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Sometimes when I woke up in the middle of the night I would practice the whole of dvd7 and then fall asleep. I would then in most cases have a lucid dream where I knew with 100% certainty it was a dream so no fear or any 'negative' emotion would arise. Very interesting for insight. The whole of FP increases libido I think. There is this deeply relaxing effect of FP which is unique. I sometimes feel like almost falling asleep while being awake while doing the med like GMDW does in his videos. For mental clarity just about any FP med would do since the energy clears away any disturbance in the mind in my opinion. Don't give up, just keep going, the proof is in the results 😊

In the end dust is dust, whether you are a king or pauper, and greatness is a long forgotten dream.

Not physical but what precedes physical manifestation. If your yuan jing is leaking you can't even dream about " spiritual unfoldment"

Yes, I have seen this creeping vines and the never ending narration of my life. Also, how the posture affects the mind. This only makes me know that trying to go forward without a teacher is not going to go well. Twenty to thirty years of practice and still stuck with the creeping vines. So, I positively understand this. Being 66 years old, I think I might have another twenty or so years left to life. And it still won't be enough time. But, I keep trying. When there is such a block that I can not even sit for a minute, I rest and day dream and then I try again. Sometimes, I try to focus my mind and cut off the creeping vines with a mantra I learned long ago. Gate, Gate, Paragate, ParasamGate, Bodhi Svaha. That will get my mind to focus. Then later, back to paying attention to my present with silence. Sometimes, I feel the weakness in my bones and I can not sit. Other times, the peace I feel with the mind quiet, it lets me sit for an hour without realizing the time passing by, I don't expect change and I don't really want a benefit from just sitting. I just want to feel the quiet and be present. I don't think I could be called a watcher, just sitting, cause there is no sense of time or change. Trying to grasp these moments of quiet make them vanish as quickly as thoughts enter and the mind chases these thoughts. But, got to focus the mind. Then hopefully, will one day drop this mind.

Thank you, Sensei 🤺 see god in the darkest things in the quiet of night i hear villages sing "there's a demon in that dragon purge it out." in my second third world on a motorbike i learned a waking prayer so i could sleep at night then i took my chances and realized many dreams. wild dogs tumbling along rice fields and i asked hanuman take away shield i am loud and reckless this is how i play you are loud and reckless thats no way to play i fear nothing, no thing fears me justice has different hats for different days release my anger, love thy neighbor put that pain to some good use anyway teach me honor, must remember don't be selfish with all your love anyway tilt my head back howl like you said in the end my body's spirit anyway i will do things i've never done before cuz i'm powerful and i'm not afraid no more i feel god in the slightest wind at the rate i manifest every dream deepens and i know i never want to stay the same on a day of silence while the island slept i cast my demons out at the feet of ganesh said, "remove the obsticles bravely with grace." in a past life i cut throats and scalps and in this life i mend the wounds i dealt maybe by my hands or by my words alone.

Anemoia. From The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, by John Koenig, comes a word the language badly needed but never had until 2021. It's the feeling of nostalgia for a time you've never known. A wistful longing for an idealized past that exists only in imagination or secondhand accounts. When I first came to the US, to New York specifically, it was a different city from what it is today, and far as I'm concerned, a better one. But back then my older female co-workers, native New Yorkers, would often tell me about New York they used to know in their childhood and youth, and it was nothing like the city I was witnessing... it sounded like a dream, an urban fairy land. On more than one occasion they actually shed a tear telling me about that lost city. And they gave me anemoia. That's just one example. I'm massively afflicted by that feeling for many purposes. Some of it overlaps with nostalgia for the worlds (sic) I knew in this life, some must be genetic memory, and some -- possibly -- memories of past lives. I wonder how widespread this anemoia thing is.

It is an interesting question. My initial experiences with the subtle body had no priming at all and it wasn't until later I discovered it fit along with traditional (Shaivite) Tantric descriptions. With dan tians, I had some basic priming but I was shocked at how real they've felt when I received a boost from a tai chi master. As with all things, it is probably a mixture. Physical reality, in the traditions I follow, is like a collective or shared dream. So I think the basic structures and probably the three dan tians are a part of the consensual dream. So it is not like a personal dream and it is not the independent, physical world modern Westerners take it to be. However, this shared dream is also impacted and shaped by our "own" minds. In Tibetan Buddhism, different chakras have different associations with the colors and elements depending on the tradition, like Wallis says --- I think these are somewhat installed. But working with the Bon model, I worked with it for a while, suspended it, and then started it again after unrelated meditative work and I was surprised at how well my current experiences fit the model --- especially when I had doubts and didn't fully agree with it. But who knows? I like to keep the conceptual net loose to see what can develop.

