Reddit mentions: The best books about dreams

Dreams were and are paid attention to and considered of significance in the faith, according to the writings. They are not to be taken lightly, but interpretation, and how that may influence and shape decisions, can be a tricky matter to navigate.

This paper might be of some related interest,
Dreams and Their Interpretation in the Baha'i Faith: Some Preliminary Remarks, (or in PDF form, a little easier to read here).
Another paper recounts some of the dreams pertaining to the Bab, Baha'u'llah and other Baha'i's historically, as well as recorded comments from Abdu'l Baha amongst others, regarding dreams and their nature Dreams mentioned in Baha'i literature.

In Gleanings I think, Baha'u'llah discusses the nature of dreams. I'll see if I can track that down..

My point of view is as follows (none of this is official Baha'i):

Regarding the specific symbols in your dream, triangles and circles have multiple meanings and associations throughout various traditions (including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Taoism, through to aspects of the occult, alchemy, and metaphysics amongst others. All of these traditions and disciplines have symbols and concepts that find a concurrence or fulfillment in Baha'i). The triangle and the circle, and relationships between them, are considered significant spiritually in terms of metaphysics and symbolic concepts after the Primordial Tradition or the Perennial Philosophy, (which are also related to Baha'i, in terms of expressions and conceptions of universalism of religion), as is light in general, and points of light. The circle in particular, whether alone or with a singular dot in the center, is numerously associated as an image symbolising God. A triangle in a dream or inscribed, depending on whether it is inverted or not, for that can change its meaning, can be read as symbolic of a mountain (which in some traditions an upright triangle represents this precisely). In a traditional or metaphysical sense, the image-symbol of a mountain alludes to the spiritual Center, which in its revealed form is centered itself around or through the Prophet or Manifestation. The three points that become linked could be read as pertaining to oneself, the Manifestation and God, within a linked relationship, which in the Baha'i writings we are told is the case, in terms of spiritual relationship and how things are arranged metaphysically (not the trinity, after Christianity, but similarly we exist and attain unto God in and through a relationship to the Manifestation. There are three identifiable 'points' in that relationship: God, the Manifestation and us, that is individually and en masse). However this kind of associational linking is expansive, broad and too detailed to explore here (further associations come to mind: 'The Primal Point' of the Bab, which has an indirect affiliation with the bindu of Hinduism, that the official Baha'i symbol is a five-sided star, which can be constructed from a series of triangles, numerical relationships and associations that could be worked out through the Abjad numerical system, as well as meanings pertaining to light and the sky or 'heavens' and 'stars', alchemical triangles and circles, and so on).

I think of it as akin to interpreting and 'reading' a work of art; multiple meanings can be drawn and alluded to, and none are necessarily 'wrong', yet, on the other hand, depending on what framework one uses as a means of interpretation, there can be very particular meaning-associations able to be made (this then heads into questions concerning legitimacy and authority, in terms of what symbols mean beyond the subjective). In terms of metaphysics say, some of these associations of meaning are specific and definitive, with a fixed quality. Similarly this fixed, definitive quality associated with symbols can also be found in alchemy (which has been demonstrated elsewhere to have a relationship to the language and content of dreams).

Keep in mind dreams 'speak' through the language of symbols, and symbolic thinking and its correlative concepts are the vernacular or vehicle of metaphysics, which informs religion (also reliant on symbols to convey deeper and complex meaning more simply), after the mystical realities which religion proceeds from. There is a close relationship between these differing domains through symbolism.

Also perhaps to keep in mind, these kinds of symbols are very old if not ancient, as is the architecture of our body-minds that produce and are receptive to them. So although the symbols themselves don't appear to speak directly to anything unequivocally Baha'i at first sight, there may well indeed be meaning concordance in terms of Baha'i able to be discerned, if indeed that was the dreams intention (I have read discussion of the 'meaning' of a dream not to be revealed through its apparent content but more through its occurrence and activation in ones psyche, ones body-mind, that the meaning is the event of the dream and the after-effect of it, not the symbolic content per se). However it would probably require a careful and scholarly degree of research to draw out such direct affiliation between the imagery in your dream and Baha'i symbols and meanings.

Really, in terms of any meaning construction after the event, it depends in the end on how you read it and come to understand it. The subjective has value in this sense. In some states (or indeed stages) one can become so intuitively attuned as to know directly, intuitively, what a particular dream, whether ones own or anothers, means (there are descriptions of this in a variety of scripture, some of which is quoted in the papers linked to above).

There are a multiplicity of theories as to how dreams function as much as what meaning can be conveyed and gleaned through them, from early Freudian depth psychology for example to Gestalt, amongst others. Conventional 'scientific' psychology doesn't seem to offer much yet in terms of defining the purpose of dreams let alone what sort of meaning they might convey.

Much of the interpretive process, as others ITT have already mentioned, is subjective, and in terms of meaning interpretation depends heavily on the state of the individual dreamer, how 'in tune' and 'in sync' spiritually and intuitively with themselves they are. Certainly different kinds of dreams can occur, and discernment of differing qualities can be apparent with these (from personal unconscious content dreams, to archetypal dreams through to prophetic dreams that portend to 'real' world matters to take place in time at some future juncture). Archetypal dreams tend to take on a deeper and richer quality and leave a profound sensation, sometimes elation and illumination, in waking consciousness, from experience and observation. Your dream would appear to be of that kind, after your description and its effects.

If you were not already aware of them, a preeminent person who investigated and developed a sophisticated understanding and still influential set of theories in relation to dreams in the 20th Century was Carl Jung. The notion of an archetypal dream mentioned above follows Jung's conceptualisation.There is a compilation on his theory of dreams available, Dreams. You might find some helpful clues pertaining to your own dream (and dreams) there.

Incidentally one can train ones waking self to more faithfully be able to recall dreams through keeping a dream journal and learning how to pay attention to the imagery upon waking. Asking for guidance and 'signs' can be an instrumental part of that process, which you sound like you're already doing.

>I was wondering if the dream I am about describe has any symbolic significance in your religion or ideas that may lead to me figuring things out. If there is, I would like the source of the supposed connection (religious scripture or writing quoted or something like that if available relating to the connection is what I am really looking for).

Edit: Here's a link to an article The Mountain and the Cave,
that discusses some of the content mentioned above in terms of symbolic meaning and associations that might be read as pertinent to your dream, depending on how one views it. Its an example of the rich detail, and accord that is found across other religions in terms of these domains of knowledge. Baha'i is applicable and concomitant with these where it meets in universality and shared concepts, though, of course, how that applies to details in your dream is up to you to discern and decide.
It isn't explicitly clear from your dream if there is any clear-cut connection with Baha'i or not that I can readily perceive, other than perhaps what I've only lightly touched on above.

Discussion of mysticism, symbolism and metaphysical concepts in Baha'i draws heavily on Islamic metaphysics and mysticism (Sufism). Some scholarship in this terrain might prove helpful for your own questions (and answers), and may in turn also throw some light on your dreams, dealing as it is in symbolism. These two philosophers-scholars come to mind in particular: Henry Corbin, and Rene Guenon. Neither of them were Baha'i, but much of what they say illuminates Baha'i in profound ways. They expound and expand on Islamic mystical concepts and spirituality addressed through symbols with profuse detail.

1. I am relatively new to Reddit, only 2 months reddit old, so I have not been gifted and I dont have an intro.
   
   2.10 months ago my father got diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and emphysema.. As a 20 year old, and even if I was way older, I couldn't handle this news. It was way too frightening. I decided to study everything about natural cures, and I did. I also skipped college for an entire year so I could be home giving him love, feeding him, spoiling him, and just hanging out. My mom and brother were always at work every day and my father would tell me go to school, go to school, dont worry about me. But I decided screw you dad, I am staying to be here with you, and for you, and I did for 10 months, everyday, I was taking care of him, making him feel like he is on vacation. That decision was the best decision of my life. 2 months ago, my father past away. It was the first day of the new semester, my dad forced me to take one class since it has been 10 months that I haven't been to school. ON THE FIRST DAY, I come back from school to find him past away, blood everywhere in the house, he choked on his blood. He went into cardiac arrest the paramedics say. I cried a lot, until today, and forever, I will cry, but I am happy to know I was there for him for 10 months, taking care of my dad, my hero, and now he is living in paradise. Ever since then, I got 4 of my friends to stop smoking, and the parents of one of my friends.
   
   
2. This is a thing
   
   
3. My father, while he was alive he would always throw me to the best direction. He went to the best programming/engineering school in the world, and he was the most intelligent man I have ever met. Even now when he is dead, he gives me so much power, so much guidance, and its hard to grasp since he is not physically giving me the guidance, but in a spiritual sense, I can feel it.
   
   
4. My dream is to become successful, and to acquire that American dream that my father was so close to achieving. My dad always had a great job, making 120k a year, until a few years back when he decided to try hitting that American dream, and start a company. Except the company never made it.
   
   
5. I did all of them because when I talk about my dad, I can keep talking forever.
   
   
6. There will always be people that annoy you, make you feel terrible, make you want to kill or hit them, make you feel worthless, but these are all choices you have. You have the choice to feel annoyed, you have the choice to feel the need to hit or kill them, you have the choice to feel worthless, catch my drift? It is always better to take the smarter, more humble approach, because letting it agrivate you, just harms you, and make your day feel bad, when in reality you could choose to smile upon their annoyance, and say to yourself, "Im choosing to be happy and not annoyed because that will just slow me down, and then they won". If you let them annoy you, they win, if you just choose to be happy, you win, and everyone likes to win.
   
   
7. I love you too, I can feel you have a beautiful soul.
   
   
8. Happy Easter, 4/20, Passover, Holidays :)
   
   
9. I completely understand, I did not do this post for the gift, I did this post to try and change a few peoples mentality, and also for my beautiful dad who I hope is having a Happy Passover up there in heaven. R.I.P.
   
   11.
   http://www.amazon.com/Lucid-Dreaming-Gateway-Inner-Self/dp/193049114X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1397947647&sr=8-2&keywords=lucid+dream ($12.62)
   http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Solutions-V4-EF16-MBXN-Dreams-Inhaler/dp/B000RBC4CO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1397947647&sr=8-3&keywords=lucid+dream ($5.75)
   http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-LaBerge/dp/034537410X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1397947647&sr=8-4&keywords=lucid+dream ($4.83)
   
   I know these are three different things I have posted here, just in case you couldn't afford one of them, I gave a few cheap alternatives. :)
   
   
10. This is such a great edit. I will happily comment on others beautiful words.
    
    Thanks for this beautiful post, hope you were able to take in something from my words, and wish you the best of luck and health and hope you don't smoke cigarettes, and if you do, I hope you stop in the near future.
    
    Very Best
    
    Ecc10394

Since my last report I delved deeper into dream yoga by way of Andrew Holecek's dream yoga program. This pursuit has already contributed greatly to my path and practice by being insightful, appealing to my imagination and wonder, keeping my "waking life" awareness practice sharp, and being practical in preparing for death. The orientation towards dream yoga benefits as follows:

I kept a dream journal for six of the seven days of last week, which is the first time I've done so, and the contents of the dream have been surprising in revealing patterns and themes. This alone makes dream practice fruitful, as the content reflects aspects of my life that I otherwise wouldn't be aware of. The repetition reminds me of lifelong conditioning and how that contributes to the structure and perception of self. Not that I've nailed down concrete meanings of dreams, have seen them as instances of divination, or have acted upon them explicitly, but there's a continuity and meaningfulness in what arises that's worth reflecting on. For example, six of the seven nights consisted of dreams regarding aikido and me procrastinating, which strengthens my resolve in going to class despite being tired or having to take care of other matters (or just plain laziness).

