Hindu Blog: Paramahansa Muktananda Quotes

Hindu Blog: Paramahansa Muktananda Quotes: The world is nothing but a school of love, our relationships with our husband or wife, with our children and parents, with our friends and r...

Exploring The World of Lucid Dreaming

By the same token, you can practice new skills in lucid dreams. In Exploring The World of Lucid Dreaming by Dr Stephen
LaBerge, a lucid dreaming surgeon explains how he would review his surgical cases for the next day before going to sleep.
Then he would practice them in precise detail in his lucid dreams – he had a solid reputation as a surgeon because of this,
being able to refine and polish his techniques and perform procedures much faster than average. Similarly, lucid dreaming
has been shown to improve the procedural memory of your muscles, so you can practice martial arts or piano playing while l
ucid, and you will be physically better at it when you wake up.- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

We Only Dream of What We Know

Our dreams are frequently full of strangers who play out certain parts – did you know that your mind is not inventing those faces – they are real faces of real people that you have seen during your life but may not know or remember? The evil killer in your latest dream may be the guy who pumped petrol in to your Dad’s car when you were just a little kid. We have all seen hundreds of thousands of faces through our lives, so we have an endless supply of characters for our brain to utilize during our dreams.
- Source: The List Universe

The dream you have during the night

The world of name and forms is like
The dream you have during the night,
You take them all as real things,
But they are only false and transient (Guru Guru)
- Songs Of Dream BY SWAMI SIVANANDA

Wizard of Oz (1939)

I salute Dorothy for realizing so quickly that she wasn't in Kansas anymore. I was, however, a little disappointed that it took flying away in a hot air balloon with a self proclaimed Wizard for her to realize she was dreaming. Nonetheless, Dorothy's musical homeward odyssey is not only one of the greatest dreams in cinematic history, but the most timeless American fairytale of the twentieth century.
- By Zachary Goldbaum / Source: Filmjabber.com

Quality of dreams

None of these scientists, however, seem to have an answer for the "prophetic" quality of dreams, this quality that has fascinated humans for millennia, and this film director in particular.- from:Can Dreams Predict the Future? By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

If you are afraid of heights

If you are afraid of heights, why not jump out of an airplane!? In the alternate reality of lucid dreams, you can slow down
time for a controlled fall, and float gently to the ground. Once you have done this at 10,000 feet you will be surprised how
you feel about heights in the waking world.- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

Dreams Prevent Psychosis

In a recent sleep study, students who were awakened at the beginning of each dream, but still allowed their 8 hours of sleep, all experienced difficulty in concentration, irritability, hallucinations, and signs of psychosis after only 3 days. When finally allowed their REM sleep the student’s brains made up for lost time by greatly increasing the percentage of sleep spent in the REM stage. [Source]
- Source: The List Universe

When you perceive the things in Dream

When you perceive the things in Dream
You take them all to be real,
When you wake up and perceive
They are all false and unreal. (Guru Guru)
- Songs Of Dream BY SWAMI SIVANANDA

Abre Los Ojos (1997)

There's nothing more painful than living an idyllic dream only to wake up to the austere reality of the actual world. In Abre Los Ojos, Cesar has it all (i.e. Penelope Cruz). That is, until his vengeful ex shatters his perfect world. Living in a manufactured dream world, Cesar ultimately chooses to "open his eyes" to reality, rather than living a lie. Certainly more worth your time than Cameron Crowe's remake Vanilla Sky, which is an admirable albeit misguided departure from his standard rom-com fare. Expect to see Vanilla Sky on the top ten list for ugliest faces in film, which we'll write up next time Owen Wilson's nose makes a movie.
- By Zachary Goldbaum / Source: Filmjabber.com

Zeman's own fascinating new research

Zeman's own fascinating new research, incidentally, is on a relatively unknown function of the sleeping mind: to "consolidate memories". The stuff of dreams, I learn, is hardly dreamy.- from:Can Dreams Predict the Future? By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

Another exciting benefit

Another exciting benefit of lucid dreaming is the ability to face your fears in a controlled but realistic setting.
- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

