[LarpBulaBus]

Hi

I am researching ways to improve awareness during dreams, OBEs, etc...

As you know, we all separate from the physical in some way when we go to sleep "normally."

A lot of aspiring travelers work first of all with dream recall in order to ensure that they will not forget their first OBE.

I am personally faced with a problem, I feel I have reached a "wall" when it comes to expanding awareness.

I have an ability that I would consider "above average" when it comes to remembering dreams. All my dreams are extremely vivid and long, but rarely lucid.

Something that baffles me is that my dreams are very vivid and life-like, yet I am only able to look back at them. The instances where I was able to control my dreams "in the present moment" were extremely rare.

Apart from dreams, I have gotten average success with "realizing I had fallen asleep." For this purpose, I swear by Monroe's "arm technique."

Most of you might be familiar with it, it consists in resting your elbow on the bed while you are lying on your back, and keeping your hand up. Then, you try to fall asleep naturally and wait for your hand to fall so that you are woken up.

Many different techniques can be used to "wake you up" and give you more tries at staying conscious when you are in the borderline state between awake and asleep (a.k.a. trance). You can set alarms at regular intervals, or use the technique of recording progressively louder sounds on a tape, like Robert suggests in Astral Dynamics.

These constant shifts in and out of sleep have been very beneficial to me, I should say. On several instances I was able to fall asleep, become conscious, and "see through my closed eyelids," and in some instances I had 360 degree vision. I have also had vivid hypnogogic imagery (both images and sound) as a result.

I am constantly looking for more techniques that allow you to increase your chances of not going completely unconscious when you fall asleep --Techniques that help you remain in the trance state.

I did not post this in the Lucid dreaming forums mainly because I am not looking for advice about triggers and reality checks -- I'd like to have people share the techniques they use to "muscle" their awareness , as well as the kinds of results they have gotten from them.

Thanks

[aNoBVsUW]

Hi if you make your questions short and easy to find they are more quickly answered . There have been some good threads recently on dream recall if you hit the search button I am sure you will find some . If you have a specific question , please ask after reading some of the many techniques listed there . A dream journal is a great first step . So is placing a writing instrument beside the bed with a paper . Some advocate not moving or turning on a light but as soon as you wake write the dream down . And before you go to sleep affirm aloud I will recall my dreams when I awake .

[LarpBulaBus]

Aunt Clair: This isn't about dream recall, it's about doing techniques to expand awareness beyond waking consciousness, much like you would build up muscle mass by doing physical exercise -- sorry if that wasn't immediately clear...

I've been experimenting with alarms lately, the results have been very satisfying, I was able to remain in trance for extended periods of time and experienced a "mind split" effect of sorts with both my dream mind and waking mind active at the same time.

I am truly on the verge of having a conscious projection, or so the strong exit sensations would have me believe -- I need to teach myself not to go crazy with excitement when it happens. As Robert said in Astral Dynamics, "It is much like the surge of emotional energy and excitement you'd get if you suddenly won a million dollars." It's a "final barrier" of sorts.

I recommend to anyone who's having trouble inducing altered states of consciousness that they give it a try ; "disrupt your sleep" numerous times during the night, by waking yourself up every 30 minutes, and try your best each time to observe how your mind operates when you fall asleep again, try to stay conscious without being too active, it's excellent training.

(Obviously, though, it's not easy if you have an active lifestyle, and could potentially leave you very tired... I have found that it wasn't such a problem for me, but each person is different)

[aNoBVsUW]

Here are some links ;
http://www.experiencefestival.com/deep_ ... sciousness
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconsciousness

[crycleascentyv]

We seem to be on a level because this is excactly what I'm currently experimenting with. I'm developing a system using entoptics at the moment...visualising entoptics following relaxation and shortly before trance. Going along the lines of memory segment hybridisation, I'm finding that I can convert entoptics into images which my memory then creates hybrids of (layering memory segments) to create intriguing hallucinations, or hypnogogic imagery or whatever you'd like to call it. Thing is, I can't remain 'under' for any real length of time to fully enjoy the experience. Working on that! But my dreams are becoming increasingly vivid and....utterly bizarre.

[nerohedfrs]

We seem to be on a level because this is excactly what I'm currently experimenting with. I'm developing a system using entoptics at the moment...visualising entoptics following relaxation and shortly before trance. Going along the lines of memory segment hybridisation, I'm finding that I can convert entoptics into images which my memory then creates hybrids of (layering memory segments) to create intriguing hallucinations, or hypnogogic imagery or whatever you'd like to call it. Thing is, I can't remain 'under' for any real length of time to fully enjoy the experience. Working on that! But my dreams are becoming increasingly vivid and....utterly bizarre.

Cool! How difficult is it?

