Sensory modalities and impact on run down process

[Shinobi]

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[RooJ]

Hi Shinobi,
I too have thought about this subject alot in the last couple of days.
Id say my primary focus was more visual then anything else but i tend to have a balance (according to tests ive done).

For the last few weeks ive been falling alseep during practices, and in the last few days have reverted back to using the arm trick to stay awake. Anyways ive noticed that after a certain period of time i get very vivid imagery without having to focus on it, but the imagery will only last for a few seconds before switching, kinda like a slideshow. So for a second or two ill get an image of a landscape and then without warning it changes to a closeup of wallpaper etc. Ive found that if i try to focus and hold these images they'll stay for slightly longer but will eventually (after only a few seconds more) fade out into a blur and make way for others.

So ive now decided not to focus on imagery at all, but instead allow the normal imagery to take hold and then act on it when it appears. An example:
Last night while practicing i got a very vivid image of a lake with an inflatable boat at the shore. I ran my hands down the side of the boat and felt the rubber against my fingers and heard that friction sound you get. Now doing this i found that the image stayed there for longer, as it did when trying to just hold the image, but i find it much easier to imagine sounds and the feel of textures then i do keeping an image in mind. Also i found i almost entered the image and phased but excitement stopped the attempt.

Another trick ive found works for me is the use of kinesthetics. About 2 days ago while trying to phase i had an image of a room with an object on a table infront of me. Before the image had chance to dissapear i imagined walking towards and around it, as i did it took on a 3d effect and i realised id entered the image for a split second (sadly this startled me out of it). This experience also brought on what i believe to be "the vibrations" but as id never experienced them before i wasnt sure.

So far I havn't really experimented with gustatory or olfactory senses as they dont really play a major role for me in my experiences (only in extreme circumstances such as when i notice a really potent smell etc.)

Keep up the experimenting and be sure to update us on any breakthrough's.

>RooJ

[Giselle]

This is interesting and I think what you bring up may be just the thing to get out of the rut I'm in.  For me the visual is easiest and natural, followed by sound.  I have the hardest time with touch and smell, which makes me wonder if I focused on these two, would I become more engrossed in the rundown.  I think by using the two that come easy to me, I may not be fully engaged in the process, which is also the reason I wind up falling asleep.

Great topic, Shinobi.

Rooj, could you give me a link or refresh my memory about the arm trick for staying awake?

Giselle

[RooJ]

Hi Giselle,
I dont have any links to the arm trick but its easy enough to describe:

Basically you just hold your forearm perpendicular to the bed. So from your elbow, your arm will be going straight up into the air (go for a nice balance and you wont actually feel like your holding it up). This may sound annoying but after a few seconds you forget about it being that way and it really doesnt bother your concentration or engagement in rundowns (in my experience).
Now the reason this is used is so if you drift off to sleep your arm will fall and wake you, but i've found i can get much deeper into hypnogogic imagery without falling asleep, like somehow when you have your arm up your brain knows you dont want to completely fall asleep :S.
Im aware that if you phase while doing this your arm is likely to fall just the same, but im just happy with the practice of getting that deep.

The writer Robert Louis Stevenson was one famous person to use this trick (he used it when writing books), here's an extract from "Exploring the world of lucid dreaming" by Stephen Laberge:

At least one well-known man of letters, the writer Robert Louis Stevenson, created his own dream workshop replete with assistants-his "brownies," as he called them, who helped him produce many of his most famous works.

<Part deleted>

Stevenson was not explicit about whether his brownies were characters of lucid dreams. It appears from his reports that they were mental images that appeared during lucid hypnagogic reverie. The technique the writer used was to lie in bed with his forearm perpendicular to the mattress. He found that he could drift easily into his familiar fantasy workshop, and if he fell into a deeper sleep, his forearm would fall to the mattress and awaken him. Stevenson credited his brownies with coming up with the plot for his famous story, the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I hope you find this technique useful as i find it invaluable, it really has helped me alot and is worth putting into practice.

>RooJ