The practice described is the initiation of mindfulness, where lucid dreamers, by performing it consistently for three to four weeks without interruption, can experience astral projection from the waking state. Although prior knowledge of practices such as lucid dreaming, astral projection, and the phenomenon of out-of-body experiences is valuable for practitioners, attempting this technique solely based on reading may not yield desired results or may lead to incomplete achievements.
Important note: If you suffer from migraines or recurrent headaches, refrain from engaging in this exercise.
This technique is specifically designed for individuals who have approximately two to two and a half hours of free time during the day (preferably after noon). It may not be suitable for students or working individuals. While it is possible to perform this exercise in the late evening with a blending technique for nap-induced lucid dreams or upon waking up in the early morning, it is not recommended for novices to practice it at night or in dark conditions.
Time and duration of the exercise: To execute the technique correctly, divide your sleep into two parts: the majority at night and a smaller portion (one to one and a half hours) during the day. For example, if you normally sleep for eight hours at night, reduce the nighttime sleep to seven or six and a half hours. If you continue to sleep for eight hours at night and also practice this technique during the day, you may not derive significant benefits from it.
The technique consists of five steps:
Step One: As mentioned earlier, divide your sleep into two parts, with the majority at night and one to one and a half hours during the day. It is crucial to decide in advance what time of day you plan to practice the exercise. Proper execution requires approximately two hours (one to one and a half hours for sleep and about half an hour for preparation). For example, if you intend to perform the technique between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM, consistently practice it at the same time each day. While altering the two-hour time slot for the exercise daily may still yield positive results, achieving the desired outcome may take more than three to four weeks.
Step Two: In the morning, before starting your day, allocate twenty minutes to half an hour for reading. Alternatively, this can be done throughout the day, but ensure to incorporate the twenty-minute reading session into your daily schedule right from the beginning of the day. Note that what you read in the morning or the activities you engage in during the first hour after waking up will significantly influence your day and occupy your mind until its conclusion.
Choose a book for this reading session that is related to mindfulness, sleep, and dreams, avoiding religious, mystical, or dream interpretation books commonly found in the market. Such books are often either outdated, censored, self-censored by the author, or infused with ancient superstitions and outdated thoughts. The best examples for reading material are psychology books covering various aspects of the mind or philosophical works by reputable authors focusing on the philosophy of the mind, awareness, or related subtopics. During the twenty minutes of reading, assess reality three or four times. Reality assessment is performed by momentarily lifting your eyes from the book and gazing into the distance. After approximately twenty to thirty seconds, look back at the text and see if it has changed. During this twenty to thirty seconds, ask yourself: Am I dreaming or awake? When you look back at the book, the words and sentences should logically remain unchanged. Therefore, you are awake. If performing this exercise seems obvious, humorous, or overly simplistic to you, you probably haven't read the sections related to reality assessment and the questioning mind.
Step Three: In this step, prepare yourself for the execution of the first part of the lucid dreaming technique. Steps two and three can be combined, or they can be performed separately (depending on your work and daily schedule):
Lie down with your body extended and turn to one side. Place one hand under your cheek and the other hand on your thigh (if you're lying on your right side, place your right hand under your right cheek and your left hand along the left side of your body, and vice versa). In this position, adjust your body until it feels most comfortable.
For relaxation and entering an Armidity state, use the heavy eyelid technique outlined in the Armidity Techniques sheet. After approximately five to seven minutes of performing this exercise, your eyelids will become very heavy, and you won't be able to open them. Note that this is the only way the lucid dreaming technique will work. If your eyes open, it indicates that you haven't entered a light Armidity state, and proceeding to the next steps will be futile.
The opening of the eyes indicates that you are not performing the heavy eyelid technique correctly. Another possibility is that your body does not need sleep, or you may be excessively anxious or preoccupied with various concerns for personal reasons. In all these cases, performing the heavy eyelid technique will be incomplete. If you cannot calm yourself during this step, we recommend discontinuing the exercise and practicing the heavy eyelid technique in the days and hours to come until you enter a state of calmness or light armidity. A sign of entering a light armidity state is when the eyelids become so tired and heavy that you do not want or cannot open them. If you have mastered the execution of this technique, you will enter a light armidity state with just two to three times of opening and closing your eyelids (one to two minutes).
Step Four: Now, focus your awareness on your forehead and head. Try to touch, with your awareness, the eyes, eye sockets, eyebrows, and forehead. Feel them and continually move your awareness over various points on your face and forehead. Expand this awareness movement to the top, back, and hair of your head. If you have practiced Yoga Nidra or the Wake-Induced Lucid Dreaming technique before, you will understand what is meant by moving awareness over various points on the head and face. The more you move your awareness over different points on the head and face, the heavier and heavier your head becomes. After a few minutes of rotating your attention on the head and the upper part of the face, the facial muscles, forehead, and head will become significantly firm and tight, and your head will feel heavy. This heaviness is not only uncomfortable but may also lead you to fall asleep at any moment.
Once you feel the heaviness and tightness in your head, forehead, and upper part of your face, focus your awareness on an inner sound swirling in your head. To do this, look straight ahead (with your eyes closed). By looking straight ahead with closed eyes, inner sounds become louder and envelop you. If you shift your gaze to the left, right, up, or down, inner sounds recede into the background, and you may get caught up in various fantasies or thoughts.
The inner sound you hear during this exercise will likely be one of the following or a blend of them: a continuous and ringing sound, the noise of a hairdryer, the buzzing of a bee, or the sound of strong wind. These sounds may mix continuously, change from one to another, or one of them may become very loud. This is the moment when you are on the verge of falling asleep, and anything may lead you into a dream. If you hear these sounds and feel drowsiness, you either haven't performed the technique correctly or haven't followed its conditions.
However, if you feel intensely drowsy, try to maintain your awareness while simultaneously listening to inner sounds. There comes a moment when one of the inner sounds becomes very prominent, and all other sounds either fade or recede into the background. In this state, you will feel a very intense vibration in your head and face, which gently or rapidly spreads throughout your entire body. Note that in this state, your body is not trembling, and from an external perspective, you appear to have fallen asleep easily, but from your own perspective, you are still awake even though your body is asleep. In fact, you are experiencing an optional sleep paralysis or conscious sleep paralysis, meaning a state where the body is asleep while the mind is awake. To exit your body, open your eyes!
If you have performed the technique correctly up to this point, your eyelids are heavily closed, and the muscles around them are paralyzed. Therefore, it is impossible to open them. When you concentrate your mind on opening your eyes and attempt to do so, your visual or starry eyes will open, and you will see the room or surrounding space through your own starry vision. In this state, as your body has become heavy and immobile, you may experience visual hallucinations and see or feel beings sitting beside you or on your chest. If you have performed the technique during the day as described, your awareness will be much sharper, and the logical part of your mind will be more awake, making you less prone to fear of seeing these hallucinated beings. As soon as you take your awareness away from these beings and focus it on other parts of the room, like a floating balloon in space, you will find yourself there, and the hallucinated beings will immediately disappear. In this state, the brightness and colors of the room or surrounding space are so vivid and the sense of lightness and flight is so exhilarating and unusual that you may wake up abruptly due to the intensity of excitement and return to normal while being amazed and stunned in your place, with limited movement ability for a few minutes.
The most important point in the lucid dreaming technique is not to think about leaving the body throughout step four. Instead, keep your awareness on the mental touch of your forehead, head, and upper part of your face (eyes, eyebrows, and the muscles around them), and then listen to the inner sounds as described.
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