For over forty years, as a student of Eckankar, I’ve studied dreams.  I like to keep a log of them and also a dream dictionary, where I write down symbols that recur.  They are symbols that mean something to me, probably no one else, but they inform me about my life.  From my dream study, I’ve gotten help with my health, guidance with relationships and my work life, nudges to take care of things that I might have neglected, and a lot more.  Dreams, to me, are practical ways to connect the inner and outer life.

To help my dream study, I chant the word, HU (pronounced like the color word hue), before bed.   HU is an ancient name for God that’s sung in Eckankar’s spiritual exercises.  HU is universal to all spiritual beliefs and religions, and spiritual seekers from any walk of life can sing it for upliftment and every-moment guidance.  I find it helps relax and calm the mind, and spiritualizes my consciousness, making me more aware of the help I get in my dreams.

If I sing HU for a few minutes before sleep, out loud or silently to myself, my dreams are noticeably more vivid.  I also tend to recall more dreams and experience more lucid dreams.

One of my favorite symbolic dreams is when I dream about my grandmother’s apartment.  She was very important in my life as a child and young girl, because my mother worked full time and my grandmother took care of me during the day.  Whenever I dream about her apartment, it’s a sign of needing to move on in consciousness—something I learned from recording and deciphering many dreams about this location.  

Sometimes, I’ll ask to go there before sleep.  I’ll sing HU and put light attention on my inner worlds and ask to be shown my next step, spiritually.

Often, this simple exercise will bring a dream of my grandmother’s apartment, where I am discussing a new idea or being taught a new skill.  In the unique language of my particular dream worlds, I recognize this recurring symbol and feel comforted by knowing I’m being shepherded to my next stage of learning by someone/someplace that cares for me.

It’s easy to sing HU anytime, not just before sleep.  Any time I want help—instantly—I sing it.  I also sing it when I want to get focused and calm, when I feel barraged by too much input, when I need to make a good decision.  It’s quite a miracle, this simple chant of HU.