Welcome back. This kind of a break can be very powerful. I’ve noticed when I step away for awhile and jump back in things tend to come easier. Stepping away after suceeding is almost a way to prove that you accept the natural unfolding of dreaming practice.
Journaling and reality checks right away are a good way to dive back in. Nose pinch/breathing is the best I’ve found as far as reality checks go.
If you have an android phone downloading an app called Awoken and setting up random reality checks throughout the day would help out.
Thanks for the welcome back everyone. Glad to be here again.
I’ve started illusory form practice again. Also been “seeing from the back of my eyes” and doing the headlessness practice after my meditations. Thinking about also experimenting with the mirror practice. I’ll focus on those now, I think, along with saying my intention out loud several times a day. Maybe get back to incorporating some status checks into my daily schedule. I’ve also found nose pinches to be the most reliable.
@NightHawk999 good to see you again, thanks for the encouragement! Yeah I hope I can be more consistent this time around. I have a habit of starting LD practices then dropping them. I want to make them a daily part of my life. So yeah committing to stick with it this time around.
Did some illusory form practice while taking a walk today. I forgot how magical illusory form practice makes everything look, and how it forces me to pay attention to everything and be mindful.
Likewise, and anytime, I was very impressed by how fast you were able to have your first LD last year. I think you will go very far with this sacred art of dreaming, you are right, tenacity and heart will be keys to your success.
I would consider it almost a sacred act, or like saying a prayer, there is something very holy about this practice. Its like pouring holy water on the eyes to sees things more intimately. I do believe things get brighter and more vivid when you do this; awareness illuminates.
@_Matt-of-Ohio. Seems like you’ve walked a similar path to mine. I was also raised conservative evangelical Christian. Interest in dreams were a first step in exploring beyond a rigid theological straight jacket. I also got into the Christian mystics and reading about Jungian dreamwork, then eventually getting into the Eastern spiritual traditions. I still love Jesus but have explored many spiritual traditions along the way and I have learned a lot from all of them. Truth transcends any tradition but each spiritual tradition can give us a different perspective along the way. More recently I’ve discovered the book “Lucid Surrender” by Melinda Powell. She approaches lucid dreaming from a Christian mystical perspective.
Today I noticed myself chuckling sometimes while practicing illusory form on my walk. Nothing was particularly funny, it was something about the different aspect I was seeing everything in and the lightness that it brought that made me laugh.
I also noticed myself being a lot more patience when waiting for traffic to clear before crossing the street. Before I would be very impatient, sometimes even curse the drivers in my head. Today: “there’s no great rush to cross the street. Things are interesting enough right here.”
You are right. I had forgotten how different the world seems when I do this practice. Life becomes more of a playful thing, a dance, a celebration. Dunno why I ever stopped. Hopefully this time I’m in for the long run.
Thanks for the book recommendation! Will check it out. Until I read this, I didn’t know of any Christians talking about lucid dreaming, so I’m very intrigued to read what she has to say. Dreams aren’t a prominent topic in the Christian circles I’ve been part of, so it’ll be interesting to see how she approaches the topic.
Same, Jesus is my Ishta Deva (chosen deity) as Hindus would say and I am still devoted to him. But that doesn’t stop me from looking for truth from other traditions as well. In fact I feel my exploration of other religions has made me appreciate Christianity more. It has given me a key to unlock the deeper meaning of the tradition.
That’s cool that dreams allowed you to do that. They are powerful things. I was pretty ignorant of dream work at this time I think. I didn’t escape my straight jacket until college. For me I think it was my love of learning. I was a voracious reader of any book I could get my hand up. Naturally I started to read some books about other religions and found a lot of stuff that resonated with me that I felt was absent from my own tradition (though now I know that much of what I though absent is there, just hidden).
Though I’ve left that phase of my life a long time ago, I am grateful for some aspects of it. My practice of bhakti yoga, for example, comes from this time. I used to love the praise and worship songs we would sing in church. It wasn’t until I found Hinduism that I learned that praise and worship is actually a spiritual technique. I still regularly play those old worship songs and hymns as part of my practice. But now I also throw in some Hare Krishnas and Om Gan Ganapatayes.
Lol. My dog comes with me on my walks, so I don’t know how crazy I should get. I do have some earmuffs though that I use for sensory deprivation. I have used them somedays while going out in the yard.
@_Barry. Why ear plugs? Sounds are also illusory form. Illusory touch, smells, taste. I just enjoyed a very delicious illusory salmon burger. And I love listening to illusory music, hearing illusory nature sounds, etc. Even jack hammers are not so bad now that I know that they’re illusory.
Andrew says that losing motivation over time is one of the biggest obstacles to these practices. That being said, breaks can sometimes be very helpful and healthy as long as you dont lose heart. Andrews maxim of not too tight, not too loose is very fitting.
Yeah I need to be clear about my motivations and work with them in some way every day. Guess I can post them here, maybe I’ll post them somewhere where I will see them every day too
To work with my fears
To prepare for death
To see that waking life, like dreams, is just an appearance in Brahman
I find myself shifting back and forth from doing illusory form mechanically and then doing it with a joyful aspect. When I catch myself saying the words mechanically, I try to infuse a playful attitude back into the practice. And that’s when the magic happens. The world gets softer and more interesting. All part of the practice I suppose.
I also find the practice allow me to see internal states in a different light. When I’m doing the practice sometimes a thought will pop up. Or a feeling in the body. Or an emotion. I then find myself labeling the sensation as a dream thought or dream emotion. This allows me to take a more playful attitude towards them.
100% doing this practice slowly reveals an intelligent presence behind the veil that we can interact with. I think it even enjoys when we begin understanding and ‘speaking’ its language. The depth to this continues to grow and from what I’ve read and experienced so far as the Tao Te Ching says the depth is infinite.
One very important thing to remember while doing this practice is that the beings you are talking to are just like you. Having their own experience. Just as real, or unreal as you are.
I’ve found this intelligent presence behind the veil is very good as implanting ideas, moods and even events that occur around us, be it through other people or synchronicities, etcetera.
For me I think it was my love of learning. I was a voracious reader of any book I could get my hand up. Naturally I started to read some books about other religions and found a lot of stuff that resonated with me that I felt was absent from my own tradition (though now I know that much of what I though absent is there, just hidden).
I do have some earmuffs though that I use for sensory deprivation. I have used them somedays while going out in the yard.
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