It has long been noted that if you want to communicate with those in the afterlife or explore in other realms of consciousness, that investigation may be facilitated by exploring in that twilight between wakefulness and sleep known as the hypnagogic state.  Few of us have the focus and willpower to explore this realm, because we "click out," or phase into sleep and lose our focus.

However, the utility of this state cannot be denied.  Many artists, musicians, scientists and inventors have presented their projects to their own subconscious minds at that time and come up with answers that can only be described as divine inspiration.  

In the 1800s, Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz was a scientist who initially wanted to be an architect.  He found himself attracted to chemistry instead (both chemists and architects deal, afterall with analyzing structure) and was trying to decipher the structure of a benzene ring.  
In 1865 he got stuck and found himself facing a tricky problem when the benzene molecule refused to fit into that model: if of a linear structure, that particular substance would have been explosively unstable. This was a hard nut to crack. Especially, taking into account that atoms have only just recently become observable. In the long run, however, the answer to that problem came to him —and this in a very peculiar manner! Explains Kekule:

"I put my armchair in front of the fireplace and dozed off. Suddenly, atoms revolved in front of me... moving like serpents. But —what is this? One of the serpents was biting its own tail, dancing teasingly in front of my eyes! I woke up as struck by lightning, and worked the rest of the night on the consequences of the hypothesis thus generated."
His experience was crucial and elucidative: the structure of the benzene molecule is actually like a ring: the very ring allegorized by the serpent that bit its own tail.  

There are many other examples of answers being obtained through this hypnagogic state.  Many people have experimented with it, and several sources recommend putting requests to one's subconscious just prior to sleep and then awaiting the results.  A simple test anyone on this forum can perform is that of awakening using an internal clock.  Simply put in a request that you will awaken at a certain time the next morning, as you are relaxed and just about to doze off.  Nine times out of ten, you will awaken precisely when you say, as if you set an alarm clock.  While some may dismiss this as "self-hypnosis," there is much more to it than that...

Emanuel Swedenborg explored both his dreams, and through self-discipline, began to master this hypnagogic state.  He was able to communicate with spirits close to the earth plane in the early morning period.  Fascinating troves of information were gleaned by exploring at that time, including descriptions of the activity of structures in the human body such as the adrenal glands, that could not possibly have been known to Swedenborg or scientists of that time.  Eventually, ES could have direct communication with discarnate spirits after exploring this state.  

Daytime meditation, hemi-sync, yoga and other practices often invlve deep relaxation, and stilling the mind to get into similar conditions as a "mind awake, body asleep" state.  I wonder if exploring this realm, expecially before sleep or immediately upon awakening is not the key to our knowledge and communication with other areas of consciousness?  From my readings it appears that putting requests in to our subconscious just prior to sleep leads to answers that follow.  Communication is likely to occur in a more direct way just after waking in the morning.  

ES practiced maintaining his focus of alertness, while falling asleep.  This is perhaps the most difficult part (to not wink out).  

Matthew

Matthew,

It is clear to me that Swedenborg's unique astral gifts were a function of his hynagogic method and the discipline he developed to achieve it. But many of his astral trips were made while he was fully conscious and long awake.  I suspect that both his awesome verifications and his obvious astral errors can be explained in part by his different methods and corresponding state of consciousness.  Too bad he is long dead.  Research might have been developed to check his accuracy using his various methods.

Don

Hi Don and all,

Don, I've taken the liberty of correcting the spelling to "hypnagogic," although I have seen variations of it in other writings and dictionaries.  Ahem. 

Anyway, I started this thread to explore this particular twilight state betwen wakeful consciousness and sleep.   As you know, ES had an extensive dream journal - two centuries before Freud wrote of his own dream analysis.  I almost think that exploring both dreams with their symbology, and then this hypnagogic area of consciousness is vital to breaking down the boundaries from one level of consciousness to another if we are to have more meaningful contact with the afterlife. 

What is this "collective unconscious" that we access in the hypnagogic state?  When an inventor or musician get an inspiration for art, or a solution to a vexing problem through "sleeping on it," are they accessing a limitess area of akashic records, or are they being given information by a spiritually evolved entity?  Is the idea "original" if all knowledge is already present in these Akashic libraries?

Later tonight, I plan to post a general description of the akashic records or collective unconscious (as referred to by Jung).  The connection between our conscious minds and this unconscious but powerfully creative mind holds a key to our creative power manifest in the physical world.  And what ties our waking thoughts to this power?  I believe, the answer is found in the hypnagogic state.


