Astral Visitation, Monday, August 27, 2018
I’m on a raft floating on murky water. I somehow know that I need to get myself out of this place, but I can’t find the paddle, so I just float, surrounded by a dark forest that feels familiar and yet unfamiliar. There are stars in the sky that pulsate like beacons and I think to myself in the dream, so many places to choose from! Uncertain of which path to select, I become anxious and feel…knives [stabbing] me. I feel the presence of another being press up against my back and I immediately know who it is, suddenly lucid in my dreams. It’s [Hans]. I turn to look at him and the scene dissolves. We are standing amid a curtain of blackness, as [it is sometimes the case] whenever he comes to visit me [in this way]. He conveys a kind of gentle encouragement, not with his words, but with his eyes. I can read his mind: “Start with the Suit of Swords and the River Styx.”
Synchronicity, Creativity & Dreams
In the dream/astral visitation account above, the word “River” in the “River Styx” is an example of what Carl Jung would call synchronicity.
Paranormal Signposts & Synchronicities
For nearly fifteen years, I have been actively working with my dreams [1], along with intentionally channeling my spirit husband, Hans [2] to create artwork. This process has evolved over time into a kind of spiritual practice that has yielded self-actualization, personal fulfillment, and increased meaningfulness.
Oftentimes, Hans leaves "paranormal signposts" (Stuart, 2020, p. 1) that are replete with meaningful information and synchronous events. These incidents not only confirm our connection to each other and who he has been in the past, but also underscore how these events were predetermined prior to us incarnating on the earthly plane.
For instance, in the dream/astral visitation account above, the word “River” in the “River Styx” is an example of what Carl Jung (1976) would call synchronicity. Jung (1989) defines synchronicity as having meaningful coincidences that are derived from a psychic experience that have “no causal relationship to one another. Such synchronistic phenomena occur…when an inwardly perceived event (dream, vision, premonition, etc.) is seen to have a correspondence in external reality. [Synchronicity] seems to be connected primarily with activated archetypal processes in the unconscious” (pg. 400).
In other words, the visitation dream that occurred on October 31, 1993 was Hans’s way of coming through to me for the first time, shortly following his death, and just before the Autumnal Equinox[3]. Unlike most researched visitation dreams, or after-death communication (ADCs), I did not know Hans when he was alive, and therefore we were neither family nor acquainted to each other in life. However, I would later learn from him that we are connected through past-lives and beyond.
Precognition & Double Entendres
The pronoun “Phoenix” served as a double entendre, representing both the string of similarities between Hans and the actor, and also Hans’s love for Phoenix, Arizona when he had been alive.
The River Phoenix dream was a kind of precognition that Hans perpetuated to emphasize the paranormality of the occurrence, and thus accentuate to the impactful aspect of the encounter. Furthermore, River Phoenix represented Hans on numerous levels, including physical traits (e.g. the blond hair, blue eyes, slim physique, gifted brilliance) Curiously, Hans died under the Virgo sign, which is the same sun sign that River Phoenix was born under.
More specifically, the noun/pronoun “River” is connects us back to our very first encounter in this life on October 31, 1993, when Hans appeared in a visitation dream (captured in the next section) posing as River Phoenix at the same time that the actor was dying of a drug overdose in California. River was 23 years old—the same age that Hans figuratively died in the 1940s when he was taken prisoner by the Russians [4]. He spent many years as a POW, essentially cutting his career goal short, and not learning about his mother's deaths and of his wife's miscarriage until he was released. Furthermore, the pronoun “Phoenix” served as a double entendre, representing both the string of similarities between Hans and the actor, and also Hans’s love for Phoenix, Arizona[5] when he had been alive. Although I do not have these kinds of “impactful” dreams/astral visitations all the time, my dreams are nevertheless vivid, always in color, and a nightly occurrence [6].
I would learn years later that the reason I could not recall our dreaming conversation was because at that point, Hans knew that I was not emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically prepared to know his past-life identity or that he was even a spirit. He appeared in 1993 through a visitation dream as a way of letting me know that he was now completely a part of my life, but that he would have to remain quietly behind the veil for many years to come, which he more or less did, until 2010 so that I could live out my physical life uninterrupted by his all-consuming presence.
"Who Did You Say You Were?": Hans Intentionally Posing as the Actor
The Astral Visitation
This place of in-betweenness or “black, dimensionless void” where the dreamer may meet up with a deceased loved one, accentuates the strangeness of the encounter.
Everything was dark, as if I were floating in a black void, with no setting or ground of any kind. This feature in and of itself was an unforgettable detail for me, because up until that point, my dreams had been comprised of vividly colorful, often surrealistic dreamscapes—and this dream demonstrated an unusually opaque emptiness that I would later come to understand as the meeting place between the spirit world and the physical world. In my novel, Blind Love, I would term this space as “Bardo” for its sense of in-betweenness. This place of in-betweenness or “black, dimensionless void” (Bulkeley, 1995, p. 18) where the dreamer may meet up with a deceased loved one, accentuates the strangeness of the encounter.
