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Lucid dreaming is consciously perceiving and recognizing that one is in a dream while one is sleeping, and having control over the " dreamscape", the faux-reality dream world within a dream. Stephen LaBerge, a published author and expert on the subject, has defined it as simply realizing that one is dreaming while in a dream. Other authorities contend that in order for the state of a dreaming person to be lucid, that person must have control over his or her dreamscape (because simply having the mental idea "I am lucid" could be a creation of the subconscious itself and not a real "rational" thought). Lucid dreamers, called oneironauts, report being able to freely remember the circumstances of waking life, think cogently, and act deliberately upon reflection, all while experiencing a dreamscape that seems vividly real.A person in a lucid dream with full control may morph the dreamscape into any virtual reality that person pleases, all with properties that feel identical to that of wakeful consciousness. Doing literally anything within a lucid dream is not outside one's ability. Less skilled oneironauts who have trouble controlling their surroundings, however, sometimes instead make themselves like actors in chosen plays. Lucid dreams are notable for their durability in memory, being exceptionally more memorable than typical, non-lucid dreams (though it's still possible to not remember them). One theory as to why lucid dreams are more memorable is because they usually end with the person waking up suddenly due to excitement, and its generally believed that a transition from REM sleep to awakeness rather then through Delta sleep dramatically improves dream recall. Oneironauts regularly describe their dreams as exciting, colourful, and fantastic, and often compare their dreams to a spiritual experience. Oneironauts have even reported lucid dreams that take on a "hyper reality", that is, a reality that is more "real" than waking life. In these dreams all elements of the dreamscape are amplified. It has been likened to the resolution of a computer screen, where regular dreams are 640x480 and hyper-real lucid dreams are 10,000x10,000 in their sensory detail.
1 Achieving and recognizing lucid dreams
Many people report having experienced a lucid dream during their lives, often in childhood. However, even with training, achieving lucid dreams on a regular basis is uncommon and can be difficult. Despite this difficulty, techniques have been developed to achieve a lucid dreaming state intentionally. A number of universities (notably Stanford) conduct continued research into these techniques and the effects of lucid dreaming, as do some independent agencies such as LaBerge's The Lucidity Institute . At present, there are no known cases where lucid dreaming has caused damage on either the psychological or physiological level. However, it would be very hard to determine whether some form of lucid dreaming might prevent one from receiving a benefit from normal dreaming. Jungian psychology seems to indicate that non-lucid (or partly lucid) dreaming is a way to achieve self-understanding.
One method of testing whether one is dreaming or not is to read some text, look away, and read it again. In the real world, the text will not change; in a dream, observers have found that text will often change. Clues to the dream state such as this are known as dream signs.
2 Other phenomena associated with lucid dreaming
- False awakenings: In a false awakening, one suddenly dreams of having awakened. If the person was lucid, he/she often believes that he/she is no longer dreaming, and may start exiting their room etc. Since the person is actually still dreaming, this is called a "false awakening". This is often a nemesis in the art of lucid dreaming because it usually causes people to give up their awareness of being in a dream, but it can also help someone to become lucid if the person does a reality check whenever he/she awakens.
- Sleep paralysis: During REM sleep the body is paralyzed by a mechanism in the brain, because otherwise the movements which occur in the dream would actually cause the body to move (the eyes are not paralyzed, which causes rapid eye movement (REM) itself). However, it is possible for this mechanism to be triggered before, during, or after normal sleep while the brain awakens. This can lead to a state where a person is lying in their bed and they feel like they are frozen. Hallucinations may occur in this state, especially auditory ones. People also generally report feeling a crushing sensation on their chest (probably because they try to consciously control their breathing). People trying to lucid dream sometimes try to trigger this state, or accidentally trigger this state, while using a WILD technique to enter a lucid dream.
- Transformations: Some people are able to, after some practice, transform their dream-selves into real or fictional animals and claim to have tried 360 degree stereo vision, sonar (bat) vision, etc.
