Lucid Living Research Project

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.)

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? yes

2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream? approximately 3 years ago (last half of 2002, first half of 2003)

3. How long have you been working on Lucid Dreaming? superficially, about three years off and on. seriously, 3 months.

4. How many LDs have you had? 32

5. How often do you have an LD? since i've made a serious effort, 1-2 a week.

6. How long does a typical LD last? most are 5-15 seconds. about 10% are 1-4 'minutes' long.

7. When did you have your last LD? last night.

---------

a couple qualifications on my participation in this though. i am still going to concentrate on a desire to lucid dream each night while i lie in bed before falling asleep.

as well, i will do a reality check each time, and only each time, i seriously suspect i am dreaming during the day. never if i have no good reason to suspect this.

aside from this, i will do my best to use no additional techniques besides lucid living.
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*the following is not particularly relevant to the stipulated experiment, but i feel it may offer additional background info which may be of interest. and as i have previously attempted lucid living (though not by that name) i feel that should be taken into account, as i am somewhat familiar with it.*

i have struggled to cultivate lucid living it for a few years now (even before i heard of lucid dreams). sometimes i go months without being lucid for more than ten minutes put together, some days i am never more than 15 minutes away from a lucid moment, even if a fleeting one...

i consider psilocybin variety mushrooms to be my sacrament, because if i prepare my mind beforehand, they often enable me to maintain unbroken lucidity for up to four hours! whereas normally it is almost impossible to maintain lucidity for four minutes.

however, i only imbibe them once every month or two, in order to 'come home' and remember which state of mind i am striving for.

incidentally, the first clear, prolonged (about 5-10 minute) lucid dream that i had, i felt exactly as i do while bemushroomed (minus the physiological effects). and when i am lucid for a minute or more during waking hours while sober, the feeling is the same.

my goal is to one day merge all three realities into an unbroken stream of consciousness, where external aids are unneccessary. a lofty ambition, granted, but IMHO enlightenment itself consists in nothing more nor less than perpetual lucid living...

and so a new phase in my path towards lucid living begins...
:)

[quote]Title: Lucid Living Research Project


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?

Yes.


2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream?


I had my first Lucid Dream when I was about thirteen. I am now eighteen.

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


For about four years.

4. How many LDs have you had?


In my life, I have had about twenty or thirty LDs

5. How often do you have an LD?


Once or twice a month.

6. How long does a typical LD last?

Approximately 1-3 minutes, though some only last for a couple of seconds.

7. When did you have your last LD?


About two weeks ago.
[/b]

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?
yes
2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream?
kindergarten age, over 20 years ago
3. How long have you been working on Lucid Dreaming?
I've only been working on purpose for a month.
4. How many LDs have you had?
100's or thousands. Not sure.
5. How often do you have an LD?
Now, I'm not getting any. I'm trying to research a reason/solution.
6. How long does a typical LD last?
5 to 10 minutes at most
7. When did you have your last LD?
Several months ago.

Important details:
1) I was an avid practicer of many visual mental abilities. OBE's, Lucid Dreamscapes, everything.
2) I had to battle and defeat a dream guide that turned demonic after years of an amicable relationship.
3) After defeating him, several months ago, I have been totally unable to lucid dream, use my imagination in a visual way, sense spirits, enjoy life, everything good. Dreams are even rare even with sound and smell induction and shear desire to lucid dream every day.

Hey, I'm in as best I can! Cool research idea. Like you, I first learned about dreaming from a Carlos Castaneda book, sometime atounr 1982 I think.


1. Have you ever had a Lucid Dream?

Yep

2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream?

1991

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

Passively for 14 years, actively for about 6

4. How many LDs have you had?

I've lost count

5. How often do you have an LD?

Average one or two a week

6. How long does a typical LD last?

Minimum a few seconds, maximum about 45 minutes, median probably 15 minute range

7. When did you have your last LD?

Feb 18, 2006

I'd like to participate also. I've found this to by my most effective and reliable technique. I agree completely that it should be investigated and developed.

1. Have you ever had a lucid dream? Yes.

2. When did you have your first lucid dream. 1993 (After reading Stephen LaBerge's books)

3. How long have you been working on lucid dreaming? Since '93 (off an on).

4. How many lucid dreams have you had? Not sure about exact number, but a lot.

5. How often do you have an LD? When I'm actually trying to have one (using some technique or other), I can have them as often as every other night or as infrequently as one every other month. When I'm not actively using any techniques, I have zero. For the most part, I have not stayed consistently with any technique, and generally have been pretty erratic in the techniques I use. I've been thinking more and more that lucid living makes the most sense, but have not tried to verify it by employing that method exclusively.

