Awareness Meditation
There are literally hundreds of ways of meditating, but for the wake of the workshop, we're going to try one that the yogis did specifically for inducing lucid dreams and awareness.
All you need for this meditation is a quiet room and a small object or symbol on a piece of paper. In dream yoga, the Tibetan letter A is used for the practice. You may go the traditional route by using their letter if you wish, but if you have some other spiritual connection, you may want to use a symbol or object that means something to you. This is very similar to one of the visualizations posted earlier. By focusing on the object, you are mentally forming a concrete image of its existence.
For a complete beginner in meditation, 20 minutes is usually a good place to start. If you've done meditation or relaxation techniques before, you can try for 30-40 minutes; however long you are most comfortable with.
The beginning stage of meditation is the forceful Zhine, which is a pretty self-explainatory name--it takes constant conscious work.
The key to any good meditation is the focus on the present. Too much of our lives are spent reviewing things of the past and making plans for the future. Of course, you should always think ahead, but if you never take time to appreciate THIS moment in time, you will never be happy no matter how much planning for the future you do. Think ahead, but don't be a slave to your past or future self.
So before you start, always turn off your cell phone, computer, TV and anything else that might interrupt. If possible, find a time/place where no one will disturb you for at least a half hour to an hour.
When you are meditating, the first thing to do is to leave all your thoughts and worries behind. Because in THIS moment of time, you have absolutely nothing to worry about, and no responsibilities.
(If you have trouble leaving your problems behind, you can write it all down in a big list. That way your mind has a physical place to put your worries and you won't be concerned with forgetting anything).
Now look at your object at about an arm's length, at eye level. Don't think about the object, just allow yourself to be aware of its existence. This state is very similar to your state just before a WILD (and if you've never had a WILD, then this meditation will help you practice)--you're not getting too tense, but you also can't let yourself zone out completely or you lose your senses. This stage is always the longest; it takes a lot of practice just to quiet the mind for even a few minutes.
Once the object becomes stable in your mind, you are in the second stage, Natural Zhine. At this point, your focus comes naturally, so you only need to sit down in your usual way instead of having to force it. You can now stop using the actual physical object, and simply focus on the empty space in front of you. If you have been meditating in a small room, you may want to move outside and view the scenery instead. Be aware of the open space until you feel that you and the nothingness in front of you are one in the same. It is a very peaceful experience.
The final stage is called the Ultimate Zhine. This is a stage at which typically only masters reach. The awareness is natural, but the master is able to summon up thoughts and have them dissolve whenever necessary, so the mind is no longer cycling through the dual "aware/unaware" states.
For a beginner, try the meditation at least two or three times this week. But of course, you can try it as much as you want to even if you haven't done meditation before--you may just want to break it up into smaller bits throughout the day or week.
For anyone already familiar with meditation or whoever wants a challenge, try it at least once a day this week!
