DREAM DICTIONARY

Intention Techniques - Lucid Dreaming

The idea of cultivating a state of mind while awake for the purpose of carrying it into the dream state as a means of inducing lucid dreams has been used by Tibetan Buddhists for more than a thousand years.

The origin of these techniques is shrouded in the mist of the past. They are said to derive from the teachings of a master called Lwapa of Urgyen in Afghanistan and were introduced into Tibet in the eight century by Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddism.

The Tibetan teachings were passed down from generation to generation to present times, when we have the Yoga of the dream state, a manuscript first compiled in the sixteenth century and translated in 1935, which outlines several methods for "comprehending the nature of the dream state" (that is, including lucid dreams).

Most of the Tibetan techniques were evidently tailored to the skills of practical meditators. They involve such things as complex visualizations of Sanskrit letters in many petaled lotuses while carrying out special breathing and concentration exercises.

In the future, when thousands of people achieve high expertise in the oneironautical skills discussed in these pages, perhaps we will be advanced enough to learn more from our Tibetan predecesspors. For now, the essence of the Tibetan techniques is distilled for you in this and the next pages.

Reference: Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D & Howard Rheingold.