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    Lucid Dreaming 101: Dr. Stephen Laberge

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    drumsetman
    The document discusses lucid dreaming, which is being consciously aware that one is dreaming and being able to control the content of dreams. It describes how Stanford researcher Dr. Stephen LaBerge proved the existence of lucid dreaming by having subjects use pre-agreed eye movement signals to indicate when they became lucid in dreams. The document then provides steps for developing lucid dreaming abilities, including keeping a dream journal, doing reality checks while awake, using intention and visualization techniques to induce lucidity, and spinning or examining hands to extend the duration of lucid dreams.

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    Lucid Dreaming 101: Dr. Stephen Laberge

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    drumsetman
    39 views4 pages
    The document discusses lucid dreaming, which is being consciously aware that one is dreaming and being able to control the content of dreams. It describes how Stanford researcher Dr. Stephen LaBerge proved the existence of lucid dreaming by having subjects use pre-agreed eye movement signals to indicate when they became lucid in dreams. The document then provides steps for developing lucid dreaming abilities, including keeping a dream journal, doing reality checks while awake, using intention and visualization techniques to induce lucidity, and spinning or examining hands to extend the duration of lucid dreams.

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    Lucid Dreaming 101

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    The document discusses lucid dreaming, which is being consciously aware that one is dreaming and being able to control the content of dreams. It describes how Stanford researcher Dr. Stephen LaBerge proved the existence of lucid dreaming by having subjects use pre-agreed eye movement signals to indicate when they became lucid in dreams. The document then provides steps for developing lucid dreaming abilities, including keeping a dream journal, doing reality checks while awake, using intention and visualization techniques to induce lucidity, and spinning or examining hands to extend the duration of lucid dreams.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    39 views4 pages

    Lucid Dreaming 101: Dr. Stephen Laberge

    Uploaded by

    drumsetman
    The document discusses lucid dreaming, which is being consciously aware that one is dreaming and being able to control the content of dreams. It describes how Stanford researcher Dr. Stephen LaBerge proved the existence of lucid dreaming by having subjects use pre-agreed eye movement signals to indicate when they became lucid in dreams. The document then provides steps for developing lucid dreaming abilities, including keeping a dream journal, doing reality checks while awake, using intention and visualization techniques to induce lucidity, and spinning or examining hands to extend the duration of lucid dreams.

    Copyright:

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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Lucid Dreaming 101

    I applied to Stanford University because I wanted to refine my clinical


    understanding of lucid dreaming: the ability to become conscious during
    dreams and affect their content.

    This isn’t new-age nonsense, either. It’s been tested in the strictest of
    lab settings.

    Dr. Stephen LaBerge of Stanford was considered the world’s foremost


    researchers in the science and practice of lucid dreaming, and he had
    pioneered proving its existence. How? It turns out that eye movement,
    unlike the rest of the skeletal muscular system, is not inhibited by REM
    sleep. Subjects could memorize horizontal eye patterns (e.g. left-left-
    right-right-left-right-left) and repeat the patterns upon becoming lucid,
    which researchers could observe, all while recording brain activity with
    an EEG to confirm that the subjects where, in fact, in a dream state.
    Tibetan monks have been practicing lucid dreaming for thousands of
    years, but it was considered fringe speculation until it was captured in a
    controlled environment.

    There are now dozens of studies that explore the incredibly cool world
    of lucid dreaming and hint at applications (search “lucid dreaming” here
    on PubMed).

    I recently had dinner with former PayPal employee Mark Goldenson,


    who was a researcher in both Stephen LaBerge’s lab and Phil
    Zimbardo’s psychophysiology lab at Stanford, and the conversation
    convinced me that sharing the basics was worth a post.

    For those interested in experiencing lucid dreaming, here are a few


    simple training methods, including:

    Step 1) Develop dream recall -

    Have you ever thought that you didn’t dream on given nights, or
    perhaps not at all? If I were to track your REM sleep, as I have mine on
    even “dreamless” nights, you quickly realize that this isn’t the case.
    Undeveloped recall is to blame.
    Put a pad of paper next to your bed and record your dream immediately
    upon waking. Immediately means immediately. If you get dressed first,
    or even stare at the ceiling for a minute, dream recollection will be nil.
    Expect that you might not get more than a few lines for the first week or
    so, but also expect to get to multi-page recall ability within 2-3 weeks.
    This alone will make you look forward to going to bed.

