Lucid dreaming

Lucid dreaming is the conscious perception of one's state while dreaming, resulting in a much clearer ("lucid") experience and usually enabling direct control over the content of the dream.Lucid dreaming FAQ by The Lucidity Institute at Psych Web. The complete experience from start to finish is called a lucid dream. Stephen LaBerge, a popular author and experimenter on the subject, has defined it as "dreaming while knowing that you are dreaming."What is lucid dreaming? Lucid dreaming FAQ by The Lucidity Institute. (October 2005)

LaBerge and his associates have called people who purposely explore the possibilities of lucid dreaming oneironauts (literally from the Greek meaning "dream explorers"). The topic attracts the attention of a diverse and eclectic group, namely psychologists, self-help authors, New Age groups, mystics, occultists, and artists. This list is by no means exhaustive nor does interest in lucid dreaming apply necessarily to each group.

Lucid dreamers regularly describe their dreams as exciting, colourful, and fantastic. Many compare it to a spiritual experience and say that it changed their lives or their perception of the world. Some have even reported lucid dreams that take on a hyperreality, seemingly "more real than real", where all the elements of reality are amplified. Lucid dreams are prodigiously more memorable than other kinds of dreaming, even nightmares, which may be why they are often prescribed as a means of ridding one's self of troubling dreams.

Although clear and consistent knowledge is difficult to find amongst the many interpretations of the experience — especially considering its highly subjective nature — the validity of lucid dreaming as a scientifically verified phenomenon is well-established. It may be classified as a protoscience, pending an increase in scientific knowledge about the subject. Researchers such as Allan Hobson with his neurophysiological approach to dreaming have helped to push the understanding of lucid dreaming into a less speculative realm.

Scientific research

A number of universities (notably Stanford) conduct continued research into the techniques and effects of lucid dreaming, as do some independent agencies such as LaBerge's The Lucidity Institute. Jungian psychology, for example, seems to indicate that non-lucid (or partly lucid) dreaming is a way to achieve self-understanding. At present, there are no known cases where lucid dreaming has caused damage on either a psychological or physiological level. However, it would be very difficult to determine whether some form of lucid dreaming might prevent one from receiving a benefit from normal dreaming.

The first book on lucid dreams to recognize their uniqueness and scientific potential was Celia Green's 1968 study Lucid Dreams. Reviewing the past literature, as well as new data from subjects of her own, Green analysed the main characteristics of such dreams, and concluded that they were a category of experience quite distinct from ordinary dreams. She predicted that they would turn out to be associated with REM sleep. Green was also the first to link lucid dreams to the phenomenon of false awakenings.

The first scientific support of lucid dreaming came in the late 1970s from the efforts of a British parapsychologist Keith Hearne, and a volunteer named Alan Worsley, who used eye movement signals on a polysomnograph machine to signal the onset of lucidity. Philosopher Norman Malcolm's 1959 text Dreaming argued against the possibility of checking the accuracy of dream reports in this way, however this experiment proved that actions agreed upon during waking life could be recalled and performed once lucid in a dream. Similar experiments were duplicated by Stephen LaBerge at Stanford University for his doctoral dissertation some years later. Interestingly, LaBerge had no knowledge of Hearne and Worsley's previous experiments at that time, probably due to the lack of publication of Hearne's work.

During the 1980s, further scientific evidence to confirm the existence of lucid dreaming was produced as lucid dreamers were able to demonstrate to researchers that they were consciously aware of being in a dream state (usually again by using eye movement signals).Lucid Dreaming: Awake in Your Sleep? by Susan Blackmore, published in Skeptical Inquirer 1991, 15, 362-370. Additionally, techniques were developed which have been experimentally proven to enhance the likelihood of achieving this state.Validity Established of DreamLight Cues for Eliciting Lucid Dreaming, by Stephen LaBerge and Lynne Levitan, Dreaming, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1995.

One outstanding question on the neurophysiological nature of lucid dreaming concerns the electrical activity in the frontal cortex, which is generally reduced during normal sleep.The prefrontal cortex in sleep, by Muzur A, Pace-Schott EF, Hobson JA, Trends Cogn Sci. 2002 Nov 1;6(11):475-481. The behavior of the frontal cortex has not at present been crucially analyzed with respect to lucid dreaming.

