Over the years I have engaged the awareness behind the dream several times by using the phrase, “Show me what I need to see,” or some similar variation. A search in my computer’s dream folder using that phrase turned up 23 such lucid dreams. There have been some common themes such as trees that show up frequently, sometimes prominently and at other times in the background, with much of what I have seen being entirely unpredictable. The following are some that I found most fascinating.
A handful of my “Show me what I need to see” dreams include being shown something geometric, as though I am seeing something of the structure of reality.
Once lucid, I walk across a busy street and see a small pond next to intersecting roads. The pond is calm, and I feel the wind on my skin. I say to the dream, "Show me what I need to see. Tell me what I need to hear. Teach me what I need to learn." As I say this, I lean backwards and turn my wrists up towards the sky. I slowly float up and I surrender my thoughts looking only to observe what I see. I then notice a large pine tree on the opposite side of the pond that goes high into the sky. The top one-third of the tree begins to spin rapidly. A tornado comes down from the sky with the bottom point of the tornado reaching the top of the spinning tree at a focal point. The tree and tornado each rotate rapidly into the focal point.
This ending of this next dream also includes a geometric shape. A couple of hours after waking up from this dream I learned that someone who was part of my friend group when I was younger had died during that night.
In front of me is a large ornate hallway. I see beautiful black and white pictures on the wall. They are all large pictures of people and are stunning. I realize that I'm dreaming, and I am filled with some excitement about that. I say, "Show me what I need to see." I look back at the pictures and they are now smaller and in color. I think I liked them better as black and white images, but they are still nice. I begin to float upward with my chest facing the ceiling. I see light like the sun above me, though it isn't too bright to hurt my eyes. I feel the distinct sensation of warmth, and it feels comforting. I see a three-dimensional box shape, with the lines looking like they are made of electricity.
The most interesting dream characters have shown up in some of these dreams. One time I had a discussion with a couple of dream characters to try and determine which of us was the dreamer and which ones were characters in the others’ dream, or in another example I landed on the dock of the island of Little Havana to be met by three local men who showed me around the island. In the following dream, a large cast of characters wanted me to notice them.
I walk outside onto an upper level porch. I now recognize this as a dream, and I become fully lucid. I take off flying. I fly over an open field and enjoy my flight. I can see coming up on the field is a group of people. I decide to let the dream guide me and say, “Show me what I need to see.” I fly closer to the people and now see that it is a large group of people of several races. In unison they say, “See us!” Letting the dream guide my flight, I move down just above them with my right hand extended. As I fly over them, I tap hands with each one of them, almost like we are giving each other high fives.
My father and I ran a business together for many years, along with a secretary who had been with us for much of that time. Within a couple of years of the following dream both my father and secretary retired, leaving me to run the business on my own. I made changes over time, and eventually began to feel more of a sense of the business being mine.
I become lucid in an empty parking lot at night after questioning why I am there. I feel the familiar sense of excitement as I realize this is a dream. Almost automatically I say, “Show me what I need to see?” and a small shift in the scene begins to happen. As the new scene comes into view I add, “without fear” and “without insecurity” and “with confidence.” In the black sky I see my company logo appear, with blue concentric circles and an “I” in the middle. The logo is glowing blue against the black sky. I fly or am pulled up towards this section of sky. The logo becomes three dimensional with the concentric circles creating something like a tunnel, which I go through.
I have often struggled with speaking my mind and prefer to avoid conflict where I can. However, there are times when I have found courage to say what is on my mind or to make difficult choices following a lucid dream.
… A teenage boy is by me and I am talking to him when I realize this is a dream. I tell him that I need to go because this is a dream, for some reason still feeling like I need to wrap up the conversation. There is a blue stained-glass window in front of me, though one that I can see through. I say to the dream, “Show me what I need to see, without projection.” I have trouble speaking this and my voice is quiet. Even though it is a dream I still feel a sense of being self-conscious of speaking too loudly around the other dream characters, but I realize that I need to do so. I say it again, but this time louder and with more confidence. My voice comes out much stronger sounding this time. I jump through the window, never questioning if I can go through the blue glass. It doesn’t shatter; I just go right through it. Below me is a swimming pool and I pose myself into a head-first dive with my arms straight out in front of me. I go arms and headfirst into the pool and dive deep. Even though I am in water I have no trouble breathing and can even speak, though I don’t recall what I said.
When I have trusted the awareness behind the dream to know what I most need, I have often had my best lucid dream experiences. These dreams have generally been more pleasant, and in some cases more spiritual. I have also noticed more changes in myself in the days following the dream, which have been subtle at times and significant at others. “Show me what I need to see” has become my go-to when I have nothing specifically planned when I become lucid. The awareness never fails to surprise me.
This article was released in issue from
June 2020
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