Gaia: Romancing the Double - Put Simply ... Toltec Concepts

Re: Lucid Dreaming

http://gypsyladee.gaia.com — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 05:47:58 GMT

When I first starting exploring lucid Dreaming, I rarely remembered my dreams, let alone go lucid. When I did remember them, they were almost always in shades of gray or black and white.

There were a number of things I did and many of them had some positive effect.

I discovered, for instance, that if I remembered a dream, it was most likely during a nap, rather than during night dreaming. Then I'd read that sleeping off the ground enhanced Dreaming. So, for a while, I took my daily nap (I'd been taking a daily nap for as long as I could remember) in a hammock. My first breakthrough came when I remembered a dream in which there was color. I was ***so*** jazzed. I went to my friend/mentor and fairly danced, "The napkin ... it was BLUE!!!" (that color is still vivid in my mind.)

Encouraged by this experience I tried a number of things ...

If I read, go to sleep by music or tv, or engage in physical activities just prior to going to sleep, I usually don't remember my dreams ... a meditative state seems to enhance the possibility of dreaming and dreaming lucidly
I concentrate/allow myself (give myself permission) to go lucid in my dreams, as I fall asleep
In most of my dreams, everything seems real... except for that floating thing I do ... LOL ... so I suggested to my sleeping self, that if I was floating, I *just* might be dreaming
I've read a number of places that if you can set a trigger for yourself: like seeing your hands in dreaming ... and then go lucid
I know a number of folks who record their dreams, whether lucid or not (helping them to remember with better detail)... for me, by the time I reach for a pen and paper, the dream drifts away too quickly. So, instead, I lie in bed with my fingers tented over my heart and work backwards through my dreams.

I've tried incense, various kinds of stones ... but mostly what I discovered is that it's a matter of Intent. I still remember and go lucid most often during naps. Interesting, no?

Thanks for asking ... does that help?
Ladee

Re: Lucid Dreaming

http://teotl.gaia.com — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 17:59:02 GMT

Gypsy ladee; do you have any techniques, tools or excercises that enhance the dreaming experience you would like to share ?

Re: Internal Dialogue

http://gypsyladee.gaia.com — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 01:03:01 GMT

Great post, Silver, thanks!!

Something else occurred to me. I think it is also possible to use the ID as a gauge ... if my thoughts drift ... >there< ... what is it about "there" that's pulling my attention and how did it get there?

[One of the probably not-so-useful ways of shutting off the ID is to never stop doing something ... always occupying my mind with something. The trouble with that is ... is it really getting me anywhere that I want to go. Unless I take the time to Stop the World and sit there for a while, I'll never quite see my growth and development (or lack thereof).

For instance, in this case, the ID was all about making judgments about others. Comparing myself, and my supposed growth, with theirs. My experience has been that when I react to someone, it's really a reflection talking to me. And when I turn that reflection inward, it's an opportunity (doncha just *love* opportunities??? LOL) to process and relinquish.

Good stuff.
Ladee

Re: Internal Dialogue

http://creativequesting.gaia.com — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 13:49:17 GMT

it's been my experience that there are different types of internal dialogue -- one type is the inner critic, and another type (for me, anyway) has to do with a continual to-do list -- the ID nags me about all the things I need to do my inner critic pretty much shut up after several years of very deep psychotherapy during which my self-criticisms were compassionately reframed -- it was phenomenal when that voice turned off -- like listening to a jackhammer for decades and then experiencing silence -- what a blessing! it's my sense that over time I internalized my therapist's compassionate view of me -- he normalized my responses to the impossible situations I was in as a child, instead of pathologizing my responses, as my family had and regarding the to-do list thing -- I've had a tendency to take on too much work and then feel anxious that I won't be able to complete it -- the situation is challenging at times because I'm a freelance writer, and if I turn down a job, I risk the company being less willing to approach me the next time around -- I'm on the go-to list of several big-name educational publishers, and I'm not willing to put those connections at risk -- at the same time, I've learned a few things that are helping to turn down the volume on the ID: --things ALWAYS work out okay -- I always finish projects on time, and the Universe has a great way of shuffling things around when I'm feeling too crunched -- something will get cancelled, or I'll sit down to write and it'll flow particularly quickly, or I'll have a dream that points the way to the resolution of a difficulty in a project -- the more I remind myself that things always work out, the less I get tripped up by anxiety --last year I set two intentions that are bearing fruit: 1) to do more writing and less editing, copyediting, and proofreading (writing is a lot more fun), and 2) to make more money without doing more work -- since then, I've become a regular writer on a project that pays well and provides some job security, which has allowed me to turn away other jobs that are less enjoyable so on the topic of the to-do list ID, I've done a combination of reminding myself very regularly that it always works out okay, learning to trust more that I have the inner resources to handle the things I take on, being patient with myself about certain things I keep putting on the back burner (their time will come...), and setting clear intentions about how I want my life to be and one more thing -- the older I get, the more I'm learning to honor my natural inclinations and not put myself through things that feel wrong to me -- I've chosen to separate from my very dysfunctional family, I don't attend social gatherings where I'll feel extremely uncomfortable, and I don't hang out with people I don't have a sense of kinship with -- all of that reeeeeeeally simplifies my life and eliminates a lot of situations where I might otherwise be asking myself questions about why I can't "get things to work"

