As its the Equinox, which just happens to be a Sunday, I figured it would be the perfect time to start putting down some notes on what I was doing during the time I had these Meditation LD's.
Now, unlike simply working on something in the dreamworld or in the realworld- this technique does require a good bit of work in both. The best candidates for this technique would most definitely be those who 1) Have a strong LD background and feel comfortable with having a dream goal and reaching it or 2) Those who have a strong Meditation background- who can silence the mind, hold a thought or image in their singled concentration for long periods of time, and of course those who have attained certain levels of consciousness/experiences through meditation. Now saying that- I believe EVERYONE IS A GOOD CANDIDATE!! All I meant was- those with previous experience will most likely have more initial "luck" with this.
This technique could be considered hard as it took me years of dabbling in both meditation and LDing to figure out: first what I was doing, and second how to combine them to make big strides. BUT the gains are most definitely worth the work and wait (Can't Emphasize This Enough!) The Meditation will strengthen your Dream Control, Dream Recall, and Lucidity in the mean time!! That alone I hope should hook some people into trying it...as it really is worth the effort!! The BIG experience may take months even for the experienced. Don't focus on the goal- there are many many awesome experiences and states of mind along the way you might even forget about the goal on this one (which might help you get there faster).
Meditation:
I will begin with the meditation part as (you may not believe this) it is the harder of the two. Id say 80% of this technique is in the meditation prep and 20% in the dream- because once you do the work, the dream will take care of itself. Personally there are four meditations that I believe are the ones to work on, and they somewhat go in order:
1) Meditation to clear the mind.
This is where to begin. If you don't have experience with meditation I suggest checking out "Be Here Now" by Baba Ram Dass and "An Open Heart" by the Dalai Lama- both have insights into meditation and are both aimed at the beginner. (Id suggest reading them both)
When coming to meditate, you may notice your mind is wandering- endlessly thinking of nonsensical things. This is Meditation's very purpose- grabbing all the loose ends of the mind and bringing them back to center. I like to think of it like this: every thought in your head is running off of your psychic energy. They are all flowing in a million different directions. By slowly calming the mind, watching where the thoughts run to, and calmly pulling those thoughts back into center, quieting them, you regain those little bits of wasted energy. As you begin this practice rely on focusing on the breath when you find your mind wandering. Use the calm of closed eyes and calm breathing to slowly reel in your total attention on the now. With practice you will eventually find you can sit with eyes closed, focusing on simply the peace of a quiet mind for long periods of time. The relaxation and peace derived from this technique are reward enough!
For the above section you are making progress if: you simply sit in quietness without your internal monologue chiming in, you begin to have visual distortions (seeing squiggles of light or electric-like images) while your eyes are closed, begin to have body distortions (feel like parts of your body are moving, shrinking, or expanding when you know they aren't), and if you are having feelings of well-being. This is mostly due to the vacuum of sensory information- separating the strong mind-body ties that hold us to daily reality.
Just like keeping a Dream Journal, don't move on to the second phase until you have a strong base to work off of in the previous section.
2) Meditation to focus single-pointed concentration.
In this phase, one is exercising concentration and single-pointed focus. This would make sense- if you want to explore a thought or a different dimension you can't be losing your focus on it. Placing all your concentration on a single object and holding that concentration is the goal here.
For this type of meditation you can use various techniques: image something and then hold that image in your mind. Don't let your mind wander. It could be anything: an apple, a rainbow, anything....for those who are more spiritual in nature you can focus on an image of Jesus, Buddha, Krishna...and if you are a person of faith i recommend this as (im assuming) these figures would already be points of concentration. The point is to hold this image, idea, persona, for as long as possible without losing your attention. You may find that after just a brief period of time you will find yourself thinking of the dirty socks in the hamper or that funny Seinfeld episode... Ah Ah Ah...reel it back in! At those moments I would tell myself "Fail!" and begin again. If you have trouble visualizing an image then first try focus on a lighted candle in a dim room. Sit there, looking at it, and eventually close your eyes and see the same candle. Hold that image!! The entire point of this exercise is to increase one's concentration and the length of time you can hold that concentration.
You are making progress here if: you can hold an image in the mind without having it become distorted or forgetting about it to entertain other thoughts. Like the previous section you may experience body distortions, but not as much....as you have a focus, there isn't the same vacuum of information going on.
3) Meditation to explore abstractions/analytical meditation.
