Enlighting Experiences?

Hi guys,

I was wondering if someone has any experience with the relationship between lucidity and enlightment (buddism, taoism, etc)? :smile:

Maybe some of you know and read the book “The Power of Now” (Eckhart Tolle), wich describes practical methods to ‘be in the now’ and live your life without suffering. Or Tony Parsons’ “As it is”?

I’ve had countless lucid dreams (own website) and have experienced that lucidity comes very close to the same ego-freedom that is described in all the eastern religions…

:om:

sure, i call it flying… i love flying… it’s a very beautiful experience.

i’m into taoism myself… but lemme think of a specific example… oh yes, one time i had an LD and it started fading and i wanted to hold on to it.

i ran over to a tree and looked at a leaf hanging from one of its branches. i cupped the leaf in my hand but didn’t touch it. everything else faded to black except that leaf which started to glow with a golden light. it got brighter and brighter until the dream was illuminated again. i looked around and i flew away.

i really liked that dream. it was very powerful

oh yeah, welcome to the forum, always nice to have fellow hippie around :yinyang:

Well I would assume there could be a relationship between lucid dreaming and enlightenment. After all many of the techniques we use for lucid dreaming are derivatives of the techniques utilized Tibetan Buddhist Monks. Try and find anything you can about dream yoga for more instructive information on how to use lucid dreaming to guide your path to enlightenment.

Well, it is pretty interesting to approach it like this:

If you compare your dream world with waking reality, we all know that it’s pretty much the same. So much so, that we don’t really see the difference most of the time (otherwise you’re lucid :smile: ).

Could we say the same about lucidity? If the relationship between dreaming and ‘being awake’ is so strong … than lucidity can also arise in waking reality…

That doesn’t mean that it is like “oh, I know that I’m awake now” … no, it’s more like discovering the dreamlife in waking reality. That’s also the true meaning of spiritual ‘awakening’.

Of course, hehe, I’m not suggesting that there is the possibility that we could fly around in this world. I’m only pointing to the same feeling of freedom that one can experience in a lucid dream. The freedom of lucidity itself. :happy:

So, the following question arises; “What could that ‘waking’-dream be?”. And that’s the start, and the most powerfull question you can ever ask yourself. The beautifull thing is, that lucid dreaming can create this flowering attitude. Like it is saying “Now you know that you can be aware of your dreams … the invitation comes to become aware that you are alife, right here, right now :happy:”. That awakening, is exactly the same as becoming lucid of your dreams.

The simple but ultimate difference of it is, that it brings so much deep joy, peace and love with it … that lucid dreaming as we practise it, is nothing compared with it. Becoming aware of yourself in this moment, is so fullfilling that there is nothing else that can give more than that.

Discover.

perhaps the “dream” is the notion that you are confined to this plane of existence, or was that a rhetorical question… :eh:

I haven’t read the whole thing, but I have scanned them quickly and I must say that mmm I use lucidity as one of the enlighting techniques in order to be inspired or something.

I have had some dreams where they were absolutely powerful and very enlighting. I will never forget them. :smile: It always teach me something new about myself and make me wanting to try harder. You know what I’m saying?

Anyways, dream yoga… it’s a good technique. :smile:

Good luck! :biggrin:

Lucid dreaming is I suppose an awesome method to get a glimpse of the state

I’ve been trying to get that special lucidity feeling in dreams as opposed to be overrun by ego demands, but maybe that’s clear light dreaming which is extremely advanced

Eckhard Tolle’s book
as with all books contain terrible flaws

even though the book has helped me,
this knowledge should be left to the ancient and sacred texts
or at least appropriate references be made

but in the end it doesn’t really matter

Oh interesting … :smile:

Can you tell me more about those flaws, Pilot??

I don’t own the book, but from what I remember, he had this experience after severe depression, from which he lost himself on the streets homeless, then decided to take on the role of “Meister Eckhard” (A joke, but still…) he gives no credit to other religious/spiritual texts. he prescribes enlightenment for every one of life’s problems, overlooking all the great things life has to offer in its challenges. He says we are are all insane. No great spiritual leader, from my perspective, ever judges the world in a negative sense. I don’t disagree with what he says, I learned much from him, but taking the most advanced teachings and pairing them together with the most basic questions, finishing it off in a book in basic writing and much repetition, I find that a bit strange.

Have you ever tried meditating while in a lucid dream? Its a very powerful experience.

I’ve only tried once. Everything was just like meditating normally for a while, then a great ball of energy appeared ahead of me, like a sun. It was pulling me towards itself, whilst filling me with a sensation of energy as if electricity was being shot through my body (not in a bad way, just in a very powerful way). It was getting closer, and stronger, and I could feel ego-death happening. By this point, i was getting a bit scared, so I woke myself up.

Yep, that can be a very beautiful experience! :smile:

But my assumption is more simplistic. I have no doubt that lucidity in a dream can bring you to all new kinds of experiences.

