So last night,being a weekend,and me always working for the weekend I stayed up late yada,yada,yada… And woke up fairly early (after about 4 hours of sleep). And stayed up for another few hours. The significance of this post comes in what happened afterwards. I decided to take a mid day nap and try experimenting with altered states of consciousness or lucid dreaming. I laid down and threw on a lucid dreaming brain sync app that I have on my phone. As I was relaxing going deeper and deeper into a meditative state,I felt I have reached a new level awareness but I don’t really know what to make of it. As I was laying there,being passive to thoughts are started picturing a scene somewhere in an amazonian location sitting next to a fire with Carlos Castaneda(I figured this would work better since it keeps the mind on the subject of lucidly while still allowing your minds eye to create a scene. The part that excited me the most was that while all of this is going on I feel a dualistic awareness, one being me in my bed and the other being the scene in my head. I kept concentrating and I could sense,and feel the latter very strongly. Even though the visual imagery wasn’t that vivid the tactical sense was something I’ve never experienced before. It’s hard to explain and am just looking for someone to talk to about it and maybe hear something similar so I know I’m doing something right. I know this was a long one,so thanks for listening and i very much look forward to feedback
Ah. I meditate once a day. Mainly for relaxation, but like you, I have an affinity for altered states. I know the feeling, but you should be careful which path you follow now, because you have experienced a natural way to alter your state, it is only in human nature to try and exploit this. So, I suggest to you, to read “The Four Noble Truths” by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Don’t view it as a religious doctrine, and don’t take everything in the book as fact. Read the book, decide for yourself which path you will take now.
The four truths are in essence as follows:
The First truth is the truth of suffering. All beings suffer. This is just a fact of life. All beings who suffer, strive to avoid suffering and go towards happiness.
The Second truth is the origins of suffering. There are three main reasons for suffering to arise. Ignorance, Attachment, and Aversion.
The Third truth is the cessation of suffering. So, if there is an origins to suffering, so too must there be a way to cause a cessation of suffering.
The Fouth truth is the Right Path. This is the path which leads to the cessation of suffering. There are many different sects of Buddhism, each which take a different path. The path itself is unimportant, the journey to the end is different for everyone, but the end-game is always the same. Cessation of suffering.
Personally, if you are to ask me, I think that Madhyamaka is the best way. Madhyamaka is the middle way, neither too much nor too little. Nourish your physical body and your mind. Have a belief, whether it is spiritual or religious. If you are an atheist, the things you might come to experience will become very confusing for you. It doesn’t matter which religion you follow, but at least have an open mind about it. I’m not particularly religious, but my ancestry lies in Zoroastrianism, so I use this way to explain my experiences. But be open to all religions for all religions have something good to teach about ourselves and the people and things which surround us.
As for the physical sensation of two bodies. This is normal. I have felt the same. I have even felt a complete detachment, where one observes the other. But it is, I have found, best not to try and make sense of it, because our monkey-minds are prone to over-analyze these experiences. Let it be what it is, and when you have truly reached a higher level of awareness everything will become more clear.
Hey man! Thanks for the info and help! I guess when I posted this topic I half expected to get an obscure answer such as yours. I understand all that you said about the paths and the book but how does it relate to the situation?
You have now got a taste of how powerful meditation can be. What you experienced is the first step on a journey, and whether you keep going on your journey or not is up to you. What I provided you is information if you wish to take the next steps.
You wanted to know if you were doing something right. I’m here to tell you that there really is no right way, but there are wrong ways. You can do the wrong things which will make you feel negative emotions in intense ways. I’m assuming that you are striving not to feel negative emotions but to feel positive and good. This is human nature.
I guess what I’m trying to tell you is that you’ve definitely taken a step forward, but its up to you to decide whether or not this was a step in the right direction or not. Be careful and welcome to a brand new world.
Thank you so much for clarifying. Would it make a difference ifnwere under the influence of a certain green herb? Also do you have any other reccomended readings on the subject of awareness in general?
Well. It does depend on who you ask. Some people think that this is a bit like cheating.
Allow me to explain what they mean:
You are on a mountain, high up. You are experiencing a beautiful view of a vast expanse of land down below. As you are taking in this beautiful sight you are filled with a sense of awe and amazement.
There are two ways to get up the mountain. You can climb, which takes a lot of effort and dedication, or you can drive up the mountain, which is considerably easier.
Now, some schools of thought would have you think that because you drove, the sight isn’t as beautiful and doesn’t inspire as much awe and as much a sense of wonder as if you had climbed.
Now, for me, personally, I don’t anymore ‘drive’ up the mountain if you will. I used to and it was an excellent tool for me. But I let it take too much control of my life. So now, I don’t, and I have to say, the view for me really is much more awe-inspiring because of it. I shan’t speak for you, because I know there are a great deal of people out there who lead very fulfilling and amazing lives filled with insight who ‘drive’ instead of ‘climb’. So, you tell me, does it make a difference for you? Do you let it control you or do you control it?
And on the subject of further readings on the subject of awareness; I have a great deal.
I can give you a beginners list here, but if you want more I have a bunch of free and open-sourced e-books for someone who already understands the basics. PM me for the list if you’re interested.
Fundamentals of Dzogchen Meditation - Alexander Berzin
Practical Vipassana Exercises - Mahasi Sayadaw
The Anapanasati Sutra - U Vimalaramsi
these are all free and open sourced e-books but I don’t know if it’s against the ToS to post the links here or not, so PM me for them, if you’d like. Also, on the subject of dreaming I would really suggest that you read “Dream Yoga and the practice of Natural Light” by Norbu rinpoche. I can also give you the link for that.
On the subject of awareness in general, you should read
“The Doors of Perception” by Aldous Huxley,
“The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity” by Rudolph Steiner
Pretty much anything by the philosopher and author Gurdjieff, who was the principal founder of “The Fourth Way” philosophical school of thought. The ideas he presents are similar to the Buddhist perspective but offers a different way to reach awakening. His ideas state that most of human kind goes through life ‘asleep’ almost, going through day to day life in a zombie-like trance doing things auto-pilot. He says that there is a way to reach an awakened state and to make the most of life.
By doing this reading you will undoubtedly come across many occult books, so I’m going to go ahead and say that H.P. Blavatsky is another influential author among these, with the “Secret Doctrines” being one of the most, in my opinion, important.
P.D. Ouspensky has also authored many influential books about this and has also made a few commentaries on Lucid Dreaming.
Oh, there are so many, already! I feel I may have overwhelmed you, if so, I’m sorry. This is not a ‘must-read’ kind of thing, but you did ask me to give you a recommended readings!!! I apologize in advance.