Lucid dreaming (OS) - a special altered state of consciousness, which is radically different from normal sleep. In a lucid dream, the reality and clarity of perception of the surrounding space is not inferior to the objective, and sometimes even seems even more vivid than in the physical world. At the same time, the sleeper remembers that he is asleep.
Remembering or entering the OS from an ordinary dream feels like passing through a pipe: as if something is sucked into another, parallel world. This world is impermanent and changeable in contrast to the earthly world, and therefore awareness can be maintained here only with full concentration.
Attention management and lucid dreaming practice
Lack of concentration turns the OS into a normal dream, because many dream techniques are aimed at developing the ability to control their attention: through the contemplation of objects or stopping the internal dialogue. These techniques develop the habit of returning yourself to the goal, which increases awareness, acting both in reality and in sleep. One of the methods of entering a lucid dream is to develop the habit of checking reality for authenticity, asking yourself the question " am I dreaming?"or returning yourself to the state of presence - "I am." This habit increases the chances of remembering yourself in a dream and exit in the OS.
Concentration in a lucid dream: fixing reality
Attention fixation on the hands is one of the effective methods used by practitioners to hold their attention in a lucid dream. After all enter in OS-only the first step. And it is also important to be able to immediately after entering again not to fall asleep. In these ways will help you touch the objects of dreams or a detailed examination.
Concentrating on the objects of lucid dreaming helps to maintain the relative stability of dream reality, preventing it from constantly floating. The surrounding space in a lucid dream is held by consciousness, but it can also be a hold that consciousness holds on to while maintaining its awareness. Although, in the second case, the hands are still a more universal object for fixation, because they are always with us. However, it may also happen in the OS that there are no objects to fix attention, although these are isolated cases.
From personal experience
I once seemed to be in a very unusual lucid dream. Everything was white. At first my mind thought that the space around me was limited by white walls, but when I tried to find at least some solid Foundation, it turned out that it was not there: there were no walls, no floor, not even my own body.
If we draw Parallels with the esoteric systems of the hierarchy of the cosmos, we can assume that I was at the zero point of Alva, which the ancients called the ultimate depth of the universe. In this world there are no divisions and manifestations. The walls originally outlined by my mind were probably the product of a mind that could not immediately assume such an unusual state. In that reality, the only thing I could cling to to maintain awareness was the memory of my existence, "I am," because there were no other objects to fixate on. Having mastered this state, the practice of lucid dreaming will no longer require fixation on visual objects, which greatly expands the horizons of possible experience.
Scientific view
The phenomenon of lucid dreaming has been scientifically experimentally confirmed. In the experiment, dreamers were able to prove their lucidity in sleep by transmitting a signal with a specific eye movement. At the same time, it was found that entering the OS is most likely in the period of rapid sleep phase, lasting between 5 and 15 minutes. This stage is on the threshold of wakefulness, and it is during this period that one dreams.
Rapid phase sleep comes roughly through 90 minutes since falling asleep, after passage the main and the most prolonged — phase slow sleep. The phase of slow or deep sleep is associated with recovery processes. During this phase, all processes in the body are slowed down, muscle activity, respiratory rate and pulse are reduced.
During the night, the human body goes through several such cycles of sleep – from slow to fast. And with each repetition, the duration of the slow sleep phase becomes shorter, and the REM sleep phase, respectively, longer.
Strong energy exhaustion can lead to complete exclusion from the sleep cycle of the rapid phase, because the key point in the practice of lucid dreaming is to ensure proper rest. Lack of sleep and chronic fatigue dramatically reduce not only the possibility of entering the OS, but also the likelihood of seeing and remembering even unconscious dreams.
Technique of direct entry into conscious sleep
This option is most suitable for day practices. Sleep in the middle of the day is usually superficial and sensitive, at the level of drowsiness, without plunging into a deep phase, which makes a direct exit to the OS more likely.
This technique of direct lucid dreaming is to retain the memory of the presence of one's consciousness while maintaining complete immobility of the body. In this method the main problem is precisely maintaining immobility, because the brain, checking consciousness on subject cut-off, can sue in body diverse set impulses. You may suddenly feel somewhere tingling, itching or the desire to change position. However, the brain, as it turns out, can be fooled: stopping internal dialogue and physical movements leads to falling asleep after about 15 minutes.
Also, this method is used in the morning practice, when the body has already managed to fully recover during the night, but has not yet come full awakening. This method will help a short beep, set at a certain time, before the usual Wake-up time. The most favorable time is considered to be from 5 am.