Athena Laz - The Alchemy of Your Dreams: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Art of Lucid Dreaming and Interpretation

W ith no memory of how she arrived at this place or point in time, she is aware only that she is standing barefoot on a gravel road. The darkness around her is reverberating with a seeming cacophony of silence and whispers like only the night can make. She surveys the land in an attempt to gather her bearings and as she does the reality sinks in. Shes all alone in this place... this place.

Where is this place, again?

The granular nature of the gravel beneath her cold bare feet distracts her from her thoughts. She looks down bearing witness to her feetmeek and exposedand, squinting, she sees that she is standing on an X, marked in red paint.

Curious, she thinks.

In the cold, wet darkness a warm thought appears. She realizes that she can see clearly in the night. In fact, shes always been able to see in the dark. Another trigger of recognition: shes always had the power of choice. With that illumination she now understands that she is currently facing a choice. Stand still and stagnate or move forward boldly into the unknown.

Suddenly her slumber recedes, waking her to the reality of her bed and the room around her. That is life as usual. Yet, with one subtle difference: now, she carries something precious with her. A gift brought back from the dream:

X marks the spot

X is where the treasure lies

X is this red-hot minute

All of your dreams are a gift. Yes, even the dreams that scare the life out of (or rather into) you. They are the treasures offered up from within your own psyche and spirit. As renowned writer and analyst Marie-Louise Von Franz proclaimed: dreams dont waste much spit telling you what you already know. And as I like to drive home, dreams tell you whatyou need to know.

They are the X that marks the spot.

By their very nature dreams speak to something much larger, and far more numinous, than what we already know. They speak to all that we dont know. All that we refuse to see. Or simply cant see. All that we wish to see. They speak to the interconnection of all life and our very place within it.

Dreams lift our gaze to show us the multitude of infinite possibilities, and as you will come to discover over the course of this book, when you dream you are guided by something much larger than just your own mind. You are led by spirit in tandem with your psyche. As a result you can receive wisdom, creative inspiration, and powerful solutions that can and will elevate you, should you choose to act on your dream guidance.

This is what acted on dreams look like in the world: Larry Page received the idea for Google through a dream; Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, used her dreams as inspirationas does Stephen King; Paul McCartney heard the melody for Yesterday in a dream; August Kekul discovered the ring-like structure of benzene after dreaming of a snake eating its own tail (the ouroboros symbol). Even Niels Bohr dreamed of the structure of the atom.

And as any therapist would know, dreams help us on a night-to-night basis, not just with visionary ideas that move the world. They gift fundamental and transformative insights to help us navigate the daily terrain of life, emotions, relationships, and desires. They help us feel better.

Dreams have been scientifically proven to help regulate negative emotion. They can provide a level of closure and healing when grief takes hold of us. Offer answers to problems that seem immovable during waking hours, and even help to resolve inner conflict.

You will discover that all dreams are abundant offerings. Now, this isnt to say that all of your dreams will feel easya nocturnal narrative of bliss and pleasure. This is because dreams help to guard against self-deception and in doing so they often pack a metaphoric punch, encouraging you to ask: What is the message Im not hearing? The thing that Im not seeing? The path Im afraid to follow? The feeling Im unwilling to feel?

Answering these questions in waking life requires a depth of honesty and emotional resolve that is often simply easier to ignore. Dreams, however, knock nightly on the psyche, waking us up to our inner truth. A truth that can extend to a life well lived should you, the dreamer, bravely turn to face your insights. You know the thing, the feelings, the patterns, and the longings that stand between you and your most aligned waking life.