The awareness practice I referred to here is called illusory form, which is the same practice I worked with a little while last year upon discovering Mahamudra. This consists of perceiving the dreamlike quality of all perception, as it is really no different than what one experiences in dreams. This has had a softening effect on emotions and somatic tension and is often accompanied by a temporary visual perceptual shift. In conjunction responding to distraction and mind-wandering with a reality check (is this a dream? Am I dreaming?) is a lovely take on mindfulness. I'll often scan objects in the environment and try to manipulate their shape as a means to test the malleability of perception, such as digital displays or words on signs.

Intention is another empowering component of the dream practices in that it arouses dedication to the path in a roundabout way. Telling myself that I will have many dreams, that I will remember them all, and that I will awaken within them fuels motivation, but doing it with the intention to fully awaken for the sake of all beings is even juicier. Often I'll go to bed and implore the buddhas and bodhisattvas to help me awaken in dreams for this goal, which is a very heartfelt and positive way to transition into sleep.

Earlier this year when I was reading Initiation Into Hermetics I had also been studying various western esoteric systems and the occult, and subsequently found threads between them and my discoveries and insights from meditation. I had found IIH to be very suitable to my aims compared to other systems that were interesting but didn't resonate with me, but later stages of IIH seemed daunting and unachievable...also a little far-fetched. Working with dreams satisfies the aspects drawn to magickal practices but in a way that seems more trackable, attainable, and in line with the pursuit of awakening.

In the mode of Rob Burbea soulmaking is rich here. Having read about Tertöns, those who have discovered termas in the Tibetan tradition (like Dudjom Lingpa for example), captures my imagination. Holecek implores people to invite and make contact teachers they've met or know of (regardless of time), and the adventurer in me really wants to test this out. And as far as how dream, sleep, and bardo yoga relate to death and metaphysics I'm happily agnostic there...I'm just thankful for another means to practice since humans sleep for approximately a third of their life. Having further contemplated the preciousness of human life in the Sutrayana course really fires motivation up but in a joyful way.

Also, given the level of interest and excitement for DY / LD it's a nice way to work with expectations and the attendant emotions (disappointment, striving, etc.). The process has been light and curious, and in one sense it reminds me of my work with TMI and pursuit of stream-entry in that I feel like a beginner once again. I feel like a scientist working in two shifts, the daytime serving as the worklike aspect of the lab where I see how effort affects the many qualities of dreams (strength and length of recall plus lucidity). No moments of lucidity just yet (which is funny given how strange some of the situations have been), but I've been able to recall and log from 2-5 sequences / scenes each day.

EDIT: Added content.

Hi there!

You seem like a perfect match- get yourself a copy of Urban Shaman, study the heck out of it, and you're set. I'm getting lots of strong energy in that direction from you. The Hawaiian Huna
Shaman Training Course is also really, really, really good- worth every penny. Kalana Hula is also really nice.

The brother and father thing seems to be some kind of underlying aggression- not purely symbolic, actually destructive- I do sense something impulsive about you you may want to use the Urban Shaman techniques to compensate for- try pinkfogging them (look it up). Not necessarily acutely dangerous but I do recommend to do the energy work. You can also use the Urban Shaman techniques to talk to them and ask them what they are all about.

You may have been visited around 2015 by some entities- yeah, not entirely benevolent ones, it would appear. Not terrible, not super dangerous, but in some way representative of fearful energy. I would recommend to use the white light to harmonize things as a first aid measure, and then vastly build up your confidence.

Nope- those characters are aspects of yourself- purely symbolic, representative of traits. I recommend to transmute them to become purely positive, and work with them as you see fit. I am getting a bit of letting the symbols determine their effects here- as a shaman, you want yourself to determine the effect, and decide if you want the symbol or not. Get into the driver's seat, and if the symbol is conductive of that, great, and if not, you may want to observe it one last time through the rear view mirror.

Yeah that seems right- 10 lifetimes. But those are apparently those appropriate to connect with right now- I am getting more like 967.

Yes, of course you will be happy- and successful. You have already chosen a path, it would appear- I find your shaman energy to be super, super intense- get the darn book, and use all of that energy to study it. I've been in terribly depressed and anxious places, and I used the information to now to amazingly well by my own standards. I feel great, I'm confident, I have harmony, and I constantly surprise myself with how I can deal with my challenges- and the one thing I always come back to is using the information in that book.

I hope this helps! Feel free to follow up!

It's certainly tough to work for so long and not to reach your desired goals.

Lucidity results when many factors all come together at the same time: heightened self-awareness, memory, being well-rested, good dream recall, strong intention, being at the right phase of your sleep cycle. Also: being stress-free, having a healthy body and brain.

It sounds like you've worked on many of these things, at least individually. Maybe what you need to do is to work on them all in combination.

I'd avoid pure WILD attempts for a while: without having frequent enough DILDs under your belt, you may not be close enough to the "lucid dreaming feeling".

Whenever I'm going through a dry lucid or dream recall phase, I'll bring in the "big guns" to get jump-started again: setting strong intention to wake up after every dream. This means noticing those little wakings we all experience between sleep cycles during the night, and keeping your self awake just long enough to recall your dreams, grab a bit of awareness and head back to sleep. You don't want to stay up too long or this can cause insomnia, unless you're the type who can fall back to sleep easily and quickly.

Actually, that's a good question: can you easily and quickly fall back to sleep if you wake up during the middle of the night? Or are you more prone to insomnia? How long does it take you to fall b ack asleep on average?

I'm not saying to avoid WBTB altogether, it can be useful, but don't then try to WILD, just go back to sleep with the intention of being aware in your dreams, of getting lucid.

You may want to try an entirely new approach for a while. Perhaps follow the Tibetan Dream Yoga approach, for example:
http://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-Yourself-Awake-Tibetan-Transformation/dp/159030957X
and
http://www.amazon.com/The-Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014 (you can find a pdf of this online via google)

One other idea is to transform your approach to lucid dreaming. Don't invest your happiness into getting lucid dreams, and don't try to "force" lucid dreams, but rather just keep doing all of the prerequisites (keep working on dream recall, and daytime awareness). The most dense periods of lucid dreaming I've had were when I was really happy and involved with my waking activities, and very physically active (and getting a lot of sunlight, in summer time).

You want your attention on dreaming, but no to make it the focus of your existence and your self-worth. You must still really want it, (in fact, "need" it), but at the same time, stay positive about your waking life, and your non-lucid dreams. If you can write pages of dream journal entries every night, that's pretty awesome in and of itself, be thankful for that, some people can't recall dreams at all.

If you basically give yourself a goal of living mindfully, of being continally aware of your consciousness whether waking or dreaming, you will absolutely start having lucid dreams.

There are some suggestions, I hope you find some of them useful, good luck!

Oh, p.s., join a community-focused LD forum where you can make LD buddies, chat, read, and write about LDing as much as you like. There are links to some great ones in the sidebar.

I would have been far more skeptical until something very similar happened to myself. For example this is sorta what I innitially went through, as it was an interesting emanation, it was being translated to words but the intent was deeper more subtle yet LOUD because I just had an what some call an awakening, it also reminded me how stuff communicates when I had DMT breakthroughs before:

"who is this?"

"the real you"

"what?"

"you can call me your higher if you like"

"oh, how do I know I am not just talking to myself?"

"You are talking to yourself silly!"

"what?"

"I am the non resistant part of us, the one that manifests, the dream-bus driver, the dream, the bus, the road and the passengers"

"umm..."

"you can call me Source too, or your Soul"

"what? your God?"

"yes, by that I mean YOU are"

"you mean you?”

"I am you"

"I have lost my mind"

"you mean you found it"

"how do I know you really me and not some random thoughts?"

Then my body just stats moving, like the "ego/ my human personality , was tossed in the back seat" (as the the body starts moving on its own and writes)
“Thoughtless thought that flows freely and abundantly without any resistance".

“omg wtf is going on, I am possessed, lol or nutz!!!!"

"possessed by the Spirit, your spirit"

"OMG!"

"yes that's what I am saying, oh Me GOD!"

“I must be dreaming”

“Indeed we are, we are the dream”.

“but how do I know?”

“you don't have to, we are so amazing we don't even know ourselves”...

My conversations got deeply more personal through the months it taught me much about the spirit of Play, with a supreme helping of WOO with a side of WOO. =)

When I saw the conversations with God if anything it re-affirmed that we ALL can do this, for we are IT.
It seems like this inner wisdom hits many of us in different ways, like the inner child, the guidance, the higher self, holy-spirit, soul, source, God, our light body, awareness behind the dream, collective unconscious ... names get funny don't they? What was so surprising was its always there in all of us, for it is all of us.

That form of communication seems much more quiet now days, I wonder if it only pipes in like that for learning, teaching although its always there with intuition and our inner guidance it seems.

Have any of you had your own conversations with GOD? (which I now often refer to as myLIFE, or mySELF). What kinds of things have you learned about yourself and your journey?

Edit: Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self, this is an amazing book on Lucid Dreams I found last year, whats interesting is Robert Waggoner the author finds what he calls the Awareness Behind the Dream and starts comunicating with it in the dreams and some in meditation and daily life. Its a fascinating book.

Haha my first lucid dream was triggered by an UFO in the sky because I used to have nightmares with them as a kid and thought to myself "oh, I always dream of UFOs" which led me to my first realization. Your mind becomes a lot clearer when you're faced with life-or-death situations, or just encounter something really unsettling or uncommon. The inner dialogue stops wandering away randomly and focuses exclusively on the object of our distress so it can find a solution or explanation more quickly.

However to have lucid dreams more often it's not the best approach to try inducing more scary situations in your dreams, rather it should be the overall clarity of your dreams which should be improved. Your clarity in dreams isn't that great usually (that's why you forget most of them by morning) but it gets a massive boost from scary situations. Like a muscle of your body, with practice you can strengthen your clarity in dreams (and waking life) as well with a few simple tricks and habits.

You must have heard about all of this before but I'll just give you the outlines just in case:

• keep a dream journal, helps remembering dreams, improves average dream clarity over time if done consistently
  
  
• reality checks when encountering anything in your waking life that catches your attention. the goal of this is to develop a habit of questioning reality as frequently as possible, because you'll keep this habit in your dreams as well.
  
  
• have a strong intention to lucid dream and to remember your dreams as you go to sleep. just tell yourself repeatedly "I'll have a lucid dream and remember my dreams" and really imagine yourself having a lucid dream, and plan ahead what you'd do if you become lucid.
  
  
• read a lot of material about the topic when you can and if you're genuinely interested in how deep the rabbit hole goes. a great book not many people know about but is extremely valuable for establishing a lucid dream practice: [http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014] The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep
  
  
• discuss your adventures on reddit :)

I love it. I can't help you, but I love it.

I used to work on lucid dreaming intensively, about 6 months in after all my techniques & known lucid dream producing practices I was able to achieve a state of lucidity while asleep each night. I believe in you friend!

