Lucid Dreaming

A sleep outreach project by the students of UC Berkeley's Psych 133 Class - Fall 2009



"Dream is destiny."


With that abstract phrase, thus begins the equally abstract but nevertheless beautiful movie Waking Life.


At first glance, the movie Waking Life is likely to throw many people off by its unusual animation style medium; a few times while watching it, I even found myself becoming a little nauseous. Even after the first few minutes, I had to ask myself, What could be the point of this movie? It's just a bunch of random stuff happening. But perhaps that's where the beauty and uniqueness of this movie really shines through.


"There's no story... just people, gestures, moments, bits of rapture, fleeting emotions. In short, the greatest story ever told..."




The movie follows the protagonist as he wanders around seemingly random places and has deep, intellectual conversations with strangers (or, rather, is lectured by deep, intellectual people) on each of their personal philosophies on life, freedom, identity, and self-expression. After some time, he wakes up and goes about his day, only to realize that he is still dreaming. He tries to wake up, only to continue to have more and more of these "false awakenings." Through this predicament, the main character becomes aware of the concept of lucid dreaming, and suddenly his quest has a purpose-- to wake up.


"The idea is to remain in a state of constant departure while always arriving. Saves on introductions and goodbyes. The ride does not require an explanation, just occupants."




Waking Life is definitely a movie that is open for interpretation. I mean, it can't be much else, what with all the philosophical talk about the meaning of life and whatnot. But depending on what kind of person you are, you can appreciate the movie in many different ways. For the aesthetically-critical viewer, the art style should be enough to hold your interest. For the more ruminative movie-goer, the multiple conversations on identity and the meaning of life should have him or her feeling like a kid in a candy store. The more casual moviewatcher, however, may have a more difficult time appreciating the movie's values and may end up getting stuck in the mental rut of "... wtf?"


Personally, I can't deny that I enjoyed watching Waking Life. However, the seasick-style medium combined with each mini-lecture often made me want to go to sleep myself. Maybe that's the point, eh? Just kidding. All I'm saying is that the constant lecturing of different life views can get somewhat tiresome.




The aspect of the movie that I found most appealing were the deep, insightful quotes that were bound to pop up every now and then. Below are a few examples:


"Are you in the story?"

"I don't think so... but then, I'm kinda reading it and then writing it."


"You know, they say that dreams are real only as long as they last. Couldn't you say the same thing about life?"


"It's bad enough that you sell your waking life for minimum wage, but now they get your dreams for free."


"You haven't met yourself yet. But the advantage to meeting others in the meantime is that one of them may present you to yourself."




Overall, I enjoyed watching Waking Life. Since it was pretty late in the day when I watched it, though, I think I might have been too tired to really appreciate what it's about, so I'd definitely want to watch it again. My advice is to not think too much about what's being said (because trust me, a lot of the stuff that's talked about is pretty deep and might leave you feeling mentally overwhelmed) and to just let the information wash over you; that way, you're free to appreciate the expressiveness of the characters and scenery. But whether you're the intellectual type or the casual movie-goer, I think that the movie Waking Life will have something for you to appreciate.



Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

Life is but a dream..

Hello again!


I was given the opportunity to interview one of my friends (let's call them "P") who used to be a fairly dedicated lucid dreamer. The interview itself was pretty brief and informal, but I think it gives a good example of how the lucid dreaming process is not one that is set in stone; rather, it is an individual experience that takes a lot of time and patience to master.

How did you first get into lucid dreaming?
P : "I saw a program on TV about it, and then I read a book."

What techniques did you find worked best for you?
P :
"I kept a dream journal and used that technique where I kept questioning whether I was in a dream or not during my waking hours. The watch technique (where you keep a watch and look at it all the time and dream that you can't read the numbers) didn't work for me.

What was the best thing about lucid dreaming?
P :
"I guess it's just the ability to be in situations that I can't normally experience in my regular life, like being in a burning building, or trapped in an enclosed area."

• W
as there anything about lucid dreaming that you found to be dangerous?
P :
"No. I can't think of anything."

What kind of advice would you give to people who are interested in attempting to lucid dream?
P :
"It took me a lot of time and effort to gain even a little lucidity in my dreams, so be patient and try as many of the techniques that people suggest to see what works for you."

Hello Bloggers, Just wanted to post an interesting video I came across on the topic from Discovery Channel.

I think it will give you some intriguing, new insight on the science and theories behind lucid dreaming!