Past descriptions

Even though it has only come to the attention of the general public in the last few decades, lucid dreaming is not a modern discovery.

In the Old Testament in the Song of Solomon 5:2, there is some debate as to whether lucid dreaming is mentioned. The New Living Translation of this verse reads as follows: "One night as I was sleeping, my heart awakened in a dream. I heard the voice of my lover. He was knocking at my bedroom door...". Other translations are more literal. The Revised Standard Version of the same passage states only that "I slept, but my heart was awake ...". Even this is a matter of interpretation; the original Hebrew reads "אני ישנה ולבי ער קול דודי דופק" and a very literal translation would be "I asleep and my heart ^* knocking". Whilst the RSV's interpretation of "and" as "but" is entirely reasonable, it remains an interpretation only. From this it is not at all clear whether the narrating woman is relating a dreamstate.

It is in the fifth century that we have one of the earliest written examples of a lucid dream, in a letter written by St. Augustine of Hippo in 415.Letters of St. Augustine of Hippo

As early as the eighth century, Tibetan Buddhists were practising a form of yoga supposed to maintain full waking consciousness while in the dream state.The Best Sleep Posture for Lucid Dreaming: A Revised Experiment Testing a Method of Tibetan Dream Yoga, The Lucidity Institute, March 2005.

An early recorded lucid dreamer was the philosopher and physician Sir Thomas Browne (1605–1682). Browne was fascinated by the world of dreams and stated of his own ability to lucid dream in his Religio Medici: "... yet in one dream I can compose a whole Comedy, behold the action, apprehend the jests and laugh my self awake at the conceits thereof;"Religio Medici, part 2:11. Text available at http://penelope.uchicago.edu/relmed/relmed.html

Marquis d'Hervey de Saint-Denys was probably the first person to argue that it is possible for anyone to learn to dream consciously. In 1867, he published his book Dreams and how to Guide Them, in which he documented more than twenty years of his own research into dreams.

The term "lucid dreaming" was coined by Dutch author and psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden in his 1913 book A Study of Dreams.Originally published in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Vol. 26, 1913. This book was highly anecdotal and not embraced by the scientific community. The term itself is considered by some to be a misnomer because it means much more than just "clear or vivid" dreaming.What are lucid dreams? at Psych Web, A better term might have been "conscious dreaming".

The Senoi hunter-gatherers of Malaysia have been reported to make extensive use of lucid dreaming to ensure mental health.Senoi Dream Theory: Myth, Scientific Method, and the Dreamwork Movement, by G. William Domhoff, 2003. Retrieved July 10, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://dreamresearch.net/Library/senoi.html

Many believe that The Dreaming of Australian Aboriginal mythology is largely concerned with lucid dreaming, particularly referring to "all-at-once" time experiences and accounts that bear strong resemblance to modern conceptions of lucid dreaming.

The enthusiastic endorsement of lucid dreaming during the 1970s by New Age proponents such as Carlos Castaneda did little to enhance its scientific credibility.

Achieving and recognizing

Many people report having experienced a lucid dream during their lives, often in childhood. Although lucid dreaming is a learnable skillLaBerge, Stephen, (1980). Lucid dreaming as a learnable skill: A case study. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 51, 1039-1042., achieving lucid dreams on a regular basis can be difficult and is uncommon, even with training. Despite this difficulty, techniques have been developed to achieve a lucid dreaming state intentionally.

There are some factors which can affect the ability to experience lucid dreams:

Some naturals have lucid dreams more often and more easily than others.
Meditation, and involvement in consciousness focusing activities can strengthen the ability to experience lucid dreams.Lucid Dreams and Meditation, by Harry T. Hunt, Brock University, Ontario, Canada, Lucidity Letter, Vol.5, No.1, June 1986.
Children seem to have lucid dreams more easily than adults do. (The ability to sleep appears to decrease when people get older.Chronic Insomnia: A Practical Review, by Vijay Rajput, M.D. and Steven M. Bromley, M.D.)
Induction techniques can help much in becoming lucid.

The most important aspect in lucid dreaming is to recognize that one is dreaming. Any time that a person recognizes a dream sign, or anything that is out of the ordinary, they should perform a reality test.

