Lucid Dreaming: The Art of Inception
Dream a Little Dream
Why do we dream? What do our dreams mean? Can we control our dreams? Lucid dreaming is the ability of becoming aware that you are in a dream. There are five stages of sleeping in which can be categorized into two main sections: Non-REM sleep
Lucid Dream 1 (Photo credit: Robert Bruce Murray III // Sort Of Natural)
and REM sleep. The abbreviation REM simply means the stage of sleep in which rapid eye movement is occuring.The first four stages of sleep fall under the category of Non-REM while the last stage is included in REM. Lucid dreaming occurs in the later cycle of sleep during REM sleep.
While lucid dreaming a person is believed to be able to have some level of control over the vivid, mental imagery in which they are dreaming. Memory occurs in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the brain and during Rem sleep this is one of the few areas that is deactivated. When activation occurs one can then recognize that they are dreaming, allow the occurrence of the dream, and remember that it is only a dream.
The Experiment: Work of Dr. Stephen LaBerge
While working on his dissertation at Stanford University, Stephen P. LaBerge, began to put his fascination of lucid dreaming to the test. He found the possibility of roaming freely and resolving conflict within a dream fascinating. The possibilites are endless if one can obtain the knowledge to control the images in their mind during sleep. LaBerge was interested in determining whether or not a person could communicate with the researcher during lucid dreaming. Using the MILD technique (mnemonic induction of lucid dreaming) to allow researchers to enter a lucid dream at will, resulted in the communication of dreamers with the research team through rapid eye movement. Monitoring the electroencephalography (EEG) of a patient during Rem sleep allowed the signalling from the patient, to the collaborator of the EEG, with pre-arranged eye movement. This occurrence was the first documented occasion of a person signalling to the outside world while in the dream state.
Dream Thieves
Should I share my dream or is it all mine? Now that’s the true question. Hollywood attempts to answer this question with the fictional thriller, Inception. The motion picture tells the tale of dream sharing in which it is possible to enter into someone else’s dream. In reality we are forced to be greedy with our dreams; we cannot share our dreams! There is no evidence yet to support the idea of entering into another person’s dream world. While it made for a highly entertaining film it altered what is actually possible in reality. The film also touched on the concept of getting lost in the dream world which in reality we refer to as false awakenings.
Getting lost in the dream world as the characters do in the movie has not been proven to be possible, but one can experience a false awakening which is merely believing that you have awoken when in actuality you are still sleeping. While scenes in a dream change you might envision that you are in your bedroom waking up which confuses the mind into believing that you truly have awoken. While lucid dreaming scenes fade quickly and it is not until you get out of your bed and see the vivid image of the ocean that you realize you are still in a dream.
Cover of A Nightmare on Elm Street [Blu-ray
Should We Fear Freddy?
Watching a film like Nightmare on Elm Street could quickly make the idea of lucid dreaming very unappealing. Is it dangerous to lucid dream? If I run into Freddy do I need to fear for my life? Absolutely not! The only thing Freddy can do to you is increase your heart rate from the fear of believing he can really do bodily harm to you. Lucid nightmares do exist because our subconscious does play an active role in lucid dreaming. In lucid dreaming controlling your dream is not always what occurs, but when we are faced with a heightened feeling of anxiety from a lucid nightmare we have the advantage because we have the ability to realize we are only in a dream. It is believed that practicing lucid dreaming can help us control the fears we have in reality and during a nightmare.
Benefits of Lucid Dreaming
Not only does mastering lucid dreaming allow us to overcome nightmares but we can learn to solve problems in our dream world that we are faced with in our waking world. Lucid Deaming can help us control our emotional well being by envisioning a peaceful world in which we have created and set our own rules to abide by. Waking up from a happy dream can start the day off just right.
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Dreams really are an awesome thing that most of us get to experience (because some people don’t remember their dreams). While sometimes it’s interesting to notice that you incorporate daily life events and thoughts into your dreams, it would be really interesting to learn why we dream those really weird dreams. Sometimes I find myself dreaming really off the wall stuff, and I know I really wouldn’t want to do any of the things in my dream, it would be cool to understand why I had a dream about it. Often times I go to sleep pondering something, or worried about a problem that I can’t quite seem to figure out. The next morning sometimes I notice that I have come up with a solution to my problem in my sleep. I would like to know how my brain manages to figure these things out in my sleep/dreams.
Dreaming is one of those occurrences that is difficult to control. I recall a few of my dreams and have even revisited the same dream a few times. One thing that I have noticed in the dreams I have remembered is the feeling that accompanied the dream. In most I have a sense of relaxation, or the other extreme, tension. For a few weeks after my lucid dream if I experience the same feeling, I also tend to recall the dream. During the recall I have been able to kind of explore the dream in detail. The recalled details are mostly visual and, like I stated before, the feel of the dream. I have yet to recall any auditory dream experience nor tactile. A few times I have awoken laughing or even in tears form the experience, but mostly a sense of comfort. Anyone else have experiences they want to share.
Here is a little more on the different sleep cycles, for those who would like to read more: http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/how-sleep-works/what-happens-when-you-sleep
Both comments include great points. Dreams are very interesting and knowing that we can practice lucid dreaming adds to it. We might not always understand what we dream, but when we wake up feeling that heightened sense of relaxation, happiness, or even tension we ponder the answer even more. Work in this field continues to amaze me.
Very interesting. I can see how sometimes dreming can make us feel that things are happening in rel life. The thing I dislike about dreaming is that sometimes I feel so tired afterwards. I felt as if I did not get any rest because my mind was so active. However, dreams can sometimes be very interesting.
Yes, Lupe I definitely see the points you were making. It’s never good waking up tired but sometimes when our dreams were really intriguing that night and we awaken to a sense of enlightenment (even though it might sometimes be accompanied with lethargy) it’s well worth it in the mornings.