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Dreaming with a Conscious Mind

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Dreaming with a Conscious Mind THE MIND • FALL 2008 • THE MIND Dreaming with a Conscious by Daniel Yang Mind Exploring the mysterious world of lucid dreams... NREM sleep is characterized by a gradual increase in brain- wave amplitude and a gradual decrease in brainwave fre- Lucid dreaming is an old and worldwide practice. Perhaps quency. Generally, higher amplitudes and lower frequencies even you may have experienced the occurrence of waking in brain activity indicate a deeper state of unconsciousness. up, or becoming "aware", within a dream? But some individ- REM sleep, also known as the "ascending stages," typically uals can purposely become aware while dreaming. Lucid follows NREM sleep, and is characterized by brain activity dreamers often report a state of conscious-like awareness and similar to that of the "descending stages" in which high fre- having the capability to control their actions within their quencies and low amplitudes are observed. In a typical night, dreams. Some advanced lucid dreamers are even capable of the stages will occur in a cyclical ascending and descending changing the dream situation at will. But perhaps, since only manner, with each cycle lasting around ninety minutes. Dr. a minority of the population experiences lucidity while Vedfelt, president of the Institute of Integrated dreaming, lucid dreaming has often been overlooked as a sci- Psychotherapy in Denmark, describes one's physiological entific phenomenon. In particular, lucid dreams are often behavior during REM sleep, and presumably, during dream likened to, in terms strongly evocative of mysticism, a "wis- states: dom dream, astral projection, [or] and out-of-body experi- Brain activity is high and closely approximates the wak- ence" by the general public (Vedfelt 1999). However, many ing state in alarm and anxiety. Moreover, REM sleep is psychologists and researchers strongly reject a mystical accompanied by a particular neurophysiological pattern. notion of lucid dreaming and have recently, within the past Heart rhythm, pulse, blood pressure, and respiration are century, begun to study dreams in scientific experiments. irregular. The muscles of the body are more relaxed than in Despite the lack of general public acknowledgement, lucid other forms of sleep; the muscles of the head and neck lose dreaming is a real and experimentally nearly all tension, while small muscles in h t t the face and fingers now and then make p analyzable experience; it can be : / / w rapid movement (Vedfelt 1999). e achieved through mindful practice and- h n e Lucid vs. Normal Dreaming r . as more is understood about the subject- o r g Continuing the discourse of lucid / may have very positive effects on one's a d d dreaming as a neurobiological process, i s psyche. o n / the question then presents itself: can lucid Understanding Dream States c a n i dreaming be considered within the same n To understand lucid dreaming as a e / c o context as an ordinary dream? While real biological phenomenon, it is neces- r t i s o there is evidence that lucid dreaming, as l sary to begin with a discussion of sleep . g i and dreaming in more general terms. f with ordinary dreaming, occurs during Research has suggested that both normal the REM phases of sleep, there are con- and lucid dreaming occurs during REM siderable differences. One such difference (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. But, there between lucid and ordinary dreams is that are more stages of sleep than just the in the lucid state, the dreamer retains REM phase. As one drifts out of con- much of his 'conscious' and 'executive' sciousness, one enters the "descending functions, whereas an ordinary dream is stage," in which brainwave activity is Lucid dreams are often used by psychother- marked by a loss of such capabilities. For apists to cure nightmares. Here, Henry example, in a lucid dream, one may be low in amplitude and high in frequency. Fuseli's presents a dramatic representation As sleep progresses, a "dreamless stage" of a nightmare in his suitably titled 1781 aware that he or she is dreaming, and he or NREM (non-REM) sleep occurs. painting, The Nightmare. or she can consciously make decisions as THE MIND • FALL 2008 • THE MIND to what actions to take. A lucid dreamer can often conscious- one's chance at lucidity later while sleeping. Firstly, ly alter the surrounding environment of the dream as well. In acknowledge and embrace the minds' creative capacity. contrast, in an ordinary dream, the dreamer is typically inca- Since dreams are sole creations of the mind, one should rec- pable of making such decisions. As a result, the dreamer is ognize that minds have the immense creative capacity to cre- led through