6. How long does a typical LD last? Once I'm lucid, generally about 10-15 minutes.

7. When did you have your last LD? Last night. The one before that, two nights ago. Neither was induced with dream signs. But I did perform a reality check (just to make sure).

1. Have you ever had a Lucid Dream? yes

2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream? June 11th, 2005

3. How long have you been working on Lucid Dreaming? since my first LD

4. How many LDs have you had? 29

5. How often do you have an LD? at least one every 14 days...if not 2...but i rarely go past 14 days without having an LD

6. How long does a typical LD last? seconds to mintues...shortest about a second...longest about 10 to 15 mins

7. When did you have your last LD? 2 days ago ( Feb 21st 2006)

1. Have you ever had a Lucid Dream? yes

2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream? about 4 months ago

3. How long have you been working on Lucid Dreaming? about 5 months ago

4. How many LDs have you had? lost count

5. How often do you have an LD? usually once a night

6. How long does a typical LD last? about 3 min, tryna make it last longer

7. When did you have your last LD? 2 days ago (March 6)

well, my participation in this project has sort of fallen by the wayside unfortunately, so i don't have anything to update really...i've been lucid more inmy dreams than during waking life lately it seems, which isn't much of either.

I too read Carlos Castaneda "Journey to Xtland", I think that's right. I have had LD dreams long before then, first at the age of seven, I think. The Casteneda book got me thinking that maybe I could try and see myself sleeping in my dream state, which i did once and it scared me silly because I woke immediatly and I was paralized for what seem an eternity. However after I gained the ability to move, I could still feel this rush of what ever had me still there so I let myself go and it started to overcome me again. Out of fear I quickly fought off the rush and broke free of this state. I have never been able to reproduce this experience since. Pretty wild huh.

1. Have you ever had a Lucid Dream? yes

2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream? At an early age about 7

3. How long have you been working on Lucid Dreaming? I started "working" at it after visiting this site yesterday. Before then I would just know in my dream that it was a dream.

4. How many LDs have you had? Too many to count. Hundreds.

5. How often do you have an LD? Before visiting this site, 3 or 4 or more a month.

6. How long does a typical LD last? Depends on what I do or how close I get to waking. Sometimes a minute or two mostly longer.

7. When did you have your last LD? Yesterday. Had three different successful starts from being awake to going asleep knowing that I was about to dream and where I was going. It was really exciting to be able to control this aspect of lucid dreaming.

1. Have you ever had a Lucid Dream?

Yes / No... Ah, check below.

2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream?

Maybe (check below), around 3-4(?)~ years ago

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

2 weeks

4. How many LDs have you had?

See below.

5. How often do you have an LD?

N/A

6. How long does a typical LD last?

N/A

7. When did you have your last LD?

Maybe around 2-3 years ago.

----------------------------------------------------

I may've had, ahh.... 2 lucid dreams in all (kindof short / low-lucidity)

In fact, I think I wasn't REALLY lucid, just that I had a bit of control sometimes....

They were both DILDS, although in the first one I didn't even know what lucid meant and in the second one I read a bit about lucid dreaming and about DILDs.

First one (3-4 years ago): I believe I saw something flying (flying elephant?), or maybe not
, but I became lucid and started flying myself, dream ended soon after that ( I think I was in the form of a flying elephant.. ' Dumbo ' -type of thing ;p)

Second (2-3 years ago): Momentarily became lucid, spun around a tree (?), no idea why ... the dream wasn't fading, probably. Dream ended soon after or at least I lost lucidness, not sure.

... Now that I think of it, my dreams back then were so much more interesting and longer.. hmm....

EDIT: Ahah! I remember that I drank ginseng tea regularly (almost every morning), although now I just drink occasionally mint tea, and every morning green tea or hibiscus pod tea.
______________________________

I've been doing reality checks for about 2 weeks now, along with trying multiple techniques.

Going to try doing some Lucid Living starting today, which is a few hours before I go to sleep... Zzzzz.. (maybe I'll try to also recreate the feeling I had in those two dreams to help me in doing this... ).

Anyway, consider me as someone who's never had a lucid dream.

-Thanks!

[quote]

Quote:

---

Title: Lucid Living Research Project


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?

Yes.


2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream?

sixteen - seventeen

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


For about two years

4. How many LDs have you had?


six before i known what i was doing

5. How often do you have an LD?

not sure they either happen or not

6. How long does a typical LD last?

10 sec ..

