Meditation, visualization, and suggestion Questions

I have a few questions for you all , I am very new to the scene....so be merciful to me if The answer is obvious.

The first two subjects above kinda tie into the same question...so here we go.....Well I have always had a hard time visualizing thing, Im a very right brained person (i think thats the right side. IE the side thats analytical, sequential, and thinks in numbers alot) So for me visualizing things is REALLY REALLY hard, I can't visualize anything in very much detail for more than a few seconds and i was wondering how I could go about to improve this so that I can visualize what I imagine in my mind.

This also kinda ties in with my question about meditation....when i meditate I find myself as I said above not being able to visualize in very much detail for very long at all, and I find myself often going off on a thought tangent that isn't what I want to be thinking about while im meditating.....and then what I do is start over a few frames or sequences earlier in my visualization than before I went off on a tangent , only to take forever to reach the point WHERE I left off the time before and going off on another tangent......like it would take me 45 mins of meditating to do say a 2 min mental visualization clip.

Ok and my third question is that Im not soo much interested in controlling my dreams as I am controlling the type of dream I have (ie erotic, scary, dreaming the dreams I have for myself in real life,) So what is the best way to set the stage of your dream to give it the highest probability that that type of scenario will play out. Like say if I wanted to have scary dream what Can I do to set the stage before I go to sleep so that my mind doesnt take over and just randomly pick some other type of dream?


sorry for the length and if it is vague its kinda hard for me to explain in words what I am thinking hope everything is clear.


thanks
pugs

A technique used to visualize is to stare at a candle flickering, or a pencil, I think the candle is better, and then focus on it and pick up on all details, including smell, and heat. Try to visualize that candle after.

well, instead of visualisation, try focusing on a steady sound, like a fan or a buzzing lamp.

I had a similiar problem. The focus technique is good, like focusing on flames and stuff. Oddly, though, the thing that finally did it for me in the end(or so I believe), is I stopped watching tv and playing video games, almost entirely, and instead I spend a lot of time... well... doing nothing really, staring at stuff and thinking, or writing(by hand), or drawing. All of these things stimulate the right side of the brain(the left is actually the logical side, right is artistic). I don't know how it totally happened, though, it just did, and now I can even visualize faces(oh yeah! I can visualize my ex's face.... fuck). So... I'm not sure if that was really helpful... just my two cents. I've been REALLY stressed too, not sure if that has anything to do with it.

:shock: um...i spend a HELL of alot of time doing nothig, staring at things, thinking, drawing and writing...is that why it's so easy for me? :shock:

Could be Paperdoll. I would think so, from my latest "discoveries". I use to try and keep my mind fully occupied. I can't any more, and nor do I want to waste my thoughts on things such as tv. Maybe free time for the mind lets it be more imaginative. I would surely think so.

sweeeet....i don't watch t.v. much at all...mostly drawing and web surfing.

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Originally posted by Pugsley

Ok and my third question is that Im not soo much interested in controlling my dreams as I am controlling the type of dream I have (ie erotic, scary, dreaming the dreams I have for myself in real life,) So what is the best way to set the stage of your dream to give it the highest probability that that type of scenario will play out. Like say if I wanted to have scary dream what Can I do to set the stage before I go to sleep so that my mind doesnt take over and just randomly pick some other type of dream?

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I don't think there's a straightforward non-lucid way to set the dream scenario (if that was your question). People have been fighting for ages to get rid of nightmares. But it is likely that you will dream about what concerns you during the day. You could try to think intensively about a topic (e.g. scary stories) and it might be more likely that you will dream about it. However, when you manage full lucidity all is much easier, you can select a dream stage and still chose just to participate in it without your mind controlling every detail.

Ok the candle thing I can do , how would that really help you though could someone explain it to me(not trying to stir anything up would just like to know the thought behind the exercise)? And how long should i exercise with that before I graduate to something else and what Should I graduate to after that to enhace my visualization detail ability? Also is there anything for my focus and train of thought while I meditate so that I dont go off on tangents all the time etc....


thanks all
pugs

The candle thing is for meditation. I really want to do it but my poo poo mom won't let me :oops: :D :D... I don't know why... Anyway. Would you rather stare at a pencil or a moving candle. Also, you can focus on the smell too if it is scented... You can graduate to visualizing things WITHOUT the candle... ;) :wink:

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I don't think there's a straightforward non-lucid way to set the dream scenario (if that was your question). People have been fighting for ages to get rid of nightmares. But it is likely that you will dream about what concerns you during the day. You could try to think intensively about a topic (e.g. scary stories) and it might be more likely that you will dream about it. However, when you manage full lucidity all is much easier, you can select a dream stage and still chose just to participate in it without your mind controlling every detail.

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Indeed, we have a high propensity for dreaming about our daily concerns. Like you've suggested, we can combat this tendency by concentrating on what we would like to dream about.

Dreaming about what you actually want to dream about will take time and can be reached by a similar method used to induce lucid dreams: simply talk yourself into it. Before going to bed, spend a few minutes talking yourself into dreaming what you'd like to dream about. Pace around your room and repeat to yourself, over and over, exactly what you want. Actually visualizing it is not really that necessary, so don't worry about your said inability to do so. Instead, just keep telling yourself what you want to dream about. Once you finally get in bed, continue to repeat your intentions to yourself as you drift off. Our minds tend to easily wonder as we lie in bed, so keep pulling your mind back on topic. You're not likely to achieve this the first time, but keep trying.

I thought for beggining meditation the best thing to do was close your eyes, sit up straight, and concentrate on your breathing and nothing else...

I found the best way to control dreams is MILD and some daydreaming...

For creating things, solving problems, and changing dreams... I use my dream workshop (EWLD: Pg. 219). In this workshop, I have some rooms. One of these is my spinning room (a square room painted various vivid colors...). Another one is my sooper dooper T.V. room where I just change the channel, and jump in when I'm happy. I tend to use the T.V. room more than not because spinning always gives me false wakeups, and jumping into a television is funner. Try it.

There is a way to "increase the intensity" of things like what icedawg said. You are supposed to do stuff during the day like, "I will write lucid dream 50 times, but you have to do it. Then you will tell yourself to walk around your house ten times and do that. Then maybe do something that you have been worrying about and get it off your mind. If you do stuff that you tell yourself to do, then tell yourself to have a lucid dream and it might happen more often.

They also have a passage in the LaBerge's book about enhacning your visualization, and it suggests staring at a flame, or really any object will do, the flame is probably just a little more entertaining(hell if I know). I only did that a few times, with a flame and an apple, simple stuff. I don't even know if it really helped, because I haven't even really thought about it until I read your post. Like I said, I think it just has a lot to do with engaging your mind in imaginative thinking. A lot of us forget about our imagination in the whorl of all the crap going on around us. But, like I said, nothing I stated is necessarilly(sp) scientifically proven or anything, just some thoughts on the matter. As far as meditation goes, I can't help you there, I have the same problem. I don't think it's something that just "goes away", I mean I thought the whole purpose of meditation was (basically) to turn of your thinking and just be. That's a hard thing to do, meditation takes life long training(sometimes) to be able to completely just turn off and be. Focus techniques that I use are as follows: Focus on breathing(the rhythm, the inflow of oxygen(engery) through your whole body, and then the out flow of it)(probably best technique), Focus on energy point, or chakras, in the body, or just go with the flow(sometimes you don't need to turn off, instead you need to just flow). Any ways, hope that helps some.