Thread: Dream Meditation and Memory Manipulation

Recently I have been thinking about the concept of extending dream time, and specifically the role "focusing attention" plays. This was partially influenced by the following threads:
http://www.dreamviews.com/f14/my-tut...ours-ld-94752/
http://www.dreamviews.com/f14/nature...control-57283/
http://www.dreamviews.com/f11/expert...reaming-17586/

Dream meditation

When awake, one's perception of time is largely the result of paying attention. Throughout the day, most people go in and out of lucidity and are only fully "conscious" from time to time. The rest of the time, people tend to be in this half-conscious state, where they are functionally aware, but sort of in a drone-like mode. Recall a busy day at work, and how hours of time seem to skipped by. Or recall a time you were driving somewhere - on the same route you always go - only to arrive without really being cognizant of the drive there. Conversely, recall a time in which you were anxiously waiting for something...and time seemed to creep along at a very slow pace.

These are all very common place things. When awake, the only thing that seems to keep our perception of time in check is a clock (as well as night and day). When asleep, our perception of time IS time - there is no metronome keeping the pace. With that being said, and considering the effect that paying attention has on our perception of time, it seems like one can modulate dream time by controlling just how much lucidity they achieve in a dream.

The same phenomena can be accomplished while awake with meditation. By meditation, I do not mean the stereotypical sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, with the tips of your index finger and thumb touching...no. I mean something like sitting on a grassy hill, eyes open, mind empty, and just taking in the world without mentally processing it. Try this some time, a solid 10 minutes seems like an hour, no joke.

This begs the question, what would the result be if you did this while in a lucid dream? Instead of immediately flying around, talking to DCs, having sex, etc...what if you simply sat down, cleared your mind, and just took everything in for the entirety of the dream? Surely this would have an amplified effect in dreams where you perception of time can go unchecked.

I invite you to try this, as will I, and am very interested to hear about the results. Of course, you will want to practice this while awake first to get a feel of what it's like, and how to replicate it while dreaming. You can even do this through out your normal day. For example, the next time you are washing your hands, dedicate 100% of your attention to the raw qualia of the water running over your hands, and let all of your senses fill your mind's capacity for consciousness...leaving no room for stray thoughts, interpretation, or inner dialog.