I don't really believe there is anything mystical about it, but yea, that stuff is interesting - and I am well practiced at becoming lucid during a dream state, due to chronic severe nightmares I've had since a very young age. But, what I am describing here looks and feels way different to me.
However, this is funny:
> According to Kragh, "The yogi is here instructed to think of whatever dream arises as being merely a dream and to relate to it without any fear. If he dreams of water, he should plunge into it or walk across it. He should jump into an abyss or sit down to be bitten by dream-dogs or beaten by dream enemies. He should fly in air, visit the god realms, or go sight-seeing in India."
> Blessing as illusory and getting rid of fear – Here, the yogi checks their mind during the dream to see if there is even the slightest fear, and if so, they should let go of it by recognizing that they are only in a dream. Once they've mastered the feeling of complete unobstructedness, they have "blessed their dreams as illusory" (sgyu ma byin gyis brlabs pa).
I basically do this but didn't know it was a thing. When I experience that sleep-paralysis like terror in a dream state, I try to conjure up the most horrible thing I can imagine until it goes away, stuff like that. Nothing ever comes.
If you want to learn more about Dream Yoga, Alan Wallace's Dreaming Yourself Awake is a great resource that includes guidance and exercises you can practice.
When you experience fear in a dream, remind yourself that what you experience is not what you are, in the same way that the movie is not the same as the screen on which it is projected. The monsters in our dreams are a reification of our fear, and the best way to address them is by allowing conpassion to arise and kindly comfort your fear as you would do with a child who is scared. Nothing in your dreamscape can harm you.
Anyway, I hope this helps. Alan Wallace recommends letting the monster hurt you in your dream, but personally I think it is not the optimum approach.
I am shocked that I was not aware this was a thing, thanks, I will check that out. I’m shocked because I’ve been practicing some form of a lot of this stuff my entire life without realizing it but never really came across this before.
I am intrigued by the tibetan stuff as well, I just started reading the relevant sections of “tibetan yoga and secret doctribes” by W.Y Evan-Wentz. It’s dense, and like I said I very much don’t believe in mystical things, but some of the techniques described here I see as potentially useful for addressing trauma, which I have struggled with for a long time. Accessing memories and exploring your own consciousness in this state can be terrifying but I’ve definitely dipped more than a toe in there before.
Thanks for this, my mind is blown. I’ve tried Supervised Ketamine/MDMA/psilocybin therapies to achieve similar goals but this seems much healthier if you are able to do it, as those experiences didn’t do much for me.
I get where you are coming from, because I've followed a similar path.
I'm not a spiritual person either; having frequent nightmares as a child led me to learning how to recognize the dreaming state and exert control over the dreamscape. I had learned how to do most of the exercises that Alan Wallace talks about in his book all on my own before I ever heard of dream yoga or Buddhism, so following through didn't require any faith or belief.
I can't speak of how to deal with fearing this state of mind itself because for me it's always been a tool to escape the scary situations I had unwittingly conjured during my non-lucid dreaming. Once you recognize that everything in your dreamscape is a manifestation of your emotional estate and your expectations, you unlock the ability to manipulate it at will. When you recognize that the evil person in your dream is nothing but a representation of your fear you are able to turn it into a non-threatening experience through self-compassion. You can literally go talk to them and say you feel sorry that they are scared and reassure them that they are safe with you, and they will turn into your friend. Because you are literally talking to yourself.
I do recommend practicing kindness and understanding in your every day life, as it carries over to your dream experiences once it has become a habit. Buddhists may describe this in more spiritual terms, but I see it in a mundane way. Maybe they are right, I don't really care. It works.
However, this is funny:
> According to Kragh, "The yogi is here instructed to think of whatever dream arises as being merely a dream and to relate to it without any fear. If he dreams of water, he should plunge into it or walk across it. He should jump into an abyss or sit down to be bitten by dream-dogs or beaten by dream enemies. He should fly in air, visit the god realms, or go sight-seeing in India."
> Blessing as illusory and getting rid of fear – Here, the yogi checks their mind during the dream to see if there is even the slightest fear, and if so, they should let go of it by recognizing that they are only in a dream. Once they've mastered the feeling of complete unobstructedness, they have "blessed their dreams as illusory" (sgyu ma byin gyis brlabs pa).
I basically do this but didn't know it was a thing. When I experience that sleep-paralysis like terror in a dream state, I try to conjure up the most horrible thing I can imagine until it goes away, stuff like that. Nothing ever comes.