Overview
Summer Reading
Science & Study of Dreaming:
Week 1: Lucid Dreaming Basics / Introduction to Dream Science
Week 2: Methods of Studying Sleep- Language, Qualitative and Quantitative
History of LD:
Week 3: History of Spirituality/Religion and Dreaming
Week 4: Early Scientific Approaches to LD
Week 5: LD in Pop Culture
Exploration of Consciousness in LD:
Week 6: Conscious States
Week 7: Substances and LD - Psychedelic Experience
Week 8: Practices of LD in Spirituality/Religion
Week 9: Break
Week 10: Philosophy of LD
The Practice of LD: I think only those in our group who are already experienced lucid dreamers should teach these classes:
Week 11:Therapeutic Applications of LD, connections between lucid dreams and meditation
Week 12: Sex and Love in LD
Week 13: Learning & Logic in LD
Full Fledged Syllabus: (please make edits)
Summer Reading:
Waking Life
Science & Study of Dreaming:
Week 1: Lucid Dreaming Basics / Introduction to Dream Science
Instructor(s)
TBA
Questions and Goals
What are the fundamental principles of studying sleep and dreams? We should reach an adequate understanding of the fundamentals of dream and sleep science.
Required Reading
Kelley Bulkeley - An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreams (Chapter 1)
Celia Green and Charles McCreery - Lucid Dreaming
Chapter 1: Definitions, Illustrations, and Historical Background
Chapter 2: Lucid and Non-Lucid Dreams Compared
Chapter 3: The Pre-Lucid State
Chapter 10: Two areas of Difficulty: reading and switching off lights (Chapters 1,2,3,10)
Stephen LaBerge - "How to Remember Your Dreams"
Film
"Waking Life" (2001)
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Basic Dream Remembering/Recording Protocol
Basic Checking - A few well-known checking techniques, such as the light-switch trick and the clock trick will be taught in order to get students started on habituating checking.
Week 2: Methods of Studying Sleep- Language, Qualitative and Quantitative
Instructor(s)
TBA
Questions and Goals
Now that we have a basic understanding of what an individual is going through during sleep on a neurological and physiological level, we'll delve into the scientific research techniques that allowed scientists to reach these conclusions.
Required Reading
Hoyt, I.P., Kihlstrom, J.F. and Nadon, R.Hypnotic- prolucid, lucid and night dreaming: Individual differences. (Journal of Mental Imagery pp. 147–153.)
Paulsson, Timo, and Adrian Parker. "The Effects of a Two-Week Reflection-Intention Training Program on Lucid Dream Recall." Dreaming 16.1 (2006): 22-35. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Apr. 2010.
Robert Waggoner - Lucid Dreaming (Chapter on dream machine use)
Kelley Bulkeley - An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreams (Chapters 5, 6)
Recommended Reading
http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/lucidity.htm - Article on LD devices
Film
I Must Be Dreaming
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Checking II - Personalized checking techniques will be developed in class, so that students start to check in a way that fits their lifestyle.
History of Lucid Dreaming:
Week 3: History of Spirituality/Religion and Dreaming
Instructor(s)
TBD
Questions and Goals
Lucid dream research began, as most science did, in the spiritual realm. What were initial ideas and experiences with lucid dreams? What cultural significance did they play? How are lucid dreams regarded in comparison to today's world?
Required Reading
Ivanhoe and Laozi - The Daodejing of Laozi
Harold D. Roth - Original Tao
Tibetan Book of the Dead (Selected Excerpts)
Varela, Francisco J., ed. Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying: An Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama. Boston, MA: Wisdom, 1997. (Chapters 1,3,6)
Recommended Reading
Hua - Flower Adornment Sutra with Commentary
Documentary
Power of Dreams Part II: THE CREATIVE SPIRIT (1994)
Power of Dreams, Part III: SACRED SLEEP (1994)
Recommended Film
Frog Dreaming
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Meditation
Week 4: Early Scientific Approaches to Lucid Dreaming
Instructor(s)
TBD
Questions and Goals
What were the initial scientific approaches to Lucid Dreaming? What role did Freud play in changing the direction of the field? How can one begin to read signs in dreams and access the subconscious?
Required Reading
Freud - Interpretations of Dreams
Hervey deSaint Denis - "Dreams and How to Control Them"
Frederik van Eeden - "A Study of Dreams" (
http://www.lucidity.com/vanEeden.html)
Recommended Reading
Freud - Dream Psychology
Documentary
Power of Dreams, Part I: THE SEARCH FOR MEANING.(1994)
Recommended Film
What Dreams May Come
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Dream Symbol Recognition - Seeing someone who is famous, dead, or fantastical can be a good indicator that one is dreaming. We'll do some exercises geared towards making people question whether they are dreaming.
Week 5: LD in Pop Culture
Instructor(s)
TBA
Questions and Goals
How and why has lucid dreaming captivated popular culture only in recent years?
Required Reading
Bogzaran F. - Lucid Art and Hyperspace Lucidity
Film
Vanilla Sky
The Matrix
Donnie Darko
Recommended Film
Pan's Labyrinth
Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Napping - The light sleep in naps is a good time to go lucid. We'll learn the technique of focusing on the fact that one is about to fall asleep before a nap in order to gain lucidity.
Exploration of Consciousness in Lucid Dreams:
Week 6: Conscious States
Instructor(s)
TBA
Required Reading
Kelley Bulkeley - An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreams (Chapters 2, 3)
Celia Green and Charles McCreery - Lucid Dreaming (Chapters 4,5)
J. Allan Hobson - The Chemistry of Conscious States
Susan Blackmore - Consciousness
Chapter 1: What's the Problem?
