Lucid Dreams

After I became disabled back in the 1970's, I was Awakened and, as soon as I was able, began reading everything spiritually philosophical I could find. I needed answers and explanations for the events I had experienced and to the new realizations that were coming to me almost daily. I was meditating for about an hour each day and had completed the four-book "Teachings of don Juan: A Yaqui Indian Sorcerer" by Carlos Castaneda. In one of the books, he taught Carlos how to gain control of his dreams. The technique was simple but required dedication and focus. Every night in bed right before falling asleep, he said to raise your hand until it was right in front of your face where you could see it clearly. You were to study every single detail of your hand intensely for five minutes and then go to sleep. Just the act of raising your hand up to your face was part of the training. After a period of time, you would stop in a dream, raise your hand up to your face, and it would hit you that you were in a dream. The lights would literally come on, everything would become so beautifully vivid, and the magic would begin! 

Mine began this way with a big bang! Wow! This technique has probably been used for thousands of years by Meso-American shaman to initiate dream control. There is no trick to it. In a normal dream, you witness many bizarre things but just pay them no mind because you are unable to think critically. This technique causes your mind's critical faculty to become active when you raise your hand and realize why it is there. I can not speak to the techniques covered below but Stephen LaBerge is world-renown for his research of lucid dreams. I suggest you look into these but highly recommend using the simple technique above first. 

This is my introduction to lucid dreaming to familiarize you with dream control before I share some of my incredible experiences controlling mine with you. I like to call it an introduction to travel in your ethereal body, or "soul travel". I hope you enjoy this and look into it further.

Namaste' 

LUCID DREAMING 

by David Town

     Most people don't  realize  they've  been  dreaming  until  after
they've awakened  and  the  dream  has  come  to an end.  Some people,
however, are conscious that they're dreaming.  These  lucid  dreamers,
scientists  have  discovered,  can  literally direct their actions and
change the content of a dream, deciding perhaps to talk  physics  with
Einstein,  woo  and  marry  a  movie  star,  or  assume  the powers of
Superman.

     After nearly a decade of piloting these daring nocturnal flights,
two psychologists - Stephen LaBerge of Stanford University, author  of
LUCID DREAMING (Ballentine), and Jayne Gackenbach of the University of
Northern  Iowa - have begun to develop a series of techniques aimed at
helping ordinary  dreamers  "turn"  lucid,  and  lucid  dreamers  gain
greater control  over  the wooly behemoth of the night.  These special
techniques, still under development, have never before been  presented
in a public forum.

     For  those  who  have aquired the knack of lucidity, the benefits
can be enormous.  Lucid dreaming gives one the  chance  to  experience
adventures rarely  surpassed elsewhere in life.  These experiences can
enhance   self-confidence   and   promote    personal    growth    and
self-development.   By  facing  fears and learning to make the best of
the  worst  situation  imaginable,   lucid   dreamers   can   overcome
nightmares.   Because  recent  scientific  studies have demonstrated a
strong connection between dreams and the biological functioning of the
body, lucid dreams might facilitate physical as well as mental health.
And finally, because lucid dreaming allows us to tap the power of  the
unconscious, it may also be useful for creative problem solving.

     To  direct  your  own  nightly dream-time show, attempt exercises
one, two, three and four as outlined below.   LaBerge  and  Gackenbach
suggest that  you  do the tasks as often as possible.  Some people may
succeed in having a lucid dream the very  first  night  they  use  the
techniques;  others,  the  researchers  note  may need to practice for
several weeks before getting results.

               EXERCISE ONE

     A number of techniques facilitate lucid dreaming.    One  of  the
simplest  is asking yourself many times during the day whether you are
dreaming.  Each time  you  ask  the  question,  you  should  look  for
evidence proving  you  are not dreaming.  The most reliable test: Read
something, look away for a moment, and then read  it  again.    If  it
reads the same way twice, it is unlikely that you are dreaming.  After
you  have  proved  to  yourself  that  you are not presently dreaming,
visualize yourself doing whatever  it  is  you'd  like.    Also,  tell
yourself that you want to recognize a nighttime dream the next time it
occurs.   The  mechanism at work here is simple; it's much the same as
picking up milk at the grocery store after reminding yourself to do so
an hour before.

     At night people usually  realize  they  are  dreaming  when  they
experience unusual  or bizarre occurrences.  For instance, if you find
yourself flying with no visible means of support, you  should  realize
that  this  only  happens  in  dreams  and  that you must therefore be
dreaming.

     If you awaken from a dream in the middle of the night, it is very
helpful to return to the dream immediately, in your imagination.   Now
envision yourself  recognizing the dream as such.  Tell yourself, "The
next time I am dreaming, I want to remember to  recognize  that  I  am
dreaming."  If your intention is strong and clear enough, you may find
yourself in a lucid dream when you return to sleep.

               EXERCISE TWO

     Many lucid dreamers report dreams in which they fly unaided, much
like Superman.    Some  lucid  dreamers say that flying is a thrilling
means of travel; others, that it has helped them return  from  one  of
the more harrowing dream experiences --- the endless fall.

     Why is  dream flying so important ?  It's a form of dream control
that's fairly easy to master.  It gives the  dreamer  an  exhilarating
sense of  freedom.    And  it's  a  basic means of travel in the dream
world.

     How do you make a dream flight happen at all ?  We  suggest  that
before  you  retire for bed, you simply repeat these words: "Tonight I
fly !"  Then while still awake, imagine that journey.

