From: laura@nospam.me   
      
    wrote in message   
   news:1105568204.908042.150310@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...   
   > Rubystars,   
   > Maybe another frame of reference will be helpful to you. I don't view   
   > Lucid Dreaming as a spiritual experience at all. I don't think Jesus   
   > was a Lucid Dreamer, and it's possible that the prophetic dreams   
   > described in the Bible are accounts of Lucid Dreaming, but it is also   
   > possible that the stories were written after the fact to make the   
   > prophecies appear to be true. Angels appearing with messsages in dreams   
   > may or may not indicate Lucid Dreaming; to me such accounts are   
   > colorful ways of describing dream events, but not validation of any   
   > spiritual beliefs.   
   >   
   > I don't think you open up the doors to evil through OOBE, or that evil   
   > demons could take over your body while you are away. I never met anyone   
   > who had such an experience, and anyone who did might be considered   
   > mentally ill since one of the indications of schizophrenia is the   
   > belief that someone else is controlling your actions. I do think that   
   > there are some aspects of the personality residing in the unconscious   
   > that are very unpleasant and might be considered to be evil because   
   > they are harmful either to others or to yourself. These aspects can be   
   > explored through Lucid Dreaming, and if you understand their nature,   
   > can be a source of psychic (psychic means of the psyche, not   
   > necessarily occult or supernatural) energy. If you don't understand   
   > them and their meaning, then your explorations could backfire and   
   > release them from the unconscious where they could wreak havoc with   
   > your life.   
   >   
   > So toying with Lucid Dreaming may not be the best way to approach it,   
   > but there is certainly nothing wrong with a playful attitude. Flying   
   > around to see what happens in your dreams or morphing dream objects and   
   > landscapes is a far cry from indulging your most deviant desires. The   
   > same common sense that serves you in the waking world will serve you in   
   > the world of dreams.   
   >   
   > Ultimately the events and images of dreams are contained in your mind,   
   > and the reports of connections with alternate realities, the spiritual   
   > realms, or even material reality need to be scrutinized carefully. If   
   > upon close examination these reports reveal a viewpoint based on   
   > certain religious, spiritual, or philosophical leanings, and this   
   > viewpoint has influenced the report of the experience, then is seems   
   > very likely that the experience is as much imagined as real. So a   
   > Christian might see St. Peter at the pearly gates in a dream, and a   
   > Hindu might feel oneness with all of creation, but each is reporting   
   > through the filter of their belief system, and neither is a reflection   
   > of a existence beyond material reality, but instead an indication of   
   > the individual mindset.   
   >   
   > Paul   
   >   
      
   Exceedingly well put! Great post :-)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)