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Where do “I” go, when I go to sleep?

 

The Deep Sleep State

 

Turiya sings

 

 

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“Every day is a little life. Every sleep is a little death.”
Arthur Schopenhauer

 

 

Turiya – The forth state of consciousness,
besides waking dreaming and deep sleep.

 

Turiya Sings – by Alice Coltrane

 

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Every night we go to sleep, and I guess most people don’t think much about that. We sleep a lot, six hours at least every night, as the doctors suggest. That is a quarter of our life!

Yet sleep is actually a rather mysterious and mostly un-explored time period of our precious life.

Let’s change that, lets explore it!

 

The so called Deep Sleep is one of the most profound and universally shared human experiences, this daily act of falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Every night, our waking self, with its defined ego persona, its thoughts, and memories, seems to dissolve into a state of apparent absence. We awaken hours later, with a sense of continuity and a refreshed body, yet we have no conscious memory of the intervening time. 

This daily disappearance of the “I” presents a fundamental mystery:

 

Where does the self go, what happens in this extraordinary state?

 

In this article I want to contemplate this topic and intend to look at Deep Sleep from many different perspectives. From the findings of Neuroscience to the scientific research on Brainwave States, to the ancient wisdom of Eastern philosophies of Advaita Vedanta and Tibetan Dream Yoga and the revelations of esoteric teachings from  Rudolf Steiner’s Antroposophy and the channeling of Seth Material, Edgar Cayce, and Alice Bailey.

[ At the very end of the article i will provide source material in the form of pdf books for download. ]

 

All those very different points of view will hopefully give some practical insights into this great question:

 

Where do “I” go, when I go to sleep?

 

And maybe, just maybe, we can develop some real ability to extend our conscious awareness into the depths of Deep Sleep.

 

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The Neuroscientific perspective.

 

Brainwave activity during Deep Sleep.

 

Deep sleep, scientifically known as Stage 3 NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, is characterized by low frequency (less than 3 Hz), high amplitude Delta Waves. During this time, our heart rate and breathing slow dramatically.

For a more general explanation of Brain Wave states during sleep and dream, please check out this article.

 

Delta waves (0.5-3 Hz) dominate deep sleep, representing the brain’s slowest electrical rhythms. These waves are not merely absence of activity but represent a highly organized, synchronized neural state. The brain during deep sleep exhibits:

• Global coherence: Vast neural networks synchronize in slow, rhythmic patterns.
• Metabolic restoration: Cellular repair processes accelerate.
• Memory consolidation: Critical information processing occurs despite apparent unconsciousness.
• Glymphatic activation: The brain’s waste clearance system operates at peak efficiency and shuts down during the day.

Deep sleep is a highly active and crucial state for the maintenance and restoration of both the body and the mind. During this phase, the body engages in vital repair processes that cannot occur during waking hours.

Important restorative functions include the repair of tissues, muscle growth, bolstering of the immune system, and the reduction of inflammation. It also triggers the release of key hormones, most important the growth hormone.

The brain itself undergoes critical maintenance, as memories and learned information are reorganized and consolidated.

 

 

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The “I” in Deep Sleep, 
from a Neuroscientific point of view.

 

In Neuroscience, the question of “where ‘I’ go” has a clear and powerful answer. The conscious, ego-driven self must dissolve for these vital, unconscious processes to occur. The conscious ego, with its constant engagement and energy consumption, is simply a hinderance to the brain’s most critical self-maintenance functions.

The absence of this outward-facing “I” is a necessary pre-condition for the brain to perform its essential, life-preserving “housekeeping.”

This reveals a profound biological paradox. The very organ that creates the sense of a conscious self must temporarily shut that self down to ensure its own long-term functional survival.

The self, therefore, is not a permanent, unchanging fixture but a temporary, emergent phenomenon that requires constant, behind-the-scenes support. The nightly disappearance is not a “loss of time”, but a biological necessity—a surrender to a state of “unconsciousness” to ensure that the brain, the foundation of the ego, is preserved and revitalized.