     If you find yourself flying, it will be a clear sign that you are
in a dream.  In any case, when you realize you're  dreaming,  remember
that you  want  to  fly.  When you actually feel yourself flying, say,
"This is a dream."  Make sure  that  you  start  modestly,  by  simply
floating above  the  surface  of  your  dream  ground.    As  you gain
confidence, both in the notion that  you  are  dreaming  and  in  your
ability to control that experience, you might experiment with flying a
bit more.    Run,  taking  big  leaps,  and  then stay aloft for a few
seconds so that you resemble an astronaut walking on the  moon.    Try
sustained floating,  and  then  flying  at  low  altitudes.    As your
confidence increases, so will your flying skills.  While asleep,  work
on increasing  your  altitude,  maneuverability,  and  speed.  As with
speed sports, you should perfect  height  and  maneuverability  before
speed.   Of  course, you couldn't really hurt yourself --- it's only a
dream.  But you could get scared.

     After you  get  proficient  in  dream  flying,  remember  to  ask
yourself these questions : "How high can I fly ?  Can I view the earth
from outer  space  ?  Can I travel so fast that I lose awareness of my
surroundings and experience the sensation of pure speed ?"

     Throughout your efforts in dream  flight,  please  remember  that
you're in a dream.  With this in mind, your fears will be held at bay,
and your control over your dream will be greatly enhanced.

               EXERCISE THREE

     Even  if  you're a frequent lucid dreamer, you may not be able to
stop your- self from waking up in mid-dream.  And even if your  dreams
do  reach  a satisfying end, you may not be able to focus them exactly
as you please.  During our years of research, however, we  have  found
that spinning your dream body can sustain the period of sleep and give
you greater  dream  control.    In  fact,  many  subjects  at Stanford
University have used the spinning technique as an effective  means  of
staying in  a  lucid dream.  The task outlines below will help you use
spinning as a means of staying asleep and, more exciting, as  a  means
of traveling to whatever dream world you desire.

     As  with  dream flying, the dream spinning task starts before you
go to bed.  Before retiring, decide on a person, time, and  place  you
would like  to visit in your lucid dream.  The target person and place
can be either real  or  imaginary,  past,  present  or  future.    For
instance,  Sigmund Freud, Vienna, 1900; Stephen LaBerge, Stanford, the
present; or the president of the  solar  system,  Galaxy  Base,  2900.
Write  down  and memorize your target person and place, then visualize
yourself visiting your target and firmly resolve to do so in  a  dream
that night.

     When following this procedure, it is possible that you might find
yourself  visiting your target in a non-lucid dream; you will be aware
that this happened only after you awaken.   Nevertheless,  you  should
strive for lucidity by following the techniques in exercise one.  Then
proceed to your goal.

     To do so, repeat the phrase describing your target in your dream,
and  spin  your whole dream body in a standing position with your arms
outstretched.  You can pirouette or spin like a top, as  long  as  you
vividly feel your body in motion.

     The  same  spinning  technique will help when, in the middle of a
lucid dream, you feel the dream imagery beginning to fade.   To  avoid
waking  up,  spin  as  you  repeat your target phrase again and again.
With practice, you'll return to your target person, time, and place.

               EXERCISE FOUR

     Up until now we have had little control over  the  occurrence  of
creative dreams.    But  with  lucid  dreaming  it  may be possible to
intentionally access the creativity of the dream state.  You can  help
determine  the  feasibility  of  this  idea  by  attempting to solve a
problem in a lucid dream.  Before bed, decide on a problem  you  would
like to solve.    Frame  your  problem in the form of a question.  For
example : "What is the topic of me next book ?" "How can I become less
shy ?"  If you have an illness, you might consider  the  problem  "How
can I regain my health ?"

     Once  you  have  selected  a  problem question, write it down and
memorize it.  When doing the lucid-dream-induction exercises, remember
your question and see yourself looking for the  answer  in  your  next
lucid dream.   Then, when in a lucid dream, ask the question, and seek
the solution.

     You might be most successful at problem solving if you  take  the
direct approach.  For instance if your problem is shyness, be less shy
in your dream.  If your problem is health, try to heal yourself in the
dream.   Then reflect on how your dream solution relates to the waking
problem.  It may help to question other dream  characters,  especially
if they  represent  people  who  you think might know the answer.  For
example, if you  were  trying  to  solve  a  physics  problem,  Albert
Einstein might  be  a  good  dream  character  to query.  You can even
combine this task with the dream spinning and flying  tasks,  visiting
an expert on your problem.  You can also just explore your dream world
with  your  question in mind, looking for any clues that might suggest
an answer.

  ---Stephen LaBerge and Jayne Gackenbach, OMNI Magazine

     For those of you who have made it this far, I have just a  couple
of comments.    Lucid dreaming is the absolute MOST fun I've ever had,
and that's saying a lot, since I've  had  some  terrific  times  while
awake.   I  can't  dream  lucidly  every  night,  and  if  I  stop the
exercises, it takes a couple of days to get things lucid  again.    If
you do try lucid dreaming, don't expect results the first night.  Give
it a few  days,  and  keep  up the exercises.  They really work.  I've
found that it helps me to write down every detail I can recall from  a
dream as  soon  as  I get up in the morning.  Then before bed the next
night, I read those details, making them fresh in my mind.   It  seems
to help bring on dreams that night.

     If  you  have  questions  or comments about this article, you can
leave a message on MENHIR BBS at (609)-263-2861.  Just leave a comment
to the sysop.

    PLEASANT DREAMS !

    DAVID TOWN