How is it going for you to let go of the ego clinging , any beneficial methods that you can share, ? 
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Welcome to the community. Good way to start a conversation. Any tips you can share?
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Reminds me of my brother who was ākidnappedā by the Moonies. Got away in a cab made of green cheese or was it a Big Yellow Taxi? Forget which. It can happen to the best of us.
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Made me laugh, I thought you were talking about a dream or something, an inside joke I didnāt get.
So googled:
Woah.
Couldnāt launch a holy war (because those are SO effective and efficient), so resorted to kidnapping. Or is someone ashamed of their choice? Talk about dark cornersā¦ 
Youāve seen some serious sh!t in your life, @_Barry!
Good thing you donāt have to see whatās coming.
Race ya? 
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Bonjour cher compatriote,
I was really touched by your introduction. Being French myselfāin addition to being psychedelic guideāI wanted to say how painfully aware I was of the cultural constraints you experienced on your challenging journey thus far in our otherwise beautiful countryā¦ It doesnāt help that the French believe that they have a first class, cutting edge medical system!
I also want to commend you for your resilience and curiosity which together led you to explore further and acquire solid English language skills along the way. This is no small feat. I am so glad you were able to find this community (which I only just discovered myself) and that we now have access to so much media globally.
Iāve been living in California for a decade now but I once read Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in French. There was nothing else available to me, in any language, for a very long time, as I am much older than you: I just turned 50!
Last thing: float tanks are truly amazing! A vibrational equivalent might be a gong bath, which can be surprisingly healing. I know a place in Paris I can recommend if thatās where you are living.
Je vous souhaite de beaux rĆŖves plein de rĆ©vĆ©lations et de lumiĆØre!
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Bonjour @OlfactiveDreamer ! Un vrai plaisir de te lire 
Really sorry for only replying to you now. I kind of got lost on the way. Things were not really ideal to practice lucid dreaming up to recently, got caught up into the world of thingsā¦ but Iām back on the track, anyway. Been a while I hadnāt been here. I started to listen to some of Andrewās Podcast yesterday anew. It feels good to remember. So, thank you for those kind words. Truly heartwarming and encouraging to practice again. I just moved to La Creuse in the center of France. Iām a bit far from Paris and other big cities, unfortunately, but still really interested to learn about any kind of therapy. However the advantage is that it is a very silent place, ideal for meditation and dream practiceā¦ Also, one thing I consider to try as soon as possible is Cryotherapy as it may help improve some of my symptoms. Things are getting better, but thereās still some work needed. En tout cas, merci vraiment ton messageā¦ Talk to you again soon, hopefully!
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Great to have you back. Looking forward to hearing more about what you are doing.
Any podcasts stand out, or any of the things that youāve heard that have inspired you in particular? Sometimes, reading those words help to inspire others, as well.
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Ravie de te retrouver aprĆØs cette pause!
Please donāt worry about being a little inconsistent: it happens to the best of usā¦ And the practice is of course right where you left it. Iām sure the peace and quiet of your new setting will be conducive to dream practice. Iāve never been to La Creuse but Iāve been to Auvergne, which canāt be that far away (?) and that was idyllic.
I love that you are exploring all these different alternative healing modalities. Iāve not tried cryotherapy but Iāve heard very good things. I hope it will offer you some relief. Iām also wondering whether you might find some guidance on healing in the dream realmā¦
Merci pour ton message trĆØs chaleureux: nous sommes si peu nombreux en tant que FranƧais, Ƨa me fait chaud au cÅur de te recroiser ici!
TrĆØs amicalement,
Flora
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Hey @_Barry, so great to hear from you ! I kinda lost myself, a bit confused of the path to take. I had to adapt with the situation. Going with the flow (or karmic wind, I guess). I have a little issue figuring my way out, though some things are getting clearer.
Coding turned out to be some kind of career revelation for me. So Iāve been spending quite a lot of time on it, learning on my own. But the big issue is that I am being affected by pain. It slows me down a lot. But I must keep going anyway. I also tried to get back to music for a little while butā¦ ha. I kinda got lost in it. I love music, but, I know it will never bring me as much as Dream Yoga possibly could and will. If I had to choose between becoming the next Jacob Collier andā¦ some great Dream Yoga Masterā¦ My choice has already been made!
