In the psychology subfield of oneirology, a lucid dream is a type of dream wherein the dreamer knows that they are dreaming while in their dream. The capacity to have and sustain lucid dreams is a trainable cognitive skill. During a lucid dream, the dreamer may gain some amount of volitional control over the dream characters, narrative, or environment, although this control of dream content is not the salient feature of lucid dreaming. An important distinction is that lucid dreaming is a distinct type of dream from other types of dreams such as prelucid dreams and vivid dreams, although prelucid dreams are a precursor to lucid dreams, and lucid dreams are often accompanied with enhanced dream vividness. Lucid dreams are also a distinct state from other lucid boundary sleep states such as lucid hypnagogia or lucid hypnopompia. In formal psychology, lucid dreaming has been studied and reported for many years. Prominent figures from ancient to modern times have been fascinated by lucid dreams and have sought ways to better understand their causes and purpose. Many different theories have emerged as a result of scientific research on the subject. Further developments in psychological research have pointed to ways in which this form of dreaming may be utilized as a therapeutic technique. The term lucid dream was coined by Dutch author and psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden in his 1913 article A Study of Dreams, though descriptions of dreamers being aware that they are dreaming predate the article. Psychologist Stephen LaBerge is widely considered the progenitor and leading pioneer of modern lucid dreaming research. He is the founder of the Lucidity Institute at Stanford University.
Definition Paul Tholey laid the epistemological basis for the research of lucid dreams, proposing seven different conditions of clarity that a dream must fulfill to be defined as a lucid dream:
Awareness of the dream state (orientation) Awareness of the capacity to make decisions Awareness of memory functions Awareness of self Awareness of the dream environment Awareness of the meaning of the dream Awareness of concentration and focus (the subjective clarity of that state) Later, in 1992, a study by Deirdre Barrett examined whether lucid dreams contained four "corollaries" of lucidity:
The dreamer is aware that they are dreaming They are aware that actions will not carry over after waking Physical laws need not apply in the dream The dreamer has a clear memory of the waking world Barrett found that less than a quarter of lucidity accounts exhibited all four. Subsequently, Stephen LaBerge studied the prevalence among lucid dreams of the ability to control the dream scenario, and found that while dream control and dream awareness are correlated, neither requires the other. LaBerge found dreams that exhibit one clearly without the capacity for the other. He also found dreams where, although the dreamer is lucid and aware they could exercise control, they choose simply to observe.
History
Eastern The practice of lucid dreaming is central to both the ancient Indian Hindu practice of Yoga nidra and the Tibetan Buddhist practice of dream Yoga. The cultivation of such awareness was a common practice among early Buddhists.
Western Early references to the phenomenon are also found in ancient Greek writing. For example, the philosopher Aristotle wrote: "often when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream." Meanwhile, the physician Galen of Pergamon used lucid dreams as a form of therapy. In addition, a letter written by Saint Augustine of Hippo in AD 415 tells the story of a dreamer, Doctor Gennadius, and refers to lucid dreaming. Philosopher and physician Sir Thomas Browne (1605–1682) was fascinated by dreams and described his own ability to lucid dream in his Religio Medici, stating: "...yet in one dream I can compose a whole Comedy, behold the action, apprehend the jests and laugh my self awake at the conceits thereof." Samuel Pepys, in his diary entry for 15 August 1665, records a dream, stating: "I had my Lady Castlemayne in my arms and was admitted to use all the dalliance I desired with her, and then dreamt that this could not be awake, but that it was only a dream."
In 1867, the French sinologist Marie-Jean-Léon, Marquis d'Hervey de Saint Denys anonymously published Les Rêves et Les Moyens de Les Diriger; Observations Pratiques ("Dreams and the ways to direct them; practical observations"), in which he describes his own experiences of lucid dreaming, and proposes that it is possible for anyone to learn to dream consciously. In 1913, Dutch psychiatrist and writer Frederik (Willem) van Eeden (1860–1932) coined the term "lucid dream" in an article entitled "A Study of Dreams". Some have suggested that the term is a misnomer because Van Eeden was referring to a phenomenon more specific than a lucid dream. Van Eeden intended the term lucid to denote "having insight", as in the phrase a lucid interval applied to someone in temporary remission from a psychosis, rather than as a reference to the perceptual quality of the experience, which may or may not be clear and vivid.
Skill mastery Clinical psychologist Kristen LaMarca outlined four stages towards mastering the skill of using lucid dreaming:
Progression along the skill levels is akin to a maturity in the development of the practitioner's discipline, methodology and application.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