Re: Internal Dialogue

http://gypsyladee.gaia.com — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 16:22:41 GMT

I've had an odd week of sleeping ... working on projects through the night, sleeping during daylight, attempts to restructure my day to reorganize it and sleep, again, during the night. So, last night, at the first sign of being tired (around 8:30pm) I snuggled into my warm covers and drifted off to sleep. Now, where I live, it's literally freezing at night, so when I awoke at around midnight, and after attending to my bodily functions, I crawled back into my warm nest, determined to sleep until at least sunrise. That's the time my Internal Dialogue (ID) loves to come drifting through.

Have you ever noticed how the ID has virtually nothing positive to say? Insipient thoughts that spiral into catty snipes toward others. A couple of minutes of that and I was about ready to decide that I was, afterall, awake, and may as well get up. Then I stopped. Oh, really? Now, why would I do that? Just so that I could escape that thought process? Think not. A warrior friend of mine shared a great tool for stopping the ID ... just sit and observe it. And, like some shrinking wallflower, it recedes into the darkness. Rather like a petulant child who doesn't want to be watched while she misbehaves. Meditation can help with eradicating the ID, but since my intent was to sleep (and perchance to dream), I simply redirected my thoughts to *observing* the ID and woke up about six hours later. :) Success!

So ... observing the Internal Dialogue, meditating ... what other tools have you found helpful to eliminate/diminish the ID? How does eliminating the ID help you with your Walk?

Internal Dialogue

http://gypsyladee.gaia.com — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 15:36:56 GMT

One of the more difficult aspects of living in this world is the Internal Dialogue ... that ongoing chatter in our heads ...

Re: Stopping the World

http://creativequesting.gaia.com — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:20:46 GMT

I was involved with Landmark Education in the '80s (before it was called Landmark) -- they used to talk about "the drift" -- the momentum and force of established patterns of thinking and behaving -- we have to consciously harness our intentions and actions if we want to live our lives outside of, or apart from, the drift

Re: Stopping the World

http://gypsyladee.gaia.com — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 20:54:47 GMT

Regarding the Consentual Reality ...

I was sharing with a new friend some of the terms used in Toltec Wisdom and he was acquainting me with terms from his Path of Atomics and he came up with this statement:

"The extent to which we do not take personal accountability is the extent to which the Consentual Reality will make decisions for us." (or something very like that).

I totally resonate with this. Comments and discussions encouraged ......

Ladee

Re: Stopping the World

http://anna.gaia.com — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 16:33:34 GMT

Indeed. Listening to the silence can be deafening; thunderous.

It does clear the fog though.

