How much does meditation really help

**Dbruton** · 05-02-2014 08:57 PM

I'm trying to achieve lucidity through the dild method. How much does meditation help? How often should I do it? For how long?

**mimihigurashi** · 05-03-2014 06:58 AM

In my experience, meditation helps a lot with dream recall, which in turn helps with DILDs. Meditation also increases your overall awareness, which is good for DILDs, but like many other techniques, it has to be practiced for a longer period of time, at least one month, before starting/expecting to see results, and of course, it has to be done properly. By that I mean sitting down and thinking about your stress and worries and what you'll have for dinner is not meditation. Many people make that mistake.

Right now I can't tell you "how much" does it really help because I've only been doing it for a couple weeks, but it definitely helped with my dream recall and started to increase my daytime awareness.
As for how often and how long, there is no rule for that. For beginners, try with 5-10 minutes per session, and at least 20 minutes of meditation per day. Good luck, and if you decide to start the practice of meditation, be patient and give it time, it will take you a bit before you learn to quiet your mind and pay attention.

**~~MasterMind~~** · 05-03-2014 10:58 AM

Meditation is the practise of becoming present to the moment, in other words to become aware of the now.

Bascally meditation is the practise of being aware. Which as you probably can guess, is very helpful when it comes to lucid dreaming.
Meditation also have alot of practical benefits for your life in general, which you can learn more about here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a5fO8jE7mc

My goal when it comes to meditation is to do it with consistency, so for that reason I make it very easy for myself.

Some video I saw on Youtube, (that I can't remember the name of) said: "The only good habit is a habit that you are going to keep"

So what I do is: I set a timer for 6 min (1 min to get comfortable and 5 to meditate). Then I just sit in a chair and stare into a wall. My only goal in mind is to not move at all. And then I start to focus on my breathing. After some time I notice my thoughts which can be anything from "This is boring", "I wonder what that girl thinks of me", "Oh man I got so much homework". But I just observe these thoughts and think "Hmm so this is what my mind is focusing on right now". I sometimes also feel a bit drowsy and it might be difficult to keep my eyes open and sometimes I drift to sleep but when my head nods I wake up in a little jolt. Again I just observe. I do this every day.

At first it will feel like the longest 5 minutes of your life, because your brain is addicted to fast stimulus and are not used to do nothing. But after a few days of consistent meditaiton these 5 minutes will feel really short. And you will be surprised of how fast the time passes!
And with time you can increase the duration of your meditaiton session.

In my experience meditation clears your mind from thoughts and worries, and especially stressful thoughts. And then your mind feels so clear and it's not hard to to understand why this would help your lucidity. Because most of the time we are not even aware of our normal day. When you feel present to the moment you realize that.

Good luck!

**Dbruton** · 05-03-2014 02:18 PM

I will definently try to meditate more consistently, thank you

**Schmaven** · 05-03-2014 06:46 PM

There's so many different kinds of meditation. I only have experience with one kind, so I can't say much about any other varieties. The kind I do, is to focus my mind on a single thought that makes my mind peaceful and positive. Whenever my mind wanders to something else (like dinner, work, etc), I just gently bring it back to the original thought. Then, after meditating, I remember that thought throughout the day (whether it is a determination, special recognition, or state of mind) and let it guide everything I think, say, and do.

The benefit of this type of meditation for me, is that all this practice at keeping my mind focused on a single thought has made it very easy to stay focused while lucid dreaming. Previously, I would become lucid, then get distracted by strange things, or engaging DCs, and lose lucidity. Now, I feel that some DCs are trying very hard to distract me from being lucid, but it doesn't work anymore. Just like in meditation, I recognize my mind being tempted to go to another thought, and I bring it back to what I wanted it on (in this case, "I am dreaming").

As far as attaining lucidity is concerned, I do not have enough experience in meditation to say.

**Usernamesarefun** · 05-03-2014 10:59 PM

It's different for everyone, but I find it quite helpful for recalling dreams AND reaching lucidity. It seems like you are new to this. Don't worry, it'll come easier with practice! Feel free to ask me any questions you have. Happy dreaming!

**Dbruton** · 05-03-2014 11:02 PM

Haha ya I i am. Got into LD like 2 months ago had some semi lucids but not the real deal.

**Usernamesarefun** · 05-03-2014 11:20 PM

Originally Posted by Dbruton

Haha ya I i am. Got into LD like 2 months ago had some semi lucids but not the real deal.

Ah, yes. It will get better with time and practice. Just stick to it. Or totally forget about it like some of my friends have. They all think I talk about LD way too much. Haha I'm sure that has happened to you.