Question

Can tou write an argumentative paper on lucid dreaming or dreams in general and what are some main points that can be talked about?

Answer 1

LUCID DREAMING:

Lucid dreaming is being aware that you are dreaming. Dreams are the playground of the mind. Anything can happen when one is dreaming. The only limitation is that we only rarely realize the freedoms granted to us in our dreams while we have them. Lucid dreaming is the ability to know when one is dreaming, and be able to influence what will be dreamt.

A normal dream is much like passively watching a movie take place in your skull. In a lucid dream, the dreamer is the writer, director, and star of the movie. Lucid dreams are exceptionally interesting. Lucid dreaming is defined as dreaming when the dreamer knows that they are dreaming. Lucid dreams can be even more informative about the self than non-lucid dreams, because one can observe the development of the dream out of one’s feelings and tendencies, while being aware that one is dreaming and that the dream is coming from the self. The notion that dreams are unconscious processes that should remain so is false. Waking consciousness is always present in dreams. If it were not, we would not be able to remember our dreams, because one can only remember an event that has been consciously experienced. The added "consciousness" of lucid dreaming is nothing more than the awareness of being in the dream state.

The first thing that attracts people to lucid dreaming is often the potential for adventure and fantasy fulfillment. Flying is a favorite lucid dream delight, as is sex. Many people have said that their first lucid dream was the most wonderful experience of their lives. While asleep, most of the body is disconnected from the mind such in a way that we do not act out our dreams. The eyes are an exception however, and they continue to move. Rapid eye movements are a prime example. LaBerge used this to come up with patterns of eye movement for his subjects to perform, to signal to the researchers when they became aware during the dream. Using his techniques of signaling back to the researchers, dream research has become more a more mainstream topic of research and moved away from the fringe it once rested in. Lucid dreams have become an accepted fact to science, proven to occur. Still, people have asked me when I told them of lucid dreaming, why they should learn it.


Modern research, as with many other topics, has answers. To begin, lucid dreaming, as suggested by the Lucidity Institute, can be an effective method of treatment for nightmares. Allowing the patient to confront the fear, and acknowledge in the nightmare, that it is “just a dream.” Lucid dreams being, inherently, dreams as well, also allow the possibility of anything though. If you can imagine it, you can do it in a dream. Whether it be flying, exploring the stars, meeting historical figures, or just being the star of your own action movie, you can do it in a lucid dream.There are, for those not interested already, more practical benefits to lucid dreaming.


Daniel Erlacher, and Michael Schredl concluded in their paper published in the International Journal of Dream Research, “Practice in lucid dreams is comparable to mental practice which is well known in sport theory and sport practice.” Imagine that. Really, that's the idea. Their research suggests that practice doesn't need to occur solely during the day. You could practice your karate skills, your dance moves, or even your basketball toss in your dreams. If you have ever stopped doing something you enjoyed because you knew you had to sleep. With lucid dreaming, you can continue from where you left off. There are more intangible benefits beyond sharpening your skills too.

Learning to have a lucid dream, starts with remembering your dreams. Such is the importance of dream recall for lucid dreaming, that researcher Timo Paulsson, and Adrian Parker, investigated ways to improve lucid dream recall quickly. Over the course of two weeks, they had the participants in their study do a few thing designed to increase dream recall, and the likely hood of having a lucid dream. The participants did state testing, also called reality checks, where they asked themselves critically, “Am I dreaming or am I awake?” The idea behind reality checks is to make them into a habit. If you have ever dreamed that you were checking your watch, or dreamed you were driving down the road to work, then you can see the benefit of reality checks. Eventually, once they become a habit, you will perform them in the dream and, hopefully, become lucid. The participants in Paulsson and Parker's study did more as well. After state testing, they visualized what they should do if they found themselves in the dream. This was to reinforce the understanding that they were in the dream and be ready to take advantage of that fact. The final thing they were required to do, was before going to sleep, they were instructed to express their intent to have a lucid dream aloud. The idea is similar to how when we think about a subject a lot before falling asleep, dreams that night tend to focus on that subject. An example of this, being stated earlier, is Ray Kurzweil and his creative solutions he comes up with when he thought of his problems before going to sleep. The conclusion of Paulsson and Parker's study found that dream recall, had increased from 2.53 dreams recalled per night on average, to 5.20 dreams recalled per night after the two week period. The Lucidity Institute recommends the same techniques for improving dream recall with additional emphasis on recognizing dream signs, or common elements seen in dreams, and doing reality checks when they are noticed. Improving your dream recall will help you remember any dreams you have, and possibly even spontaneous lucid dreams. There are though, techniques to take the spontaneity out of the equation. The researchers also reviewed external stimulation methods for lucid dream induction. Light stimuli devices, such as the Lucidity Institutes Nova-Dreamer, were found to have an effect on increased lucid dreams, but to be less effective than MILD. However, the combination of MILD with light stimulation was concluded to be even more promising together than either alone.


Of drugs that increased dream recall, the researchers noted a study done by LaBerge in 2004 with Donepezil to enhance lucid dreaming. They concluded that,” Donepezil seemed to significantly enhance lucidity rate, frequency of sleep paralysis and increased estimated time awake during the night. The higher dose was associated with stronger effects, but seemed to provide some adverse effects (i.e. mild insomnia and gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and vomiting). There are growing communities to support lucid dreaming.

While most are online, there are real world groups aimed at increasing dream recall, sharing dreams, and inducing lucid dreams. An example of this being the retreats the Lucidity Institute hosts. Some online communities for the discussion and progression of lucid dreaming include LD4All.com and DreamViews.com. Both offer instruction of various forms on lucid dream induction and methods of increasing dream recall. These are but a few of the available resources easily found for those that look. A quick search online returns a great many more.