Re: Stopping the World

http://CosmicHill.gaia.com — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 15:21:57 GMT

Stopping the world can be a little scary. It's like when the assemblage brakes free. Where so used to clinging on to thoughts and concepts, that when the thoughts and concepts run out or stop, we don't know what to do. I've been there so many times and I'm just now starting to get used to letting go and being in that kind of open space. lol

Re: Death as the Advisor

http://MeanGene.gaia.com — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 22:19:17 GMT

Ladee,
I couldn't agree more, yes, this journey called my life is "ALL ABOUT ME". I came in alone & I'll leave alone. And how far I get in my quest is up to me (and the abstract).
Okay, so I'm living in an extremely personal "omniverse" (I like that), but I still don't take things personally, as in being hurt or offended. Well, sometimes I do. But even when I do I can laugh at myself. And make a change.... Peace, Ruthless

Re: Death as the Advisor

http://gypsyladee.gaia.com — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 18:08:07 GMT

I would say that taking things personally means we haven't vanquished our self-importance.

This is a tricky concept in my world. You may have read elsewhere that one of my mantras is: "It's all about me." Which isn't as "self-important" as it may sound. Years ago I heard a line that resonated strongly and has stuck with me ... "We're all actors on a stage ... the lead ... and everyone else is a 'spear-carrier' (like an extra)" ...... And how that's translated for me is that as far as the Universe is concerned, I walk alone amongst all the others who inhabit the planet. No one else can do or be for me. It's my job, and mine alone, to attain mastery, ascendence or sorcery or whatever you want to call advancing on a Path. There may be others who end up contributing, but it's my responsibility to grow.

So, self-importance, in this context, takes on a different meaning. I am the most important person in my omniverse ... to me. As is everyone else in theirs.

Your take? Anyone?

Re: The Four Agreements ... and beyond

http://MeanGene.gaia.com — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 00:10:01 GMT

So how do I gauge whether or not I'm being an impeccable warrior?
Here's two rules of thumb I find helpful when I'm indulging in being (or acting?) stupid:
1) If I feel like I have time, as a rule, I'm not being impeccable. The feeling of having time is idiocy. All I have to do is look around. There are no survivors on this earth.
2) I'm impeccable when I trust my personal power, however great or small it may be.
Ruthless
P.S.: Too bad nothing is as clear as we'd like it to be on the path of knowledge, huh?
Or is it? If it was all clear-cut & dried, where would the challenge be in that?

Re: Death as the Advisor

http://MeanGene.gaia.com — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 22:47:19 GMT

manqoquava,
     that's an interesting question, the difference between taking things personally and taking things seriously.
     Seems to me that one has nothing to do with the other. I take everything very seriously. The bottom line is that every act & every decision is a life & death decision. That's serious.
I mean , it's not like we got 9 lives & we're on # 3 or 4, right? This Is It!
     Just because life is not a joke or a game doesn't mean we have to take it personally. I really DO believe that we live in an impersonal, predatorial universe. When we learn how to contemplate the world from the place of no pity, perceiving that behind all situations which imply an energetic drain (and, for that matter an energetic replenishment) there's an impersonal universe, we stop being just a knot of feelings & become fluid beings. I would say that taking things personally means we haven't vanquished our self-importance.  (My screen-saver at the time is a marquee flashing across the screen:"Self-Importance kills!")
     And we all know what the problem with compassion is, right? It forces us to see the world through self-indulgence. A Toltec without compassion is a person who has found his will at the center of indifference, and doesnt soothe himself by saying "poor me". He's (or she, for that matter; this is the only time I'll say this: I'm a man, so I use the masculine gender when I have to use a gender) an individual who feels no pity for his weaknesses, and has learned to laugh at himself.
     As far as WHAT motivates us to change ANYTHING; Death is our challenger. We are born to take that challenge, average men, toltecs & seekers. Seekers & toltecs know about it, average men don't.
     Life is the process by means of which death challenges us. Death is the active force. Life is the arena. And in that arena there are only two contenders at any time: oneself & death. We are passive. If we move, it's only because we feel the pressure of death. Death sets the pace for our actions & feelings and pushes us relentlessly.
     And I can't count how many times my death has told me: "It's not important. I haven't touched you yet. Outside of my touch, nothing really matters." Indeed, the onle wise advisor I know.
     Hmm, this started out as a little ramble about seriousness & taking things personally, but somehow it all interweaves for me. I think Don Juan was on target (was he ever off?) whenhe said that "Every bit of knowledge that becomes power has death as its central force. Death lends the ultimate touch, and whatever is touched by death indeed becomes power."
     I'd hate to come off as morbid, because I'm really not. I love to laugh, so I "look" at the funny edges of the world and laugh & laugh, knowing that my intent is impeccable.
     tall pines & road signs, Ruthless

Re: Recapitulation

http://teotl.gaia.com — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 17:43:24 GMT

In the recapitulation it is key to intend the release and retreive of the energy exchanged. The intent is to bring back (retreive) the memory/feeling the person or event left in our energy field, and then release the breath and with it, intend releasing that memory/feeling the person or event left. The purpose is to get rid of those energies that are draining us and make our energy body whole so that we have the energy to stalk and/or dream.

