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(...Continued
From Lucid Dreams Part 1)
'10 tests for state-assessment':
1. Switch on an electric light
in the dream scenery. If it does not work, or there is a malfunction
of any kind, or light switches cannot be found where they
should exist, suspect strongly that you are dreaming. The
same applies for any other electrical appliance.
2. Attempt to 'float' in mid-air,
or fly. Any success, of course is proof of dreaming.
3. Jump off an object, such
as a chair. If you descend slowly, then you know you are dreaming.
4. Look carefully at your
surroundings. Is there anything there which should not be
present, or is missing?
5. Look at your body (eg hands,
arms, feet) and your clothes. Is it your body and are the
clothes yours in wakefulness?
6. Look out of a window. Is
the environment accurate? Is the season correct, and is the
light-level right for the time?
7. Attempt to alter a detail
in the scenery, or make something happen by will-power.
8. Attempt to push your hand
through solid-looking objects.
9. Pinch your skin. Is the
texture and sensation as it should be?
10. Look in a mirror. Is there
some alteration to your face?
It is advisable, however,
if living with a partner, to issue a warning regarding one's
intentions. It would be most disconcerting for a husband or
wife to waken in the middle of the night and find a partner
switching electrical gadgets on and off, jumping off chairs
and so forth. Advance notice might well prevent a visit from
the men in white coats.
Indeed, assistance would be
invaluable in any endeavours of this kind. Arrangements could
be made for a partner to prod or talk to the person experiencing
REM sleep - shortly before waking in the morning. Following,
we will see, (in the F.A.S.T. method), that anticipating an
interruption to one's slumber can trigger a false awakening.
It is interesting to note
that false awakenings not only precede, but often follow on
from a lucid dream. If this occurs, then there is nothing
to stop one from running the tests and becoming lucid again.
Some dream enthusiasts have experienced lucidity as many as
four times in a single night.
On occasion, when the dreamer
becomes lucid for the first time, this may last for a few
seconds only, before drifting back into REM sleep. This, of
course, can be very disappointing, but it has been discovered
that the duration of lucidity can be extended. At this point,
it is worth mentioning that the more one is able to induce
lucidity, the greater the chances of the phenomenon lengthening
as one becomes adept at controlling it.
It has been found that if
lucidity seems to be slipping away, concentrating one's gaze
on the back of one's (dream) hands may cause the duration
of the experience to be extended. Nobody can say categorically
why this should happen, but it appears reasonable to assume
that the act of focusing one's thoughts might have something
to do with it. Similarly, Continually reminding yourself that
you are experiencing a lucid dream, can prove very successful.
A wish to change locations
within a lucid dream can be realised by closing one's (dream)
eyes and willing oneself somewhere else. On opening them again,
the chances are that the wish will have been granted.
It is a pitiable waste of
time and effort to use the lucid dream solely for self-gratification.
So let us consider some constructive uses to which the experience
can be put, and how it might be of benefit.
Jack Nicklaus, corrected his
golf swing after having a lucid dream. Inventions, great musical
compositions, well-known paintings, novels, and hit songs
have been inspired through dreams.
There is, perhaps, amazing
potential for healing, and nightmares can be banished. Probably
most fascinating of all, is the ability to conjure up people
in a lucid dream. In this context, there could be comfort
and solace for the bereaved.
Accomplished lucid dreamers
have reported evoking deceased relatives and having conversations
with them as if they were still alive. And as lucidity appears
real in every respect - indistinguishable from full waking
consciousness - this could prove to be an efficient way of
helping the bereaved to overcome their despair.
However, although these encounters
appear real in every respect, the experience must be adjudged
to be a dream. We will probably never know if the spirits
of loved-ones are able to manifest themselves in dreams, or
whether these happenings are the product of the dreaming mind.
Dr Hearne also devised a method
of inducing lucidity, that reportedly is successful for some
people, based on recognising false-awakenings, and you may
like to try it yourself. It is termed the F.A.S.T. technique
(an acronym for False Awakening with State Testing).
In his sleep-lab research
Dr Hearne observed the potency of expectation in subjects.
This method sets up an expectation in the subject which hopefully
results in a false-awakening - where state-testing can cause
recognition of dreaming.
