Lucid Dreaming Controlling Your Dreams Essay
Lucid Dreaming- Controlling Your Dreams Essay, Research Paper
Limpid Dreaming: Asleep and Aware
Lucid dreaming is an issue that has been studied as far back as 1896. A Lucid dream
is one in which the dreamer is cognizant that he/she is woolgathering and is sometimes able to take
control. Lucid dreams are an existent phenomena that do happen in REM slumber.
Dr. new wave Eeden was the first recorded individual to analyze dreams in which the dreamer is
aware they are woolgathering. In 1896 he began entering his dreams. Over a period of one
twelvemonth he recorded 352 dreams, but merely eight were lucid ( Dreams 784 ) .
The existent definition of a limpid dream, is a dream in which the dreamer mentally
awakens in the dream and becomes aware that it is merely a dream. This & # 8220 ; rousing & # 8221 ; is
normally triggered by the dreamer detecting something in the dream that is far excessively unusual to
be existent ( Blackmore 362 ) . The existent term lucid dreaming was foremost used by the Dutch
head-shrinker Fredrick new wave Olen in 1913. It merely means & # 8220 ; clear dreaming & # 8221 ; ( Blackmore
363 ) .
Surveies and research have shown that 50 per centum of all Americans have had at
least one limpid dream in their life that they could remember ( Lucid Dreaming 365 ) . When a
dreamer becomes lucid there are physical alterations on the exterior of the organic structure and encephalon
forms besides change. There are normally intermissions in external respiration and alterations in bosom rate. The
sum of encephalon activity is more heightened than that of a regular dream, but less than
when waking. It has besides been observed that a individual holding a limpid dream shows more
encephalon activity than a waking individual under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs such as
LSD ( Lucid Dreaming 364 ) .
A limpid dream is normally provoked by an earlier twenty-four hours of heightened emphasis or anxiousness
( Lucid Dreaming 364 ) . They normally occur at the terminal of an eight or nine hr slumber
( Horgan 50 ) .
Several methods have been developed for bring oning limpid dreams. The simplest and
most common method is known as the MILD method, or Mnemonic Induction of Lucid
Dreaming. This method consists of waking in the early forenoon from a dream and
retrieving what the dream was approximately. Then as the dreamer returns to kip he or she
should remind themselves that the dream is non existent as they return to the original dream
( Lucid Dreaming 366 ) .
The 2nd method involves work during the twenty-four hours. The individual should constantly
inquire them self when they are awake, & # 8220 ; Am I woolgathering? & # 8221 ; , so expression for a hint to turn out they
are. Then when the individual falls asleep they will be reminded to inquire the same inquiry and
in bend realize the dream is non existent ( Lucid Dreaming 366 ) .
Another method involves the usage some sort of an external device that will make a
signal to the dreamer that they are woolgathering. Keith Hearne was the first individual to
incorporate this scheme. He would watch the dreamers eyes for rapid oculus motion
( REM ) to demo that they were woolgathering. He would so spray them with H2O to signal
to them that they were woolgathering. This method was reasonably unsuccessful ( Blackmore 366 ) .
In 1989 Dr. Steven La Berge invented the & # 8220 ; Dream Light & # 8221 ; . This device is a mask
that the dreamer wears that contains a little LED for signalling dreams and a little
computing machine that detects when dreams Begin. The & # 8220 ; Dream Light & # 8221 ; is available to the populace
and over 2,000 have been sold. It retails for about $ 900. This is the most simple method
but few can see it due to the cost ( Blackmore 366 ) .
Once the dreamer becomes lucid they can make many interesting things such as
pass oning with the outside waking universe. This can be done with the eyes or through
external respiration. When a individual falls asleep, all their musculuss are paralyzed except for the eyes
and internal variety meats. By traveling the eyes from left to compensate a
predetermined figure times,
a individual can signal things to the outside universe. Keith Hearne foremost discovered this in 1978
and used it to turn out that lucid dreams are existent and go on in REM slumber. He used a
polygraph to find that when his topic moved his eyes left to compensate eight times, he
was so in REM slumber, and aware of the fact. A individual can besides signal that they are
dreaming by take a breathing quickly ( Blackmore 366 ) .
With the ability to pass on while woolgathering and being able to command the
dream, many inquiries that have remained unreciprocated about dreams can eventually be solved.
It has been proven that in the deep province of REM slumber, all musculuss except for the eyes are
paralyzed. Using limpid dreaming and oculus motions, it has been shown that when actions
are performed in a dream, the encephalon still sends electrical urges to the musculuss to
correspond to those actions. The urges merely have no consequence ( Blackmore 367 ) .
This same rule besides applies to the usage of different encephalon hemispheres. Dr.
Steven La Berge performed experiments affecting the usage of different sides of the encephalon in
dreams. It has been proven that when waking, the right side of the encephalon is used for
artistic things such as vocalizing, while the left side is used more for proficient actions like
math. La Berge had dreamers sing and count in their dreams and a polygraph showed that
the same side of the encephalon shows more activity than the other, merely like when
waking. ( Blackmore 367 ) .
Another similarity between limpid dreams and a waking province is the ability of the
eyes to track swimmingly from left to compensate. When a individual closes their eyes and attempts to
travel them swimmingly from left to compensate, the gesture is of course arrhythmic. The eyes need
something to physically follow for them to travel swimmingly. Another of La Berge & # 8217 ; s
experiments showed that when the eyes follow something traveling in a dream they are merely
every bit smooth as if they were following something in world ( Horgan 51 ) .
One myth that has been disproved by La Berge & # 8217 ; s research is that dreams occur in
an blink of an eye. This is non true. The clip that elapses in a dream is the same length as the clip
that elapses in the physical universe. La Berge showed this by holding his capable signal with
their eyes, count to ten, so signal once more. La Berge observed that the clip between the
two signals was eight seconds, the same clip it took the individual count to ten when they
were awake ( Blackmore 366 ) .
In add-on to larning more about how existent dreams work, there many more
advantages to lucid woolgathering. Dreamers can execute undertakings in their dreams before they
must really be done. Take for illustration an jock. A smuggler can run his race in his
dream over and over and win. A concern adult male who has to give a address the following forenoon
can pattern his address in his dreams in forepart of a dream audience. The possibilities are
endless ( Colt 49 ) .
Many great leaders have been influenced by their dreams. Samuel Coleridge
claims that he wrote the great verse form & # 8220 ; Kubla Kahn & # 8221 ; in a dream. Friedrich Kekule, the
inventor of the molecular construction of benzine, said it came to him in a dream ( Horgan
50 ) .
Study of limpid dreams continues today largely at the Lucidity Association, founded
by Dr. Steven La Berge. La Berge is the taking authorization on limpid dreams today
( Blackmore 368 ) .
Lucid dreams have been studied for over 100 old ages and still non everything is
known about them. Thankss to the work of people like La Berge and Hearne, more is
going known each twenty-four hours. Besides technological progresss such as the polygraph have
helped to turn out that lucid dreams are existent. All may ne’er be known but at this rate,
everyone could be a limpid dreamer by the millenary.
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