Research Department

**Jeff777** · 06-30-2009 06:37 PM

This forum is for the writers to request stats, data, graphs, documented experiments (pertaining to the book), conduct experiments and anything in between to go along with their writings.

Research Department's Directory of Information: This thread directs our Writing Department to highlighted and suggested information that is extracted by our Research Department from sources collected in Kromoh's thread and in The Research Department's own thread. Our writers can use this thread to easily access the information they need for their assignments. DO NOT post general sources here; limit posts to either quoted or selected material from these sources, links to posts with the information, source descriptions, and discussions concerning the placement of material.

Department Leader: Department leader's are supervisors of a certain department. They make sure work is being done and they have the authority to tweak, organize, call meetings etc. Staff may consult their department leader and department leader's may consult the Project Leader. Department leader's can hire additional staff members for their department at their discretion. Department leader's, if a staff member is not staying on task or doing what you are asking him/her for the benefit of the department (and ultimately the project) you can recommend them for termination to the Project Leader. Once again, I encourage Department leader's to hire more staff for their departments.

The author of this post wrote this cognizant of the fact that staff members work in more than one department.

[Research Department's Directory of Information]

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Research Department Staff

Department Leader(s): mrdeano

Naiya, Jeff777, mrdeano, spockman, adrift, Jabrol2001, Beeyahoi, Banana, Andywarski

**marcc** · 07-01-2009 01:48 AM

I want all of you reading this to participate in my DHA research topic! Please!

It's actually helpful!

EDIT: Although, maybe the length of testing is a little short...

**mrdeano** · 07-01-2009 03:57 AM

Woah.
I have responsibilities now.

I am going to get to work straight away. Firstly, I am going to look through the dream journals on this site. To see if I find ones that can illustrate points in the book.
(PM the owners for permission of course)

**spockman** · 07-01-2009 10:05 PM

Alright, cool. Any abstract techniques you want researched or written about right now?

I was thinking about trying some new VILD techniques...

**panta-rei** · 07-02-2009 03:46 PM

Perhaps would could make mention of techniques in progress?

Walms has a generally original technique. The Transition ILD. I think he posted it around here somewhere... anyway, it's like a WILD, but skips a step or something. I know he has it on MM. That could use some research. Walms actually needs a few more people to try it out.

**spockman** · 07-02-2009 03:55 PM

I'd be happy to experiment with that.

EDIT: Where is it?

**mrdeano** · 07-02-2009 04:17 PM

Originally Posted by spockman

I'd be happy to expiriment with that.

Yeah that would be great.
Post all the results in the research topic.

**spockman** · 07-03-2009 02:56 AM

I will definitely be one of the people who doesn't feel the shift yet has decent dream recall/does well with MILDs.

**panta-rei** · 07-03-2009 11:14 AM

Be sure to let walms know if you're doing his method. He wants to keep track of it all.

**Naiya** · 07-10-2009 02:31 PM

Hello researchers!

I've assigned the first couple of chapters as follows:

Chapter 2 -- Adrift

Chapter 3 -- Calum132

Chapter 2 should be fairly easy as far as research. The writer tells me he has a lot of knowledge about Jung. While lucid dreaming was not coined by Freud, he does mention them if I remember right. Please help this writer by finding out as much as you can on the history of lucid dreaming. This may not need to be limited to modern psychology, since people have been lucid dreaming long before the last century! There may be references in religious or spiritual texts on dreaming you can look up. I would like to present it in a way that doesn't give LDing a "woo" factor but just states that people have been doing in it many different kinds of contexts in all the cultures and ages.

Chapter 3: I'm hoping to include a lot about current knowledge on the physiology and psychology of sleep. I think this chapter can be stretched quite a bit. Spockman has already posted the beginnings of a piece on the current theories of dreaming that is looking good so far. Please also help him by corroborating his information.

We should try to find the best sources possible. It goes without saying that some guy's geocities page won't count as a good source. I'm not too worried about that since I know Kromoh will be leading this Dept.

Lastly, I will need your help when we are revising chapters. We will go over them together and look for factual errors, opinion-based statements, ect.

**Jeff777** · 07-10-2009 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by Naiya

Hello researchers!

