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Thu 19 Mar 1987 - Lucid Dreaming
From an article in Omni Magazine (April 1987 issue)
Text File by: Sir Tristram (Michael O'Brien), Sysop of:The Dark Forest
714/730-6248 (Irvine, Southern California)
THE OMNI EXPERIENCE
POWER TRIPS: CONTROLLING YOUR DREAMS
Release Date: Thursday, 19 March 1987
A number of techniques facilitate lucid dreaming. One of the simplest is
asking yourself many times during the day whether you are dreaming. Each time
you ask the question, you should look for evidence proving you are not
dreaming. The most reliable test: Read something, look away for a moment, and
then read it again. If it reads the same way twice, it is unlikely that you
are dreaming. After you have proved to yourself that you are not presently
dreaming, visualize yourself doing what it is you'd like. Also, tell yourself
that you want to recognize a nighttime dream the next time it occurs. The
mechanism at work here is simple; it's much the same as picking up milk at the
grocery store after reminding yourself to do so an hour before.
At night people usually realize they are dreaming when they experience unusual
or bizarre occurrences. For instance, if you find yourself flying without
visible means of support, you should realize that this happens only in dreams
and that you must therefore be dreaming.
If you awaken from a dream in the middle of the night, it is very helpful to
return to the dream immediately, in your imagination. Now envision yourself
recognizing the dream as such. Tell yoursel, "The next time I am dreaming, I
want to remember to recognize that I am dreaming." If your intention is strong
and clear enough, you may find yourself in a lucid dream when you return to
sleep.
Even if you're a frequent lucid dreamer, you may not be able to stop yourself
from waking up in mid-dream. And even if your dreams do reach a satisfying
end, you may not be able to focus them exactly as you please.
During our years of research, however, we have found that spinning your dream
body can sustain the period of sleep and give you greater dream control. In
fact, many subjects at Stanford University have used the spinning technique as
an effective means of staying in a lucid dream. The task outlined below will
help you use spinning as a means of staying asleep and, more exciting, as a
means of traveling to whatever dream world you desire.
Before retiring, decide on a person, time, and place you would like to visit in
your lucid dream. The target person and place can be either real or imaginary,
past, present, or future. Write down and memorize your target person andplace,
then visualize yourself visiting your target and firmly resolve to do so in a
dream that night.
To gain lucidity, repeat the phrase describing your target in your dream, and
spin your whole dream body in a standing position with your arms outstretched.
You can pirouette or spin like a top, as long as you vividly feel your body in
motion.
The same spinning technique will help when, in the middle of a lucid dream, you
feel the dream imagery beginning to fade. To avoid waking up, spin as you
repeat your target phrase again and again. With practice, you'll return to
your target person, time, and place.
When spinning, try to notice whether you're moving in a clockwise or counter-
clockwise direction.
- Stephen LaBerge and Jayne Gackenbach
Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D., of the Stanford University Sleep Research Center, is
also the author of LUCID DREAMING, Ballantine Books, New York, (C) 1985. LUCID
DREAMING is a 305 page book which costs $3.95 and is available in the
"Psychiatry" or "Self-Help" section of most major bookstores.