Connection to Christian Mysticism

Attention: this article is not about techniques but about how lucid dreams are connected to mysticism.

You can read it without a deep knowledge of the topic, but those who practiced LD may find it more useful.

Lucid dreaming (hereafter LD) and Christian mysticism interconnect in two important ways. One grants us inspiration, the other teaches us caution.

Hope

LDs are known for a unique experience of superreality. Colors become more vibrant and vivid, senses sharper, objects more textured, sculpted and crisp than in the waking world itself.

That is a stunning, unforgettable feeling. As if you watched your whole life in 360p, and suddenly it goes up to 4К. The “mirror, in which we see dimly” finally becomes clearer.

An example from my own life. One of the first LDs I saw had me flying over a night meadow. There was only dark sky and green grass, nothing more. But this grass was so beautiful, so green and so grassy, that it is imprinted into my memory forever. That most common meadow was more glorious than any masterpiece of art. Even now, after many years, when I write about it and vaguely reminisce, the heartbeat quickens slightly.

This phenomenon is understudied, as are LDs in general. It lies far outside the boundaries of ordinary, but I think per se it is neither supernatural nor spiritual – or rather, not more supernatural than our nature itself is. However, its mechanics are not important, because it is immensely useful anyway.

It evidently shows that reality can be more solid, more real, than the one we live in now. Even though we are not yet prepared for eternity, we already possess the ability to perceive something greater. Our nature is already made to grow into it. It means that the promises of faith and the hope of heaven are not a delusion. The Renewed Earth, where there is no evil, all things are filled with truth and we live unceasingly, is not mere fantasy. It is entirely possible.

Hope always pursues bonum arduum, that is, a difficult but attainable good. If the good seems unrealistic, hope withers.

This superreality we experience in LD can fortify and vivify our Christian hope. The soul sees that her efforts are justified, her reward is conceivable. It becomes much clearer what we believe for. This is a great gift for which we can only thank lucid dreams.

Caution

LD is a state between dreaming and waking, the uppermost of all layers of sleep. Normally a person enters LD from below, i.e. from a dream. In that case the dreamscape where LD unfolds is the panorama of the preceding dream.

But sometimes, if a person stays in a highly tense, liminal state – for example, prays with excessive fervor – they can unknowingly slip into LD from above, i.e. from wakefulness.

Then the initial dreamscape will most likely mirror the room or another environment that was right before person’s eyes. The subconscious will recreate the scene with utmost precision, but the logic of reality will shift to logic of dreamworld.

This may lead to a situation when the person is sure they witnessed a miracle: say, they prayed passionately and suddenly saw, that an image on the wall shone with light and spoke to them. They will be adamant that this happened in reality, and insist with all sincerity, because they do not know about LDs and how to discern them.

It is possible that many miraculous visions of the past had approximately this genesis.

However, there are definite markers by which one can spot LDs and separate them from true God’s visions. For example, a strange brief dimming of senses between the prayer and the appearance of the vision. Was it dark, light or twilight. Did the person sleep soon before or after the event, and so on.

Such hints are numerous, some of them obvious and some rather subtle, but we won’t discuss them now, lest the article becomes too technical.

Most important: if a person has the necessary practice, they can instantly and almost 100% correctly identify that they are in a LD. This is good news.

But the skill to discern LD cannot emerge on its own, for it is not aligned with our nature. For example, one would need to develop a habit to sometimes question oneself: “am I sleeping right now?” and perform a check.

Most people do not even think to pose such a question. This requires a kind of mini-revolution in the mind. But with some training it comes forth relatively easy.

The Church always approached dreams cautiously, and rightfully so. From what we know about LD we can derive some particular recommendations:

– It would be wise to not establish in clerical houses the schedule that could cause lack of sleep, physical or psychological exhaustion.

– Excessive asceticism is not to be commended.

– It would be useful to at least introduce seminarians and novices to LD and how to discern it.

– If some miracle was witnessed by a single person, it should always be considered LD or another sort of mind’s play, even if the witness in all sincerity believes that it was real – unless there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

May the omnipotent God help us to attain everything we may now only dream of, and furthermore, that of what we do not even dare to dream. Amen.