Journey Deeper Into the Mind in Your Dreams

July 16th, 2007

This article is part of the series Mastering the Art of Lucid Dreaming. If this is your first visit to the site, I recommend starting at the beginning of the series.

Whenever you get the feeling you're only scratching the surface of a particular issue in your dreams, it can be helpful to use a technique to delve deeper into the unconscious. In dreams, the unconscious mind frequently is represented by archetypal symbols or metaphors. It may be portrayed as an untamed wilderness, a large unexplored house, a vast churning ocean, or even a busy and colorful market. Whatever form it takes in your dreams, your unconscious mind most often presents itself to you as an infinite expanse of detail to explore and investigate.

To dig deeper into your unconscious mind, you'll need to take steps to trigger a dream conducive to that form of directed exploration. Rather than posing questions to your unconscious mind and allowing it to guide you, you will instead direct your unconscious mind to open itself to your exploration and allow you to wander freely. The goal is to follow a path of your own choosing through the territory of your unconscious mind, investigating whatever details catch your interest along the way.

At bedtime, perform the lucid dreaming techniques described in previous articles in this series to ensure you become lucid in your dream. After performing the techniques of your choice, conduct a dream incubation session to direct your dream self to explore your unconscious mind. Visualize your unconscious mind in the form of your choice — as a lush forest, a house, a temple, or whatever metaphor you feel is most appropriate. If you have been recording your dreams in a dream journal, review your previous entries to determine if your unconscious mind has already shown itself to you in a specific form in the past. If it has already presented itself to you in a specific form, it may be more effective to utilize that form for this exercise.

As part of the dream incubation process, imagine yourself at the entrance to your unconscious mind. If you've selected a forest or jungle to represent your unconscious mind, visualize your dream self standing at the edge of the forest. Imagine a winding path leading into the forest. If you've selected a house or temple, visualize your dream self standing at the building's entrance before a closed door. Imagine your dream self opening the door to reveal a long corridor. Affirm to yourself that you are standing at the edge of your unconscious mind, ready to explore its depths.

In the mental image you've created, see your dream self becoming lucid before taking the first few steps along the path or corridor. Set your intent to explore your unconscious mind within your dreams that night, then retire to bed and await your dream. Hold the intent in your mind as you drift off to sleep.

Along the path through the landscape of your unconscious mind, you may encounter many twists and turns. At many points, the path may branch in several different directions, leaving you to choose which direction to explore. When this occurs, stop at the fork in the path and reaffirm to yourself that you are dreaming and will remain consciously aware within the dream. After reaffirming your lucid state, allow yourself to ponder each direction on the path to see if one direction tugs at you more than the others. This may be a hint from your unconscious mind indicating there is something worth pursuing in that direction.

Keep in mind the entire landscape of your dreams is generated by your unconscious mind and you do not necessarily need to create a specific scenario to represent the exploration of your unconscious mind. Simply by recording the details of your dreams in your dream journal each day and actively exploring your dream environment each night, you are already learning to understand the territory and mechanics of your unconscious mind. You're gradually becoming more and more familiar with the methods employed by your unconscious mind to direct your conscious awareness toward specific issues. This technique is merely another method that can help you in that process.