[From NIGHTLIGHT 5(3), Fall 1993, Copyright, The Lucidity Institute.]
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LUCIDITY RESEARCH, PAST AND FUTURE
by Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D
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There is a state of consciousness in which any human being could
experience anything imaginable. Each of us holds within us infinite
possibilities. How many of us ever have the opportunity to taste even a
hint of them? If we speak of our fantasies of wider vistas of life, we
talk of our "dreams." In our dreams, we are free. A man in a dungeon
can dream he is a king in a castle, and while he dreams, it is so.
People have long viewed dreams as blessings or curses beyond our
control. However, according to Tibetan Buddhists, who for a thousand
years have been practicing a form of dream yoga, similar to what in the
west is called lucid dreaming, it is possible to gain complete mastery
over dreaming. Recent scientific research at Stanford University has
begun to provide objective evidence for that claim.
As is well known to NightLight readers, lucid dreaming means dreaming
while knowing that you are dreaming. Everyone has, in theory, the
capacity to learn to dream lucidly, because everyone dreams every night.
Whenever we dream, we find ourselves in complete worlds, as richly
detailed, moving and impressive as the world of waking life. This
ability to create worlds is the natural endowment of the human mind. In
dreams, this wondrous talent is fully demonstrated. The worlds we create
in our minds are so convincingly real we cannot easily tell them from
the "real" world of waking.
Lucid dreamers develop a frame of mind that allows them to recognize
when they are dreaming. From that point, they are free to do as they
choose. This freedom, hard to imagine in our highly constrained waking
reality, is astonishing, exhilarating, and inspiring. The laws of
physics and society are repealed. The limits are only those of the
dreamer's imagination.
Who would not want such a genie at their command? Today, lucid dreaming
is a reality, currently being enjoyed and explored by thousands of
people. However, for it to achieve its potential of expanding the
horizons of all humanity, research advances are necessary. Current
training in lucid dreaming takes more time and effort than most people
are able to commit. Technology exists to assist people in attaining the
state, but although it can greatly enhance a person's chances of having
a lucid dream, cannot yet guarantee it.
Research into the factors of brain and mind that underlie the lucid
dream state could lead to breakthroughs allowing an individual to lucid
dream at will, thereby having reliable access to any imaginable
experience. This is much more than a remote possibility. Much is already
known about REM sleep, the sleep state in which lucid dreaming occurs,
and progress has been made in determining how brain activity changes
when a person becomes lucid in a dream. Resources are needed for
initiating intensive research into the precise nature of the lucid dream
state, and the factors of brain, body and mind involved in achieving and
sustaining it.
A convenient and reliable means of entering lucid dreams will open the
door to a vast treasury of valuable applications. In worlds of
unlimited possibility, creativity will become the rule, rather than the
exception. People will be able to sample any way of being they wish,
living out fantasies unavailable in waking life, or rehearsing for
successful futures.
Experimentation in lucid dreaming is completely risk-free, so ideas in
business, politics, ecology, athletics, or indeed, any endeavor can be
tested in the model world of dreams. Practice in lucid dreams can
improve performance, and prevent costly errors in waking reality. The
potentials of mental imagery and hypnosis will also be accessible to
everyone, because dreams are the most vivid of all images, available
even to those who do not have the ability to create vivid mental imagery
or to enter deep hypnotic states while they are awake. This brings with
it the possibility of enhanced healing capacities, hinted at in research
on mental imagery. People may be able to use lucid dreaming to shorten
the time it takes them to recover from illnesses or operations, and to
stimulate the redevelopment of physical skills following injury.
All that is required to bring these possibilities to fruition is the
devotion of research effort into the area of lucid dreaming. The more
resources are supplied to this work, the more rapidly progress will
occur, and the sooner this priceless tool will be available to help
humanity overcome its present crises. It is abundantly clear that we are
in need of quickly developing our capacities for understanding our role
on Earth and creatively evolving to survive and grow into our true
potential. Lucid dreaming offers great promise for helping us to achieve
these goals.
With my colleagues (notably, Lynne Levitan and William Dement), I have
been researching lucid dreaming at Stanford University for over a
decade. I founded the Lucidity Institute to advance research on lucid
dreaming and potentials of human consciousness, and to apply the results
of this research to the enhancement of human health and well-being.
The Lucidity Institute has advanced towards the goal of making lucid
dreaming universally accessible by developing commercially available
lucid dream induction devices such as the DreamLight and DreamLink that
help people have lucid dreams.