Shortly after landing in this black space in my dream, a bright—almost glowing—handsome male figure with strikingly golden blond, slicked-back hair materialized and floated toward me. This beautiful man appeared to be in his early 20s, just a little older than I was in my waking life at the time. I had never seen him before and yet I felt as if I had always known him. Then, like two old friends catching up after years of separation, we became loquacious, discussing myriad of topics: politics, philosophy, ethics, spirituality, sexuality, hobbies, etc. I remember thinking during the dream how much we were in agreement about so many things, and feeling such an inexplicable sense of joy and relief [7] from this realization. Yet despite most of the visitation dream being centered around our conversation, I could not (cannot) recall the specifics of our discussions except that he was full of “yeses” (i.e., in agreement with my perspective on important issues) in such a remarkably and unconditionally loving way that I sensed a profound connection to this oneiric stranger.
Then, becoming aware of an obvious omission to the encounter I asked him, “Who are you?”
“River Phoenix,” he replied.
I remember thinking in the dream: That’s strange, you look nothing like the actor. Then we resumed our indecipherable conversation, until I asked him again, “Who did you say you were?”
“River Phoenix,” he said again.
I was confused. Gorgeous as he was, he looked nothing like the actor. I must have asked him this question another five or six times to which he continued to calmly reply, “River Phoenix.” [8]
Someone else had come through pretending to be the actor precisely when he was dying in order to make the dream impactful so that I could always remember the extraordinary experience.
As I dreamt, I thought about how peculiar this dream encounter seemed—this beautiful man who claimed to be River Phoenix even though I knew he wasn't him, the blackness that encircled us, my inability to decipher most of our conversation. I thought about how I had never been a fan of River Phoenix nor had ever given him much thought in my waking life. Why would he would show up now in one of my dreams posing as someone else? After a while, I simply remember the strange nocturnal occurrence dissipating into nothingness.
The Following Morning
For many years following the astral visitation I wondered, If that wasn’t River Phoenix, then who was it?
I woke up the following morning dazed, perplexed, and riveted by the dream. I ambled to the empty kitchen and living room where CNN was already blaring from the television set. My parents had retreated to their bedroom to get ready for the day. As I poured myself a cup of coffee, I heard the headline news echo through the open floor plan of our house: River Phoenix is dead of an apparent drug overdose.
I gasped, unnerved and confused by what I had experienced in the early morning hours only to discover that the person who had supposedly visited me was now dead. The news revealed that he had died at 1:51am on October 31, Pacific Standard Time, right around the same time that my River Phoenix dream was unfolding in Central Florida. But how could this be? Was that really the ghost of River Phoenix showing up in my dream? If so, why was he incognito, and who was I to him?
I was so unsettled by the experience that I called out sick from work and shut myself off in my bedroom. From behind a locked door, listening Goth music, I processed the occurrence by journaling, and doing other creative activities. I incessantly replayed the “dream” in my head, which I could no longer dismiss as just a dream.
Whenever I tried accepting the possibility that River Phoenix had visited me, I would get a strong intuitive feeling in my gut that he was merely an instrument devised to help me remember the significance of the occurrence. In other words, what I had experienced was not a dream, and River Phoenix had nothing to do with it. Someone else had come through pretending to be the actor precisely when he was dying in order to make the dream impactful so that I would always remember the extraordinary experience. It worked. This dream event is one of the most poignant experiences that I have ever had during the night. For many years following the astral visitation I wondered, If that wasn’t River Phoenix, then who was it?
Research-Backed Experiences
These dreams open up the possibility for the dreamer to be visited by a being from this other reality, or journey to this other realm to connect with a spirit, angel, deceased person, or other divine beings.
Krippner, et al. (2002) state that visitation dreams [9] are a kind of big dream (Bulkeley, 2016; Bulkeley & Hartmann, 2011; Jung, 1974) that often include experiences of nocturnal visitations from spiritual or multidimensional beings who may offer support or insight that is meaningful, comforting or valuable to the dreamer. Visitation dreams can also include nocturnal excursions by the dreamer to extraordinary realms that surpass the familiar landscape of physical reality. These dreams open up the possibility for the dreamer to be visited by a being from this other reality, or journey to this other realm to connect with a spirit, angel, deceased person, or other divine beings. Here, the dreamer has the ability to experience the “most profound aspects of the human psyche” (Krippner, et al., 2002, p. 148). I have developed the term “astral visitation” (Stuart, 2018) to more specifically describe the types of nocturnal experiences that occur with Hans which are akin to out-of-body experiences (OBEs)[10]. This type of visitation dream/astral visitation is one of many vehicles that Hans uses as a way to communicate creative and spiritual information.
