Using Meditation to Attain Lucidity

Hey all,

Who else feels that meditation helps them to attain lucidity? I don't consistently practice any LD techniques, but I meditate fairly regularly, and I notice that when I am meditating regularly, or especially right before bed, and I have been dream journaling I tend to spontaneously have a lot of LDs. Too bad I suck at dream control and usually just wake up. Specifically I've noticed that if I perform the equivalent of an accidental WBTB I'll have LDs about 80% of the time, which I attribute to my meditation.

Is there a discussion to be had here? I'm not entirely sure. But this subforum looked pretty lonely so I thought I would post here.

Meditation helps improves my recall a lot but I still need a to set an intention to turn those dreams into LDs.

By the way, you could set up a Dream Control/Stabilization workbook here if you like to get help and improve. Talk about a lonely sub forum!

With no other intention or techniques, 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation daily causes me to have spontaneous semilucid, and even fully lucid dreams. Meditation combined with mild/SSILD/or other induction technique lets me have a lucid dream more or less on demand when my dream recall is good and I do a WBTB.

ITT: meditation may be the best thing to do for lucid dreaming other than remembering your dreams.

I don't see a direct a correlation actually. While meditation does improve the chances of becoming lucid. This does not always equal that meditation will produce lucid dreams. Atleast not for me.

What does meditation mean to you?

For those with success, does it work for you regardless of when during the day you meditate or only when you meditate right before bed?
I do awareness meditations regularly in the afternoons and it has absolutely no effect on my lucid dreaming. In fact, I've had less lucids since I began meditating but I believe it is due to multiple other factors.

G Scott Sparrow used meditation during WBTB as his primary induction technique and I can confirm its effectiveness in my own experience.

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Originally Posted by Dthoughts

I don't see a direct a correlation actually. While meditation does improve the chances of becoming lucid. This does not always equal that meditation will produce lucid dreams. Atleast not for me.

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My man, you just described direct correlation. The more you meditate the more you lucid dream. We have no technique in this forum (or any place on the Internet that I can find) that you can do and it always produces lucid dreams. This leads me to the statement:
You cannot make yourself lucid dream, but you can greatly increase the odds.

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Originally Posted by lunagoddess

For those with success, does it work for you regardless of when during the day you meditate or only when you meditate right before bed?
I do awareness meditations regularly in the afternoons and it has absolutely no effect on my lucid dreaming. In fact, I've had less lucids since I began meditating but I believe it is due to multiple other factors.

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One LDer on here who has written about his experiences (I'm sorry, I can't remember the name) said that he meditates in the evening because it improves his recall.

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Originally Posted by Bobblehat

One LDer on here who has written about his experiences (I'm sorry, I can't remember the name) said that he meditates in the evening because it improves his recall.

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I believe that it depends on what kind of meditation you are doing. If you are just meditating with intent to LD or visualization, closer to bed is good. If you are meditating and trying to change belief on something (dunno what this is called) then the earlier in the day is better.

For instance:
I meditate in the morning and the rest of the day believe that I am going to have a lucid dream tonight. No need to stress about it.
I meditate at night visualizing old and new dreams and repeating my mantra "I'm dreaming" right before bed.

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Originally Posted by Bobblehat

One LDer on here who has written about his experiences (I'm sorry, I can't remember the name) said that he meditates in the evening because it improves his recall.

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Must be me! I meditate until I fall asleep, actually.

Also, recently I've found if I do a mantra while I'm meditating, it makes my recall even stronger.

Update: Thanks for the input, I also answered my own question. I did my awareness meditation yesterday right before bed and made subtle suggestions/intentions of lucid dreaming. I had 2 interesting LD's last night (WBTB WILD). Yay!

Speaking of Mantras. I once repeated a Mantra as I was falling asleep, something like: I will remember to lucid dream.

In my dream I was just cruising around on my bycicle and in the distance I heared myself say this mantra: I will remember to lucid dream.
And I saw a Billboard which said: Dreamviews.

My only thought was. Wow. Lucid dreaming is really getting popular :P I don't think I actually got lucid! The odds where definetely there though.

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Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

G Scott Sparrow used meditation during WBTB as his primary induction technique and I can confirm its effectiveness in my own experience.

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What form of meditation did G Scott Sparrow use?

