Interview with Asanaro (writer and Boabom teacher) to ARE-New York, December 2009 about “BAMSO, the Art of Dreams” (Tarcher, 2009).

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

A: I was inspired by dreams! I think we are living in a time of changes in which it is important to share personal experiences that we value strongly, since the more different perspectives there are in our society, the more options for the ‘right path’ there will be for us all. Dreams are, without a doubt, a source of inspiration for anyone around the world, a free potential that is out of the command or control of any interests.

The experiences described in this book only wish to contribute in a positive way with the concept that we have about dreams, to give them more importance so that future generations are able to listen and explore their own awareness, whether dreamlike or daily, before that what their environment imposes.

Q: You are a primary character in the book.  Is the story based on your dreams, your imagination, or both?

A: Without a doubt, this book is inspired by what I have lived in both my real life and in my dreams. There are many more dreams I would like to share, but there will be time for those. There is a part in this story that has been dramatized a well as other parts in which I have used symbolic elements, but they are always linked to my own personal life.

In a beginning I called this book a metaphorical autobiography so as to explain that things that have happened in both my lives (the real and the dreams) were ‘compressed’ to make them have a certain smooth logic within the context of a book.

Q: What are astral projection and doubling?

A: In general, we can say that astral projection and/or doubling are two ways of explaining one same phenomenon: being aware in your dreams. If we call it astral projection, we see this phenomenon as the possibility of projecting our mind with the quality of being conscious and fully aware of what is happening. From another perspective, when we call it doubling, we analyze this consciousness as the capacity of having a ‘double’ or dreamlike body (also known as an astral body) which is energetically connected to our body, through which we can have a fully conscious experience of what is happening while we sleep.

In my opinion, it is not as important how we define this or understand this, nor for us to theorize too much on how to define this phenomenon or capacity. Dreams exist, unconscious dreams are something habitual, and dreams in which we have some control and lucidity are less common but happen nonetheless, and dreams that do have a profound impact (which we can call Bamso) are far more rare but still exist. All this is true, and maybe for some it is only a mental process and for others a practice of pure energy, but however it is we cannot deny it but should see it as a gift.

Q: How might people learn from their dreams, and is it possible to control dreams?  If so, how?

A: First, I think one has to pay attention and value the idea that you can learn from your own dreams. All experience in life is a lesson, and dreams are a rather important part of life. Dreams have simply been relegated by our culture and many religions as an evil, useless or distractive phenomenon; however, dreams were always a guide for us in different times and places. Thus, I think it is important to see dreams as a respectable and positive experience. They should be seen as something constructive, even nightmares, as for instance these can indicate that something is happening with us, or that something is upsetting us and we have not given it proper closure, or that something shocked us during our day… there is nothing negative in it, they’re stages that are manifested in our dreams to be lived, analyzed and eventually overcome.

It is also a relative control, since our minds need to digress and have moments of non-control over the dreamlike experience. However, you can find many degrees of awareness in dreams until you can reach a complete lucidity and enjoy it. I do not like using the word ‘control’ loosely since from the perspective of control for its own sake, dreams turn boring Thus, it is a good advice remaining expectant in dreams more than trying to absolutely control them, and the best way to accomplish this is to have a healthy life, rest well, eat healthy (and not to much before sleeping) and to exercise and develop certain relaxation practices before going to sleep.

Another detail that helps awareness is to have a notebook by your bed that can be there for you to write down dreams that call your attention and to meditate about them in a simple way.

Q: You say that the world of dreams is real. How should one understand the reality of dreams?

A: It should be understood as one more process of life, only it happens in a different time-space state. At the same time, it should be taken as our personal advisor, a reality that is there to help us make decisions, that helps us to reach other perspective of ourselves, that helps us become more tolerant and have a bigger vision… and at the same time as a reality that is simply there for us to enjoy life!!!