What is Lucid Dreaming?

The basic definition of lucid dreaming requires nothing more than becoming aware that you are dreaming. However, the quality of lucidity can vary greatly. When lucidity is at a high level, you are aware that everything experienced in the dream is occurring in your mind, that there is no real danger, and that you are asleep in bed and will awaken shortly. With low-level lucidity, you may be aware to a certain extent that you are dreaming, perhaps enough to fly or alter what you are doing, but not enough to realize that the people are dream representations, or that you can suffer no physical damage, or that you are actually in bed.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Here WE Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I posted all the info I believe would help someone become lucid. I will now share with you my past lucid dreams...I've been actively Lucid Dreaming for the past 2 years, I have many many writings with you. Some will be short ( when I first started) and other will be long....Have fun!

Monday, February 21, 2011

4.3 Lucidity

The Lucidity Institute is a small business founded and directed by Dr. LaBerge. Its goals are to make lucid dreaming known to the public and accessible to anyone interested, to support research on lucid dreaming and other states of consciousness, and to study potential applications of lucid dreaming. The Lucidity Institute sells books, and devices. Any profits are used to support further research on dreaming and consciousness. To sign up on our mailing list (for web site updates, events, experiments, new product announcements and special offers), you can complete a short online form for The Lucidity Institute mailing list.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

4.2 Workshops

The Lucidity Institute offers semi-annual DREAMING AND AWAKENING workshops, in which oneironauts (explorers of the dream world) convene to dedicate nine days and nights to developing their lucidity skills under the guidance of Dr. LaBerge. Using the most effective techniques and technology, derived from Tibetan dream yoga and Western science, LaBerge and team present instructions on methods of developing the mental skills that foster lucidity and on directing consciousness within both dreaming and waking states towards fulfillment of personal goals. During these residential workshops, participants also have an opportunity to use the NovaDreamer, and, if they wish, to participate in ongoing research on a natural substance that, according to recent studies, has been shown to stimulate lucidity and mindfulness. Participants in our past workshops have enjoyed phenomenal success at lucid dreaming, with most having at least one during the program. 

Friday, February 18, 2011

41.D

A COURSE IN LUCID DREAMING
By Stephen LaBerge and Lynne Levitan (Lucidity Institute, 1995)
This is a comprehensive home-study training program in lucid dreaming. It takes you from the beginning stages of improving your dream recall and becoming familiar with the hallmarks of your dreams, through several different techniques for increasing your ability to have lucid dreams, to mastery of the art of lucid dreaming. All known methods of lucid dream induction are covered. Many focusing exercises help you develop the mental powers needed to become an expert lucid dreamer. Charts and logs assist you in assessing your skill level and monitoring your progress. The Course has five Units and takes a minimum of four months to complete. The textbook is  Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. The Course is included with the 
NovaDreamer package.
CONSCIOUS MIND, SLEEPING BRAIN
Edited by Jayne Gackenbach, Ph.D. and Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. (Plenum, 1988; ISBN 0-306-42849-0)
Nineteen dream researchers and other professionals contributed to this scholarly volume. It represents a wide spectrum of viewpoints in the field of lucid dreaming study and is an essential reference for anyone interested in studying lucid dreams or applying them in clinical practice. Topics include: literature, psychophysiology, personality, therapy, personal experience, related states of consciousness, and more. Out of print. Out of print; Check Addall.com, Half.com, Amazon.com, and other online bookstores for a used copy.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

4.1c

EXPLORING THE WORLD OF LUCID DREAMING
By Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. and Howard Rheingold (Ballantine, 1990)
A practical guide for lucid dreamers. The first half of the book establishes a basic understanding of sleep and dreams, followed by a progressive series of exercises for developing lucid dreaming skills. These include cataloging "dreamsigns," your personal landmarks that tell you when you are dreaming, the Reflection-Intention and MILD techniques for becoming lucid within the dream and methods of falling asleep consciously based on ancient Tibetan Yoga practices. Induction methods are followed by practical advice on maintaining and guiding lucid dreams. After presenting the lucid dream induction techniques, Dr. LaBerge explains his understanding of the origin of dreams, founded on current views in the sciences of consciousness and cognition. This provides a foundation for the methods of employing lucid dreams to enhance your life, which are detailed in the second half of the book. The applications considered are: adventures and explorations, rehearsal for living, creative problem solving,overcoming nightmares, healing, and discovery of expanded awareness and spiritual experience. Many delightful and illuminating anecdotes from lucid dreamers illustrate the use of lucid dreams for each application. See Annotated Table of Contents for more details. You can order from Amazon.com.

