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@rush That's a great question. I have always daydreamed a lot. I know that's just mind, but mind can really travel. I would often put that to use designing something useful. And other times awareness would become a blank space. What is called "staring off into space". I would suddenly come back into self awareness and wonder "where did I just go?" I never thought of it as a negative thing. Actually it felt pretty good. I experienced that since I can remember. Probably A.D.D. Hehe So it seems like it all depends on if there is content to the awareness or if it is empty. I now learned to place intention on empty awareness through meditation and integrated that into what I have always experienced.

Mothers of newborns do it all the time.

@Tonyb Just last night I woke from sleep to take a piss. I got back in bed and stayed aware that I was falling back into sleep. I thought to myself " why not stay aware going back in". I was exploring all kinds of things happening within awareness. Than I started to consciously generate the experience at will. It started off as a kind psychedelic trip like google deep dream, even better. Unimaginable colors and shapes that don't exist in reality and I was making it all happen. I explored that for a little while than I changed it up to more of a reality based dream and explored that until I finally fell off into deep sleep again. That's as far as I can get. That would be like a twilight sleep but still, it was very cool just to explore!

@Henri Thanks Henri- I'll look in that now.

@Henri I was reading all of this and I find it very interesting. I have a question that I always wondered about. Maybe you can give me some insight on this? I have multiple sclerosis. My last MRI showed two lesions on the top of my brain between hemispheres. And I think three or four lesions along my spinal cord. The lesions on the brain effect my balance and the lesions on the spinal cord effect mostly the use of my legs. I have always wondered if lesions can also effect my chakras and the flow of energy. Or maybe that has nothing to do with it? If you can give me your impressions on that , I would be very grateful. Thanks Henri

What I'm saying is to always be totally present and in the moment throughout your life.

I'd avoid it like the plague. the total annihilation of your understanding of everything. keep living the dream. @Dash Us Pain My worst nightmare would be if when my time finally comes to the end of the road, to say to myself "I went through life with eyes half shut with preoccupation and self". Never having them fully open untill that last breath.

@Wouter This will explain it.

@Wouter Doing- without a doer is a practice of meditation. That being said, it's not cherry picking what is to be put to practice. Every moment presents itself as an opportunity.

@Wouter Be empty awareness. No concentration needed at all. Silent, empty awareness.

Just as an observation/question. How does one become "Expert" on this forum? I was always under the impression that it would be by getting reputations from others (thumbs up). That's not the case?

@jcgiusto I feel the same way sometimes. I wonder if everything that happens within mind could be just a dream of sorts. If that's the case, why not have fun with it? The truth has always been the truth. Maybe we are just seeing that truth for the first time (what exists beyond mind).

@cena655 Meditation can dig up old past unresolved issues. Nightmares or just nice dreams are both part of the subconscious mind play. There can also be increased awareness in sleep too. Nothing uncommon here. The next time you have a nightmare bring mindful awareness on scene. Say to yourself, "I'm dreaming this". It's your dream. why not have some fun with it?

I always remind myself that just because I woke this morning, doesn't mean I'm no longer dreaming.

@SkyPanther @SkyPanther I look at it this way, if Jesus achieved that level of Conscionsceness and selflessness and could stay in that state of cessation, even if he did survive the cross and "Rose again" he was of higher realm. There is more than one story here.

@SkyPanther Please, keep us informed about the neurosky. The last time I looked into it, they were still trying to perfect the reusable sensors. Saline free..

Did you ever hear that Christ may have achieved this? Where was he from the age of 13-31?

Oh, I did that. Once. I did not exist at all when it happened. It is total void within awareness. I only realized it of course after I came back to a state of floating in pure being. In meditation pure being was floating in an ocean, and there was just an essence of self awareness. Than pure being let go and into the ocean it disappeared. It merged with it. All gone! Awareness totally vanished at that point. Pure emptiness. And the funny thing was, I was thinking after that "that should be really scary ". But it wasn't at all. I understood that was just my thinking mind producing that thought. When you don't exist, you don't exist! The most amazing experience I never had.

@SkyPanther Yes, NDE is very similar an awakening experience of bliss or pure self or soul. I became interested in nde's after my first experience and many reports are identical. Many also interpret that experience it in their own personal way to too. Religious or whatever. In that type of sudden near death experience, ( when you let go of the body/ self) I would think that the mind would cling to whatever is available to believe in. Fall back on the faith, so to speak. Sharon Stone had a NDE. She said one thing that I can really relate to, "where we go when we pass, is right here!" And she puts out her hand showing Opra Winfree the empty space next to her. I had that same exact impression after my first experience. I don't know if that's just how the mind interprets itself when no thoughts arise?

@Falk @Nic I went 20 mins. longer than my usual 25. Maybe it was just me or todays meditation, but I started to get more into a dreamy state. I did better the first 25 mins. I really need try it again though.

@Dodoster I'm caught! Hehe

@SkyPanther This makes me wonder if what we interpret as experiencing a state of bliss, pure self, true self, soul, pure being, what ever you choose to call it, could that be the shutting down of the part of the brain that is responsible for the self conscious (the monkey mind). I experienced a silent ocean of pure being twice and both times there was a distinct shift in Conscionsceness. It felt like awareness came to a point of focus right before it happened. Than the mind became void of all thoughts. All that remained was consciousness and a total stillness and a feeling of bliss. Could that experience be caused by the shutting down of a certain part of the brain? I guess that gets into bio-feedback. Who knows, maybe someday we will have the technology to be able to induce a state of bliss through electrodes that swich off the "monkey mind". Bliss on demand. There could be franchises. "The Bliss bar" "The Bliss-tro". Imagine that, everybody hanging out with electrodes on their heads half blissed. Very cool!

@stephanie Hi, I understand enlightenment as simply the lifting of a vail from the eyes. Everything is seen in it's true light and accepted for how it is. Think of a very wise old woman. She has seen it all in her life time. The good, the bad, war, peace, hunger, plenty, love , hate, sickness, birth, death. All of it. And what she has not seen yet, would never surprise her. She is unshakable. She accepts everything for what it is and understands that everything is exactly as it is for a reason. She is long past asking herself "Why?" She has no desires for what she does not have already. She has made peace with her ultimate destiny and welcomes it when her time comes. She has become neutral and silent in thought through the lesson of life. Would that be called enlightenment? Not by her.

@The_spanish_guy Do this, slow your mind down by turning your attention to nothing but your breath. When you feel relaxed and quiet, imagine a place of infinite silence and stillness. I mean infinite. Focus on that Infinite emptiness. Does your perception shift suddenly and awareness comes to a point of perfect focus that you never knew was possible.

@ZenBlue I like when Russell says "connect with that and you'll beam like the Sun". He's getting the message out there. That's all that really matters. Jim Carey too and many others that are in the "spotlight".