[crycleascentyv]

Not very..but I'm planning on making it that way

At the moment I've simply downloaded the common entoptic visuals, drawn them out onto card and then I spend time during the day looking at them and memorising them (not all the time...I do sunbathe a little too). Memorising them is important because it acts not only as a pre-cursor to visualisation later, but it's also a good exercise; helps strengthen memory - which, in my opinion, is paramount for dreaming, recall and visualisation.

Then, during the evening, I get into deep relaxation and then begin to visualise the entoptic forms. Starting with single forms (such as honeycomb, grids or wavy lines) I then proceed to speed-up the presentation of visuals until the forms are overlapping. This normally produces mild hallucinations...mostly closed-eye visuals in the blackness before the eyes.

The good bit is when I cease this, after roughly 30 mintues or so, and then go into trance. This is when the visualisation excersises pay-off and I go under to witness the true subconcious hallucinations...mainly undulating, colour saturted geometrics.

One thing I am noticing though..my dreams are becoming so much more linear, bizarre and vivid.

[aNoBVsUW]

Thanks for this Enoch , I have not seen this entopic technique elaborated upon before and I feel you should make up a treatise and publish it on the net as it would be helpful to others from a spiritual development perspective . I am familiar with the study of entopic imagery as related to human archetypes in the universal mind and I remain fascinated with visual speaking if you will . As a spirit teacher the use of visuals is paramount . When we want to move beyond the stage of always being a student and want to begin peer teaching we need such a lexicon . Recently I have seen a lot of floating language in dreams . The floating images are not letters or words but they are ideas which have a universal symbol . Only I don't recall the language . I see that Crowley has recorded some and that Warrior runes are similar too but it is like your name called Enochian figuratives .

I use a entopic technique to regain a spiritual realm but did not think about regaining a dream in the same manner . I have always wanted the ability to make computer graphic images to show others what a realm looks like because this visual key allows some to gain that realm themselves or to recall the way back there .

Thanks for your thoughts on this enoch .
some links on entopic imagery
http://www.wynja.com/arch/entoptic.html
http://lucaantara.blogspot.com/2004/06/entoptics.html
http://www.pd49.dial.pipex.com/pockets/ ... toptic.htm

links on enochian figuratives ;
http://www.hermetic.com/browe/lowertem.html
http://directory-usa.info/Society/Relig ... /Enochian/
http://www.chaosmatrix.org/ library/enochian.php
http://www.esotericarchives.com/ gifs/gifs.htm

similar to symbolic dreamstate lexicon ?
http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/warrior.html
http://www.esotericarchives.com/gifs/g78.gif

[Blolover11]

hey there kiwi, here's something to try (minus the seemingly omnipresent need for controlling topics not created by me):

try crossing your eyes, right now. tension grows in the middle of your forehead and around your brows. this is precisely what i use to help with my sight. i also concentrate hardly on my being awake. often times my mind will wander, but i continually cross my eyes under my eyelids until the tension still exists without me crossing them.

it was odd actually, tonight i was napping with my girl and there was an incredible amount of lightning and rain outside. i found a comfortable position and closed my eyelids. i then did the cross-practice again and suddenly found myself looking at katie (the girl), and her looking at me.

it was very very interesting. thunder and the soft sound of rain is what held my consciousness open. a consistent disturbing yet soft (unlike the regular alarms that frighten me into being awake) sound with light and gentle flashes kept me conscious yet still sleeping.

i hope this helped! just an experience i had tonight on the subject.

-chris
EDIT chris said: (minus the seemingly omnipresent need for controlling topics not created by me): Ummm...I hope you were talking about yourself and not someone else. Sarcastic remarks about others is not allowed in any of these forums. If you were referring to yourself, that's perfectly fine, and I apologize for butting in. Please clarify. Painterhypnogirl

[crycleascentyv]

Thanks for the links, Aunt Clair...I'll be sure to check them out. Funnily enough, the entoptics that I drew in white ink onto black cards and keep at my bedside table have summoned the undivided attention of my daughter who insists that, everynight, we sit on the bed for half an hour, I hold up a card in turn and she copy-draws it into her little scribble book. I'm hoping and preying that it will have beneficial effects for her, putting aside the obvious that she is developing her drawing skills

Since using this memory, visualisation technique with entopics, I've found my hypnogogics becoming more vivid and purposeful, and dreams are more linear than average. My daily well-being is increasing and I feel asif I've finally after two years of severe dark night commenced a spiritual journey.

[beatrisio]

Many different techniques can be used to "wake you up" and give you more tries at staying conscious when you are in the borderline state between awake and asleep (a.k.a. trance). You can set alarms at regular intervals, or use the technique of recording progressively louder sounds on a tape, like Robert suggests in Astral Dynamics

I've found that the need to urinate can be a useful and natural way to help in lucid dreaming/sleep-awareness, as the need to go to the loo often wakes me up into the trance state but from there I often fight the need and continue with my dream. Therefore drinking something before you go to sleep (a la native american) can help - but at some point you need to relieve yourself!

Air3