Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self is the account of an extraordinarily talented lucid dreamer who goes beyond the boundaries of both psychology and religion. In the process, he stumbles upon the Inner Self While lucid (consciously aware) in the dream state and able to act and interact with dream figures, objects, and settings, dream expert Robert Waggoner experienced something transformative and unexpected. He was able to interact consciously with the dream observer -- the apparent Inner Self -- within the dream. At first this seemed shocking, even impossible, since psychology normally alludes to such theoretical inner aspects as the Subliminal Self, the Center, the Internal self-helper in vague and theoretical ways. Waggoner came to realize, however, that aware interaction with the Inner Self was not only possible, but actual and highly inspiring. He concluded that while aware in the dream state, one has both a psychological tool and a platform from which to understand dreaming and the larger picture of man's psyche as well. Waggoner proposes 5 stages of lucid dreaming and guides readers through them, offering advice for those who have never experienced the lucid dream state and suggestions for how experienced lucid dreamers can advance to a new level. Lucid Dreaming offers exciting insights and vivid illustrations that will intrigue not only avid dreamworkers but anyone who is interested in consciousness, identity, and the definition of reality. Robert Waggoner is President-Elect of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) and a summa cum laude graduate of Drake University with a degree in psychology. He is also the cofounder and editor of the online journal, The Lucid Dream Exchange (dreaminglucid.com), the only ongoing publication devoted specically to lucid dreaming. He is a frequent speaker at national and international dream conferences. Lucid Dreaming Gateway to the Inner Self By Robert Waggoner Moment Point Press Copyright © 2009 Robert Waggoner All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-930491-14-4 Contents AcknowledgmentsPrefacePART ONE: THE JOURNEY INWARD1: Stepping Through the Gate2: Does the Sailor Control the Sea?3: Moving in Mental Space4: Beyond Freud's Pleasure Principle5: Independent Agents and the Voice of the Unconscious6: Feeling-Tones and Review Committees7: Experiencing the Light of Awareness8: Connecting with the Hidden Observer of Dreaming9: The Five Stages of Lucid DreamingPART TWO: EXPLORING THE PSYCHE10: Creating the Dream Reality11: Varieties of Dream Figures12: Fishing for Information13: Healing Yourself and Others14: Consciously Connecting via Telepathy15: Forward-Looking, Precognitive Lucid Dreams16: Mutual Lucid Dreaming17: Interacting with the Deceased18: The Unified Self in a Connected UniverseAppendix A: Frequently Asked QuestionsAppendix B: Tips and TechniquesEndnotesSelected BibliographyIndex CHAPTER 1 STEPPING THROUGH THE GATE Like many children, I had an intense dream life. Dreams were anamazing theater of the mind featuring both glorious adventures and moments of sheerterror. In one dream, a songbird, a meadowlark, I believe, landed on my chest and sangme its simple song, which I immediately understood and woke up singing. In anotherdream, I found myself on a fifteen-foot Pogo stick bouncing down the deserted streets,almost flying. On occasion I seemed to be an animal—a dog or coyote, for example—trottingalong the dark night's sidewalks in a four-legged gait, totally at peace, seeing theneighborhood from a canine's drooping-headed, tongue-wagging perspective. With dreams like these, I was a child who had to drag himself out of bed. In those early years, I remember clearly only one spontaneous lucid dream. In it, I waswandering the local library and suddenly saw a dinosaur stomping through the stacks.Somehow it dawned on me: If all dinosaurs are extinct—this must be a dream! Nowconsciously aware that I was dreaming, I reasoned further: Since this was a dream—Icould wake up! I reasoned correctly and awoke safe in my bed. That youthful experience illuminates the essential element of lucid dreaming: theconscious awareness of being in a dream while you're dreaming. In this unique state ofawareness, you can consider and carry out deliberate actions such as talking to dreamfigures, flying in the dream space, walking through the walls of dream buildings, creatingany object desired, or making them disappear. More important, an experienced luciddreamer can conduct experiments in the subconscious or seek information from theapparently conscious unconscious. But I'm getting ahead of myself ... In those preteen days, before I began lucid dreaming regularly, three experiences keptalive my interest in dreaming and the psyche: occasional dreams that seemed to beprecognitive, an unexpected "vision experience," and the very real sense of having accessto an inner knowing. Like many, I found life's deepest mysteries in the