Do you have a dream journal? They can help you begin recognizing your dream patterns.

Other than that I also highly recommend using the hand/face method. In dreams you have more or less than 5 fingers. While in a dream if you look at your hand and notice you have more/less than 5 fingers you can sometimes bring yourself lucid but it takes practice to not wake up immediately from noticing/excitement. Another thing is we don't dream faces, our subconscious fills them from the personalities our brains are thinking of, try and look at the faces (or lack-thereof) of the people in your dreams to remind yourself you're dreaming.

I'm working I tried to make the tips coherent as possible, sorry for any errors there may be.

There are a few books on lucid dreaming I highly recommend, I'll get you the names once I'm home.

It's something you have to keep at every night, but it's so worth the time it takes to achieve. Thanks for this post, I'm going to start getting back into it. Once you can reach lucidity while dreaming you get to live two lives and it's so rewardingly beautiful & fun. If you have any questions feel free to ask :)

Edit: Book #1 & Book #2 / Book #3

Those three books are all great ones for lucid dreaming, I only used the first two (Stephen LaBerge, very smart guy) initially but I added the third book to my repertoire later on and I highly recommend it as well. They're all pretty cheap on Amazon!

Hi, good to see someone else interested in the connection between the Physics and the ethics.

I'm not yet in a position to evaluate any of what you've set forth. Earlier I started this rather abortive discussion wondering about a connection between holistic science and Stoicism.. - I think it went nowhere because I don't know enough to discuss this in a coherent way.

For what it's worth, I've now finished Buhner's book, and am comfortable saying it's brilliant (I'm sure it contains many "minor insanities"). He gets into quantum genetics in one chapter - again, you're in a better position than I am to evaluate this technically.

I was convinced I wasn't crazy in wondering about the connection when I read the following, near the end of Buhner's book - it seems to me a great statement of Stoicism for the 21st Century:

>What is at risk, from our human point of view, is not the planet but our civilization... The important thing, however, is not that we die - or even that our species dies - for that is inevitable for all of us.
> everything returns to the Ocean of Being eventually
What is more important is how we live.
> We can live the life that is meant for us - just as every bird, microbe, white blood cell and plant does. And in the process we can love the sparrow and the hawk. We can do the work that Gaia has set before us. In the end that is all that anyone has. If there is any greater joy than the touch of my beloved's hand, I do not know what it is. If there is any greater satisfaction than doing the work that is mine to do, and doing it well, I know not what it is. And that joy, that satisfaction, can be found whether automobiles exist or not, whether skyscrapers exist or not, whether physicists exist or not - as it has always been. Our ancestors did not live diminished lives just because they did not know of Ph.D.s or cappucinos or airplanes or Mozart or nonlinearity.

I offer this not so much to promote Buhner, as to encourage you... this connection between the Physics and the Ethics seems very important, and if it's your work to do, then I'm glad you're doing it.

--
Edit: typos

I became lucid in a dream recently with a nose pinch. It was a nightmare and it occurred to me that I might be dreaming. I nose-pinched and breathed normally. I was very grateful for that bout of lucidity. It's the only time I have been aware that an RC led to lucidity, but I can't tell that it doesn't occur more often because many of my lucid dreams seem to just start lucid, but if I think back it seems that I must have been dreaming when I became lucid but I don't recall how ... considering that I don't remember all my dreams, by far (2 a night, usually), I am sure there are many other lucid dreams that I simply don't remember. I awakened two days ago after a WBTB that had seemed to fail, as I couldn't remember any lucid dreams when I woke up, but as I was recording one of my ordinary dreams I suddenly remembered a lucid dream! I have no doubt that many others are forgotten.

Do the RCs, they will help ... and do the other practices that are pertinent to training your brain to lucid dream.

Dream_Hacker mentions LaBerge's book, and I would also refer you to Daniel Love's "Are You Dreaming? Exploring Lucid Dreams: A Comprehensive Guide." It really is* comprehensive.

You can get it here: https://www.amazon.com/Are-You-Dreaming-Exploring-Comprehensive/dp/0957497709 ...

You can also watch some of Daniel Love's videos to get a sense of whether you respond well to his style. I have had a recent success using a couple of his videos during a WBTB attempt. His YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJaUAmw7TCFXBwAULWZwslA.

I also like Tipharot's videos ... I watched one of his videos (How To Lucid Dream In 5 Minutes) for the first time about 2 weeks ago, did what he said in the video and had a nice long lucid that very night. Check him out: https://www.youtube.co/watch?v=WBHhOrqQKUw.

It takes more than 5 minutes, of course, but I had been practicing a lot of what he said to do already.

One of things I learned from Tipharot is that meditation is best done within a couple of hours of going to bed.

It has been established by scientific research that meditators have more lucid dreams than non-meditators, but doing it later in the evening was new for me - and the first time I mediated late, I had a lucid dream.

There are, btw, lots of styles of meditation, but I've read that for LD purposes, mindful breathing is one of the most effective styles.

It depends on what you're drawn to. Are you more interested in interpretation of story for your own personal growth? Or interpretation of films? Or are you looking to create stories?

The best books I know on this subject at least on interpretive myth include:

• Women who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes (sure it's about women's stories which can dissuade some younger men learning about this subject but it's seriously one of the best books on how to interpret a myth out there)
  
• The Hero Within by Carol S. Pearson. This is more if you're trying to find your own personal mythology for instance.
  
• The Water of Life by Michael Meade is tremendous. He does amazing events around the United States and gives good performances as well as talks and storytelling online via his non-profit Mosaic Voices.
  
• To learn more about interpretation and ways to interact with your unconscious, I'd recommend many of Robert A. Johnson's books specifically Inner Work however Transformations of Masculine Consciousness, He, She, We and Living with the Heavenly Goddess are good too depending on what topic you're interested in.
  
• For storytelling, I'd recommend the book Healing Hearts Communities which consists of a collection of stories which are appropriate to use for a variety of modern requirements. So you have stories talking about addiction or violence etc.
  
  In my experience, after Campbell people usually begin to drift toward what their personal myths are. So you have some people who get really into film and get caught on Vogler or Bonnet's work, others who want to go help returning veterans and end up getting really into Odysseus in America. Or people begin focusing on different cultures and religions and move from there.

Don't isolate yourself. That's probably the most important rule to "get a life" anytime during your life, not just the medical training part. I enjoyed Barbara Sher's TED talk on this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2rG4Dg6xyI

But of course, that's much easier said than done. I'd recommend putting yourself out there more. Join some hobby-activity groups. I'm sure students at your school have formed sports teams, hiking clubs, running clubs, frisbee clubs, etc. Some of my classmates formed a movie-club, and another one formed a restaurant dining-out club to try out new foods. Go volunteer to meet new people. Even if you don't like these activities, just give them a try one time. It sounds like you don't have other things planned anyway, so you've got nothing to lose.

I'll bet that you might already have a hobby/goal that you've always wanted to do but never got around during med school or feel it's too daunting. Identifying this and carrying through requires some more work, but the end result will be satisfying. Again, Barbara Sher has this book called "I could do anything if i only knew what it was." It's more focused on careers, but a few of the examples are about hobbies. I recommend reading it, it's pretty easy to read and feels more like an exercise book (it guides you in narrowing down what you want to accomplish and help you find ways to accomplish them). https://www.amazon.com/Could-Anything-Only-Knew-What/dp/0440505003

G'luck, and congrats on finishing up med school!

Also, i'm not affiliated with Barbara Sher in any way, nor do I get any compensation for promoting her work. I just like her message.

I may be freaking out...

My favorite character is Mal (and yes, my username is dedicated to him). His loyalty is astounding. His crew is his family and I think it's extremely admirable. He keeps his head in times of hardship and usually pulls through with even a laugh or two. I love that he surrounds himself with people he'd like to be more like; or at least people with qualities he feels he's lost. He admires Kaylee for her innocence, Book for his faith, Simon's love for his sister and dedication to learning, etc. He knows he's had to bury this qualities in himself, so he keeps them close in other people so he doesn't forget them.

Items:

• Everyone needs this book
  
• Comics, obviously
  
• I love shirts! shirt1 and shirt2 and shirt3 and shirt4 and shirt5 and shirt6 and shirt7 and my favorite shirt
  
• And a patch to always show off
  
• I know we all aim to misbehave
  
• And this is my favorite poster
  
• Serenity blueprints
  
• The men
  
• The ladies
  
• Travel
  
• Map
  
• Nothing is cooler than this
  
• Pretty awesome, too
  
• Little Wash
  
• And Jayne's sidearm

Perfect timing!

I've finally got around to playing more seriously with a Dream Yoga type approach (having done lucid dreaming for years), one reasonably independent from any particular traditional worldview hopefully - although various sources can act as inspiration. (The questions raised in Robert Waggoner's great book got me interested again, for instance, along with Rupert Spira and Greg Goode's writings on non-duality, Douglas Harding, and others.)

I've been experimenting with trying to be more direct, and 'overwrite' the sense of boundaries with empty space, to create a direct non-dual, open feeling - a sort of unbroken 'ideational space':

>As stated above, an important part of this practice is to experience yourself as a dream. Imagine yourself as an illusion, as a dream figure, with a body that lacks solidity. Imagine your personality and various identities as projections of mind. Maintain presence, the same lucidity you are trying to cultivate in dream, while sensing yourself as insubstantial and transient, made only of light. This creates a very different relationship with yourself that is comfortable, flexible, and expansive.

>In doing these practices, it is not enough to simply repeat again and again that you are in a dream. The truth of the statement must be felt and experienced beyond the words. Use the imagination, senses, and awareness in fully integrating the practice with felt experience. When you do the practice properly, each time you think that you are in a dream, presence becomes stronger and experience more vivid. If there is not this kind of immediate qualitative change, make certain that the practice has not become only the mechanical repetition of a phrase, which is of little benefit. There is no magic in just thinking a formula; the words should be used to remind yourself to bring greater awareness and calm to the moment. When practicing the recognition, "wake" yourself – by increasing clarity and presence – again and again. until just remembering the thought, "This is a dream," brings a simultaneous strengthening and brightening of awareness

• The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
  
  (Thanks to /u/Nefandi for the heads up on this sub's existence.)

Get this book by Barbara Sher. Ignore the title of the book (you already know what you want to be) and go straight to the chapter about "going against your tribe." That chapter deals EXACTLY with what you are facing now. Read it and think. Also look up Barbara's website and join her forum. You will find people who's whole purpose is to support each other in the process of trying to achieve their dreams.

One of the ways I have personally learned to cope with the "who I really am" thing recently is to imagine a border collie raised among Newfoundland dogs.

"Newfies" are HUGE, born and bred to be water dogs capable of rescuing people in cold, rough seas. They are also docile and relatively quiet creatures when kept at home. When hanging around the house, Newfies are often like a quietly-snoring chunk of furniture that relocates itself every once in a while. They are better off if they have access to challenging cold waters.

A purebred border collie, on the other hand, was born to herd, born to work, born to GTFO and RUN all over the countryside. Border collies are bundles of determined energy. Keeping a border collie cooped up in the house all day is inviting disaster. If you don't give a border collie what it REALLY needs, it can go a little nuts and expend it's energy by chewing up the furniture.

