starsofclay

I actually smoke weed too induce it. Much stronger within the next few hours after smoking, but once you get the hang of it, it can be induced easily without. I get full color cartoon or realistic images, landscapes, people, animals, etc, after weed. Without it the images are much more murky and less colorful, unless in true hypnogogia right before sleep or right after waking up. No pot needed at those times

Haha how has no one besides you mentioned that? It's not schizophrenia! Exploring hypnogogia can be really fun, but of course it should be a separate session then meditation.

@Barbarian Number 8 haha... Loved it

@zoey101 in my opinion, don't worry so much about certain illusions. It's such a buzzword around here, but of course having the correct (positive) attitude will help you in your journey. For one thing it increases motivation. Is motivation another illusion? Yet without it, you would probably give up the search.

@Solace haha welcome back! (did you ever actually leave?) Oh well, you can practice self love on here, spreading to all the many different versions of yourself. You literally can't do it wrong!

@WindInTheLeaf that was nice

@Rilles unfortunately dreams can be so abstract and non - literal, it's pretty hard to answer this question. It's possible you could be fulfilling an unconscious desire, and it's possible that it means something completely abstract and has nothing to do with them at all. Then again it's possible it means absolutely nothing at all. Best way to find out is to learn to lucid dream. You have to ask the dream itself, because no one on here can answer this question. Create a conscious intention that next time they enter your dream, you confront them and ask what they represent. You can do this as a mantra before sleep, (which will also increase your chances of them appearing in the dream). technically you can do this without lucid dreaming, but the practice of learning to lucid dream will make it easier.

@Highest not saying lucid dreaming will kill self, lucid dreaming kills dream self, which you can use as a model for killling self. It's an example.

Let's combine the two ideas. Becoming lucid/awakening (waking reality) is death of self. Think about it, when one becomes lucid in a dream, the person they think they are dies and is replaced by the true self. (of course, it's funny because this "true" self is none other than the current false one that we think we are in waking life. It's like layers upon layers.) however, in this "reality", who replaces the person we think we are when we become lucid? The opposite? No-self? I find it interesting that in lucid dreaming, when the dream self dies to be replaced by "true" self, it's instant. There's no fight. No transition. Just one instant the false self and next instant, lucid self. But I suppose dreams don't have as much ego to worry about. The dream self doesn't put up a fight....

@Highest Well, one can always become lucid

Godammit... I was literally mulling over making a post with this exact title, not even an hour or two ago (although you have put it better than I would have) ... Was just now googling this phrase to get my thoughts together and first thing on google is this post, made 54 minutes ago. Seriously, what the hell? Oh well, either way it got me interested in finally starting neti neti so mission accomplished, I guess. Geez, and I thought I was going to be so original and ask "what" am i, instead of "who" am i? I'm telling you this is crazy.... I'm in a freaking dream....

@zoey101 I highly recommend "The Mind Illuminated" by John Yates... it will teach you so much about meditation and in fact help to answer your question. its on the google play bookstore, not sure about ITunes

@blazed Hmm... I hadn't thought of that. I'm definitely not qualified to answer this, but I would say it comes down to intention. The writer in the flow state does not intend to surpass ego, so the result is a mixture of ego and something deeper, hence why there are so many unintentional truths out there in media. In automatic writing, the same could definitely happen, if the intention isn't set correctly. Then again, there's no way to prove that a piece of automatic writing doesn't have some ego sprinkled in. I would agree and say for enlightenment purposes it probably is not the best method, but very good for self-reflection/understanding. Just another tool in the shed.

@blazed well, because the people who we are referring to probably aren't seeking enlightenment, just understanding and spiritual growth. And it depends on how you use the pen and paper. In true automatic writing, the goal actually is to surpass the ego and find the voice within. The voice being what people call higher self, higher mind, the source, etc. You actually go into a meditative state while automatic writing.

I don't know about moving a needle with the mind, but there are people that use a ouija board, solo, for channeling. What are they channeling? Themselves of course, but that's where some of the best wisdom can be found anyway. The same can be done with automatic writing, just depends on the person's preference and belief system

@Viking what I do see happening is a One world order... something that everyone seems to want to avoid but eventually it will be inevitable, as we come together and stop fighting amongst ourselves. That is, if we haven't destroyed our planet by then and have to live off-world, but even that would be a one world order, just significantly less people.

@Quanty this quote is misunderstood by christians, because they don't understand non-duality. It can be rephrased as "Love thy neighbor (because they are) thyself.

Thanks for sharing, they are both in my playlists now

@Saumaya yeah it was the intro to a documentary called Wisdomkeepers, about life in the peru mountains and their practices. Resonated with me so I wanted to share it.

Good question... There are probably benefits to using both perspectives, just as we do while dreaming. First person is more personal and literal, and third person gives you the bigger picture and more perspective.

That's nearly impossible. Literally everything is symbolic

Billboard in GTA 5... anyone get the reference?

@Mikael89 well, until we become "enlightened" ourselves, the best we can do is take what resonates the best with us and our path, and let it tear down ego and open mind. Either way, we would eventually have to let it go, whether it be truth, or pointing to truth. It really resonates with me because I am into lucid dreaming, and to me there seems to be no difference between dreaming and virtual reality, and I am starting to see less of a gap between those realities and the one we currently find ourselves in. Also because during lucid dreaming, one of my favorite things to do is talk to dream characters, knowing very well that i am only talking to myself even though many of them tend to have a strong sense of self and existence . It is not a far stretch for me to extend that the other way, and realize that I could very well be one of those dream characters in a much larger dream.