The Gates
of the Night

Three ways into the night

Understand. Meet the thinkers.
Find your practice.

01

Astral Projection & Lucid Dreaming: Foundations

Begin with the experience: dreaming, awareness, sleep, memory and the language of astral exploration.

Read Part 1 →

02

Researchers, Authors & Their Methods

Meet the people behind the ideas. Compare laboratory research, practical methods, contemplative traditions and historical accounts.

Read Part 2 →

03

Techniques, Practice & Field Notes

Turn reading into a coherent practice: choose a method, learn its steps, record what happened and review one change at a time.

Read Part 3 →

The web edition reorganises the supplied book into three parts and adds a research atlas and visual learning maps. Original essay numbers remain as reference labels, so citations and cross-links are easy to follow.

The complete reading map

Book contents

51 essays across three parts

Part 1 · Astral Projection & Lucid Dreaming: Foundations

• 01 An Invitation to the Night
  Start with curiosity and a simple record of what you experience.
• 02 A Vocabulary Without a Forced Agreement
  Lucid dreaming describes awareness in a dream; astral projection also carries a tradition of interpretation.
• 03 Sleep Is the Ground of the Practice
  Sleep provides the setting. Understand the night before changing the routine.
• 04 Learning to Remember the Night
  Remembering a fragment is already useful material for a dream journal.
• 05 Attention, Imagination, and Felt Experience
  Imagery can be visual, tactile, spatial or movement-based.
• 06 Meeting the Threshold Calmly
  Observe the transition into sleep calmly and let rest remain possible.
• 07 From Private Reports to Shared Inquiry
  Dream inquiry develops from personal records into shared, testable observation.
• 49 A Working Glossary
  Use the glossary when different traditions seem to use the same word differently.

Part 2 · Researchers, Authors & Their Methods

• 08 Stephen LaBerge and Remembering to Recognise
  MILD trains the intention to recognise the next dream.
• 11 Robert Waggoner and the Question Behind the Scene
  Waggoner invites an open question rather than constant control of the scene.
• 12 Clare Johnson and Charlie Morley: Bringing Dreams Into Life
  Creative and compassionate reflection connects the dream with waking life.
• 13 A Practical Map of the Phase
  Raduga organises practice around entry, deepening, action and review.
• 20 Robert Bruce and the Problem of the Missing Memory
  Bruce’s mind-split account is an author model concerned with missing memories.
• 24 Robert Peterson's Workshop of Methods
  Peterson compares methods by how they use imagery, movement and attention.
• 25 William Buhlman: Attention at the Destination
  Buhlman’s target approach builds a detailed first-person sense of a familiar destination.
• 27 Ophiel and the Remembered Route
  Ophiel’s route method develops a remembered sequence of familiar stations.
• 28 Robert Monroe and an Expanding Map
  Monroe combines personal exploration, repeated records and organised practice settings.
• 29 Classical Projection Writers and Their Continuing Questions
  Classical projection writers provide historical methods and vocabulary.
• 30 Graham Nicholls and Jurgen Ziewe: Two Contemporary Directions
  Nicholls emphasises individual fit; Ziewe contributes experiential and visual records.
• 31 Chögyal Namkhai Norbu: Dream Yoga and Natural Light
  Dream yoga in this Dzogchen context concerns recognition and continuity of awareness.
• 32 Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Andrew Holecek
  Compare the purposes of contemplative traditions before borrowing their techniques.
• 33 Samuel Sagan and Receptive Seeing
  Sagan’s system distinguishes receptive observation from deliberately manufactured imagery.
• 34 Kurt Tepperwein and the Language of Suggestion
  Prepare a simple suggestion that gives attention a clear direction.
• 35 Thomas Campbell: Experience Within a Larger Model
  Campbell places meditation and motivation within a wider consciousness-based model.
• 36 L. Jordan and the Third-Eye Tradition
  Third-eye language provides a symbolic framework for concentration and imagery.
• 37 Joe Dispenza and Rehearsing a Different Self
  Mental rehearsal connects intention, emotion and a different pattern of action.
• 38 Aleister Crowley and Carlos Castaneda: Esoteric Contexts
  Read ceremonial and literary approaches within their own contexts.
• 39 Plato, Descartes, and Philip K. Dick: Questions About Reality
  Philosophers and novelists supply questions about reality, not laboratory induction protocols.
• 40 More Voices: Green, Tholey, and Garfield
  Green, Tholey and Garfield extend the history beyond a few familiar names.

Part 3 · Techniques, Practice & Field Notes

• 09 Dream Signs and the Quality of the Question
  A thoughtful question is more useful than a mechanical reality-check habit.
• 10 The First Minute of Lucidity
  Recognise the dream, settle your attention and remember one small plan.
• 14 The Indirect Route: Working on Awakening
  The indirect route uses the transition immediately after awakening.
• 15 The Sensory Toolkit
  Choose a small set of sensory methods you can actually remember.
• 16 Direct Practice and the Floating Mind
  Direct practice balances involvement with the ability to fall asleep.
• 17 Deepening, Maintaining, and Remembering
  Once an experience has begun, engage with it rather than continuing the induction.
• 18 Moving Through an Experienced World
  Use a clear destination or familiar boundary to organise movement in the experienced scene.
• 19 A Phase Session From Plan to Review
  Review the whole session, including preparation, entry and recall.
• 21 Bruce's Tactile Approach
  Tactile imaging uses remembered touch instead of demanding a vivid picture.
• 22 The Rope and the Felt Act of Climbing
  The rope exercise is an imagined first-person action, with the physical body relaxed.
• 23 Bruce and Mercer: Building a Programme
  The Bruce–Mercer programme develops skills progressively over thirteen weeks.
• 26 A Familiar-Place Workshop
  A familiar doorway makes a manageable sensory-imagery workshop.
• 41 Comparing Methods Without Mixing Their Instructions
  Compare instructions, timing and goals without blending incompatible steps.
• 42 Choosing Your First Working Method
  Choose one method that fits your recall, attention and sleep routine.
• 43 A Twelve-Week Practice Companion
  Use a twelve-week editorial practice plan as a flexible companion.
• 44 Troubleshooting the Actual Difficulty
  Identify the actual difficulty before choosing a remedy.
• 45 Creative Exploration and Useful Questions
  Bring a small creative question into practice and explore what it produces.
• 46 Encounters, Meaning, and Personal Boundaries
  Record encounters carefully while keeping interpretation and personal choices separate.
• 47 A Journal That Becomes a Personal Atlas
  A consistent journal becomes a map of patterns rather than a pile of isolated stories.
• 48 The Unattributed Guide and the Value of Source Clarity
  Uncertain authorship should remain visible when a method is discussed.
• 50 A Reading Atlas for the Next Stage
  Choose the next source according to the question you want to investigate.
• 51 Sources and the Boundaries of This Edition
  Follow source codes to the books, research papers and public materials behind this edition.

Keep beside your practice

12 printable worksheets · Subject index · Researcher & author atlas · Personal journal · Practice room