Now that you all know a little but more about lucid dreaming, you're probably wondering one of two things (or maybe even more). For starters, why would anyone want to lucid dream? (There are pretty obvious answers to this one). But probably a more complicated question would be, why would anyone not want to lucid dream? I've compiled a short list of descriptions of the pros and cons that have been proven to be effects of lucid dreaming, so read on!


Pros (or why you would want to lucid dream!):
Adventure and excitement
This is a pretty obvious one... I mean, who wouldn't want to fly or have super powers? ;D
Social practicality
Lucid dreams are useful for practicing social situations that would you would otherwise only have one chance at, such as first impressions and interviews.
Nightmare inhibition
Perhaps the most practical use for lucid dreaming, if you can control your dreams or at least recognize that they are not real, it is possible to alleviate the fear produced in a nightmare.
Problem solving
Has there some problem that's been bothering you for a while? Or you can't figure out some math question in your homework? Maybe your dreams can help you! Much in the same way that you can practice social situations, you may gain more insight into solutions to certain dilemmas.

Cons (or possible dangers):
Addiction
Have you ever heard that too much of a good thing could be bad for you? Something that could be good and wonderful to begin with could turn into something dangerous if abused. If you find yourself thinking about lucid dreaming more about your waking life, it is probably a good indicator that you should hold off on it for a while.
Alienation
Just as it is possible for everyone to lucid dream, it would follow that not everyone lucid dreams. Even if it seems that no one around you knows what lucid dreaming is, rest assured that there are other people out there who are experiencing the same things as you.
Dissociation
Because lucid dreaming has the potential to make the impossible possible, it can become difficult to distinguish dreams from reality. An example of this would be difficulty in recognizing which memories were made in waking life and which occurred in a dream.

All in all, lucid dreaming is a fun experience to experiment with but, as with any new and exciting venture, must be practiced responsibly to get the most out of it.


Hello again!! Hope you guys had a good night full of lucid dreams! :) We have something cool to share with you today! We've created a fun poem about lucid dreaming. It was done using a traditional style of Malaysian poetry called a pantun. Hope you enjoy it!

The Peace of Lucid Dreaming


When you feel restless

Sometimes need to take a stroll

Lucid dreaming helps to relief stress

As if life is under control

-

How delicious is beef tendon

I want to savor it everyday

Let’s dream what you wish to happen

And believe it will come true someday




By: Edwin

Hey Bloggers! Now that you've had a chance to read a personal account of lucid dreaming, I bet you're all pretty anxious to start lucid dreaming yourself!

So, let the lucid dreaming begin!!

We're gonna discuss and go over some of the lucid dreaming techniques, so after following these simple methods, your lucid dreaming experience is nothing but a good night's sleep away!

Let's begin with the Wake-Initiation of Lucid Dream Methods (WILD):

the WILD technique works by recognizing the hypnagogic state--that weird in between state when you're not quite awake and you're not quite asleep--and by keeping your mind alert and conscious during this period, your body slips into sleep while your mind enters straight into a dream state without losing awareness of the fact that you're dreaming.

Step #1 Set your alarm clocks people!!

This technique will first of all be most successful after around 4-7 hours of sleep. Why?? Because this is the time where most of your REM sleep is likely to occur and as you may remember, REM stage of sleep is primarily where all dreams take place!

Step #2 Relax your body and mind.

Relaxation is key to this process! So, after waking yourself up, let go of all the tension and your body. Relax your muscles, relax your mind, and control your breathing. Take nice, slow deep breaths.

As your relaxing, let thoughts and images run through your mind. But do not interact or get involved with them. Stay focused on the task at hand, remind yourself that your goal is to lucid dream. Keep your mind alert as your body drifts into sleep and repeat to yourself "I am Dreaming" over and over again.

Step #3 Enjoy the Hypnagogic State

As you enter the Hypnagogic state, you may see and experience different colors around you, hear different sounds, and feel different sensations. Observe them and enjoy them, this is the precursor to your full-on dream state! but once again don't get too involved. Remain relaxed while still reminding yourself of your intention to lucid dream.

Step#4 Let your body fall asleep

This is the tricky part. The key thing here is to continue to remain relaxed, and let your body fall asleep while your mind is still awake. Stay focused on lucid dreaming. Never lose sight of your plan. Hold onto your consciousness. As your body drifts off, continue to remind yourself on your plans to lucid dream. With practice, your body will fall asleep as you'll enter your dream state, with an alert mind.