    Step 2) Identify dream cues and/or do reality checks -

    Some people, like Mark, can use their dream log to identify common
    dream elements that recur from night to night. Water seems to be
    particularly common. These elements are then used for “reality checks”:
    asking yourself if you’re dreaming when you see these cues during
    waking hours, and then testing.

    Testing entails doing something like trying to fly (not recommended) or


    looking at your environment for clear indications of dream state. The
    latter is my preference, and I typically skip the dream log and default to
    a few simple tests at set action (every time I check the time or walk
    through a door, for example).

    Since working memory can only hold around 7 +/- 2 bits of information,
    and you are constantly creating your dreamscape in real-time, there are
    a few things that change if you look away and then look back at them:

    a. Text (e.g., written signs)b. Digital clocks/watches. Fascinatingly,


    analog clocks appear to keep accurate dream time, which, in my case,
    also corresponds to real time passing.c. Complex patterns

    For the last category, I like to look at wall brickwork or floor patterns,
    look away, and look back to see if their orientation (e.g. horizontal vs.
    vertical) or tile/block size has changed, asking “am I dreaming?” If there
    are changes, guess what? You are either on some strong hallucinogens
    or you are dreaming. If you’re dreaming and answer in the affirmative, it
    is at this point that you will become lucid.Step 3) Induce lucidity –

    MILD

    There are a number of techniques that help induce lucidity. One such
    technique tested by LaBerge, referred to as Mnemonic-Induction of
    Lucid Dreaming (MILD), involved — in my case — waking up in the
    middle of the night, setting the intention to lucid dream for 10-15
    minutes, then going back to bed. I have found this to work best when I
    wake 5 hours or so after going to sleep (not just to bed). Here is a
    longer description from LaBerge’s FAQ.

    I have also found duration of sleep to be an important variable. It will


    often be easiest for novices to achieve lucidity if they sleep to excess —
    more than 9 hours (think Saturday or Sunday mornings) — and then
    use the snooze button to wake every 10-15 minutes for another hour.
    This juxtaposition of waking and sleep blurs the lines and seems to
    make the lucid state easier to achieve.

    Ancillary Drugs

    Three drugs, in my experience, also seems to assist with induction:


    huperzine-A (200-400 mcg), melatonin (3 mg), and nicotine (standard
    patch). I don’t suggest combining them.

    Huperzine-A is an acetyl-cholinesterase inhibitor, tested in Chinese


    clinical trials for treating Alzheimer’s, and will increase the half-life of the
    neurotransmitter acetylcholine at the synapse. This is my preferred tool
    if I’m using chemical assistance. Melatonin is involved with setting
    circadian rhythm and its release is controlled by the pineal gland and
    suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). Dreams on melatonin tend to be more
    colorful and more chaotic, as is also the case with nicotine. Nicotine is
    my last choice, as it is addictive and can cause total insomnia if you
    don’t time it properly. If you happen to be quitting smoking and will be
    using the patch regardless, be sure to put it on immediately prior to bed
    so the blood nicotine levels (and stimulant effects) peak well after
    you’ve fallen asleep. Mistime it and you’ll be one grumpy bastard the
    next morning.

    Step 4) Extend lucidity duration

    This is where things get a little strange, or even cooler.

    The first few times you achieve lucidity, you will likely be so excited that
    you will wake yourself up. Two effective techniques for extending
    lucidity are spinning (a la a piroutte in place) and looking at your hands.
    Both techniques, I believe, originated with Carlos Castaneda, but
    LaBerge was the first to test them and quantify the effectiveness of
    spinning vs. hand rubbing:

    …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.

    Source: Lucidity Institute

    Step 5) Once you’ve flown all over and had sex with every hottie
    you can think of…

    Try to explore memory and performance. Indulge in the flying and sex
    binge, as all newbies do — no reason to rush that phase, of course —
    but then expand your carnal horizons in other directions.

    Have fun and sweet dreams…

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