Although there are many cultural viewpoints regarding visitation dreams, there are still many thematic similarities that are cross-cultural in nature (Bulkeley, 1995). For instance, typically the figures that appear in dreams are connected to the dreamer (e.g. deceased loved ones, spirit guides and ancestors; Bulkeley, 1995; Krippner et al., 2002). Bulkeley (1995) states that often times, the visitations are from recently deceased loved ones, reminding the dreamer of the painful and difficult circumstance that accompanies death. A second cross-cultural commonality in visitation dreams has to do with dream content. The spirit or deceased person conveys messages to the dreamer that are of significance and worth. The author further states that these nocturnal exchanges maintain or remind the dreamer of the personal connection that were severed by death. It is because of these visitations that so many cultures value dreams as a vehicle to stay connected with those who have passed.
Concluding Thoughts
It is during these altered states of consciousness that spirit visitations are more readily possible.
For as long as I can remember, dreams have played an integral role in my artmaking process; but it wasn’t until I was 17, when I had my first spontaneous out-of-body experience (OBE) that I realized the numinous, paranormal qualities of these nocturnal experiences. The River Phoenix visitation dream further exposed me to such phenomena when Hans came through for the first time just after his physical departure from the world posing as River Phoenix right when the actor was dying [11]. That visitation dream is monumental not only because of the precognitive qualities, but because it made me realize years later that it is during these altered states of consciousness that spirit encounters can also happen.
Through the process of channeling Hans, intentional dreamwork, journaling and dream incubation, I hope to work with my dreams in however they arrive (e.g. via visitations, telepathy, inspired creativity, mundane encounters, or impactful, lucid, out-of-body experiences, etc.) in the hopes of resuming the creation of The Forest Dark Oracle deck.
Notes
[1] I use the terms dreams and visitation dreams interchangeably with astral visitation.
[2] He is also a part of my oneiric experiences.
[3] The Autumnal Equinox becomes significant in 2009. Hans and I were calling out to each other through my unconscious channeling, visitation dreams, paranormal events that would culminate in his eventual paranormal entrance into my life, August 2010.
[4] The long years spent in a POW camp still haunt Hans to this day. I’ve had several psychical and astral experiences with him that deal with his time in the POW camps. Groomed to follow in his father's footsteps as an university researcher, Hans’s career in academia was never realized. The consequence of his imprisonment had at times caused him to feel resentful, and embittered.
[5] He fell in love with the American desert, and spent time in Arizona in the 1950s. In another strange twist to our connection, I was born in the American desert—New Mexico (AKA, The Land of Enchantment), near White Sands and Roswell.
[6] I address the significance of the blackness in these experiences here.
[7] Unconsciously, I knew that Hans had served in the Luftwaffe (Nazi air force). My relief came from intuitively understanding that Hans did not support such a regime (more on this later). But the details of this realization were under the radar, like so many things between us.
[8] My repeated question and his repeated reply are the only specific details of the conversation that I recalled when I awoke the next morning.
[9] Considering that the dream research community uses the term “visitation dream” to describe astral visitation, I will use these terms interchangeably when discussing these experiences.
[10] The Autumnal Equinox becomes significant in 2009. Hans and I were psychically calling to each other via unconscious channeling (me), astral visitations, and paranormal events that would culminate in his official introduction August 2010.
[11] To this day, even as I think about the detail and clarity of Hans's face during this encounter that occurred over 30 years ago, I am amazed at how when I finally found Hans's face, seeing him staring back at me from the photo, jolted my senses on that fateful day, D-Day, 2015. I recognized him instantly and yet I was in disbelief and denial.
References
Bulkeley, K. (1995). Spiritual dreaming: A cross-cultural and historical journey. Paulist.
Bulkeley, K. (2016). Big dreams: The science of dreaming and the origins of religion. Oxford University Press.
Bulkeley, K., & Hartmann, E. (2011). Big dreams: An analysis using central image intensity, content analysis, and word searches. Dreaming, 21(3), 157–167. http://dx.doi.org.tcsedsystem.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/a0024087
Jung, C. G. (1974). Dreams. MJF Books.
Jung, C. G. (1976). The portable Jung. (J. Campbell, Ed., R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Penguin Classics.
Jung, C. G. (1989). Memories, dreams, reflections. (A. Jaffe, Ed., C. Winston & R. Winston, Trans.). Vintage.
Krippner, S., Bogzaran, F., & Carvalho, A. P. (2002). Extraordinary dreams and how to work with them. SUNY Press.
Stuart, L. (2018). My dream-inspired, spirit-husband-driven artwork: A transpersonal autoethnography. Unpublished manuscript. Saybrook University.
Stuart, L. (2020). Mystically guided: Examining my spirit-husband-inspired artwork and the connection between creativity, spirituality, and dreams. Unpublished manuscript. Saybrook University.
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