Thread: Activating the left brain hemisphere to attain lucidity

Originally Posted by mcwillis

@ Vortaix, n00bf0rlyf3, XxLHYxX, Sam1r

Thanks for all the posts, I have a few questions please as it would be helpful to understand the process better. Thanks.




As you had 2 lucids within 3 days can you explain please what you mean by gripping it like a wooden handle?



Thanks, I just wanted to ascertain whether you just did a reality check out of habit or if you questioned the logic of the dream first before performing the reality check. Nose pinch reality check is my favourite.

i feel like a sphere and I just put the sensation of something wooden as its texture and i grip it with my fake hand to feel where it is and just hold it. This technique only worked the first few nights

I mixed this with SSILD and it did wonders for me,
I managed to kill off my dryspell,
finally having a real, long ass lucid dream that was stable and vivid.
not sure which technique helped, or whether it was the combination, but Im doing this everynight from now on.. great work mcwillis

Originally Posted by Sam1r

I mixed this with SSILD and it did wonders for me,
I managed to kill off my dryspell,
finally having a real, long ass lucid dream that was stable and vivid.
not sure which technique helped, or whether it was the combination, but Im doing this everynight from now on.. great work mcwillis

Well done, I've been doing SSILD and it worked great a while but lately it hasn't. I'll be sure to mix this in aswell and hope for same results as you.
Would you mind explaining exactly how you did the mixing? Was it wbtb? which one did you do last? Or did you perhaps add it as an repetition?

Blind me. This actually does something. When I did this before bed I had abnormally better dream recall and dream vividness but not by a huge amount. This has huge potential if you ask me.

Originally Posted by Avalanche

How would you describe the technique? Because I read the first post but doing it like that doesn't work anymore. Put a different spin on it or something.

Do you mean describe the mechanics of how to do the technique or describe the theory of why it works? Im still going through the brain experiments material that I have been looking at and it may throq up some new insights at a later time.

Originally Posted by apiks

Blind me. This actually does something. When I did this before bed I had abnormally better dream recall and dream vividness but not by a huge amount. This has huge potential if you ask me.

It has definately increased my dream vividness and ability to recall dreams. I had a very vivid one last night with perfect recall this morning.

another good way of activating your left brain is by listening to the high pitch frequencies of your conciousness and concentrate on the tone that sounds to be coming from your left brain

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

Sounds like a good MILD affirmation

Definitively!
This approach appeals to me in a way - so here my take on it.
The whole right-left brain thing is vastly overrated so it can even be called a myth - but I have a theory, why this works so nicely for many people, and I might try it out, but in a slightly different manner.
It basically consists of affirmations to activate higher mental faculties once you are dreaming beforehand and this combined with the power of visualization.
Maybe it does indeed even help to concentrate on a part of the brain for that - did anybody try it with the right side, just for curiosity?
I have a nice picture for those who find it helpful to concentrate on something in the brain - the regions which do light up on MRI for real in LDs. On top of what is going on in both hemispheres already - see Ctharlhie's pics below.
You wouldn't try the right hemisphere, would you, because you don't believe logic resides there, right?

I have had complete chains of reasoning in my dreams, that I recall without lucidity - the logic did work within the pre-set situation of the dream - no problems in procedure.
So it's not so much about the logic - and many people, like Sageous, agree there.
Primarily it is about meta-consciousness - being conscious of being conscious - or call it the famous self-awareness - and this is indeed known to be correlated to those areas:

The human capacity of self-perception, self-reflection and consciousness development are among the unsolved mysteries of neuroscience.
“The general basic activity of the brain is similar in a normal dream and in a lucid dream,” says Michael Czisch, head of a research group at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry.
“In a lucid state, however, the activity in certain areas of the cerebral cortex increases markedly within seconds.
The involved areas of the cerebral cortex are the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, to which commonly the function of self-assessment is attributed, and the frontopolar regions, which are responsible for evaluating our own thoughts and feelings. The precuneus is also especially active, a part of the brain that has long been linked with self-perception.”