I've assigned the first couple of chapters as follows:

Chapter 2 -- Adrift

Chapter 3 -- Calum132

Chapter 2 should be fairly easy as far as research. The writer tells me he has a lot of knowledge about Jung. While lucid dreaming was not coined by Freud, he does mention them if I remember right. Please help this writer by finding out as much as you can on the history of lucid dreaming. This may not need to be limited to modern psychology, since people have been lucid dreaming long before the last century! There may be references in religious or spiritual texts on dreaming you can look up. I would like to present it in a way that doesn't give LDing a "woo" factor but just states that people have been doing in it many different kinds of contexts in all the cultures and ages.

Chapter 3: I'm hoping to include a lot about current knowledge on the physiology and psychology of sleep. I think this chapter can be stretched quite a bit. Spockman has already posted the beginnings of a piece on the current theories of dreaming that is looking good so far. Please also help him by corroborating his information.

We should try to find the best sources possible. It goes without saying that some guy's geocities page won't count as a good source. I'm not too worried about that since I know Kromoh will be leading this Dept.

Lastly, I will need your help when we are revising chapters. We will go over them together and look for factual errors, opinion-based statements, ect.

mrdeano and Kromoh, please PM every member in your research department the above post from Naiya so that they know it's time to report for duty.

It goes without saying that some guy's geocities page won't count as a good source.

This made me laugh out loud.

**mrdeano** · 07-10-2009 04:40 PM

Chapter 2

When I wake tomorrow, I will research into each of these.
But in the mean time here is a nice list that sums up some of the history of lucid dreaming.

http://www.luciddreamlessons.com/200...ucid-dreaming/

Here is a condensed list of lucid dreaming over the centuries:

* 1000 BC - Upanishads - the Hindu oral tradition of spiritual lessons, philosophy, and proverbs include lucid dreaming.

* 1000 BC - Bonpo - the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet, claims that lucid dreaming has been used during meditations for over 12000 years.

* 1000 BC - Vigyan Bhairav Tantra - another ancient Hindu region that describes how to become conscious during a dream.

* 350 BC - Aristotle wrote, “when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which tells us that what presents itself is but a dream.”

* 3rd Century - Saint Denys a Christian martyr and saint claims to have been was a prolific conscious dreamer.

* 415 A.D - St. Augustine a Christian philosopher and priest referred to lucid dreams in a letter.

* 4th Century - Mohammed’s Laylat al-Miraj is an account of a nighttime vision that provided him with spiritual initiation.

* 8th Century - Tibetan Buddhists - The Tibetan Book of the Dead described of a form of yoga designed to become conscious while dreaming.

* 12th century - Sufi Ib El-Arabi from Spain suggested that controlling thought in dreams is an essential skill for aspiring mystics.

* 15th Century - Sir Thomas Browne a philosopher and physician stated his ability to lucid dream.

* 15th Century - Rene Descartes French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer wrote avidly about his lucid dreams in a private journal known as the Olympica.

* 17th Century - Pierre Gassendi and Thomas Reid two philosophers who discussed becoming awake while dreaming.

* 1867 - Marquis d’Hervey de Saint-Denys published his book Dreams and How to Guide Them.

* 1913 - Frederick Van Eeden wrote A Study of Dreams on lucid dreaming to the Society for Psychical Research. He coined the term “lucid dreaming.”

* 1935 - Walter Y. Evans-Wentz translates a section of the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

* 1977 - Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D continues to do a tremendous amount of research on the topic of lucid dreaming today.

I admit that my research was short, but my intention was to provide you with a general idea of how much lucid dreaming occurred throughout the ages. I am quite positive that my list only includes a small amount of those that practiced lucid dreaming. Volumes could be written on this subject. I’m most certainly open to any feedback on my concise research of lucid dreaming.

**Kromoh** · 07-10-2009 08:57 PM

Yah Deano, thanks for taking care of that. Pretty much. Also, don't forget to skim through as many sources as possible - you have to open a lot of shells to find the hidden pearls.

-

The science and physiology of sleep chapter is something I really would like to make as scientifically accurate as possible.

Finally, let's be selective about our sources. Just because someone said something doesn't mean it's true.

-

RIP Michael Jackson. Just listened to a whole album today.

**Naiya** · 07-12-2009 03:03 PM

Kromoh, I'll be doing Chapter 3, and I'm starting it now. I could definitely use your help with the research and making everything accurate. I have a rough outline so far here:

http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...06#post1129306

**mrdeano** · 07-17-2009 08:45 AM

- Tibetan Monks and lucid dreaming -
Here is some sources talking about Tibetan monks and enlightenment. (Click to see the source)

One can even follow in the footsteps of Tibetan monks who master lucid dreaming as a spiritual illumination stepping stone on the path to enlightenment.

