the west.  The play of light upon the stark landscape kept
awake the feeling of love within me.
      Since this first lucid dream, I have noticed on several
occasions    that    lucidity    has    arisen    following   an
experience  of love  or deep rapport with another person.
Sometimes   when   I   experience   this  kind  of  contact
during  the day,  I  am able  to sense that  a lucid dream is
imminent.   On  these  days,  I  try  to  retire  earlier  than
usual in order to allow the experience time to unfold.
      After  my  first  lucid  dream  it  was  months   before
consciousness  again  emerged  in  my dreams.  I had not
begun  to  cultivate   the  faculty   nor   to   attribute   any
particular  significance  to  it.   Yet  the  memory  of  the
Light  and  the  luminous feelings associated  with it left
me    with    an   intense   desire    to    re-experience   its
transforming effects.
    Meditation and dream-work became a part of my daily
regimen  soon  after  this  first  lucid  dream.  About  six
months later, after meditating  one night with  a friend,  I
had  a strong  feeling  that  an  important  experience was
awaiting me in sleep.  After sharing  the impression with
her,  I  said goodnight earlier  than  usual and went home.
Before  going  to  sleep  I  re-oriented  my bed  so  that I
would  be  able  to  see  the  stars  through  my  bedroom
window.  This  ritual  seemed  to  enhance  the feeling of
expectancy.   I  went   to  sleep  and  had   the   following
experience in the early morning:

     I  feel  that  I  am  waking  up.  I realize that  I've been
hashing through many ideas and problems.  As  I lie in my
bed with my eyes closed,  I  suddenly  realize  that there's
no reason why  I shouldn't  experience the Light!  I  feel a
complete lack  of  the usual feelings  of unworthiness.  It's
as  if  a  problem  has  been  solved  by  the long period of
self-reflection.
     As  I wait expectantly, a warmth begins to fill my body.
Although my eyes are closed,  I sense that  a white light is
shining   through   the   window   and   entering   my   solar
plexus.   It  rushes  upward  until  a  warm  brightness  fills

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