This is from here: Lucid dreamers help scientists locate the seat of meta-consciousness in the brain -- ScienceDaily
And is the actual stand of knowledge these days - I also find, the metaconsciousness concept as source of lucidity far more convincing, than just simplistically take the whole left hemisphere and denominate it "logic centre".
No offence meant of course - I find this approach in general quite attractive!
Got to admit though - topologically - this is a bit more sophisticated for visualization as well. Maybe just take the frontal part?
Just - once you know, you operate on placebo with taking a whole hemisphere - it doesn't work any more - and proper knowledge is better than myths - so I'd opt for a change.

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

Lateralisation between the hemispheres of the brain is no where near as significant as is often portrayed by those who would tell you you can 'hemi-sync' (usually so they can sell you something)

Lateralization of brain function - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The truth is that throughout your life the hemispheres of your brain work in tandem but interdependently of each other, and statements of 'logical left' and 'creative right' are largely generalisations, remember that each hemisphere is a mirror image of the other with the exact same neuroanatomy on each side.

It would be silly to suggest that your brain would sacrifice half of its processing power for something so intensive as dreaming by shutting down the left hemisphere. In fact MRI scans show that the two hemispheres show roughly equal activity:



However it is generally accepted in sleep research circles that the higher reasoning centres of the forebrain responsible for things like operative memory and self-awareness are suppressed.
So if you really are stimulating anything then it would be the forebrain.

Maybe the stimulation of the forebrain becomes associated with the realisation that you are dreaming so that when it finds itself in an inhibited state it triggers the realisation you are dreaming. I which case this technique could hold implications for WILD and recognising the transition without having to remain conscious through the whole WILD. In a way it's similar to the 'third eye' and Nina's technique of WILDing.

However, it may just be a simple matter of mnemonic/auto-suggestion induction, in which case it would be effective as a MILD and may be increased even further in effectiveness if coupled with visualisation.

You are correct - and I know quite a bit about brains as well. It is not correct, that the left hemisphere is dormant in normal dreams - your post and pictures should suffice to show that, actually.
Here a link to a neuroscientist's blog, which also has a nice optical illusion - often interpreted incorrectly according to that myth:
NeuroLogica Blog » Left Brain – Right brain and the Spinning Girl

Originally Posted by mcwillis

Good work Ctharlhie. I haven't had much time to do some proper research but going back to what I have researched the above is not entirely correct. Thank you though for your efforts. I shall update new information once I have looked properly.

Did you look properly by now?
A switch in localities and concepts does in no way invalidate the affirmation with visualization/imagining feeling somewhere in the brain!

very interesting! I'm gonna combine it with SSILD like Sam1r did. this is gonna break my dryspell!

Well,

It was late at night , about 11:00 PM, i was roaming through DV then i found your post..
At the beginning i thought its a complete placebo (people think it will work, so it automatically boosts their confidence)..

I did some research on the amygdala, how i can activate it .. etc.. but the concept stays the same.. It was exactly how you described it..

I tried to tickle it.. I imagined a feather and then i visualized it touching the amygdala (left one, i find it easier xD).. It didn't work.. Then i tickled myself (for real, on the foot), just to feel that sensation ..
And i tried to tickle the amygdala again with a feather.. This time, i got a smile on face, then a grin, then i started laughing (i thought it is because of the fact i am doing something silly that can never work), but then, i kept laughing, and laughing, and laughing, and everything got funny to me !
[/I]
I laughed for 15 minutes straight ! I couldn't stop ! I was laughing at furniture, at the wall, at my laptop screen, even when i stopped and went to sleep, i had a crazy looking grin on my face..

That night, i was just happy.. i didn't think about lucid dreams at all.. But the thing i noticed is that i was more AWARE, (in waking life) i was aware every 5sec or so..
When my mind started to wonder a bit.. i would automatically stop thinking nonsense and focus on reality ! (i was amazed) .. I was never so mindfull in my life ! o_o (look up a guide on mindfullness)..

Another tip i found is to imagine a small [switch] where the amygdala is located, and i would just click it towards my forehead ! (it also makes you more aware)..

