General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
Freawaru wrote:Could you please tell more about the difference.
There isnt much more that I can add. One type of experience was when I was conscious while asleep - and I meditated through the night, and the other type of experience was meditating while in a dreaming state where I maintained my meditation object of observing sensations. My teacher encourages students to extend awareness while falling asleep and when waking up during retreats
May I ask who your teacher is? I am very interested in this stuff.
but I'm so exhausted at the end of the retreat day that I just can't manage it.
I usually wake up aware but falling asleep is a different animal. Sometimes I stay aware long enough to observe the hypnogogics and nonsense thoughts but it does not happen consistently and remembering them is more difficult again. Oddly, during dream I become aware (at least in all those I recall anyway) but it is different than the normal dream lucidity. I would like to understand how it developed because I recall that it was not always in this way.
When I have remained aware throughout sleep or meditated within my dream state - it was spontaneous.
I wouldnt read too much into it. I'm still of the firm conviction that one should establish meditative practice on the cushion and if you do that then extending one's awareness into different aspects of daily life or more exotic meditative practices of meditation during sleep will happen in their own time.
kind regards
Hi Freewaru
Sorry I missed your question.
Yes, as Mike says, my teacher is SN Goenka and again, his instructions on maintaining awareness while going to sleep isn't unique.
metta
Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725