So there you are, chewing up the family "furniture" of your parents expectations by being born as a different "breed" than them. That's not your fault. It's who you are.

You were NOT born to swim in the ocean of doctoring, plunging through medical school to rescue people from the rushing tides of illness and defying scary, ice-filled storm waves to bring those victims safely back to shore.

You were born to "herd" technical details, to run 'em fast and far. You were born with restless geek energy to create and to fix and to innovate. If you were plunged into the medical "ocean" of where your parents want you to be, you'd have a hell of a problem.

Conversely, can you imagine a newfie running around trying to herd sheep or whatever? It wouldn't be a very pretty sight. I don't think any newf would understand how awesome that experience is for a real border collie.

So there you are, being like a border collie stuck with newfies for parents. They can't even imagine the world you are REALLY suited for, the true world where you would be honestly happy. Happiness for them is in challenging those ocean waves. They can't wrap their minds around happiness coming from being in a completely different environment and working world.

That's why they say stupid things like "when you grow up, you will have no friends because they will all become successful and leave you behind and you will still be a failure."

Well, duh... a metaphorical newfie-brain would consider anything that ISN'T 100% newfie to be a failure at life. You aren't out there in the ocean like they want you to be. That means you'd "suck at life" in their eyes no matter what. You could win some kind of freakin' awesome nobel prize thing at engineering and they'd probably still consider you a failure at life because of their narrow view of what happiness really is.

>Should I just give in and do what they want?

Accept and love your metaphorical newfie parents as who they really are. Understand that what they have for you is sadly misdirected love, not really understanding or accepting who YOU really are.

Wiser parents than yours would actually step back, realize that their kids are separate creatures from then and accept and support their children's real dreams.

As you learn to accept your metaphorical newfie parents as they are, learn to accept yourself as the metaphorical border collie that YOU are. :)

Step into the world where you belong, and you WILL find your friends, people like you who understand and love you for who you really are and were born to do. :)

Go run with the geeks, go chase down those engineering challenges, bark like hell and and direct those ideas into new realms. You'll find others who were built like you and will be positive friends with you as you become honest with yourself and the world regarding what you were born to do.

So have the courage to quit looking for approval from your well-meaning but depressing parents and go run with the geeks.

Heck... go see if your ultimate dream could be to design and build amazing devices that doctors could use to save lives. That would bridge the gap between your world and theirs. :)

EDIT: Holy hell, that was long. I'm not going to bother with a tl;dr here. The above paragraphs are the product of my own trying to fit myself into a lifetime of the wrong pigeonhole and thinking I was "failing at life" because I never followed the real dreams I never knew I had. I had to get breast cancer and check out of life for a few years myself in order to finally realize who I am and what I should have done in life. I will leave the sum total of my learning as it is... if someone else wants to do a tl;dr for this, then go for it.

If you've already located the Jungian analysts in your city, then a next step might be to email all of them and ask them what they think about your project of learning active imagination and how they think they could be helpful for you. Maybe then meet with a few of them that give you the sort of reply you'd be hoping for and see which of them feels like a good fit for you, that is, does this person feel like someone I could trust, feel safe with, learn from, etc.

Analysts responses to your interest may vary. My analyst told me that in his training it was frowned upon to teach active imagination to a patient/client until they had done enough psychological work that the analyst had a sense that the patient/client could do active imagination without being overwhelmed by the unconscious with disturbing, disorienting, images and emotions. Also, like you, I've been practicing vipassana for years and have come to see Jungian analysis as it's own wisdom tradition that has an individual inner component and an equally important interpersonal/relational component with the analyst that works through stages of analysis leading to transformation.

"In Jung’s approach the first phase is ‘confession’, during which time the patient shares their story, experiences and problems with the therapist. Secondly, ‘elucidation’ involves working out the transference relationship which may involve interpretation. The third stage of ‘education’ extends the insights and expands them into the social, behavioural and archetypal dimensions, while the fourth stage of ‘transformation’ assists the patient in the process of individuation (Samuels, 1990, p.177)"
Samuels, A. (1990). Jung and the Post-Jungians. London, England: Routledge.

Anyway, I wish you good fortune in your exploration. Neither vipassana nor Jungian analysis is quick, but in my experience, both lead slowly toward greater insight, freedom, and wholeness.

Also, the following books may be useful in learning active imagination on your own.

Jung on Active Imagination edited by Joan Chodorow https://www.amazon.com/Jung-Active-Imagination-C-G/dp/0691015767/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RQMWTAA2HM0C&keywords=jung+on+active+imagination&qid=1562245928&s=gateway&sprefix=jung+on+active+im%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-1

Robert Johnson - Inner Work https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Work-Dreams-Imagination-Personal/dp/0062504312/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=robert+johnson+inner+work&qid=1562245758&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Barbara Hannah - Encounters with the Soul https://www.amazon.com/Encounters-Soul-Active-Imagination-Developed/dp/1630513504/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=hannah+active+imagination&qid=1562246007&s=gateway&sr=8-4

If you haven't already, try reading some books on shamanism. Michael Harner is excellent, he was an anthropologist and his book Way of the Shaman is fascinating. It may be overwhelming at first, but start where you're comfortable. Serge King is a Huna shaman who takes a gentler approach and may be better to start with. His books, Urban Shaman and Huna are helpful for contemporary times. I'll put a link to a description of the books at the end.

If you're having bad energy, finding a spirit guide will help. Begin a quiet meditation in a comfortable place, when it feels right, invite an animal spirit guide to assist you. Be respectful, don't necessarily go with whoever shows up first or who you think it should be. When the right guide arrives, you'll know. Over time, you'll get to know them. Others will come to help through other times, often guides that you won't understand at first, but they will become clear as you reflect.

Harner https://www.shamanism.org/products/bk101.html

King https://www.amazon.com/Urban-Shaman-Serge-Kahili-King/dp/0671683071

Hey, I often have similar problems. I often have one specific recurring theme, but I actually try to make the most of it. If you we have troubles like this repeatedly during the night, this means we most likely have them during the day, too. They're somewhere there in the back of our minds. Lucid dreaming is a great way to face our problems and learn to accept them and get over them. It's best while dreaming to save us the trouble from having to face them in real life, so it's a real advantage.

Strive to become lucid during such a dream (I have yet to) and ask the characters you have trouble with what the problem is. Talk to them. Make friends with them. Get at the very root of the problem, whatever it is. Ask the dream to help you overcome it. Eventually with determination you'll be able to completely overcome the mental problem both in the dream and waking world.

I strongly recommend this book for further reading on how we can improve ourselves and overcome all our mental problems while sleeping. It's a really fantastic book.

Good luck, and try not to run away from your fears, but face them boldly!

I am currently lapsed in my dream practice. I have found it to be pretty difficult, but immensely rewarding.

Another source of good teachings that mix modern lucid dreaming techniques with Tibetan dream yoga are Charlie Morley’s excellent books. He was authorized to tech dream yoga by Lama Yeshe, a Karma Kagyu lineage holder. In particular, I would recommend “Dreams of Awakening” Dreams of Awakening

Dream practice is super rewarding...and FUN! I need to get back to it!

I feel for you. I think all of us struggle at one point or another to find the purpose in our existence and chase happiness. I think one of the best things that has helped me is travel and spending time alone with myself. Obviously you can be alone without traveling very far, but sometimes it makes it easier to listen to your inner voice when you are in a strange place. I know financially travel may not be an option right now, but that's okay.

Set aside a small amount of time every day to find your inner voice. This might be through meditation, journaling, or just quiet time. No devices, no distractions, just be alone with yourself. Think about the times you have been happiest, the things that make you feel like you have a purpose here. Try to slowly collect the key characteristics of those experiences--what do they have in common? From there, you can begin to craft a plan for progress.

Another suggestion I have is to use a book like "I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was". (There are quite a few others out there too.) This particular book has some really cool exercises that help you tease these things out, and you can work through it during some of your quiet time or use it to help direct your thinking. I wish you all the best of luck!

Going to echo what many are saying: start journaling your dreams and working on your dream recall. If you like to write them down keep pen and paper by your bedside. You can also type them into your phone if that’s easier but keep your screen brightness way down. I recommend writing rather than the phone as the screen might wake you up too much to go back to sleep quickly if it’s one of your first dreams in the night.

Also suggest getting a book to begin your journey. My personal fav is the Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming: A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming: Mastering the Art of Oneironautics https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761177396/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nYyJBbD9Q2VSD

But an essential that is also fantastic is Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming: Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming https://www.amazon.com/dp/034537410X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_VZyJBbDYD9XR9

Have patience and enjoy the growth :)

Two books that I highly recommend if you're delving into the more transcendental aspects of lucid dreaming and looking to hone your skills:

The Tibetan Yogas of Sleep and Dreams - Tibetan Buddhists of the Dzogchen school have a tradition of lucid dreaming that spans millenia, they believe that in the dreamless sleep that the "clear light of consciousness" is revealed. It was one of the most powerful texts that I have read, especially given my own LD experiences. They say that for highly skilled lifetime practitioners that every dream is lucid, sleep stops "being sleep" but instead becomes a dissolution of ego and nightly transcendence. Fascinating stuff.

I also highly recommend The Lucid Dreamer: A Waking Guide for the Traveler Between Worlds. It is incredibly well written, full of full color photos, and exercises. It discusses not just techniques from all over the globe for LD induction and preservation, but also discusses at length the science, history, and cultural significance of dreaming throughout time. It explores the use of LDs by shamans, Sufi mystics, the Prophet Muhammad, Australian indigenous peoples, and a ton more. I still keep this book by my bed a year after finishing it; amazingly helpful.

Both books can be had on Amazon used for ~$5 each. Absolutely worth it. Especially since reading about LDing before bed is one of the best ways to trigger an LD.

I'm actually not sure what book /u/PachoWumbo is referring to, but I can help out with the comics. Each are stand alone volumes so reading them in chronological order is unnecessary. They're also a collection of stories, some actually recounting tales from another time, so it's hard to fit those in chronological order perfect. The best I can do is give you a description of each, put them in very loose chronological order, and let you decide.

• Serenity Vol 3 - The Shepherd's Tale: Covers Book's backstory and secret past, so this is technically "first". As I mentioned in my previous comment the book is controversial. A lot of people didn't like it, some did.
  
• Serenity Vol 2 - Better Days and Other Stories: Includes "Better Days", "The Other Half", "Downtime", and "Float Out". Basically like more episodes following the series. This is roughly next, but Float Out technically takes place after Serenity and it's about a few of Wash's friends recounting old tales of him in the wake of his death. So kind of before and after at the same time. This is also where we find out...something important about Zoe. (Edit: Apparently I don't know how to do spoiler tags...)
  
• Serenity Vol 1 - Those Left Behind Takes place sort of after the last one, still before the movie. Kind of like more episodes.
  
• Serenity Vol 4 - Leaves on the Wind - Takes place after the movie. A bit after the "Float Out" story in the Better Days trade.
  
  It's not perfect chronological order, but as I said, they can all be read independently of each other.

Sure. I recommend this book by Robert Johnson as a great place to start. You can also check out my book about dreams and dream work. The first three chapters are available on Scribd. Look under "Links about Dreams" and click on the "Read the free sample" link on the right sidebar of this page.

