Use your face to stabilize the dream

**elucid** · 12-13-2010 06:10 AM

Hey everyone,

Ok, this is a very interesting method actually. To test this method, of course you can do it in a lucid dream or meditation. How so in meditation? Simple, sit down, relax and calm down, try not to move and try changing your facial expressions, as you do, you notice changes in emotion, so let us incur here that Facial Expression change = Emotion change and since for a dream, we need the Calm emotion to stabilize the dream, then use "your" calm facial expression and keep that expression in the dream.

Test this out by doing meditation and finding "your" (note, everyone might have different calm expressions) calm facial expression, next time you are in a dream, just try keeping that facial expression throughout the whole dream. Hopefully, as you are calm, your dream should stabilize.

Good luck

p.s. Take a look at the picture that I will post below. In Hinduism, they have the belief that this is a dream and it seems that Lord Krishna in the picture is trying to keep a calm face. Not that relevant, but good to look at.

http://www.arunachala-live.com/krishna/krishna28.htm

**moongrass** · 12-13-2010 06:56 AM

Why must you be calm in a LD? I have had many that seemed to last a while where I was excited or happy. Sometimes being aggressive keeps you lucid to work towards as task. Just my opinion, could be wrong.

**elucid** · 12-13-2010 07:20 AM

Originally Posted by moongrass

Why must you be calm in a LD? I have had many that seemed to last a while where I was excited or happy. Sometimes being aggressive keeps you lucid to work towards as task. Just my opinion, could be wrong.

Well I just assumed that since it is a dream and it is your mind, having it be in a clutter and running around tends to destabilize it, I mean after all, destabilizing means not calm, noisy, excited. By definition, stable means calm.

So basically, from the above I assumed that since we want our dream to be stable (calm), we should try Calming ourselves down since we are the main dreamer and things do tend to center around us in our dreams.

If you practice enough, you can keep a calm facial expression while doing adventurous things like the picture in the first post, he is keeping a calm face even though he is fighting.

Interesting.
Perhaps we can take it a step further and use our whole self as well, not just our face. I think the picture you linked gave me a good idea to use a calm and prayer hands gesture, it feels very calming and comforting. Thanks

Sure, that is a good idea to use the whole body but there is a downside to it in my opinion. I think then it will just get too much, I mean you are keeping your attention on your whole body while trying to do things in the dream where as keeping the face calm seems to transfer automatically over to your whole body (just my opinion).

I have also noted that keeping the face in a calm expression makes me calm and I am content with it so that I dont have to go and calm the whole body. Just makes it easier to use only the face I think.

Also, when trying this out, make sure you keep your attention on the face the "whole" time, you should get used to it so it doesnt actually bother you. It can be very soothing actually. I have read that smiling releases endorphins that kill pain.

Good luck.

**Puffin** · 12-13-2010 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by moongrass

Why must you be calm in a LD? I have had many that seemed to last a while where I was excited or happy. Sometimes being aggressive keeps you lucid to work towards as task. Just my opinion, could be wrong.

Most of my lucids now involve me becoming very excited and doing stabilization techniques, then running off. x3

But this sounds like a good technique for people whose initial reaction is to stay calm.

**Caden** · 12-13-2010 07:08 AM

Interesting.
Perhaps we can take it a step further and use our whole self as well, not just our face. I think the picture you linked gave me a good idea to use a calm and prayer hands gesture, it feels very calming and comforting. Thanks

**Daytona** · 12-13-2010 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by moongrass

Why must you be calm in a LD? I have had many that seemed to last a while where I was excited or happy. Sometimes being aggressive keeps you lucid to work towards as task. ...

I am on moongrass with that. Drawing from my personal expierience, I had one of my first and most vivid and stable and seemingly longlasting and clear lucids, while being so exited and happy that I couldn't control the excitement at all, which made me grin and literally jump up and down out of excitement. This excitement was due to the fact, that I finally managed to achieve a clear one and one of an extraordinary vividness lucid state. So I assume that excitement in no way, at least not for certain people has a destabilizing effect on dreams.

Daytona

**elucid** · 12-13-2010 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by Daytona

I am on moongrass with that. Drawing from my personal expierience, I had one of my first and most vivid and stable and seemingly longlasting and clear lucids, while being so exited and happy that I couldn't control the excitement at all, which made me grin and literally jump up and down out of excitement. This excitement was due to the fact, that I finally managed to achieve a clear one and one of an extraordinary vividness lucid state. So I assume that excitement in no way, at least not for certain people has a destabilizing effect on dreams.

Daytona

Of course I am not saying that there cant be dreams where you cant show excitement at all. Clearly from your experience we see that with excitement you can manage to stay in a dream, that is cool to know by the way. But there are people who wake up from it when excitement hits them or some sort of destabilizing emotion.

I stated in the first post that keeping calm makes the dream stable, I wont deny that and wont go back on that word as I truly believe this. So then if you want an extra boost of stabilizing, try this method.

The only case where I can actually say I have tried this is in a transition to a dream state, the state was already in a mess and very unstable, I managed to stable it with this method and I noticed that things slowed down. I couldnt get too far with it though and woke up. If I manage a full lucid, I will give this method a try and update the results. I am hoping someone already has given it a try.

**moongrass** · 12-13-2010 10:20 PM

I think what happens is what you expect to happen. If you think you will wake up if you get excited, than guess what happens? You will wake up.

**elucid** · 12-14-2010 01:03 AM

Originally Posted by moongrass

I think what happens is what you expect to happen. If you think you will wake up if you get excited, than guess what happens? You will wake up.

I actually agree with you on this. Expectations are a huge thing in dreams. But nevertheless, this method should still serve a helpful purpose.

**Perlinfalcon** · 12-13-2010 10:31 PM

I think I'll give this a try. I've just started using this technique myself in real life.

I usually try to concentrate on breathing calmly while in lucid dreams, which works well for me.

**thomulf** · 12-16-2010 03:17 PM

yes, exitement is fine if it keeps you focused on your cause. However what happens to me is I get too caught up in whatever and stop thinking about being lucid, which is frustrating.

**moongrass** · 12-17-2010 04:34 AM

Originally Posted by thomulf

yes, excitement is fine if it keeps you focused on your cause. However what happens to me is I get too caught up in whatever and stop thinking about being lucid, which is frustrating.

Yes I just did that myself. I need to keep reminding myself it is a dream. I have to blame it on just being so fascinated by the dream world.

**Soulnote** · 12-18-2010 03:02 PM

I find, when I'm calm, the dream ends, With me being Hypo is key.

PS, Guy above, why would you want to meet Justin Beiber?

**moongrass** · 12-19-2010 10:45 PM

Originally Posted by Soulnote

I find, when I'm calm, the dream ends, With me being Hypo is key.

PS, Guy above, why would you want to meet Justin Beiber?

Yes just like this morning I did what I wanted to accomplish and then just kinda walked around and my dream ended! Also I really think he is an awesome musician and want to see what he is like in my dreams...