Dream of Vixen Tor

This is an interesting and unusual introduction to a technique known as "Dreaming-awake." Ken Eagle-Feather, a practitioner of Toltec spirituality, starts off with a tale (though he says it's based on reality) of three travellers who venture to Vixen Tor, a mystical spot somewhere in the British Isles. This tale is about a "ranger" --defined here as knights/wizards who were trained in the ways of Arthur's mythic Roundtable-- who seeks to "restore the crown" -- a mystical quest dedicated to "restoring the relationship of the people to the spirit of all things good and whole, and to the spiriit that contained all worlds." During this quest, the ranger and his companions, described only as a coachmen and waif, encounter the Vixen, a frightening female spirit who presides over the area. During this encounter, in which they face both physical dangers and psychological and spiritual tests, they learn more about themselves and their own spiritual paths. Ken Eagle-Feather follows up the tale with an introduction to Toltec spirituality and the technique known as Dreaming-Awake. It might seem odd to some to combine the British Isles mythology of King Arthur with the Toltec tradition (which the Carlos Castanada books are also rooted in), but today many are looking for common elements of different traditions. Dreaming-Awake is related to lucid dreaming --remaining awake and alert while you are in a dream-- but it also refers to your awareness while in the waking world. Ideally, we should cultivate a heightened sense of awareness while both sleeping and awake. The exercises he gives are useful, and based on staying in touch with the physical body at all times. The Dream of Vixen Tor also contains photos and illustrations by Charles Duffie and several evocative poems by Harriet Louisa Coleman, who was only eleven when this was published. The Dream of Vixen Tor is described as the first in a series of books on the "Restoring the Crown" theme, but I don't know if any others have come out since this one. I would recommend this book to students of spirituality or meditation.