Hello,I would like to ask if there is a special meditation or kriya technique which could help developing the ability to lucid dreaming?I’m a beginner in all things spiritual and I only used western techniques to induce lucid dreams but it doesn’t work. Are there any eastern yoga techniques to achieve full consciousness in the dream state? If so, please let me know, I’m really desperate to learn this ability.
—SpirituallyInterested, Germany
Dear Spiritually Interested, Paramhansa Yogananda did give a technique for learning how to “take charge” of your dreams, which is similar to lucid dreaming. Here it is:
The art of dreaming at will: Sit in your dimly lighted bedroom just before you feel sleepy. With half-open eyes steadily and simultaneously look at a portion of the room, trying to visualize and memorize every detail. While doing this, will yourself to see all the objects you are currently seeing later in a dream. Now fall asleep while you are visualizing/memorizing what you are seeing. In this way you will be able to visualize or produce a mechanical vision of anything, any person, or any place in a dream consciously produced in subconsciousness.… with practice, you can create [and be a part of] any dream you wish.
This quotation and many more aspects of what our dreams really are and what they mean are included in my forthcoming book, The Meaning of Dreaming, which is due to be published by Crystal Clarity Publishers in the fall of 2016.
But please remember that Yogananda also tells us this: Most of our dreams are products of our subconscious minds, which store all the memories we have created in this and every other lifetime. Nightly dreams are simply mental movies, created and brought forth from the subconscious mind. They are meant simply to entertain us and to remind us that all of life is really a dream.
So for a sincere spiritual seeker, it is important not to focus too much time on dreams. It is much better to put your time, energy, and effort into becoming super-conscious. This is best done through deep meditation.
