What do Alexander the Great, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and Salvador Dali all have in common besides creative brilliance? They all used a very simple method of tapping directly into the hypnagogic and hypnopompic states. They all accessed the most creative and insightful semi-lucid state that occurs just as they fell asleep. It’s called a N1, or non-rapid-eye-movement. In this sleep stage we can harness the liminal haze between sleep and wakefulness and we can recall our brilliance.

The Aboriginal people follow a spiritual practice known as Dreamtime. People that practice Dreamtime can look at an object or a place and see both its current reality and how the object or place looked long ago in its time of origin. They can literally slide in and out of these layers of reality simular to the methods described below where one can explore the haze between sleep and wakefulness. At one moment they can see a home and the next seeing that the home was built on sacred ground. They see the world we all share yet also perceive the imaginal places and associations that overlay these places. 

Using this method will increase your intuition by leaps and bounds!

Hypnagogic – The state immediately before falling asleep

Hypnopompic – The state immediately preceding waking up

Using any of the methods below will allow you to explore the rich, creative side of you and increase your intuition big time. Just use any one of the methods that resonates, or try all four.

The Method of Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was a master of surrealist art whose paintings were inspired by his dream world. He used a method of taking a, less than a quarter of a second nap to see visuals that he painted immediately after waking from the short nap.

His most famous method is called Slumber With A Key:

Dali said that the method provides both visual inspiration and the necessary rest for the mind, and hand, to stay sharp and steady for the labors of painting. His instructions for the “slumber with a key” are as follows:

“You must seat yourself in a bony armchair, preferably of Spanish style, with your head tilted back and resting on the stretched leather back. Your two hands must hang beyond the arms of the chair, to which your own must be soldered in a supineness of complete relaxation.

In this posture, you must hold a heavy key which you will keep suspended, delicately pressed between the extremities of the thumb and forefinger of your left hand. Under the key you will previously have placed a plate upside down on the floor…. The moment the key drops from your fingers, you may be sure that the noise of its fall on the upside down plate will awaken you.”

Have paper and pen right beside you and immediately upon waking from your short nap, write down every thought, image, or impression you experienced right before you woke up.

The Method of Thomas Edison

Edison believed sleep to be a waste of time and never slept more than fours per night. Yet he, like Dali used the dream world to help him with his brilliant inventions. He invented the Light Bulb after one of his short naps into the hypnagogic state. 

The inventor napped in a chair while holding a ball in each hand and the balls would fall to the floor and wake him.

Have paper and pen right beside you and immediately upon waking from your short nap, write down every thought, image, or impression you experienced right before you woke up.

Both methods of letting an object drop from your hand as you cross into sleep actually wakes you up the second you go into sleep paralysis.

What is Sleep Paralysis?

While falling asleep or waking up, your brain helps the muscles in your arms and legs relax. You become so relaxed that for a brief time you are essentially paralyzed. You may regain your awareness but feel like you can’t move. Paralysis is temporary and isn’t a sign of a medical issue. We relax into this state every single time we sleep. Using these methods will allow you to access and use sleep paralysis.

Here are my methods

Arm Drop: I get into bed and lie down but I keep one forearm raised into the air and supported by nothing while falling asleep. When my arm drops I am in sleep paralysis.

Nodding Off: I simply sit up in bed or on a chair with my head and neck NOT supported at all. Then I close my eyes and think about relaxing and having a nap. Soon my head drops to my neck as my muscles relax and I go into sleep paralysis. I am immediately awakened when my head drops and I write down every thought, image, or impression I experienced right before I woke up. Each time you try these methods you will explore further, learn more, and see more with each quarter of a second nap. 

Note about The Nodding Off Method: Sometimes I have not awakened immediately when my head dropped. Instead, I regained my awareness but I was still in sleep paralysis so I couldn’t lift my head for a very short time.