Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Lucid Dreaming


I came across this article in the New York Times a few days ago that has me thinking. Whether it is by some psychosomatic reflection or pure coincidence, the idea has been in my head recently. Do you ever fly in your dreams? Do wield a sword and fight the good fight? Some new studies in the area of dream theory might give us all a moment of pause.
Established sleep researchers say lucid dreaming is occasionally reported by subjects, though it is difficult to validate scientifically. “Yes, lucid dreaming exists,” said Dr. Rodney Radtke, the medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Duke University. “Yes, people certainly can, within their dream, realize ‘this is just a dream’ and continue to participate.”
The article in the Times goes beyond this, suggesting we have ultimate power over dreaming, that it is a universe of pure will...
Do I believe that someone could potentially alter or interact with their dreams in such a way that they could change the dream? Yes,” he said. “Do I think that you could essentially design a dream — ‘Oh, I want to go to Honolulu and have this big hunk hit on me’? It’s a bit of a stretch. But I can’t say it can’t happen.”
The article also suggests some lucidity aids, provided by institutes dedicated to lucid dreaming. But, there is no better aid than being conscious of this potential. Point in case, I've been willing flight in my dreams lately, and its been happening at a lot more frequently than ever before. Will is important, consciousness is key.

So, happy dreaming.....

1 comment:

Shari Zollinger said...

As per our conversation two days ago, I recommit to making comments, and posting. My flying dreams have always been about pure will, or pure belief. In the dreams there is never any doubt that it can and will happen. I just start floating up and up and before long I am somersaulting the sky. Lately I have had epic dreams, where there is, like a novel, a beginning a middle and an end. I grow old in my dreams, come to the end of my life, like a story. I think I will try and fly tonight.