Of use ? I think the distinction is of supreme importance . The brain is like a flock of birds , it just supplies the hardware for the mind to operate 'down on ' this polarity . The mind is that multi dimensional field that allows the 'bird / brains' work like this ; The dream is in the brain and the mind . The physical memory is in the body ... as the genetic memory is in the genes ... the ancient physical memory is in the reptilian brain - or hind brain , down into the brain stem . The higher functions are 'blank memory' circuits , yet to be programmed , or in some cases being programmed . - see Exo-psycholgy - the 8 circuit brain .

It may be of use to distinguish the brain from the mind. For example, awaking (returning to the body) from a dream usually results in very little memory of the dream. Is the dream in the mind and the physical memory in the brain?

This is an interesting topic and one that is very relevant to what I have been exploring in my life and practice right now. As much as it saddens me as a recovering chronic daydreamer who probably would not have made it in life without being able to spend most of my formative (and later) years lost to imagination, I think unchecked imagination is actually at the heart of a lot of personal and societal problems. Illusion is a huge problem, and our ability to imagine is at the root of illusion. Without an ability to imagine, you can't fall to illusion, it's just not possible. Now from a cultivation standpoint, looking at what you tend to dream and day dream about is an excellent window into the psyche and where you have unresolved issues. We often daydream for comfort / self-soothing so what we see is often a reflection of what we need or feel is missing. For example, all my daydreams involve me doing something "impressive" and always with other various other people real/imagined/from media that I respect present and helping. I still struggle with my ego, needing to be SEEN, and to be GREAT. It is helpful to know where my issues are, but those daydreams just soothe things I feel I lack, rather than dealing with the root of why I feel that way in the first place. I guess if I were charged with supercharging the collective imagination of the world I would wait for a time when society was less lost to illusion and better equipped to handle the responsibility of enhanced imagination. Don't get me wrong, I prize my imagination over almost everything, but I am also in the process of recognizing that to really move forward in my journey I probably have to let it go. And I don't say that lightly. In my life I spent time homeless living in a car that didn't run with literally not a single person who would even notice if I died, and would I go back to that in a heart beat vs giving up my imagination, my lifeline, but it is becoming clearer and clearer that it is also what is holding me back. And much to my fortune and dismay, the universe has assisted this process by making my imagination duller and less enticing, despite how desperate that still makes me feel. Oh well, one day I will get there. Hopefully someday I will find a healthy balance of creativity and reality. IMO our issue isn't creativity or lack of solutions/imagination, we already have the means and technology to end most of our problems, world hunger, stop climate change, build a society of equality and kindness, end most diseases - we just choose not to. At its root, for various reasons, we don't WANT to do the things it takes to fix our problems. I mean we can put a person on the moon and carry all the worlds knowledge in our pocket, and we yet can't figure out how to see people who look different than us truly as equals. I mean, guess there is no money in being kind, but geez. We say we need to care for the planet before it is too late, but then we build huge data centers and servers for crypto and AI that are quickly becoming the most resource draining and damaging activities over even manufacturing, oil production and shipping, and neither of those are necessary for our survival or ability to thrive as a species or as individuals. IMO we don't need more ideas or creativity, we need more authenticity, we need to be less caught up in illusion, we need to learn how to face and accept the hard things about ourselves and reality that we would rather destroy ourselves than admit exists. We need to let go of "needing" to be the best or most important, and instead make space for everyone else around us to be just as great. We need to recognize that we already have everything and we are squandering it by thinking we need more and more.

"Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed into a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness- experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves." (Bill Hicks) row, row row your boat gently down the stream.... *disclaimer: drugs are bad mmmkay and not needed for this kind of realization (takes a slow sardonic drag of a cigarette)

I too have now come to the conclusion that we are having a collective (as well as individual, how is that for non-duality) dream. A friend of me showed me that a sleep walking doll had been put on (manifested? 🤔) the roof of his house a few days ago. I’ll try to take a pic next time I walk by.

yes, I keep a dream journal. Immediately after waking up I record any dreams I had, the associated emotions, anything that sticks out. I try to recall as much details as possible- everything I can recall, even silly details. I write them down and then later at night I type everything in my daily practice journal. Hmmm, as in the Eye of Horus and the Eye of Ra? It's interesting to me that was immediately invoked within you, did you see those symbols in the minds eye? As in the womb shedding phase representing the red eye (Solar) and the luteal phase representing the white eye (lunar)- a microcosmic representation of shedding/oscillation from red to white, creating cosmic balance? Solar/lunar balance. Lunar having more connection to dreamscape and the unconscious. I'm not well versed in Egyptian lore, I should get on that. You might be on to something the more I think about it, especially the finer details about synching with the lunar phases (new moon, full moon, etc). Thanks

That sounds good. Did you keep a dream diary? Are there any books which helped you work out what to do. The menstrual cycle thing makes me think of the Egyptian red eye white eye thing. Maybe there's a connection.