Everybody Dreams

Every human being dreams (except in cases of extreme psychological disorder) but men and women have different dreams and different physical reactions. Men tend to dream more about other men, while women tend to dream equally about men and women. In addition, both men and women experience sexually related physical reactions to their dreams regardless of whether the dream is sexual in nature; males experience erections and females experience increased vaginal blood flow. - Source: The List Universe

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Nightmares might be scary, but they don't compare to a dream unfulfilled. Each main character in Requiem is faced with the challenge of reconciling their dreams with reality and each fails in the most tragic way possible. Aronofsky's magnum opus is evidence to the fact that the chasm between dreams and reality can be subsuming and catastrophic.
- By Zachary Goldbaum / Source: Filmjabber.com

Even more eye-opening

Even more eye-opening: the reason our dreams seem to have a story may, Adam mused, be because of our brain's inherent need
for patterning. "The brain is a natural storyteller," he pithily opined. As for the peculiarly symbolic quality of dreams,
the brain already works metaphorically by nature -- constantly filtering impressions of the present with the memory of past,
hence conceiving reality through habitual bridge-making. Quoting "Orlando," Zeman notes: "Everything is in fact always
something else."- from:Can Dreams Predict the Future? By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

As lucid dreamers

As lucid dreamers, we can actively pursue the types of dreams we want, and seek answers to questions in any way our
subconscious wants to present them! You are not even limited by your conscious imagination – far from it.
- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The last two movies only scratched the surface of what a nightmare could be, but Wes Cravens nightmare on elm street is the real deal. The former king of the modern slasher film brings his signature exploration of the real and the imaginary to the horror genre. The film that kept a generation pinching themselves to stay awake is still scary over twenty years later and a frightening suggestion that dreams can have their consequences in reality. - By Zachary Goldbaum / Source: Filmjabber.com

I also learned that in REM sleep

I also learned that in REM sleep, our brains are as active as when we wake (with acetypholene, the neuron responsible for wakefulness, especially in gear) , except with different parts taking the fore (the limbic system, responsible for emotion/memory), and others (i.e., the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, responsible for logic) going under -- which may explain why we have revelations of sorts when we dream, as our
inhibitions are down.- from:Can Dreams Predict the Future? By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

Some lucid dreaming artists walk

Some lucid dreaming artists walk through dream art galleries to find inspiration for their next work. Even musical composers
– like Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner – pointed to dreams as the source of their inspiration. In fact, some of the beautiful
music I ever heard took place in my lucid dreams. They reveal our most creative side because of the free-flow of ideas
arising from the subconscious mind.- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

You Forget 90% of your Dreams

Within 5 minutes of waking, half of your dream if forgotten. Within 10, 90% is gone. The famous poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, woke one morning having had a fantastic dream (likely opium induced) – he put pen to paper and began to describe his "vision in a dream" in what has become one of English’s most famous poems: Kubla Khan. Part way through (54 lines in fact) he was interrupted by a "Person from Porlock". Coleridge returned to his poem but could not remember the rest of his dream. The poem was never completed.

Curiously, Robert Louis Stevenson came up with the story of Doctor Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde whilst he was dreaming. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was also the brainchild of a dream.
- Source: The List Universe

Dreamscape (1984)

The 80's are much like the controversial eighth season of "Dallas": a terrible, terrible dream.  But some good did come out of the decade, including Dreamscape, a sci-fi thriller starring Dennis Quaid and Sweden's best export Max von Sydow.  From the primitive synth heavy score to the distinctive color filters in each dream sequence, Dreamscape is inescapable 80s and undeniably fun. - By Zachary Goldbaum / Source: Filmjabber.com

Lucid dreaming is an exceptionally powerful way

Lucid dreaming is an exceptionally powerful way to improve your creativity, too. Painters like Salvador Dali, William Blake and Paul Klee created famous artwork inspired by dreams. - source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990)

Kurosawa based this series of visually stunning vignettes on dreams he had throughout his life. It's no Yojimbo or Throne of Blood, but Dreams is yet another triumph in the career of one of the mediums greatest craftsmen. - By Zachary Goldbaum / Source: Filmjabber.com

dream research

These clips from the scientists are so intriguing that one wants to know more -- and indeed I contacted Adam Zeman, whose work on consciousness (Consciousness: A User's Guide to the Brain) is considered cutting edge in the field, and he generously imparted to me the basics of dream research -- as well as some intriguing musings of his own.  - By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

