Image Streaming Tutorial

[iadr]

Image Streaming:
I first learned about image streaming from a book I read about 4 years ago called the Einstein Factor, as it was supposedly a technique that Albert Einstein used to come up with ideas.

I am thinking that image streaming might be a good way to produce a WILD at will, and have been able to get this to work a couple of times already.

The times I have been able to enter a WILD from it, I simply eased up on providing the verbal feedback, after getting a good stream of images flowing, and just concentrated on getting into the images.

Please let us know of any experiences you have with this, so we can update the procedure as we get more feedback.


Facts About Image Streaming:
Image streaming can open the mind to a flow of imagery as potent as that of any dream, and can often be just as vivid as a vivid dream.

Unlike dreaming, image streaming can be practiced while a person is wide awake, and can be done almost anywhere.

When a person first begins image streaming, their image streams will probably be weak, since they have spent most of their life ignoring and suppressing these kinds of images, however as a person practices image streaming, they will find that their images will grow stronger and more vivid as their practice progresses.

Although the book I read on image streaming suggests performing it in a position called the gravity position, in which ones legs are put up on a chair to be higher than the rest of the persons' body, I have had success with image streaming while lying in bed at WBTB times.


Steps to performing image streaming:
Either sit in a comfortable chair, lie down in the gravity position, or lie down in bed like I do, and begin describing the flow of mental images that come through your mind.

It is important to describe the images that come to you out loud, as this provides the feedback necessary to cause the images to flow better, and it is suggested that they be spoken to either another person or a tape recorder.

I usually begin by describing the images out loud to myself when starting out, and then start recording them on a digital voice recorder when my subconscious takes over and begins providing the images.

It is important to use all five senses when describing the images.  What does the image look, feel, taste, smell, and sound like? 

All descriptions should in the present tense, such as "I am now looking at this large lemon, which is very large and yellow, has a smooth texture on the outside, tastes very bitter, and has a strong smell to it.  I can taste the bitterness of the lemon as I put it in my mouth."

One way to get started with image streaming is to start describing something in your physical surroundings out loud, such as the room you are in, or an outdoor scene that you might pass during the day.  You might also recall a beautiful landscape or other scene and describe it out loud.

There is no right or wrong way to describe something, and it is also unnecessary to see anything, as images can come in many different forms, such as a feeling, a sound, in addition to something you might see.  Describe whatever you are experiencing out loud.

The important thing is to stay alert to the thoughts and impressions you receive, and describe out loud in detail any images or impressions that comes to your awareness.

Don't worry about accuracy.  It can sometimes be helpful to exaggerate or make up parts of your description, in order to give the image more vividness and life, which in turn can sometimes start an even better thought flow.


Alternate Methods of Image Streaming:
Concentrate on the last dream or image stream until a new one appears.  This could be referred to as chaining, and works by putting the mind in the proper state for having additional image streams.

Hold the mind blank while expecting to begin seeing images.  Expectation is what causes the images to appear with this method.

(Both of these methods work best if dreams or image streams have already occurred, such as after a few hours of sleep).

[pj]

This sounds fantastic - I can't wait to try it.

The "out loud" verbal side of things might be a problem for me though...

[Burned up]

I've tried this - not as thoroughly as iadr though - and it does work.  I haven't really got the WILD bit to work but then I can't get WILD to work anyway.  But I can say that a series of very powerful images come to awareness like a lucid dream fragment. 

If I was alone in my bed I'd do the "out loud" bit.  But, no

[iadr]

The "out loud" verbal side of things might be a problem for me though...

If I was alone in my bed I'd do the "out loud" bit.  But, no

Maybe you guys could do like Clairity does, and sleep with your mate the first part of the night, then get up at WBTB time, or about an hour before needing to get up when images are usually the strongest, and go into another room, and image stream on the couch.

It is saying what you see out loud that provides feedback to the subconscious that encourages it to start producing the image streams more rapidly. A digital voice recorder is about the best thing a person can use for image streaming, because it's a lot easier than trying to write everything out on a piece of paper which can interrupt the concentration.

[Robot_Butler]

I've read a lot about this, and hear it can be incredible.  For some reason, I've still never tried it.  Maybe this will push me over the edge to finally give it a shot.