If you'd like more recommendations or have a specific subtopic about dreams you'd like to investigate, leave a comment and I'll come back around tonight. Hope that helps!

I recommend spending some time on /r/luciddreaming . It's a community that teaches individuals the discipline and exercises necessary to control their dreams, understand those states of consciousness, and perform a variety of reality checks. This trains individuals to understand the various manifestations of consciousness. It also stresses all-day awareness; a form of mindfulness that emphasizes focus and appreciation of the phenomena of the waking world. Consciousness is not a black and white issue (awake/conscious/normal vs. unconscious/asleep); but rather a gradation of different manifestations (alert, stressed, groggy, dream, deep sleep, psychedelia, irritable, et al.).

I highly recommend "The Lucid Dreamer: A Waking Guide for the Traveler Between Worlds"; it details the history and use of dreams and altered states of consciousness throughout time and across societies. It also contains practical exercises for controlling conscious experience. While there is a large discussion of lucid dreaming within it, it has a very good discussion on the blurred sense of reality that DP/DR entails as experienced by many people throughout time; it frames that discussion in the historical and cultural understanding of these states of consciousness and discusses much of the science behind it.

This phenomenon is nothing new to mankind; shamans, sages, mystics, and others have all written and purposefully cultivated this sense of "no-self" since time immemorial. Read any text of Tibetan tantra, Dzogchen Buddhism, Sufi poetry, listen to shamans, or read the Upanishads and you will immediately see that these people are fully aware of this phenomenon. The Dzogchen school of Buddhism believes that all of waking reality is a form of dream; one believes the dream is real while they are in it, can one not say the same of waking life? There is hope; in learning to appreciate the curious phenomenon of "waking reality", understanding the nature of the Self, and appreciating the unity of natural processes, one can come to no longer be afraid or perturbed by the undulating forms in which conscious experience manifests.

Spiritual discipline of choice: mostly tibetan buddhism, though I like reading about hermeticism and egyptian stuff, and ive started to collect tarot decks (I have the Thoth and a couple other artsy decks). I suppose id fall under the umbrella of "chaos magick" if I had to choose

Favorite occult related subject: astrology, alchemy, egyptian art

Favorite type of ritual: I dont often do rituals myself, but after reading Jodorowsky's "Psychomagic" I became intrigued with the concept of Performance/theater/live art as ritual

Favorite book:
Most influential occult/magick/spiritual personality: Jodo influenced me heavily, though I think he's a bit of an asshole. (Also I grew up catholic, and still feel an aversion to Thelema. Aliester wrote some interesting stuff, and as I said I own his Thoth deck and absolutely love it, but his religion reminds me too much of what ive tried to distance myself from)

Amazon wishlist if you have one: Ive bought and lost this book twice, so id be happy if you bought it for me again: http://www.amazon.com/The-Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014

Or, any Marseilles or Raider-Waite tarot deck.

Or, get me your favorite book on magick! I likely dont have it (I have a few books on tarot already)

Or, an incense holder of any type

One thing you want your Secret Krampus to know about you: .. if I think of something ill update this!


Edit: added a list!

Sorry, I hope I didn't come across hostile. I didn't really like that book but that may just be because I've been spoilt by reading so many better books, it's probably quite interesting to someone who's not heard all this stuff before.

Yes jargon is a bit of a curse. Someone started a thread asking something similar earlier but they deleted it, so I'll just copy and paste my suggestions here...

There's no one-best-guide but there's a lot of trash.
IMHO you probably want to get about 2/3 books to get a balanced learning.

I'd recommend these:


Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming?
http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-LaBerge/dp/034537410X/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Are You Dreaming? Exploring lucid dreams, a comprehensive guide http://www.amazon.com/dp/0957497709/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Advanced Lucid Dreaming: the power of supplements

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Lucid-Dreaming-Power-Supplements/dp/1430305428/ref=pd_sim_b_4

The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming
http://www.amazon.com/Conscious-Exploration-Dreaming-Discovering-Control/dp/1585005398/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381059873&sr=1-1&keywords=conscious+exploration+of+dreaming

First two are must reads, third is useful if you're interested in supplements, fourth is less of a guide but has some useful info. The author Ryan Hurd does some good e-books too.

A lot of the other books out there are really dumbed down or get all wishy-washy and paranormal. Oh and don't bother with "learn to lucid dream in 30 days" or most of the other cheap e-books as you'll only end up wasting your money.

You clearly need a big change, but while homelessness and death both fulfill this requirement, they are not recommended.

If you're a creative introvert, then no sh*t you hate your repetitive, dead end, customer service job. The only question there is how have you managed to do it for six years? Give yourself some credit. You're tenacious if nothing else.

You need to find a career that better aligns with your personality and interests. But first, you may need a palate cleanser. Find another job that's not customer-facing immediately. Any other job that pays your bills. The boring and dead-end parts don't apply to a new, very different job, at least not immediately. Do this before you quit your current one.

With luck, that will give you the mental boost you need to devote some energy to figuring out what you can do that 1) you can tolerate if not enjoy, 2) that you can become qualified for, and 3) pays your bills. I recommend taking a look at a book called I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was. Yeah, it's a cheesy self-help book, but it's got a good framework for how to think this out.

Where's the rest of your family? Considered a move, either domestic or international?

Hope any of this is helpful. Good luck, don't die, and let us know how it goes. I've been there on the suicide thing and am here for you if you'd like to PM.

Hey, /u/OsakaWilson! Hope you are well.

The best approach you can find toward the subject is Carl Jung's writings. I am almost positive. It is analytical psychology, so it is a bit more of a stretch with the mind, but you will find what you are looking for, I bet. His works on dreams are compiled and fairly easy to find: Dreams by Carl Jung. I will dig up what I can on nightmares for you. He analyzed dreams of his patients and helped work them through it. Nightmares are discussed, but I'm not sure there's a step-by-step guide... rather a good method that he used to help rid others that you could learn from.

Sounds like you are quite walking the path already. While I'm quite interested by the subject, I don't know much, but your post resonated with the book I'm currently reading : https://www.amazon.com/Plant-Intelligence-Imaginal-Realm-Perception/dp/1591431352 I think it would quite interest you. It's great read about how everything is connected, intelligence all around us, and it change the look we have at the world around us. I'm still reading it, but lot's of amazing stuff in this book.

Sounds like you need to determine what is your passion and your interest. Dont get hung up about education, qualifications. The best book I ever read to help align me was https://www.amazon.com/Could-Anything-Only-Knew-What/dp/0440505003

Get yourself settled on what you want to try and then focus on how to find a job. Start talking to friends, colleagues, update LinkedIn profile and looking for good connections in the field you are looking for. The key is to pick up the phone, go meet people and put yourself out there!

I'm partial to Jungian psychology so I recommend anything dream-related by him or those he worked close with, namely Marie Louis Von Franz (IMO). A simple—and I mean simple—and good intro would be the book 'Inner Work' by Robert Johnson. It addresses a four-step approach to dream interpretation and active imagination. After that, I'd just read as much of Jung's writings about dreams as you can. Start with Dreams (from the Collected Works). Since Jung's psychology is so much about the unconscious, virtually everything you read will be relatable to dream interpretation in some way. There is a nice compendium edited by Joseph Campbell called The Portable Jung that features a great and mind-blowing essay called something like 'Relation Between the Ego and Unconscious,' and actually, now that I think of it, excerpts from the 'Dreams' book as well. 'Man and His Symbols' by Jung was the last thing he wrote and was intended to introduce the general public to his psychology, so you can also start there if you haven't checked out any Jung before. Get the one with pictures.

Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth - Robert A. Johnson

Johnson gives very clarified and flexible steps to be used in analyzing dreams along with how to use active imagination. This is the most structured and easily understandable reading for analyzing dreams and active imagination I have found.

Most of my lucid dreams generally happen on days where I simply refuse to get out of bed, really.

I'll get up, go pee, go back to sleep, roll around for a bit, falling in and out of sleep, and then eventually just find myself in a dream.

I think, though, like bobbaphet said, more important than keeping a dream journal, even, is that you buy into the fact that reaching a lucid state is possible for you, and then do your best to avoid getting disappointed or discouraged just because you didn't have one last night.

I know some fortunate people who say that they have lucid dreams just about every night and didn't even know what they were called until I brought the subject up. But for the rest of us, there isn't really a reliable switch to turn them on and off.

If you're still set on achieving a lucid state, I would recommend getting Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self by Robert Waggoner and read a couple of pages or a chapter or two before you go to sleep every night. He covers different methods for inducing LDs, all of the different things newbies struggle with and should look for, and there are a ton of his own personal experiences journalled in the book.

It was the first and only book I've read on the topic, and I started having my first LDs within 2 months after I started it.

Otherwise, maybe just try to clear your mind of the topic the best you can. Sometimes when you're in the dark, things are a little more clear when you're not* trying to look right at them.

EDIT: this post is about controlling the fantasies you have while masturbating, not about stopping masturbation.

1. There's nothing wrong with fantasizing during masturbation. And, by definition, your fantasies will be different from your real life. So my first piece of advice is to stop worrying about it.
   
   
2. Once you've relaxed a bit, you'll find that you're able to take part in your fantasies and even control them on a conscious level. This process is a lot like lucid dreaming, except it involves your fantasies rather than your dreams. You consciously enter your fantasies and take control of them. You can use this process to direct your fantasies to whatever outcome you wish.
   
   
3. For example, when your mind becomes lost in sissy fantasies, take control of the fantasy consciously. Imagine that behind the man dominating you is a door. Go through the door and imagine there is a Kate Upton type of girl there. She's naked and smiling at you. She explains that the sissy encounter was just a test. She had to be sure your were a real man before she would let you fuck her. She tells you you've passed the test (because you left the man and came to her) and she now belongs to you.
   
   
4. I've included a couple of links below about lucid dreaming. This will get you familiar with the subject. After that, you want to start treating your fantasies as if they were lucid dreams.
   
   Lucid Dreaming. --- Wiki entry for lucid dreaming
   
   Are You Dreaming --- A very good book that describes how to take control of your dreams. Techniques can loosely be applied to fantasies as well.
   
   
5. Contrary to popular belief, your sexuality is mutable. You are never forced into one type of behavior or another. You have choices and you have control. It just takes some training and practice to recognize that.

One

Two

Three

Or this. Which isn't released yet, but is a collection of the three.

There is also [this] (http://images.comiccollectorlive.com/covers/2d2/2d27af44-4b03-412e-a5d4-43df3eafac93.jpg) which is a very small (and rare) comic that was given out for free at some event or other I can't be bothered remembering. I'm pretty certain they're now only available through second hand purchase.

Better late than never.

The method the image describes is called WILD (Wake-induced Lucid Dreaming). There are a few things the image missed:

1. Don't focus on the hallucinations right before a dream (hypnogogic hallucinations).
   
   
2. WILD works best with the Wake/Back to Bed method (WBTB). Drink a moderate amount of juice or water before bed (enough that you'll have to pee in a few hours, but not enough to keep you awake). When you wake up, you'll be just out of REM sleep. Stay up for about 15 minutes, go to the bathroom, and perhaps get a drink. Think about lucid dreaming and focus on it. Then, when you eventually do the method in the image (or another one), you will have a much higher success rate.
   
