Chapter 1: Introduction

[Kromoh]

Note: This post contains the initial revision of chapter 1: Introduction. The latest version can be found here. ---------- This is the initial revision of the first chapter in the book: Introduction. Feel free to discuss, propose or post changes to it. Do, however, put new/edited text in a different colour, so to make comparison easier. Finally, you could [[add notes to the piece by using brackets]]. Note that this thread is for discussion about the 1st chapter only: for general discussion about the book, check this thread. You might also want to see the Project Sketch, for information on the plans for the project. Note to all writers: make sure you include the copyright at every book file you create. This is just to prevent material leaks. ----- Chapter 1: Introduction I was in an apocalyptic version of my house. Everything around was ruins and brown, and the horizon was black and depressing. My father told me we had to get out of there, as it was no longer safe to hide at home. After some running, I faced what was supposed to be my school. It was also in ruins, and this time there were bodies all over. This view was so awful that I told myself "No, this can't be true! I was here yesterday and my school wasn't like this!". That sentence immediately brought up an intense feeling. I knew all I was seeing wasn't real.. but if it wasn't real, where was I? I took a closer look at my surroundings. Everything was mysteriously unknown but rather familiar at the same time. It could only be a dream. And it was. By the time I realized I was inside my own dream, and aware of it, I thought about the limitless possibilities the situation held. I was in charge of my own dream, and I could do anything I wanted to. That said, I looked around one other time and up. The sky seemed beautiful now, in a shade of blue I had never seen before. And so I took off, using a propelling jump to fly my way out of that ruined atmosphere. Flying seemed great: I could feel the wind on my face, and I could see the small buildings below me. At that moment, I was free, nothing could stop me. I could fly without wings, swim without breathing, lift cars and conjure explosions out of thin air. However, the most amazing bit in all that is, the dream was so real that anytime I could mistake it for reality; details filling my imagination with awe. It was like a second life, but a life in which I was the superhero. --Lucid account by Bruno Lepri (Kromoh) Exhilarating, freeing, and awe-inspiring are only a few ways to describe the wonder that is lucid dreaming. Through them everything is possible: you could fly over a sunbathed city, shift through walls, feel incredible joy, compose music, create your own worlds, and influence any aspect of your dream. The best news is this vast realm of possibility is available to any who peruse it. By the time you have finished this book you will have learned the fundamentals of lucid dreaming, the historical and scientific contexts, how to better remember your dreams, techniques to induce lucidity, various lucid aids and more. Ask yourself, have you ever had a dream that you knew you were dreaming? If you answered yes than you have experienced the uniqueness of lucidity. You may have had pinched yourself trying to wake up, or ran to do something you couldn’t in waking life. Whatever the case chances are this dream sticks out in your mind. Comparatively a non-lucid dream is the kind most are familiar with. In the average dream it is like you were handed a movie script and told to play out your part exactly as it was written. The truth is the scenery, characters and situations are all generated by your subconscious, yet you believe everything, no matter how ridiculous, to be true to reality. The benefits to lucid dreaming is far greater than meets the eye. How much time do you spend asleep over your lifetime? Most people spend a third of their lives unconscious, missing out on grand opportunities to be as awake and alive as their waking life. Within lucidity the most obvious use is entertainment value, but digging deeper there are many therapeutic and psychological advantages to be found. Through lucidity you can absolve nightmares, face your fears, learn about yourself, gain artistic ideas and insights, boost confidence, problem solve and release a new level of freedom in your life. In the endeavours for becoming lucid in your dreams, an important ability is the one to recall dreams. In our daily lives, our chores always stand in first place, leaving us little time to know ourselves better. In this tiring routine, many of us lose the ability to remember our dreams. One may even conclude that he or she doesn't dream anymore: that is hopefully not true. Everybody has an average of five dreams in a good night of sleep. Had this being the core of it, we would remember our dreams with great ease. But there is also the fact that, while we're having a regular dream, we're mostly unconscious. That makes recalling dreams a challenge of key importance to lucid dreaming. A good ability to recall dreams will not only increase your lucidity rate, but also make sure you do not forget your lucid dream, when you have one. For improving this ability, there is a consensus that keeping a Dream Journal is of uttermost importance. It can be anything that stores information about your dreams from a simple spiral bound notebook, a computer or tape recorder. Considering the importance of dream recall, the topic will be expanded on the following chapters. You will also find a vast toolbox of relaxation methods to more readily fall asleep, which do also hold great importance. These techniques will not provide you lucid directly, but are fundamental to the induction techniques themselves. There will be scientifically proven methods to obtain lucidity within your dreams, whose purpose will be explained in detail. The lucid dreaming community popularly names them by the use of acronyms. For example, the most general technique, known as a dream induced lucid dream, is called DILD for short. Apart from those main techniques, you will learn many relevant pieces of information, such as the best time of the night to gain lucidity and much more. The whole extent of techniques will be, though, mostly guides you can use and expand upon. You may even create ways on your own that best fits your lifestyle. Lucid dreaming involves creativity: if one way doesn't seem to work for you, then you can adapt it and make you own method. The goal behind this book is more than just to teach you popular techniques; it is aimed to have you learn to lucid dream on your own and do so masterfully. All said, lucidity is more of a personal achievement rather than learnt techniques. Now then, you’re ready to begin your path to lucid knowledge. If you have never experienced a lucid dream before, take heart, it is only a matter of time and patience. Turn the page and step into the realm of lucid dreaming. © Copyright 2007 Dreamviews education team. All rights reserved.