We wake up with a sense of continuity because the brain has been diligently reorganizing and cataloging the memories necessary to maintain the illusion of a continuous, waking self.

 

 

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The Paradox of Unconscious Awareness:

 

Neuroscience’s paradox: while the prefrontal cortex (associated with self-awareness and executive function) shows minimal activity, the brain maintains sophisticated monitoring systems. Neuroscientists think that a “minimal self” persists even in deep sleep—a basic awareness that doesn’t register as conscious experience but maintains the continuity necessary for awakening.

From my point of view this is a revolutionary insight, because it points hard science directly to the answers, that are obvious from a spiritual and meta-physical point of view, already known since a few thousand of years.

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The Three States of Consciousness according to Advaita Vedanta.

 

The Advaita Vedanta tradition, specifically in the Mandukya Upanishad, offers a radically different perspective on the three states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep.

Rather than seeing them as a sequence of physiological states, this perspective views them as three distinct “worlds” or “realities” that the Self experiences. 
The waking world, with its external objects and gross body, is considered a “vast dream”. The dream world is a more subtle manifestation, and deep sleep is the state where both of these worlds dissolve.

 

The Self in Deep Sleep.
The Concept of Prajna.

 

In this understanding, the Self in deep sleep is called Prajna, meaning “the intellectual” or “the wise one”. The state itself is called Prajnanaghana, which translates to “dense with consciousness” or a “mass of consciousness”.

This presents a powerful paradox for the Western mind, which equates deep sleep with a state of unconsciousness. The Advaita tradition clarifies, that what is often labeled “unconsciousness” is merely a “loss of physical consciousness”, or a state “without the appearance of mind”.

In this state, there are no thoughts, no perceptions, and no sense-activities, as the mind has dissolved.

The “I” in deep sleep is not the personal ego but the pure, formless, unpolluted awareness that persists when all objects of perception—the physical body, the mind, and the external world—have disappeared.

It is described as the “Pure Gold without a form,” the intrinsic nature of the Self, which is a state of a-causal happiness, as there is neither a sense of lack nor any desire.

The fact that an we wake up with the memory of having slept blissfully is considered proof that a continuous consciousness, the Self, was present throughout that state. This implies that the true nature of the self is this pure, objectless awareness.

 

 

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The Bliss of Deep Sleep vs. the State of Liberation

Turiya

 

The Advaita tradition makes a critical distinction between the deep sleep of a common person and the ultimate state of liberation. The “fourth state,” Turiya, is the changeless substratum upon which the three other states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, and deep sleep) “play”.

Turiya is the true Self (Atman), and the ultimate state of consciousness. While deep sleep provides a glimpse of this state, it is not the same as liberation.

For the common person, the ego and mind do not truly dissolve in deep sleep but merely “merge… in a seed-form” into what is called the Causal Body. This causal body is considered a state of “primary ignorance,” which is why the ego restores itself upon waking, and we return to our well knows state of ignorance 😉. 

This view presents a powerful spiritual metaphor. Deep sleep is a daily, if unconscious rehearsal for enlightenment. It is a taste of the ultimate bliss and the unadulterated Self that the common person experiences but fails to recognize or sustain. The bliss we all crave is not an external object to be attained but the inherent nature of our being, which is revealed when the mind is quiet. 

This radical re-framing of reality says, that the waking world and dream worlds are merely the faint glow of the radient “I”. The entire external world is not a separate entity but a manifestation of the Self itself. 

This turns the entire concept on its head: the “I” does not go somewhere in deep sleep. Rather than that, the entire world arises from the “I” that is revealed in that state.

 

Turiya – Sattva – by Klaus Wiese

 

I guess this is hard to put into words, “easier” to experience. I’ll rephrase it again:

According to masters like Shankara and Ramana Maharshi, deep sleep is not a state of void but rather the closest natural approach to pure Being-Consciousness. In this state:

– The ego-mind complex temporarily dissolves.

– All subject-object duality ceases.

– Consciousness remains present, knowing nothing – it is the bliss of ignorance.

– We experiences their true nature as pure awareness.