I read in Dreams of Light that Andrew was able to play a whole piece by Beethoven WHILE remaining lucid in the dream. I am mind blown by this. I am pretty sure this is achievable and that, there is no need to ārejectā or ārenounceā music or anything else. The only problem is that my energy is being limited by my (current) physical condition. And I have to preserve this energy to heal myself. Thatās why I am choosing to dedicate my time to coding for the professional/career/conventional reality side of the force (as Tenzin RinpochĆ© says āBills still need to be paid!ā) and on the other hand focus on Anything that supports Lucid Dreaming and healing. Surprisingly enough, sports is really helping, as it grounds me back into my body (whereas music gets me lost in my head). I had numerous lucid dreams just through this āwhole body awarenessā approach a little while ago. So, Iām coming back to thisā¦
I think it was just one of the first I had downloaded on my phone a while ago. I have a few of themā¦ But that one was actually Webinar 22. Iām gonna try to listen to this kind of stuff in the evening while taking my shower (instead of music, which can be nice, but doesnāt feed the same interest/purpose). I need to saturate my mind/soak it into the practice if I want to succeed and break free.
The next one Iām going to listen to is Andrewās interview with SoundTrue, the one he did before Dreams of Light was published. It goes quite deep. Also, the interview with Alan Wallace is one of my favoriteā¦ And yup. As one of my favorite (fictional) wise man once said " Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it." Coming back here, and reading posts and messages is inspiring. Iām also replying to a few posts on the Lucid Dreaming subreddit. Thatās another way to stay motivated.
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Thanks for pointing out those resources for your inspiration, they make good thinking about points, promoting reading and rereading some of the many great posts on this site, for example. Iāve recently started bookmarking several posts, making it easier to remember and find them again. I canāt believe I didnāt do this sooner.
Your mention of Andrewās lucid dreaming accomplishment reminded me of my allergist who is a lifelong lucid dreamer. He once told me that he planned his medical practice and designed his office in his dreams, and he has been working on allergy research in his sleep for years. Heās a strong Christian but when I told hime I am trying to heal myself through lucid dreams he was very supportive. Still gives me shots though.
I relate to issues of physical ills and first became interested in Andrewās work as a way of getting to sleep by overcoming pain, rather than any interest in lucid dreaming. Never heard of it before. Not to say his work puts me to sleep 
, but it certainly has motivated me to pay more attention to finding ways to counteract physical distractions.
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Wow, now that sounds cool. How amazing it would be if more people could use their dreams this way. Especially in the medical fieldā¦ That could be really amazing to have some kind of training available for open minded-doctors ready to give it a tryā¦ What are you suffering from, by the way ? Allergies (obviouslyā¦), chronic pain ? I think you mentioned somewhere you were dealing with tinnitus ? (Or was it someone else ?) I may have things to share that could help, depending on what it is. If I could help you in any kind of way, I would be really happy to do so.
Haha and easy pun, but it did make me smile. And how much a simple smile can brighten a day. Thanks Barryā¦
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Thanks @Sujata ā¦ Thatās really heartwarmingā¦ I just downloaded it to put on my phone. I think itās time to listen to TWR again. And probably to read Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep for the tenth time or something 
Still have Dreams of Light to finish first thoughā¦
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Thatās how it feels! As if the Dreaming mind (or rather the Clear-Light mind underneathā¦) had been waiting for one to wake up (anew!). Yeah, thatās pretty much the same quality of tranquility I believe. Beautiful places to liveā¦
Iām going to see an osteopath soon, which is much more similar to a chiropractor in the USA. Chiropractic in Europe is exclusively focused on the spine/back. Which in my case wasnāt really helpfulā¦ I kinda chose him by intuition upon arriving here. Weāll see what happens. But I do have a good feeling about it. The closest cryo-center is in Limoges (1h from here), so a bit difficult to organize. Iāll keep taking cold showers in the meanwhile.
Ha. Thatās all I am dreaming about (no pun intended): Finding a guide to help me work with dreams. I wanted to book a call with Andrew, Iāve been thinking about it a lot. But I donāt know if this is the right thing to do. I donāt want to bother Andrew, and I donāt know really what to ask him, nor where to start. Iāve always wanted to find some kind of Jedi Master who could guide me on the Path. The young and immature padawan I am (but positively willing to do whatever it takes. Tell me to fast a month or spend two hours in cold water to heal, Iām in.). Self-Learning is great, but honestly having a guide would be the greatest gift I could receive. Iām trying again and again to ask for guidance in my dreams, but itās been difficult to find answersā¦ Iād like to understand what I am doing wrong on all levels, and correct my mistakes. Having someone kindly pointing out to them and encouraging me to change would be fantastic.
