Dream Recall and factors that contribute to it.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

https://www.psychnewsdaily.com/how-to-remember-dreams/

How to Remember Dreams; the above link. It has interested me greatly how Eric appears to have a much better dream recall than others including myself, who struggle to remember the full account of what I had just experienced in my dream travels. I have at various times attributed his experiences with dreams and his following and listening to Sufi teachings like Hazrat Khan to his past life practices. Below I will show just how much I believe those practices were influenced by Sufi Masters of dream recall, interpretation and experiences;

Dream Interpretation in Sufism Past and Present

https://dreamstudies.org/sufi-dream-interpretation-sufism/

BY DR.MUHAMMAD

sufi-dream-interpretation
Image by Lisa Dietrich
The reliance that Sufis place on dreams in their paths of spiritual progress is illustrated in a dream reported from the life of Imaam Abu Hamid al-Ghazzaalii (1058-1111). In Duncan B. Macdonald’s 19th century biography, it is said that Al-Ghazzaalii was beset by many personal struggles of a spiritual nature during certain phases of his religious studies.

During one of those phases he had a dream in which he had a conversation with God, in which he was told to “abandon his formal rules,” and to join the company of the Sufis whom he had been questioning. He asked God to help him change his feelings toward them. In response, he was told that the change will be made, and that he will be given new “lights” for his protection.

When he awoke from the dream “in great joy,” al-Ghazzaalii reported it to his Shaykh, who gave further explanation of the dream. This dream is mentioned by Macdonald as a turning point in al-Ghazzaalii’s life and career–one of the factors that led to his conversion toward Sufism. Al-Ghazzalii wrote many works which have guided Sufis and others ever since.

He is possibly not the only Sufi who has found rest and completion by following a suggestion received in a dream.

[guest587]

Steve,

It's 1:11PM now as I write to you.

And I notice your post ends in the repeating 4's(the number of angels).

I had no idea Sufis place dreams as an important aspect to their spiritual work.

That I utilize my dreams as a way to understand communication with the unseen, guiding intelligence- I feel a sense of belonging to your post. Like maybe I was a Sufi in a past life. How else would the words, "I am Sufi" be presented to me in a dream, when I had no idea at the time, what the word meant?

That I continue to maintain a Faith in my friend, HIK... And the teachings of Universal Sufism/Mysticism...

It leads me to believe Al Khadir, also known as the Peacock Angel- really did initiate me in 2008 at the dream level- and I really am to discover more of this lineage as it relates to my personal desires to understand the less discussed states and experiences of consciousness or, "nonordinary states of consciousness."

That you have had an interest in psychology- and this recent talk of Carl Jung, makes me feel we are being divinely guided and even placed back on track with accordance a desire you just wrote(to focus on the things that bring us together instead of spending time in political differences). In every opportunity, we are reminded of the work before us.

So, I deeply appreciate the contribution of this thread and our continued efforts to move past our petty differences as we cultivate divine friendship.

Wishing you a beautiful day.

With gratitude,
Eric

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Yes it interests me how people are drawn to different paths and even differences in some aspects paths have as well. For instance although Uwe and I share similarities in the practice of Kriya we do follow some different gurus in our practice. I have yet to learn what differences and similarities our paths may have. While, I do know that Yogananda discussed the importance of dreams, I do not feel that as a general rule he supported a view as strong as for instance Carl Jung or the Sufi’s approach. And though I love spending time with Amma and her activities to help humanity I don’t see her spiritual approach as disciplining as for instance Yogananda’s approach to meditation. Hers is more a path of karma yoga, where as, Yogananda’s is a combination of his own spiritual disciplines, he created and the Kriya teachings of Lahiri Mahayasi and Babaji. Sri Yukteswar was more of a Jyana yogi.

I have more of an interest in dreams than say Amma or Yogananda in their  teachings. Perhaps it is because I have an interest in psychologists who have had the most interest in using dream analyses to help others in their unfolding understanding of conscious and unconscious manifesting in living life with others. Paramahansa Yogananda has told us that the dream life we have at night is to remind us that when we return from our nightly sojourns, there is yet another dream to wake up from which we share in an amnesia state with the others we face in our day to day lives. I believe the psychological concept that we are all fragmented to a larger or a smaller degree in our conscious approach to experiencing life. This is because of unconscious parts of our personality which are submerged and fragmented from us, as we limit our awareness to those personality quirks we have become accustomed to express. Supplementing our consciousness with dream analyses from the unconscious can help us integrate a larger consciousness.

Although all approaches lead to the one goal. Let us  look at the unique process and features of Carl Jung’s approach…

Steps of the Individuation Process

The individuation is an autonomous process of accomplishing of the individual wholeness experienced as a psychological completeness. In Jung's terms, the individuation means the realization of the Self , which is the conjunction of the conscious and the unconscious. In the practical accomplishment of this goal, the interpretation of the dreams plays a dominant role because dreams are the expression of the unconscious, both of the personal and of the collective one.

In regards to the collective unconscious; I believe this concept more closely fits the Masters we are familiar with in their views of what enlightenment, self realization, samadhi and satori represent.

I can’t say that I agree in totality to Jung’s approach to psychology because as you know I’m more focused on meditation to ‘actualize’ all unconsciousness activity but certainly dreams can help in this process.

It is possible to establish a set of steps which take us to the final goal. See link below…
https://carl-jung.net/individuation_steps.html

"Everything in the unconscious seeks outward manifestation, and the personality too desires to evolve out of its unconscious conditions and to experience itself as a whole". C. G. Jung - Memories Dreams, Reflections, Vintage Books, 1989