In deep sleep, the soul/jiva is free from objects but has not yet transcended itself. This state reveals that consciousness doesn’t depend on mental content—it exists as the very ground of being itself.

 

The Witness That Never Sleeps

 

Ramana Maharshi taught that the same “I” that experiences waking and dreaming also experiences deep sleep. The difference lies not in the experiencer but in what is experienced.

In deep sleep, the Self experiences itself without modification—pure consciousness aware of its own being without content.

Turiya is the changeless background over which the three states of waking, dreamless sleep and deep sleep appear to be projected as changing entities.

 

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The Tibetan Buddhist Perspective on Deep Sleep.

 

The Luminous Void.

 

Tibetan Sleep Yoga: The Path to Luminous Awareness.

 

In Tibetan Buddhism, sleep is not a passive state but a profound opportunity for spiritual practice.

The ultimate goal of Tibetan Sleep Yoga is to achieve conscious awareness within the dreamless deep sleep state, a practice distinct from mere Lucid Dreaming, which is considered a preliminary stage.

This practice is a crucial training ground for the process of dying. Both sleep and death are seen as a dissolution of the five elements and the gross self.

The Dalai Lama notes that practicing during the day, by means of imagination, with the eightfold process of dying, will make it easier to recognize the dreamless sleep state when it occurs naturally.

The highest level of this practice is the recognition of the “Clear Light”—prabhasvara)—a state of pure consciousness without conceptual thought.

 

The Mother Clear Light.

 

Tibetan texts describe the “mother clear light” that pervades deep sleep as the same fundamental consciousness that pervades all existence. Recognizing this clear light consciously during sleep is considered equivalent to recognizing Buddha-nature itself.

For a untrained person, the deepest part of sleep is a “blackout” or a state of ignorance. However, for the yogi who has trained for this moment, the dissolution of the gross self and the five elements reveals this luminous, objectless awareness.

The goal is to recognize this “child luminosity” and “rest in the groundless ground of mother awareness”. By doing so, the yogi can sustain this state for a longer period and even create a “special dream body” to continue the practice.

This practice is fundamentally non-dual; the “I” is not going anywhere but is learning to be aware of its true nature from within the deepest state of unity.

 

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The Esoteric Perspective.

Our Nightly Return to the Spiritual Realms. 

 

An Exploration of Rudolf Steiner’s, Seth’s, Edgar Cayce’s, and Alice Bailey’s Teachings on the Soul’s Journey during the body’s Deep Sleep.

I want to present their views without comment, just as they are, as those respected sources stated them. I find such perspectives very interesting, although i can not proof a thing, they resonate strongly with my own intuition.

Please take what is helpful for your deeper understanding of your Self. And leave the rest.

 

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According to those sources, each night as our physical bodies surrender to sleep, we embark upon the most extraordinary journey—a return to our spiritual origins, our cosmic ashrams, and communion with higher dimensional teachers. 

According to those teachings, sleep is far from a passive state of unconsciousness. Instead, it represents our nightly pilgrimage back to the spiritual realms from which we originated, a journey of learning, healing, and preparation that is absolutely essential for our spiritual evolution.

 

 

 

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The Anthroposophical Understanding of Sleep as Spiritual Journey.

 

The Four-Fold Human Being in Sleep.

 

According to Rudolf Steiner, the human being consists of four interconnected aspects or “bodies”. During sleep a “parting of the ways” happens:

Physical Body: The mineral, mechanical aspect that remains in the bed during sleep.

Etheric Body (Life Body): The life-giving principle that maintains basic biological functions remains closely connected to the physical body.

Astral Body: The soul-bearer of desires, emotions, and consciousness partially withdraws from the physical body during sleep. It “stays close by” and our dream activity is happening in this realm.

Ego Organization: The spiritual self, the “I AM” principle completely withdraws from the physical realm during deep sleep.

 

I am talking about this part of “me” when i asked: Where do “I” go, when I go to sleep?

