Dream meditation/insane experiences

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ashmin, modified 3 Years ago at 6/11/20 3:27 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/11/20 3:27 PM

Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 14 Join Date: 6/11/20 Recent Posts
Hello Dharma Overground friends,

Here to create my first thread about dream meditation and insane experiences. Hope everyone is Dharma levelling up. emoticon

I have been having these cool concentration/insight experiences in dreamland extremely frequently. Some of these experiences are quite insane and beautiful. I see some of the most beautiful, 3D, sharp, crisp, quality landscapes/visuals that throw our day to day reality off the roof. As I concentrate on any of the elements of these landscapes, these visuals get even better. Quite awesome. 

Lucid dreams are also frequent and interesting with some crazy psychedelic and cinematic visuals. A psychedelic sequence coalesced once into a godhead enmeshed with crazy patterned muscly figure (like this https://www.builtlean.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/muscle-grow.jpg), quite crazy. 

The one that I found most interesting and of which I shall ask a question is one experience I had most recently. I am in some sort of Bardo state, dream within the dream and meditating on this unnameable ball of energy (no visuals just darkness and that energy). I can still hear the possible clunking of the AC unit. I just keep concentrating on this ball of energy to the point that I am merged. Now, suddenly this ball of energy or the totality of my experience is pulled, yanked by some sort of magnetic force and then that fear of unknown beat of heart kicks in and I pull myself back into the ball, back out of the dream and then back into the real world. 

I know that fruition can happen anywhere, so do you guys think this could have been fruition if it went all the way through or have you guys had fruitions in dreamland? To add a little background, I have not had any fruitions that I know of yet. However, I have realized impermanence and no-self. I am currently working on destroying that gnat sense of duality to make non-duality/non-locality my baseline for which I found this Daniel Ingram video quite helpful: https://vimeo.com/250616410.

Please share your thoughts and dream experiences, I would love to hear it.

Regards,
Ashmin
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David Matte, modified 3 Years ago at 6/12/20 5:18 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/12/20 5:17 PM

RE: Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 108 Join Date: 8/3/19 Recent Posts
I've been making the intention to become more conscious of my experience during sleep recently and had one short dream that was super psychedelic. In it, there was a magnificent field of flowers in a million different hues that morphed into a scene of flying above an ocean towards the shoreline and seeing in remarkable detail a large wave crash into the shoreline rocks and a million water droplets spew into to the air. The scenery was nothing like I could ever experience in my waking life.

It definitely reminded me of my previous psychedelic journeys, most similarly to DMT. I haven't taken a psychedelic in two years but I wonder if there could still some correlation between my past psychedelic use and my dreams now.
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ashmin, modified 3 Years ago at 6/14/20 3:39 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/14/20 3:35 AM

RE: Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 14 Join Date: 6/11/20 Recent Posts
That dream sounds beautiful. 

I saw a magnificent field of extremely HQ leaves of the same hue once. 

I find it super interesting that you relate your dream experience to DMT because for some reason I got the same vibe from it. With that being said, I have not done DMT (only acid); it's based on doing too much research on DMT as well as reading too many trip experiences emoticon

More interestingly though, it is quite awesome that you are trying to become aware of your experience during sleep. I watched this video a couple of years ago where this guy goes through Ramana Maharishi type 'I Am' meditation path to full enlightenment: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u95hgxSoso

T
he enlightenment process as he describes it consists of a stage where you pass through the dark cave of deep sleep and come out the other side. I have always wondered whether that is the same as Nirvana or fruition because technically if you build awareness or are mindful up to the point that you fall completely into deep sleep or true nothingness or non experience and are aware when you come out, should not it serve the same purpose as fruition or isn't that fruition itself? 
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David Matte, modified 3 Years ago at 6/14/20 10:16 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/14/20 10:16 AM

RE: Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 108 Join Date: 8/3/19 Recent Posts
Andrew Holecek talks about this as a actual practice in his book Dream Yoga. He talks about using dreams and conscious deep sleep (sleep yoga) as a path to awakening. Dream yoga involves becoming lucid in the dream state, recognizing experience as a dream and then returning to waking life and seeing it as no different than a dream. He also has a chapter on sleep yoga and includes practices utilizing the "nothingness" of deep sleep to awaken in waking life.  I haven't read through it thoroughly yet but it seems like a pretty hardcore book, written from a vajrayana perspective.
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J W, modified 3 Years ago at 6/14/20 12:15 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/14/20 12:15 PM

RE: Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 671 Join Date: 2/11/20 Recent Posts
I was actually going to ask the same question. Is it possible to have Stream entry or other fruition during a dream? I had a crazy meditation experience last night in a dream which was probably one of the most intense things that's happened to me to date.

