Thread: Merlin's Yoga Mat

Good observation on expectation. I had a realization while standing in a cold river. I had been looking at this as a form of conflict. I would face the cold water and 'resist' the unpleasant cold, like it was a battle, and I was going to be strong. I realized that by maintaining calm and accepting the cold, reaaly letting it envelop me, that the fight was over, and I just was. I had been Eric fighting the cold, and became Eric experiencing the cold. Nothing changed except my mindset, yet suddenly it was different and pleasant.
This helps in LDing because far to often we are woken by a sudden jolt of realization. The thought "wow! This realy is a dream!" Can affect you much like the stream of cold water. The same thing happens in WILD when serious HH or the transition happens. The change you can make while awake in how you deal with the water is the key to handling the sudden jolts in dreaming.
I think you are on the verge of making a breakthrough. This lesson was never about becoming macho and tough, it is about changing how you deal with it.

Originally Posted by sivason

Good observation on expectation. I had a realization while standing in a cold river. I had been looking at this as a form of conflict. I would face the cold water and 'resist' the unpleasant cold, like it was a battle, and I was going to be strong. I realized that by maintaining calm and accepting the cold, reaaly letting it envelop me, that the fight was over, and I just was. I had been Eric fighting the cold, and became Eric experiencing the cold. Nothing changed except my mindset, yet suddenly it was different and pleasant.
This helps in LDing because far to often we are woken by a sudden jolt of realization. The thought "wow! This realy is a dream!" Can affect you much like the stream of cold water. The same thing happens in WILD when serious HH or the transition happens. The change you can make while awake in how you deal with the water is the key to handling the sudden jolts in dreaming.
I think you are on the verge of making a breakthrough. This lesson was never about becoming macho and tough, it is about changing how you deal with it.

This made me realise I needed to rethink how I approach becoming lucid. In my mind there has been a large separation between just a dream and having a 'lucid dream', so my motivation has been acting in seperate directions. When in reality, they are both the same thing, they are just experiencing a dream. I need to only focus on the dream, that I should be Alex experiencing the Dream, not 'Alex trying-to-lucid-dream'. Much like when I am hesitant to turn the hot tap off because I know the water will be cold, I have been resisting changing my approach to lucid dreaming, and need to simply allow my dreaming to be, but be there and have confidence that the change will be pleasant, much like it is once the water seems inviting despite the cold.

I must also thank you, this class has been a brilliant guide for me and helps keep me motivated in keeping my focus and awareness. You are an excellent teacher and the skills I have learned here have really helped me both with dreaming and with mindfulness