Derrick Dunker
Justin Hampton
English 102
February 12, 2013
Lucid Dreaming Not many people know exactly what this phenomenon consists of or even is. Lucid dreaming, just like regular dreaming, is a very fascinating and misunderstood occurrence. Supposedly you can harness it and use it to open up new doorways that you’ve never been able to imagine in your lifetime. Lucid dreaming is a very good way to escape and can actually be very eye opening. Why do I believe this? Let me explain through the research I’ve gathered. First things first, for those who don’t know what I’m talking about. Lucid dreaming is a phenomenon that occurs when the dreamer is in a dream and realizes that they are in fact in the dream state. Typically the reaction is as follows, the dreamer freaks out and feels as if they will be trapped in the dream for a prolonged amount of time. This is followed by an attempt to recall when they passed out and where they were when they did. Most of the time unless this person is an experienced lucid dreamer they won’t be able to recall these things. For those adventurous ones the next step is to begin creating. The universe is the limit, you can create anything you want, build giant skyscrapers from nothing, fly around like Neo from the matrix, turn into the hulk, etc. Their really is no limit to what a person can do while in the lucid dreaming state. Some of this I take from research and some from personal experience, the idea may seem far fetched but training can be done to lucid dream whenever you want to or feel the need for an escape. Now having said that, this is no easy task and will take lots of time and perseverance. This can all be seen through work done by the lucidity institute. According to the lucidity institute, typically, when trying to train to lucid dream most all of the training is during the day believe it or not. Theirs no exact science to this training so you may have to just try until you find something that works well for you. The way many people do it is by throughout the day telling them, ok I’m awake and this is what consciousness feels like, also taking in their surroundings as they are telling themselves this. Do this throughout the day about once every hour or so, doubling the action once the evening is nearing. It is said that a person who is really aware of their surroundings and their conscious being will have a much easier time noticing minor details of the dream state while in it, then realizing that they are in fact dreaming at the time. For example, say someone is having a dream about a family reunion at his or her grandparents. You start to notice that the food on your plate keeps spontaneously changing from steak to meat loaf to buffalo wings etc. Then you look up and your relatives have all changed to your friends and all the sudden your at a party. An experienced lucid dreamer will notice the difference, a novice dreamer will just go along with whatever is thrown at them never once thinking about the possibility that they are in the dream state. This is why it is good for very novice dreamers who would like to experience a lucid dream to be very aware of their consciousness throughout the day so that they may be able to notice minor changes while in the dream state. Research has shown that lucid dream training is very effective for those who experience night terrors on a regular basis. Being aware that you are in fact in a dream can help the person calm down and possibly even change the dream from a nightmare to something a little more pleasant. This theory is backed in the book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming that was written in 1990 where it is said that lucid dreaming may very well be the basis of the most effective treatment for nightmares. LaBerge and Rheingold go on to say that when the dreamer is able to face his or her nightmare face to face and begin to understand that they are no longer afraid that this can end the nightmare cycle. According to Sigmund Freud while dreaming, the mind is simply streaming the unconscious and ‘decompressing’ all of your daily thoughts. This idea of memory consolidation has been widely debated by researchers for a very long time. Another theory as to why we dream is emotional regulation; Ivan Pavlov who is famous for ‘Pavlovs’ Dogs’ first brought this to light. This is the idea that when we dream we are not consolidating memories or decompressing thoughts, but streaming all of our emotions and learning how to better deal with them. And finally the last theory, which was first suggested by Willhelm Wundt, is threat simulation. This theory is pretty self explanatory, but it is supposedly the minds way of simulating possible threats that you’ve been really worried about and trying to help so that if those things were to ever occur the dreamer would be ready for when the real threat occurred. Dreaming has been misunderstood since the beginning of mankind, and frankly is still very misunderstood. Although, recently there has been much empirical research done regarding dreaming and why exactly it occurs. Some researchers believe that dreams serve no purpose, others believe that dreaming is essential to mental, emotional and physical health. According to Ernest Hoffman who is director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Newton Wellesley Hospital in Boston, Mass., suggests "a possible function of a dream to be converting fresh material into memories in a way that reduces emotional arousal and is helpful for us cope with trauma or stressful events." A whole different view towards dreaming is the psychoanalytical perspective on dreaming. This theory, which was coined by Sigmund Freud, states that dreams represent unconscious desires as well as thoughts and motivation. His views on personality also tie into his thoughts on dreaming, he believed people are driven by aggressive sexual instincts that are repressed while awake. These thoughts aren’t expressed while conscious, but according to Freud they make their way into our awareness via dreaming. Freuds’ theories have always been widely disputed and disagreed with, though his dream theory was more or less accepted for quite some time. Recently other researchers have developed theories that seem to be very valid and quite possibly the answer to our questions. Carl Jung who is a Swiss psychiatrist suggested that dreams make up for one-sided thoughts and feelings, which are conceived in consciousness. On the other hand, a Hungarian psychoanalyst, Ferenczi believes that dreams express things that cannot be expressed outright. Other theories state that the dreamer may be focusing on one emotion while sleeping and thus the emotion is amplified and the dreamer becomes consumed by it. According to Hartmann, an American psychologist, dreams are intertwined with evolution and the belief in Darwinism. He stated that dreams are projections of our ancestors and that they are based strictly off instinct. As well as personal experiences his theory basically states that as we have evolved, as did our dreams and the messages that they can convey. Lucid Dreaming is a great way to escape for a bit to a world misunderstood and very relaxing, and this way of dreaming can open doors you never knew existed.