Snoring Lucidity
Monday, January 12. 2009
I've had a fascination with lucid dreaming for quite some time. It has a very close relationship to speculative fiction, in that both represent ways to experience a fantasy world. The lucid dream is a more immediate means, but a far less predictable one.
The Wikipedia article referenced above covers the basics of lucid dreaming. I've personally engaged in the MILD technique, using reality testing, specifically the "clock" method. This procedure involves looking at a digital clock, noting the time, looking away, and then looking back to confirm that the time is the same (or at most one minute later). People interested in lucid dreaming train themselves to perform a technique like this one throughout the day, while (supposedly) awake. So I'll sit at my desk at work and "test reality" every once in awhile by doing the clock-double-take action. Performed often enough, the actions become ingrained, such that one will even do them while dreaming. The times then differ, the dreamer notices and realizes he is in a dream, and then he becomes so elated at the prospect that he wakes up.
Well, that's been my experience thus far, anyway. I've never worked hard enough at lucid dreaming to achieve any good results. Now would be a good time to revisit the phenomenon, since the short story I've started working on takes place within lucid dreams.
My favorite part of the whole lucid dreaming topic is the notion of "testing reality." The idea presupposes that the waking state will be internally consistent and follow established rules, while the non-waking state will not. It amuses me to consider that this assumption is quite likely not a valid one.
I've had a fascination with lucid dreaming for quite some time. It has a very close relationship to speculative fiction, in that both represent ways to experience a fantasy world. The lucid dream is a more immediate means, but a far less predictable one.
The Wikipedia article referenced above covers the basics of lucid dreaming. I've personally engaged in the MILD technique, using reality testing, specifically the "clock" method. This procedure involves looking at a digital clock, noting the time, looking away, and then looking back to confirm that the time is the same (or at most one minute later). People interested in lucid dreaming train themselves to perform a technique like this one throughout the day, while (supposedly) awake. So I'll sit at my desk at work and "test reality" every once in awhile by doing the clock-double-take action. Performed often enough, the actions become ingrained, such that one will even do them while dreaming. The times then differ, the dreamer notices and realizes he is in a dream, and then he becomes so elated at the prospect that he wakes up.
Well, that's been my experience thus far, anyway. I've never worked hard enough at lucid dreaming to achieve any good results. Now would be a good time to revisit the phenomenon, since the short story I've started working on takes place within lucid dreams.
My favorite part of the whole lucid dreaming topic is the notion of "testing reality." The idea presupposes that the waking state will be internally consistent and follow established rules, while the non-waking state will not. It amuses me to consider that this assumption is quite likely not a valid one.
The Wikipedia article referenced above covers the basics of lucid dreaming. I've personally engaged in the MILD technique, using reality testing, specifically the "clock" method. This procedure involves looking at a digital clock, noting the time, looking away, and then looking back to confirm that the time is the same (or at most one minute later). People interested in lucid dreaming train themselves to perform a technique like this one throughout the day, while (supposedly) awake. So I'll sit at my desk at work and "test reality" every once in awhile by doing the clock-double-take action. Performed often enough, the actions become ingrained, such that one will even do them while dreaming. The times then differ, the dreamer notices and realizes he is in a dream, and then he becomes so elated at the prospect that he wakes up.
Well, that's been my experience thus far, anyway. I've never worked hard enough at lucid dreaming to achieve any good results. Now would be a good time to revisit the phenomenon, since the short story I've started working on takes place within lucid dreams.
My favorite part of the whole lucid dreaming topic is the notion of "testing reality." The idea presupposes that the waking state will be internally consistent and follow established rules, while the non-waking state will not. It amuses me to consider that this assumption is quite likely not a valid one.
Craig on :