( I know, i know! I am aware that language can become a bit confused  and confusing when we enter such non-material, meta-physical realms. )

 

 

 

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The Ego’s Cosmic Journey

 

During sleep, we live with our Ego and astral organisation outside our physical and etheric bodies. While in this state as a being of soul and spirit, as Ego and astral organisation, we are interwoven with the spiritual forces pervading the whole Cosmos. 

This withdrawal is not random but follows precise spiritual laws and serves multiple essential purposes.

Based on his clairvoyant explorations Steiner taught that during deep sleep, the ego organization completely leaves the physical and etheric bodies and enters what he called the “spiritual world proper.” 

This is not merely a metaphorical realm but an actual dimension of existence where the ego engages in specific spiritual activities.

 

Activities of the Ego during Deep Sleep..

 

1. Communion with Spiritual Hierarchies. 
The sleeping ego enters into direct relationship with the nine hierarchies of spiritual beings (Angels, Archangels, Archai, Exusiai, Dynamis, Kyriotetes, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim). 

Each hierarchy provides different aspects of cosmic wisdom and spiritual nourishment that the ego requires for its ongoing development.

 

2. Karmic Processing and Life Review.
Karma is woven by the Ego during the period of sleep,—that means, “… in a realm beyond and apart from those members wherein freedom has its foundations. Karma does not weave the texture of free or unfree thoughts; karma weaves at feeling and will.” 

The sleeping ego actively participates in the weaving of karmic threads, reviewing the day’s experiences and their moral implications, and preparing for future karmic encounters.

 

3. Preparation for Future Incarnations. 
Even while still incarnated, the ego uses sleep time to work with spiritual beings in preparing potential future incarnations, exploring possible life paths, and receiving instruction about spiritual development that extends far beyond the current lifetime.

 

4. Restoration of Spiritual Forces.
 The ego draws from cosmic sources the spiritual forces necessary to maintain the connection between soul and body. Without this nightly restoration, the human being would gradually lose the capacity for spiritual development and eventually lose the connection between spirit and matter entirely.

 

 

 

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The Reverse Stream of Consciousness

 

Steiner described the consciousness during sleep as flowing in the opposite direction from waking consciousness. While waking consciousness flows outward through the senses toward the physical world, sleep consciousness flows inward toward the spiritual world. 

Our ego is then united with the spiritual world out of which it was born and originated. 

 

 

The Mystery of Dreamless Sleep

 

In the deepest phases of sleep, when even dreams cease, the ego is most completely immersed in the spiritual world. 

Steiner taught that during these periods, the ego experiences profound spiritual realities but lacks the organization necessary to bring these experiences back to waking consciousness. 

This is why we typically remember nothing from deep sleep, despite having undergone the most significant spiritual experiences of our daily cycle.

 

The Challenge of Materialistic Sleep

 

Steiner warned that in our increasingly materialistic age, many people’s egos become so bound to physical existence that they cannot fully withdraw during sleep. This results in incomplete spiritual restoration and a gradual weakening of the connection between the soul and its spiritual origins. 

He emphasized that spiritual development requires learning to consciously participate in the process of ego withdrawal during sleep.

 

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THE SETH MATERIAL.

Multidimensional Sleep Adventures.

 

 

Seth’s Revolutionary Understanding of Sleep Consciousness.

 

Jane Roberts‘ channeling of the entity known as Seth presents perhaps the most detailed and revolutionary understanding of what occurs during sleep states. According to Seth, the question “Where do I go in deep sleep?” reveals a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of consciousness and identity.

 

The Multidimensional Self.

 

Seth teaches that what we consider to be our singular identity is actually a multifaceted, multidimensional entity. During waking hours, only one aspect of this larger Self focuses on physical reality. 

During sleep, other aspects become predominant:

– The Dreaming Self:
Explores probable realities and alternative experience. 

– The Inner Self:
Engages with other levels of consciousness and identity. 

– Probable Selves:
Experience alternate versions of potential life experiences. 

– Entity Aspects:
Connect with the larger entity of which the individual personality is only one facet.

 

 

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Sleep as Multidimensional Exploration.