Dream recall, the ability to remember one's dreams, is very important to lucid dreamers because it is usually desired that the lucid dreamer be able to remember lucid dreams. Improvement of dream recall is usually the first step people take to learn to have lucid dreams. A common practice used to increase dream recall is to keep a dream journal, or a notebook of dreams. The dream journal should be kept right next to the bed so that dreams can be written down as soon as a person wakes up. This is important because waiting until later in the day to write dreams down will usually cause one to forget most of their content. After waking up, it is often helpful to keep the eyes closed while trying to remember a dream.

Common techniques

Reality testing

Reality testing is a common method that people use to determine whether or not they are dreaming. It involves performing an action with results that are difficult to re-create in a dream. By practicing these techniques during waking life, one will eventually dream of performing a reality check—which will usually fail—helping the dreamer realize that they are dreaming. Examples of reality tests include:

To read some text, look away, and read it again, or to look at your watch and remember the time, then look away and look back. Observers have found that, in a dream, the text or time will often have changed.Reality testing, Lucid Dreaming FAQ, by The Lucidity Institute. (October 2005)
Flipping a light switch or looking into a mirror. Light switches rarely work properly in dreams, and reflections from a mirror often appear to be blurred, distorted or incorrect.The Light and Mirror Experiment by Lynne Levitan and Stephen LaBerge, The Lucidity Institute, from Nightlight 5(2), Summer 1993.
Closing one eye and looking at your nose, seeing that it's not there.
Covering your nose and seeing if you can still breathe through it.
Pressing the index finger firmly into an area of the body such as the chest or leg. Since matter is usually plastic in the dream state and does not resist change, the finger will usually penetrate the dream body with little resistance and no pain.
Observe your hand in a dream, often the hand has incorrect number of fingers.
Pinching oneself — in a dream no pain will be felt.

Another form of reality testing involves identifying one's dream signs, clues that one is dreaming. Dream signs are often categorized as follows:

Action — The dreamer, another dream character, or a thing does something unusual or impossible in waking life, such as photos in a magazine or newspaper becoming 3-dimensional with full movement.
Context — The place or situation in the dream is strange.
Form — The dreamer, another character, or a thing changes shape, or is oddly formed or transforms; this may include the presence of unusual clothing or hair, or a third person view of the dreamer.
Awareness — A peculiar thought, a strong emotion, an unusual sensation, or altered perceptions. In some cases when moving one's head from side to side, one may notice a strange stuttering or 'strobing' of the image.

Though occurrences like these may seem out of place in waking life, they may seem perfectly normal to a dreaming mind and learning to pick up on these dream signs will help in recognizing that one is dreaming.

Mnemonic induction of lucid dreams (MILD)

The mnemonic induction of lucid dreams is a common technique used to induce a lucid dream at will by setting an intention, while falling asleep, to remember to recognize that one is dreaming, or to remember to look for dream signs. Because it is easy to master (almost everyone sets intentions frequently), it is ideal for those who have never practiced lucid dreaming induction techniques before.

The MILD technique was developed by Stephen LaBerge, and is described fully in his book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming.

Wake-back-to-bed (WBTB)

The wake-back-to-bed technique is often the easiest way to induce a lucid dream. The method involves going to sleep tired and waking up five hours later. Then, focusing all thoughts on lucid dreaming, staying awake for an hour and going back to sleep. The odds of having a lucid dream are then much higher. This is because the REM cycles get longer as the night goes on, and this technique takes advantage of the best REM cycle of the night. Because this REM cycle is longer and deeper, gaining lucidity during this time may result in a more vivid and lengthy lucid dream.An Hour of Wakefulness Before Morning Naps Makes Lucidity More Likely, by Stephen LaBerge, Leslie Phillips, & Lynne Levitan, NightLight 6(3), 1994, The Lucidity Institute This may also offer an explanation as to why many people claim to have more memorable dreams in the early morning hours before they wake up for the day. However, the explanation that people may simply recall a dream more easily if they directly wake up from it has also been suggested.

Wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD)

The wake-initiated lucid dream "occurs when the sleeper enters REM sleep with unbroken self-awareness directly from the waking state".Validity Established of Dreamlight Cues for Eliciting Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge and Lynne Levitan, The Lucidity Institute, from Dreaming, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1995. The key to this technique is recognizing the hypnagogic stage, which is within the border of being awake and being asleep. If a person is successful in staying aware while this stage occurs, they will eventually enter the dream state while being fully aware that it is a dream. Because one does not have to recognize a cue in order to induce a lucid dream using this technique, it tends to be more reliable than other techniques. There are key times at which this technique is best used; while success at night after being awake for a long time is very difficult, it is relatively easy after being awake for 15 or so minutes and in the afternoon during a nap. Users of this technique often count, envision themselves climbing or descending stairs, chanting to themselves, or any various form of concentration to keep their mind awake, while still being calm enough to let their body sleep. During the actual transition into the dreamstate, one is likely to experience sleep paralysis, including rapid vibrations.Other Worlds: Out-of-Body Experiences and Lucid Dreams, by Lynne Levitan and Stephen LaBerge, Nightlight 3(2-3), 1991, The Lucidity Institute.

Cycle adjustment technique (CAT)

The cycle adjustment technique, developed by Daniel LoveCAT method: New Lucid dream induction technique, original post by Daniel Love at The Lucidity Institute forum., is an effective way to induce lucid dreaming. It involves adjusting one's sleep cycle to encourage awareness during the latter part of the sleep. First, the person wakes up 90 minutes before normal wake time until their sleep cycle begins to adjust. After this, the normal wake times and early wake times alternate. On the days with the normal wake times, the body is ready to wake up, and this increases alertness, making lucidity more likely.

Don Juan's technique

This technique is the one endorsed by Carlos Castaneda's guide, Don Juan, in the book Journey to Ixtlan. Before going to sleep one must look at one's hands and say to oneself: "Later, when I am dreaming, I will look at my hands and realise that I am dreaming." While dreaming, one must look at one's hands, then look around and repeat the procedure throughout the dream.Journey to IxtlanLucid Dreaming Techniques

See also: The Art of Dreaming (a book by Castaneda)

Induction devices

Lucid dream induction is possible by the use of a physical device. The general principle works by taking advantage of the natural phenomenon of incorporating external stimuli into one's dreams. Usually a device is worn while sleeping that can detect when the sleeper enters a REM phase and triggers a noise or flashing lights with the goal of these stimuli being incorporated into the dreamer's dream. For example flashing lights might be translated to a car's headlights in a dream. A well known dream induction device is the Nova Dreamer Novadreamer Lucid Dream Induction DeviceThe Lucidity Institute, as of 2006 the device is no longer manufactured however.

Other associated phenomena

Rapid eye movement (REM) and communication during sleep: during dreaming sleep the eyes move rapidly. Scientific research in the 1950s found that these eye movements correspond to the direction in which the dreamer is "looking" in his/her dreamscape; extraordinarily, this apparently enabled trained lucid dreamers to communicate the content of their dreams as they were happening to researchers by using eye movement signals. This research produced various results, such as that events in dreams take place in real time rather than going by in a flash.
False awakenings: In a false awakening, one suddenly dreams of having been awakened. If the person was lucid, he/she often believes that he/she is no longer dreaming, and may start exiting their room etc. Since the person is actually still dreaming, this is called a "false awakening". This is often a nemesis in the art of lucid dreaming because it usually causes people to give up their awareness of being in a dream, but it can also cause someone to become lucid if the person does a reality check whenever he/she awakens. People who keep a dream journal and write down their dreams upon awakening sometimes report having to write down the same dream multiple times because of this phenomenon.
Sleep paralysis: During REM sleep the body is paralyzed by a mechanism in the brain, because otherwise the movements which occur in the dream would actually cause the body to move. However, it is possible for this mechanism to be triggered before, during, or after normal sleep while the brain awakens. This can lead to a state where a person is lying in his or her bed and he or she feels frozen. Hypnagogic hallucinations may occur in this state, especially auditory ones. People also generally report feeling a crushing sensation on their chestScared Stiff - Sleep Paralysis, An Interview with Jorge Conesa, PhD, by Lucy Gillis, 2001. (possibly because they try to consciously control their breathing). People trying to lucid dream sometimes try to trigger this state, or accidentally trigger this state, while using the WILD technique to enter a lucid dream directly when falling asleep.