[sourcejedi]

These are the gentle corrections I had in mind. ----- Chapter 1: Introduction [[Lucid dream account omitted for concision - I didn't have any corrections to it.]] --Lucid account by Bruno Lepri (Kromoh) Exhilarating, freeing, and awe-inspiring are only a few ways to describe the wonder of lucid dreams [[lucid dreaming -> lucid dreams, to match plural pronoun "them" in next sentence]]. Through them everything is possible: you could fly over a sunbathed city, shift through walls, feel incredible joy, compose music, create your own worlds, and influence any aspect of your dream. The best news is this vast realm of possibility is available to any who pursue [[was peruse - I think pursue is actually the word you wanted]] it. By the time you have finished this book you will have learned the fundamentals of lucid dreaming, the historical and scientific contexts, how to better remember your dreams, techniques to induce lucidity, various lucid aids and more. Ask yourself, have you ever had a dream that you knew you were dreaming? If you answered yes than you have experienced the uniqueness of lucidity. You may have had pinched yourself trying to wake up, or ran to do something you couldn’t in waking life. Whatever the case chances are this dream sticks out in your mind. In comparison [[was "comparatively"]] a non-lucid dream is the kind most are familiar with. In the average dream it is as if [[was "like"]] you were handed a movie script and told to play out your part exactly as it was written. The truth is the scenery, characters and situations are all generated by your subconscious, yet you believe everything, no matter how ridiculous, to be true to reality. The benefits to lucid dreaming are [[was "is", plurals again ]] far greater than meets the eye. How much time do you spend asleep over your lifetime? Most people spend a third of their lives unconscious, missing out on grand opportunities to be as awake and alive as their waking life. Within lucidity the most obvious use is entertainment value, but digging deeper there are many therapeutic and psychological advantages to be found. Through lucidity you can overcome nightmares [[was "absolve", which doesn't make sense - was maybe meant to be "resolve"?]], face your fears, learn about yourself, gain artistic ideas and insights, boost confidence, problem solve and release a new level of freedom in your life. [[New paragraph to dispel potential concerns here. Would be nice to have testimony from a "natural"]] Lucid dreaming is perfectly natural, but at present it is not widely known about. Most dreams are not lucid, and in general people don't spend much time thinking about dreams, so it isn't surprising if you've never heard of lucid dreams before. In the past few decades, lucid dreaming has been studied by scientists and its existence is firmly established. Although it is natural, most people have to make an effort to have regular lucid dreams. The exceptions are a lucky few who have had frequent lucid dreams from an early age, who are surprised when they discover that it doesn't happen to everyone else! If you try the techniques in this book, you should not worry that you will be stuck with regular lucid dreams against your will and be unable to stop them. In the endeavor to become lucid [[was "endeavours for becoming". Switch to US spelling. More correct phrasing. Could be "In *your* endeavors to become" though]] in your dreams, an important ability is the one to recall dreams. In our daily lives, our chores always stand in first place, leaving us little time to know ourselves better. In this tiring routine, many of us lose the ability to remember our dreams. One may even conclude that he or she doesn't dream anymore: that is hopefully not true. Everybody has an average of five dreams in a good night of sleep. If that was all there was to it, [[was "Had this being the core of it". Correct phrasing & substitute more common expression]] we would remember our dreams with great ease. But there is also the fact that, while we're having a regular dream, we're mostly unconscious. That makes recalling dreams a challenge of key importance to lucid dreaming. A good ability to recall dreams will not only increase your lucidity rate, but also make sure you do not forget your lucid dream, when you have one. For improving this ability, there is a consensus that keeping a Dream Journal is of uttermost importance. It can be anything that stores information about your dreams from a simple spiral bound notebook, a computer or tape recorder. Considering the importance of dream recall, the topic will be expanded on the following chapters. You will also find a vast toolbox of relaxation methods to more readily fall asleep, which do also hold great importance. These techniques will not provide you lucid directly, but are fundamental to the induction techniques themselves. There will be scientifically proven methods to obtain lucidity within your dreams, whose purpose will be explained in detail. The lucid dreaming community popularly names them by the use of acronyms. For example, the most general technique, known as a dream induced lucid dream, is called DILD for short. Apart from those main techniques, you will learn many relevant pieces of information, such as the best time of the night to gain lucidity and much more. The whole extent of techniques will be, though, mostly guides you can use and expand upon. You may even create ways on your own that best fits your lifestyle. Lucid dreaming involves creativity: if one way doesn't seem to work for you, then you can adapt it and make you own method. The goal behind this book is more than just to teach you popular techniques; it is aimed to help [[was have]] you learn to lucid dream on your own and do so masterfully. All said, lucidity is more of a personal achievement rather than a series of learned [[was just "learnt". Correct phrasing and keep to US spelling - my spell-checker says "learnt" is wrong]] techniques. Now then, you’re ready to begin your path to lucid knowledge. If you have never experienced a lucid dream before, take heart, it is only a matter of time and patience. Turn the page and step into the realm of lucid dreaming. © Copyright 2007 Dreamviews education team. All rights reserved.

