Thread: If You Want To Start Having Lucid Dreams ASAP and More Frequently, START MEDITATING

I had already asked about music in this thread, but I wanted to ask if there was any type that would be better to listen to, such as music designed specifically for meditation? Obviously many results for meditative music pops up on youtube, is it just about personal preference and what sounds best to you while meditating?

Meditating definitely makes WILD much easier in my opinion. You get some of the same symptoms or sensations I must say in a meditative state of mind, which then prepares you for them when attempting a WILD. As you already have an idea of what is happening.

-Mirai

Originally Posted by LucidNightmares

I had already asked about music in this thread, but I wanted to ask if there was any type that would be better to listen to, such as music designed specifically for meditation? Obviously many results for meditative music pops up on youtube, is it just about personal preference and what sounds best to you while meditating?

Try looking up Binaural beats on youtube. They aren't for everyone though.

-Mirai

Originally Posted by parkmeats

Congrats! What type of meditation were you doing?

I'm doing this one : http://www.dreamviews.com/attaining-...editating.html
It helps alot because u know how to clear your mind. And u will not be afraid from HH.
My body floated at first and i was extremely relaxed.!

Did you just reference this very thread, Issac? I got all dizzy!

Originally Posted by parkmeats

What type of meditation are you using? Or if you don't know the name, could you describe it? With results like that, who wouldn't want to try!

I don't want to burst your bubble or anything, but chances are, even if you did exactly what kilham did, you probably won't get the same result. This sort of stuff greatly varies on the individual person.


Also, does anyone know if breath meditation is any useful? Does it increase self-awareness? My thinking is that it does, because you're bringing your attention inside/to your own body, but I could be wrong.

Originally Posted by mimihigurashi

Also, does anyone know if breath meditation is any useful? Does it increase self-awareness? My thinking is that it does, because you're bringing your attention inside/to your own body, but I could be wrong.

In my experience the breath is basically just a stabilisation technique, if you find your mind wandering away from awareness it's just something that snaps you back. You can also use visualisations instead of the breath, for example visualising an object and keeping your mind calm enough that it doesn't fade away or do something strange.

So it's basically an anchor, you concentrate on your breathing, then if something takes your mind away you eventually remember that you were concentrating on your breathing and you go back to that.

I've noticed what really helps me become "aware" is really calming my mind and trying not to think of anything except the breath or visualisation. After 20 minutes of this you get up and do whatever you need to do, but you realise that everything just seems a lot more crisp and you notice everything around you whether you like it not because your mind has no other distractions, you're fully in the "now". It's definitely a very pleasant and peaceful state to be in and everything you do has your full attention, it's very useful to do this before, say, exams. =]

But I have to admit that while I think of myself as quite aware, it hasn't really helped me with DILD. It helps with vividness but there's a difference between being "aware" and being "aware that you're dreaming".

I just absolutely love this. Funny story, yesterday i talked with OpheliaBlue about this on IRC and then i tried it that night and i had an extremely vivid dream. I didn't know if it was the meditation that did it, or if it was the large starbucks i had before bed. (Don't ask.) The dream was really long, and like any dream, weird. As usual, my dreams are alway too weird to write down.

And i thought it was serotonin that helped with dreams. Isn't melatonin just to help with sleep in general?

Originally Posted by Tradl3s

And i thought it was serotonin that helped with dreams. Isn't melatonin just to help with sleep in general?

Yes, melatonin in top of increasing vividness of dreams, it also regulates sleep cycles and help you sleep better.

Wow. i don't know how but my dreams become very vivid.
Hehe, I had a dream that i did meditation in the dream itself. with no awareness

I wanted to answer a bit more extensively, when I came to read the OP first - there are some misconceptions - but basically - great thread!

Originally Posted by Tradl3s

And i thought it was serotonin that helped with dreams. Isn't melatonin just to help with sleep in general?

It does - the nice thing is you can take it - can't do that with serotonin - hence the antidepressants, which only effect the re-uptake of serotonin from the synaptic cleft, where it can interact with receptors.
No re-uptake into the previous nerve cell - it stays there and goes on eliciting reactions over it's receptors.
If you took serotonin - you would just digest it into the amino acid, from which you will then go ahead and make it newly.

While Melatonin - I did a high-dose experiment once - on the expense of wakefulness and by that wellbeing/functionality the next day, I got to say - but the effect was absolutely striking.
Became lucid three times that night, and all dreams were very vivid indeed - extraordinary.
I write this, because from what information I came across on here by chance - all pointed in the direction, you mention.
That melatonin is rather something to take to cushion the effects of more stimulating supps - even that it goes against lucidity - that is completely wrong.
There are other sources, where this weird piece of information circulates - but with a bit of effort and looking into more medical things - it's obviously connected to vividness - this is funnily even listened as a side-effect to medical uses. And also lucidity, clearly.
No experience with other stuff, though - my husband takes it to help him sleep with sleep apnea - don't want to go a route, where I have to pay money.