Things to do

Some general ideas:

Real-life rehearsal: Since the mental and physical effects of lucid dreaming are almost indistinguishable from real-life, dreamers can rehearse various things (such as stage performances, soccer moves, etc.) in a lucid dream and readily apply that to real-life. It is possible to essentially repeat the events of a lucid dream as many times as the dreamer desires. As such, the dreamer can explore the effects of any course of action within that dream and/or refine their course of action to get a desired effect without resorting to directly willing the desired effect to happen.
Look for artistic ideas.
Spiritual practice: Some religions claim that lucid dream states give the dreamer a special kind of access to the spiritual world. It is claimed that by practicing prayer or meditation during a lucid dream, the dreamer can gain access to mystical states of awareness that would not be accessible from the waking state. Such practices are sometimes classified as "dream yoga".
Experiment: Without restrictions from physics or society, one can do anything they desire when in a lucid dream. A few popular activities include flying, underwater exploration, having superhuman powers, sexual acts, drug use, and experimentation with extra limbs or otherwise modifying one's body.
Face fears: Because pain does not exist in lucid dreaming, some dreamers use the dream state to face fears such as claustrophobia and acrophobia. Since one can control the interactions one has during the dream, facing fears in the lucid dream state can help manage fears in waking life.

See the related Lucid Dreaming Wikibooks page for more ideas and further details.

Popular culture

The movies Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes) and Vanilla Sky are partly about lucid dreaming.
The Nightmare on Elm Street series directly involves lucid dreams as a plot device by which the villain threatens the heroes.
The movie Mulholland Drive can be interpreted as a study of lucid dreaming and dream interpretation.
The song "Silent Lucidity" by Queensrÿche, a top-five hit in 1990, was about the benefits of lucid dreaming.
The music video for Everlong by the Foo Fighters features lucid dreaming, in which lead singer Dave Grohl uses lucid dreams to save his girlfriend from a nightmare.
The book Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett is mostly set in a videogame world accessed by lucid dreaming.
In the Voyager episode "Waking Moments", Chakotay used lucid dreaming and the image of Earth's moon, in order to wake himself from a deep sleep state induced by an alien culture.
Waking Life is a movie by Richard Linklater where the main character is in a persistent dreamlike state and explores lucid dreaming.
The episode "Captain Lucidity" of Ed (TV series) is based almost exclusively within a lucid dream.
The manga Hikaru no Go features a lucid dream in chapter 148.
The computer game Dreamfall is based on the concept of lucid dreaming.
The book The Reality Bug from the Pendragon series involves a whole world living in lucid dreaming by a machine.
In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) The main character, Joel Barish, experiences a lucid dream while having his memory erased.
The Book Last Guardian of Everness by John C. Wright has a plot that centers around a fantasy world visited by lucid dreaming.
In the movie Mysterious Skin some of the main characters experience lucid dreams through out the movie thinking they are being taken by aliens.
In the movie Old School, Will Ferrel's character Frank has a lucid dream after he is tranquilized and as he is drowning unconsiouslly in a pool.

Notes

References

Lucid Dreaming (1985) ISBN 0-87477-342-3 by Stephen LaBerge.
Lucid Dreams (1968) ISBN 0-90-007600-3 by Celia Green
Lucid Dreaming: The Paradox of Consciousness During Sleep (1994) ISBN 0-41-511239-7 by Celia Green and Charles McCreery
Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming (1991) ISBN 0-34-537410-X by Stephen LaBerge.
Creative Dreaming (1974) ISBN 0-671-21903-0 by Patricia L Garfield
Dreams and How to Guide Them ^* (1982) ISBN 071561584X by Hervey de Saint-Denys
The Lucid Dreamer (1994) ISBN 0-671-87248-6 by Malcom Godwin
Tibetan Yogas Of Dream And Sleep (1998) ISBN 1-55-939101-4 by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Conscious Mind, Sleeping Brain (1988) ISBN 0306428490 by Jayne Gackenbach and Stephen Laberge, Eds.

External links

Lucid Dreaming FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions
The Lucidity Institute, Inc.
Valasearch Lucid Dreaming section Lucid Dreaming Techniques
An academic article by Stephen LaBerge and Lynne Levitan
The Dream Explorer— Online Lucid Dreaming Resource and Community
About.com Lucid dreaming
Changing a Lucid Dream Through the Practice of Dream Yoga
Dreamviews — Online Lucid Dreaming Community
Reality Check — Software to assist with reality checks.
LD4all — Dream & know it... Control conscious dreams
Join a team of Lucid Dreamers
Don Juan technique 1
Don Juan technique 2
Dream Views lucid dreaming walkthrough

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