[Sugarglider11]

The intro is very good, but how far are you into your chapter kromoh, I'm just interested.

[Jeff777]

Wow source, you're amazing... O_O

[sourcejedi]

Wow source, you're amazing... O_O Why thank you :-). I like to think I'm good at copy-editing; nitpicking style/grammar/spelling. There are still sentences I'm not happy with. I think the real work was writing the introduction in the first place, it will Live Or Die based on whether the structure is OK at a higher level and we've got the right *ideas*. Anyone can come along and correct the English afterwards. Though maybe I just think what I do is easier because I understand it better.

[sourcejedi]

More nitpicks which I haven't decided how they would be best fixed: "Shift through walls" - it's not clear what this means, would "walk" be OK? "There will be scientifically proven methods" - I think it needs to be more explicitly, e.g. "The book will contain" or "We will describe". "the most general technique, known as a dream induced lucid dream". a) The acronym originates with Laberge where the "I" was initiated, not induced, which actually makes more sense. b) I think of a technique as a step-by-step guide: DILD is too general to qualify as a technique by my definition. [[I think it's right to explain about the ILD acronyms though; initially the book is going to be on the internet only and you can't escape ILDs on lucid dreaming sites.]]

[sourcejedi]

Chapter 1: Introduction [[Lucid dream account omitted for concision - I didn't have any corrections to it.]] Heh. I didn't like to touch it really; it was so magical and it wouldn't be right for me to rewrite someone else's personal account. As an experiment, I ran a grammar checker on it and it did highlight a few things. Now I look at it again, I think it escaped the typo generator but there are some things that might be improved - with your permission, Kromoh. Don't let me break the magic :-). I was in an apocalyptic version of my house. Everything around me was ruins and brown brown and in ruins and the horizon was black and depressing. My father told me we had to get out of there, as it was no longer safe to hide at home. After some running, I faced what was supposed to be my school. It was also in ruins, and this time there were bodies all over. This view was so awful that I told myself "No, this can't be true! I was here yesterday and my school wasn't like this!". That sentence immediately brought up an intense feeling. I knew all I was seeing wasn't real... but if it wasn't real, where was I? I took a closer look at my surroundings. Everything was mysteriously unknown but rather familiar at the same time. It could only be a dream. And it was. By the time I realized I was inside my own dream, and aware of it, I thought about the limitless possibilities the situation held. I was in charge of my own dream, and I could do anything I wanted to. That said, I looked around one other one more time and up then up at the sky. The sky seemed beautiful now, in a shade of blue I had never seen before. And so I took off, using a propelling jump to fly my way out of that ruined atmosphere. Flying seemed felt great: I could feel the wind on my face, and I could see the small buildings below me. At that moment, I was free, nothing could stop me. I could fly without wings, swim without breathing, lift cars and conjure explosions out of thin air. However, the most amazing bit thing in all that that this is, the dream was so real that anytime I could mistake . At any point I could have mistaken it for reality; the details filling my imagination the detail filled me with awe [["and fired my imagination"?]]. It was like a second life, but a life in which I was the superhero. © Copyright 2007 Dreamviews education team. All rights reserved.

[Umbrasquall]

Just a quick opinion. I like the lucid account you used, a lot. The contrast of the initial futility of your surroundings with the later feeling of power and control was great. However, if we're trying to target the social mainstream, maybe such a dark account could be counterproductive. It's literarily weak and cliched but... it'd might be better to have an account that people would relate to happiness or awe. Btw, it should be "lucid dream account" instead of just "lucid account" since you haven't introduced lucid dreaming as a concept yet.

[sourcejedi]

Yah, i wouldn't say "mainstream" but I would be interested in ways of make it as "accessible" as possible. The rest of the introduction doesn't mention any specific details about the account, so it should be easy to switch if we find a more appropriate one. I'd noticed the "lucid account" thing and it's fixed in my last published revision (http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dc35tjkz_0hn72s3). I think its past time we rebased; i.e. put a single revised version as a post here, to serve as the basis for any future work. I thought Kromoh was going to do that by editing the first post, which is why I posted my last revision as a link instead of the contents, but maybe I got confused. I can't edit the first post; I could put the revised contents in a new post but I'd prefer to wait until Kromoh's had time to check my suggestions on the dream account. I don't want to post my version of the account, without the blue change highlighting, until Kromoh has approved them.

[sourcejedi]

PS: If you're reading long passages like these book chapters, you might find Thread Tools->Printable version useful. It strips out most of the clutter that make the forum pretty & convenient for discussion, making it nicer if you just want to read.