You will need an assistant.
Every half hour or so after 6 am (when there is more REM sleep)
the assistant needs to enter the bedroom, say a few words,
potter around and then leave.
Religiously, whenever it happens,
you should go through some of the state-tests listed above
- no matter how utterly convinced that you are awake!
Occasionally, you will, because
of the expectation effect, dream that the person has come
into the bedroom. At that point the testing procedure will
reveal that it has been an elaborate dream.
Then, you should get up, explore
the artificial scenery of the building - as if in an out of
the body experience, or relocate by covering your eyes and
willing yourself to be somewhere else.
We have established that it
is not unusual for people to experience this phenomenon without
realising it and, for the purpose of dream interpretation,
it is important that the analyst understands that fact. Here
is a typical example of the kind of letter an analyst might
receive:
'I have got a vague memory
of getting up and going to the toilet, in the middle of the
night. However, I noticed that the light switches weren't
working properly. Yet when I got up this morning, they all
worked perfectly. Now I'm not sure if it was a dream or not.
What does it mean?'
Another example:
'I remember getting up during
the night, only to discover that the street scenery outside
my bedroom window was strangely different. I'm sure I wasn't
dreaming, so can you tell me what happened?'
Bear in mind that there might
be reports of the bedroom furniture being somehow different,
or perhaps the curtains were not quite their usual colour.
These are all clues that the client has undergone a false-awakening.
If any sort of interpretation
is placed on this experience, it will be fruitless. As with
a lucid dream, this extraordinary occurrence is open to contamination
by conscious thoughts.
If the above descriptions
sound familiar, It is likely that you have experienced this
curious happening. It is probable that we all have them from
time to time, without realising it. So convincing is this
dream state that one is certain one was awake.
Some insomniacs complain of
a restless night, and for some, that may be the case. But
for others, it may have all been an elaborate dream, a fantastic
illusion, whereby the bedroom looks the same, and you may
even see your partner sleeping peacefully next to you.
Another aid to assist recognition
is the contrast to a lucid dream, where the scene is likely
to present itself in typically weird dream surroundings, the
false-awakening usually occurs in a familiar environment,
(not necessarily the bedroom), albeit a dream environment.
Shift workers can be vulnerable
to false awakenings - especially if they go to work in a tired
condition. Should they nod off during a shift, it has been
reported that they may dream convincingly that they are at
work, carrying on as usual.
If they then drift into natural
REM sleep, the chances are that they will be unable to discriminate
between true and false-awakenings. In fact, they will probably
believe that their last waking memory is that of the false-awakening,
when they saw themselves at work, performing their usual duties.
How often have you heard people
say, 'You must have dreamt it,' or, 'In your dreams!' Little
wonder then, at how baffling it could be - if you were a shift
worker - to hear yourself accused of something you know you
did not do, while your accuser is equally certain of your
guilt. He may have actually witnessed you committing a transgression
while he was experiencing a false-awakening. The following
day, unable to discriminate between the false-awakening and
reality, he could find himself stridently defending the contents
of what was really a dream.
Imagine the implications,
if somebody who was serving on a jury, dozed off undetected,
for a few minutes, and like the shift worker, saw the accused
- while experiencing a false-awakening - scoffing at the jury
or laughing behind the judge's back.
Why should we take the trouble
to find out whether we are dreaming or not? Apart from the
advantage of being able to discern reality from fantasy, there
is a much more important reason. Remember, identifying a false
awakening when it occurs, provides us with a potent method
of initiating a lucid dream. This would facilitate an increased
potential for healing and eradicating nightmares, apart from
the exhilaration of finding oneself able to fly or to enjoy
a romantic encounter.
The person who doesn't know
about false awakenings, usually doesn't register the previously
mentioned subtle changes. But the dreamer reading this page,
now has a golden opportunity to utilise the phenomenon to
initiate a lucid dream.
Authors Details:
David F. Melbourne Web
Site
David F. Melbourne, who lives on a remote Scottish island,
has been studying dreams for 25 years and is known all
over the world for his accurate dream interpretations.
Apart from the general public, he has analysed dreams
for celebrities and famous authors, all of whom have
admitted a high degree of accuracy. |
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