Stephen LaBerge, Lucid Dreaming as Part of Consciousness - Essay Example

?Running Head: Stephan LaBerge: Studies lucid dreaming as part of consciousness Stephan LaBerge: Studies lucid dreaming as part of consciousness Institution Date Abstract Understanding the experience of knowing that you are dreaming while the dream is going on is not easy. Some people see lucidity as a cognitive tool whereas others put more emphasis on a model of self-awareness. The ability to dream and realizing that you are dreaming has been seen as a sign of self-reflectiveness by some people while it has also been seen as a bridge to performing some operations while sleeping. Lucid dreaming enables one to find a way to focus on oneself inwardly while he/she is unaware of the sensory input from the environment. This state of consciousness while being separated from the external environment, gives one the chance to observe what is happening around him/her without any disturbance. Lucid dreaming being a rare experience, some people have been reported to experience these dreams while others have not. Lucid dreaming has attracted the attention of many scholars and scientists worldwide. Numerous researches have been conducted to unveil this question on how one can experience lucid dreams while unconscious of the sensory input from the external environment. Several techniques have been developed in the laboratory to aid people in having lucid dreams. Lucid dreams have been suggested to occur when the brain undergoes through a series of activation. According to some scientists, the front cortex of the brain is deactivated when one is sleeping and the eyes rotate. Activation of the dorsal cortex has been tipped as what enables one to balance the state of dreaming and recognizing that one is dreaming. Lucid dreaming has been employed therapeutically in helping people who suffer from nightmares and depression. These people have been exposed to techniques that aid them to experience lucid dreaming. Stephan LaBerge: Studies lucid dreaming as part of consciousness Introduction A lucid dream is defined as the dream in which the dreamer is aware that he/she is dreaming. The awareness that one is dreaming can range from little things that one can recognize to experiences in waking life (McCreery, 1994). Lucid dreams usually happen when one is in the middle of a dream only to realize that he/she is dreaming. Lucid dreaming is a rare experience though most people report of having had these dreams at least once in their lifetime. Some sources show that about 20% of the population, reports of having lucid dreams either once a month or more (LaBerge, 2009). Near the end of the 20th century, a British neurologist John H. Jackson came to realize that when the brain function is lost, almost results in the gain of another brain function with heightened capacity. The brain has different evolutionary ages where the new ones take over the old ones (Blackmore, 2005). The old ones still remain, but they are not used because the new ones are more powerful. When the new brain features become worn out or lost, the older ones are reclaim their potential and start to work. Furthermore, when one is asleep the brain enters into a rapid eye movement state turning out to be the state in which dreaming occurs. Lucid dreams provide the playground for fulfilling your wishes and also give one access to the subconscious mind directly (Waggoner, 2008). When dreaming lucidly, we find a way to focus on ourselves inwardly while shutting down the sensory input from the outside world (Blackmore, 2005). A lucid dream puts one into an equally unique state of consciousness while one becomes separated from the external sensory input. At such a state, one is aware of his/her self. All the experiences that one goes through usually emanate from within. One can willingly summon up these intense experiences or shut them down. At this point, the only thing that exists is only you and your inner self. This is the chance to observe what is to be conscious without any distraction (Moss, 2011). Occurrence of a lucid dream A lucid dream can occur in two ways where it is initiated as a normal dream and the dreamer is able to conclude that it is a dream. A lucid dream can be wake-initiated and occurs when the dreamer moves from a normal walking state into the state of a dream. The wake that occurs during lucid dreams occurs when the dreamer can move his/her eyes frequently while self-awareness is not broken. The fact that one can know he/she is dreaming while unconscious of the sensory environment, recognition must occur (LaBerge, 2009). This occurs in the front cortex of the brain which is one of the areas that are deactivated when sleeping and rotating your eyes. When the dorsal cortex is activated, one is able to recognize that he/she is dreaming, but the dreamer must be cautious to let the dream continue. Activation of this cortex helps the dreamer to be conscious enough that he/she is dreaming. This makes it possible to maintain the balance between knowing and dreaming. The intensity of the dream is continued and maintained by the brain Pons remaining active. Lucid dreaming offers the guarantee of improved power over thoughts although it remains unclear how much dream control is possible (Waggoner, 2008). The ability to have lucid dreams makes opens the forum for scientists and researchers to study this issue in details (Blackmore, 2005). One can be conscious when you are dreaming while unconscious of the sensory environment when dreaming about a desired topic. Lucid dreams can be controlled when we make a choice or act in the course of dreaming. People who possess consciousness in lucid dreams are able to make choices and actions at will with full awareness that they are dreaming. When one is able to observe the course of his/her effects while dreaming, is a sure sign of control. What lucid dreams do to the dreamer? Lucid dreamers are able to develop a mind that enables them to recognize when they are dreaming. After realizing they are dreaming, they are at will to do whatever they choose. Lucid dreaming has become a powerful mental ability that everybody can access (LaBerge, 2009). When lucid dreaming occurs, your dream world becomes an alternate living reality. Lucid dreams act as a direct channel of communication towards your subconscious mind and enable a person to talk to your inner self. In the process, a person will gain confidence and incredible insights to deepest fears and desires. These dreams cannot be understood not unless one is in that state. One cannot exactly appreciate what it feels like not unless one becomes lucid. If though one has experienced thousands of dreams in a lifetime, there is nothing that will prepare you in the lucid dream (McCreery, 1994). While dreaming, the things that you visualize such as colors become more vivid and intense. The dreamscape snaps into focus, and you are able to conscious of even the minute details that surround you. Since one is mentally struck by a sense of boundless freedom, you finally realize that the dreamscape became your personal playground where anything and everything seems to exist at once (LaBerge, 2009). Lucid dreams allow a person to take control of your dreams