Title: Lucid Living Research Project

Researcher: Dust Mote



INTRODUCTION:

I first became aware of Lucid Dreaming in the mid 1970’s when I read a book by Carlos Castaneda. Since then I have read a few other books, read several websites, and posted on a few boards. I have been variously confused, frustrated, and entertained by the huge number of “techniques” designed to influence Lucid Dreaming. Almost from day one I have only practiced one technique that I call: “Lucid Living”; and it has been very effective in my case.

Choosing a technique is only half the battle. Then comes the actual doing of it, and I think this is a major area of failure for many would-be Lucid Dreamers. The lack of immediate results leaves people discouraged and they move on to other things. This board has over 5,800 registered members. Over 4,000 of them have 10 posts or fewer. And over 3,700 of them have 5 posts or fewer.

I hope by starting this project I can not only test its effectiveness but also put more attention on the bigger issue of effectively helping those who come to this board.


THESIS:

Will the technique of Lucid Living consistently aid individuals in their quest to have Lucid Dreams?


HYPOTHESIS:

If you want to learn to play the piano, you practice on a piano; if you want to learn to roller skate, you put on a pair of skates, etc. However, if you want to learn to Lucid Dream there isn’t a way to just start doing it. Since we can’t easily enter into a Lucid Dream, I propose that Lucid Dreaming can be practiced in normal waking life thru use of the technique I call Lucid Living. While not an actual Lucid Dream, Lucid Living re-creates the experience of a Lucid Dream; it puts you in the same mental state that you would experience in an LD.

The theory that Lucid Living will aid in Lucid Dreaming also has a parallel in visualization techniques. It has been successfully shown that simply visualizing a specific behavior can improve your performance. For example: visualizing shooting free throws in basketball will increase your ability to shoot free throws without any actual practice (see “The Holographic Universe”, by Michael Talbot, pg. 88). In the technique of Lucid Living you are “visualizing” the mental state that you want to achieve while in the dream state and this visualization should produce an increased performance in Lucid Dreaming.


METHOD:

Participants in this experiment will be asked to re-create the mental/emotional conditions that they experienced in a Lucid Dream during their everyday living.

This is not something to be done once a day, or 5 times a day, but every single waking moment of your life. Sounds impossible? It is. The barriers to maintaining this state are huge, and it is beyond most of us to maintain this state for more than a few moments at a time. But with practice the ability will increase. I wouldn’t expect anyone to maintain this state all day long. In the beginning it may be very difficult to maintain this state for more than a few moments; sometimes it may only last a second before your mind wanders off. But you must maintain the commitment to sustain this frame of mind for as long as possible throughout the day. And you must remind yourself as often as you can get into the lucid frame of mind.

This technique should not be confused with Reality Checks. You should not ask yourself: “Is this a dream?” Reality Checks rely on “clues” to determine if you are dreaming or not; like looking at a clock twice, or holding your nose. I want to bypass this mechanism and enter directly into lucidity. (I do find it helpful when entering this state or to help maintain it, to tell myself: “This is a dream.”)

It is very important not become angry or discouraged. Maintaining Lucid Living is difficult to do, but it is also quite enjoyable. Being angry or discouraged will just keep you from being lucid and it a big waste of time and energy. Just put your attention back on being in the lucid state, and hang on for dear life.

This is not a practice that will interfere with you normal behavior. You can be lucid and drive a car, or read the mail. You may even find that you are enjoying yourself. In fact you should be enjoying yourself; if you don’t like being lucid then this experiment is not for you. And if you find you can’t be lucid and do a math problem or write a short story, forget about being lucid. Do what you have to do and get back to being lucid later. You will be amazed at how much time there is in the day when you can practice Lucid Living.

Since this is an experiment to test the results of one particular technique, I ask that you give up all other induction techniques. No MILDs, WILDs, WBTB, etc. No peppermint tea or wrapping your feet in tinfoil. To see if this is truly an effective method we must eliminate any other possible influences.

There is one thing that I encourage you to do, and that is to analyze exactly what it means to you to be lucid. How does it feel? How would you describe you state of mind? Your awareness? Your consciousness? Periodically reviewing this will help you increase your understanding of what it means to be lucid, and help you to more precisely re-create that state in your waking life.

There is one segment of the participants that will be at a slight disadvantage; that is those who have never had a Lucid Dream. You are a very important part of this experiment, because I want to know if this technique will help you get that first one. Since you don’t know what if feels like to be Lucid you are going to have to fake it. Try and imagine it as best you can. There are some similarities to this state and states of enlightenment as well as the mental states achieved thru meditation. I will start a topic in the “Attaining Lucidity” forum where we can discuss the Lucid Living concept. However, this is not a technique that relies on study. It’s the practice that counts.


PARTICIPANT INFORMATION:

Participants will be expected to engage in this experiment for a period of one month. Please submit the following information as baseline for your participation:


1. Have you ever had a Lucid Dream?

2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream?

3. How long have you been working on Lucid Dreaming?

4. How many LDs have you had?

5. How often do you have an LD?

6. How long does a typical LD last?

7. When did you have your last LD?

(Feel free to supply as much detail as you wish. And please restate the questions as you answer them. It makes it easier for others reading this to know what questions you are answering without having to scroll up and down the page)


Once you have signed up post updates as often as you like. Update information should include, but is not limited to, the following:

Approximately how long each day you are Lucid? Is the amount of time increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same?

Any increase or decrease in the frequency of Lucid Dreams?

Any increase or decrease in the duration of Lucid Dreams?

Any increase or decrease in your control of your Lucid Dreams?

And make a BIG note when you have your first Lucid Dream.


(and just to let you know: as much as I have practiced this technique recently, I would estimate the amount of time I am lucid during the day to be about 10 minutes. Not very long is it? But it’s enough to give me Lucid Dreams.)