Photo by JR Korpa via Unsplash
When it comes to the endeavor of exploring the construction of a dream, thought forms appear to be the most accessible phenomenon to get your research going. I discovered the idea of thought forms in the book, Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self by Robert Waggoner. As he saw it, dream figures varied in their awareness and responsiveness, so he gave the designation of “thought forms” to dream figures who existed by virtue of one’s thought activity.
My first step was an examination of dream figures concerning their structure and characteristics. What interested me most about thought forms was to verify if dream figures might develop an “independent” personality. I learned by experience that not only did some dream figures not vanish when I announced that “All thought forms must cease!,” they also often reacted in an aggressive or snappy manner.
Almost at the completion of my consecutive series of experiments, I happened to stumble upon the book Seth, Dreams and Projections of Consciousness by Jane Roberts, as if through a synchronistic event. By studying her observations in the excerpts from “The Physical Universe as Idea Construction,” I received additional insight to my dream results which I found convincing and intriguing. As a consequence of this, I present selected dream excerpts connected with my exploration of thought forms, supported by Jane Roberts’ definitions.
Apart from the basic approach, I also attempted to explore the opposite of a thought form, as the following dream segment illustrates:
“Mindful Speaking”
Showing my friends around my fictitious estate, I start talking about a virtual reality room to be soon established as one of the future attractions for my visitors. While explaining the opportunity to cope with simulated opponents, I suddenly get startled by the content of my monolog. What am I just saying? Doesn’t that sound too surrealistic?
Full of suspicion, I look at my hands, revealing too many fingers. “It’s a dream,” I pronounce at my companions, beaming. Having remembered my goal, I run in the middle of the guest room and shout out towards the awareness of the dream: “Show me the opposite of a thought form!” Because of that, the dream scene collapses at a snail’s pace.
This outcome brought me to the confirmation that the dream represents a construction of thought forms not corresponding to the waking reality. At this point, I decided to incubate a dream to learn about the nature of a thought form. The brief scene of the non-lucid dream described below sheds light on that matter:
“The Force”
. . . “Learn to utilize the force of your thoughts. It is all you need to overcome any obstacle,” a professional athlete explains to me, pointing to hurdles of different sizes on our way.
In this context, I eventually realized that my discovery agrees with Jane Roberts’ explanations, depicting a certain varying energetic force driving our thoughts with the potential to manifest in the physical realm.
Moving forward with my research, before falling asleep I set my intention to find out how a thought form comes into being. Consider the following dream scene, which answered my question by triggering lucidity:
“The Emergence of Thoughts”
I participate in a seminar on literature. The course instructor announces the task: “Make a note of anything you connect with yourself.”
Skimming through my column of strange symbols, I get a sneaky suspicion at the number 27 which does NOT denote my real age.
Blushing due to my instructor’s glance at my sheet of paper, I am astounded to hear her opinion, directed to me: “Our goal is not to talk about the results because they all are very personal. But you know what to do now. You have to carry out a reality test.”
Surprised, I have my eye on my right hand, containing twisted fingers, and get lucid.
Upon waking, I sum up in my dream journal: Thought forms arise in our head. They are personal. They don’t have to be true—a reality test might turn out helpful both in a dream and waking life.
Shortly after, I began to wonder if the deliberate creation of a dream figure that is not a thought form is possible and tried to achieve this goal in the lucid dream stated below:
“Thought Forms Through Dream Control”
After a brief talk with my little sister, I fall asleep on a couch. Having awoken, I realize I am aware within my “dream” which serves as a substitute for a reality test. Carefully, I climb out of the window and land in a large meadow.
Recalling my intention from the waking state, I call out to the awareness of the dream: “Show me a dream figure that does NOT represent a thought form!” Immediately, I notice several children running cheerfully away from me, coming from nowhere. On the spur of the moment, I demand they disappear while trying to catch up with them. As no one vanishes, I wait until they stop to take a breather.
“Why haven’t you disappeared? Do you have a proper awareness?” I am pestering them. The children look at me with confusion until I recognize I won’t get any useful answers and wake up.
What struck me most about this experience is the fact that independent dream figures might be created artificially, yet under evident, mysterious losses which Jane Roberts explains by the claim that idea construction is reduced to its minimum function while sleeping. Might that be the reason why so many dream figures seem to be out of place or simply slow on the uptake when encountered in the course of a lucid dream?
In most cases, I noticed that “stable,” i.e. not disappearing thought forms, portray themselves as different aspects of myself. On the contrary, within the framework of “The Physical Universe as Idea Construction,” Jane Roberts also discusses the possibility of meeting another entity, not belonging to the dreamer’s personality. As I’ll detail in the following dream report, I happened to meet and speak with an inexplicable creature who seems to match this category:
“Someone (?) Beyond a Thought Form”
Standing beside two women in an unknown apartment, I spontaneously compare their hair color with mine: bright blue, bright yellow, and bright white. This evokes astonishment, which leads me to lucidity.
Afterward, I examine the rest of my dream environment by heading to another room where three humanoid beings in cloaks are about to form a circle, holding hands, as if performing a particular ritual. Persistently but to no avail, I yell my requests for them to disappear. To get in touch with these figures and learn the reason, I ask them directly: “Why haven’t you disappeared?”
Suddenly, one of the creatures looks straight into my eyes with a rational expression on its face: “I am NOT a thought form.” Taken aback, I awaken immediately.
In summary, my thought experiments based on my current development and level of expectation signify that our so-called reality is multi-layered, the energy behind our thoughts is fluctuating, and thought forms might either possess deceptive qualities or not be constructed to their full extent.
Photo by kellepics via Pixabay
References: Jane Roberts, (1998), Seth, Dreams and Projections of Consciousness, New Awareness Network Inc., Manhasset, N.Y. Robert Waggoner, (2009), Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self, Moment Point Press Inc., Needham, MA.