   
3. WILD doesn't work for everyone. There are many other methods, such as DILD (dream-induced lucid dreaming) and MILD (mnemonic-induced lucid dreaming). If WILD fails, then try one of those two.
   
   If you want to learn more about lucid dreaming, there's an active forum at Dreamviews with a number of good resources. I also highly recommend Stephen LaBerge's Lucid Dreaming.

Hey dude, you've just described textbook sleep paralysis symptoms, which as you say share a lot of overlap with OBE exit sensations. It might feel strange but this is a normal experience and you are not in any danger, and if you so wished this could be used as a launch pad for lucid dreams and projections. This might be worth a read...Ryan Hurd is a dream and consciousness researcher who also experiences frequent bouts of sleep paralysis himself so his perspective on it is interesting.

http://dreamstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Sleep-Paralysis-Report-2010.pdf

His book "Sleep Paralysis: A Guide to Hypnagogic Visions and Visitors of the Night" may be worth a read.

http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Paralysis-Hypnagogic-Visions-Visitors/dp/0984223916

In the absence of any specific details about what you might be able to use in similar careers, I'm going to recommend my favourite career changing/focusing books:

If you're sure you're done with trading for the time being, I recommend these two books:

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2018: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard N. Bolles:
https://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2018/dp/039957963X/


I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It by Barbara Sher and Barbara Smith
https://www.amazon.com/Could-Anything-Only-Knew-What/dp/0440505003

They both have very useful exercises to help you clarify what you really want out of your vocation and career, and also how to build on all of your existing skills, knowledge and innate talents.

> but I struggle with the wbtb and can’t resist the urge to move so i fail at lucid dreaming

Just keep focusing on remaining still and eyes closed when waking up and hold onto the last dream. It's legitimately just habit building here, we've spent our whole lives not doing this so you have to be persistent for awhile.

Eventually you'll automatically stay still w/ eyes closed and mentally play over the dream you just exited as you lay there, grab the journal that's within easy reach and jot down enough to later jog that memory that you made by replaying the dream while initially awake.

edit: I'm in the beginning part of this book and it's really good, you should read it

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738751448/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yeah dreams are weird and if you can become lucid in them (what being aware that you are dreaming in a dream is called) and meditate in a dream (that is not the only thing you could do) it is a lot of fun and very interesting.

There are many resources out there on lucid dreaming and how to do it regularly. Right now I am working through A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming: Mastering the Art of Oneironautics by Dylan Tuccillo, Jared Zeizel, and Thomas Peisel. It has pretty straightforward instructions in plain English.

Yeah fam I got you.

Book:
Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062504312/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_n9JODbDYYQEJR

Site:
http://www.bodysoulandspirit.net/hypnagogia/what/hannah.shtml

I prefer the book to the site, but the site is pretty decent.

Active imagination is something that for the first X amount of times that you do it, it feels like nothing is happening or that you’re doing it wrong. But just be consist at it and do it for like 10 minutes before bed and eventually you’ll get it and you’ll go “woah”

I have, since early childhood, had very vivid dreams. Like one poster below, I learned how to wake myself up from nightmares. By the time I was ten or so, I could (and still can) almost always tell when I'm dreaming. I think it is more of a natural skill or propensity, which I associate with me being an unusually introspective child. Constant evaluation and reevaluation of phenomena as they present themselves to my senses helped with this. For instance, I used to always wonder what was beyond the darkness that surrounds my vision. No what happens when I move my eyes to look, but what is at the edge of my sense perception itself.

As an alternative method of inducing lucid dreaming, I highly recommend the book "The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep." http://www.amazon.com/The-Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014

This book is a bit dry, as it reads like an instruction manual, but it is a very practical guide to putting your mind in the correct position to achieve lucid dreaming (and beyond!). Given my natural propensity for lucid dreaming, I was able to access levels of awareness in dreams that I did not know were available. While I was practicing the recommended meditation nightly before bed, I often had philosophical conversations with dream-people and could even visit with dead family members!

I highly recommend this book ive been reading in regards to lucid dreaming for all dream related things because it covers briefly on many cultures and beliefs of the dream world aside from lucid dreaming. That part of the book is really interesting and can spark interest/give direction for different research for the dream world. The dream world is absolutely a form of living just as much as our waking times.
You might be able to delve a little deeper if youd like into this experience youve had.


A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming: Mastering the Art of Oneironautics https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761177396/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8XzkDbS21XM3Y

I bought the book Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide a while back, and found it to be very helpful. The author, Stephen LaBerge, has been researching and developing techniques for lucid dreaming since the 80s. I think he is considered one of the pioneers on lucid dreaming and lucid dreaming techniques.

A key first step is to start a dream journal. As you document your dreams, you will start to notice certain patterns, and this observation aides in dream recognition; that is, being able to tell that you are in a dream while you are dreaming.

Anyways, the book goes into a lot more detail, I'd highly recommend it!

Yeah, that definitely sounds like sleep paralysis - your brain is aware of what's in the room with you, and is adding freaky content on top of it...

Some people use sleep paralysis to their benefit. This is a really good guide if you're interested in learning more: https://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Paralysis-Hypnagogic-Visions-Visitors/dp/0984223916

Carl Jung is my favorite psychologist, he writes a lot about our subconscious through the use of archetypes and how they manifest themselves in our lives.

I'd recommend the book "Modern Man in Search of a Soul" by C.G. Jung. It contains all of his more popular musings. You can get it off Amazon for 12 bucks too!

Finally, if you believe you've awakened into ultima materia, be kind and help transmute others, would ya? :) The world could use a lot more self-realized individuals.

This book would be absolutely amazing Yay!


Edit: Changed books, it is also cheaper so you may be able to gift someone else as well!

Yes, mystery has always been my favorite genre too! They're like puzzles!

I really like "A Field Guild to Lucid Dreaming." I categorize this as a "self-help" book because, due to trauma I experienced as a teen, I have frequent nightmares. I have read many books on lucid dreaming, but this one seemed to have the most information and help the most. Also, not really a self-help book, but Freedom Planner really helped me straighten up my life, accomplish goals, and plan for the future. I hear INFJs are known for procrastinating. Hehe.

from your description i think you've inadvertently stumbled upon sleep yoga or 'clear light' practice. from p. 161 of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's 'The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep':

"As consicousness withdraws from the senses, allow the awareness to move smoothly through the tigles until only non-dual awareness - the clear light of the central tigle - remains. It is as if the body spirals down into sleep while you spiral down into the clear light."

what is a tigle? in the context of this practice it is a small sphere of light representing particular qualities of consciousness or, in the case of the central tigle, representing pure rigpa.

i think you might benefit by pursuing this practice.

Read a couple books, there's more to it then we can get across in a reddit post. This one is a good one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738751448/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

But in general yeah you first need to remember and routinely experience your dreams before you can work on lucidity. Dream journal and also intention building leading up to sleeping, like getting yourself 'in the zone' and focused on the upcoming task (remembering and experiencing dreams).

Oh yes my friend and they are awesome.
Volume 1- "Those Left Behind"
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Vol-Those-Left-Behind/dp/1593074492
Volume 2- "Better Days"
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Vol-2-Better-Days/dp/1595821627

I've had a similar experience where I was meditating for nearly an hour, my body fell asleep after 20 minutes, everything was starting to go limp, jaw gaping and I felt less outside stimuli. My mind went wild and it was harder to concentrate, but I imagine the process to be similar to absorption if not the same if you can manage to keep concentrated.

In dream yoga which us similar to lucid dreaming, but with the intetion of being able to further your practice in your sleep by applying what's cultivated in meditation to your dreams, there is apparently a point that can be reached where a subtle kind of awareness can be held during deep/non dreaming sleep to the extent that one can meditate all throughout the night in their sleep in and out of dreams. I read about it in The Tibetan Yogas Of Dream and Sleep.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1559391014?pc_redir=1414614701&robot_redir=1

I have noticed a similar effect on myself.
Here's a book about the Tibetan practice of dream yoga. One of the first steps is to develop stability in waking life through meditation. It teaches how to gain lucidity in your dream life, but the purpose of lucidity according to the practice isn't just to have fun being awake inside your dreams.
You might also want to post or x-post into /r/LucidDreaming -

Dreams of Awakening - Charlie Morley


This is what I'm reading at the moment. It's a pretty decent book which covers the very basics of lucid dreaming and then goes on to talk about what Dream Yoga is and how it should be practised.


I find myself agreeing with the author on most things, and his writing style is very understandable and easy to read. It also has a tonne of references and recorded dreams, which leaves plenty of background reading.

I was the same way until recently... I'm 28 but I had a natural aversion to books. I just couldn't get in to them and found myself completely uninterested. As I'm getting older TV seems boring as heck and I seem to get bored with the internet. So, after digging and browsing around I found some things I'm interested in and started looking for books on the subjects (since my internet search results weren't sufficing enough information to my liking.) I have a couple of books going for me one book http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761177396/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691057761/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Everyone has their own interests but once you find your niche, I think it will be helpful. Also, I find reading more than one book at once as a bit of a help because sometimes you just need a break. :)

• The Voluntary Life podcast talks a lot about similar topics.
  
• Nonviolent communcation by Rosenberg is great. You can find workshops of him on youtube.
  
• The Psychology of Self-Esteem is quite similar on some points but works with objectivist instead of the relativistic ethics.
  
• I could do anything is a bit different. It's mainly about a book about finding out what you want to do with your career. Its main premise is that you got an inner conflict which prevents you from wanting what you really want
  
• Feeling good by David D. Burns. This book features cognitive-behavioral therapy which corrects your faulty thinking. It's well written, easy to apply and you can learn quite fast where you limit / manipulate yourself.
  
  I could recommend some books on business / entrepreneurship which also fit his narrative if somebody wants.

This might look corny to you, but check out this book ... I'm reading it right now and it has some potent exercises for gaining some awareness about yourself and your drives and desires.

>A life without self-love, spirituality, and meaningful contact with other people is not a life worth living.

You already know what you want. Start doing something to get it. Clearly you've put enough thought into what's holding you back -- start taking some steps to move beyond those things. It is entirely possible and maybe not as difficult as you may want to believe.

At one point I read pretty much everything that was released on the topic at the time. The most digestible book I read on the topic was The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep.

It was a while back, but the visualizations were not so useful to me. VILD never worked so well for me either, so that's just me. Having different parts of the night take on different themes, I really go something out of. For example, after waking up between midnight and morning, you engage the feeling of "wrath" (which from their description seems closer to extreme bravery) while going back into a dream. From the posts, this is something that a whole lot of people could benefit from.

This makes me feel like we need a thread to talk about what we’re currently reading. I think that’d be cool.

I’m reading Magic, Witchcraft and Religion and re-reading Urban Shaman right now. First one’s a textbook so it’s really dry but it’s fascinating anyway. Second one is a personal favorite I keep going back to. And I was just gifted In the Devil’s Snare which I’ve been meaning to read for a while, so I’ve got my hands full too.

Well even though it isn't space I do recommend Red Dead Redemption. It's got a more serious tone than Firefly, but it's still on the level.

Stargate: Universe, from what I've seen, has been pretty good. My dad loves watching it - it's an ensemble in space - might be up your alley?

Definitely check out the comic books on amazon of Firefly/Serenity, though to fight off the depression just a little bit longer.