We are continuing research at Stanford aimed at enhancing the ability to
have lucid dreams, and tapping the great potentials within them. Those
wishing to contribute to the advancement of research on lucid dreaming
please consider the following:
* A tax deductible donation to Stanford University, directed specifically
"for research on lucid dreaming under Dr. Stephen LaBerge."
* A loan or investment in the Lucidity Institute, Inc. (Currently the
Lucidity Institute Private Placement Memorandum is offering $600,000
worth of stock. Approximately $200,000 has been sold already, leaving
$400,000 available.) The Lucidity Institute will provide long-term
research funding.
The general aim of our ongoing program of research is the investigation
of consciousness and mind-body relationships during sleep. Our primary
focus has been lucid dreaming , a state of consciousness with remarkable
potential. During lucid dreams, people can reason and remember clearly,
and act volitionally upon reflection, while remaining sound asleep and
continuing to dream vividly (1).
Lucid dreaming makes possible a new paradigm for dream research. Because
lucid dreamers can carry out specific dream experiments, control their
dreams and communicate with the laboratory while still asleep (2),
scientists can now study the dream state directly. We have pioneered the
laboratory study of lucid dreaming (1,2,3) at the Stanford University
Sleep Research Center, and thus are well positioned to employ lucid
dreaming in the study of the nature of human consciousness and to
explore the applications of lucid dreaming in health improvement.
INDUCTION OF LUCID DREAMS
Although we have shown that lucid dreaming is a learnable skill (8),
currently available methods, involving mental concentration, require
considerable investment of time and effort. Therefore, we have sought
methods for helping dreamers to realize that they are dreaming by means
of external cues applied during REM sleep that become incorporated into
dreams and remind dreamers that they are dreaming. We have tested a
variety of stimuli, including tape recordings of the phrase "This is a
dream" (9), conditioned tactile stimuli (10), and light (11). Light
appears to be an excellent stimulus. We have developed computerized
lucid dreaming induction devices (the DreamLight, DreamLink, and most
recently, the NovaDreamer) that have produced highly promising results.
By further developing and perfecting these and new devices and
techniques, we hope to make lucid dreaming widely available.
Lucidity cue type and mental preparation: Preliminary studies on the
DreamLight device have been promising: 55% of 44 subjects had at least
one lucid dream during one study (11). Unpublished research indicates
that combinations of the light cue with mental exercises specifically
designed to increase one's awareness of the nature of dreaming tend to
be more effective than using the cue alone. At this point we do not know
what rate of flashing will be most effective. Therefore we plan to
compare four different flash rates (1, 2, 4, and 8 flashes per sec) and
three different kinds of mental preparation (MILD, discrimination
training to recognize the light stimulus, and post-hypnotic suggestion)
in a group of 40 subjects. We also are planning testing cues in other
sensory modalities such as sound and vibration.
Physiological correlates of dream content and incorporation of stimuli:
Four channels of EEG and four channels of autonomic physiology is being
collected from each of 12 to 24 subjects as they are stimulated with
flashes of light during REM sleep. Reports of incorporation of light as
well as other dream content will then be correlated with the EEG and
other physiological measures. Sometimes the subjects will see the light
flash in their dreams, but sometimes they will not. Using a computer, we
will analyze the EEG and autonomic physiology immediately prior to the
time that the stimulus is triggered, looking for differences between the
cases when the light is incorporated, and when it is not. By showing us
which are the optimal times for applying cues to the dreamer, this
research should teach us how to more effectively induce lucid dreams
with light.
MIND-BODY RELATIONSHIPS DURING DREAMING
Our work with lucid dreams so far has led to new insights into the
connection between mind and body. In a series of studies (summarized
below) we have discovered that various dreamed experiences (including
time estimation, breathing, singing, counting, and sexual activity)
produce effects on the dreamer's brain (and to a lesser extent, body)
remarkably similar to the physiological effects that are produced by
actual experiences of the corresponding events while awake.
Correspondence between dreamed and actual eye movements. We have found
that there is a very high degree of correlation between the direction of
gaze shift reported in lucid dreams and polygraphically recorded eye
movements, a fact that we make routine use of by using eye movements as
signals in all of our experiments (1,2).
