotional business' from past lives. For example, impossible promises and vows made long ago can lead to unwelcome attachments over repeated lifetimes.

A soldier's vow that "I will return" may have been said in love in one lifetime, but if he did not return then – perhaps he was killed - and his partner moved to another relationship, the vow then becomes an imposition on the partner even though it may still be held by the soldier – giving rise to a sort of 'spiritual stalking' across lifetimes.

In spiritual terms it is politically incorrect to vow anything for ever. Promises should not be made beyond a lifetime. In fact, with regard to 'eternal matters' we should vow never to vow !

People who conduct deep tissue massage report that occasionally clients are unexpectedly upset and become tearful or emotional by the treatment. Apparent past life traumas are often the cause – or it may represent an attempt at communication by an earthbound spirit. Certainly, such practitioners should be trained in at least recognising these diagnostic signs.

What are the characteristics of earthbound spirits ?

There are several universal features. For them, time does not exist. To ask them what age they are, reveals their age at bodily death – at which they are fixated. They influence the host, with their attitudes, beliefs, preferences, emotions, and physical symptoms – whereas sub-personalities (detached parts of the individual's Self) can periodically 'take over' the individual. Such a differential diagnosis is important, because sub-personalities need to be re-incorporated, whereas spirits need to go to the Light. The therapist must be competent enough to distinguish the two. Earthbound entities also use the host's energy and can cause fatigue.

What is the procedure for spirit releasing ?

There are several stages in the modern therapeutic method for spirit attachment. After the spirit has identified itself, simple questions via the client will determine the circumstances surrounding the attachment. Usually it happened when the host person was vulnerable - physically or mentally. "When did you attach ?" will reveal the occasion – often to the host's amazement.

The therapist gets the entity to comprehend that it has violated the host's space and unfairly influenced their life. Eventually, this logical approach undermines their rationale for staying. They are made to see that they are 'stuck' in their spiritual advancement and need to progress to the Light, where they can meet again with their peers and loved ones. Such realisations and the re-awakened instinct to go into the Light are enough to precipitate leaving.

Much dialogue needs to be conducted between the spirits (there are usually more than one) and therapist and spirits and client. Forgiveness is massively important in therapy and can bring truly touching episodes to the treatment.

Release to the light is often a very moving experience for the client. An emotional bond may well have been forged between the spirits and their host – despite their intrusiveness.

The vulnerability of the client that originally allowed the attachment is then healed – perhaps using a visualisation or meditation - and over the weeks, ongoing therapy is conducted to assist the client recover and adapt.

Sometimes apparent 'dark' beings are detected - but these are rather rare. Many 'demonic' entities are earthbounds that are frightened, confused and consequently protectively aggressive. Occasionally, 'alien' entities are encountered, but these certainly know they don't belong in this environment and can be easily sent on.

What sort of people attract earthbound spirits ?

It seems that spirits are most likely to attach to persons who deal with the dying – especially nurses and doctors. Persons who are compassionate also seem to attract them. I have written a 'Prayer of Protection' which people who are in close proximity with the dying can recite as a personal protection (see inset).

In cases of terminated pregnancy it seems that the spirit of the foetus can attach to anyone around at the time, the mother or the medical staff.

Does spirit attachment happen with organ transplants ?

One of the much-reported and curious phenomena of people who have received organ transplants from corpses is that they take on various

characteristics of the donor – perhaps their interests, or even vocabulary. One explanation is that there is attachment of the donor's spirit. We may find in a few years that spirit releasing will be offered as a standard procedure for recipients of donated organs.

Spirit releasing therapy is undoubtedly going to be an important therapy again, after millennia of motivated lack of attention in the West, because there are so many cases where clients behave precisely as if they have such attachments. Rather than force some specific 'therapy' which will not recognise the existence of spirits, on these clients, it is surely better to conduct a therapy directly involving the co-operation of these entities. The results are quite amazing and it can only be a matter of time before spirit releasing therapy becomes a standard part of psychiatry and medicine.

Dr Hearne's Prayer of Protection

Copyright, Dr. Keith Hearne, 2000

Let a point of Light within my inner core

expand and shine through every cell of me

and purify my soul.

Let a shell of Light surround my earthly form
and create a dazzling outer shield of Goodness,

so spirits won't come near.

Let the universal Light stream from its Source
and show to me the landscape all around,

and let the Light reveal to me the Truth.

Let the overwhelming Love that knows no bounds
flow into and from my heart for ever,

and may the powers of darkness hasten away.

Let Love, and Light, and Good
protect me evermore.

How to Control Nightmares

by Dr Keith Hearne (BSc MSc PhD) - Principal of the European College of Hypnotherapy

Every night in this country, hundreds of thousands of people are pursued by blood-thirsty maniacs ; tortured relentlessly ; torn apart by wild animals ; or buried alive.

The victims of these, and many other hideous events, are of course nightmare sufferers. For these unfortunate people, the fact that the events did not actually occur in the world of wakefulness is little consolation.

While it lasts, the dream IS reality – and the immense shock and profound grief experienced by nightmare sufferers are absolutely real. The nightmare's psychological influence can persist long after waking, thus affecting that person's mood and behaviour during the day and perhaps beyond. Sleep itself can become so aversive that the sufferer develops a defensive insomnia, that results in further stress and fatigue.

Surveys estimate that perhaps a million people in Britain experience two or more nightmares (defined as 'frightening dreams which awaken the dreamer') a week.

The scale of suffering is immense, yet it goes unrecognised by those of us who are fortunate not to be troubled by such disturbances. I've had clients who have been suicidal because they knew that sleep brought inevitable pain and severe anguish.

Women report more nightmares than men, but this may be because, for instance, some men think it is un-masculine to report them.

TWO STATES OF SLEEP

Sleep consists of two alternating states and each state has its own type of nightmare. At sleep-onset we inexorably drift into 'Slow-wave sleep' (SWS) – a description derived from brain-wave monitoring in the sleep laboratory.

After about 90 minutes or so, the ebb and flow of chemicals in the base of the brain causes a different state of sleep to emerge, known as REM or rapid-eye-movement sleep. REM is particularly associated with dreams.

This 90 minute cycle between REM and SWS sleep continues throughout sleep, with the amount of REM sleep increasing at each appearance and SWS correspondingly decreasing.

The overwhelming majority of nightmares (96%) occur in REM sleep, and only 4% are of the SWS variety – also known as sleep-terrors.

SLEEP TERRORS

Sleep terrors appear suddenly, with no warning. There is considerable fear and distress, but no real dream content. Interestingly, the person usually has no recall of the event in the morning – others witness the episode. They happen more frequently in the first half of the night when SWS is more abundant.

People who have been traumatised sometimes develop this kind of reaction. For instance, years after being badly frightened in a minefield a soldier might frequently wake up and find himself kneeling on the bed terrified that any movement will set off an explosion.

One client regularly tried to strangle his wife in sleep. He was reliving a warfare situation and saw her as the enemy. A single session of hypnotherapy cured him.

These sleep terrors are often triggered by a sudden internal or external stimulus. An external stimulus might be a loud sound – perhaps an electrical system in the bedroom switching on or off during the night. I have suggested that in some people, wearing ear-plugs might be a worthwhile remedy for this kind of sleep problem.

What we typically know as a nightmare, though, is a REM-state dream with a story-line and vivid imagery. Unlike the SWS nightmare, there is a steady increase in physiological signs