If you're a bookworm with a deep pocket, here's a list of books on Amazon:

Serenity Vol 1

Serenity Vol 2

Serenity Vol 3

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind

Firefly The Official Companion Volumes One and Two

Firefly: Still Flying

Firefly: A Celebration

This book helped me out a ton: Inner Work - Robert Johnson

I too am a super heavy dreamer (I wake wanting to go back into my dreams) and the analysis that I get from my dreams after reading this book is outstanding.

I noticed your love for Firefly, so this what I suggest. somethingto helpwith thethe factit took a fandomto show the worldhow awesome the series is

Have you tried The Phase by Michael Raduga. By "phase" he means astral or energy depending on the context. His eBook is free here.

One of the things I recently discovered makes it difficult for learners is that trying to AP directly as your body falls asleep is much more difficult than learning to do it right when you wake up in the morning or after a nap.

This more "indirect" method is commonly called the 4am method. (It can be 6am, 8am or whatever time works best for you of course.). It allows you to identify when your mind state and level of bodily relaxation are ready to go AP.

I suggest reading this book.

https://www.amazon.com/Phase-Shattering-Illusion-Reality/dp/1500578037

I read many books on AP and tried many different techniques. This book described a method dubbed "the indirect method" that worked for me after 2 weeks of attempts.

Basically, trying to AP directly from the waking state is the hardest way to go about doing it and requires the most practice and skill. The indirect method induces AP from either a lucid dream or as soon as you wake up from sleeping.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

I just bought the physical versions on amazon, there seem to be large format and small format versions of some of them..

I'm probably the last person to give advice on how/where/how though, i know ziltch about comic books or graphic novels.

These are the links to ones i bought, of them was a collection of several of them:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593074492/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595827390/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595825614/

I'm pretty sure you could probably track down digital versions through your favorite pirate outfit if you roll that way... (i honestly have no idea)

I have not, but a lucid dreamer named Robert Waggoner talks about his experience in his book, Lucid Dreaming . It happens sometimes, and hopefully it doesn't stop you from continuing to LD. I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn more about the subconscious minds' role in lucid dreaming, and false awakenings as well.

This book is exceptional, I've heard Waggoner speak before and he's extremely experienced and informed on the subject and I highly recommend it! http://www.amazon.com/Lucid-Dreaming-Gateway-Inner-Self/dp/193049114X
Some classic tips are asking your self if you're dreaming often while you are awake in order to be more aware of it and so more likely to wonder it while you are "unconscious". Also recommended is looking at your hands, looking at your digital alarm clock since electronics don't seem to work the same way in the dreamstate, etc.
http://lucidadvice.com/LucidDreamingLinks.aspx
Best of luck!

I learned about lucid dreaming about 6 years ago, I had already been doing some of it without knowing what it meant. Then I read some books like dreamgates and a book by Robert Waggoner that really helped a lot.
For me, if I set my mind to do it, it happens, but if I'm too caught up in day to day life, or even to desperate to see a lucid dream it doesn't happen.
When I'm focused I can have one or two lucid dreams a night every night. When I'm not (currently I'm not all that focused) I have maybe one a month or maybe every other month.
As far as control over the dream itself, it depends on how stable my state of mind is. Desperation and too high of expectations always kills my ability to control my dreams.

There are comics that continue the story, though it's not an ongoing series, just the occasional one-shot or miniseries. Check out Serenity: Float Out and Serenity: Leaves on the Wind, which take place after Serenity, plus Serenity: Better Days and Serenity: Those Left Behind, which bridge the gap between Firefly and Serenity.

There's also Serenity: the Shepherd's Tale, which is the long-awaited backstory of Shepherd Book, but I recommend skipping it. It's a decent enough story on its own, but in the context of Firefly, it's full of plot holes big enough to drive a Mack truck through.

The full chronological order is The Shepherd's Tale - Firefly - Better Days - Those Left Behind - Serenity - Float Out - Leaves on the Wind.

Urban Shaman and The Robot's Guide to Freedom are both books which received a 5 star rating from the reviewers on Amazon.

Best of luck.

Check out Yoga Nidra for a systematic sleep meditation which should be conducive to LD. It's a body scan and visualization.

I've had the most epic LD's after trying the exercises from the Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep. Like the kind where you spend what seems like years of time in a few hours of sleep. This was right after coming home from retreat though, so ymmv.

The Tibetan process is a little more dogmatic (woowoo) and if you're not attuned to subtle energies it's not going to be worth your time, as it involves blocking energy channels and paying attention to chakras. Yoga Nidra is far more approachable.

It should be said that I'm far too much of a weed smoker to be deep in the LD camp, I just hang out here.

The Wikipedia article on Dream Yoga may be of use to you.

I hear The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep is widely recommended.

I imagine such practices require a great deal of concentration.

I have heard anecdotal stories of yogis who have almost maintained total mindfulness over 24 hours, slipping only during the times of entering and exiting sleep states. This implies that they are maintaining total mindfulness in the dream states.

Well then we are in the same boat. I'm really looking into meditation for lucid dreaming, maybe you'd wanna give it a whirl. Try Are You Dreaming? By Daniel Love which is one of my favorite books on the subject. Feel free to pm me if you want to work with somebody on LD

Edit: formatting

I bought Vol 1 and 2 paperbacks. Vol 1 actually looks like the Amazon photo but with the "Firefly Class" stamp added, so I don't know what that makes it.

The Volume 2 I got is the original without the stamp or the "...And Other Stories"

Shepard's Tale is hardcover only, apparently. In retrospect, I wish I had just ordered them all in hardcover anyway.

The Science Of Yoga By I. K. Taimni


The most direct and rapid means to eternal bliss

The most direct and rapid means to eternal bliss (full text website)

Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm: Beyond the Doors of Perception into the Dreaming of Earth

If you want a great foundation re: how to 'approach it from a good angle', try Richard A. Johnsons' book, Inner Work.

I got a book called "The Lucid Dreamer". I haven't read it yet, but it looks really good in terms of production quality. I also grabbed "The Dream Drugstore" which looks a bit into the psychology behind it. I need to add Are You Dreaming? to me list.

http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Vol-Those-Left-Behind/dp/1593074492

That's the first volume. The second one is called Better Days and the most recent one is A Shepherd's Tale. The first two volumes are events that happen between the end of Firefly and the beginning of Serenity! A Shepherd's Tale tells the much needed story behind Book. They are amazing!

A wildly-stoned guess, but maybe your conscious mind isn't communicating with your unconscious mind as well as it did as a child.

Children have more active imaginations than adults, and possibly something that was going on in your life caused this psychological function to "stunt" and peaked out through the symbolism of the exploding, dark figure and the black mass with tentacles that fed on your fear.

The free flow of through the valve of communication between your conscious and unconscious minds when dreaming lucidly might've been shut enough to deny such a flow between the two.

As for getting it back, trying practicing healthy dream-interpretation. This book is great.... http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Work-Dreams-Imagination-Personal/dp/0062504312

I can assure you that you're not the only consciousness in dream-space.

You're actually at a good stage to become a more serious lucid dreamer. If you don't mind having your beliefs challenged, I would strongly recommend you read Robert Waggoner's book.

Serenity is a MUST OWN!

And looky here this is totally related too!! And used is totally A-OK with me. :) (It's on my "Reading Materials" list)

Thank you for the contest. deputydawg


I think you had foot loops for breakfast.

I recommend “Are You Dreaming” by Daniel Love.
https://www.amazon.ca/Are-You-Dreaming-Exploring-Comprehensive/dp/0957497709

You may enjoy these books The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural
Light by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu.

Dream Yoga is a practice that originated in India and has been an integral aspect of Vajrayāna for centuries.

Lucid dreams are about being aware, not being in control. Robert Waggoner, when describing the issue of dream control in his book, details that a dreamer controls the dream in the same way a sailor controls the sea. A partial lucid dream would actually be one in which the dreamer is not completely aware.

Try tibetan dream yoga/lucid dreaming. In the very least, it will let you see in your dreams, better than you've ever experienced(since everything you see is your mind, the resolution is infinite, and therefore feels hyperreal). But in the long run, it's still a legit path to enlightenment, perhaps, more visual/evident than others.

There is an audio book on the subject by Andrew Holecek. Listen to his interview here:
https://soundcloud.com/lucidsage/dream-yoga-with-andrew-holecek-the-lucid-dreaming-podcast

There's actually a good book about lucid dreaming AND meditation, check out Dreaming Yourself Awake.

There's about as many meditation techniques/styles as there are forms of fitness routines, FYI.

I haven’t read it, but The Tibetan Yogas Of Dream And Sleep is supposed to be good.

Actually, I just googled the book and it looks like it might be helpful for both of us - https://www.amazon.com/Could-Anything-Only-Knew-What/dp/0440505003 - to quote one of the reviews,

In a nutshell, what the book does is this:

1. Discusses many reasons (psychological or not) why one doesn’t know what one wants do in life;
   
2. Encourages the reader to get into action, choosing any random activity in order to exercise the “muscles” he/she will need when he/she finally discovers his/her calling;
   
3. Explains the core psychological issues (resistance) that keep one from knowing what he/she wants to do with his/her life;
   
4. Describes several different kinds of ways those psychological issues may manifest, causing (among other things) the indecisiveness about what one really wants to do in life - and how to tackle them with tips and strategies designed for each.
   
   ...maybe I'll see if my library has a copy!

As someone who studies sleep at dreams, I'm very much against most of Freud's specifics on dream analysis. Jung has some of my favorite methodologies. Here's one of my go-to texts on dreams: https://www.amazon.com/Jungian-Senoi-dreamwork-manual-Strephon-Williams/dp/0918572045
Be forewarned, though-- it's heavy in metaphysics!


Another insightful text, focusing on lucid dreaming (although some of the sleep-science material is a little out-dated, the historical and technique overviews are great): https://www.amazon.com/Lucid-Dreamer-Waking-Traveler-Between/dp/0671872486/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478495534&sr=1-1&keywords=the+lucid+dreamer


All of my other recommendations just fall deeper into categories of metaphysics and mysticism and psychomysticalmetababble-- which can certainly have its place in practice and sessions, but not so much in science.

This is a pretty good book when you don't have a clue where to start.

Try daily meditation, this is a good start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHshOvzERHQ

Also watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rwewhsDn90

On top read some books about this topic or get them as free audio books:

https://www.amazon.com/Lucid-Dreaming-Gateway-Inner-Self/dp/193049114X/

https://www.amazon.com/hz/audible/mfpdp/B07T8KD4PJ?ref=tmm_aud_title_sr

(translations are available)

Far be it from me to tell a coyote to stop rambling, let alone the Queen of them!

Maybe you could start on another book before WCIYP then? One I found was really good at quickly pulling to light a lot of underlying issues is Barbara Sher's I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was: http://www.amazon.com/Could-Anything-Only-Knew-What/dp/0440505003

Starting there to work through some of the reasons you don't already have a career that makes you happy, and then moving onto WCIYP's implementation strategies might work well.

This might be of interest to you :)

> By remaining 'awake' in your waking life you can lead yourself to become awake in your dreams

Exactly.

You might want to look into Dream Yoga.

More specifically: Dreaming Yourself Awake, by B. Alan Wallace, and The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep, by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.

Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth is apparently good. I haven't read it yet but I've been recommended it many times.

