Exploring Desires and Anxieties: A Look into Human Longings and Panics
In the realm of spiritual practices and meditation, a unique and intriguing pursuit has emerged: lucid dreaming. This fascinating practice, which involves maintaining awareness during dreams, has been explored by various spiritual masters and enlightened figures throughout history.
According to Eastern mystics, dreams are an illusion, or 'maya', a concept that suggests a life lived through the mind is a life of dreams. Zen masters in Japan have taken this to an extreme, employing a demanding system where they watch meditating disciples with a stick, hitting them if they lose attention or awareness, even during sleep.
One enlightened master who has provided easier methods for meditation is Osho. His teachings offer a more accessible approach to lucid dreaming, aiming to stop the ticking of the mind and promote awakening. Kul Bhushan, a disciple of Osho, has written extensively on his teachings, and more of his articles can be found on his website www.kulbhushan.net.
The challenge in lucid dreaming, and indeed in many spiritual practices, is to overcome having desires. Dreams are just a manifestation of these desires, and as dreams are over, nothing changes, as everything remains the same.
To train the mind to stay aware during dreams, two techniques have been particularly effective: Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD) and Senses Initiated Lucid Dream (SSILD). MILD involves meditating on a previous dream while falling asleep, rehearsing becoming lucid, and setting the clear intention to realize you’re dreaming in your next dream. SSILD requires focusing successively on your senses of vision, hearing, and bodily sensations as you fall asleep, which enhances your sensory awareness and helps you recognize when you’re dreaming.
Other key practices include keeping a dream journal to improve dream recall and awareness upon waking, performing reality checks during waking hours, trying to wake up and return to sleep around early morning REM cycles, and regular sleep meditation or mindfulness training. These practices cultivate overall awareness and mental clarity essential for lucid dreaming.
Neuroscientifically, lucid dreaming involves activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain area linked to self-awareness, which helps the brain blur the boundary between dreaming and waking states. Some research suggests conditioning cognitive behavior with sensory stimuli during REM sleep further boosts lucid dream awareness and control.
Dreams can please, amuse, bewilder, or frighten individuals. However, the problem is not dreams but desiring, as stated by Osho. Dreamless sleep is rare because the mind continues to function even during sleep. Despite their power to influence individuals, dreams remain mysterious.
In essence, training your mind to stay aware in dreams is about enhancing self-awareness through intention setting, sensory focus, reality testing, and timing your sleep cycles to optimize REM phases where dreams occur. Regular practice of these techniques boosts your ability to recognize when you’re dreaming and "stay awake" in the dream state. Russian spiritual master Gurdjieff taught a technique for awakening in dreams, where individuals would repeat 'This time when I start dreaming in the night I will raise my hand and touch my head.' This simple yet powerful practice demonstrates the potential for lucid dreaming to transform our understanding of the dream world and our own consciousness.
- In the health-and-wellness realm, practices like lucid dreaming, promoted by spiritual masters such as Osho, can contribute to mental health by enhancing self-awareness.
- While dreaming is often associated with entertainment or mystery, according to Eastern mystics and spiritual masters like Osho, the root of the problem lies not in dreams themselves but in desiring.
- As lucid dreaming becomes more popular in science and lifestyle discussions, techniques like Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD) and Senses Initiated Lucid Dream (SSILD) have gained attention in health-and-wellness and mental-health communities as potential methods to improve overall awareness and well-being.
