Sleep

[The Prisoner]

What happens when we sleep and dream, I wonder.

Some how it start all over again.

The peace and tranquillity I took with me to bed whirled away.

 

As when I train tai chi chuan throughout the day, I am at the peak (of peace) in the afternoon, feeling the pressure/ present of dao, every thing is nice, chi flow and so on. Night comes with dreams and it starts all over again.

 

Why?

 

Any ideas? How to cultivate while dreaming.

 

[hagar]

Nothing wrong with sleeping and dreaming. Its there for a reason.

The peace you feel is a state, and states come and go. Let them do so, as they will continue.

What does not go away when you wake up the next morning is a much more rewarding point of investigation.

 

My best advice is to "gi faen". You know what I mean.

 

h

[silent thunder]

I love dream work. Lucid dreaming is one of my keen interests.

I found this book helpful for dream work: http://www.amazon.com/The-Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014

 

Recently I've been intending to run my same daily qi gong forms in the dream state, but to little success.

I've become lucid several times as I realize I'm running energy through my dream body, or I'm already engaged in the MCO, (usually in an altered body). But I have yet to become lucid in a dream and then initiate and run a form.

 

Couple nights ago as I lay in bed I decided to start running a qi gong form in my mind in extreme detail as I shift to sleep. It's a great way to drift off. The last thing I'm processing actively and with intention as I fall asleep, is the next move in the form. This should lead to some blissful dreams at a minimum.

 

Intuition says increasing likelihood of more lucid dreams being triggered involving energy work or any like symbols.

No matter what, it's a great way to fall asleep.

[yabyum24]

I found this book helpful for dream work: http://www.amazon.com/The-Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014

I checked that one out and read the reviews. Got it on order. I looks like a very useful book and not just for the dream yoga.

Thanks for the recommendation ST.

[silent thunder]

Awesome. I hope you get great results.

[The Prisoner]

I am talking about the real dream, not visualization.

 

.. you cant take knowledge into a dream,

in dream time and space is insignificant.

its hard to remember a dream,..

 

but something is happening there in the Holistic swamp.

Any leads from the Old Masters???

[yabyum24]

Perhaps you have heard of the Tibetan teachings on the Bardo. Essentially a similar (though not as bad) process happens as we fall asleep - essentially the gross energy dissolves into ever more subtle levels and then re-emerges in the dream state.

 

What Silent Thunder is referring to, is a specific training which can maintain awareness of this process (and thus use it for meditative benefit).

 

A dream is a perfect example of how the mind creates duality. The non-dual is divided into the subject and its objects. We can have all kinds of experiences but the entire process is only within our mind. If we realise this within the dream (lucid) it's a game-changer.

 

So, there is a whole lot happening within this Holistic swamp. How useful it is to us depends on what we are able to get out of it.

[silent thunder]

I sense the process of awakening from the illusion of 'reality' is similar to becoming lucid in the dream state.

[Silent Answers]

I've got a few cool dreams and reoccurring ones I'm still trying to figure out meanings for.

 

Years back one of my coolest dreams was about me being chased by a spirit that could turn into anything.. It cornered me and actually killed me, then everything was just black.. A voice in my head said "no this is my world" So I rewound the dream like a VHS up to the point before I died, then saved myself and killed the spirit.

 

Others have been phsychic but about useless events..still pretty cool though

[Kajenx]

Your dream actions and mind-states tend to be a reflection of your real life actions and mind-states. If you practice acceptance of your emotional states and awareness of the senses during the day, this will spill over into your dreams. You can flow with the dreams during the night and wake up in a benevolent mood.

 

I know what you mean by all this, though. Sleep has a way of resetting things. Just remember to start your meditations right away in the morning. Flow with the feelings - no matter what they are - once you've emerged from the dream state, and they will become more integrated into your peaceful mind. Then, when you feel them in your dreams, you'll be less likely to resist, and they won't disturb you.

 

Some of my greatest "victories" have been waking up to realize I had accepted something disturbing in my dreams. (Usually large spiders lately, haha...)

Edited June 11, 2014 by Kajenx

[BaguaKicksAss]

I am talking about the real dream, not visualization.

 

.. you cant take knowledge into a dream,

in dream time and space is insignificant.

its hard to remember a dream,..

 

but something is happening there in the Holistic swamp.

Any leads from the Old Masters???

 

Yes you can take knowledge into a dream . I have most definitely used my daytime knowledge to figure things out in dreams, the lucid dreams I mean. Fun stuff.

 

To remember dreams more often, and to get to the point of lucid dreaming, write every single dream down. It works better than one would think, even if it is so simple. On the nights you don't remember your dreams you can write something like "I chose not to remember my dreams".

 

Have fun .

[joeblast]

and it helps if you get enough sleep to dream, too

[liminal_luke]

During a retreat, Sifu Jenny Lamb gave the group the task of being aware of our breath as we went to sleep and remembering if we actually fell asleep on an inhale or an exhale. Just throwing this exercise out there in case anybody wants to give it a try.

 

Liminal