Virus Situation

I’m curious how folks are doing with this virus situation. Is it affecting your dreams? Or for that matter, your sleep altogether? Are you riding the tsunami, or being swamped by it all?

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I’m retired, so at least for the daytime it’s been easier for me than some others, I suspect. No M/W/F gym classes or twice weekly QiGong/Tai-Chi classes so we try to walk about three miles a day or more. Luckily, the weather in New England has been moderate to the balmy 50s. Not much dreaming for last the couple of weeks but that’s not unusual for me being a chronic insomniac. I am trying as much as possible to work consciously with affirmations and manifest things during the day that will “pop-up” at night. I paint (hobby) and have been trying to use liminal dreaming techniques (thanks Jennifer Dumpert) to get ideas for pictures and with a little success too (two). Hope everyone else is doing well and having both small and big successes along the way.

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Sleeping yes sometimes well sometimes waking up often.
Dreaming of my long lost and current friends in a very positive ways.
Not sure what that is about, except that I am wishing everyone to be healthy and strong known and unknown.
Not much lucidity at the moment

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Lately I’m immensely stressed out and feeling anticipatory grief, both for people I know personally who are high-risk, the US, the world as a whole. Finding it very hard to concentrate and struggling to find a new normal in the midst of this bardo we’re all in. A lot of times I’m feeling fine on the surface, but various feelings bubble up from time to time, sometimes intensely. Most of us are going to make it through this. Very likely most of us are going to know someone(s) who didn’t make it.

I work – or at least recently have been working – in a library and have been on paid administrative leave for about a week; that will go for about a week longer and I’m anticipating a likelihood of being laid off after that – in any case I do not want to go back to work until I’m damn sure that if/when I or my wife get this the hospitals won’t be overwhelmed at the time.

I’m not getting as much sleep and my dream recall has been at a very low ebb.

My wife Liz and I saw the writing on the wall when the reports were coming out of China in January. In early February we started gradually getting some shelf-stable food (note: we did not go crazy and hoard, just gradually accumulated enough to subsist on for about 2 weeks if necessary). Both of us had the experience of being the only person at our worksites taking it really seriously early on.

Interesting times. R/evolutionarily potent times. The world is not going to be the same after this.

I decided this morning to start a thread for people to share their COVID-19 dreams if any of you want to: Anyone having COVID-19 dreams?

~ArthurG

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I have to agree with this. But there is some light in all of this as well if we look for it.

As the Technical Director of a building products manufacturer (a sound attenuation product), I spend my days talking to architects, builders and developers across the US. These conversations can get rather dry at times. But since all of this began every conversation and email that I have had has included a personal inquiry about how each of us is holding up. Perfect strangers are coming together in solidarity against this darkness. I have never seen this happen before.

If we face this in the light we will come through it in the light as well.

Because of my age and a chronic Lyme disease problem I am somewhat high risk but I work in a fairly isolated office and I have learned to manage …that issue. My dreaming remains strong but I am spending much more time in nocturnal meditation. If I can help by gathering energy that way and spreading it back out in some way as light…

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It depends upon what you mean by “the same.” How will you be changed?

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Good to view for survival/lucidity during this bardo

https://www.fox13news.com/news/sanitize-groceries-discard-takeout-containers-immediately-doctor-demonstrates-sterile-technique

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Good question.I don’t know that I will be changed much as I am “old and in my ways” as they say. But I do think there will be many subtle changes in how folks deal with each other.

Social distancing habits will linger and some folks may adopt them fully. That could help during flu season. I am betting that the plexiglass shields that I saw for the first time at my local supermarket this weekend will stay.

The biggest change and perhaps the most subtle may be that folks will see that sometimes we all need to come together as a massive community in the face of hardship. I have not seen much of that in my life and I am seeing it now.

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Hi Andrew,

Having been retired now for 14 years, in many ways Carla’s and my routines have changed very little on a day to day basis. Carla is an artist and spends much of each day in her studio. From the time I get up until around 5:00 in the afternoon we do our own thing. I am the cook and do the shopping. We have dinner with Colbert, which has changed since he is off the air for now😭

I have noticed two things that have been affected by the Coronavirus mandatory “Stay in Place” restrictions. First, I was really not aware of many of my little “escape valves”. Going to the store every day instead of the weekly trip I now take and numerous other mindless activities that I thought would make me happy, but really were just diversions.

The big thing for me is the resurfacing of anger. When I started my practice 20+ years ago I was an anger person who drank way too much and the alcohol just fed that anger. With my practice and stopping drinking for these last 20 years has really lessened the frequency, intensity, and duration of anger’s negative influences. However, a few days ago there was a real volcanic erupting which really shocked me. It made me realize that those seeds are still very present and that I need to continue my mindfulness practices. I was pleased that the eruption was short lived and I was able to quickly apologize for the eruption. I also recognized that the anger was based in my delusional sense of controlling events in my life with all that is going on in the world with the medical and financial turmoil we are experiencing. “There is what is happening and there is our relationship to what is happening!”

