Meditation and Reverie

[forestofemptiness]

From time to time, I enjoy learning about meditation methods of other cultures. Recently, I've been reading through "Jewish Meditation" by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. He writes:

 

"The thought process itself is also controlled to a large degree by the unconscious, but it can be controlled by the conscious mind. This is most obvious in the case of the reverie*. When one is relaxing and not paying particular attention to it, the reverie flows from one thought to another without conscious effort. Indeed, there are a number of psychological techniques that try to imitate this "free association." However, no matter how free the association may be when one is expressing it to a second party, it is never as free as in the case of pure reverie. The reverie thus can also be seen as a point of interface between the conscious and unconsious. By learning to control the reverie, one can also learn how to control the unconscious."

 

I was wondering if anyone here has had experience with learning to control the reverie, and what, if any results were obtained. It sounds like an interesting possibility.

 

 

 

*--- images, words, thoughts, etc. that flow uncontrolled in the mind

[yabyum24]

From time to time, I enjoy learning about meditation methods of other cultures. Recently, I've been reading through "Jewish Meditation" by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. He writes:

 

"The thought process itself is also controlled to a large degree by the unconscious, but it can be controlled by the conscious mind. This is most obvious in the case of the reverie*. When one is relaxing and not paying particular attention to it, the reverie flows from one thought to another without conscious effort. Indeed, there are a number of psychological techniques that try to imitate this "free association." However, no matter how free the association may be when one is expressing it to a second party, it is never as free as in the case of pure reverie. The reverie thus can also be seen as a point of interface between the conscious and unconsious. By learning to control the reverie, one can also learn how to control the unconscious."

 

I was wondering if anyone here has had experience with learning to control the reverie, and what, if any results were obtained. It sounds like an interesting possibility.

*--- images, words, thoughts, etc. that flow uncontrolled in the mind

It seems a contradiction in terms; a free reverie, yet controlled.