Well i guess that's it..
Sorry for the long reply, and thank you again for letting me know there's a switch for AWESOMENESS inside my head :] !

Originally Posted by Vortaix

Well,

It was late at night , about 11:00 PM, i was roaming through DV then i found your post..
At the beginning i thought its a complete placebo (people think it will work, so it automatically boosts their confidence)..

I did some research on the amygdala, how i can activate it .. etc.. but the concept stays the same.. It was exactly how you described it..

I tried to tickle it.. I imagined a feather and then i visualized it touching the amygdala (left one, i find it easier xD).. It didn't work.. Then i tickled myself (for real, on the foot), just to feel that sensation ..
And i tried to tickle the amygdala again with a feather.. This time, i got a smile on face, then a grin, then i started laughing (i thought it is because of the fact i am doing something silly that can never work), but then, i kept laughing, and laughing, and laughing, and everything got funny to me !
[/I]
I laughed for 15 minutes straight ! I couldn't stop ! I was laughing at furniture, at the wall, at my laptop screen, even when i stopped and went to sleep, i had a crazy looking grin on my face..

That night, i was just happy.. i didn't think about lucid dreams at all.. But the thing i noticed is that i was more AWARE, (in waking life) i was aware every 5sec or so..
When my mind started to wonder a bit.. i would automatically stop thinking nonsense and focus on reality ! (i was amazed) .. I was never so mindfull in my life ! o_o (look up a guide on mindfullness)..

Another tip i found is to imagine a small [switch] where the amygdala is located, and i would just click it towards my forehead ! (it also makes you more aware)..

Well i guess that's it..
Sorry for the long reply, and thank you again for letting me know there's a switch for AWESOMENESS inside my head :] !

No don't apologise for the long reply !!! Thanks for the feedback. So you just used the amygdala 'clicking' technique instead of the technique in this thread? That is awesome nonetheless.

I actually used both at the same time.. Tickle it first, then switch it on just in case !

Originally Posted by mcwillis

No don't apologise for the long reply !!! Thanks for the feedback. So you just used the amygdala 'clicking' technique instead of the technique in this thread? That is awesome nonetheless.

Originally Posted by Vortaix

I actually used both at the same time.. Tickle it first, then switch it on just in case !

From your post it sounds like you were doing amygdala clicking only and not the technique described in the opening post of the thread. I'm confused, are you saying that you were tickling the amygdala and also imagining 'switching' on the left hemisphere of the brain as well?

"And i tried to tickle the amygdala again with a feather.. This time, i got a smile on face, then a grin, then i started laughing"

If you read it carefully, i clearly stated that i imagined a feather inside my head and tickled it. And that it worked..

BUT
I have also read a tip that can increase its effect.... I just imagine a switch, inside my head, and i imagine flicking it towards my forehead -_- ...

Sorry if it seems confusing, but please read my long boring post again ;D !

p.s.

i did exactly this AMYGDALA: Amazing Music Brain Adventure

Originally Posted by Vortaix

"And i tried to tickle the amygdala again with a feather.. This time, i got a smile on face, then a grin, then i started laughing"

If you read it carefully, i clearly stated that i imagined a feather inside my head and tickled it. And that it worked..

BUT
I have also read a tip that can increase its effect.... I just imagine a switch, inside my head, and i imagine flicking it towards my forehead -_- ...

Sorry if it seems confusing, but please read my long boring post again ;D !

p.s.

i did exactly this AMYGDALA: Amazing Music Brain Adventure

Oh no I did understand to an extent thanks. I wanted to know if you verbally instructed your left brain hemisphere to become more active during sleep to induce lucids. This is what the first post is describing and entirely different to clicking the amygdalas. It is interesting that you had multiple lucids just by clicking your amygdalas and not by following the instructions in the first post of this thread. Your post is not boring, on the contrary it is very interesting and exciting

@Vortaix: That is so cool how you did that! So you said you were like, completely aware? I wanna try that.

Could you possibly explain a little bit more on how you did it?

What can you accomplish by stimulating the amygdalas?