Chapter 16: The Neural Correlates of Consciousness
Chapter 17: The Unity of Consciousness
Singer, Jerome L. (1978). Experimental studies of
daydreaming and the stream of thought. In Kenneth S.
Pope & Jerome Singer (Eds.), The Stream of
Consciousness: Scientific Investigations into the Flow
of Human Experience. NY: Plenum Press.
Recommended Reading
Jurgen Ziewe - Multidimensional Man
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Alternate Waking Conscious States - Observing the difference between the normal waking state and alternate waking states such as those induced by hypnosis and meditation can give valuable perspective towards the kind of differences in conscious experience to search for in order to identify that one is in a dream.
Week 7: Lucid Dreaming as an Exceptional Conscious State
Instructor(s)
TBD
Questions and Goals
This is a continuation of the discussion of lucid dreaming in the context of conscious states, and focuses on the relationship between dream states and those achieved through substance use, near death experience, or other exceptional circumstances.
Required Reading
Celia Green and Charles McCreery - Lucid Dreaming (Chapters 6,7)
Susan Blackmore - Consciousness
Chapter 22: Drugs and Altered States
Chapter 23: Sleep, Dreams, and Hypnotic States
Chapter 24: Exceptional Human Experience
Thomas Yuschak - Advanced Lucid Dreaming: The Power of Supplements (Selected Chapters)
Barbanoj, Manel, et al. "Daytime Ayahuasca administration modulates REM and slow-wave sleep in healthy volunteers." Psychopharmacology 196.2 (2008): 315-326.
Recommended Reading
Rick Strassman - DMT: The Spirit Molecule
Film
Jacob's Ladder
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Dream Enhancing Foods - Certain foods are said to enhance vividness of dreams, and even chances of becoming lucid. In class, we'll learn about what these foods are, and hopefully try some.
Week 8: Practices of LD in Spirituality/Religion and Interfaith Considerations
Instructor(s)
TBD
Questions and Goals
This is a deeper look into the spiritual roots of Lucid Dreaming. The mysticism was the science of the day. And late in the course we will compare historical experiences with contemproary ones.
Required Reading
Namkai Norbu - Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light
Tibetan Book of the Dead (Excerpt)
Varela, Francisco J., ed. Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying: An Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama. Boston, MA: Wisdom, 1997. (Chapters 4,5)
Stephen LaBerge et al - “An Hour of Wakefulness Before Morning Naps Makes Lucidity More Likely."
Recommended Reading
Wallace, B.A. - Intersubjectivity in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Stutter Sleep - As per the mentioned study by LaBerge, it has been observed that waking up early, fully waking up by walking around, and then going back to sleep can provide a good conscious environment for achieving lucidity.
Week 9: Break
Week 10: Philosophy of LD
Instructor(s)
TBD
Questions and Goals
Required Reading
Varela, Francisco J., ed. Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying: An Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama. Boston, MA: Wisdom, 1997. (Chapters 7,8)
Recommended Reading
Hermann, The glass bead game (Joseph Knecht's Posthumous writings pg 430-558)
Film
The Fountain
Mirrormask
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Perpetuating Lucidity - At this point in the semester, some students are likely to be capable of achieving lucidity, but will have trouble maintaining it. There are a variety of techniques including in-dream muscle relaxation and spinning that can help to extend lucidity.
The Practice of Lucid Dreaming:
Week 11:Therapeutic Applications of LD, connections between lucid dreams and meditation
Instructor(s)
TBA
Required Reading
Danya McKean - Lucid Dream Therapy As A Treatment For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Alexander, C. - Dream lucidity and dream witnessing
Gackenbach, J. I. - Interhemispheric EEG coherence in Rem sleep and meditation
Spoormarker V, Bout J, Meijer E. - Lucid Dreaming Treatment for Nightmares
Celia Green and Charles McCreery - Lucid Dreaming (Chapters 12,13)
Recommended Reading
Stephen LaBerge - Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, Chapter 6
Recommended Film
Videodrome
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Machine Assisted Dreaming - We'll explore different devices which have been developed to promote lucid dreaming, and use the dream lab time to build our own such machines, or experiment with them if we can find some pre-made.
Week 12: Sex and Love in LD
Instructor(s)
TBA
Required Reading
Celia Green and Charles McCreery - Lucid Dreaming (Chapter 9)
Stephen LaBerge - Lucidity Research: Past and Future
Linda Lane Magallon - Mutual Dreaming
Michel Jouvet - The Paradox of Sleep, pp. 169-173 "The Erection of Dreaming"
Film
eXistenZ
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Increasing Vividness - Lucid dreaming often becomes a blurry and indefinite experience. While this can be rewarding, it is worth examining techniques which allow dreamers to sculpt a realistic and vivid dream world while lucid.
Week 13: Learning & Logic in LD
Instructor(s)
TBA
Required Reading
Quantum Psychology by Robert Anton Wilson
Susan Blackmore - Consciousness, p. 340
(1981). Access to hidden reserves of the
unconscious through dreams in creative problem solving.
Journal of Creative Behavior, 15(1), 11-23.
Recommended Reading
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman" - Richard Feynman (One chapter on LD)
Recommended Film
The Science of Sleep
Lucid Dreaming Technique
Creative Dreaming - Lucid dreaming is a great time for creative exploration, and even learning. We'll focus on different ways to use our lucid dreaming skills productively.