When fully conscious in your dream

When fully conscious in your dream, you can enhance your problem solving skills in extraordinarily creative ways. Take Friedrich Kekule’s discovery of the structure of the benzene molecule; Otto Loewi’s experiment on nerve impulses; and Elias Howe’s invention of the sewing machine. These scientists and inventors highlight the stunning power of the subconscious mind, which we can tap into directly via lucid dreams.- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

Not Everyone Dreams in Color

A full 12% of sighted people dream exclusively in black and white. The remaining number dream in full color. People also tend to have common themes in dreams, which are situations relating to school, being chased, running slowly/in place, sexual experiences, falling, arriving too late, a person now alive being dead, teeth falling out, flying, failing an examination, or a car accident. It is unknown whether the impact of a dream relating to violence or death is more emotionally charged for a person who dreams in color than one who dreams in black and white.

- Source: The List Universe

Guru Guru Japna

Guru Guru Japna
Aur Sab Svapna,
Guru Guru Japna
Jagat Deergha Svapna.

- Songs Of Dream BY SWAMI SIVANANDA

8 ½ (1963)

As a movie about making a movie, Fellini's 8 1/2 seems an unlikely choice for the most coveted spot on this list,
but when you consider how much filmmaking owes to dreams, the choice begins to make sense. While critics and fans
alike were comparing Inception to sci-fi blockbusters like The Matrix and Avatar, Leonardo DiCaprio cited 8 1/2 as
its most comparable predecessor. Fellini dismisses the conventional narrative in favor of protagonist Guido Anselmi's
dreams, memories, and subjective relationships with his parents and friends. 8 1/2 is a reminder that real life is often
more like a dream than we even realize and movies are just narrativized versions of the dreams of their creators.

- By Zachary Goldbaum / Source: Filmjabber.com

Dreams have such an emotional nature

One, Adam Zeman, neurologist at the University of Edinburgh, explains how her mind might have created a likely story about
stimuli she might have sensed in other ways: a whinny from a neighboring horse, her own intuitive knowledge that the horse
looked old and unwell. Another, Mark Solms, a neuro-scientist and psychoanalyst, brings up how during dreams, the emotional
sector of brains is wildly alert, which is why our dreams have such an emotional nature.
- from:Can Dreams Predict the Future? By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

Dreams are not about what they are about

If you dream about some particular subject it is not often that the dream is about that. Dreams speak in a deeply symbolic language. The unconscious mind tries to compare your dream to something else, which is similar. Its like writing a poem and saying that a group of ants were like machines that never stop. But you would never compare something to itself, for example: "That beautiful sunset was like a beautiful sunset". So whatever symbol your dream picks on it is most unlikely to be a symbol for itself.
- Source: The List Universe

The real truth is that nobody sleeps

The real truth is that nobody sleeps, dreams or wakes up, because there is no reality in these states.

Transcend the three states and rest in the fourth state of Turiya, the eternal bliss of Brahman, Satchidananda Svaroopa.

- Swami Sivananda

take on the dream genre

Inception couples innovative art-house sensibilities with blockbuster thrill tactics to take on the dream genre with
ingenuity and intelligence. - By Zachary Goldbaum / Source: Filmjabber.com

discover how dreams 'really' work

"We think we know a lot with our rational brain, but perhaps we know a lot more in our irrational brain." So Ms. Hardie,
already acclaimed as a science documentarian (working with stem cell researchers) contacted the foremost scientists working
on the brain today, to discover how dreams 'really' work.- By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

Lucid dreams can be life changing experiences

Absolutely! Lucid dreams can be life changing experiences, not merely providing the allure of wish fulfillment,
but providing us with a vivid alternate reality playground for our personal development.
- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

Quitters have more vivid dreams

People who have smoked cigarettes for a long time who stop, have reported much more vivid dreams than they would normally experience. Additionally, according to the Journal of Abnormal Psychology: "Among 293 smokers abstinent for between 1 and 4 weeks, 33% reported having at least 1 dream about smoking. In most dreams, subjects caught themselves smoking and felt strong negative emotions, such as panic and guilt. Dreams about smoking were the result of tobacco withdrawal, as 97% of subjects did not have them while smoking, and their occurrence was significantly related to the duration of abstinence. They were rated as more vivid than the usual dreams and were as common as most major tobacco withdrawal symptoms."

