Observations placeholder
LaBerge, Stephen - A lucid dream
Identifier
014286
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Dreams visions and hallucinations are also logged as perceptions. As a proportion of the visions, dreams and hallucinations are constructed using our perceptions database, in a sort of cyclical process, it means that the clarity and vividness of these will depend on the extent to which we observed things.
The last comment made in this observation is, however, only partially true.
Dreams, Visions and Hallucinations can be constructed from external spiritual sources as well as thoughts and perceptions thus there may be occasions when the log of perceptions contains perceptions apparently more vivid than the person’s own functions could produce.
For example, a fairly unobservant unemotional person may find one dream based solely on their perceptions to be equally vague and unemotional; but where they are receiving a dream based on external images they may suddenly find the dream to be hugely vivid and colourful way beyond anything they had experienced before. They may find they experience emotions not felt before or sensations which before were unknown.
A description of the experience
Exploring the world of Lucid dreaming – Stephen LaBerge
Case study D G Woodland Hills California
I am in a garden and feeling light hearted and joyous about my ability to fly. I spend much time performing all manner of aerial acrobatics and the sense of freedom I am experiencing is beyond description. I descend then to enjoy the garden at eye level and realise that I am quite alone in this place.
At the moment of this realisation also comes the awareness that I am in fact asleep in my bed and having a dream. I am fascinated by seeing the solidity of my own body within this dream, and find great amusement in the act of pinching myself to see if I am real. I indeed feel as real to myself as anyone feels to themselves while awake. I become then quite serious in pondering this matter and take a seat on a rock at the edge of the garden to think on this. The thought that comes to me is this
‘The degree of awareness one is able to achieve while in a dream is in direct proportion to the degree of awareness one experiences in waking life'.