Have you ever caught a fly with chopsticks?
Catching a fly with chopsticks is a great way to understand what it’s like to be truly aware.
I was sitting on an airplane a few days ago and there was a fly on the seat in front of me. I’ve probably seen a thousand flies in my lifetime, but this one was different.
I’d just been listening to my lucid trance recording on the plane, so my brain was already sitting at a higher level of consciousness.
The fly seemed detailed
When I was looking at the fly I didn’t just see a little black speck in front of me. I could actually see little details on it. It looked like it was scratching itself. I could see it looking around and I could sense it thinking.
When you’re fully engrossed in something it’s as if nothing else matters. Everything else on the outside is blurred and the only thing you can see (in full detail) is what you are looking at.
It’s a trance
You don’t need to meditate to fall into a trance state. You do it every day, but you just don’t realize it. It could happen when:
- A woman with large breasts walks past
- You spot a huge cream cake
- A sports car drives alongside you
Everything you stare at deeply will send you into a mini-trance where nothing else seems to matter for a split-second.
Try it today, or right now
To become more aware of something it takes time. At a guess I’d probably say a few minutes, so it’s not going to kill you to try it.
Just stare at something (not the woman with the large breasts) for a few minutes and notice the way it seems more detailed than before. You’ll get tunnel vision and nothing else will matter until you look away.
One thing that would be perfect is the dots on your hand.
Instead of just looking at the dots you actually have to stare at them as closely as possible until you can see them more clearly than ever before. You could maybe even choose a shape you can see in between the dots and imagine it’s really there (like the J).
You don’t need your eyes
If you want to become more aware during the day you can use all your senses:
- Try eating slowly and savoring the flavor of each bite
- Feel the wind on a particular part of your body (it’s easy to practice with a fan)
- Listen to some kind of music, but forget about the song; maybe focus on one specific sound
- Smell the air when you’re outside (living next to the beach and smelling the saltwater is a good one)
My reality check tattoo
If you were wondering what the tattoo was it’s my new one. And no, I never got it to do reality checks. I got it because I love lucid dreaming, but I’m going to use it to do reality checks. Big difference.
You shouldn’t get a tattoo, but your hand is definitely a great place to do them even if you’re just using the dots or lines.
I’ll write up another post in a few months with the results from the tattoo. I’ve already became lucid in a tattoo shop without even trying.
Improve your reality checks
This 2-minute stare technique is to be used for reality checks and it obviously gives them a kick up the ass because you’ve got full awareness while doing each one. I’ve mentioned becoming more aware during reality checks a few times, because quick glances 10-20 times per day isn’t good enough.
P.S. It doesn’t need to be 2 minutes, but it needs to be long enough so your extra-awareness kicks in.
P.S.S. Using your hand is easy because nobody is going to wonder why you’re staring at it.
Cool tattoo bro!
I have a lizard engraved on my right shoulder:
And a dragonfly on my left shoulder:
I was lucky enough to go an a vision quest where I found my totem animals. The Lizard’s medicine is that of dreaming and is meant to remind me that I create my dreams and can direct them. The Dragonfly’s medicine is illusion and reminds me that I am creating my waking life and can change anything just as easily by changing my Self.
Hey Michael,
Those sound cool and I love the way you found them. I always enjoy my tattoos more when they mean something. Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
Great article, Jamie! I’m quite fascinated by trance states so I loved the section on focusing on details to induce a trance state. As you’ve said before, meditation/trance states kill the internal dialogue.
Also, I’m really excited about expanding my awareness as part of a Lucid Living lifestyle so I enjoyed your emphasis on expanding sensual awareness. This is essential and I practice this every day now.
I continue to have a very vivid dream life. I may take a break from all lucid induction techniques as part of a new technique I’m learning from Ryan Hurd’s “Lucid Immersion Guidebook”. I’m not done with this Kindle book, but already I know that taking a break can lead to successes.
Hey Barclay,
I think focusing on details is one of the easiest ways to stop thinking about anything else.
Your lucid living lifestyle sounds cool, maybe you could write a guest post about it in the future if you’d like to, to share it with everyone else.
I’ve read Ryan’s Sleep Paralysis book and it’s very good, I’ll have to check out his new one when I have time to read a book.
Thank you for your offer to guest write an article on Lucid Living. Gosh, I have learned a lot about dreaming and lucid dreaming — but I’m still a developing my skill regarding actually having lucid dreams. I did have a dream a few days ago in which I actually caught myself thinking about how to awaken myself. I had overheard a discussion with myself about awakening — and that counts as a preliminary form of semi-lucid dream-thought.
No worries, the door is always open for when you feel comfortable writing about it. You have to be right on the brink of lucid dreaming now. It’s almost as if you are millimeters away each time 🙂
Hey there, just dropping by to let you know that I have been meditating on and off for the last few weeks, sometimes I fall asleep, other times I don’t. I have started to meditate 2 times per day nowadays and today I think I had my first trance-breakthrough. I sat upright, more or less in my bed and just concentrated on my imaginary ‘u’ when I breathed in and my imaginary ‘m’ when I breathed out and at some point I suddenly felt very warm, I thought I had some kind of pressure in my head, I felt a bit weightless and I had the impression that more blood was directed towards my head. This feeling of course caused some degree of excitement and I quickly lost this state, but I tried to think in words and I think I didn’t have an inner voice at that point.
It seems to be going well,
Thanks Jamie
That’s brilliant. It definitely does cause excitement when you feel strange sensations, but for me it’s also sometimes quite weird.
Good luck going forward, you seem to be doing great.
I’m a fan of slowing down to speed up.
I’m also a fan of what we’re capable of when we know how to use our mind to make things happen, whether that’s zoom in and focus, or zone out and dream big.
Hey JD,
‘I’m also a fan of what we’re capable of when we know how to use our mind to make things happen’
This is so important, yet most of use don’t know how to use its full power.
Hey Jamie,
I like the ideas you shared here in your post. You are right about us being in a trance state most of the time. The cool thing is when we can become aware of the trance state and use it to our advantage.
Cool Tat btw.
Take Care.
Hey Justin,
For some reason your comment was in the spam folder. I hope you’ve had a great Xmas and New Year.
It’s definitely great to know when you’re in the trance state. I love any time when I’m completely aware and feel much better for it.