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Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

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Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#101
Oh this is a thing? This happens to me when I’m working all night. I don’t work late often but when I do I’ll drift in and out of a half dozing state to reset and have a burst of coding energy.

I never knew this was a Dali thing. I purposely push myself those nights to get to the point of drifting in and out.

Again, not something I do often, and when I do I’m already in a pretty creative mood.

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#102
post #44

Instead of holding a pencil, can't a smartwatch detect your sleep state and wake you up at exactly the right moment?

Maybe? Why would you want to when a simple solution exists?

Is this a legit question? Instead of trying to sleep in an awkward position where you can drop something and have it wake you up, you could sleep in your bed and be woken up at the right time.

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#103
I notice this state quite often in myself. Not every night, but enough that it's not really notable anymore.

Usually, two seemingly unrelated concepts that I have been thinking about will become joined in strange ways — sometimes literally (some code I have been working on will be playing a song I have been listening to), sometimes in ways that I can't understand or describe.

Other times, I will hear music as loudly and clearly as if I were at a concert. It can be music that is actually playing, or not.

I find the experience pleasant and wish I could extend it.

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#104
post #99

Anecdote: I distinctly remember being on the edge of sleep writing a song one night in 2019. I was about to fall asleep on the floor with a notebook in my hand, and just at that moment, the music came into my mind. For whatever reason, I was able to stay awake and flesh it out as a recording. After reflecting on it the next day I realised I had written an acoustic fingerstyle piece that moved across keys as if there…

Can you share this piece? I want to hear it now.

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#105

Wow. I didn’t know this, but I was actually able to observe this state on myself. When going to sleep, my mind is wandering. But at one point it drifts from real world thoughts to completely abstract concepts and wild imagination that sometimes makes no sense. It’s almost like a hallucination. What’s most interesting is that sometimes I am able to notice the transition to this state and consciously observe it. Usuall…

Thank you for posting this! I experience almost the same feeling of my thought processes abruptly changing in form as I'm falling asleep. The few people I've talked to about this couldn't relate so I thought it was something specific to myself.

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#106
post #99

Anecdote: I distinctly remember being on the edge of sleep writing a song one night in 2019. I was about to fall asleep on the floor with a notebook in my hand, and just at that moment, the music came into my mind. For whatever reason, I was able to stay awake and flesh it out as a recording. After reflecting on it the next day I realised I had written an acoustic fingerstyle piece that moved across keys as if there…

Do you have a recording of the song online?

You story reminds me of a video by Jack Conte and his wife about their experience with lucid dreaming. They talk about how he wrote a song while dreaming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yti4yYZqtMo

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#107

Wow. I didn’t know this, but I was actually able to observe this state on myself. When going to sleep, my mind is wandering. But at one point it drifts from real world thoughts to completely abstract concepts and wild imagination that sometimes makes no sense. It’s almost like a hallucination. What’s most interesting is that sometimes I am able to notice the transition to this state and consciously observe it. Usuall…

I've always had insomnia, and I often observe myself entering the N1 state of sleep. Like you, it makes me happy because it's how I know I'll soon be asleep. immediately.

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#108
post #14

I think I once got into this hypnagogic state by accident. I was having a nap and my dogs woke me up because it was time for their walk. I felt sleepy while walking the dogs but also had a clarity regarding anything I examined in my mind. It's as if my regular state of mind was like walking in a forest with limited visibility, and now I could see the territory from a bird's perspective. This lasted for about 15 mins…

I guarantee that someone out there can recommend a substance which achieves that effect

Honestly, I've experimented a lot with mind altering substances and that was something quite different.

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#110
post #14

I think I once got into this hypnagogic state by accident. I was having a nap and my dogs woke me up because it was time for their walk. I felt sleepy while walking the dogs but also had a clarity regarding anything I examined in my mind. It's as if my regular state of mind was like walking in a forest with limited visibility, and now I could see the territory from a bird's perspective. This lasted for about 15 mins…

Meditation, if you don't overdo it (namely no longer than 30 minutes) has the same effect.

I was into meditation for years and only once doing Zazen I remember experimenting something similar.

It's certainly possible I was doing it wrong though, but even in one of those 12 day silent Vipassana retreats I never got that kind of clarity.

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