As your body falls asleep, you may enter sleep paralysis, but don't get too alarmed! Remember this is a natural process that occurs during sleep. Instead, Relax and enjoy your transition into your dream state.

Step #5 Enter your dream!

Once your body is asleep and a dream is unfolding before you....enter that dream! Observe your dream environment, and experiment with it. Use this time to enjoy your lucid dream! Test your abilities and your control within this state. See what you're capable of!


Hope this helps future Lucid Dreamers!

Next, we're going to discuss the Mnemonic
induction of lucid dreams technique (MILD) So, if the WILD technique doesn't quite work for you, the MILD method might just be your thing!


MILD was created by Dr. Stephen Leberge, who is an expert in the field of lucidity.

This technique involves setting an intention to lucid dream, and to remember and recognize signs that you are lucid dreaming.


So how does this work???


First of all Self-awareness is Key to this process!!

Awareness of yourself and the world around you will help up the chances that you will recognize when you are dreaming.

How can you increase your self-awareness??


Dream Recall!

Make it a point to start remembering your dreams. Good dream Recall is key to lucidity! Why? Because you get better awareness about what your dream world looks like! We highly recommend keeping a Dream journal for this.


Dream journals will help increase your ability to recall your dreams and they help you to spot any patterns that your dreams may have.


What’s a good way keep a journal?? We recommend that after waking from a dream, it is best to lie still in your bed and review the dream for a few minutes before writing it down. This will help keep the dream fresh in your mind so that you write down your dream with better accuracy. After reviewing the dream in your head for a few minutes, and once you feel like you’ve got it down, jot down your dream in your journal.


Another good way to increase self-awareness is by Reality Testing.
What’s Reality Testing?


--Reality testing are actions you do to help determine whether you are dreaming or not. For example, a common reality check is to flip light switches. So, if the results of your reality checking (e.g. light switching) are not consistent with what you would expect when you are awake (i.e. nothing changes when you flip the switch) then you can conclude that you are dreaming. The trick is to start reality testing when you’re awake, so that these actions can carry on to your dream world.


Common Reality Tests (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream)

  • The finger check: Count the fingers on your hands and the hands of other people. In dreams, a person is likely to have more/less than five fingers on a hand
  • Flipping a light switch. In dreams, changes in light are rare.
  • Mirror test: Look into a mirror. In dreams, reflections often tend to be distorted, blurred, or inaccurate in some way.
  • Digital watch test: Look at a digital watch, look away, and look back. If when you look back, some radical changes have occurred and the numbers or figures look weird and distorted, this is a good indicator that you are dreaming.

After increasing your self-awareness through dream recall and reality checking, the next step is to set the intention to lucid dream.


Set the Intention to Lucid Dream.


While falling asleep repeat to yourself, “I will become aware that I am lucid dreaming.” Over and over again. Remind yourself that you will lucid dream, and remind yourself to reality check and look for other signs and indicators that you are dreaming.



Next, Visualize the dream world.


It helps that while falling asleep, you visualize the dream world and engage in it. Imagine that your are reliving a past dream, and feel yourself connect with your dream environment. Look at your surroundings, touch the objects around you, smell the air. The visualization of your dream world will help you enter lucidity.


Finally, Practice! Practice! Practice!


Lucid dreaming may not happen the first night you try it. It’s important to keep on practicing and persevere. With time you will reap the benefits of your work, so don’t quit! We believe that you could be a lucid dreamer!

So keep going!


=)



-Steph













Sometime during my senior year in high school, I remember that I began to experience unusual sleeping patterns. Some nights I would have insomnia, others I would sleep 11-12 hours. Consequently, some weeks later, I became curious about the meaning of my dreams. My dreams meant something to me, they confirmed which emotions I was experiencing in my adolescence were correct. I'd finally found a meaning to my life, or I had found what appeared to look like it. Needless to say, prior to my sleep disorder episodes, I also played a part to night terrors and unpleasant sleep paralysis periods of religious proportion. I decided dreaming was something I couldn't ignore. Hence, I became a dreamer and I began an odyssey of sleep exploration and affirmation.

I started noticing that some things just didn't add up. Like when I dream about my house for instance, it always looked like my real home but it has a twist to it, sometimes it's in a different location, in different country or it has a different design. Nevertheless, it always feels like home. This transition led me to a particular habit for when I’m aware that I’m dreaming, it let me to fly.