Dream Reader by Anthony Shafton -

Another, more specific technique is dream recollection. Tibetan Buddhists believe that during dreams the self travels to places it has been and repeats past experiences. For this reason, it is an important practice to meditate upon recent experiences and dreams. During this time the body must remain perfectly still since any movement will disrupt the astral body, causing the mind to lose the memories. When training the mind and body to undergo lucid dreaming, it is important to not give up or lose patience. The mind must be free of all dissuading thoughts and able to let go of negativity.
Lucid dreaming has occurred for over 1,000 years and is known by Tibetan Buddhists as dream yoga. They use it to achieve a heightened sense of being and to awaken the consciousness in the dream state. During this awareness, their ultimate goal is to harness the power within lucid dreaming in order to move onto the next level on their path by completing several steps.
Once the power of lucid dreaming is harnessed Tibetan Buddhists aspire to practice sadhana, obtain empowerments and initiations, travel to different places, correspond with an enlightened being, meet with others, be able to fly and shape shift into different forms.
It is believed that by apprehending the dream and becoming consciously aware, the body is removed of any physical stimuli and the mind is removed of conceptual stimuli usually provided by the dream. In this state, one can reach the purest form of conscious awareness.

http://www.buddhagroove.net/2009/04/lucid-dreaming.html

Our dreams also provide an opportunity for mindfulness of death. In Tibetan Buddhist death literature it is said that at the moment offalling asleep one experiences a moment of clear light like the one thatarises at the time of death. Moreover, the dream state is like the bardo, since in dreams one often conceives of oneself in a body and undergoes vivid experiences that are creations of mind, just as beings in thebardo do. Waking from a dream is similar to rebirth, since the illusorydream body passes away and we awaken to a new "reality." Becauseof these similarities, dream yoga is said to be an important method forgaining control over the production of mental images, a skill that isextremely useful in the bardo.4

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...and/dying.html

**adrift** · 07-17-2009 07:57 PM

reporting. i will start my research with a survey of our dreaming mind by robert van de castle . sorry i've been off beat a little lately .. was dealing with some personal issues. where should i post my notes?

**Jeff777** · 07-17-2009 08:17 PM

Originally Posted by adrift

reporting. i will start my research with a survey of our dreaming mind by robert van de castle . sorry i've been off beat a little lately .. was dealing with some personal issues. where should i post my notes?

In here is fine

. Or if you prefer creating a thread , you're more than welcome to keep your stuff there as well. If you are going to do that, be sure and link your stuff in here.

**adrift** · 07-17-2009 11:15 PM

Our Dreaming Mind - Robert van De Castle
History of Lucid Dreaming
from Pgs. 440 - 443

Spoiler for book:

leads for further research:

- Lucid Dreaming - Stephen LaBerge
- Saint Augustine's Letter/Gennadius
- Tibetan Buddhism (Mr.Deano already has some notes on this)
- Lucid Dreaming in Islam
- Federick Van Eden, 1913 publication
- Carlos Castanada, PAtricia Garfield - other works that brought Lucid Dreaming in contemporary light

sorry about using photos, i don't have a scanner.

**adrift** · 07-18-2009 12:52 AM

Source:
Letter 159 (A.D. 415)
New Advent
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102159.htm

note: this is Saint Augustine's Letter which discussed Gennadius's Lucid Dream

To Evodius, My Lord Most Blessed, My Venerable and Beloved Brother...

...3. I will narrate briefly, however, one fact which I commend to your meditation. You know our brother Gennadius, a physician, known to almost every one, and very dear to us, who now lives at Carthage, and was in other years eminent as a medical practitioner at Rome. You know him as a man of religious character and of very great benevolence, actively compassionate and promptly liberal in his care of the poor. Nevertheless, even he, when still a young man, and most zealous in these charitable acts, had sometimes, as he himself told me, doubts as to whether there was any life after death. Forasmuch, therefore, as God would in no wise forsake a man so merciful in his disposition and conduct, there appeared to him in sleep a youth of remarkable appearance and commanding presence, who said to him: "Follow me." Following him, he came to a city where he began to hear on the right hand sounds of a melody so exquisitely sweet as to surpass anything he had ever heard. When he inquired what it was, his guide said: "It is the hymn of the blessed and the holy." What he reported himself to have seen on the left hand escapes my remembrance. He awoke; the dream vanished, and he thought of it as only a dream.