It seems to me that meditation right before bed is a great way to get your mantra/intention deeper into your mind. Too bad i can't do it before sleep, becouse i feel so rested afterwards that i can't sleep, but from two days i try to experiment with the mid day medidation. I always get sleepy around 3pm, and then i try to go meditate ( i don't have much experience with meditation ), but i do it in slightly more comfortable position, and after i get relaxed and focused i let my tiredness kick in, and let the dream like thought flow through my mind but trying to remain aware.

Hello, I Try meditating 20-40 min each Day. Some times more.
I found that I started lucid dreaming more. My dream recal was bad though. I did not know that it was called lucid dreams. I found out like a week ago. Been reading about Ld and started logging my dreams sense then. I ges my usual techeek is a wild but I hade 1 DILD ses I started logging and doing reality cheks. :-)

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Originally Posted by Sensei

I believe that it depends on what kind of meditation you are doing. If you are just meditating with intent to LD or visualization, closer to bed is good. If you are meditating and trying to change belief on something (dunno what this is called) then the earlier in the day is better.

For instance:
I meditate in the morning and the rest of the day believe that I am going to have a lucid dream tonight. No need to stress about it.
I meditate at night visualizing old and new dreams and repeating my mantra "I'm dreaming" right before bed.

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I have personally found that meditating right before bed is the best thing, especially if you don't do anything before going to bed and meditating. Is meditation a permanent part of your LD regimen?

Yes. I meditate often. I meditate at least 15-20 minutes a day and I spend more when I can.

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Originally Posted by Sensei

Yes. I meditate often. I meditate at least 15-20 minutes a day and I spend more when I can.

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Look, look, Sensei made a direct, clear, non-cagey statement about something that he does every day for LD practice! Let the trumpets sound! :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P!!!!!! I must be dreaming! RC RC RC RC RC!

Kidding aside, one thing that I think is important to mention about meditation. It shouldn't be something you do and then stop and forget about, returning to out-of-control mental oscillations between agitation and dullness.

The reason meditation helps for lucid dreaming and life in general, is that it jump-starts a meditative mindset *all day long*. Those minutes of dedicated practice are important, but so is striving to maintain the benefits/effects all throughout the day.

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Originally Posted by Bobblehat

What form of meditation did G Scott Sparrow use?

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Just straight shamatha or vipasanna, I believe. Possibly transcandental, as that was in vogue at the time of his writing, but transcandental meditation is spiritual charlatanry, so I doubt it.

Wow sync! "GetDreaming" liked my post and just this morning I had one of these rare occurences where a mantra/activity I fall asleep with makes a dream entrance.

This time it was breathe meditation and in my dream I was a traveling oxygen inside my body :o not even sure if this is commonly classified as a dream :P

I just did a 10 day vipasanna meditation course,and it greatly improved my LDing,I had three LDsin the ten days and remembered multiple dreams a night(usually one )I also had a ESP dream where I dreamed a person I had never met then met the person eight days latter

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Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

G Scott Sparrow used meditation during WBTB as his primary induction technique and I can confirm its effectiveness in my own experience.

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Interesting. After my daily 30 minute sitting, aside from a serene mind my whole body is entirely relaxed and it persists pretty much right up to bedtime. There's actually a very subtle and pleasant resonance (don't know how else to explain it) I can feel throughout my body, especially if I kick back on the couch and watch a little TV.

I'm thinking that would be a very good state to be in when attempting a WILD.

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Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

Just straight shamatha or vipasanna, I believe .

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I'm interested in learning about using meditation as a WILD helper, along with whatever other benefits it might confer. Where can I get more information about shamatha and vipasanna?

Google and you shall receive.

Dr. B. Allan Wallace wrote a book about Shamatha: "The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind."

The one thing I don't like about the book, which despite my not liking it may still be completely true, is that he says that without withdrawing from society (e.g., regular lengthy retreats) you can't make it generally higher than the 2nd of the 9 levels of Shamatha, and that most people will therefore not achieve it. Well, dang, maybe that's something to put on the back cover or something.

In short, in shamatha one cultivates attention and focus (usually focusing awareness on one thing, like the breath). And as I understand it, vipasanna is awareness of awareness: your focus is your own awareness & mind. Some progress in shamatha is generally required before attempting to start on vipasanna.

Some people just sort of go back and worth: shamatha (breath focus) until you feel centered, then moving to vipassana, returning to shamatha when you feel focus slipping.