Lucid Dreaming

Paper Summary:

Lucid dreaming is a paradoxical mental state in which dreamers become aware that they are dreaming and, in some cases, deliberately take control of the dream action. This paper provides an overview of why humans sleep and dream, an examination of what lucid dreams are, and their relevance to psychologists and other clinicians today. A discussion of the potential adverse consequences identified by some critics is followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.

Outline
Introduction
Review and Discussion
Why Do Humans Sleep and Dream Anyway?
What Are Lucid Dreams? Cheap Thrills or Divine Insight?
Learning How to Dream Lucidly
Relevance of Lucid Dreaming to Psychology
"Completely Risk-Free" or Not?
Improving Accessibility to Lucid Dreaming
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Because everyone dreams, it would seem easy enough to classify the experience as being "ordinary," and yet the dream experience itself can seem to be anything but "ordinary." Researchers have been investigating why animals sleep and have attempted to determine the biological role of dreams. Lucid dreaming means dreaming while knowing that you are dreaming. This consciousness allows people to guide their dreams and explore a potentially infinite number of possibilities. A staunch lucid dream advocate and researcher, Dr. Stephen LaBerge, even maintains that lucid dreaming may help people heal faster and enjoy other benefits, including aiding personal-development, enhancing self-confidence, overcoming nightmares, improving mental (and perhaps, physical) health, facilitating creative problem solving as well as providing "thrilling entertainment." In all fairness, it should be pointed out that LaBerge is also hawking DreamLights and other devices designed to help people learn how to dream lucidly at as much as $1,000 a pop -- and he has sold a lot of them."

More papers on Lucid Dreaming:

• Essay # 20350 : "Lucid Dreaming"
• Essay # 9671 : "Diving Into the Mind"
• Analytical Essay # 230 : "Nightmares and Night Terrors"

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