Concentration and Memory

[tides2dust]

What are some practices you do to help increase your ability to concentrate or strengthen your memory?

[omcasey]

Daily dream recall.
Meditation. --holding a single thought, or placing awareness on awareness without straying.
Pranayama. --breath awareness and breathing patterns *you really have focus to keep the awareness AND the patterns.
Tratak.   --focused gazing.

These are my top four.

[LightBeam]

I found through so many experiments with eating and exercising that my optimal sharpness, awareness, increased downloads, increased APs, correspond with intermittent fasting, low carb diet, very nutritious food with lots of veggies, and daily exercising. The optimal of all is when I fast for 48 hrs. I typically do that once a month. I feel light as a feather, my mind is extremely sharp and clear. I feel like my brain is free to transmit.  I also drink dandelion coffee with several scoops of mushroom powder from Lion's mane, Turkey tail ( studies show that Turkey Tail kills cancer) and Reishi, and I add a teaspoon of matcha as well. 

[fowlskins]

grew some lionsmane myself definatly ment to help retain cognative ability
journaling definatly helps me with my dream recall as i find when i activly practice it my dream recall lengthens greatly
not smoking weed for for a good number of years now has defiantly helped with short term memory loss

[LightBeam]

if anyone is interested, below is a link to a documentary called "That Sugar Film". IT really gives a perspective how BAD sugar is, but sugar is hidden in so many products and it has so many names. People are not even aware that they are consuming excessive amounts of sugar. This guy from Australia did an experiment and started consuming "healthy" food as many people think is healthy but accumulating so much sugar from them daily. he monitored his vitals, blood results, behavior and weight during the time he switched to this typical diet which kids also are fed. the film is very entertaining to see him switching, the way he starts feeling with sugar highs and crushes, he travels to America to confront the large companies that advertise products as healthy or do not acknowledge that sugar destroys people's health. Overall very entertaining, but it opens the eyes if anyone is not aware how people get deceived and brainwashed by advertising and government guidelines for food intake. This directly affects the brain, emotions, behavior, etc, and also overall physical health.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNr71oGoZC8

[Tak]

Agree with everyone that keeping a dream journal is very important. This not only helps to increase dream memory and have longer dreams, but it has a notable impact on daily life. Lately, I have a better memory and I remember things that have been buried in my subconscious for years, for example, I needed a box and I remembered that more than 15 years ago I had one in particular stored somewhere in the house, I don't know how I remembered that, I start to remember objects even from when I was a child that I had never thought about again, random memories that I had forgotten a long time ago and also dreams from 10 years ago come to my mind. And during the day I have flashbacks of scenes from dreams of the night before, which I remember when I get involved with a particular object, for example I touch an apple and a whole scene from my dream about apples comes to my mind, which I didn't remember until that moment.

Writing down dreams sounds simple, but it is really powerful, I try to write down a wealth of details, if I dreamed of a dog, I don't just put this fact, but the place, the size of the animal, its mood, the color, the texture of the hair, EVERYTHING. Sometimes I spend over an hour writing thousands of details while I eat breakfast!

Meditation has also been fundamental, there are thousands of techniques but I use breathing + visualization + sensation. My mind is a whirlwind and it is very difficult to control it, it has to be something that keeps me attentive and does not seem "boring" to me. While I have a specific breathing rhythm I like to visualize how a white light enters and melts through my body, feeling absolute well-being. If I am successful I could even generate an OBE or enter the hypnagogic state. Intention is important.

What you say about medicinal mushrooms and lion's mane is very interesting. I have friends who grow these mushrooms and I haven't asked them enough. Also near home there is a store that sells hundreds of extracts and oils from all types of medicinal plants and adaptogens mushrooms, including lion's mane in droppers. There is a particular bottle with a very nice design for "having lucid dreams and astral travel" but it doesn't say what it is made of LOL (things nowadays!). It will be interesting to investigate more about how these organisms can help our physical brain develop these capablities. But nothing is better than practice, constant discipline and a healthy life in every sense of the word.

[fowlskins]

i think you have to be picky when buying a powdered mushroom product there are alot on the market that are grown on rice and are more rice powder than actual extract do a good amount of research on brands contents

heres paul stamets with his short little insight into lionsmane i could listen to him all day

[Adrian]

if anyone is interested, below is a link to a documentary called "That Sugar Film". IT really gives a perspective how BAD sugar is, but sugar is hidden in so many products and it has so many names. People are not even aware that they are consuming excessive amounts of sugar. This guy from Australia did an experiment and started consuming "healthy" food as many people think is healthy but accumulating so much sugar from them daily. he monitored his vitals, blood results, behavior and weight during the time he switched to this typical diet which kids also are fed. the film is very entertaining to see him switching, the way he starts feeling with sugar highs and crushes, he travels to America to confront the large companies that advertise products as healthy or do not acknowledge that sugar destroys people's health. Overall very entertaining, but it opens the eyes if anyone is not aware how people get deceived and brainwashed by advertising and government guidelines for food intake. This directly affects the brain, emotions, behavior, etc, and also overall physical health.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNr71oGoZC8

Unfortunately that YT video is not available in the UK.

However, this is absolutely true and very important everyone should realise that sugar is highly detrimental to the body in so many ways.

Among the very worst is potentially "high fructose corn syrup" which is increasingly disguised as "glucose-fructose syrup" and is now in almost everything to sweeten it, particularly in the USA. Not only is it a particularly adverse sweetener, it is most probably GMO as well. It is highly advisable to read the ingredients before consuming anything.

Fast food, processed food, meat, dairy and alcohol are also all potentially harmful to the body. The best diet has proven to be whole organic plant based.

Edit: I realise my comments regarding food choices in general may prove to be controversial for many. I would add therefore that is this my own opinion based upon my own experience and research.

[Suziefish]

thank-you !!
yes, posting is sharpening my dreams..
thinking about writing the dreams as they happen
when I do, they come in more frequently..
looking forward to streaming them here : ) :
thanks for your encouragement !!