Essay/Term paper: Lucid dreaming

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Science Reports

Lucid Dreaming


Dreams are the playground of the mind. Anything can happen when one is
dreaming. The only limitation is that we only rarely realize the freedoms
granted to us in our dreams while we have them. Lucid dreaming is the ability to
know when one is dreaming, and be able to influence what will be dreamt. A
normal dream is much like passively watching a movie take place in your skull.
In a lucid dream, the dreamer is the writer, director, and star of the movie.
Lucid dreams are exceptionally interesting.
Lucid dreaming is defined as dreaming when the dreamer knows that they are
dreaming. The term was coined during the 1910Õs by Frederik van Eeden who used
the word "lucid" in the sense of mental clarity (Green, 1968). Lucidity usually
begins in the midst of a dream, when the dreamer realizes that the experience is
not occurring in physical reality, but is a dream. Often this realization is
triggered by the dreamer noticing some impossible or unlikely occurrence in the
dream, such as meeting a person who is dead, or flying with or without wings.
Sometimes people become lucid without noticing any particular clue in the dream;
they just suddenly realize that they are in a dream. A minority of lucid dreams
(about 10 percent) are the result of returning to REM sleep directly from an
awakening with unbroken reflective consciousness (LaBerge, 1985). These types of
lucid dreams occur most often during daytime napping. If the napper has been REM
deprived from a previous night of little sleep their chances of having a REM
period at sleep onset are increased. If the napper is able to continue his or
her train of thought up to the point of sleep, a lucid dream may develop due to
an immediate REM period.
The basic definition of lucid dreaming requires nothing more than the
dreamer becoming aware that they are dreaming. However, the quality of lucidity
varies greatly. When lucidity is at a high level, the dreamer is aware that
everything experienced in the dream is occurring in their mind, that there is no
real danger, and that they are asleep in bed and will awaken eventually. With
low-level lucidity they may be aware to a certain extent that they are dreaming,
perhaps enough to fly, or alter what they are doing, but not enough to realize
that the people in the dream are just figments of their imagination. They are
also unaware that they can suffer no physical damage while in the dream or that
they are actually in bed. Lucidity and control in dreams are not the same thing.
It is possible to be lucid and have little control over dream content, and
conversely, to have a great deal of control without being explicitly aware that
one is dreaming.
Lucid dreams usually happen during REM sleep. Working at Stanford
University, Dr. Stephen LaBerge proved this by eliciting deliberate eye movement
signals given by lucid dreamers during their REM sleep. LaBerge's subjects slept
in the laboratory, while the standard measures of sleep physiology (brain waves,
muscle tone and eye movements) were recorded. As soon as they became lucid in a
dream, they moved their eyes in large sweeping motions left-right-left-right, as
far as possible. This left an unmistakable marker on the physiological record of
the eye movements. Analysis of the records showed that in every case, the eye
movements marking the times when the subjects realized they were dreaming
occurred in the middle of unambiguous REM sleep. LaBerge has done several
experiments on lucid dreaming using the eye-movement signaling method,
demonstrating interesting connections between dreamed actions and physiological
responses.
It has been debated if lucid dreaming interferes with the function of Ò
normalÓ dreaming. According to one way of thinking, lucid dreaming is normal
dreaming. The brain and body are in the same physiological state of REM sleep
during lucid dreaming as they are during most ordinary non-lucid dreaming. In
dreams the mind creates experiences out of currently active thoughts, concerns,
memories and fantasies. Knowledge that a person is dreaming simply allows them
to direct their dream along constructive or positive lines, much like they
direct their thoughts when awake. Furthermore, lucid dreams can be even more
informative about the self than non-lucid dreams, because one can observe the
development of the dream out of oneÕs feelings and tendencies, while being aware
that one is dreaming and that the dream is coming from the self. The notion that
dreams are unconscious processes that should remain so is false. Waking
consciousness is always present in dreams. If it were not, we would not be able
to remember our dreams, because one can only remember an event that has been
consciously experienced. The added "consciousness" of lucid dreaming is nothing
more than the awareness of being in the dream state.
The first thing that attracts people to lucid dreaming is often the
potential for adventure and fantasy fulfillment. Flying is a favorite lucid
dream delight, as is sex. Many people have said that their first lucid dream was
the most wonderful experience of their lives. A large part of the extraordinary
pleasure of lucid dreaming comes from the exhilarating feeling of utter freedom
that accompanies the realization that one is in a dream, where there will be no
social or physical consequences of oneÕs actions.
Unfortunately for many people, instead of providing an outlet for unlimited
fantasy and delight, dreams can be dreaded episodes of limitless terror. Lucid
dreaming may well be the basis of the most effective therapy for nightmares. If