I have similar sleep issues. The methods I use are a combination of dream recall, daytime illusory body and reality checks, and mnemonic and dream induced lucid dreaming. So the first thing is to work on dream recall, by thinking about it first thing and/or using a dream diary. The second thing is to implant the suggestion as you are falling asleep. The third thing is doing "reality checks" through the day to test whether you are dreaming. A few common examples is jumping, looking at the hands; reading something, looking away, and rereading it; switching lights on and off; blinking too long; asking where you were before, etc. Finally, we should have a lot of confidence that it happen if possible, and refrain from dwelling on the negatives. Eventually, this will culminate in doing a reality check while you are dreaming. This is the basic pattern set out in the resources. Doing these things without any lucid dreams is also very helpful IME. It gets more difficult when the dreamlike nature of the waking state is more revealed, and the mind creates more solidified dream states. For instance, I used to use the reading one, but now I can read in my dreams.

That’s quite good though. I kept a dream diary for a couple of months which culminated in a lucid dream of standing at the edge of a forest looking out at what was essentially complete blackness. I found that any techniques aimed at developing lucidity just ruined my sleep and gave me insomnia. Quite frustrating really- I’d love to be more competent at it. Do you have a good method?

This one is from the perspective of Tibetan medicine and has a concise practice of dream yoga and dream analysis. The Tibetan Art of Dream Analysis

I am not. If I work full bore, I may have 1-2 per month. Another way to work with it is to lay in bed and drift in and out of sleep during the liminal phase. It won't necessarily be a lucid dream, but seeing different states of waking, sleeping and dreaming arising and passing is very helpful as well.

Usually, confronting dream characters shuts the dream down or takes it off script. However, one time, I encountered some one who claimed I was a character in their dream. I told them no, they were a creation of MY dream. I demonstrated this by flying around. They then flew around also, and we both started to manipulate the dream. Who's to say? A lot of the dream world, like life generally, reacts according to beliefs and expectations. There ARE certain dreams that have a very unique flavor, what my old teacher would call a dream of clarity. In these dreams, it certainly feels like there are divine beings and divine realms. Stephen LaBerge's techniques have been incorporated into Dream Yoga. Nearly every modern dream yoga teacher teaches them because they are so effective. A lot of people like Michael Raduga, but I lost all interest once it came to light that he drilled a hole in his head to implant a "dream chip": https://www.newsweek.com/russian-implants-chip-brain-control-dreams-hospital-1814256

Great list, thanks for posting these. Often times during a lucid dream I don't quite know what I should be doing and I end up just travelling around, usually in my own neighbourhood. I'd like to actually accomplish something worth while (spiritually beneficial, problem solve, etc). What is your opinion on the people that you meet during lucid dreaming? Some of them appear to be lucid dreaming as well, others sort of NPC type characters. I had one lucid dream in where I was being interrogated by someone. They knew I was lucid in the dream and began asking me who I was, why I was there, where I learned to lucid dream, etc. It was really weird and aggressive. My first foray into getting a taste for lucid dreaming was via the gateway tapes, but over time the recordings made me feel uneasy resulting in nightmare-ish type dreamscapes. I became extremely distrustful of the material after that and dropped it. I have the Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep somewhere. I'm going to start reading it. Thanks again for this list! Though neither of the links below pertain to Buddhist dream yogas I've had pretty good success with this: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/316781.Exploring_the_World_of_Lucid_Dreaming

Resources related to Buddhist/Bon Dream Yoga. Feel free to recommend your own resources to be added. The resources here are made by members in their individual capacity and is not an endorsement by TheDaoBums. Damdao: This one is from the perspective of Tibetan medicine and has a concise practice of dream yoga and dream analysis. The Tibetan Art of Dream Analysis by Dr. Nida ForestofClarity: Dream yoga is one of the most compelling practices I have come across. Andrew Holocek teaches a mix of modern and traditional styles, a syncretic teachers with a traditional Mahamudra background. https://nightclubcommunity.com Dream Yoga: if you only want one dream yoga book, this is it Dreams of Light: daytime illusory body practice Tenzin Wangyal is a well respected Bon resource. https://www.glidewing.com/twr/dreamyoga_home.html Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep: a traditional presentation Lama Lena is always pragmatic and down to earth. https://lamalenateachings.com/dream-yoga-3-part-series/ B. Alan Wallace's course is a fairly comprehensive overview of Dudjom Lingpa style with a focus on strong shamatha (some say too strong). https://meridian-trust.org/video/333-dreaming-of-reality_d1s1_pm003517a/#:~:text=During this retreat organised by,nighttime practices of dream yoga. Dreaming Yourself Awake Lala Nila: Has had success with: ttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/316781.Exploring_the_World_of_Lucid_Dreaming