I am only fascinated by the idea that lucidity can be translated to an experience in waking reality that overrules everything in your life. As I pointed out earlier; finding your dreamlife in reality.

If you have seen The Animatrix, you have probably opened up to the insight that we human beings have a kind of ‘artificial’ way of living. Like we are all “…living out our lives” (quote of Agent Smith :wink: ). The Animatrix gives us the most wonderful insight by pointing out that we humans are actually very much like the machines :happy:.

So if we now put Neo in this little story, … every human being’s destiny is like being Neo. We are in the center of our reality, we all want to find freedom. We are all “the one”, hehe. The beautiful thing is that The Matrix shows some pretty cool things that lucid dreamers can experience in dreamworlds. Like every lucid dreamer becomes a “Neo” in their dreams.

Let’s stick to this analogy and take a look at the following question:

“So what if there is a kind of ‘dreamlife’ in waking reality, what would it be?”

Can The Matrix Revolutions give an suitable answer? :smile:

What if our dreamlife could be the same fight or struggle between Neo and Agent Smith? If we assume that we are indeed all Neo’s … who would Agent Smith be in our lifes? Or to be more specific … what would he be now?

The ending of the movie has many religion references to christianity, but also to buddism and others. I’m not saying that you have to have a religious background to understand this universal message (I’m not religious). But maybe a new adventure can open itself up if you try to discover the answer to the question above…

I know exactly what you mean. I was only about 7 when i realised that waking life was probably only a dream, an illusion pulled over our eyes, a ‘maya’ as the buddhists call it.

However, this opens up the obvious question? Why?

You see, the assumption that my life isn’t real, takes all meaning out of it! Whats the point of doing anything if it isn’t real? Whats the point of working all those long hours, going for that job promotion, or getting that bigger house? Its a very discouraging thought that the reality you are in, is totally meaningless.

Once you are set free from such struggles, what then? Human beings need goals and aspirations to live.

We must search for a deeper meaning to our lives.

In his interview LaBerge says that dreams are especially good for all spiritual etc. things. He compared it to looking at the stars: you can’t see stars in the day because one very bright star - Sun - blinds you. When it’s gone, you see sky full of stars. Similar things happen with dreams, you’re sort of blinded by very strong sensory input, but in dream you don’t receive it, so you’re open to other things (telepathy? foresight? enlightement?)
And, of course, lucidity allows you to control your state and actively seek enlightement or something.

this is a really good topic. and the creator of this topic is very insightful! :wink: I hope you stick around!

Anyways, Lucid dreaming changed my life. Before I got into lucid dreaming i was pretty much spiritually blind. Only following my christian roots that I was taught to accept and believe in everything that was fed to me. After I read a few Lucid Dreaming books, I came to the conclusion that I should not waste my waking life letting some unseen force rule over my life. That is when i decided to become open to other religions.(Buddhism in particular) and I also became interested in Spirituality and the paranormal. Lucid dreaming knocked down a door to the path to spiritual awakening and enlightenment. From then on I have taken philosophy from christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and what I have learned from my own expeirences to shape my spiritual beliefs. I no longer consider myself religious, but spiritual :wink:

I don’t want to ramble on in my beliefs now, for it would take too long and this is not the right topic. But Lucid dreaming really made me into a better, more open-minded person, and not to only accept one thing, but many.

Last scene of The Matrix Revolutions
“Why Mr. Anderson … Why? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe that you are fighting for something. Something more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is?! Do you even know?!”

Ultimately you discover that it doesn’t really matter what real is :smile:. The knowing doesn’t contribute to anything. Just look at the enthusiasm that lucid dreamers can have in their lucid dreams. Although their worlds are totally fiction, it doesn’t mean that they will sit down and stare to the ground because now there is no ‘meaning’ to it anymore. Hehe.

No. Of course not!

Now that you see that there never was a meaning to pursue the original [color=purple]dreamplot[/color] (at any point you could just fly away, only you didn’t recognise freedom in it)… the vibrating energy of freedom arises in every cell of your body. Because there is absolutely no one anymore who ‘wants’ or even ‘can’ create purpose out of nothing. You are totally helpless, totally nothing. But paradoxaly that same sense of helplessness has a deep sense of love with it. “Wauw, there is actually nothing that I can do to make this more fullfilling!” :happy:

You can then either fly away, or just continue the dreamplot with a totally new kind of consciousness. This makes the dreamplot feel very much alife in contrary to the heavy-like feeling of most dreams (stress, in a hurry, choas, problems, confusion)! Even if you were becoming lucid in a nightmare and realize the non-purpose of all (even of becoming lucid itself!), a very deep sense of joy, love and peace arises.

[color=darkblue]Why’s that? [/color]

“Why Mr. Anderson … Why? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe that you are fighting for something. Something more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is?! Do you even know?!” :wink:

I swear, that is the EXACT same story as my experience, word for word… wow.

TPex: all very true :smile:

.df