vipassana and dreams

[GLB]

Hi i`m new to vipassana, meditate for about 3 months every day +/- 20 min, my problem is in the dreams, i mean they disappear, sometimes I remember one or two little details, but that's it! Before I started meditating I had lots of dreams, very often lucid dreams and i use to practicing out of body experiences (OOB) but since I start vipassana its like I don't have dreams at all or, I cant remember any of them. Maybe someone can help me, maybe i should start practicing as well dream yoga?

[Morning Dew]

Hi there

Can you describe your vipassana practice what exactly do you do?

Once you start practising mindfulness many dreams will fall off and disipate say good bye to the dream world Mr. Andersson

[mik1e]

Usually deep meditative practice brings you to higher planes than those where dreams can exist, so don't be too surprised.

[unlikelybdst]

Why do you want to hang on to the dreams?

[dobe]

I for bumped into Lucid Dreaming before I even started meditating.  I got really excited about the idea of taking control of my dreams and doing all kinds of amazing things that are simply impossible in the real world.  I now meditate and find I can have lucid dreams a bit easier now when I motivate myself to have them...  Honestly I love flying around haha, its such an awesome feeling.  Its pretty cool to be able to pick things up with my mind, throw em across the room, and watch it smash to pieces.  All kinds of amazing things you can experience that you never will in your real life...so why not? richer experiences, richer life. 

Why are many meditators against dreaming?  Osho said he didn't dream.  The idea is that dreams fulfill our waking life unfulfilled desires.  And an enlightened person has no desires, so nothing to fulfill in your dreams?  I still don't think I'll ever kill all my desire, maybe craving, but I need desire. Without desires, I might as well get some food, some water, and stay in my room all day in the corner with my eyes closed meditating, what kind of life is that?  Seems we need desire to have some sort of direction in our lives???  Oh ya dreams... I love dreams still, especially my lucid ones. 

My question is, what do Buddhas do in the REM sleep?  the time when you DO dream. 
I'd like to learn more about Tibetan Dream Yogis...think ima go do that right now...

[dobe]

"The goal of dream yoga is to achieve enlightenment" - Tenzen Wangyal

veerryy interesting!! Tibetan Dream Yogis use their REM sleep, as another tool towards realizing their enlightenment!

Dreamyoga.com ... fittingly enough, is a great place to start if this is interesting to any of yall. 

I'm going to start taking my dreams more seriously, rather than having them be merely a playground for my all my desires...

[Vivek]

@GLB
Why would you want to dream, or remember your dreams? What purpose does that serve?

[GLB]

@Morning Dew

ok so this is how I practices vipassana meditation: I sit in half lotus position I close my eyes make 3 slow breaths, wish in my mind good things to everyone starting from me and finishing on every living creatures, and after I try to start observing my breath through my nose and everything whats going in my body or mind starting from pain in my legs or my back to how i breathing, I try to see everything as an experience not good or bad but just as a pure process. 

@Vivek

Because I read you can also practicing in your dreams and is even more successful then in "real life", plus you can see whats is going on, on your spiritual path are you doing any progress or you just stuck in one place. 

[dobe]

yes GLB is right, there is a good 3-4hours of REM sleep to be taken advantage of each night.  Dream yoga is the practice of using our sleep to realize enlightenment.  I'm 1/3 into this book by Tenzen Wangyal called The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep.

http://btjunkie.org/torrent/The-Tibetan-Yogas-of-Dream-and-Sleep/4358cf50ec3dbb1e92fa61d19310d67adaef9a1cbe69

If you like it, buy it!;)

Since meditation is very much like our light and deep sleep(not REM), I wonder if you meditate for like 7-8hours a day, if your sleep would be mostly REM during the night...

[Vivek]

Because I read you can also practicing in your dreams and is even more successful then in "real life", plus you can see whats is going on, on your spiritual path are you doing any progress or you just stuck in one place.

I doubt how credible that can be. Any way, it is established that all practice is fruitful when one is awake, not when asleep or while dreaming. Dreams are generally regurgitations of the unconscious mind. It will function accordingly as and when it needs to. So, I suggest you don't bother much about your dreaming and seriously continue your practice while you are awake.

[dobe]

Because I read you can also practicing in your dreams and is even more successful then in "real life", plus you can see whats is going on, on your spiritual path are you doing any progress or you just stuck in one place.

I doubt how credible that can be. Any way, it is established that all practice is fruitful when one is awake, not when asleep or while dreaming. Dreams are generally regurgitations of the unconscious mind. It will function accordingly as and when it needs to. So, I suggest you don't bother much about your dreaming and seriously continue your practice while you are awake.

I strongly suggest you look into dream yoga Vivek.  The book I referenced above is full of insight about our sleep life.  You're wasting a lot of valuable time to practice if you allow your awareness to sleep during the night.  The more time to practice awareness and learn about your internal world the better.  Yes dreams are regurgitations of the unconscious mind, what do you think all those thoughts/feelings/emotions you're experiencing are when you're meditating in 'waking time'? Its the same stuff.

"The first step in dream practice is quite simple: one must recognize
the great potential that dream holds for the spiritual journey. Normally
the dream is thought to be "unreal," as opposed to "real" waking
life. But there is nothing more real than dream. This statement
only makes sense once it is understood that normal waking life is as
unreal as dream, and in exactly the same way. Then it can be understood
that dream yoga applies to all experience, to the dreams of the
day as well as the dreams of the night."

Best of luck

[Vivek]

Dobe, I am sorry if I sounded a little closed-minded in my previous post. I'll check out the book you recommend. Thanks.

[unlikelybdst]

Just trying to tame my mind while being awake is a handful already

Good luck with it, and tell us if you do try. I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences.