The Western Gate

This Is Why You dream
Rahul Jandial
Cornerstone Press

There are books on dreamwork, the astral world, visualization etc and all mainly written from the occult fraternity or mystics. I guess that includes me. I would consider myself more an occultist than mystic. An occultist seeks truth, knowledge – deeper than that which we are faced with and taught to accept. However, mystics rely on probable’s, pipedreams and what ifs- perhaps, probably. This book, comes not from the person who sits lotus posture rubbing an amethyst crystal to within an inch of its life but from a neurosurgeon, someone who has actually opened up a skull on the operating theatre and probed a living brain with electrical currents whilst the patient is still conscious. Which is altogether more Dr.Frankenstein worthy than the Jekyll n Hyde craziness of the mystical jugglers.
Many books regarding the astral, or dream world I tend to read, often with a deepening frown as certain explanations do not ring true to my experience, perhaps that’s the case, perhaps there isn’t a common thread in all this. Is there?
Rahul Jandial’s book at first brief read, doesn’t do that, it doesn’t pander to the pipe dreamers, it is logical and doesn’t fill the pages with ungrounded flights of fancy. As occultists, we should not fear critical analysis, even if it objects to our stance. An occultist should always rest between the creative and the logical, or as I say, between Rumi and Jerome.
The brain is as active when a body is asleep as it is when the body is awake, he’s got the fancy print offs and scans and what not to prove it.
No, mystics and certainly occultists shouldn’t be afraid of science, or pessimist Randi’s seeking to pour boiling water over the snowman to prove it’s not real.
By experimentation and verified cross studies, Lucid dreaming has been proved to exist, beyond doubt or theory, as is the nature of science. The methods employed to ascertain data, Rahul explains things concerning the physiology of the brain, what’s happening and why etc.
It is a great read as it is not delivered from someone who begins to talk about astral realms ( I don’t think the world astral was mentioned once in the book) or about retreats to delve into inner space and matrix type conspiracy/parallel universes. It purely is based solely on systematic study, observation, and experimentation, leading to verifiable and reproducible knowledge.
At the end of it, of course there are questions. Do animals dream? well how can you test and verify? if you can’t test in repeatable conditions, whether they do or not is pure conjecture.
There are things concerning lucid dream that astound me. I have heard words and phrases that on waking and translating have turned out to be true and exact. Now, I am convinced that somewhere I must have heard these words, perhaps on subtitle TV, in which case, it IS still fascinating that the mind has clung onto this bit of information. That one of the persons I meet in lucid dream, called me ‘Badru’, which I eventually found meant ‘of a full moon’ in arabic, at first glance it could be assumed, dreamt, that the Rumi I meet in dream is actually the disincarnate entity himself, whereas I, being analytical tell myself, in my memory I must have come across this word before, somewhere, somehow and in dream it has been released into the context of the dream, which in itself is astounding.
At the close of the book is perhaps the longest assortment of Further Reading, and bibliography sources I think I’ve ever come across. Not one book from the mystics or new age peddlars listed. Some 40+ pages of source material, many of which are science reports. Enough to keep me going for a while.
There are numerous points raised within the book, dementia and dreams, how subliminal advertising can manipulate dream , there are references to the Buddhist technique of dream recall/initiation etc, all dealt with in context.
My only problem with giving half a star less than perfect is, it was over all too soon, and yet, everything was dealt with as needed so I cant complain. My mind tells me to write more about what I did in dreamwork, what I experimented with, my views etc, its irrelevant, and unquantifiable, it would be out of context with Jandial’s work.
A definite must have for any dreamers~ lucid or otherwise.