one becomes aware that they are dreaming they can realize that in a dream
nothing can harm them. There is no need to run from or fight with dream monsters.
In fact, it is often pointless to try because the horror is in their own mind,
which can pursue them wherever they dream themselves to be. The fear is real,
but the danger is not. The only way to escape is to end the fear, for as long as
they fear their dream, it is likely to return. Unreasonable fear can be defused
by facing up to the source, or going through with the frightening activity, so
that one can observe that no harm comes to them. In a nightmare, this act of
courage can take any form that involves facing the "threat" rather than avoiding
it. Monsters often transform into benign creatures, friends, or empty shells
(Saint-Denys, 1867/1985) when courageously confronted in lucid dreams. This is
an extremely empowering experience. It teaches in a very visceral manner that
fear can be conquered.
Lucid dreaming can also help people achieve goals in their waking lives.
There are many ways that individuals can use lucid dreams to prepare for some
aspect of their waking activities. Some of these applications include: rehearsal
(trying out new behaviors, or practicing them, and honing athletic skills),
creative problem solving, artistic inspiration, overcoming sexual and social
problems, coming to terms with the loss of loved ones, and physical healing. If
the possibility of accelerated physical healing, suggested by anecdotes from
lucid dreamers, is born out by research, it would become a tremendously
important reason for developing lucid dreaming abilities.
The following is an excerpt from Dr. LaBergeÕs book entitled Lucid Dreaming.
In it he gives advice on how to dream with lucidity.
There are several methods of inducing lucid dreams. The first step,
regardless of method, is to develop your dream recall until you can remember at
least one dream per night. Then, if you have a lucid dream you will remember it.
You will also become very familiar with your dreams, making it easier to
recognize them while they are happening. If you recall your dreams you can begin
immediately with two simple techniques for stimulating lucid dreams. Lucid
dreamers make a habit of "reality testing." This means investigating the
environment to decide whether you are dreaming or awake. Ask yourself many times
a day, "Could I be dreaming?" Then, test the stability of your current reality
by reading some words, looking away and looking back while trying to will them
to change. The instability of dreams is the easiest clue to use for
distinguishing waking from dreaming. If the words change, you are dreaming.
Taking naps is a way to greatly increase your chances of having lucid dreams.
You have to sleep long enough in the nap to enter REM sleep. If you take the nap
in the morning (after getting up earlier than usual), you are likely to enter
REM sleep within a half-hour to an hour after you fall asleep. If you nap for 90
minutes to 2 hours you will have plenty of dreams and a higher probability of
becoming lucid than in dreams you have during a normal night's sleep. Focus on
your intention to recognize that you are dreaming as you fall asleep within the
nap. (LaBerge, 1985)
External cues to help people attain lucidity in dreams have been the focus
of Dr. Stephen LaBerge's research at the Lucidity Institute for several years.
Using the results of laboratory studies, he has designed a portable device,
called the DreamLight ($950), for this purpose. It monitors sleep and when it
detects REM sleep it gives a cue (a flashing light) that enters the dream to
remind the dreamer to become lucid. The light comes from a soft mask worn during
sleep that also contains the sensing apparatus for determining when the sleeper
is in REM sleep. A small custom computer connected to the mask by a cord decides
when the wearer is in REM and when to flash the lights.
The phenomena of lucid dreaming has been looked into as a possible
explanation of the out-of-body experience. In an Out-of-Body Experience (or OBE)
a person feels that they are separated from their body and are free to float or
fly about. They feel as if they are perceiving the physical world from a
location outside of their physical body. The OBE has also been linked with the
Near-Death Experience (or NDE) wherein a person who is at the brink of death has
an OBE. The NDE, the OBE, and lucid dreaming all have the common element of
being separated from the physical body. All include the sensation of flying
combined with a feeling of freedom. In an attempt to explain the OBE and the NDE,
lucid dreaming has come up as a reasonable theory. It is thought that in a half-
awake and half-dreaming state a person dreams of leaving their body. OBEÕs are
often elicited during deep meditation and relaxation where it is reasonable to
assume that during the trance a person could fall asleep and have a lucid dream
which felt like an OBE but was just a dream. Further research into this area is
certain to be done in the future.
Since we spend about 9% of our lives in the dream world it would make sense
to make the most of that time. By exploring that world with a conscious
awareness one can see the inside of their own head, actually see their thoughts
being formed. A lucid dream has infinite possibilities, it can happen every
night of oneÕs life, and best of all it is totally free of charge.

References

Green, Celia (1968). Lucid Dreams. London: Hamish Hamilton.

LaBerge, Stephen (1985). Lucid Dreaming. New York: Ballantine Books

LaBerge, Stephen, & Rheingold, Howard (1990). Exploring the World of
Lucid Dreaming. New York: Ballantine Books