About a two years ago I read somewhere that the moon and its phases influence human imagination and consciousness. This made me wonder if the moon influences hypnogogic experiences. I then began to make of note of the position of the moon in its lunar mansions (nakshatra) and the phase of the moon in my dream diary. I have given below some of these jottings:8th Feb, 2006, four days before full moon, moon in Taurus, Mrigshirsha nakshatra - Just before falling asleep I was very exhausted and my knees were aching – I was in the courtyard of some kind of an ancient stone temple. The stones were darkish metamorphic type. I was looking at a small waterfall flowing down stone steps at the center of the courtyard. I was filled with a feeling of deep serenity.
March 4th/5th day after new moon, afternoon nap – Saw the face of an old man with a beard, long narrow nose, probably European, the hair and beard style appeared to be from the Renaissance period. The whole image seem to be immersed in some kind of a yellowish glow.
8th March, morning, six days before full moon – Woke up with the following words in my head:
‘Madwaana historic consciousness of Mankind’.
I later checked the internet and found a Mt. Madwana in northern Canada among native Indian reserve area. It could also be an acronym for Mt. Damawand in Iran. This mountain is of great importance in Persian mythology.
9th March morning, five days before full moon – A sentence ringing in my head, could not fully recall but it ended with ‘ St. Minohnah/Minonah.
It is probably a Jewish word and also the name of a lake in the USA.
Yesterday (moon in Cancer, Nakshatra-Aslesha) one day before new moon) I was sleeping in East-West direction with my head towards the East, not intentionally, but our sofa happened to be aligned in that direction. And just as I was waking up the following sentence arose/entered my head -’ We have yet to see the reversal of many rivers’.
For the past few days the TV was full of news of how the Kosi river in the state of Bihar (I live in India) had changed it’s course spelling havoc by floogind large tracts of land. Also, just before falling asleep I was thinking over the various theories related to hypnagogia. Now the question is whether the above sentence has a symbolic or literal meaning.
However, I experienced no hypnogogic experience today (moon in Leo, nakshatra - Magha, new moon) during my afternoon nap, instead I woke up with a headache !!
Could this be because my head was towards the west instead of east today ? Does the magnetic field of the earth effect hypnogogic experiences ? Does the Moon effect hypnogogic experiences ? After reading the paper, quoted below, I think that there is a possible connection. I now plan to make a note of these things and see if any such relationship exists.
In a recent article titled, ‘ Hypnagogia - A bridge to other realities’ the writer, Yu -Wen Shaw, mentions :
“A possible physical explanation for Hypnagogia is rooted in the discovery of magnetite crystals in cells of the brain and meninges. It has been found that there are five million magnetite crystals per gram in the human brain, and twenty times that number in the meninges . These ‘biomagnetite crystals’ are oriented in the brain in a manner that maximizes their magnetic moment, thus allowing the crystals to act as a system, and marking the ability of the brain to sense energy fields . These crystals could very possibly be the cause and explanation behind psychic abilities, as well as the feelings of intuition during states of hypnagogia.
Let us further explore how this phenomenon may be possible. Studies that show the proximity of the crystal-containing brain cells to the pituitary and pineal glands, have led researchers to propose that these glands may use information from the earth’s magnetic field to regulate the release of hormones in the brain, thus directly controlling conscious awareness levels .”
It is possible that there are several parameters, both within the human mind/consciousness and environmetal/cosmic forces which influence hypnogogic experiences. A systematic and scientific study spanning various individuals over a long period of time needs to be done before any conclusions can be drawn.
Notes:
Nakshatra: A nakshatra or lunar mansion is one of the 27 or 28 divisions of the sky, identified by the prominent star(s) in them, that the moonpasses through during itsmonthly cycle, as used in Hindu astrology.
2 comments:
This is a really fascinating post - I am really interested in dreams too and I often record the phase of the moon in my dream diary. Do you find that you dream more around the full moon? I wonder if we have met in our dreams?
No, in fact I get rather disturbed sleep on full moon nights. As if my mind is in an over drive !!
Most of my hypnogogic experiences occur four to five days before or after the full moon.
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