I don't even fully remember it so it would be hard to describe.  I remember it being super visual and 'VR'-like, my spatial awareness all over the place, sort of like suspended outside of gravity, looking down on myself (?) and a sense of 'merging'.  That's about all I could tell you.
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ashmin, modified 3 Years ago at 6/14/20 12:52 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/14/20 12:52 PM

RE: Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 14 Join Date: 6/11/20 Recent Posts
Awesome, I am going to check this out because I have been pondering this dream thing for a long time. 
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ashmin, modified 3 Years ago at 6/14/20 12:56 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/14/20 12:56 PM

RE: Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 14 Join Date: 6/11/20 Recent Posts
Technically, I think it is possible to have fruition 'during' a dream. When it comes down to it, all experiences are just phenomena able to be meditated upon. I think you would have to build up acute awareness. I would like to hear of someone who actually had that 'experience'. 
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hae1en, modified 3 Years ago at 6/15/20 9:03 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/15/20 9:03 AM

RE: Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 99 Join Date: 10/13/19 Recent Posts
Hi guys, 
Maybe you would be interested to read our threads on lucid dreamless sleep (and it's relation to formless jhanas or pseudo formless experiences with tactile qualities like Ashmin describes with the energy ball): https://www.dharmaoverground.org/discussion/-/message_boards/message/18768194 

and on working with concentration and insight on advanced HD 360 degrees hypnagogic images:https://www.dharmaoverground.org/discussion/-/message_boards/message/20849259  

If you have some further input or questions, go ahead. Teaser: this is where I consciously travel now lucidly descending from meditation to dreamland and exploring the sense of duality/nonduality/awareness-attention relationship
etc. - 
https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=96aX1emdwf8 Looks familiar?
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ashmin, modified 3 Years ago at 6/15/20 2:20 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/15/20 2:20 PM

RE: Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 14 Join Date: 6/11/20 Recent Posts
Thank you for the great resources.
If you have some further input or questions, go ahead. Teaser: this is where I consciously travel now lucidly descending from meditation to dreamland and exploring the sense of duality/nonduality/awareness-attention relationship
That is quite cool indeed. When you say lucidly descending from meditation to dreamland, can you do that during waking state meditations? I was listening to a podcast between Michael Taft and Leigh Barsington, where they mentioned that some people can do that. Go from waking state meditation into lucid dreaming; I think it's from the 4th Jhana.

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Linda ”Polly Ester” Ö, modified 3 Years ago at 6/15/20 2:37 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/15/20 2:37 PM

RE: Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 7134 Join Date: 12/8/18 Recent Posts
I have gone from waking state meditation to lucid dreaming. That was not from fourth jhana, in any of the instances, but I imagine that would be very cool. 

I don't usually have as vivid visuals as you describe, so you could probably do it too. Are you sure that you aren't already doing it? What is the difference between the vivid landscapes you are describing and lucid dreaming? 
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ashmin, modified 3 Years ago at 6/15/20 2:51 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/15/20 2:51 PM

RE: Dream meditation/insane experiences

Posts: 14 Join Date: 6/11/20 Recent Posts
I have gone from waking state meditation to lucid dreaming. That was not from fourth jhana, in any of the instances, but I imagine that would be very cool. 

I don't usually have as vivid visuals as you describe, so you could probably do it too. Are you sure that you aren't already doing it? What is the difference between the vivid landscapes you are describing and lucid dreaming? 
I guess the vivid landscapes have only occurred during the dream state for me. Another difference would be, a vantage point within the dream. TBH, I am not too sure of this. 

When you say, waking meditation to lucid dreaming, are you referring to the formless realms? Can you describe a bit of what the lucid dream from waking state meditation feels like?

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