7. When did you have your last LD?

month ago

[/b]

---

8)

i started to having lucid dreams , without knowing what they were. thought at first they were out of body etc. but then found doing research that i was having a dream which was lucid, the more i had these off and on dreams the stronger my
my dream control was. which made everything clear as day even people..
the down fall is that i think too much ... like i enter a lucid dream and then
i look at my hands which were clear ,, but they were stuck so i thought that i mght be sleep on my arms and i woke myself up....... 8)

Oh Boy, we’re really doing some science now. Well, except for Wombat :tongue: (how’s the Calea tea?)

Since this isn’t really hard science I don’t care what else you do. But I hope everyone will give it their all, and write up a little something at the end describing you experience. Anyone needing inspiration read this: http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28935


What I would really like to see are some more virgins doing the project. You know, people who haven’t had an LD yet. I’ve had some success in the past with newbies and would like to be able to document some successes in this area.

I also see that most of the participants are pretty experienced LDers. Perhaps I should ad the question: “Why are you doing this?”




(I also noticed that there are two members of DreamViews royalty in the project. I am obscenely proud. :bowdown: )

I think this technique has a lot of potential, and so i will offer my services as a guinea pig :mrgreen:
I'm a semi-beginner. Not a virgin and LDing, but it's been a long time and the lucid dreams i have had have been brief and hazy, and two of them i never even recorded, thus making it a tad more difficult to recreate the feelings i got. As i'm yet to attempt any techniques (just been working on restabalising my dream recall over the past couple of nights, but it's all god now) so i think it would be cool to start with this one. And i don't think it will be too difficult for me.

1. Have you ever had a Lucid Dream? Yes

2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream? Near the beginning of 2004 (sorry, i can't give a specific date)

3. How long have you been working on Lucid Dreaming? Since 01/01/2003. However, i have gone through a few dormant periods of a few months, and have only just started becoming interested again after 3-4 months.

4. How many LDs have you had? Three

5. How often do you have an LD? extremely rarely, considering i've had three in three years.

6. How long does a typical LD last? around one minute

7. When did you have your last LD? around the beginning of 2005

In answer to Dust Mote's question why am I participating in this project if I've already been having LDs:

I want to improve my ability to have lucid dreams. They are still fairly difficult to have. They don't come nearly as often as I would wish. What I have noticed is that the majority of my lucid dreams don't come from any particular technique. I just become aware I'm dreaming. Usually by noticing something that is common in my dreams, but uncommon in life. I've been thinking that in some ways dreams are obviously dreams and real life is obviously real life. We are not in the habit, though, of paying attention to the differences.

I suspect that techniques which rely on real-life events (a watch alarm going off, seeing a "dreamsign" in real life, etc.), don't work very well because most of the time we encounter these things we are not dreaming. Our mind knows this at some level and ignores or tunes out these things even when we are dreaming. But I also suspect that if we were intimately familiar with our dreams (especially with the types of thoughts we think in our dreams), we would more easily recognize the dream state.

My approach to the project is two-fold: (1) no use of any other technique (except limited use of RCs -- only when I have "probable cause" to think I'm dreaming), and (2) an intensified effort to study my dream content for characteristic differences from real life (especially paying attention to my train of thought in dreams).

1. Have you ever had a Lucid Dream?

yes

2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream?

About 2 years ago

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

Activly for almost a year, but been interested in it since I read an article in Omni magazine back in the late 80's

4. How many LDs have you had?

About 3

5. How often do you have an LD?

Since last summer, about 1 every couple months

6. How long does a typical LD last?

Last one I can remember was about 10 min or so

7. When did you have your last LD?

February (mid) 2006

Title: Lucid Living Research Project

1. Have you ever had a Lucid Dream?

Yes.


2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream?

15, 2005 not sure the month

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


for about 1 year.

4. How many LDs have you had?
2-3

5. How often do you have an LD?
i had 2 during the beginning then i stooped for a year and started again and had 1.

6. How long does a typical LD last?

first one was 3-5 seconds, second one was 7-10 seconds.

7. When did you have your last LD?

some time in 2005.

[/b]

1. Have you ever had a Lucid Dream? Yes

2. When did you have your first Lucid Dream? July, 2005

3. How long have you been working on Lucid Dreaming? I did all last summer and just started again last monday

4. How many LDs have you had? around 11 or 12

5. How often do you have an LD? I was having random ones about a month apart but they stopped occuring

6. How long does a typical LD last? 10 seconds to 6 minutes

7. When did you have your last LD? A couple months ago

May 10th - I practiced for 10 min and no LD.
May 11th i practiced for 10 min and had 1 LD, but it would change and everything would go black but i would keep lucidity, i didnt loose it very easily.

May 12th - Did practice to much but still thought about it somewhat, and went to bed Drunk and Stoned and had an LD, not very good though didnt last long but i flew around and turnedinto a helecopter so meh.