Communication from lucid dreams: We are also planning to improve the
capacity of lucid dreamers to communicate with the waking world while
dreaming. At this point, they do so by means of eye-movement signals,
which are difficult to execute with any complexity. In past studies we
have done some preliminary work with a glove containing computerized
movement sensors allowing the recording of hand movements during
dreaming. The devices were too crude at that point to permit us to see
the fine detail needed for distinguishing various hand signals. Current
devices are much more sophisticated. We hope to make it possible for
lucid dreamers to communicate by means of hand gestures (e.g., American
Sign Language) so that we can have on-the-scene reports from the dream
world. A glove with movement sensors will be used to study communication
from lucid dreams by means of hand gestures, using five expert subjects.
Dream time. How long do dreams last? We have been able to receive a
direct answer to this age-old question by asking lucid dreamers to
estimate various intervals of time while dreaming. The dreamers marked
the beginning and end of estimated dream time intervals with eye
movement signals, allowing comparison of subjective "dream time" with
objective time. In each case, the intervals of time estimated during the
lucid dreams were very close in length to the actual elapsed time (1),
as shown in the figure below.
![[DREAM TIME IMAGE]](time.gif)
Time estimates during waking and REM lucid dreaming.
[EEG: electroencephalogram, ROC, LOC electro-oculogram from right
and left eye; EMG chin electromyogram.] While awake (top panel),
the subject signaled with eye movements, estimated 10 s by counting,
signaled again, estimated 10 s without counting, and signaled a third
time. The lower panel shows the subject carrying out the same task in
lucid REM sleep. The time estimates are very similar in both states.
Control of respiration during lucid dreaming. We recorded the physiology
of three lucid dreamers who had been asked to either breathe rapidly or
to hold their breath in their lucid dreams, marking the interval of
altered respiration with eye movement signals. They reported
successfully carrying out the agreed-upon tasks a total of nine times.
In each case, a judge was able to correctly predict from the
physiological records which of the two breathing patterns had been
executed (4). We are currently collecting more data to further determine
the precise nature of the dream respiration connection.
Brain function lateralization during lucid dreams. Alpha activity was
derived from right and left temporal EEG while four subjects sang and
counted in their lucid dreams. The results indicated task dependent
lateralization: the right hemisphere was more activated than the left
during singing; during counting the reverse was true. These shifts were
similar to those during waking singing and counting (5).
Physiological responses to sex in lucid dreams. A pilot study with two
lucid dreamers (one male and one female) who reported experiencing
sexual arousal and orgasm in lucid dreams revealed patterns of
physiological activity during dream sex closely resembling those
accompanying corresponding experiences in the waking state (6).
These studies indicate that the effects of dream events on the brain and
body are much more like the effects of real events than like those
produced by waking imagery (1). Because dream activities produce real
physiological effects, lucid dreaming may be useful for facilitating
health and healing, as an extremely potent form of mental imagery. We
plan to continue our explorations of awareness in dreams along these
lines with the goal of producing a detailed map of mind-body
interactions during dreaming sleep for all measurable physiological
systems. Such a map could prove to be of inestimable value for
experimental dream psychology, as well as for psychosomatic medicine.
EEG mapping of lucid dreaming: In past studies, we have determined that
lucid dreams are generally initiated during periods of high autonomic
nervous system activity--decreased finger pulse amplitude, increased
respiration rate and irregularity, and increased eye-movement activity
relative to normal REM sleep (12). These factors indicated that dream
lucidity occurs during periods of relatively high brain activation,
suggesting that sufficient activation of the CNS is necessary before
consciousness can be attained. However, we had little idea what was
specifically happening in the brain, whether the activation was general,
or localized in some particular areas.
In a pilot study we mapped the distribution of brainwave activity from
twenty-eight electrode placements on the scalp, examining different
frequency bands of EEG during periods pre and post-onset of lucidity in
five lucid dreams from one subject. The most interesting findings in
this preliminary analysis were in the alpha band (8-12 Hz), where
decreases of alpha activity were seen in the posterior left hemisphere,
in the first 30 seconds of lucidity. This finding is in keeping with an
earlier analysis we performed on a few of our lucid dreams at Stanford
of left/right ratios of alpha activity, finding the only difference at
lucidity onset to be a decrease of alpha activity in the left parietal
region. Decreased alpha activity is generally considered an indication
of increased brain activation. Indeed, lucid dreaming ought to be
associated with left hemisphere activation, (where language is
localized), since to become lucid one must actually spell out to
oneself, "This is a dream."
We plan to add to and check our findings by collecting more data from
more subjects. This will give us a larger sample of non-lucid REM for
comparison and show what EEG differences are consistent for all lucid
dreams. Thus, we will gain a basis for the comparison of lucid dreaming
with other states of consciousness. Twenty-eight channels of EEG will be
collected, and maps of EEG activity will be computed, allowing the
determination of which brain regions are involved in lucid dreaming (and
perhaps reflective consciousness in general). Five expert lucid dreamers
will be studied.