while remaining asleep. They enable one to communicate consciously using his or her subconscious mind while he/she are sleeping. Having already set the memories that you desire to dream of, it becomes possible to be conscious that you are dreaming. Lucid dreams are extremely therapeutic and helpful in a variety of ways. The brain dictates everything that we do including walking, talking and many others. It is therefore, possible that one can dream and know because the action is predetermined. Thesis Statement Despite most people having experienced lucid dreams, some theoreticians seem to disagree. In their views, they consider lucid dreaming as impossible and weird (McCreery, 1994). Lucid dreaming caught the attention of many researchers, and a lot has been done. Stephan LaBerge is considered the outright leader of lucid dreaming today. During his Ph.D. research studies, he developed the most effective techniques in lucid dreaming. LaBerge conducted an experiment which is the most vital accomplishments of his published study (LaBerge, 2009). This established a link between the world of dreaming and the waking world. He slept in the laboratory where his colleagues would clearly see he was deep asleep. In his state of deep sleep, he did move his eyes in series of movement that were not arranged (Moss, 2011). This is evident that he was lucid and at the same time able to move his eyes while dreaming. This technique brought applied science into the field of lucid dreaming. LaBerge has written books with the aim of teaching people how to dream lucidly with ease. In his book “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming’, he has explained various techniques described deeply (Laberge, 2012). It is possible to be conscious when dreaming while we are unconscious of the sensory input from the environment. Dreams are mainly composed of sensory images, and there are memories evoked by these images (Blackmore, 2005; Laberge, 2012). Dreams usually rely on memories that are stored in the brain to deliver a meaning. According to Freud, dreams are based on the memories of emotionally important experiences. Research question How can we be conscious of the fact that we are dreaming while we are unconscious of sensory input from the environment? Problem Statement In lucid dreaming, there is no sensory input or interaction with the physical environment. The vision is not black while there is no scene, person or object that is looked at. Lucid dreams occur in the rapid eye movement when the brain activity is high resembling of being awake. The average dreams that a person can have are three to five dreams per night though some may have up to seven (Waggoner, 2008). Lucid dreams happen naturally on occasion, but some people may have them naturally more often than others. Nowadays, there are techniques that have been put in place to help people have lucid dreams either for recreational or therapeutic reasons. If one can be able to remember his/her dreams, this marks the start of having lucid dreams. Lack of recalling one’s dream makes one quite unable to remember the dream even in the occurrence of a lucid dream. Those who are familiar with how their own dream patterns work are able to recognize when dreaming and alternatively control their dreams (McCreery, 1994). Those who are planning to indulge in a lucid dream induction methods should be in a position to remember one dream per each night. Getting plenty of sleep is the first to having lucid dreams while unconscious of the sensory input from the environment. If a person gets plenty of rest, it will be easier to focus on recalling your dreams without any strain. A newspaper article on lucid dreaming A BBC newspaper article, dated 31 May 2012, discusses on how lucid dreaming has led to the rise of nocturnal hobbies (BBC, 2012). The article explains how different people perform different activities which include group meetings while in their lucid dreams. This is highly related to the initial response of this paper. For example, how can an individual attend to a job or a group meeting in a conscious way while he or she is unconscious of the sensory input from the surrounding environment? This article is also highly related to the research question due to the unconscious things which one does while in the lucid dreams. The article clearly states that lucid dreaming does not offer control to its users within the dream, and that is why the dreamers are usually unaware or unconscious of the input coming from the environment. Those who keep a complete dream journal are in a better position to experience lucid dreams. These people normally keep journals by their beds and record every dream they remember. They write all their dreams no matter how the dream is ranging from the good ones to even the thrilling ones. Writing down the contents of the dialogue in your dream can help one to have lucid dreams regardless of the environment (Waggoner, 2008). Try to set the clock to wake you up at a time when you are likely to be dreaming. Lucid dreamers remind themselves of their intentions and get themselves into the spirit of their dreams. Learning to remember dreams seem difficult at first but if one persists, success is certain. This will find one remembering more dreams, and when one reaches this level, he/she will probably want to write more. There have been various researches on lucid dreaming, which have brought forth important knowledge. This knowledge has helped people to understand lucid dreams and how to induce and control them. Different people dream for different physiological reasons. Conclusion Dreams always contain important information about oneself or some aspects of a person’s life. The problem with this is that many people become frustrated when they wake up or even fall into a non-lucid sleep. Lucid dreaming can be beneficial as it has been suggested that nightmare sufferers may highly benefit from their ability to be aware that they are dreaming. This dreaming has been taken as a treatment and has successfully reduced nightmare frequencies. The treatment entails exposing the dreamer to ideas and techniques. It has aided in dealing with depression and other problems in life. In conclusion, the current training can take a lot of time and effort than most of the people are able to commit. Although this technology is meant to assist people in attaining the lucid state, it cannot guarantee the state. References BBC, (2012). Lucid dreaming: Rise of a nocturnal hobby. Retrieved on 7th December, 2012: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18277074. Blackmore, S. (2005). Conversation on Consciousness, Oxford University Press. McCrery, C., & Green, C.E. (1994). Lucid Dreaming: The Paradox of Consciousness during Sleep. Routledge. Moss, R. (2011). Active Dreaming: Journeying Beyond Self-Limitation to a Life of Wild Freedom, New World Library. LaBerge, S. (2009). Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide to Awakening in Your Dreams and in Your Life. Sounds True. Laberge, S. (2012). Lucid dreaming. Retrieved on December 14, 2012 http://dreampush.com/stephen-laberge-lucid-dreaming/ Waggoner, R. (2008). Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self, Red Wheel/Weiser. Read More