How meditators can re-start the image-streaming process

How To Trigger Image Streaming

Filip has mastered his mind and made it silent but wants to be able to do image streaming...

Filip wrote to me recently with the following question:

From: Filip
To: wily[at}wilywalnut.com
Subject: info image streaming
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2008

Great Day
I contact you concerning the image streaming process

I trained myself to make silence in the head and therefore images are appearing very very rarely.
I tried many many times and for hours, days. I end up sleeping most of the time and in the dream I have the answer of the question. It is fantastic, but it is not image streaming and therefore is a shame because i think this is one of the greatest tools.

Thank you for the great help of yours

Sincerely,

Filip

Here is my reply:

Hello Flip,

Thank you so much for your email and for sharing your experiences.

Your description reminds me of something I read in a book on Tibetan Lucid Dreaming practice. In the West, lucid dreaming is used as a tool of exploration, fun, and adventure. In Tibetan Buddhist traditions they attempt to become lucid in the dream in order to continue meditation practice into their sleep, with the ultimate goal of attaining 'the clear light'... a state of no-mind, or ultimate expanded consciousness.

How did you train yourself to 'make silence in the head'?

What processes or practices did you do to achieve that result? And when you did consistently achieve that inner silence what affect did that have on your state of consciousness?

You say that you still dream while you are asleep (and that you get answers to questions in your dreams -- which is fantastic!). So, we know that the image stream is still working at night. You just want to activate it again during the day.

Here's how I suggest you do that:

1. If you stand on a skateboard on level ground, it won't move. You have to put one foot on the ground and push several times to get the board moving and then you can put both feet on the board and the skateboard will continue moving, and you can keep it moving with occasional extra pushes on the ground. We need to do the same thing to get your image stream moving again. And you will engage your imagination to 'push' and get the image stream going again...

2. Close your eyes and imagine a scene. You could start by remembering some place that you visited yesterday. Just recall the images to your mind. Replay any scenes where you talked with someone, or any actions that you took. When you've done that, open your eyes.

3. Good, you've made a good start. Close your eyes again, and this time imagine yourself back in that scene, but this time I want you to imagine a big pink elephant standing nearby, pulling bananas from a great big bunch of bananas. When you've done that, open your eyes. You're doing great.

4. Look at the back of your hands. Really notice everything about them. The texture of the skin, the knuckles, the fingernails. Turn them over and look at your palm, observe the lines. Now close your eyes, and see the your hands again in your mind's eye. Imagine clapping them together, hard. Imagine the clap and the sting of your palms, and the way they feel all tingly afterwards. Okay, open your eyes and give yourself a pat on the back, because you are doing great at this...

5. Okay, now, with your eyes open, I want you to think of a giraffe. Now, I want you to think of a bus. Got that? Okay, now I want you to combine the two and think of a giraffe bus. How does that look? Got it? Now think of a big tree. And when you've thought of that, think of a tall apartment block. And then combine the two...a big tree that is an apartment block. You only need to get a fleeting impression of this.

5. Okay, look at some man-made thing in the room where you are now. Really concentrate on it for about 30 seconds. Then ask yourself, where did that come from? How was it made? Try and think of where it originally came from, think of all the people involved in coming up with the original idea, developing the idea, setting up to manufacture it, getting the raw materials, building the factory perhaps to make them in, all the workers, then the people and processes involved in packing it, selling it, distributing it, selling it through wholesale outlets and then into retail stores and so on. Think of everything involved, the long chain of events and people, that resulted in that thing being there in your room before you.

6. Okay, when you've done that, just close your eyes and describe aloud whatever images and impressions are in your mind right now.

7. If there is still nothing but the silence, look at the velvety blackness on the inside of your eyelids and describe any patterns of light or lines or blobs or blurry shapes that form there. You can lightly press on your eyelids with your fingertips to cause these to appear. Keep describing them and allow them to morph into shapes and things, and keep describing them. At some point you will start to slide into seeing snatches of imagery, perhaps even a full blown day dream which you can describe aloud.

8. Remember, engage your imagination whenever you want to kick-start the image streaming process. To do this you can fantasize or day dream about things you want or wish to happen, you can include sexual imagery as that can help launch your inner eye very well. Or you can use guided visualization exercises or even goal visualization and just describe aloud what you are actively and deliberately visualizing. This will give you the same effects as image streaming.

I hope these ideas prove to be helpful to you, Filip, and I look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Warmest Regards,
Wily Walnut

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