Lucid Dreaming? If so these are some of the best:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Exploring-World-Dreams-Stephen-LaBerge/dp/034537410X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407068859&sr=8-1&keywords=lucid+dreaming
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lucid-Dreaming-Concise-Awakening-Dreams/dp/159179675X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1407068881&sr=8-4&keywords=lucid+dreaming

I agree with u/djdrowsy that meditation is a lot more useful. Do this method and then you get both. A ton of work though.

By the way, this book looks interesting - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984223916 - but since I'm from Czech Republic, shipping would be crazy.

I'd love to find it in ebook form, but this is probably not right place to ask.

I've read some Jung, but am not an expert.

Jung wrote about a million essays and there is no single definitive work. Both parts of volume 9 of his collected works are generally considered to contain his most important essays, but they also contain some unimportant stuff and are expensive.

I'd say start with this:

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Search-Soul-C-G-Jung/dp/0156612062/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

It is popular and all the essays are good.

"A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming: Mastering the Art of Oneironautics" was an awesome read! Highly suggest you check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0761177396/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/183-0226440-8429971

they're awesome and you should totally read them!

I had heard recently about the news that a comic was going to be in development soon but I had no idea there already were some comics made!

(edit: note to self, learn to look at the sidebar once in while...)

Just added these to my Amazon cart:

• Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
  
• Serenity Volume 2: Better Days and Other Stories
  
• Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
  
  I believe that covers all released comics so far, correct?

And then the comics Serenity Vol 1: Those Left Behind, Serenity Vol 2: Better Days, Serenity Vol 3: The Shepherd's Tale, and for when you re-watch the series (tomorrow) Firefly: The Official Companion (hehe) Vol 1, Firefly: The Official Companion Vol 2.

No I don't work for Whedon, just another browncoat...check your local library first, it's free!

Dream Yoga: The Tibetan Path of Awakening Through Lucid Dreaming by Andrew Holecek

I have listened to this a few times and regularly do the guided meditations/yoga practices. I am still working on becoming lucid in waking life and my dream life regularly but I have found it helpful.

This is a great book https://www.amazon.com/Are-You-Dreaming-Exploring-Comprehensive/dp/0957497709

Nice!

Suggested reading at the end of the article is:
The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.

Amazon Link

Hi, very excited to find there are comics, found some on amazon, are these them? Which do you recommend?Thanks in advance!

Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind https://www.amazon.com/dp/1593074492/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_c7jZxb9SD21Y3

Serenity: Those Left Behind #1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01663UOKU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_M7jZxbMDAQNTF

I'm glad you got it! It makes me sad that Firefly is no more... but thankfully there is a comic and books!

BTW, I've been introduced to Lucid Dreaming by some myNoise.net users. As a scientific, I was skeptic... then discovered a fabulous world! Lucid Dreaming happened to me a couple of times now, and all I can say is "Wow!".

Book recommendation: Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self

I read this book and found the exercises incredibly helpful, both regarding career/hobby choices and relationship choices. It breaks down all the different flavors of noncommittal, looks at the different reasons/fears/etc that might be lurking underneath, and talks about more productive ways to engage with those feelings.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014

Here is an excellent book by someone from the Bon tradition.

Another suggestion for those interested in dream yoga practices. http://www.amazon.com/The-Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014

This is excellent. Joss wrote it.

This is a collection of essays that is pretty broad: https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Search-Soul-Carl-Jung/dp/0156612062/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=carl+jung&qid=1565216164&s=gateway&sr=8-2

The man was genius and covered so much. I have to listen more than once for his writing to make sense to me.

The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

(you may also find these books useful:

I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was by Barbara Sher

and

Refuse to Choose, also by Barbara Sher )

$0-5: Nintendo Wiimote Bookmark Set
$5-10: Serenity: Those Left Behind
$10-20: Moustache Octopus Plush He's so dapper!
$20-50: Spirited Away No Face Shadowbox Because it's soo pretty.

These are all on my wishlist, although three of them are from Etsy.

Man, you are not alone. There are some decent books that might be somewhat helpful though:

http://www.amazon.com/Do-What-You-Are-Personality/dp/0316167266/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318004445&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Could-Anything-Only-Knew-What/dp/0440505003/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318004520&sr=1-1

This won't be helpful but Jung wrote a whole book about it, JP references this idea quite a bit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156612062/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

edit: Technically Jung didn't write it, it was written by someone else based on his lectures.

I've been reading this book which recommends specific forms of it as part of a comprehensive lucid dreaming and spiritual path. However I haven't tried the exercises yet. It's a lot to take in and differs greatly from "secular" lucid dreaming practices.

I'd recommend reading these two books.

http://www.amazon.com/Lucid-Dreaming-Gateway-Inner-Self-ebook/dp/B0070YFQBC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418657599&sr=8-1&keywords=lucid+dreaming+robert+waggoner

http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Awakening-Lucid-Dreaming-Mindfulness-ebook/dp/B00F0PT22M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1418657599&sr=8-4&keywords=lucid+dreaming+robert+waggoner&pebp=1418657881046

I have Inner Work and Search for the Real Self from my psychotherapy class. Would you be interested in those?

book that teaches u 2 interpret symbols in dreams

Ha! This is a very insightful book also.
https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Work-Dreams-Imagination-Personal/dp/0062504312/ref=nodl_

Check this book out . Quite cool
https://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014

Read A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming...it will teach you everything you need to know...its like going to an LD class, I imagine.

I would recommend a book called The Phase.

The Phase: Shattering the Illusion of Reality https://www.amazon.com/dp/1500578037/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_be3Dxb9Z2967S

Yes, dream yoga can enhance your lucid dreaming to a deeper personal and spiritual level. Lucid dreaming is something that hasn't been studied very much in the west. But in eastern cultures it has been studied and taught for thousands of years. I've been reading this book, its been blowing my mind, if you want to really push your lucid dreaming to what its potentials can be, look here. Try to have an open mind, but if you are on a lucid dreaming subreddit, you may already have one.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014

There are. Plants will send nutrients to other plants that are under distress (via mycelium network). The book I mentioned talked about that. Also highly recommend [Stephen Buhner's Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm.] (https://www.amazon.com/Plant-Intelligence-Imaginal-Realm-Perception/dp/1591431352)

You need this book (as well as the second one) because they're really awesomely illustrated, and tie in the movie with the television series.
They can't take my yarn from me!

Thanks, will check it out! I am wondering about this one too, but haven’t decided about purchasing. Do you happen to know anything about it?

Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Lucid Dreaming

I don't have online source, it's hard to find because, i think, of the new age movement and other bullshit.

Those two are good, i would recommend the first one

https://www.amazon.fr/Inner-Work-Dreams-Imagination-Personal/dp/0062504312/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1551133202&sr=8-1&keywords=inner+work+robert+A+johnson

​

https://www.amazon.fr/Meeting-Shadow-Connie-Zweig/dp/087477618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1551133078&sr=8-1&keywords=meeting+the+shadow

Lucid dreaming is becoming aware of the fact you’re dreaming and then manipulating your own dream. It is very cool.

Heres a book that helped me learn how to do it: https://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Lucid-Dreaming-Oneironautics/dp/0761177396

This is the dream yoga book http://www.amazon.com/The-Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014

You can check out dream yoga if you're into this kind of thing (for example there's this book by B. Alan Wallace).

If you lucid dream without compassion and wisdom, you may just be continuing to create the causes of suffering and delusion.

I haven't started this book yet, but the author Alan Wallace has done a lot of research and study in the area of Lucid Dreaming meets Buddhism:

Dreaming Yourself Awake: Lucid Dreaming and Tibetan Dream Yoga for Insight and Transformation https://www.amazon.com/dp/159030957X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_DcQAxb42WD7DA

The 3 volumes before this one, with Amazon Links:

1. Those Left Behind
   
2. Better Days
   
3. The Shepherd's Tale

I've always been a fan of Firefly but never got into any of the comics. This is the first of them.

Read this book. While you are not doing something, just do something, anything. In one ridiculous example in the book, a shy lady that could not figure out what she wanted to do with her life decided to learn how to dog sleigh. People though she was crazy. She went and learned, went in a race, finished, and then knew what she wanted to do. Often times when people do not know what they want to do they become paralysed. They think they need to do something amazing but can't think of what that is. We can usually figure out what we want to do, when we are doing something that we may not want to do forever. So instead of playing video games or surfing the internet, turn that crap off and go do something more constructive. Running races are good for this. Train and run a 5K or 10K. You will finish, you don't have to win, and you will feel motivated to figure something else to do.

Everyone is defective, there is no perfect person. No one cares that you are defective. They are only worried about their own defectiveness. People may point out your problems so that their own issues are not as obvious. You need to first evaluate how to measure self worth. Is it by the amount of money a person makes, how many times and how many partners you have sex, or maybe you are using how other people see you as the measurement? This is your life and you can measure your worth any way you please. I always just followed my interests, tried to stay away from things that are too addictive, and defined how I will judge myself, not based on other expectations or the typical frat boy mentality.

Don't forget about the short 3 issue comic series that ties the end of the TV series to the beginning of the movie. A real browncoat would know about it, and consider it part of the story.
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Vol-Those-Left-Behind/dp/1593074492

[edit: link]

My apologies for taking so long...

The book is titled, "Modern Man In Search of A Soul" by Carl Jung.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156612062/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_1RCrDbNW2WPR4

Warning, he does make a few controversial comments in the book. One of the comments I recall clearly, many would find to be racist. So if you are easily triggered, this book isn't for you. And if you are easily triggered, you need to get past that and understand that the underlying content is what is important.

The psychologist Carl Jung was greatly influenced by his trips to Africa. He writes about his experiences and his conclusions in Modern Man In Search of a Soul, and came to some interesting conclusions, attempting to dispel a lot of misconceptions at the time that whites were very different than blacks.

He comments on the superstitions of the Africans, which whites would find ridiculous, but then speculated that, provided with experiences that are out of the ordinary or unexplainable to us, an educated European would very quickly become just as superstitious.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156612062/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_FuqSBb23WEP3N

Ive got the original DVD set that i bought the day it was released.

And all of the above.

And all this...

http://smile.amazon.com/Firefly-Complete-Nathan-Fillion/dp/B0000AQS0F/

http://smile.amazon.com/Serenity-Widescreen-Nathan-Fillion/dp/B000BW7QWW/

http://smile.amazon.com/Serenity-Collectors-Nathan-Fillion/dp/B000Q9IZ5C/

http://smile.amazon.com/Serenity-Vol-Those-Left-Behind/dp/1593074492/

http://smile.amazon.com/Finding-Serenity-Anti-heroes-Shepherds-Hookers/dp/1932100431/

http://smile.amazon.com/Serenity-Found-Unauthorized-Whedons-Universe/dp/1933771216/

http://smile.amazon.com/Firefly-Gorramn-Shiniest-Language-Dictionary/dp/1783298618/

http://smile.amazon.com/Serenity-Adult-Coloring-Book-Fox/dp/1506702546/

http://smile.amazon.com/USAopoly-CL006-398-Firefly-Clue-Game/dp/B00L9OPFL0/

http://smile.amazon.com/USAopoly-YZ006-398-Firefly-Yahtzee-Game/dp/B00L9OPEHU/

But i guess im missing some of the RPGs and non reskin boardgames. :p