 

During sleep, consciousness is not diminished but rather expands into dimensions normally unavailable to waking awareness. Seth describes several types of sleep experiences:

 

1. Probability Exploration. 
The sleeping consciousness actively explores probable realities—alternate versions of life experiences, different choices and their outcomes, and potential future developments. 

This exploration serves multiple purposes: it allows the whole self to experience a broader range of possibilities than any single lifetime could provide, it helps in making more informed choices in waking life, and it contributes to the overall development of the entire entity.

 

2. Communication with Other Aspects of Self.
 During sleep, the individual personality can communicate with other aspects of its larger identity, including past and future incarnations, probable selves living alternate lives, and the entity or oversoul of which it is a part. 

These communications often provide guidance, healing, and expanded perspective.

 

3. Teaching and Learning Activities. 
Seth describes elaborate teaching and learning activities that occur during sleep. Individuals may serve as teachers for others or receive instruction from more developed aspects of consciousness. 

These “classes” occur in what Seth calls “Framework 2″—the inner dimension of reality from which physical reality emerges.

4. Creative and Problem-Solving Work. 
Many of the creative insights and problem solutions that appear to emerge spontaneously in waking life are actually the result of extensive work done during sleep states. 

The sleeping consciousness has access to information and perspectives unavailable to the focused waking mind.

 

The Energy Personality Essence.

Seth describes himself as an “energy personality essence no longer focused in physical matter” who teaches both during sleep states and through conscious channeling. 

According to Seth, all human beings have the potential to communicate with such entities during sleep, receiving guidance and instruction for their spiritual development.

 

Framework 1 and Framework 2.

Seth distinguishes between Framework 1 (physical reality) and Framework 2 (the inner dimension from which physical reality springs). 

During sleep, consciousness operates primarily in Framework 2, where:

• Time operates differently, allowing past, present, and future to be experienced simultaneously.
• Thought and emotion have immediate creative power.
• Communication occurs telepathically and empathically.
• Healing and regeneration are activated through connection with the inner self
• Planning and preparation for physical life experiences occur.

 

The Eternal Validity of the Soul.

According to Seth, the soul or entity continues to exist and develop across multiple incarnations and probable realities. Sleep provides the primary mechanism through which the individual personality maintains connection with this larger identity and participates in its ongoing evolution.

 

 

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EDGAR CAYCE: The Revelations of the Sleeping Prophet.

 

The Akashic Records and Sleep.

 

Edgar Cayce, known as the “Sleeping Prophet,” demonstrated through thousands of readings given while in trance states that sleep consciousness has access to vast repositories of universal knowledge. 

In the metaphysics of Theosophy and the spiritual movement of Anthroposophy, the Akashic records are believed to be a compendium of all universal events, thoughts, words, emotions, and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future.

 

The Soul’s Journey During Sleep.

 

According to Cayce’s readings, during sleep the soul travels to various dimensions and planes of existence:

1. The Akashic Plane. 
The sleeping consciousness accesses the Akashic Records—the universal library containing the complete record of every soul’s journey through time. 

Here, the individual can review past life experiences, understand present life challenges in their karmic context, and glimpse potential future developments.

 

2. Communication with Deceased Loved Ones. 
Cayce frequently described how sleeping individuals communicate with deceased relatives and friends. 

These encounters serve multiple purposes:
• Healing grief and unresolved emotional issues
• Receiving guidance from those who have transitioned
• Maintaining spiritual bonds that transcend physical death
• Learning about the nature of life after death

 

3. Healing Temples and “Spiritual Hospitals”. 
The readings describe elaborate healing facilities in the spiritual dimensions where souls receive treatment during sleep. 

These facilities operate according to spiritual laws and can facilitate healing on physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. Individuals with chronic conditions often receive treatment in these temples during sleep states.

 

4. Educational Institutions in Spirit. 
Cayce spoke of “universities and schools” in the spiritual realms where souls attend during sleep to receive instruction relevant to their earthly mission and spiritual development. 

