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Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

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Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#131

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…

Something that happened a few times to me during this transitional state is “hearing” (more like hallucinating) music that I was singing in my mind while still awake. Except much clearer and vivid than ever before. I think that since the ordinary hearing function was just shutting itself off, the conscious brain could experience only its memory of the song and did it intensely so. It lasted a couple of seconds only,…

If you try to sleep with your eyes partially closed, you’ll start to hallucinate the things in front of you. Things become shapes, and then completely different things. It’s pretty interesting.

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#133
post #72

I have aphantasia, but this exact state (just as I fall asleep) is the only time I can consciously see images in my head. It’s very odd

Same. I also see images while dreaming though. And after drinking alcohol, after lying down to sleep, but in an earlier state than about-to-fall-asleep, I see weird star patterns.

My pre-sleep alcohol induced imagination is like a colored star which keeps changing in different ways. It follows a rhythm, maybe similar to my heartbeat. Maybe the color will change, maybe the center of the star will grow in size, maybe the star will get more spikes. It often fills my mind's eye quickly. It usually lasts just a few seconds right as I lay down. Sometimes at the end it develops into more like images than star patterns, but it feels similar.

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#134

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 lately noticed this too but, my "N1" mostly looks more like... I am generating sounds - melodies, songs, talking people and it feels like I am indeed listening to it, not like the dreamy feeling that there just is a sound.

Visually it's mixed up with "blank images" in that sense that I know there is something happening but I can't grasp it. It's like watching very fast recording - you know something is there but either it's too fast to catch or you are too slow to grasp the meaning (if there even is any).

What's weird is that these background songs actually do make sense, well at least in my head (heh) and these are not copies or mixes of anything I can remember.

I am mainly a electronic music junkie: DnB, techno, drumstep but from time to time I, mainly dictated by my emotions, listen to instrumental rock, indie metal and alike (BMTH, I Prevail, Royal Blood). But in contrast, all the songs in my head are instrumental, often being "lyrics first" which is pretty much out of my typical range - I like to fill in the words, feelings - some meaning into the beats myself, that is why I listen to progressive electro stuff with not much lyrics if any.

I am guy with absolutely basic music theory and zero exposure to anything like music composition (okey I sometimes dream (like in wish) that I would learn piano or bass).

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#135

I've experienced similar effects first hand. University algorithm class assignment is due tomorrow at 1pm. I start working on it at midnight the day of. At around 4-5am I was stumped from a few problems, and went to campus to get some coffee. Tim Horton's doesn't open until 7am. I sit down in a chair and fall asleep. While I was sleeping (half sleeping?), I dream-solved the remainder of the problems. At 7am, I awoke,…

Did you get the right answers? :) Hat tip for Timmies though.

I didn't get a perfect grade, but I think the insights did help somewhat. Maybe if I did this 1 day prior and edited my answers, I would have done perfectly :)

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#137

I've experienced similar effects first hand. University algorithm class assignment is due tomorrow at 1pm. I start working on it at midnight the day of. At around 4-5am I was stumped from a few problems, and went to campus to get some coffee. Tim Horton's doesn't open until 7am. I sit down in a chair and fall asleep. While I was sleeping (half sleeping?), I dream-solved the remainder of the problems. At 7am, I awoke,…

I had a really similar experience during college. I was trying to display a binary tree in the command line. I was not able to solve it while awake. I went to bed with that problem in my mind. Then I dreamt the solution. I woke up and the dream made sense. I couldn’t believe it so I tried in the code and it worked! That was a surreal experience.

Re: Sleep technique used by Salvador Dalí works

#139

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…

Wow, I have this exact same experience before falling asleep. It feels like a direct shift in the thought processes, and as you described it, it feels as though you have become a passive observer of your own thoughts. The images are sometimes so absurd and creative that I almost laugh to myself. But I also, don't KNOW if the images are creative or absurd, but just my brain believing it so -- is there even a differenc…

What I can definitely remember is that before I started being conscious about this transition I started waking up with "mental" shock, like the absolute last part part of sleep were cut of prematurely and you are shunted straight into consciousness, it wasn't physical shock, I might have twitched a bit but it's kind of hard to be sure about it.

Then these shocks also started happening before sleep, before entering or inside this N1 state, basically I would "hard on" consciously notice I am drifting which kind of catapulted me back into full consciousness. Though, it wasn't hard to start slipping back into sleep unless nervous for next day stuff.

I am not a lucid dreamer, I think I experienced that once but it was very ...murky, like a typical dream afterwards. Same for sleep paralysis, happened few times but it's rare and as far as I remember, it wasn't fear inducing.

Also, needs to be noted that my "sleep organization" is pretty fucked up and I often end up sleeping less hours then I would normally need, for days, refilling the deficit thru weekends.

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