Matthew

I believe that if you do things that change you energetically, such as let go of limitations and grow in love, it becomes easier to experience altered states of consciousness. It doesn't seem as if I have to go in an altered state in order to experience non-physically.  I close my eyes, feel a lot of energy that is pretty much always there, and experience whatever is experienced.

On the other hand, I haven't mastered an OBE technique.

It's a matter of definition what the hypnagogic state exactly is, but in the common meaning I'd say yes, Banana, you were in that state. The so-called "sleep paralysis" can accompany it. My simple explanation is, when there is a blending of physical awareness and nonphysical awareness then such things as this paralysis can happen. One still is connected to the physical world, to the body, but on the other hand one has stepped already that far into a nonphysical world that you can perceive in both ways, nonphysically and physically, without being able in that moment to control the physical body.
  Once I had a partial OBE when I attempted to move during such a paralysis, thinking I was full physically awake.

Spooky

....Maybe I was taking something for granted here --

Do we need to be in a' hypnagogic' state to enter 'the afterlife?'

I'm thinking we do, even though we can with experience flip through that state very quickly.

By afterlife, I mean a non-physical state, where we can connect with each other here on the earth plane C1 as well as with those in FLs, through a type of mental telepathy or shared consciousness.
I know that works, due to more than random correlations  during PEs and a group 'afterlife visitation.'

Bets

The key question here was voiced by Bets, which, if I may paraphrase, is whether the hypnagogic state is a necessary conduit to contact with the afterlife or other realms of consciousness?  In TMI terms, the student progresses through hemisync focus levels, which eventually get into focus 10, 12 (to mind awake body asleep).  This is the hypnagogic state, but it seems different than the natural state just before sleep.  I believe, however, that while we are incarnate (in the physical world) we DO need to pass through this state to explore other realms of consciousness.

As I stated at the beginning of this discussion, the hypnagogic state appears to have tremendous potential for the application of intent, for divine inspiration, for communication with the afterlife, but......there is one kicker.

In order to explore and master this state, we must be able to maintain our rational mind without "winking out," or entering a symbolic rambling dreamscape.  This is an area, that I believe Emanuel Swedenborg was able to master because of his extreme intelligence and highly disciplined scientific mind.  

Why is the hypnagogic state so powerful?  Why can we not accomplish the same communications or manifestations of intent in our everyday lives with our waking thoughts?  For me, the answer is clear.  It has to do with belief, and the collective unconscious.  

On earth, it is not our fleeting thoughts or desires that are immediately manifest in our lives, but rather our deepest beliefs - those that our subconscious knows to be true.  In our waking minds, there is chatter; there is doubt.  

In the hypnagogic state, we have a direct line to our own unconscious which connects to the collective unconscious.  Whatever we state to this unconscious is imprinted during hypnagogia, as a true belief.  The collective unconscious is like a machine with limitless potential but no direction.  It seems clear that our deepest thoughts/beliefs imprint themselves on this membrane, and the collective unconscious acts like the proverbial genie - affecting probabilities to manifest the belief.  During hypnagogia, since there is no cross chatter (as in our waking minds) thoughts lead to a much more direct manifestation.  Thus when affirmations are given as we drift off, they have a thousand fold better chance of manifesting in our lives.  But what is this collective unconcsious we impress our beliefs onto?  Why does it respond to our intent?  

This will be the subject of my next post, and hopefully expanded on by others.

Matthew

Hello,

This thread is too important to just fade out!  Someone please say something! 

Lucy, I don't think you were quite in a hypnagogic state yet, as your body was too awake. Also if a person such as yourself who has heard so much about retrievals etc would get closer to a hypnagogic state, I expect you'd whoosh right into the afterlife!

Despite that other site's example of using the background noise of public transportation to lull one inward, what is missing while one is driving or riding is the deep sense of trust that collapses the final barriers. I recall that Bruce said to think of being a baby in the arms of its protective caring parent--woops, OK, that was to recall a sense of PUL, but it associates a deeper sense of  being physically inactive than that other site's or Lucy's examples do. So it could just be a matter of degree.

I received prophetic telepathic information from an unknown source when I was not hypnagogic, due to background noises that set up a strange hypnotizing hummmm-mm.
For contacts with souls in the Afterlife, I've always had to have mind very alert and well rested, body very relaxed and also well rested.
Has anyone made afterlife contacts when they were not in a
'mind alert, body immovable' state?

Bets