- Source: The List Universe

So long as the dreamer dreams

So long as the dreamer dreams, dream-objects are real. When he wakes up the dream world becomes false. When one attains
illumination or knowledge of Brahman, this wakeful world becomes as unreal as the dream world.- Swami Sivananda

tried to bring dreams alive on screen

From the early days of film making (dare I say, since its inception?), theorists have speculated about the dreamlike nature
of the cinematic experience and movies have perpetually tried to bring dreams alive on screen. - By Zachary Goldbaum / Source: Filmjabber.com

can dreams tell the future?

But what makes Edge of Dreaming a film that sticks with you is the sober panic ("I had a pit in my stomach") -- and the
question that persists: can dreams tell the future?- By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

The Benefits of Lucid Dreaming

The Benefits of Lucid Dreaming. Lucid dreaming is a very real phenomenon.

Why would you want to learn how to lucid dream? Is it really worth the effort?

- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

Blind People Dream

People who become blind after birth can see images in their dreams. People who are born blind do not see any images, but have dreams equally vivid involving their other senses of sound, smell, touch and emotion. It is hard for a seeing person to imagine, but the body’s need for sleep is so strong that it is able to handle virtually all physical situations to make it happen.
- Source: The List Universe

The waking state is a long dream

The Vedantins study very deeply and carefully the states of dreams and deep sleep and logically prove that the waking state is as unreal as the dream state. They declare that the only difference between the two states is that the waking state is a long dream, Deergha Svapna.- Swami Sivananda

Lucid thriller

As Inception plows through its second weekend of box office glory, Christopher Nolan's lucid thriller is simultaneously solidifying its legacy as a classic of contemporary cinema.  - By Zachary Goldbaum / Source: Filmjabber.com

Lush dreamy shots

We get a sense of true thankfulness for the richness of love (husband and children) as well as lush dreamy shots of the
fields and home. We also have musings on mortality, the voice-over noting that the word "human" comes from humanitas,
meaning those that bury their dead in the earth. - By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

In her book, Lucid Dreams,

In her book, Lucid Dreams, Green predicted that conscious dreaming would be found only during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep.
She also speculated over a two-way signaling system between a lucid dreamer and a waking observer, using pre-determined eye movements while dreaming. This was later scientifically documented by two separate lucid dreamers in their university laboratories: Alan Worsley at the University of Hull in England, and Stephen LaBerge at Stanford University in California.
- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

External Stimuli Invade our Dreams

This is called Dream Incorporation and it is the experience that most of us have had
where a sound from reality is heard in our dream and incorporated in some way. A similar (though less external) example
would be when you are physically thirsty and your mind incorporates that feeling in to your dream. My own experience of
this includes repeatedly drinking a large glass of water in the dream which satisfies me, only to find the thirst returning
shortly after – this thirst… drink… thirst… loop often recurs until I wake up and have a real drink. - Source: The List Universe

The dreams point out a path

One may know how to act in a particular situation through dreams. The dreams point out a path unknown to the waking
consciousness. Saints and sages appear in dreams during times of difficulty and point out the way. - Swami Sivananda

Dream prophesy

The true account of the year following the dream prophesy, the film is, on a manifest level, a lyrical celebration of the
precious moments of the filmmaker's life, offering poetic images of Ms. Hardie and family in a gorgeous Scottish
countrysides: scenes at sunset swinging on the hammock with an adorably concerned daughter, shots of the director snuggling
with her psychologist husband in an airy bedroom, dark birds moving in formation in the clouds. "I wanted my eyes to feast
on what I love," the director comments.- from:Can Dreams Predict the Future? By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

Many lay people stumbled onto lucidity in their dreams

Many lay people stumbled onto lucidity in their dreams over the centuries and there are examples of this happening all throughout history. But it was not until 1968 that the term lucid dreaming was coined by Celia Green, a philosopher and psychologist known for her extreme skepticism.- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