The curriculum includes:
• Understanding spiritual laws and principles.
• Developing psychic and spiritual abilities.
• Preparing for specific earth missions.
• Learning about cosmic and planetary influences.

 

 

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The Silver Cord Connection.

 

Cayce taught that during sleep, the soul remains connected to the physical body via what he called the “silver cord”—a spiritual lifeline that allows the soul to travel great distances while maintaining the connection necessary for return to physical consciousness. 

Death occurs only when this cord is severed.

 

Preparation for Earth Missions.

 

According to Cayce, many souls have specific missions or purposes for their current incarnation. 

During sleep, they receive ongoing instruction and guidance related to these missions:
• Meeting with spiritual guides and teachers.
• Receiving specific instructions for spiritual work.
• Connecting with soul groups working on similar missions.
• Preparing for challenging periods in their earthly lives.

 

 

The Christ Consciousness and Deep Sleep.

 

Cayce taught that during deep sleep states, advanced souls can achieve temporary attunement with the Christ Consciousness—the Universal Principle of Divine Love and Wisdom. 

This attunement provides:

• Profound healing on all levels.
• Expanded spiritual awareness and ability.
• Direct experience of divine love and wisdom.
• Preparation for eventual permanent attainment of Christ Consciousness.

 

 

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ALICE BAILEY: The Tibetan’s Teachings on Sleep and Ashram Life.

 

The Hierarchy and Ashram System.

 

Alice Bailey’s extensive channeled material from the Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul presents a sophisticated understanding of sleep as the time when disciples and aspirants connect with their spiritual ashrams and receive instruction from higher dimensional teachers.

 

The Seven Ray Ashrams.

 

Her extensive channeled works include a full treatise on the 7 Ray energies of creation, the Initiations, and Esoteric Psychology. 

Alice Bailey also channeled “The Great Invocation,” one of the most powerful spiritual invocations available to us today.

 

According to the Tibetan, human beings are organized according to seven fundamental energy types or “rays,” each with its own spiritual ashram or school:

First Ray – Will and Power: 
Students learn about divine will, leadership, and the right use of power. 

Second Ray – Love-Wisdom: 
Focus on developing heart-centered wisdom and teaching abilities. 

Third Ray – Active Intelligence: 
Emphasis on mental development and practical application of spiritual principles. 

Fourth Ray – Harmony through Conflict: 
Learning to create beauty and harmony from discord and chaos. 

Fifth Ray – Concrete Knowledge: 
Developing scientific and occult knowledge. 

Sixth Ray – Devotion and Idealism: 
Cultivating spiritual aspiration and dedication. 

Seventh Ray – Ceremonial Order: 
Understanding ritual, organization, and spiritual magic.

 

The Master-Disciple Relationship in Sleep.

 

During sleep, accepted disciples of the Masters maintain contact with their ashrams through what the Tibetan calls “soul contact.” 

This involves:

1. Direct Instruction from the Masters. 
Advanced disciples receive direct teaching from ascended Masters during sleep states.

These teachings are specifically tailored to the individual’s ray type, level of development, and service mission.

2. Group Work and Collaboration. 
Disciples working in the same ashram collaborate on spiritual projects during sleep, often carrying out work that serves humanity’s spiritual evolution. 

This group work includes:
• Healing work on planetary and individual levels.
• Transmitting spiritual energies to support global transformation.
• Preparing for future cultural and spiritual developments.
• Working with the devic evolution and nature spirits.

3. Initiation Preparation. 
The major spiritual initiations that mark progression along the spiritual path are prepared for and sometimes experienced during sleep states. 

The ashram provides the necessary teaching and energy transmissions to prepare disciples for these consciousness expansions.

 

 

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The Science of Impression.

 

The Tibetan teaches that advanced souls use sleep states to receive “impressions” from higher sources—direct transmission of spiritual ideas and energies that can then be brought through into physical plane service. 

This process involves:

• Alignment with higher sources during sleep.
• Reception of spiritual ideas and energy patterns.
• Translation of these impressions into form suitable for physical plane expression.
• Implementation of received guidance in daily life and service.

 

Planetary Service During Sleep.