4.1b

LUCID DREAMING
By Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D., (Ballantine, 1986; ISBN 0-345-33355-1)
This is the seminal work that first brought lucid dreaming to the attention of the general public and legitimized it as a valuable field of scientific inquiry. It is still the best general reference on lucid dreaming and a pleasure to read. The phenomenon of lucid dreaming is explored from many angles, beginning with the history of the practice in human cultures. LaBerge describes the early days of the scientific research and tells the story of his successful challenge of the established school of thought in sleep research, which held that awareness while dreaming was impossible. He discusses many methods of lucid dream induction, including the way he taught himself to have several lucid dreams per night. Other topics covered include: contemporary theories of the function of dreaming "Dreaming, Function, and Meaning", applications of lucid dreaming, the relationship of lucid dreaming to out-of-body and near-death experiences, and the possibility of using lucid dreaming as a gateway or stepping stone on the path to spiritual enlightenment. 

XXX Lucid

Over the past fifteen years, exercises, techniques and training materials have been developed and refined to the point where most anyone can learn to have lucid dreams if they are willing to devote time and effort. The Lucidity Institute offers lucid dreaming training through several modalities. To start, most bookstores carry the book  Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming (EWLD) by LaBerge and Rheingold (Ballantine, 1990), or you can order it online from Amazon.com. It presents a step-by-step training program with exercises and an introduction to the various possible applications of lucid dreaming. The Lucidity Institute's  A Course in Lucid Dreaming (included with the NovaDreamer package) provides a more thorough training program with five units of exercises and a workbook for tracking your progress.  EWLD is the textbook for the  Course.
There are several other good resources, although caution is in order when buying books on lucid dreaming. Some are poorly researched and present claims or methods that have not been rigorously tested. Below is a list of books and audio tapes that we have found valuable for introducing the facts about lucid dreaming, conveying something of the experience, or assisting with training. Some excerpts from the books are available on The Lucidity Institute website.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

3.7 HOW CAN I PREVENT WAKING UP AS SOON AS I BECOME LUCID?

Beginning lucid dreamers often have the problem of waking up right after becoming lucid. This obstacle may prevent some people from realizing the value of lucid dreaming. Fortunately there are ways to overcome this problem.
The first is to remain calm in the dream. Becoming lucid is exciting, but expressing the excitement can awaken you. It is possible to enjoy the thrill that accompanies the dawning of lucidity without allowing the activation to overwhelm you. Be like a poker player with an ideal hand. Relax and engage with the dream rather than withdrawing into your inner joy of accomplishment.
Then, if the dream shows signs of ending, such as a loss of detail, vividness, and apparent reality of the imagery, the technique of "spinning" can often restore the dream. You spin your dream body around like a child trying to get dizzy. LaBerge developed this technique after experimenting with the idea that relaxing completely might help prevent awakening from a dream. When in a lucid dream that was fading, he stopped and dropped backwards to the floor, and had a false awakening in bed! After a few trials he determined that the essential element was the sensation of motion, not relaxation. The best way to create a feeling of movement, especially in the dream scene has vanished, leaving nowhere to move to, is to create angular momentum (or the sensation of it), by spinning around your axis. You are not really doing it, but your brain is well familiar with the experience of spinning and duplicates the experience quite well. In the process the vestibular and kinesthetic senses are engaged. Presumably, this sensory engagement with the dream discourages the brain from changing state from dreaming to waking. Note that dream spinning does not usually lead to dizziness. Be aware that the expectation of possible awakening sometimes leads to a "false awakening" in which you dream of waking. The vividness of the spinning sensation may cause you to feel your spinning arm hit the bed. You think, "Oops, I'm awake in bed now." Think now--your physical body wasn't really spinning, it was your dream body--therefore, the arm is a  dream arm hitting a dream bed! To avoid being deceived, recite, "The next scene will be a dream," until a scene appears. If you are in doubt about your status, perform a thorough reality test.
Research at the Lucidity Institute has proven the effectiveness of spinning: the odds in favor of continuing the lucid dream were about 22 to 1 after spinning, 13 to 1 after hand rubbing (another technique designed to prevent awakening), and 1 to 2 after "going with the flow" (a "control" task). That makes the relative odds favoring spinning over going with the flow 48 to 1, and for rubbing over going with the flow, 27 to 1.