Conclusion
In my experience, TOL lucid dreamwork in effect can result in something like what Jung called individuation, but in a broader and more profound sense, in that it can facilitate greater wholeness in the practitioner on a multitude of levels. Jewish mystics believed that Biblical texts, in the original Hebrew, have four levels of meaning that simultaneously coexist:
Peshat = Literal level
Remez = Symbolic level
Drash = Allegorical level
Sod = Mystical level.
These four levels make up the acronym PRDS, or PaRDeS, a root term for paradise that literally means Orchard. I believe these levels apply to dreams, including lucid dreams, as well.
In its very essence, the Tree of Life exemplifies the Alchemical maxim, “As Below, so Above, as Above, so Below.” The archetypal fractal, one can apply its pattern of relationships to anything, from the microcosmic to the macrocosmic, from the infinitely large to the infinitely small. Some might ask, what actually happens when one explores the Tree of Life through lucid dreaming?
On which levels of reality does the experience take place? On what levels might it have an impact? Physical? Psychological? Spiritual? Transpersonal? (8) Personally, given my own experiences in exploring the Tree of Life in lucid dreams, I’d have to go with “all of the above.”
The Tree of Life Lucid Dreaming Challenge:
Simple Instructions: Choose a key – the Hebrew title for one of the Sefiroth in the chart below. Memorize and practice its pronunciation. The next time you have a lucid dream, center yourself, chant the word with focused intent, and notice what happens!
And for those who want more detailed instructions –
A Step by Step Guide:
In Waking Physical Reality
- Set up a dream incubation to provide information to help you choose which Sefirah to focus on.
- Based on the dreams that result, or upon your waking intuition, select the Hebrew name of a Sefirah of the Tree of Life to use as a key to unlock the path it designates. (Alternatively, you can instead use the name of an Archangel. See references 9 and 10 for more information.)
- Practice chanting the name, using the recommended pronunciation, several times a day, as a meditative exercise, while making movements or gestures if any feel appropriate to you.
- Try to do this while centered in the integrated, non-attached mental state of Kavanah.
- On the nights on which you intend to do Tree of Life path work, do what you normally do to facilitate lucid dreaming, but also bring yourself into a condition of “ritual and spiritual purity.” This can seem a simple as taking a bath before retiring into a clean bed, or as elaborate as the preparations made by the ancient Greek supplicants before going into the Temple of Asklepios in hopes of a healing dream. A quiet evening, a news fast, a centering meditation, and a Daily Review, all can play an important part in setting up TOL dreaming.
In Lucid Dream Reality
- When you next gain full lucidity in a dream, while staying centered and focusing your intent in a respectful way similar to prayer, clearly chant the name of the Sefirah you’ve chosen. Make hand or body gestures if this feels appropriate. Repeat. As best you can, bring yourself into the meditative state known as Kavanah, which aligns the lower will with the Higher Will.
- Pay attention to any changes in yourself or in the dreamscape, visual, auditory, or tactile. You may hear a chorus of voices joining in, feel a strong emotion, see the dreamscape glowing with an inner light, or even undergo a bodily transformation.
- If you feel a pull, surrender to it, but continue chanting as you travel.
- When you arrive, and the dreamscape has stabilized, take note of your surroundings – colors, shapes, or other qualities, as well as any entities that you meet, etc..
- Bring yourself to full lucidity, and go exploring!
- After returning to WPR, write your dreams down in detail. If a dreamscape particularly impresses you, make a colored sketch of it for later reference.
Check out more of Ed’s lucid dreamscapes at http://dreamtalk.hypermart.net/member/files/ ed_kellogg.html
References:
- Charles Poncé, Kabbalah: An Introduction and Illumination for the World Today, Quest Books, 1973. Highly recommended to beginners as an approachable overview of the complex, fascinating, world of Kabbalah. (See also reference 8.)
- Aryeh Kaplan (translator), Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation, Samuel Weiser Books, 1990. This book includes a wealth of useful additional information, including a translation of the “Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom.”
- Gershom Sholem, Origins of the Kabbalah, edited by R.J. Zwi Werblowsky, translated from the German by A. Arkush, Princeton University press, 1962, 1987.
- Rabbi Azriel, “Gate of Kavanah” translated by Aryeh Kaplan in his Meditation and Kabbalah, pp 117-124. (To see my adaptation of this technique, “The Gate of Kavanah for Lucid Dreamers”, send requests to [email protected].) This book also includes excerpts from Joseph Gikatalia’s Gates of Light.
- James H. Charlesworth (editor), Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, edited by Doubleday, 1983. Includes authoritative translations of 1 Enoch, 2 Enoch, and The Book of the Palaces (renamed by Odeberg ‘3 Enoch’ in 1928.)
- Mary Ziemer, ‘The Alchemy and Archetype of Black Light in Lucid Surrender,’ Dreamtime, 34 #3 pp 6-9, Fall, 2011. http://www.luciddreamalchemy.com/page/resources (Also, check out her interview in this issue of LDE for some impressive examples!)
- E. W. Kellogg III, ‘The Lucidity Continuum,’ a paper presented at the Eighth Annual Conference of the Lucidity Association in Santa Cruz, June 28, 1992. Published in the October, 2004 issue of Electric Dreams, 11, Issue #10. (http://www.improverse.com/ed-articles/kellogg/ )
- E. W. Kellogg III. For those who require a succinct summary of the TOL, explaining essential points, these very short articles, “The Tree of Life: The Archetypal Fractal” and “The Tree of Life and the Tarot: Pathway to Initiation,” can help bring you up to speed. Send requests to [email protected].
- E. W. Kellogg III, “LDE Quarterly Lucid Dreaming Challenge, Contacting an Angel, Ally, or Guide,” The Lucid Dream Exchange, #34, pp 16-17, March, 2005. http:// www.dreaminglucid.com/challenges/ldechallenge3.pdf
- E. W. Kellogg III, “Angelic Encounters in Lucid Dreams,” Lucid Dream Exchange, #62, pp 18-19, March, 2012. http://www.dreaminglucid.com/issues/LDE62.pdf
