I recently saw an interview of Robert mentioning how he began asking the “awareness” by originally asking Dream characters what it is they represent; he realized the response was not coming from the actual dream character, but somewhere above and so on. A night or two later I was dreaming and the moment I became lucid was at a peak of anger at a dream character. Immediately I thought to ask what it represents and did so. But in asking I looked above the character, then receiving an answer in a voice similar to the experience Robert described. What I would like to know is if this is a placebo; that of what Robert spoke of in the video my unconscious merely imitated from my previous waking interpretation of his experience. The way I would have more clarity is if someone would site that either everyone who asks a dream character experiences this, or instead some people experience answers coming directly from and only from the dream character. Thanks.
Great question!
In my interviews, I often tell the story of lucidly asking a dream figure, “What do you represent?” — and unexpectedly hearing a non-visible ‘voice’ give a partial reply. I then asked a follow up, and received a full reply to the question.
But in the morning, I wondered, “Why did a non-visible voice respond? Does this mean that there is an awareness behind the dream, which lucid dreamers can communicate?”
In my first book (which I encourage you to read), you can see how I began to look into your fundamental question — am I just hearing an ‘echo’ of my own thinking? Or does this responsive awareness represent a different or larger aspect of the ‘self’ of which Robert W is a part?
Now in your experience, you say you received a response (and by the sounds of it, the response seemed to make sense) — but on waking, you wonder if this experience just constitutes ‘expectation’, right? In general terms (and as you would read in my book), if you continue along these lines of investigation, you will encounter “unexpected” responses from this non-visible voice — as many lucid dreamers have.
In my first book, I share many examples from lucid dreamers around the world — who shared their experiences — and ‘heard’ the non-visible voice disagree with their request and offer an alternative explanation. For example, the leader of LD4all.com, PasQuale, asked, “Show me the beginning and end of the universe” — and then the non-visible voice responded, “The universe has no beginning and has no end. The universe is an everlasting cycle.”
And I can provide many more examples where the non-visible voice offers an alternative explanation, or unexpectedly cautions the lucid dreamer to “not” proceed with their request (and explains why).
As you will read, you see this non-visible voice respond with these characteristics — perception, apperception, memory, reflection, judgment, affectivity, creativity, etc. “all in subliminal form”. I bring this up, because Carl Jung said that if we have an inner ego or inner self, it should have all of these characteristics! Lucid dreaming, as you go deeper, and interact with this non-visible awareness — it shows all of these characteristics.
Anyway – great question — and please keep exploring. You will naturally begin to see that something more than placebo or expectation is happening here.