See, Hear and Touch - In Lucid Dreams

The activity of the brain during a dream activity, also using imagery or visualization, is the same as during a real event, neuronal patterns of activation that one would require and use for the act, skill or technique can be established in a dream state or through visualization. This is not a complete encoding via these types of mental states but it does encode such skills so they are available for training and practice where the other aspects of martial arts can be encoded for real-world-context applications.

Once we achieve lucid dreaming or if we use imagery in solo practice or training we have a type of control. In lucid dreaming we are now aware of the dream and this allows us a bit of control in how it goes. The same can be said of the use of imagery/visualization. In this light we provide for what we see.

Seeing involves more than just the literal stimuli perceived it also allows us to control a bit of what is seen so we may input a variety of scenario's that we can work out applications in response. This goes for the other senses as well. You should keep in mind for the lucid dream that this state is driven by the mind/brain because the real world senses are no longer sending signals to the brain.

In a lucid dream state we are not unconscious. We continue to experience consciousness with no sensory input. The mind is what actually constructs our reality both in the real world and in the dream world. If not we would not have the capability to visualize. Our minds go right on creating our real world but in a setting where control is achievable to a point.

Reading the gokui the spiritual is mentioned in the first third while the second and third involve the body and the spirit as both are fed by what we see, hear and feel. On occasion you can include smell and taste. In the physical world that experience has inherent dangers while in both the lucid dream world and through imagery/visualization you remove most if not all dangers.

This makes the tools of both lucid dreaming and imagery/visualizations a fundamental step in preparing for real-world-context reality training and practice. Research also shows that the lucid dream is significantly more creative than imagery or visualizations. Seeing the possibilities of the lucid dream state seems beneficial to our training, practicing and teaching of all things including martial systems.