APPLICATIONS OF LUCID DREAMING
In addition to being a powerful research tool in scientific explorations
of the dream state, lucid dreaming also offers considerable potential
for a variety of practical applications, which include aiding personal-
development, enhancing self-confidence, overcoming nightmares, improving
mental (and perhaps, physical) health, facilitating creative problem
solving, and more (1,7). There is a great deal of public interest in
this area; we have received well over 10,000 letters from people around
the world wishing to know more about lucid dreaming. For this reason,
and because we believe lucid dreaming can benefit humanity, we feel that
we have a service to perform in making the lucid dream state more
readily accessible.
We would like to explore several potential applications of lucid
dreaming. One is the use of lucid dreaming in overcoming nightmares. We
have anecdotal evidence suggesting that lucid dreaming should be
extremely beneficial to nightmare sufferers, giving them the means to
overcome their own fears (1). Not only will they be able to alleviate
their nightmare problems, but in so doing they will be able to increase
their self-confidence and self-esteem. Lucid dreaming can be a very
empowering experience, which is one of the reasons we would like to make
it more readily available to people. An experimental self-help group for
nightmare sufferers will be started and the efficacy of lucid dreaming
to overcome nightmares will be studied and documented.
Lucid dreaming could provide the handicapped and other disadvantaged
people with the nearest thing to fulfilling their impossible dreams:
paralytics could walk again in their dreams, to say nothing of dancing
and flying, and even experience emotionally satisfying erotic fantasies.
Such sensorimotor practice could conceivably facilitate recovery from
stroke.
Finally, lucid dreaming can function as a "world simulator." Just as a
flight simulator allows people to learn to fly in a safe environment,
lucid dreaming could allow people to learn to live in any imaginable
world; to experience and better choose among various possible futures.
RESEARCH GOALS
Our goals are to further explore mind-body relationships and the
expansion of consciousness during sleep through lucid dreaming.
Specifically, we plan:
A. To make lucid dreaming more accessible by further investigations with
biofeedback devices like the DreamLight
B. To study physiological correlates of dream content and of the
incorporation of stimuli into dreams
C. To map the EEG correlates associated with the emergence of
consciousness during lucid dreaming
D. To explore applications of lucid dreaming
REFERENCES
(1) LaBerge, S. (1985). Lucid dreaming. Ballantine, New York.
(2) LaBerge, S., Nagel, L., Dement, W. & Zarcone, V. (1981a). Lucid
dreaming verified by volitional communication during REM sleep.
Perceptual and Motor Skills, 52, 727-732.
(3) LaBerge, S. (1981). Lucid dreaming: Directing the action as it
happens. Psychology Today, 15, 48-57.
(4) LaBerge, S., & Dement., W. (1982a). Voluntary control of respiration
during REM sleep. Sleep Research, 11, 107.
(5) LaBerge, S., & Dement, W. (1982b). Lateralization of alpha activity
for dreamed singing and counting during REM sleep. Psychophysiology, 19,
331-332.
(6) LaBerge, S., Greenleaf, W., & Kedzierski, B. (1983). Physiological
responses to dreamed sexual activity during lucid REM sleep.
Psychophysiology, 20, 454-455.
(7) Gackenbach, J. & LaBerge, S. (Eds.), (1988). Conscious Mind,
sleeping brain: Perspectives on lucid dreaming. New York: Plenum.
(8) LaBerge, S. (1980). Lucid dreaming as a learnable skill: A case
study. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 51, 1039-1042.
(9) LaBerge, S., Owens, J., Nagel, L., & Dement, W. (1981b). 'This is a
dream': Induction of lucid dreams by verbal suggestion during REM sleep.
Sleep Research, 10, 150.
(10) Rich, R. (1985). Lucid dream induction by tactile stimulation
during REM sleep. Unpublished Honors Thesis, Department of Psychology,
Stanford University.
(11) LaBerge, S., Levitan, L., Rich, R., & Dement, W. (1988). Induction
of lucid dreaming by light stimulation during REM sleep. Sleep Research,
17, 104.
(12) LaBerge, S., Levitan, L., & Dement, W. (1986). Lucid dreaming:
Physiological correlates of consciousness during REM sleep. Journal of
Mind and Behavior, 7, 251-258.
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