Re: Lucid Dreaming

http://teotl.gaia.com — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 17:27:10 GMT

It has taken me a long time to have lucid dreams. finally a few weeks ago, had one, everything was as real as in woken states. There was a feeling of being in control, powerful.
In a dreaming class, one of the excercises was to ask ourselves at all times of the day am i dreaming? This is how i realized I was aware in a dream. An awesome experience.

Re: The Four Agreements ... and beyond

http://evolvingconsciousness.gaia.com — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 08:53:37 GMT

Hi all Thanks for the post Dragon Dancer, and to Kira for the question. I too have a bio family I do not have contact with, similar reasons. They are Toxic. In my case it was my three brothers, and an uncle, My parent knew and did nothing. I was the youngest child of 4 A full 12 years younger. I left home at 11 lived on and off the streets for many years. Then reconnected with my bio family and found that my brothers were all the same and stick together like pack animals. My mother ok, but in big denial as was my father. I choose not to have them in my life; my parents have now both past. I have no information about my brothers. Many of the stories of my past are hard to hear so I don't tell them often; they are for the most part only stories to me now. They are not about me or who I am. The point is it wasn't personal, it would not have mattered who was in the space of being the youngest only girl, the same treatment would have occurred. Also I wasn't in control of them ever not then, not now. What I do have some power in, is me and the choices I make. I can decide to be free. I too used guided meditation. Sending them back their energy, taking mine from them. Sending light and love to them. Cutting cords then visualizing the cords in the earth. One of the tools I find helpful in what I call mirror work. I ask all of my students to do this. Look into a mirror and say: I love myself, I accept myself, I approve of myself In time you'll stop looking for this in others. Blessings, Bear

Re: Death as the Advisor

http://anna.gaia.com — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:55:08 GMT

Death is an amazing advisor. In my personal experience, Death changed everything. I didn't have an NDR, but I did have a brush about 15 years ago that - to this day - stirs me to life and reminds of of what I should be seeing as important and what I can let fall to the side.

Re: The Four Agreements ... and beyond

http://creativequesting.gaia.com — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 04:33:08 GMT

thanks for your post, Ladee

and dang, this is a good pod! thank you for sprouting it

I like the visualization you suggested -- I'll experiment with the one you offered and Dragon Dancer's too

I laughed out loud when I read this: what someone else thinks of me is none of my business because just this morning I said the very same thing to someone -- there's some amazing synchronicity going on in my life these days

I get a lot of crap from people when I choose to separate from people who are toxic to me -- and because separating was so taboo in my family, I sometimes get confused about my right to separate -- I think it means I'm bad on some level -- (I'm working on this) -- but I know rationally that I'm free to do what's right for me, and furthermore that if I don't make smart choices to care for myself, no one's going to -- this is one of my jobs as an adult and as a guardian of my well-being

I love what you wrote about living the life of a vagabond -- I lived that way for decades until I moved to Tucson -- then something in me said, aaaaah, HOME -- I've lived here for six years and am utterly content -- and deeply nourished by the desert -- still, I live a fairly unattached life -- I live in a modest apartment to keep my expenses low -- I'm self-employed and love the freedom to do whatever I want to do -- take a walk in the middle of the morning, take a bath in the afternoon, and answer to no one -- I know what it's like to be the recipient of people's disapproval for how I live -- my brother is incredibly hostile toward me because I use my free will to make choices he doesn't allow himself to make -- I think I'll send him some unconditional love :)

peace,
Kira

Re: The Four Agreements ... and beyond

http://dancingdragon.gaia.com — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 04:33:02 GMT

I have always found that there was someone to give me the tools that I was asking for...I am glad that I could do the same for you.

Blessings