Background/Objectives: Lucid dreaming—dreaming with the awareness that one is dreaming—has been explored from many perspectives, including those of cognitive neuroscience and various ancient cultural traditions. Lucid dreaming appears within the Tibetan-Buddhist literature together with dream yoga, a set of contemplative practices aimed at cultivating lucidity during dreams along with other qualities such as visual imagination, somatic awareness, and cognitive flexibility. These practices include deity visualization, which is the practice of bringing to mind a detailed image of a being whose qualities the practitioner wishes to cultivate. We examined whether it is possible to induce a lucid dream of Chenrezig, the ultimate embodiment of compassion in a Tibetan-Buddhist context. Methods: Five participants slept in the sleep laboratory for 7 overnight sessions with polysomnographic recording and auditory reminders to visualize Chenrezig during REM sleep. Results: Lucid dreams were reported by two participants. A frequent lucid dreamer with no prior Tibetan-Buddhist training experienced a lucid dream that included a visualization of Chenrezig following auditory cueing during REM sleep. A monastic participant with no prior history of lucid dreaming reported their first-ever lucid dream on the night following their laboratory session. Conclusions: This exploratory study illustrates, via collaborative research including monastic scholars trained in neuroscience, that dream content can be intentionally shaped using an approach that integrates contemplative visualization practices with modern techniques of dream engineering.

This study investigates the physiological mechanisms underlying voluntary regulation of body temperature using a combination of electroencephalography (EEG) and infrared thermography, with Tummo meditation—a practice within the system of tantric Buddhism—as a model. According to traditional Buddhist descriptions, this form of meditation is associated with inner fire generation. The dynamics of surface body temperature redistribution were examined across four sessions in a single experienced Tummo practitioner (a Tibetan monk) during meditation, as well as during its individual stages (specific breathing techniques and meditative visualization). Temperature dynamics were compared with changes in EEG spectral power in the α-band. The study was conducted under monastery conditions in the Himalayan region of India. The first two sessions were performed in December 2023 (room temperature +13°C), and the subsequent two sessions in October 2024 (room temperature +23°C). Physiological parameters were recorded during a pre-meditation control (resting wakefulness, 15 min), during meditation (25–40 min), and during a post-meditation control (15 min). EEG was recorded from 19 channels using a Mitsar-202 electroencephalograph, and spectral power in the α-band (8–12 Hz) was analyzed. Mean surface temperature values across 25 regions of the chest and abdomen were recorded using an infrared thermograph (IRTIS-2000 C, Russia). A statistically significant increase in abdominal surface temperature was observed during meditation and persisted into the post-meditation control period. In contrast, no statistically significant changes in surface body temperature were observed during the pre-meditation resting condition. Analysis of EEG spectral power revealed no statistically significant changes in α-band power before, during, or after Tummo meditation. Analysis of different meditation stages showed that the most pronounced increases in surface body temperature occurred during the bhumchen breathing technique accompanied by meditative visualization. However, EEG analysis did not reveal clear associations between changes in α-rhythm power and increases in surface body temperature.