Post by bluefedish on Oct 23, 2007 21:31:25 GMT -5
A lucid dream is a dream in which the person is aware that he or she is dreaming while the dream is in progress. During lucid dreams, it is often possible to exert conscious control over the dream characters and environment, as well as to perform otherwise physically impossible feats. Lucid dreams are known to be extremely real and vivid.
A lucid dream can begin in one of two ways. A dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD) starts as a normal dream, and the dreamer eventually concludes that he or she is dreaming, or a wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD) occurs when the dreamer goes from a normal waking state directly into a dream state with no apparent lapse in consciousness.
Lucid dreaming has been researched scientifically, and its existence is well established. Scientists such as Allan Hobson, with his neurophysiological approach to dream research, have helped to push the understanding of lucid dreaming into a less speculative realm.
Scientific History
The first book on lucid dreams to recognize their 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 analyzed 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.
Philosopher Norman Malcolm's 1959 text Dreaming argued against the possibility of checking the accuracy of dream reports. However, the realisation that eye movements performed in dreams affected the dreamer's physical eyes provided a way to prove that actions agreed upon during waking life could be recalled and performed once lucid in a dream. The first evidence of this type was produced in the late 1970s by British parapsychologist Keith Hearne. A volunteer named Alan Worsley used eye movement to signal the onset of lucidity, which were recorded by a polysomnograph machine.
Hearne's results were not widely distributed. The first peer reviewed article was published some years later by Stephen LaBerge at Stanford University who had independently developed a similar technique as part of his doctoral dissertation.
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 (again, primarily using eye movement signals). Additionally, techniques were developed which have been experimentally proven to enhance the likelihood of achieving this state.
Research on techniques and effects of lucid dreaming continues at a number of universities and other centers such as LaBerge's The Lucidity Institute.
Treatment of Nightmares
People who suffer from nightmares would benefit from the ability to be aware they are dreaming. A pilot study was performed in 2006 that showed lucid dreaming treatment was successful in reducing nightmare frequency. This treatment consisted of exposure to the idea, mastery of the technique, and lucidity exercises. It was not clear what aspects of the treatment were responsible for the success of overcoming nightmares, though the treatment as a whole was successful.
Cultural History
* 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 fifth century, a very early example of lucid dreaming is in a letter written by St. Augustine of Hippo in 415 AD.
* As early as the eighth century, Tibetan Buddhists were practicing a form of yoga supposed to maintain full waking consciousness while in the dream state. This system is extensively discussed and explained in the book Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light, one of the important messages of which has been the distinction between the Dzogchen meditation of Awareness and Dream Yoga or lucid dreaming. The Dzogchen Awareness meditation has also been referred to by the terms Rigpa Awareness, Contemplation, and Presence. Awareness during the sleep and dream states is associated with the Dzogchen practice of natural light, and lucid dreams may be a byproduct. In contrast, the more relative but still important experience of lucid dreaming is referred to as Dream yoga, and lucid dreaming is the goal. The lucidity experience, according to Buddhist teachers, assists in understanding the unreality of phenomena, which otherwise, during dream or the death experience, might be overwhelming.
* 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.
* 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 Les Reves et les Moyens de Les Diriger; Observations Pratiques (Dreams and How to Guide them; Practical Observations), 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 article A Study of Dreams. 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. A better term might have been "conscious dreaming". On the other hand, the term 'lucid' was used by van Eeden in its sense of 'having insight', as in the phrase 'a lucid interval' applied to someone in temporary remission from a psychosis, rather than as referring to the perceptual quality of the experience, which may or may not be clear and vivid. To that extent van Eeden's phrase may still be considered appropriate.
* In the 1950s the Senoi hunter-gatherers of Malaysia were reported to make extensive use of lucid dreaming to ensure mental health, although later studies refuted these claims
Selceted Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dreaming
A lucid dream can begin in one of two ways. A dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD) starts as a normal dream, and the dreamer eventually concludes that he or she is dreaming, or a wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD) occurs when the dreamer goes from a normal waking state directly into a dream state with no apparent lapse in consciousness.
Lucid dreaming has been researched scientifically, and its existence is well established. Scientists such as Allan Hobson, with his neurophysiological approach to dream research, have helped to push the understanding of lucid dreaming into a less speculative realm.
Scientific History
The first book on lucid dreams to recognize their 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 analyzed 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.
Philosopher Norman Malcolm's 1959 text Dreaming argued against the possibility of checking the accuracy of dream reports. However, the realisation that eye movements performed in dreams affected the dreamer's physical eyes provided a way to prove that actions agreed upon during waking life could be recalled and performed once lucid in a dream. The first evidence of this type was produced in the late 1970s by British parapsychologist Keith Hearne. A volunteer named Alan Worsley used eye movement to signal the onset of lucidity, which were recorded by a polysomnograph machine.
Hearne's results were not widely distributed. The first peer reviewed article was published some years later by Stephen LaBerge at Stanford University who had independently developed a similar technique as part of his doctoral dissertation.
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 (again, primarily using eye movement signals). Additionally, techniques were developed which have been experimentally proven to enhance the likelihood of achieving this state.
Research on techniques and effects of lucid dreaming continues at a number of universities and other centers such as LaBerge's The Lucidity Institute.
Treatment of Nightmares
People who suffer from nightmares would benefit from the ability to be aware they are dreaming. A pilot study was performed in 2006 that showed lucid dreaming treatment was successful in reducing nightmare frequency. This treatment consisted of exposure to the idea, mastery of the technique, and lucidity exercises. It was not clear what aspects of the treatment were responsible for the success of overcoming nightmares, though the treatment as a whole was successful.
Cultural History
* 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 fifth century, a very early example of lucid dreaming is in a letter written by St. Augustine of Hippo in 415 AD.
* As early as the eighth century, Tibetan Buddhists were practicing a form of yoga supposed to maintain full waking consciousness while in the dream state. This system is extensively discussed and explained in the book Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light, one of the important messages of which has been the distinction between the Dzogchen meditation of Awareness and Dream Yoga or lucid dreaming. The Dzogchen Awareness meditation has also been referred to by the terms Rigpa Awareness, Contemplation, and Presence. Awareness during the sleep and dream states is associated with the Dzogchen practice of natural light, and lucid dreams may be a byproduct. In contrast, the more relative but still important experience of lucid dreaming is referred to as Dream yoga, and lucid dreaming is the goal. The lucidity experience, according to Buddhist teachers, assists in understanding the unreality of phenomena, which otherwise, during dream or the death experience, might be overwhelming.
* 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.
* 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 Les Reves et les Moyens de Les Diriger; Observations Pratiques (Dreams and How to Guide them; Practical Observations), 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 article A Study of Dreams. 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. A better term might have been "conscious dreaming". On the other hand, the term 'lucid' was used by van Eeden in its sense of 'having insight', as in the phrase 'a lucid interval' applied to someone in temporary remission from a psychosis, rather than as referring to the perceptual quality of the experience, which may or may not be clear and vivid. To that extent van Eeden's phrase may still be considered appropriate.
* In the 1950s the Senoi hunter-gatherers of Malaysia were reported to make extensive use of lucid dreaming to ensure mental health, although later studies refuted these claims
Selceted Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dreaming