In a recent dream, I remember that everything around me looked the same as my current room; the bed was the same color as my real bed, my door led to a hallway, but my bed was in the middle of the room. Most people probably aren’t going to care about this if they were to encounter a similar situation. However, I used this incident as a cue to notice that I was in a dream. Or better yet, in my own reality. So, I began to concentrate and started to think about levitating. I was feeling weightless and as if gravitation had zero effect on me. Then, suddenly, I began to float like most people picture Jesus floating when he resuscitated. I could see and feel that the ground was getting farther and farther from my feet. Next, I eased my way out to the hallway without wasting any energy, just to find out that I was in my old high school. I saw students I’d never seen before, but they didn’t mind me flying past them. I talked to one of the students and then I woke up.

After a couple of minutes I went back to sleep, right away I knew that I was dreaming and started to fly again.

In our contemporary world, dreaming experience as the previous ones described is widely common. However, it is when a person becomes sensitive to nuances in their dreams that they enable themselves to be acceptant to lucid dreams. There are numerous theories on how to lucid dream, but only a percentage of the population is able to actually experience it.

In my dreams, when I’m conscious that I’m being part of a dream and not reality as we know it, I practice established set of norms which after doing my own research I now realize, are in fact, the standards for lucid dreamers. What are these norms? Flying and sex fantasies.

Flying in my dreams is my Holy Grail, it is my freedom to do whatever I want since it’s also a sign of having a lucid dream. Sometimes when I’m having a nightmare I use flying to escape from my predators. Other times I just fly because its feelings are indescribable. One can describe how sex feels like because we are able to experience it as a part of our life. Flying is something that only exists in dreams.

Lucid dreamers tend to explore their worlds not as being part of them, but being consciously under command to a certain degree. They are still governed by its paradigm; the scenery remains the same, random and illogical. A wall can turn into a car, people can turn into animals, and outside can mean you are inside. Nevertheless, they know they are dreaming.

This type of dreaming is connected to what you already feel in reality. For example, flying isn't something that we experience every day. Therefore its feelings surpass any others.

As a dreamer, I choose to fly, to feel rich, to talk to celebrities, and so forth. Think, what would you do if you knew you were dreaming and there were no consequences to your actions? I remember one time I robbed a bank, another time I jumped off a building to prove to myself that I was in control of my dream. I also love Mustangs because I use to have one, it was my first vehicle, so in one of my dreams I stole a 2010 Mustang GT and I drove it like I stole it.

Aside from self satisfaction, dreaming can serve a purpose. If you’re currently working on a project and you have the ability to lucid dream, you can make your brain do the work for you. For example, if you are working with music, just think that all of the sudden you are talented and you will be able to come up with some lyrics that are worth writing. The only problem is to remember what you said in your dream. I wouldn’t be able to remember a song the way it sounded in my dream. Lucid dreaming can make an architect take a step forward into the future. As for myself, I don’t need to solve any puzzles, projects, issues, and so forth. Otherwise I would use my dreaming skills to accomplish the unthinkable.
Finally, in our modern world view, we are experiencing technological advances never before seen. There is going to be a point when we won't be able to come up with anything new anymore. The key to progress beyond our capability to think is to dream about new innovations the world is yet to create. Our future depends on how far our dreams can extent.
by: Nelson Maldonado

To watch a related interesting video I found online please click here:

Dicovery Channel Video on Lucid Dreams


A connection between video games and lucid dreams? As an avid video game enthusiast since I was little, when I came across this research article, I was obviously a little more than slightly interested.

It has been proven that video games have a generally positive effect on cognitive performance, such as increasing reaction times and spatial awareness. Also of interest is the persistence of psychological absorption, which is indicated by altered states of consciousness (i.e. drifting, flying). However, in the research article "Video game play and lucid dreams," published by the American Psychological Association, the author Jayne Gackenbach takes a new approach in analyzing the effects of game play. She claims lucid dreaming to be a kind of "virtual" reality and the key to potentially unlocking higher states of consciousness. Additionally, studies have shown that video game playing has resulted in a higher frequency of lucid dreaming, including both observation and control. In other words, instead of looking at dream content as a function of video games, rather the study looks at the form of dreaming as a function of video game play.