This meditation is difficult because, well, its abstract!! Im also combining two meditation techniques in this one- not so much that they are so similar, more that they both hold a similar importance- opening the mind.
a) Abstraction- You might think im crazy, but go look up some abstract math ideas to give you a solid idea of what abstract means. To me, abstract means a way of representation that has no direct reference to reality, yet exists as a perfect thought. For example, the x and y axis is an abstract idea. We use it all the time, but it exists only in the mind...yet it is very useful and we know it to be a powerful tool. In abstract meditation we are actually thinking. Now this may seem odd because before we were trying not to think. Well thats part of the beauty- before you get to this meditation you have to tend the garden of your mind. You can't be thinking about abstraction and then suddenly thinking of your dear Auntie Mildred....you wouldn't get anywhere with it! Take an abstract idea and explore it after you have sat, taken your breaths, and cleared your mind. I always think about atoms...how atoms are these representations of something we don't quite understand, and how there are SO MANY of them...it kinda blows your mind (GOOD IN THIS PHASE WE WANT TO BLOW THE MIND!!) Another thought I entertain is how i can picture the x and y axis in my mind, but I know that the points and lines on the graph have no width, and therefore don't exist....yet here they are....in my mind....clear as day.... .... ..... (dots placed here on purpose!!! The abstract thoughts should take you to this place where you are simply ... .... mystified)
b) Analysis- Now in analytical meditation we are thinking again. In this meditation we are using the quieting of mind and focused concentration we have been building upon to hold an internal monologue about a certain idea. Examples would be: The reason for developing Compassion, or The Nature of the Universe. This can be tricky because these meditations can be loaded with Dogma if your not careful. My personal analytical meditations always center on: Time, Space, Atoms, and the Universe. Time: past, present, future. The present separates time past and time future...but what is the present?? If you try to dissect it...the present is this immeasurably small dot on the wheel of time...yet, things exist ONLY in the now as the past is gone and the future yet to be...here i would suggest checking out "The Confessions of St. Augustine". In one of the chapters he has a long dialogue with himself into the nature of time....it is the perfect example of an analytical meditation. Space: space appears to be a measure of distance and relation between objects. Yet, if you break it down, much of how we think of space depends on the juxtaposed relation of two objects. If you dont' know how big two objects are, you can't measure the space between them. Imagine a picture taken in a microscope vs one taken by the Hubble deep space telescope. If you were given these two pictures but not told which was which you might have a hard time telling which picture came from which apparatus...point being...if you divide space smaller and smaller or look outward farther and farther....YOU STILL HAVE THE SAME RELATIVE AMOUNT OF SPACE...The Atoms: Atoms combine both ideas of time and space, for time is measured by change and space is measured by distance. Both of these qualities are DEPENDENT on the existence of atoms...i like to think of them as little score keepers. The changes in flow of energy, chemical reactions, etc. are stored as information in atoms. The changes we see allow us a framework to mark the flow of time. Atoms are also responsible for tracking distance-as they are the marker for separating objects. Constantly moving and vibrating, they create the form of this universe. Yet, they are 99.999% space.....trippy... The Universe: if the universe is filled with these blobs of matter, galaxies, composed of atoms...what exists far far far our there....(Im not really trying to make a point here, just exploring these ideas as deeply as you can and finally coming to the conclusion that there is no logical answer to the riddle is the main point)
Marking success here is very difficult, as it is a very personal experience. Personally I would feel moments of exhilaration when these thoughts would "jell" in my mind and I would look out at the world with a renewed wonder.
4) Meditation on the nature of self/emptiness.
This is where its really at. I highly suggest (if you want to try this) reading as much as you can about meditation. There are many other explorers out there who can describe this better than I can. Buddha said everything is empty...2500 years later modern science basically agrees...matter isn't the answer....its in flux, and mostly empty space. When you take the meditation to its farthest shore, explore your deepest self, and look out at the world you realize something hard to put in words: the nature of the universe is bound up in the nature of your very own self. Everything exists, and exists only, in the Mind. You are in the Mind, but then the next question is "Who's Mind?" The way it feels to me is: there is an original mind. Within the center of every entity is this seed mind. Beginning-less, Endless, Eternal. This is the dome shaped abstraction filled with light, the many-roomed Mansion. Now, you can get there through Meditation in wakefulness, but (AND FINALLY WE GET TO THE POINT OF THIS UNBELIEVABLE LONG POST...I give mad props to those still with me and much thanks...) if you try this meditation in a Lucid Dream- its like a free ticket to the Divine.
Lucid Dreaming:
Now, there is tons of information on this site so I won't even go into all the lucid dreaming techniques BUT if you did the meditation and understand what you are doing here is what you do:
Next time you are in a lucid dream begin to meditate. For me (and I guess im lucky) once I'm lucid the desire to do so shoots me straight into the Abstract. What you want to do is clear your mind "close your eyes" and by this I mean try not to focus on the dream forms around you. If you can get this far (after having done the meditation) you may be catapulted into a very different world. I think this maybe my one biggest difference when comparing to other dreaming techniques: This IS NOT a dream to be controlled. Rather, it is an exploration into the Substance of the Mind upon which the ideas of dreams, control, and consciousness itself rest. Point being: this is not a dream to simply be willed. Using the deep relaxation of the body, plus the heightened awareness, plus the meditation....I was shocked to find myself in the Presence of this Being and totally unworthy of where I had strayed...but when you're there, it oddly all makes sense.
Thanks for reading!! Please Please Please let me know if you have any luck with this...feel free to hit me up about it. Im currently getting back into the full swing of it to see if I can pop back into that state. Id love to see someone beat me there!!
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