Still Struggling to Get Lucid?

[DrTechnical]

I am reading a book right now, that explores connections between physical and nonphysical matter reality (PMR/NPMR). The precise definitions of those terms are not too important right now.

There are certain authors who resonate with my own take and experiences when it comes to operation OOB. This author certainly applies.

We have a lot of technical people here. Lot's of creative ones too. Ever try to solve a problem or create and you get stuck? A long time ago I figured out that "stuck" means walk away and clear your mind. When you come back, if you're still stuck, walk away and when you return, turn the problem upside down and approach it in an entirely different manner.

Who on this site is still struggling with lucidity? OK, lots of people. You get the usual encouragement, and good advice from the experienced LDers, blah blah blah ,...

There was a passage in this book that summarizes the challenge and potential solution space quite effectively:

"Learning how to be sentient in NPMR does not represent a new skill that must be mastered, it simply occurs spontaneously after self imposed constraints are removed: It is unlearning that is required" ... (unlearning) .... "is not easy. Nevertheless, unlearning always yields to steady serious effort".

Hokey? Why do so many children report having lucids and they dry up as their PMR experiences and learning build up? Why are so many people in agreement that expectation is everything?

If you are still having troubles. Stop. Turn the problem upside down. Unlearn some of the dogmatic nonsense you've acquired in your adult life, and take another swipe. It's not learning that is required. As stated above, it's probably more about unlearning negative expectation and constraints.

[pj]

Ever try to solve a problem or create and you get stuck? A long time ago I figured out that "stuck" means walk away and clear your mind. When you come back, if you're still stuck, walk away and when you return, turn the problem upside down and approach it in an entirely different manner.

In those three sentences, you have summed up my own formula for problem solving and innovation.  It has served brilliantly most of my adult life.

Compelling thoughts, DrT.

[AspirationRealized]

Im wondering how much of this applies to my own efforts. I have a nasty habit of self defeating, which could be something to unlearn. I wonder how much my lack of success is this, and how much is lack of recall.

[DrTechnical]

Im wondering how much of this applies to my own efforts.

Potentially a great deal. Flip the problem upside down. Try something totally different. Dream Yoga comes to mind. Read Rinpoche's book. It will challenge you in different ways and give you fresh perspective.

[AspirationRealized]

Well I may or may not have gotten lucid. I wish I could say it was because of responses in this thread, but I am just looking at it now, after I had the dream.

Billybob had lots of good things to say about dream yoga. Its the type of thing that would really change things for me, as the things he was explaining are very different from me. I tend to have a bit of "tunnel vision" and I ignore thing until they become meaningful enough to acquire my attention. Usually I am locked up in my head thinking of something most of the time, and not enough "in the moment".

There's a lot of things I feel are going against me lucid dreaming wise, that are just part of... me, for lack of a better word. I might make a thread on this, I'm not sure if it fits here or not.

[DrTechnical]

I happened to like BillyBobs write up on Dream Yoga. But with that said, his tutorial was not traditional dream yoga. It was a highly westernized version.

If you read Rinpoche's book, it will force you to think totally different. Which is exactly my point. Far different than you can imagine. But be prepared to spend 5 minutes a page reading. It's that type of development.

[AspirationRealized]

I'll have to look into this. At least, apparently, I can be lucid anyway.

[DrTechnical]

http://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Yogas-Dream-Sleep/dp/1559391014/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298752390&sr=8-1

You've been cornered. No excuses. 39 customer reviews, with a 5 star average. Now buy the book. $15.00 shipped to your door.

(DrT's somewhat aggressive tough love approach)

[AspirationRealized]

Heh. Well I run into the same troubles I had with the binaural cds, that is having no method to pay for them online. But I do have a list of books and a trip to barnes and noble planned, and I can add this one to the list.

[DrTechnical]

B&N can order it.

[AspirationRealized]

-points to DrT's PM inbox- 

[oneirobot]

You all may like this paper:http://www.quantumphil.org/SuarezRandFinQM

"In particular,REM sleep may be important not only to the developing of the infant's brain,but also to the homeostatic regulation of the quantum distributions in each phase of life..............REM sleep,and especially "phasic REM",may be part of the price we have to pay for the periods of intentional behavior and alertness during normal waking."

Could our non lucid states be the payment of debt needed to remain within some overall probability distribution for conscious interaction with reality ? Maybe we can't overdraw on our accounts by being Lucid all of the time...

Maybe this idea could be tested somehow,and maybe new approaches to Lucidity could be refined. And wouldn't this possibly explain why mindfulness and meditation help our chances of becoming Lucid?