[Moonbeam]

Thanks for this, iadr.  You have the hugest recall of multiple dreams most nights of anybody, so I'd like to try this. 

What if we tried whispering, I wonder?  I don't have to worry too much, my BF wears ear-plugs because of my other night-time dream activities, but I couldn't talk too loudly without bothering him.  I think I'll just try whispering; subvocalizing might work for people whose partner won't appreciate a bunch of whispering from the other side of the bed.

[Clairity]

Do you image stream with your eyes open and speak of what you see in your mind, start with your eyes open and speak of what you physically see and then close them.. or just keep them open?

[klartraeumer]

What if we tried whispering, I wonder?  I don't have to worry too much, my BF wears ear-plugs because of my other night-time dream activities, but I couldn't talk too loudly without bothering him.

I automatically whisper. Even If I am alone.



Amazing technique. But ones again it is showing me my laziness. I have no problem with closing my eyes and waiting for images...but talking out loud seems to be so strenuously.  (Yes I am laaaaaaaaaaaaaazy.)

But I keep on trying.

Klartraeumer

[iadr]

What if we tried whispering, I wonder?  I don't have to worry too much, my BF wears ear-plugs because of my other night-time dream activities, but I couldn't talk too loudly without bothering him.  I think I'll just try whispering; subvocalizing might work for people whose partner won't appreciate a bunch of whispering from the other side of the bed.

  Whispering should work fine, and that sounds like a really good idea.  The main thing is that the subconsious receives some sort of feedback so it knows you are getting the message it is sending you.  After reading pj's posts, I tried using silent verbal feeback to myself, and found that this even helps bring on the images faster.

Do you image stream with your eyes open and speak of what you see in your mind, start with your eyes open and speak of what you physically see and then close them.. or just keep them open?

I always have my eyes shut when image streaming, and usually have gone through some relaxation exercises to get relaxed before starting. The book I read on this suggests that image streaming is something a person could do all day long to reach a state of constant communication with their subconscious.  I've tried this a couple of times recently during the day, and although not achieving a flow of images from my subconscious while doing this while awake, it certainly made me much more aware of my environment and the things in it.

[Toast]

Hey iadr... this looks very interesting. Question: in those instances where you managed to go from image streaming to WILD, did you go through SP, hypnagogic imagery etc.?  Sounds like it's more of a smooth transition from image streams to dream images.

[iadr]

Hey iadr... this looks very interesting. Question: in those instances where you managed to go from image streaming to WILD, did you go through SP, hypnagogic imagery etc.?  Sounds like it's more of a smooth transition from image streams to dream images.

Hi Toast, in the times I've been able to go from an image stream into a WILD, there were no transitions or hypnagogic imagery, as I was just able to keep the image stream going longer and turn it into a WILD.  So I think that the image streams are very close to the WILD state, as image streams seem to be dream images already, that just need to be extended in order to turn them into a WILD.

[chris31]

Sounds pretty interesting.  I'll give it a go this weekend. 

Why is it recomended you record it?

[skysaw]

I haven't purposefully tried this with images, but I have forced myself to have hypnagogic voices appear as I fall asleep sometimes. I sometimes try to repeat out loud what I hear, just barely keeping myself awake enough to do it.

Definitely going to have to try the imagery, though. So many good ideas popping up here lately.

[iadr]

Why is it recomended you record it?

The purpose of recording the images is to give feedback to your subconscious to let it know you are receiving the images, which then will encourage it to supply more images.  Recording them also provides a record of what happened, which is very important, since image streams are a lot like fleating dream scenes, which if not recorded, can be easily forgotten later.

I haven't purposefully tried this with images, but I have forced myself to have hypnagogic voices appear as I fall asleep sometimes. I sometimes try to repeat out loud what I hear, just barely keeping myself awake enough to do it.
Definitely going to have to try the imagery, though. So many good ideas popping up here lately.

Hypnagogic voices are also considered image streams, so it sounds like you are well on your way skysaw.

[Dreambird]

     Way to go iadr! This makes a lot of sense. I read that book a few years ago and every time I tried image streaming was amazed at the results. Trouble is, I never kept at it for too long. I remember BillyBob recommended it too, for 30 min. or so each day.

This also reminds me of some people reporting the ability to go OBE while walking down the street. That is, the connection with the subconscious should be the same as image streaming throughout the day.