hand one, and shortly came upon a stairway. Curious about
where it might lead, I descended the flight of steps and found
myself near the top of an enormous subterranean vault. From
where I stood at the foot of the stairs, the floor of the cavern
sloped steeply down, fading in the distance into darkness.
Several hundred yards below I could see what appeared to be
a fountain surrounded by marble statuary. The idea of bathing
in these symbolically renewing waters captured my fancy, and
I proceeded at once down the hillside. Not on foot, however,
for whenever I want to get somewhere in my dreams, I fly. As
soon as I landed beside the pool, I was at once startled by
the discovery that what from above had seemed merely an
inanimate statue now appeared unmistakably and ominously
alive.
Towering above the fountain stood a huge and
intimidating genie, the Guardian of the Spring, as I somehow
immediately knew. All my instincts cried out "Flee!" But I
remembered that this terrifying sight was only a dream.
Emboldened by the thought, I cast aside fear and flew not
away, but straight up to the apparition. As is the way of
dreams, no sooner was I within reach than we had somehow
become of equal size and I was able to look him in the eyes,
face to face. Realizing that my fear had created his terrible
appearance, I resolved to embrace what I had been eager to
reject, and with open arms and heart I took both his hands in
mine. As the dream slowly faded, the genie's power seemed
to flow into me, and I awoke filled with vibrant energy. I felt
like I was ready for anything...
Carlos Castaneda
The Art of dreaming (1993)
…As I was watching a window in a dream, trying to find
out if I could catch a glimpse of the scenery outside the room,
some windlike force, which I felt as a buzzing in my ears,
pulled me through the window to the outside. Just before that
pull, my dreaming attention had been caught by a strange
structure some distance away. It looked like a tractor. The
next thing I knew, I was standing by it, examining it.
I was perfectly aware that I was dreaming. I looked
around to find out if I could tell from what window I had been