Many riddles of life are solved

Many riddles of life are solved through hints from dreams. Dreams indicate which way the spiritual life of a man is flowing.  One may receive proper advice for self-correction through dreams. - Swami Sivananda

take a nap and dream about

According to the researchers of the study, people who take a nap and dream about a task they've just learned perform it
better upon waking than those who don't sleep at all or those who sleep but don't report any associated dreams. - Yahoo News

This is the story of Edge of Dreaming

This is the story of Edge of Dreaming, a new documentary by Scottish director Amy Hardie, recently premiered at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in Greece.- from:Can Dreams Predict the Future? By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

The study of dreams

No one has known himself truly who has not studied his dreams. The study of dreams shows how mysterious is our soul.
Dreams reveal to us that aspect of our nature, which transcends rational knowledge. Every dream presentation has a meaning.
A dream is like a letter written in an unknown language.- Swami Sivananda

Dreams boost learning.

New research has offered more evidence for some long-held notions that sleep and dreams boost learning. - Source: Yahoo News

This afternoon I had a (very rare) nap

This afternoon I had a (very rare) nap. During that nap I had a lucid dream (most of which I no longer remember).
As I was waking up, I was thinking about my dream and thought that it would be a great idea to write a list about
dreams for the site. - Source: The List Universe

It's time that your dream of meeting with God

It's time that your dream of meeting with God and becoming Him became the purpose of this life - Yes, this lifetime,
this moment on, begin the work that you have ignored and made excuses with - and with all seriousness accept Him as the
only true reality, and let the dreamer wake up, just this once, into the reality of his dreams.- Divine Messages received and recorded by Mrs Seema M Dewan
(Copyright reserved by the Author)

Profound wisdom

Profound wisdom comes through reflection on dreams.
- Swami Sivananda

A week later, this woman has a second dream

A week later, this woman has a second dream in which her deceased first husband Arthur announces to her that she will be dead by her 48th year. At this point, the woman -- a self-avowedly rational scientifically minded film director -- panics and believes this too will come to pass. Age 47, she prepares for her ensuing death by filming this perhaps last year of her life.- from:Can Dreams Predict the Future? By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

Consciousness in dreams

Consciousness in dreams is a concept that has been documented for at least a thousand years when it was practiced by
ancient Tibetan Buddhists in the form of Dream Yoga. They described it as “apprehending the dream”. They had discovered not
only a wonderful form of escapism, but the ability to observe consciousness in its purest form, without the distraction of
any external physical or conceptual stimulus. - source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

Toddlers do not dream about themselves

Toddlers do not dream about themselves until around the age of 3. From the same age, children typically have many more nightmares than adults do until age 7 or 8. - Source: The List Universe

It also turns out to be true

A man living in Haridwar dreamt on the first January 1947 that he will be in Benares on the night of the third January. It really turned out to be true. An officer dreams that he will be transferred to Allahabad. In the following morning he gets the transfer order. Another man dreams that he will meet with a motorcar accident on the coming Saturday. It also turns out to be true. - Swami Sivananda

If you are awakened out of REM

If you are awakened out of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, you are more likely to remember your dream in a more vivid way than you would if you woke from a full night sleep. from: Top 10 Amazing Facts About Dreams; Source: The List Universe

Like in the dream

A woman has a dream in which her favorite horse collapses and buckles to the ground. Disturbed by this nightmarish vision, she wakes up, walks out into the fields in the middle of the night and finds her horse dead, just like in the dream. - from:Can Dreams Predict the Future? By Karin Badt / Source: Huffington Post

It was all just as vivid as real life

And it was all just as vivid as real life… If not more so!

While the body remains asleep, the conscious brain wakes up, injecting the dream with vivid sensory input and empowering you with the ability to control your actions within the dream – and even control the dream itself.
- source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine

I’m a lucid dreamer

I’m not a lunatic – I’m a lucid dreamer. When I was 14 years old I discovered the art of lucid dreaming: the ability to
become self aware during the dream state. source:Lucid Dreaming – Waking Up to Alternate Realities , by Rebecca Turner from: evolution ezine