The study involved distributing two self-report questionnaires on college students' video game playing habits. The first questionnaire asked a few questions about video game play and consciousness development in classrooms, while the second questionnaire was basically a more detailed, electronic version of the first. Overall, there were more lucid dreams, more dream control, and more dream observation reported for the more frequent video gamers. However, there was no difference between hardcore gamers and casual gamers on the mystical and psychological absorption scales (or Temperament and Character Inventory), which suggests that wording in the questionnaire may have been a factor.

For a hardcore gamer, this relationship between video games and lucid dreaming is definitely one I would be interested in pursuing at some point. If I were to ever seriously pursue trying to lucid dream, this is the method I would try first.




Welcome Back!!


Now comes the exciting part....learning how to lucid dream!! Yes, it is possible to train yourself to lucid dream and we're gonna show you how! But before we get to the nitty gritty of it all, let's spend a few moments to list and explain the different ways someone could lucid dream.

First of all, there is Dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD).
This is when someone is already in a dream state and eventually realizes that he or she is in a dreaming.

Secondly, we have Wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD) This happens when a person is able to go straight into a dream state, without losing consciousness or awareness.
Basically, your body goes to sleep, but your mind doesn't!

And finally, there is Mnemonic-initiated lucid dream (MILD). Using this method, someone can induce a lucid dream by intentionally reaffirming/reminding themselves that they will remember that they are dreaming.

Cool, huh?

Our focus is going to be on teaching you how to lucid dream by imploying the Wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD) method and the Mnemonic-initiated lucid dream (MILD) method.

....Stay tuned, because the best is yet to come!


-Steph

Greetings again, fellow lucid dreamers!


I'd just like to bring your attention to a cool new feature that's just been added to the blog in the left sidebar: a search box! Now you can search for specific words or key terms you may be looking for. Hopefully this helps you in your quest for knowledge... okay, until next time! :D

Before we delve any further into the techniques behind lucid dreaming, it is important to highlight important general aspects of sleep, particularly the sleep stages involved in dreaming. In this post, we'll briefly cover all stages of sleep and their role in the dreaming process.

~*~

There are two basic types of sleep: NREM (non-rapid eye movement; also known as SWS, or slow wave sleep) and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Of these two basic types, there are five distinct stages that occur during a full night of sleep, all characterized by different types of brain waves. The first four stages of sleep are SWS characterized by NREM. Of interest to us is the fifth stage, known as the REM stage of sleep, which is the primary stage in which dreaming occurs.

One complete sleep cycle lasts around 90-100 minutes, with around 4-5 sleep cycles occurring during a full night of sleep. In the beginning, the REM stage of sleep lasts only about 10 minutes. As the night progresses, a person stays in NREM sleep less and less and in REM sleep for longer periods of time, up to about one hour in length. Thus, a person can potentially have up to four or five dreams of increasing length in a single night.

Below is a diagram highlighting some of the different characteristics of each stage of sleep.




Welcome back!

If you've gotten this far, that means you must be at least the slightest bit interested in the concept of lucid dreaming. You may have heard about it from a friend who has experienced it or from watching a movie (maybe from watching Waking Life for a certain Psych 133 class at Cal?), or you may not know anything about it at all. In any case, this post is meant to give you a general summary behind what lucid dreaming is; later on, we'll delve into more detailed topics, such as induction and personal experiences. But for now, here's the basic rundown:

~*~
What is lucid dreaming?

Put simply, lucid dreaming is the state of being aware of or conscious that one is dreaming. For example, if for some reason you realize during a dream that you are dreaming, then you have experienced a lucid dream.

How does lucid dreaming occur?

Becoming lucid can happen naturally without any conscious effort on the part of the dreamer, or it can be induced by some kind of in-dream cue that alerts the person to the fact that he or she is in a dream and not awake. We'll go into more detail later on just what techniques and cues have been found to be effective in inducing lucidity.

Do you have to be in control of your dream for it to be lucid?

NO! It is a common misconception that one has to be able to manipulate his or her dream in order for it to be considered a lucid dream, but that isn't necessarily the case. Simply being aware of being in a dream state is enough to be lucid. As we'll discuss in future posts, there are different levels of dream awareness, and being conscious of one's dreams is just one of them.

~*~

Alright, well that's all for now... stay tuned! :]

LUCID DREAMING

A Whole New Level of Awareness

Hello!! And welcome to our blog!

We are a group of psychology students from the University of California at Berkeley who are studying the interesting sleeping phenomenon of lucid dreaming. Our blog is dedicated to compiling research from various sources and spreading the word.

As we get new information, we will post it to this blog in order to give you the most complete information we can, so please check back often for updates!