Lucid Dreams Plus Other Things

Note: I'm currently composing this from my car using the Squarespace app for iPad (on iPad 2) and I'm not confident that it'll post this entry error-free. If something goes wrong and I catch it, I'll fix it from the desktop. Let me know if you catch something! Thanks.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about health, the mind and body — and all of the everyday things that correlate and create wellness or illness. I've had a troubled relationship with "sleep;" it hasn't always been something that I wanted, and I was altogether too willing to stigmatize the concept. Somehow, society has come to view sleep (and the necessity to) as a weakness, the opposite of productivity. Even though it's important to most living beings, we have a culture here that denies its importance by glorifying and glamorizing sleep deprivation.

The onset of my disability changed almost everything. Regarding sleep; it was no longer just something that I needed, it became one of the few activities that I could actually do — and still, it was difficult to enjoy. At some point, however, after accepting sleep, I began to truly dream.

Rapid Eye Movement

REM is an important process for the body, and during that time, the brain is able to reset many functions. It's all very complex, but the basics are: it's critical, it's responsible for that "rested" feeling, and during REM, we dream.

As a child, I would always remember dreaming, but often, I couldn't remember the dream. I felt the sensation that important things had occurred all around me, across the planet, and I'd missed it — because I was asleep. Even when I did remember my dream, I didn't see its merit; dreams just seemed wasteful.

This conclusion was, at the time, evident to me because if I tried to share the story of a dream that I had had, no one seemed to care. People love gossip; people love hearing about any real thing that occurs, especially secret conversations and elicit activities... but if those events occurred in a dream? Boring. Likewise, I didn't like hearing about someone else's dream — he or she would be excited about something I couldn't easily share in or revel at. It's not just because the dream isn't real; people like to rave about fiction in books and movies, so something about the story of a dream must make it different — perhaps less important.

Perhaps, once we think that we know what a dream is, we more easily undermine them because they're common, and realize that sharing a dream is difficult and silly because we're often unable to establish grounds for comparison, and the events of a dream are unlikely to immediately change or shape events for others. Beyond that, there's the huge white elephant defecating in the center of the room: dreams often don't make sense.

Sidestepping

I've been experimenting with lucid dreaming for just a few years now, and (for a subtle visual) my mind has been blown apart — there's bits of white and gray matter on the ceiling and my walls that I haven't yet gotten around to cleaning up. I think I'll wait until stain remover goes on sale again.

The applications and implications of lucid dreams (that I've thought of just now) would take me another 10,000 or so words to share. I can't set aside that kind of time right now, and I'm not sure anyone here would want to read that much just yet. I started writing this entry as a precursor and preamble to a larger thought piece, conceptually named "the ultimate video game." Instead of sharing my dreams, I want to share techniques and experiences, the real ones, that happen in reality.

I think that almost anyone could benefit from lucidity (during sleep), because its applications are as extensive and varied as our goals. To each, their own — everyone could end up getting something valuable, but different, from the experience... that's not just okay, that's part of the point!

It's real magic.

Imagine having the ability to feel and experience, with all five senses (or six?), total control over everything tangible and intangible. Imagine being able to fly, teleport, materialize objects... what would it be like to live in your dream house, date your dream guy or girl — literally. What would you do if you could bend or break any law — and not just the ones that the government enforces? If you've seen The Matrix, imagine being Neo.

In a lucid dream, virtually everything and anything is possible... and controllable. When (in a dream) you are aware of the fact that you are dreaming, your mind can become the map, paintbrush, toolkit, boundaries — the ultimate law.

I've recently used dreaming as a toy, a tool, a sandbox and as a 'simple' extension of my day. It's been fantastic for pain management and my mental wellbeing, and I know that others should have this, too. I don't hate sleeping anymore. There's obviously a ton of stuff that I love being awake for; lucid dreaming hasn't changed that. Instead, I'm allowing sleep to take its one-third of a day — I no longer regret it, nor fight it.

I use sleep to build cities, fly, shoot at stuff, base jump... but I also experiment with fashion, architecture and interior design, graphics, songs, speeches, relationships, and — well, things... that I shouldn't share here. Squarespace has a policy about obscene and explicit content, and has not been clear with me about what that is to them. But you probably get the idea.

The aftermath

My world feels more vibrant. I enjoy life more; all of it, being awake, sleeping, driving (even slowly... in traffic... even though it may not seem like it, because I'm yelling at stupid drivers in crappy cars). I'm more creative, and art is easier... my graphics and projects get done quicker — better. I seek more richness in spirit and culture; philosophy, all forms of art, but in particular: paintings, sculptures, and music. My physical pain is more controllable, and a bit easier to tolerate... when I'm awake. When I'm in a lucid dream, there is no pain.

Because you (probably) care

As a reward for reading or otherwise making it this far, I'll share the best part with you: studies seem to show that just about everyone can have lucid dreams. From my own experience, it's like riding a bike; once you get it, it becomes muscle memory. Because the process isn't automatic, you could choose to dream normally, or take varying amounts of control from the dream world.

There are many websites with tips and tricks, some even sell gimmicks to help with lucid dreaming by signaling you during REM. Check out Lucidity.

I really hope that this posts properly.