The old Kunlun craze was something--- the Lama DORJE THUNDERBOLT movie/website where he walked around in vaguely Tibetan robes evidently channeling qi into screaming women. That armies died in order to learn the mysterious Red Phoenix technique. People looking for dream initiation. Horror movies. Clones. Conspiracies of the highest order. I agree with what Sahaja said, but would add that involuntary movements are widely known across traditions and tend to pop up even during intensive concentration and Vipassana retreats.

Many teachers just emphasize "mind", or consciousness, as here: You are not your body, but you are the consciousness in the body, because of which you have the awareness of “I am”. It is without words, just pure beingness. Meditation means you have to hold consciousness by itself. The consciousness should give attention to itself. (Gaitonde, Mohan [2017]. Self – Love: The Original Dream [Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj’s Direct Pointers to Reality]) Let the mind be present without an abode. (from the Diamond Sutra, translation by Venerable Master Hsing Yun from “The Rabbit’s Horn: A Commentary on the Platform Sutra”, p 60) You are right, self-surrender plays a vital role, as here where Gautama described the induction of the initial concentration: … the (noble) disciple, making self-surrender the object of (their) thought, lays hold of concentration, lays hold of one-pointedness. (The disciple), aloof from sensuality, aloof from evil conditions, enters on the first trance, which is accompanied by thought initial and sustained, which is born of solitude, easeful and zestful, and abides therein. (SN 48.10, tr. PTS vol V p 174; parentheticals paraphrase original; “initial” for “directed”, as at SN 36.11, tr. PTS vol IV p 146) To "hold consciousness by itself", as Nisargadatta prescribed, is to lay hold of "one-pointedness". To stay connected, Gautama advised the extension of the feelings of zest and ease of the first concentration: … (a person) steeps, drenches, fills, and suffuses this body with zest and ease, born of solitude, so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this lone-born zest and ease. (AN 5.28, tr. Pali Text Society vol. III pp 18-19) I'm writing about that now: Words like “steeps” and “drenches” convey that the weight of the body accompanies the feelings of zest and ease. The weight of the body sensed at a particular point in the body can shift the body’s center of gravity, and a shift in the body’s center of gravity can result in what Moshe Feldenkrais termed “reflex movement”. Feldenkrais described how “reflex movement” can be engaged in standing up from a chair: …When the center of gravity has really moved forward over the feet a reflex movement will originate in the old nervous system and straighten the legs; this automatic movement will not be felt as an effort at all. (“Awareness Through Movement”, Moshe Feldenkrais, p 78) “Drenching” the body “so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded” with zest and ease allows the weight of the body and “one-pointedness” to effect “reflex movement” in the activity of inhalation and exhalation. In falling asleep, the mind can sometimes react to hypnagogic sleep paralysis with an attempt to reassert control over the muscles of the body, causing a “hypnic jerk”. The extension of a weighted zest and ease can pre-empt the tendency to reassert voluntary control in the induction of concentration, and make possible a conscious experience of “reflex movement” in inhalation and exhalation. Gautama said that he always returned to one-pointedness after he lectured, that he constantly abided in "that first characteristic of concentration". Speaking of staying connected to presence!

So fascinating, you really made the whole culture and history come alive! It's truly mindboggling how connected (for better or worse) people close to nature are to spirit. But unfortunately they use it both for good and evil. Yes, awesome idea about Kurdistan. In my dream I saw a carved rock-like charm bound with leather skins, both of them inscribed with ancient signs, buried under a plot of land in Kurdistan. This was then re-energized through rituals every now and then. So if we could find it, dig it up, and destroy it, I'm sure it would stop everything for ever. Luckily things have been ok for a long while, but every time one of the family members returns from a trip to Kurdistan, all family members here in Europe start having physical, health, mental or family issues for 1-3 months. So I think when they're down there, it somehow "re-ignites" the fire of hate and jealousy in the hearts of the people living there permanently, prompting them to restart all their black magic against this branch of the family. Luckily we are more aware now and combat it proactively. Just having that awareness that black magic is real, it makes you stop and think every now and then, when everything suddenly goes wrong for no reason out of nowhere. Then you can do something about it, instead of just suffering through it, when it could be stopped/improved by spiritual means.

I find I often have dreams of myself on parallel timelines. On awakening I look around nearby timelines and put the dream next to them looking for a match. Usually the match is obvious It seems that parallel processing occurs in nature Just as well