This has puzzled me for years, and I figure that other people must wonder about the same thing - I can't be the only one! When I go to sleep, I am just totally GONE. I go to sleep and then I wake with no memories of dreams or anything else. This also happens a lot when I meditate. Where do I go? What is happening? I have no fear of death, as this is what I think it would be like. Is this what death is like? I was born 03/23/1941 at 11 a.m. as the church bells were chiming. - Beverly
Dreamchaser:
As I have stated many times here, when we sleep, our souls leave our bodies and go to where they most need to go to prepare for tomorrow and heal from today. I imagine that death is very much like that, except we would be more conscious during death, and realize exactly what was happening.
When we sleep, our conscious minds shut down, and our souls take over. I think in death, we revert back to our true selves, which is the soul without the limitations of the human body. In tarot readings, the Death card does not usually mean physical death; it merely means transformation. Through death we are transformed. You know that and you do not fear it. Good for you!
Some people vividly remember their "dreams" while others do not. I am one of those who do not for the most part. I think since I work so hard for Spirit all day, my mind is given a complete rest at night and allowed to just shut down. If I need to remember a "dream," however, I do.
Do not be concerned that you do not remember your dreams. You will remember the ones that you are supposed to. Your soul is the true you. Your mind is just the human you. Your mind does not need to remember the work you do while sleeping or meditating. Your soul is very good at integrating what it learns into your human mind.
Meditation is very much like sleeping if done right. We are attempting to shut down our conscious/ logical mind in meditation, and to turn up our soul's volume and listen for whatever we are meant to hear that day. When we leave our bodies, we are "astral traveling." Whether voluntary (via meditation) or involuntary (via sleep), our souls are separating from mental awareness of the physical plane. When we are unconscious, we are in another world. We can look down on events happening here or go to different places on Earth, but we are experiencing everything on a soul level.
There are lots of books, websites, courses, etc., on how to learn to astral travel with conscious awareness. Lots of people learn how to detach their souls consciously and actually remain mentally present while their souls explore other dimensions of experience. This is something you may want to explore, Beverly. I think it would come to you rather easily, for lots of people spend lifetimes trying to reach the level of meditation you have achieved. You may want to look at this as the next step in your spiritual evolution.
There is no right way or wrong way to meditate, dream or daydream. Our souls are very wise, and will take control if we simply allow it.
I wish you rewarding travels.
*****
Astrea:
Being alive and asleep isn't the same as being dead. When I am asleep, I am at home in my bed. I always come back to my life when I wake up, and I don't really go anywhere unless I'm dreaming or doing some kind of astral travel.
Of course, we tend to think of astral travel as a conscious experience. When you're sleeping and unconscious, you're ASLEEP and your body is RESTING along with your mind so that you'll be ready and able to greet the coming day in this dimension of experience.
Most scientists believe that people who say they don't dream really do - they just don't remember their dreams. It's not uncommon for people with Air Sun signs or with Air signs rising to have trouble bringing dreams into waking consciousness.
It is unusual that you don't remember, since you're an Aries. Fire signs usually find meaning in their dreams, whether there IS any deeper meaning to them or not! Sometimes our dreams are too unpleasant for us to remember, and sometimes they are meant to quietly prepare us for other parts of life. I don't know the percentage of people who don't remember dreaming at all, but I think it is fairly low.
Not having been dead myself (at least, not this lifetime), it's difficult for me to tell you what that's like. However, the spirits I asked about your question tell me death is not at all like being asleep. They seem alert and aware much more than we are. They're in a very pleasant place where there is no fear or longing, and they don't seem at all upset about being there.
Each person has his or her own ideas about the Afterlife. My experience with dead people is that they often CREATE the afterlife for themselves in the way they believe it will be when they're alive. I want a place where I can see my friends who have been there waiting for me; I want to go across that Rainbow Bridge to where all my pets are waiting. I'm hoping that God will help me create that sort of place in Heaven. God seems to want my dead friends to be as happy as possible, just like God wants us living people to be happy too.
None of my dead friends or relatives is ever very eager to describe where they are and what it's like to me. Most of the time they seem to have some ax to grind, some point to make, something important they want me to tell someone else, something they want to lecture me about, or something they want me to learn. They're not unconscious at all, but very much awake and focused on whatever it is they're trying to let me know at the time. Being dead and being unconscious are VASTLY different states!
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.