When I have a nightmare, I generally find that the pressure, confusion, and fear comprise an active sign that I am on the verge of an otherwise inaccessible breakthrough. In other words, the nightmare is the stage for an awakening to insight and growth. It is a signal that my path has brought me into proximity with the source of my soul’s most profound abilities.

The same opportunities obtain in my waking life, when faced with extreme challenges or terrifying situations — but it is far more difficult for me to remain aware of this peculiar feature of experience, and to respond in such a way as to preserve and activate the capacities for sudden growth inherent in my direction of awareness and my mind’s relationships with the situations at hand.

But this recognition is the door, and remaining aware of this is a large part of the key that unlocks it.