A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming: Mastering the Art of Oneironautics
Dylan Tuccillo, Jared Zeizel, Thomas Peisel
Language: English
Pages: 288
ISBN: 0761177396
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Imagine being able to fly. Walk through walls. Shape-shift. Breathe underwater. Conjure loved ones―or total strangers―out of thin air. Imagine experiencing your nighttime dreams with the same awareness you possess right now―fully functioning memory, imagination, and self-awareness. Imagine being able to use this power to be more creative, solve problems, and discover a deep sense of well-being.
This is lucid dreaming―the ability to know you are dreaming while you are in a dream, and then consciously explore and change the elements of the dream. A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming, with its evocative retro illustrations, shows exactly how to do it. Written by three avid, experienced lucid dreamers, this manual for the dream world takes the reader from step one―learning how to reconnect with his or her dreams― through the myriad possibilities of what can happen once the dreamer is lucid and an accomplished oneironaut (a word that comes from the Greek oneira, meaning dreams, and nautis, meaning sailor).
Readers will learn about the powerful REM sleep stage―a window into lucid dreams. Improve dream recall by keeping a journal. The importance of reality checks, such as “The Finger”―during the day, try to pass your finger through your palm; then, when you actually do it successfully, you’ll know that you’re dreaming. And once you become lucid, how to make the most of it. Every time you dream, you are washing up on the shores of your own inner landscape. Learn to explore a strange and thrilling world with A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming.
a spy again . . . I say to her, “What should I do next in life?” She says, “All I can say is it’s got something to do with a charity shop and something to do with decoration.” And I wake up. —Jack G. Meet the Natives As in waking life, you’ll meet a variety of characters in the dream world, each character with a different level of awareness. Some are conscious of what’s going on around them, some have messages to give, some look like friends or acquaintances, and some are freakin’ morons. While
try to keep it simple and clear. Try drawing and writing down your intention in your dream journal, on the left side of the page. Then, when you wake up in the morning, record your dreams as usual on the right side. As you read over your dreams, it will be easy to see if your intentions (left) match up with the results (right). You’ll be surprised how often your incubated dreams hatch. 3. Put the intention under your pillow. Might sound a bit superstitious, like you’re waiting for the Dream
you will be able to have a lucid dream virtually at will, whenever you want. This technique was coined and perfected by Stephen LaBerge and is called the “Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream,” or WILD for short. WILDs differ from other lucid dreams in one very important way: They require one to go from the waking state directly into a lucid dream without any lapse in consciousness. Yes, you heard right, it’s possible to watch your body go to sleep while your mind remains awake and aware. This direct
experience in the waking world. We might expect to feel a personal connection to everything in our own dreams, but when we have those same moments of clarity while we’re awake, it feels as though there’s a vast web connecting everything. This idea is no secret. Spiritual masters and mystics have told us for centuries that everything is more closely connected than our physical boundaries would seem to suggest. Everything looks separate, of course. There is me and then there is you and there’s a
war. European Middle Ages They aren’t called the Dark Ages for nothing. As the dogmatic practices of Christianity spread throughout Europe, dreams began taking a backseat. Despite this unfortunate approach to dreams during this time, it’s important to note that in the religious texts of Christianity there are plenty of nods to dreaming. Dig and you will find stories of divine dreams and the interpretations that followed. There are hundreds of dreams in the Bible alone. As Christianity continued