wren

Start training today and be lucid dreaming by the end of the week? I think that's wildly optimistic - but definitely worth giving a try. You could spend you whole life training / trying and never achieve it - so don't beat yourself up if you dont. Or you could achieve it spontaneously without even trying. Do you have vivid dreams at the moment? Did you have any lucid dreams as a child? Spontaneous lucid dreams is how I got into spirituality. I had quite a few when I was young, between about 15 years and 22 years old. Maybe one a month at peak, but more like one every 3-4 months. Then they stopped until I was almost 40 (work, family, stress, responsibility). I had one out of the blue, then another a few months later. I enjoyed them so much I wanted to have more, so researched into it. One of the complimentary techniques recommended was mediation, and google somehow sent me to Actualized.org, and now I very much am in a different world. My number 1 tip is to keep a dream journal. As someone said before, you can use it to identify common dream signs, but for me it greatly increased by dream recall and vividness of my normal dreams which was a stepping stone towards more lucid dreams. My number 1 book recommendation is dream yoga by Andrew Holecek. It took me great places in both dreaming and spirituality. Hope it goes well for you.

“Dream Yoga” by Andrew Holychek. Great book. I actually came to spirituality and actualised.org from some lucid dreaming experiences. Not only is it possible, it is one of the established Buddhist paths to enlightenment.

Wow, some really good thoughts here. It seems to me that those that are seeking the truth can see the usefulness of science, see the limits of science and move on, continuing to seek the truth. Anyone not really seeking the truth can see the usefulness of science and stay there and argue themselves into a corner. We, the seekers, argue about the usefulness of what is beyond science - but because it is personal experience and not explainable or provable except as personal experience, those in the 'materialist paradigm' cannot accept it. So, perhaps there is no point arguing with someone who doesn't want to move beyond the usefulness of science. But if you still want to, there are some wonderful arguments. One that Leo got me onto and I'm still trying to fully appreciate is Godels Incompleteness Theorem. Godel proved through logic that logic (or specifically number theory) could not prove everything. He laid out a very rigorous proof that there are things that are definitely true but that cannot be proven. This brought an end to the era of mathematicians and logicians thinking that number theory was perfect and everything could be proven. Unfortunately, the rest of the world couldn't follow and for some reason still think that number theory is perfect and everything can be proven. If the people you would like to enlighten, or yourself do not have the time and energy to work all the way through Godel (at it is a lot of time and effort to really get it, rather than reading the highlights and agreeing with the conclusion), then here is a very simple parallel to the incompleteness theorem. Ask a scientist to either prove or disprove this. "This statement cannot be proven"

I love paradoxes and enjoy trying to hold two seemingly opposing ideas as both simultaneously true. However I would appreciate anyone else's considered view on this. The 'So Hum' mantra (I am that) seems to point towards the Samadhi experience of seeing everything as one. If I am one with the chair that I am staring at, then I am equally one with this hand. The 'Neti Neti' self inquiry (not this, not this) seems to point towards the true self being not my car, not my thoughts, not my hand. Are these two thoughts opposite of each other? Is it a technical subtlety (ie I am that, but I am not this)? If so can some please illuminate. Is it as simple as both are true? Is it a mistake to take anything spoken or written as true? Is it that I am not this (neti neti), nothing, no-thing, no separation, everything, I am that (so hum)? Thanks.

I’d agree with the 1 x 60 mins. I also find the sweet spot a little over 40 mins. But it most interestingly lately I have felt the benefits of doing it at the same time. For me it is most natural first thing in the morning. And when I sometimes sleep in on a Sunday morning, at the same time I would normally be meditating, I feel a tingling run right through me.

nothing. But more like “no-thing” not the absence of something, but the absence of the artificial difference between subject and object. God is nothing.

You could try Gödel's incompleteness theorem where he logically proved that logic cannot prove everything.

Awesome - great work everyone.

Looks like an old post has been reincarnated. To add my 2cents - I brought it partially for the book list and partially to support Leo for all the free work that he does. The value of the book list is about right for what you get out of it - some hidden gems, a lifetime of reading ideas for a slow reader like me, and the books categorized and rated (so you can go straight to the most useful book about the subject you are most interested in). But the value we are all getting out of the whole actualized.org videos, posts, forums, community, links etc is infinitely more than that. So overall, I am very happy with the purchase.

It seems that a flavour of this community is that you can't believe/trust/know anything without experiencing it for yourself (let's not go down the rabbit hole of self or knowing here - I think we all agree that nothing here is really the truth) so, with that in mind, I tried a few binaural beats out. The first, quite some time ago, was a pure binaural sound. No New Age music. No fractal graphics. My experience was that it did put me into a relaxed, meditative frame of mind. However, this was early in my journey, so I didn't have much to compare it to. More recently, I have been practicing Kriya yoga. I have begun to be able to concerntrate on and feel my Chakras. I don't know for sure whether this is real, or a highly developed delusion, but I do know for sure that I can feel them, and move from one to another. So the other day, I tried one of the YouTube binaural beats with the weird music and trippy graphics. Again, this time, the monkey mind rested and I was in what I thought was a meditative mind. However, I tried to find a Chakra and there was nothing! So, I think they do something, but not necessarily what many of us are trying to do here. See for yourself, but I don't recommend them. If you do want the trippy psychedelic feeling / visions without assistance - shamanic breathing has worked for me.

I love this topic. Lucid dreaming is actually how I came into meditation and eventually actualised.org. There is a great book by Andrew Holocek called Dream Yoga. It talks about a bhuddist tradition and path to enlightenment based on - basically doing meditation during lucid dreams. I have had had a couple of experiences, and they are fantastic and mystical. But (for me so far) so brief and so rare. It it is definitely a fascination of mine and part of my daily/nightly practice.

Interesting article on some current practices and possible future direction of psychedelics in therapy. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-30/underground-psychedelic-psychotherapy-mdma-lsd/10134044?section=health I usually have a low regard for journalism, but I was impressed to see that they talked about MDMA and then added that it wasn't a true psychedelic. They have done a fair bit of research. "The most optimistic researchers hope that regulated psychedelic-assisted therapy will start rolling out slowly in 2021 with approval from bodies such as the FDA." Probably a little too optimistic - but headed in a good direction.

Hi Jordan, I have found this technique to be enormously beneficial. In the first session, I was really surprised at the altered states of consciousness attainable without any substances. In the second session, I was able to work through some personal issues. And in the third session, it was the first time that I actually saw that some of this mystical mumbo jumbo might be real. It was the first time I actually felt my materialist paradigm start to crumble. Regarding the dry mouth and throat - you could try a diffuser or humidifier with or without oils. Or you could try just pushing through. I swallowed saliva when I needed to. I went through lots of different phases. Sometime I was producing so much saliva I had to swallow every minute or so. Sometimes my mouth was bone dry and I had to hold my lips like a tunnel and just keep going. I tried through my nose for a little while, but couldn't get the volume of air that I could through my mouth. I even had a sip of water if I needed to. A few seconds break across a whole hour did not seem to affect it. Because it kept changing, I found that if I pushed on through, it wouldn't be a problem. I find 60 minutes best. I couldn't really tell the difference between 60 and 90. The real realization for me was that the real work, the real experience wasn't during the breathing. Like Marcell said, it was the 30 mins afterwards. I don't know if for me it was purging emotions, or surging consiousness. Lie in corpse pose. Breath naturally (and by allowing myself to breath naturally, I actually found my breath was very slow, light and subtle). That's it. No need to meditate, no need to think. That's when the magic happens. I hope you find a way to make it work, because for me - this technique is definitely worth the effort.