Thread: Using Meditation to Attain Lucidity

Originally Posted by cmind

Is there a guide either on dreamviews or otherwise that gives a no-nonsense guide to these techniques? So far a lot of what I've seen is buddhist stuff, which I'm not interested in.

I searched a bunch and settled on two relatively short videos that I think are representative of the styles.

I would note that, strictly speaking, shamatha and vipassana are concepts, not techniques. That is why, if you search those terms, you'll see the topic sprawl into other applications like religion, philosophy, morality, etc. If you're interested in the concepts, you might not find any good non-Buddhist treatment of these terms because there is so much overlap with other concepts of the Buddhist worldview. And you're unlikely to find a Buddhist-style teacher give a no-nonsense explanation because that is antithetical to the tradition of Buddhist practice. Buddhist teaching is to guide the student to discover things through their own experience, not to dictate to them.

Anyway, setting aside the conceptual part, the words have become a prefix or shorthand for meditation techniques that cultivate certain mental faculties. That is a stretch of the language, but it is what it is. They both involve mindfulness (sati) to some degree, so "mindfulness meditation" is an acceptable but incomplete description of both. The two ideas are not mutually exclusive. They can be done separately or complementary. In both videos, you'll see elements of both but I think each one emphasizes one over the other.

Shamatha
Shamatha means "calm." They don't mention the Pali term here, but this video is a good practical introduction. The key thing is that you are exercising control over your mind, but in an effortless way.
Note the emphasis on:
- using the breath as the point of focus
- accomplishing something without effort, but rather "allowing" it to happen
- repeating the same thing over and over, without developing frustration at the inevitability of obstacles




Vipassana
Vipassana is the understanding of the nature of reality, or "insight." It is the ability to recognize illusion and see through it. More practically, it is the observation of how your mind works. Rather than exercising your mind, you are more investigating it. Skip to about 2:20 in the video if the beginning seems like too much theory and preparation.
Note the emphasis on:
- being an observer
- welcoming and acknowledging thoughts, and then letting them go
- being aware if you are reacting to thoughts with preference, emotion, judgement, analysis

Thanks for the info and vids

i can't meditate cause i have Tourette's. which is unfortunate since i would love to be a meditation master. it's like having no legs and wanting to be a track star.

Originally Posted by BlackNoise

i can't meditate cause i have Tourette's. which is unfortunate since i would love to be a meditation master. it's like having no legs and wanting to be a track star.

Perhaps meditation and/or counselling and therapy would solve your Tourettes. I'm not a doctor.

@Blacknoise: I have heard weightlifting can help Tourette's. There is a book called "World's Strongest Librarian," which documents a man treating his Tourette's via weight-training.

But I would add that after browsing the internet, several sources say that meditation is helpful for calming tics. I would try a meditation aimed more at relaxation, and then move to concentration later. Alan Wallace's podcasts on dream yoga give a great exercise for this: https://www.upaya.org/2010/03/lucid-...-part-1-of-13/

But, a little off-topic. Great elucidation from sisyphus. I would only add that "awareness of awareness" ("shamatha without a sign") is just a more refined level of shamatha, and not itself the practice of vipassana.