So I came up with a sort of meditation game one day with the hope that it would increase the likelihood of becoming lucid in dreams. My theory was that if I used the technique as a training platform, it would develop the part of the brain that is used to recognize when one is in a dream. I see thoughts and dreams as pretty much the same thing outside of the intimate change in consciousness.
The game is simple: relax and wait for a visual thought to naturally take your attention. The exercise involves allowing the thought to be natural and sneak—as usual—but to then recognize when it happens and to try sustaining the thought.
Once that happens it’s akin to a lucid dream in the sense that there is an ability to maneuver through the mental landscape and interact with mental characters. I’ve had fascinating insights with this by following and questioning characters and landscapes.
I think I’m going to include it in my meditation routine for a lil while to see if it has an effect.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has done this before and has experiences with it.
Only type of meditation that I’ve practiced was passive observation. I mean where you acknowledge certain thought and then you let it go and so on. It made me very aware and I could easily create a world around me…
In the morning I do an open eyed meditation where I focus on the breath and how it feels in my body. Before going to bed I’ll usually do a closed eye meditation where I focus on breathing and the chest area. Both of these I normally handle thoughts the way you have described: acknowledging them and letting go (returning to the breathe, in my case).
During the day I’ve been really enjoying moments of smiling meditation where I breathe deeply and smile for a few minutes. There’s also one that is somewhat new and I’m really excited about. It involves solely tracking where my attention goes without judgement or control…the only control being putting it on the breath when I feel I need to restart.
I used to meditate quite frequently and the results were always astonishing. I’ve been putting more thought into these types of activities lately and it’s improved my mood, my sleeping patterns and even the way I interact with others around me. I’m liking where this is headed. Also, many thanks for putting this idea out there. It will soon help a lot.
Thanks man. I agree with you. It would be also awesome if one could “squeeze” midday meditation. Then all parts of the day would be covered! Sometimes just a short meditation of 5 - 10 minutes can make wonders…
[color=green]Guess thats my wake up call to get back on my meditation, binaural beats and all. My recall and lucidity could be better than it is now. [/color]
I have an example of an experience with lucid thinking that I just had a few minutes ago:
[i][color=indigo]My vision is at ground level watching feet run by. I elevate my vision and see students dressed in white martial art uniforms jogging thru a hallway and dispersing into ranks in a room. In the center of the room is a large imposing figure. His head is about 3 times bigger than the student’s heads, has a dark tan face with big side burns, shaggy somewhat balding hair, and horns that curve downward from the the sides of his head.
A thought goes by, “An image of the devil.”
A feeling of fear goes by and I move in closer. He begins to pound the ground with an enormous foot. A shockwave ripples thru the ground and hits me in the face. I register that it’s my visual thought, which nullifies the effect. He continues the the pounding action repeatedly, like a robot. I continue to watch. I look at the students. They are faceless; there are only shadows where their faces would be and their posture is submissive while they sit on their knees. I look back to see if the large figure is still there to find I am face to face with him.
I hear a thought, “He did that pounding thing because he is afraid.”
I look into his right eye. I see a sort of dull whiteness. A fleeting feeling of fear passes. I dive into his eye.
I hear another thought, “Let’s see what he saw when he looked at me.”
I turn my perspective around to look at myself thru his eyes. I see a young man a foot away with white light exuding from his eye sockets, looking fearlessly at him. He fears his end is near and that the light in the young man’s eyes is a force he cannot stop.[/color][/i]
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