Thread: A Helpful Tip, and some more too

You don't have to lose consciousness while falling asleep.

I mean that in the general sense of the phrase, so don't read into it. You may be thinking- Oh well no duh, that's inherent in the concept of lucid dreaming- conscious sleep. But really think about it-

You don't have to lose consciousness while falling asleep.

You don't have to.

Try saying it to yourself- I don't have to lose consciousness while falling asleep. I have a choice.


I would equate losing consciousness while falling asleep with just losing your focus. Many forms of meditation involve striving to maintain your focus on something in the present, your breath for instance. As you practice this, you begin to notice how hard it really is to focus on the present for very long. You'll be there for a second and then suddenly you'll jump to a memory from earlier that day, or you'll begin thinking about how hard it is to focus, or you'll hear a noise, or whatever. Not only is it hard to maintain focus on one thing, you may realize that the "one" thing you've been focusing on, like breathing, isn't really one thing at all, and you've been focusing on a number of things that make up "breathing," like the feeling in your nasal cavity, the volition to move your muscles, the stretching of your rib cage. Let's face it, your mind is terribly out of your control, and you never know where your focus will be jumping next. By practicing maintaining awareness of the present, any time of the day, lucid dreaming will most likely become a piece of cake.

You may wonder: Where exactly do you place your focus while maintaining this awareness of the present while falling asleep?

At any time you can "visualize" something in your imagination. Try imagining the sound of a car horn, running water, etc- Welcome to your imagination. This may (or may not) sound familiar: You're laying in bed, waiting to falling asleep, imagining the conversation you had with someone earlier that day and remembering how they slammed the door, and suddenly BAM! You literally hear the door slam. You sit up straight in bed and wonder where the hell the noise came from, but shrug it off as a dream and go back to sleep. This is common as you fall asleep- parts of your imagination will start to jump out and materialize. Hence, your present imagination is where you want to place your focus as you fall asleep. Learn to let your imagination wander- keyword: let. Let go. Don't force yourself to imagine a scene. Maintain awareness of the present and listen to your imagination as it materializes. Soon enough you'll fall asleep consciously.

First thing as you lay down for bed, I would recommend moving your focus slowly along your entire body and relaxing completely. Let yourself feel your tactile sense of body disappear as you begin to come closer to sleep.

DON'T WORRY SO MUCH. YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS WHILE FALLING ASLEEP. DON'T MAKE IT HARD ON YOURSELF.

Let.

Also, it's nice to go to sleep and not maintain awareness and enjoy non-lucid dreams every once in a while too. Don't forget it.

Alright, all done typing. Let the criticisms rain.