 

Advanced disciples and initiates participate in planetary service during sleep states:

1. Working with Planetary Centers. 
Disciples may be called to work with the major planetary centers (such as Shamballa, the Hierarchy, and Humanity) to facilitate the flow of spiritual energy to Earth.

2. Group Meditative Work. 
Participating in large group meditations and energy transmissions that support planetary evolution and the emergence of the new consciousness.

3. Healing and Protective Work. 
Advanced servers often engage in healing work for individuals, groups, and even nations during sleep states, working under the guidance of the Masters to alleviate suffering and promote spiritual development.

 

Deep Sleep as the Bridge Between Personality and Soul.

 

The Bailey Teachings emphasizes that sleep provides the primary bridge between the personality (lower self) and the soul (higher self). 

During sleep:
• The personality’s grip on consciousness relaxes.
• The soul can more easily impress its purposes and wisdom upon the lower mind.
• Healing and alignment can occur between different aspects of the self.
• Preparation for soul-centered living in physical incarnation takes place.

 

 

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The Common Threads of Spiritual Sleep.

 

Universal Principles Across those Traditions.

 

Despite their different approaches and terminologies, these and other esoteric sources reveal remarkably consistent principles about the spiritual nature of deep sleep:

1. Sleep as Active Spiritual Engagement. 
All reject the notion that sleep is a passive or unconscious state. Instead, they present sleep as perhaps the most active period of spiritual engagement in the daily cycle.

2. Connection with Higher Dimensions. 
Each tradition describes sleep as a time when consciousness connects with higher dimensions, spiritual realms, or expanded states of awareness normally unavailable to waking consciousness.

3. Teaching and Learning.
All sources describe extensive teaching and learning activities during sleep, whether with spiritual hierarchies, masters, guides, or other aspects of consciousness.

4. Preparation and Planning. 
Sleep is consistently described as a time of preparation—for daily life, for spiritual development, for future incarnations, and for service to humanity.

5. Healing and Restoration. 
Beyond physical restoration, sleep provides spiritual, emotional, and mental healing through connection with higher sources of wisdom and energy.

 

The Progressive Nature of Sleep Development.

 

These teachings suggest that the quality and depth of our spiritual sleep experiences develop over time:

Beginning Stages: 
Basic restoration and simple guidance. 

Intermediate Stages: 
More conscious participation in spiritual activities, beginning service work. 

Advanced Stages: 
Direct contact with masters and guides, active participation in planetary service. 

Mastery:
Conscious continuity between waking and sleeping states, full participation in spiritual hierarchy.

 

 

 

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The Integration Challenge.

 

All traditions acknowledge the challenge of integrating sleep experiences with waking consciousness. 

The gap between sleeping spiritual experiences and waking memory exists because:

• Physical brain consciousness operates at a different frequency than spiritual consciousness.

• The ego-mind cannot easily translate spiritual experiences into physical concepts.

• Premature conscious awareness of sleep activities might disrupt the natural process.

• The individual must be spiritually prepared to handle expanded awareness. Diligent inner work on character and ethical development is a prerequisit for those higher abilities to open in due course.

 

 

 

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Obviously it is a legitimate question, why we don’t more often—or always—remember our nightly journey into the Spiritual Realms. Wouldn’t that be nice?
 

The traditions provide several general answers that i can live with:

Divine Mercy: 
Complete conscious awareness of higher-dimensional spiritual activities would overwhelm the physical consciousness and make normal earthly life impossible.

Protective Mechanism: 
The veil of forgetfulness protects the us from spiritual experiences we are not yet prepared to integrate consciously.

Natural Development: 
As spiritual development progresses, more conscious awareness of sleep states naturally emerges without forced effort.

Development of Trust: 
Learning to trust the spiritual process even without conscious memory develops spiritual faith and surrender.

 

The Promise of Expanding Awareness

All these traditions state that as spiritual development progresses, the veil between sleeping and waking consciousness gradually becomes more transparent. 

And there are practical steps we can do to enhance our Spiritual Sleep Journey.

