Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854–1934) was a highly developed clairvoyant who unfolded and perfected his psychic faculties under the guidance of his Adept-Teacher.  He commenced clairvoyant investigations in 1893, on occasion collaborating with Annie Besant, the second President of The Theosophical Society, and wrote over thirty books on the spiritual life and the psychic nature of man.(1)

What are dreams and how are they caused?

This short piece by CW Leadbeater answers these questions. He lays out his approach early on:

“The most convenient method in which we can arrange the various branches of our subject will perhaps be the following: first, to consider rather carefully the mechanism –physical, etheric, and astral– by means of which impressions are conveyed to our consciousness; secondly, to see how the consciousness in its turn affects and uses this mechanism; thirdly, to note the condition both of the consciousness and its mechanism during sleep; and fourthly, to enquire how the various kinds of dreams which men experience are thereby produced.”

In simpler terms, 1) the consciousness is separate from its three-fold body, 2) the varying states of the body and consciousness are always interacting with one another, and 3) during the hours of sleep, these interactions produce the different kinds of dreams we experience.

Leadbeater identifies 5 major types of dreams and explains how and why they come about. Having been a regular dreamer my whole life, his explanations have really helped me begin to pick apart my dream experiences and sort out which parts came from where. He also points out the way to cultivate the “better” kind of dreams and gives ample reasoning why a person might want to do so.

This is a fairly technical document and, as with most of CW Leadbeater’s work, a beginner will have a very hard time with the concepts and vocabulary. Therefore, I strongly recommend beginning with Annie Besant’s little books The Seven Principles of Man and/or Man and his Bodies before attempting to read this one.

1) http://www.ts-adyar.org/content/charles-webster-leadbeater-1854-1934