Sorry - I know, it is a meditation thread - and I actually started meditating since two weeks and find it fantastic - like Memm says it - for real life first of all.
On and off, but maybe half of the days - not for long, though - 5 min. is quite a lot for me, if I get close to the deep.
It could well be, though, that it helped me with DILD - usually it takes me an earnest approach - WBTBs and RCs or at least dream-sign be-mantraing. But there were three instances in the last week, where I just got lucid out of feeling the dream-state.
Noticing the dream, because of a certain experiential quality, which I can't pin down.
The world seemed interwoven differently maybe, and there was a certain shine to things..

Competition coming up - I will try WILD then once more - maybe if it finally works - it's going to be down to meditation.
I guess, I get an intuitive understanding of what does what to what - but ultimately, that's going to be hard.

I just did this and I had a problem with keeping my eyes closed. They'd open up and even though I was in a dark room and after a while let them open. It was hard keeping focus on a central point in darknesss. I did start to see swarls of lighter shades of darkness but my thoughts kept chattering about and taking off point.

That melatonin is rather something to take to cushion the effects of more stimulating supps - even that it goes against lucidity - that is completely wrong.

Well, I refer you to Thomas Yuschak's book, where he does a very thorough discussion of many supplements including melatonin in combination. He does not discuss big doses of melatonin at length, but he does specifically relate how taking very small bits of it can in fact cushion the stimulating effects of other supplements.

The vivid dream side effect of larger doses of melatonin is most likely due to the REM rebound effect. So to say "melatonin enhances lucidity" under all circumstances, you're also not saying something true. The result depends on the dosage and the person. REM rebound occurs because of the initial suppression of REM, when the REM-suppressing effects wear off due to the substance being processed and eliminated from the system. So if the timing is right, and you're still asleep when the substance wears off sufficiently to allow REM, and REM rebound occurs, then yes you get the extra vividness that can lead to lucidity. But if the timing/dosage is not right, the supressed REM means no REM dreaming, which of course means no lucid dreaming. It's not a black & white scenario.

Originally Posted by LucidNightmares

I had already asked about music in this thread, but I wanted to ask if there was any type that would be better to listen to, such as music designed specifically for meditation? Obviously many results for meditative music pops up on youtube, is it just about personal preference and what sounds best to you while meditating?

brainwave entrainment tracks are what you are looking for. I use lifeflow but there are others out there.

They do help some people, so I suggest using them if you find them helping you in your meditation.

I've been trying to meditate more lately and yea, it's been helping quite a lot, mostly in terms of how vivid the dream is, at least for me. Even before I started meditating I still had lucid dreams on and off from time to time, so I'm still not sure that it's increasing my lucidity in my dreams a ton. I think it's a minor increase in how lucid I've been in my dreams, at the moment.

Also, tons of people on today as of 7:32PM 4/20/14. 63 people in the Attain Lucidity section? People must be posting a lot of stuff to help or ask questions this Easter.

I really should start meditating. I heard it brings dream recall back, plus gives you awareness in your dreams.

Originally Posted by AstralMango

I really should start meditating. I heard it brings dream recall back, plus gives you awareness in your dreams.

From experience, I can confirm it helps a lot with recall. I used to have awful recall for a several days, like barely 1 dream per night, then a couple of days of meditating my recall boosted suddenly to up to 5 dreams per night and more.
Not so sure about awareness, though, I've been meditating for at least 45 minutes every day for 5 days and still no DILD.. maybe it takes a while longer to become effective, like a couple weeks.

I just wanted to meditate but it turned into a nap... oops

my recall is awful, but it seems to get better. Since I meditate and try to have ADA I always think "today's the day I'll have my first LD"
well, it's only been 3 days, I'm just too impatient.

I meditated 45 minutes yesterday, as a result I've only slept 5 hours today coz I couldn't fall asleep after WBTB... so meditation isn't always helpful

I can confirm that this helps immensely, however I find its more useful in the middle of the day or evening opposed to right before bed. Binaurals are also a good supplement if you feel you need something to listen to or focus on.

In general it's a bad idea to meditate while lying down. Your body becomes very relaxed and it causes your mind to go into "sleep" mode. It will start wandering and you will get more and more unfocused, which is the opposite of the intended effect.

By sitting with good posture (not rigid, just well-aligned) you will stay awake and you will find your focus sharpening rather than wandering all over the place. Meditation while lying down is possible but for a beginner it's a tremendous handicap--a total waste of time in my opinion.

Originally Posted by bluremi

In general it's a bad idea to meditate while lying down. Your body becomes very relaxed and it causes your mind to go into "sleep" mode. It will start wandering and you will get more and more unfocused, which is the opposite of the intended effect.

By sitting with good posture (not rigid, just well-aligned) you will stay awake and you will find your focus sharpening rather than wandering all over the place. Meditation while lying down is possible but for a beginner it's a tremendous handicap--a total waste of time in my opinion.

I partly agree... it depends on what you want to practice
I started with lying down, and I didn't learn how to focus, but I learned how to relax (which is also pretty important for meditation)
later I decided to sit instead and practiced the focus