I hope all is well with you and Cindy. I look forward to the upcoming Tricycle series.

In Metta,

Ted​:heart::pray:t2:

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Hi Andrew,

Having been retired now for 14 years, in many ways Carla’s and my routines have changed very little on a day to day basis. Carla is an artist and spends much of each day in her studio. From the time I get up until around 5:00 in the afternoon we do our own thing. I am the cook and do the shopping. We have dinner with Colbert, which has changed since he is off the air for now😭

I have noticed two things that have been affected by the Coronavirus mandatory “Stay in Place” restrictions. First, I was really not aware of many of my little “escape valves”. Going to the store every day instead of the weekly trip I now take and numerous other mindless activities that I thought would make me happy, but really were just diversions.

The big thing for me is the resurfacing of anger. When I started my practice 20+ years ago I was an anger person who drank way too much and the alcohol just fed that anger. With my practice and stopping drinking for these last 20 years has really lessened the frequency, intensity, and duration of anger’s negative influences. However, a few days ago there was a real volcanic erupting which really shocked me. It made me realize that those seeds are still very present and that I need to continue my mindfulness practices. I was pleased that the eruption was short lived and I was able to quickly apologize for the eruption. I also recognized that the anger was based in my delusional sense of controlling events in my life with all that is going on in the world with the medical and financial turmoil we are experiencing. “There is what is happening and there is our relationship to what is happening!”

I hope all is well with you and Cindy. I look forward to the upcoming Tricycle series.

In Metta,

Ted​:

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Lucidity manifests in many ways @nata, not just in dreams. Your sensitive relationship to what’s happening is a form of lucidity.

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There is much we can learn from this, if we let this situation teach us. I’ll be sharing more about this soon. On one level, let’s hope we’re not same after this.

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Indeed, @Steve_Gleason. Where you find shadow you WILL find light – you just have to look for it.

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When things are falling apart, contracting emotions like fear, anger, anxiety and irritation are ways we subliminally try to get it back together. Feel into those emotions, notice how solid the are, and how strangely comforting they are – ground – in a groundless situation. Maitri, kindness towards oneself around these eruptions, is key.

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Good time to practice Tonglen, an ancient Buddhist practice to awaken compassion. Pema Chodren has an excellent article about this, and in these times of stress and hurt I find it a very beautiful and comforting activity.

I’m so happy you asked this question.

Things are not going very well for me in the dreams sphere. I had gotten to a point where I was seeing many very short flashes of lucid dreams every week. It was feeling pretty positive, but starting in Feb no lucidity whatsoever.

The past week my dream recall has gone to nil too. I think I maybe experiencing fear and discursive thoughts which is keeping me from feeling relaxed enough to practice - staying focused, for example as I fall asleep. I only feel very mild sense of unease though so it’s not a solid fear. My meditation is going ok. I practice an hour plus every day. I have a strong meditation and spiritual practice that is always ongoing.

The past few weeks, I have let go of dream practice which is sad.

Workwise, I’m stretching into areas I hadn’t before, and although this will open up a lot of opportunities if I’m successful, It’s not conducive to dream practice, I have also been very anxious the last month or so, my guess is that when I’m anxious I shut down, subtly, and dream practice really requires some kind of openness. I’m guessing the pandemic may also be contributing to some of my residual anxiety, although I’m very low risk and doing pretty good with my life.

Any suggestions what we can do in such situations? Is galantamine useful to help reconnect with dream practice?

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Using galantamine has been the source of most, if not all of my lucid dreams that I can recall during the last couple of years.

It depends upon what you mean by “the same.” How will you be changed?

Check back with me in 2-3 years :crazy_face:
a.

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I’ll put it on my calendar.

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Nothing has changed in my life. Exception: a doctor appt via web. Social distancing/isolation is my norm. Boo.

I still light up in human interactions (pharmacy tech’s, neighbors).

Had a nice cynical vent with the like-minded maintenance guy here. Realized post-vent I have some irritation at it all - early hysteria, clearing store shelves and supply chain implications, inability to find facts, chicken Littles crying the sky is falling, being ‘jumped’ for playing devil’s advocate, etc.

Live by a hospital so get reminders to practice Tonglen.

I’ve noticed the usual complaining about small things has stopped (!) on the neighborhood app. Instead I see people coming together as much as possible to help others and local medical centers.

Scientific researchers dropping agendas and countries working together, if not politically.

It saddens me that it takes a crisis for society to make this shift. Think 9/11 and how long that coming together as humans didn’t last. (my cynical side)

Wonder how some folks will make their rent payments. This hurts the most, personally, as I’ve been there.

I also see this whole quarantine situation mirroring back how we lived. Social connection was via social media (myth). Obsession with phones, and whatever kids were accessing that bothers parents (games, tiktok? not sure). Well, now it literally is our reality. And now we can’t stand it. Kids are bored mindless. The irony.

And a long overdue recession, but not the greatest induction… :slightly_frowning_face:

Very dystopian and post-apocalyptic.

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