Dreaming of Life Eternal

By Madame X 2002 (revised 2005)

Before you read this article you must suspend all your preconceived notions of reality, death and rebirth.  This is not new knowledge, it is old knowledge. This is neither absolutely true nor absolutely false.  It is ancient knowledge long hidden away as it is useless to most.

The premise is simple.   Our World has two realities the Physical and the Dreaming.  ‘The substantial here and now’ vs. that which we call ‘Magick’ or ‘the Dream’, or what we may equate with the rigid waking mind vs. the magical dreaming perception. Whether we desire to grasp either of them or not, they have been imposed onto us regardless of our path or nature.  Together they create a seamless world we call Maya, like the texture of fine velvet – smooth, in one direction, and coarse when touched against the grain.  One can exist without the other, but Our World is only possible with both realities interplaying jointly.

Maya is neither wholly dream, nor is it wholly physical, yet it is both simultaneously.  Maya is the veil that obscures the truth while projecting that which is other than true, to substantiate our reality.  The ultimate truth lies beyond the physical functional reality. Reality is only a dream and dreams are the only reality.  To touch Maya we must see the original intent behind the physical manifestation; it is this very frame of mind that assists with magickal working.  It is through this premise we can reach the Ancients and connect with the Divine within, or without.

While it may be a conundrum to decipher which emerged first the substantial physical reality or the astral reality of dreams, as they are both inexorably intertwined, one stemming from the other; we can only conclude that the Astral heralds the Physical, as Dreams give rise to creation, before creation itself can conceive Dreams.  To exemplify, our physical body is a shell for our astral essence, or dream-self, while it is our dream-self that is the breath of life in our physical body.  Our physical body withers and dies but we are not truly gone until our dream-self dissipates into the ether only to be reconstituted as fragments among fragments.

We are Dreamers, dreaming of life eternal. It is our lifework to attain our ultimate Dream. While our physical body cannot live eternally, our dream-self can.  There are a special few who share the gift, with a touch of the magnificent they shine.  They share with us the innate gift to harvest, process and store life-energy.  Like us, they understand the power of what lies beyond the physical and through it seek to be vital, sharp, dream and excel.

It is vital that we understand, explore and give wings to our dream-self, as we must develop and strengthen it.  Our Dream-self is enhanced by ritual work, applying our Dragon, channeling our gifts and intentionally experiencing the astral in any small way.  Recollecting our dreams, walking lucidly through them, and daring to travel to regions unknown, are part of our dreaming experience.  We know that the dreaming reality conforms to our will, allowing us to wield power beyond our physical self, and often to embody something other than ourselves; but even in the farthest reaches of the dreaming we must cling to “The Veil of the Waking Dream”; for dreams are the only reality.  It is our path to master the dream and bring it forth into the Maya.

Similarly, it is important to treasure and honor the physical body maintaining it healthy and strong, for it is not merely a shell, but a receptor and conduit of our precious dreaming-self; our physical well-being is a reflection of our twilight.  A healthful diet, regular exercise, and good safety habits are essential.  Equally important is to understand and experience the interconnection of our physical-self with our dream-self. Harvesting and communion are necessary behaviors that, like eating, are part of our nature and life path.  Surplus life-energy promotes health, prolongs our lifespan, enhances communion with those we call The Ancients, and helps us avoid the ultimate death. 

While indulgence may be proponed; we of the Dreaming follow a path of temperance, knowing that only sustained harvesting will deliver us. The intact continuation of our dream-self ensures not only our growth in wisdom and talent, but that we can join those that have come before who now watch and guide, or that we can then join those yet to come that will shape the future. Our dream-self retains the essence of who we are spiritually, emotionally and karmically.  It is the continuity of our intact dream-self that will grant us life eternal. 

The Astral plane is the seat of the Dreaming.  There is an ethereal tether that connects the physical body with the astral dream-self.  Physical death dissolves this tether and the dream-self either dissipates, or returns to the astral to merge with other disembodied.  With the formation of every new life, a new tether is also formed.  Fragments from a myriad of disembodied dream-selves recombine to form one and attach to the tether to once again experience the physical in a new life. Through your will, it is possible that the same combination cycles more than once and that the dream-self completely avoids fragmentation. 

Regardless of what paradigm we may claim for your own.  The End is always an unknown quantity, since the recollection of past lives is obfuscated by the trauma of death and birth, only permitting dislodged slivers of memories to trickle through.   The eminent possibility of the void, reincarnation, attachment to the physical, or the blissful afterlife, are all validated by this very affirmation: do nothing and surely your dream-self will be herded into the current of fragments, but move towards the preservation of the Dreaming by avoiding the ultimate death and you shall wield the ultimate dream – Life Eternal.

But again, this is ancient knowledge long hidden away and useless to most.