MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
Not a member yet
2252 research outputs found
Sort by
Lucid Dreams and Meditation
No full textA problem with many studies of lucid dreams is their theoretical and empirical insularity—a lucid dream, apparently, is a lucid dream is a lucid dream. Of course things are always uniquely themselves, but to see what something means, it is necessary to try to place it in the broader context of its natural series with related phenomena
Lucidity and Related States
No full textOne of the things that has made the study of lucid dreaming more insular than it needed to be is the tendency among enthusiasts and critics alike to treat lucid dreaming as totally unique and unparalleled. A major and contributing virtue of Lucidity Letter has been its editorial heeding of early reports from Oliver Fox and Celia Green that lucid dreaming is part of a continuum of transformations of consciousness occurring in settings broader than ordinary night dreaming
East Meets West, Buddhism Meets Christianity: The Lucid Dream as a Path for Union
No full textWhen I think about lucid dreaming I think about a vast universe. In particular, I think about Christopher Columbus and regard his epic voyage as a perfect metaphor for what we are attempting to do in exploring the lucid dream state. When Columbus discovered a new world (new to Europeans) there were many ramifications of his discovery. I have always been intrigued by the maps that appear in our history books, maps of the new world that originated in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, attempts on the part of those early cartographers to begin to describe and delineate what the explorers were discovering. Some of those early maps had some degree of accuracy and some were intriguingly misshapen. I think it is important for us to keep this metaphor in mind as we approach the vast spectrum of lucid dreaming which we are beginning to explore. I would like to discuss one end of this vast spectrum, the end that constitutes one of my primary areas of interest, namely the lucid dream as mystical experience
Part VI: Applications Introduction
No full textAt first consideration the notion of practical applications for something as ethereal as a dream may seem fanciful at best. Be that as it may, in Lucid Dreaming I recounted a story that is still apt: in the eighteenth century electricity was thought no more than a scientific curiosity and a practical-minded woman is said to have asked Benjamin Franklin, "But what use is it?" His reply is famous: "What use, ma-dame, is a newborn baby?" If today the same question were asked in regard to lucid dreaming, a "scientific curiosity" of the twentieth century, the same answer could justifiably be given. Nonetheless, a variety of anecdotes and observations suggest that, like electricity, the power of lucid dreaming could also be harnessed to aid us in performing a variety of tasks with far greater ease
Conscious Mental Stillness in Dreams . . .
No full textThis excerpt from a much longer account presents a dream that shows an especially clear progression from nonlucid dreaming to lucid dreaming to another state of consciousness. It is obvious from the language that the dreamer had not previously heard of "pure consciousness." Rather than a reorganization of memory, this dream is an unprecedented experience; its primary "message" to the dreamer, perhaps, is that spontaneous new experiences of other states are possible
Response to Gackenbach
No full textJayne Gackenbach reports that in conversations with many people in the United States and abroad she has heard voices expressing concern about the potential for "abuse" of lucid dreaming (1987). Gackenbach feels that "it is incumbent upon the leaders of this emerging field to also voice concerns" (p. 4) and claims that "we are at fault if we do not routinely caution audiences about abuse or even dangers in accessing an incredibly powerful state of mind" (p. 6). While I share some of my colleague’s concerns, if not apprehensions, I believe it is premature and inappropriate to "routinely caution audiences" about supposed "dangers" that have not yet been convincingly demonstrated. I do not really believe that there is cause for alarm. I have already discussed my own concerns regarding the proper use of lucid dreaming in my 1985 book, to which I direct readers interested in my views. Here I will limit myself to a few comments on the issues addressed by Gackenbach
Training For Lucid Awareness in Dreams, Fantasy, and Waking Life
No full textIn this paper, I would like to focus on lucidity as a concept, and on lucidity training as a means of fostering psychological growth. What makes dreams seem so strange? My work with lucidity grew out of my desire to overcome, in myself, first of all, that paradoxical split in consciousness wherein I "know" that my dreaming is uniquely self-expressive and reflects my deepest personal concerns, yet I frequently do not understand my own dreams. Many of us who are mystified and fascinated by dreams like to think of dreams as precious gifts to be opened, sacred texts to be faithfully recorded and analyzed, or secret coded messages, sent from one "part" of the self to another "part" of the self, to be decoded andtranslated. These metaphors, though enchanting, are misleading, because they make dreams seem like things we receive from elsewhere, rather than creative action (Schafer, 1976) that we undertake as unified beings. My approach to lucidity training aims to overcome this kind of alienation from self by fostering awareness of ourselves as active dream-creators, of the cognitive and emotional processes by which we createdreams, and of the unique safety of the imagination as space for acquainting ourselves with all of our human psychological potentials. What would it mean to be able to dream consciously? It would mean being at one with oneself, fusing spontaneity with purpose, and acting freely with full awareness
H-Reflex in Lucid Dreams
No full textWhen I started medical school, I wanted to continue doing psychophysiological research into consciousness during REM sleep, but many of my mentors suggested that by definition this was impossible. I was going to have to come up with some sort of unequivocal proof that the phenomenon I was talking about was indeed REM sleep and not a micro-awakening. After collaborating with Stephen LaBerge, and others, and reviewing the literature, we decided that the best thing to do would be to continuously monitor H-reflex amplitude throughout the night, its suppression being a unique criterion of REM sleep
Neurophysiological Order in the REM Sleep of Participants of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program
No full textPrevious research has revealed that, in the course of ontogenesis, the randomly occurring, isolated, low frequency Rapid Eye Movements (REMs) of the undifferentiated sleep of the premature are gradually ordered in groups of high-frequency REMs, characteristic of mature REM sleep (Petre-Quadens, 1967; 1969; 1978; PetreQuadens & De Lee, 1974; Petre-Quadens, De Lee & Remy, 1971). This observation has led to the hypothesis that there exist two functionally different types of REMs in REM sleep: the high frequency (HF) REMs with an interval of less than one second, reflecting the "maturity" or "order" of brain functioning; and the low frequency (LF) REMs with an interval of more than one second, reflecting "random noise" in the brain. Subsequent research has supported this hypothesis
The Phenomenological Use of Dreams In Psychotherapy
No full textThis paper focuses on the application of phenomenological perspectives, principles and methods for the use of dreams in the psychotherapeutic situation