Hahaha et Ƨa fait du bien dāĆ©crire un peu franƧais aussi! Gives a bit of rest to my brain! Weāll talk and meet again. Iām going to deepen my commitment to this practiceā¦ even if a ābreakā from it happen from time to time. I guess thatās a really normal/human thingā¦
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Yeah, those and more chronic issues resulting from car accidents and other work-related and lifestyle āactivities.ā Working on my breathing issues with Lung practices and meditation too.
Iām always open to suggestions, thank you.
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I was going to send you a private message, but who knows. Maybe those things could help other people, too.
There are a couple interesting things I learned about tinnitus a while ago. My dad and one of his friends are suffering from it, so I kind of searched for a way to help.
I have literally no idea if this will be helpful, but I think itās still interesting to know anyway.
First, I found this. Which did work for my dadās friend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBgkPOGD6gw&ab_channel=AbdeljalilAtlassi
Now this is a purely mechanical ātreatmentā. Whichever degree it can help with the ringing. I just found this interesting.
Eric Berg has also talked about this technique, or a variation of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ9L3Lz87ak&ab_channel=Dr.EricBergDC
BUT. What I found the most interesting is the link between insulin resistance and tinnitus.
https://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/how-insulin-resistance-and-diabetes-cause-tinnitus/#:~:text=There%20is%20a%20direct%20link,significant%20reduction%20in%20tinnitus%20symptoms.
In my opinion, this is really worth exploring.
Of course, tinnitus in your case may have been caused by an accident or something. So I have no way to tell. It depends on the origin, and many other factorsā¦
I had also watched this video/channel, that I had found interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2smBTmShOyg&ab_channel=LiamStopsTinnitus
And finally another take from Eric Berg on the insulin resistance / tinnitus connection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbylubjzhhg&ab_channel=Dr.EricBergDC
Have you heard of the Wim Hof Method by the way ? Depending in the type of pain you have, it could help to some degreeā¦
I sincerely hope Something in this post will help you in any kind of way. That would be totally awesome, and would probably make my day and more. Take care of yourself.
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Wow, thanks for the resources. I am diabetic so when I see the word insulin, my tinnitus ears perk up. I used to work on airplanes in the Air Force, so I did a lot of tech work around some pretty loud birds. Maybe itās a team-up combination of two causes.
Iāve been studying Tummo and perhaps that will help as well. The T comes and goes and often makes an appearance in open awareness meditation. Thanks again, will keep you in the loop for any improvements.
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Wow. So it will be interesting to see how much your diabetes is connected to the tinnitus. It may be two different things.
However since you mentioned it, thereās a really great channel on youtube Iām following, and a video in particular that I thought of you may find interesting. Again, it may apply to some degree, and may be a starting point to improve things as wellā¦
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpOP_HKeazU&t=2s&ab_channel=WhatI%27veLearned
Let me know what you think of it. This channel has a lot of great quality content in terms of diet and other things. Helped me a lot in my journey. Hope itāll do the same for youā¦
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Iāll soon be in a better circumstances for focusing more on this, although one contributing environmental cause may well be exposure to a venerable forerunner to Covid-19, Agent Orange. Who knows?
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Reading this, Iām enormously impressed with the great strength you donāt realise you have. Not many people could tell this tale with such coherence and with the perspectives you have gained on yourself and life in the world.
I donāt know exactly what happens between lives. Not because I donāt know that something does, but because it has not been given to me to remember, and the only time I was lucid enough in a dream to realise I was somewhere I had already lived in utter joy, and that it was my school and my temple, I awoke immediately as I was just so emotional and enraptured. And, I suspect, not qualified to return. Just needed the push forward in awareness at that time.
I was told, when I was dying of encephalitis of the brain at age 4.5, that " you can come back if you want to". I chose to remain here, out of love, although my life here was anything but ok. That was the right decision. I wish I had had the insight at various times in my life to appreciate the strength of my core self, its wisdom. But, I was to be given gifts of suffering and love also, to enlarge that core, if you like. Suffering and love accepted and understood are very great gifts indeed. And you know, we always have doubt. Part of me always wants to stand back and sneer at my deepest insights and tell me Iām not good enough to share them and that I donāt really know what Iām talking about.
You must have asked for this life experience somehow, and only so you can help to heal others here. You need to know the whole terroir. This is a shamanic path story, if ever Iāve read one. Iām 72 and have had to live with chronic pain for a while, 15 years now. I do understand and appreciate that itās for a good reason, and I can see Iām finding the healing I need and perhaps the opportunity to connect with others and do some good for others while Iām still here. Different details, same path.
Much love - be at peace and live in hope always.
Jane (New Zealand)
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