4. On a second night, however, the same youth appeared to Gennadius, and asked whether he recognised him, to which he replied that he knew him well, without the slightest uncertainty. Thereupon he asked Gennadius where he had become acquainted with him. There also his memory failed him not as to the proper reply: he narrated the whole vision, and the hymns of the saints which, under his guidance, he had been taken to hear, with all the readiness natural to recollection of some very recent experience. On this the youth inquired whether it was in sleep or when awake that he had seen what he hadjust narrated. Gennadius answered: "In sleep." The youth then said: "You remember it well; it is true that you saw these things in sleep, but I would have you know that even now you are seeing in sleep." Hearing this, Gennadius was persuaded of its truth, and in his reply declared that he believed it. Then his teacher went on to say: "Where is your body now?" He answered: "In my bed." "Do you know," said the youth, "that the eyes in this body of yours are now bound and closed, and at rest, and that with these eyes you are seeing nothing?" He answered: "I know it." "What, then," said the youth, "are the eyes with which you see me?" He, unable to discover what to answer to this, was silent. While he hesitated, the youth unfolded to him what he was endeavoring to teach him by these questions, and immediately said: "As while you are asleep and lying on your bed these eyes of your body are now unemployed and doing nothing, and yet you have eyes with which you behold me, and enjoy this vision, so, after your death, while your bodily eyes shall be wholly inactive, there shall be in you a life by which you shall still live, and a faculty of perception by which you shall still perceive. Beware, therefore, after this ofharbouring doubts as to whether the life of man shall continue after death. " This believer says that by this means all doubts as to this matter were removed from him. By whom was he taught this but by the merciful, providential care of God?

**marcc** · 07-18-2009 03:34 AM

http://www.lunarsight.com/freq.htm brainwave frequencies and the like

Spoiler for frequencies BEWARE [MASSIVE]:

and some shameless self-advertising: ok, so the people (all three of us

) involved in the experiment in my sig will start providing the data soon. I'll probably nag them through a pm, although the results might not be so conclusive due to our massive turnout

join us please! sunday is the last day you can start and finish within the deadline!

**mrdeano** · 07-19-2009 07:50 AM

Stages of sleep

Spoiler for long post:

Sleep Cycles

Until the 1950s, most people thought of sleep as a passive, dormant part of our daily lives. We now know that our brains are very active during sleep. Moreover, sleep affects our daily functioning and our physical and mental health in many ways that we are just beginning to understand.
Nerve-signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters control whether we are asleep or awake by acting on different groups of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain. Neurons in the brainstem, which connects the brain with the spinal cord, produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine that keep some parts of the brain active while we are awake. Other neurons at the base of the brain begin signaling when we fall asleep. These neurons appear to "switch off" the signals that keep us awake. Research also suggests that a chemical called adenosine builds up in our blood while we are awake and causes drowsiness. This chemical gradually breaks down while we sleep.
During sleep, we usually pass through five phases of sleep: stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. These stages progress in a cycle from stage 1 to REM sleep, then the cycle starts over again with stage 1 (see figure 1 ). We spend almost 50 percent of our total sleep time in stage 2 sleep, about 20 percent in REM sleep, and the remaining 30 percent in the other stages. Infants, by contrast, spend about half of their sleep time in REM sleep.
During stage 1, which is light sleep, we drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened easily. Our eyes move very slowly and muscle activity slows. People awakened from stage 1 sleep often remember fragmented visual images. Many also experience sudden muscle contractions called hypnic myoclonia, often preceded by a sensation of starting to fall. These sudden movements are similar to the "jump" we make when startled. When we enter stage 2 sleep, our eye movements stop and our brain waves (fluctuations of electrical activity that can be measured by electrodes) become slower, with occasional bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles. In stage 3, extremely slow brain waves called delta waves begin to appear, interspersed with smaller, faster waves. By stage 4, the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. It is very difficult to wake someone during stages 3 and 4, which together are called deep sleep. There is no eye movement or muscle activity. People awakened during deep sleep do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes after they wake up. Some children experience bedwetting, night terrors, or sleepwalking during deep sleep.
When we switch into REM sleep, our breathing becomes more rapid, irregular, and shallow, our eyes jerk rapidly in various directions, and our limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure rises, and males develop penile erections. When people awaken during REM sleep, they often describe bizarre and illogical tales – dreams.
The first REM sleep period usually occurs about 70 to 90 minutes after we fall asleep. A complete sleep cycle takes 90 to 110 minutes on average. The first sleep cycles each night contain relatively short REM periods and long periods of deep sleep. As the night progresses, REM sleep periods increase in length while deep sleep decreases. By morning, people spend nearly all their sleep time in stages 1, 2, and REM.
People awakened after sleeping more than a few minutes are usually unable to recall the last few minutes before they fell asleep. This sleep-related form of amnesia is the reason people often forget telephone calls or conversations they've had in the middle of the night. It also explains why we often do not remember our alarms ringing in the morning if we go right back to sleep after turning them off.
Since sleep and wakefulness are influenced by different neurotransmitter signals in the brain, foods and medicines that change the balance of these signals affect whether we feel alert or drowsy and how well we sleep. Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and drugs such as diet pills and decongestants stimulate some parts of the brain and can cause insomnia, or an inability to sleep. Many antidepressants suppress REM sleep. Heavy smokers often sleep very lightly and have reduced amounts of REM sleep. They also tend to wake up after 3 or 4 hours of sleep due to nicotine withdrawal. Many people who suffer from insomnia try to solve the problem with alcohol – the so-called night cap. While alcohol does help people fall into light sleep, it also robs them of REM and the deeper, more restorative stages of sleep. Instead, it keeps them in the lighter stages of sleep, from which they can be awakened easily.
People lose some of the ability to regulate their body temperature during REM, so abnormally hot or cold temperatures in the environment can disrupt this stage of sleep. If our REM sleep is disrupted one night, our bodies don't follow the normal sleep cycle progression the next time we doze off. Instead, we often slip directly into REM sleep and go through extended periods of REM until we "catch up" on this stage of sleep.
People who are under anesthesia or in a coma are often said to be asleep. However, people in these conditions cannot be awakened and do not produce the complex, active brain wave patterns seen in normal sleep. Instead, their brain waves are very slow and weak, sometimes all but undetectable.

fig 1

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/b...namic_activity

Usually sleepers pass through five stages: 1, 2, 3, 4 and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. These stages progress cyclically from 1 through REM then begin again with stage 1. A complete sleep cycle takes an average of 90 to 110 minutes. The first sleep cycles each night have relatively short REM sleeps and long periods of deep sleep but later in the night, REM periods lengthen and deep sleep time decreases.
Stage 1 is light sleep where you drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened easily. In this stage, the eyes move slowly and muscle activity slows. During this stage, many people experience sudden muscle contractions preceded by a sensation of falling.
In stage 2, eye movement stops and brain waves become slower with only an occasional burst of rapid brain waves. When a person enters stage 3, extremely slow brain waves called delta waves are interspersed with smaller, faster waves. In stage 4, the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. Stages 3 and 4 are referred to as deep sleep, and it is very difficult to wake someone from them. In deep sleep, there is no eye movement or muscle activity. This is when some children experience bedwetting, sleepwalking or night terrors.
In the REM period, breathing becomes more rapid, irregular and shallow, eyes jerk rapidly and limb muscles are temporarily paralyzed. Brain waves during this stage increase to levels experienced when a person is awake. Also, heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, males develop erections and the body loses some of the ability to regulate its temperature. This is the time when most dreams occur, and, if awoken during REM sleep, a person can remember the dreams. Most people experience three to five intervals of REM sleep each night.
Infants spend almost 50% of their time in REM sleep. Adults spend nearly half of sleep time in stage 2, about 20% in REM and the other 30% is divided between the other three stages. Older adults spend progressively less time in REM sleep.

As sleep research is still a relatively young field, scientists did not discover REM sleep until 1953 when new machines were developed to monitor brain activity. Before this discovery it was believed that most brain activity ceased during sleep. Since then, scientists have also disproved the idea that deprivation of REM sleep can lead to insanity and have found that lack of REM sleep can alleviate clinical depression although they do not know why. Recent theories link REM sleep to learning and memory.

http://www.sleepdex.org/stages.htm