the dream-presumably a manifestation of the ate vastly intricate scenarios and fantasies. That is, one dreamer's sub-consciousness-involuntarily. That is, an ordi- nary dreamer has no conscious awareness of being in a dream. The dreamer has the freedom to do whatever he Research has shown that consciousness and decision- or she pleases, and many people use lucid making are mostly controlled by the prefrontal cortex of the dreaming as a means to explore hidden fantasies brain. During sleep, a markedly reduced amount of activity or to escape from the constraints of reality. is observed globally in the prefrontal cortex. During REM sleep in particular, such reduced activity is still observed, but there is some slight selective reactivation of the most poste- rior and medial prefrontal areas (Muzur et al. 2008). This should embrace such creativity and allow the mind to engage suggests that in sleep, as well as in normal dreaming, one freely-unhindered by guilt or fear-in waking fantasies. should lose consciousness and executive functions along Secondly, frequently practice the use of metaphoric lan- with the deactivation of the prefrontal cortex. However, in a guage. Dreams often occur in very symbolic situations, and lucid dream, one is conscious and is very much capable of lucid dreamers can enhance their understanding of such sym- carrying out executive decisions. bolic situations through conscious use of metaphoric lan- Because of such contradictions, some have suggested that guage. This may also enhance familiarity with one's reper- perhaps a lucid dream is not a dream at all, but a fantasy in a toire of symbolic themes, which are often reflected in the wakening state. Or, perhaps it is merely an ordinary dream in dream state. Over time, according to Gackenbach and which one believes that he or she is awake. To disprove such LeBerge, such conscious familiarity with "dream themes, a notion, some experiments have attempted to establish lucid characters, environments, and so forth" facilitates recogni- dreaming as a form of dreaming occurring during a sleeping tion during a dream as one may say, "I've dreamed this state. For example, pioneer lucid before-Aha!-I must be dreaming h t t dream researcher Stephen LeBerge p now!" (Gackenbach and LaBerge : / / w arranged for subjects to signal the w 1988). w . s f onset of lucid dreaming by conducting n Thirdly, upon achieving . o r specific motions, such as eye move- g dream lucidity, exercise con- / s k i ment patterns or fist clenching, observ- n scious control of what happens in s / m able by a polygraph. Because five of a the dream. Conscious control i n / i the subjects performed the signaling m allows the dreamer to decide a g e actions most frequently during s which situations to dream about, / b r unequivocal REM sleep, LeBerge con- a and this is one of the most impor- i n b r i cluded that lucid dreaming is a mostly e tant reasons why certain individ- f i n REM stage phenomenon (Gackenbach g uals actively seek lucid dream- s / r e and LeBerge 1988). In more recent m ing. Besides these three methods, _ s l years, Japanese researchers verified the e certain controversial drugs can e p _ occurrence of lucid dreaming in an i also be used to induce lucid l l u s experiment in which two subjects, on _ dreaming. In particular, the drug l a r g separate accounts, indicated during e Galantamine, traditionally used . g i REM sleep that they knew they were f to improve memory and mood in dreaming (Tsuneo 2003). Despite such Alzheimer patients, has the abili- Brainwaves differ depending on the stage of sleep. evidence, there is much more room for REM sleep has brainwaves that are very similar to ty to induce lucidity (Yuschak empirical experimentation in the matter those in the awake state. 2007). Avid lucid dreamers often of lucid dreams, and there is yet to be a take the drug to enhance their consensus on how lucid dreaming occurs from a neurobio- chances of achieving a lucid dream. logical perspective. Lucid Dreaming and its Uses Achieving Lucidity while Dreaming Certain individuals are most often attracted to lucid However, there is considerable consensus as to how dreaming because it provides a safe environment for fantasy to initiate and maintain the lucid dreaming state. There are and adventure. The lucid dream is a sole creation of the several steps that can be taken in day-to-day life to enhance mind, and the dreamer's actions or adventures are not bound THE MIND • FALL 2008 • THE MIND h t t is a real biological occurrence which can have positive p : / / w effects on one's well-being, more research is necessary to w w . f fully evaluate the benefits and possible adverse effects of this d a . g still contentious phenomenon. o v / c o n s u References m e r / f e a Gackenbach, LaBerge, and eds.
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