Originally Posted by Avalanche

What can you accomplish by stimulating the amygdalas?

Click on the following link: Frontal Lobes Supercharge

It seems it can also be used to induce lucids as described by Vortaix.

Sounds interesting I think I will try that and after it I will try to slip back to a dream with a DEILD which I also wanted to try out.
Wish me luck .

I tried this technique last night, hoping to break my dryspell but instead i got very vivid dreams and very fun too.One of them was how i was volunteering for the Vietnam War and i become a field medic.It was crazy!. Going to try it next night too!

Like Bob40 I again had incredibly vivid dreams last night. This level of vividness is very unusual for me. So much so that I was fully awake when the natural awakenings occured at the end of my REM periods throughout the night.

Normally I am completely unaware of these awakenings unless I have very vivid dreams. This did offer the opportunity to induce DEILD's but because I moved immediately upon these awakenings that unfortunately destroyed my attempts.

Instructing my left hemisphere to become more active during dreams is affecting my dreams and although I haven't had a full DILD yet it nonetheless indirectly offered me enhanced opportunities to have lucid dreams last night with DEILD's.

You know what ?
The moment when i REALLY started laughing, is when i finished watching this video Supercharge Your Brain - YouTube

You can stimulate the amygdalas just by laughing (i think) .. But really, try it now, (its super easy), just imagine tickling them with a feather (imagine the sensation too) .. You should get a positive happy feeling, laugh, or so...

When you do it, do some ADA, you will see that ADA will BOOOOST so much, you will be aware every 3-4 secs.. your thoughts wont wander, you will be focused on reality so much, that when you go to sleep, it will carry on to your dreams..

Enjoy, and good luck.

dang I didn't get lucid...(maybe I fell asleep too fast - I don't even remember if I stimulated the left brain or not...but I tried to!)
but I really had crazy vivid dreams. guess what, I had shared dream with my friend in school

So how do I pop my amygdala?

Yeah, I'm still having trouble with it. It's taking me longer than it should. The only thing I've really been able to feel was a very mild warm feeling, but maybe I'm just feeling that because that's what I expect to happen.

Originally Posted by Vortaix

You know what ?
The moment when i REALLY started laughing, is when i finished watching this video Supercharge Your Brain - YouTube

You can stimulate the amygdalas just by laughing (i think) .. But really, try it now, (its super easy), just imagine tickling them with a feather (imagine the sensation too) .. You should get a positive happy feeling, laugh, or so...

When you do it, do some ADA, you will see that ADA will BOOOOST so much, you will be aware every 3-4 secs.. your thoughts wont wander, you will be focused on reality so much, that when you go to sleep, it will carry on to your dreams..

Enjoy, and good luck.

Amygdala 'clicking' hasn't altered my lucid dreaming skills as my DILD ability hasn't increased in the last year of amygdala clicking. However, the thechnique of instructing the entire left hemisphere of my brain to become more active during dreams has so far had an effect on my dreams, as reported by a couple of people here. I am not discounting the validity of your success but both techniques may be successful for some and not for others.

Originally Posted by Windhover@

dang I didn't get lucid...(maybe I fell asleep too fast - I don't even remember if I stimulated the left brain or not...but I tried to!)
but I really had crazy vivid dreams. guess what, I had shared dream with my friend in school

I too have not only been experiencing a great increase in dream vividness but also the nature of my dreams are becoming very bizarre. I have been reading the last couple of days that our dreams are formed from the memories stored in the right hemisphere of our brains. The left hemisphere stores different types of memories than the right hemisphere. It may be that instructing the left hemisphere to become more active somehow incorporates these different types of memories creating the extra craziness that you describe and I have experienced.

Originally Posted by Avalanche

So how do I pop my amygdala?

Read the opening post in this thread and follow the link there.

Originally Posted by Sydney

Yeah, I'm still having trouble with it. It's taking me longer than it should. The only thing I've really been able to feel was a very mild warm feeling, but maybe I'm just feeling that because that's what I expect to happen.

It is a result. I often feel just this same feeling when I tickle my amygdalas.