 

 

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Preparation for Spiritual Sleep.

 

1. Evening Meditation and Prayer.
 Create a spiritual atmosphere before sleep through meditation, prayer, or reading spiritual literature. This helps attune consciousness to higher vibrations.

2. Setting Clear Intentions.
 Before sleep, set clear intentions for spiritual learning, healing, or service. The sleeping consciousness responds to sincere spiritual aspiration.

3. Purification Practices. 
Physical and mental purification through diet, exercise, and mental discipline create conditions more conducive to spiritual sleep experiences.

4. Study and Service.
Regular study of spiritual teachings and active service to others creates the foundation for more advanced sleep experiences.

 

Morning Integration Practices.

 

1. Meditation.
Upon Awakening:
Spend time in meditation immediately upon awakening to capture any remaining sense of spiritual experience from sleep.

2. Dream Journaling:
Keep a journal not only for dreams but for any impressions, feelings, or insights that arise upon awakening, even if they seem vague.

3. Contemplative Prayer:
 Use contemplative prayer to remain open to guidance and impressions that may continue to emerge throughout the day.

4. Service:
 Look for opportunities to express in daily life any sense of purpose or direction received during sleep.

5. Be cool:
Spiritual ambition is the easiest way to kill any real “progress.”

6. Reframing my mind:
Lets forget the word “progress.”  😎

 

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So, now we are slowly coming to the end of this endless journey …
What can i take with me into my everyday life and spiritual practice?

 

 

 

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Practical implications for my daily life, my attitude towards sleep, consciousness, spirituality … 

 

I think that a more profound understanding the nature of deep sleep consciousness offers some practical wisdom for me – and maybe for you as well.

For my Spiritual Practice:

• I recognize that the same awareness present in meditation, also exists in deep sleep.
• I can use the transition to sleep as a practice ground for deep surrender, letting go of my ego identity.
• I understand that spiritual states don’t require effort—they are our natural condition

 

For a healthy Psychological Attitude:

• I see that the hurried, worried self is not fundamental to who i am.
• I recognize that peace and bliss is not an achievement but my basic nature.

 

For  a broader Life Perspective:

• I understand that what i take to be “me” is far more vast and mysterious than any personality can ever be, no matter how “advanced” or “spiritual” it may be.
• I recognize that Consciousness is the common thread connecting all life experiences in the outer world as well as in my inner world. And beyond it all.
• I see death not as annihilation but as a transition similar to sleep.

 

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listen ➡

Epilog

 

The Eternal Witness

 

I think that the question “Where do ‘I’ go, when i go to sleep”, and “Where do I go in deep sleep?” is opening a doorway to the deepest mysteries of consciousness, of existence. 

Across cultures, teachings, and scientific disciplines, the answer points toward the same well known fundamental truth: 

 

The separate self is a temporary construct, while pure consciousness—the real “I”—never goes anywhere at all.

 

In deep sleep, we don’t disappear; we simply stop identifying with the temporary masks of personality and ego. In Greece of the Olden Days, it was called “persona.” 

What remains during Deep Sleep is the Eternal Witness—the same awareness that writes these words right now, the same awareness that will be present in tonight’s sleep, the same awareness that is present in deep Vipassana meditation and even during a sleepy Vipassana meditation.

And i am sure that it is the same awareness that connects all conscious beings in the vast web of existence.

Deep sleep, therefore, is not a void but a revelation—showing us every night what the mystics have always proclaimed: 

 

 

Our true nature is not the small, hurried self
but the Infinite Consciousness
in which all experiences arise and subside
like Waves in the Ocean of Being.

 

 

This is why i say: Turiya sings.

 

 

 

Turiya & Ramakrishna  – by Alice Coltrane. 
Performed on Grand Harp by Brandee Younger.

 

 

“That which is aware of deep sleep is the same as that which is aware of waking and dreaming.  Know that to be your true Self—the witness of all states, touched by none.”

Anonymous..

 

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listen ➡

And here a few source books, dealing with the Deep Sleep topic at hand. Feel free to Download