Thread: lucid dreaming book

Originally Posted by arby

No, not angry. =( I probably seem a little heavy handed but thats the way I make a point =O.




Sorry, i'm really not trying to attack your ideas. From what i'd seen in this thread, thats where it looked like it was going. You evidently don't feel very warmly to what i've said. Perhaps it was the way I wrote it perhaps its the content... but do consider what i've said, eh?

I'm sure the book will be good either way. (like I said, I think your intro was pretty sexy) But promise me you won't copy pasta tutorials and say "All the required knowledge is in here! Go learn!". Instead what I suggest is to break off the main ideas from each (most have similar ones) and put those together.

Did I even say that last time? I dunno. Perhaps thats why I fail in english. But thats the point I really wanted to get across.

Your concerns/thoughts/ideas will be taken into consideration Arby, thank you.

Originally Posted by Kromoh

@ GestaltAlteration and the other writers:
If you are to upload a document, add copyright to the bottom of it. That's jus tto make sure: I wouldn't want to see material leaking on the web

Can do.

Sorry for the wait fellas, I'll kick it up a notch here.

And Arby don't worry about it, I overreacted.

so, am I going to get the history and research stuff, I'm just curiouse what it is.

Is anyone collecting bits and pieces that's being posted here to comprise a rough draft of the book? If not I don't mind doing it.

I think gestalt is doing that

Right, well I've done some of my own research and have taken things off here. What I'm posting here (and will post the tenative first chapter here very soon) is the rough draft. There's going to have to be a revision phase later to make it publishable since it's near impossible to get things perfect the first time through.

A chapter by chapter outline may be nice though. Right now chapter 1 looks like this--

- Lucid example
- Intro to lucid
-lucid and normal dreaming difference
- Why lucid dream?
- a light touch on the techniques (dream journal, dild, wild.)
- wrap it up with sleep cycles.
- final paragraph

I've self-named myself as secretary of the project [feels useful]

I'm really afraid I'm gonna lack time throughout this week. I'll have time to come and check the news, but I doubt I'll be able to contribute with anything worthy. In support of my excuse, here goes a list of my chores:

tests at school
english and spanish classes
specialization course
dancing classes
finish reading 2 books
development of a cultural fare (next saturday)
keyboard classes

Sugarglider, I hope I can help with your research. I'll think of chores later on.

Gestalt, great the overview sounds great. I hope the book does the same


According to our previous drafts, the following chapter then is about history and scientifical background of LDing. To think of it, maybe we'll need a chapter about dream recall before the techniques themselves. And then the first techniques into another chapter. As a note, I'd like to include e.g. visualisation, self awareness and consciousness, 61-point relaxation and all that interesting list to that chapter Which I believe to be one of the most important ones.

Welp, better than nothing. I feel some of the paragraphs don't transition into eachother that well. Anyone feel free to post edited paragraphs and such. It would be appreciated. This is open to any suggestions, so forth.

********************
I was in an apocalyptic version of my house. Everything around was ruins and brown, and the horizon was black and depressing. My father told me we had to get out of there, as it was no longer safe to hide at home. After some running, I faced what was supposed to be my school. It was also in ruins, and this time there were bodies all over. This view was so awful that I told myself "No, this can't be true! I was here yesterday and my school wasn't like this!". That sentence immediately brought up an intense feeling. I knew all I was seeing wasn't real.. but if it wasn't real, were was I? I took a closer look at my surroundings. Everything was mysteriously unknown but rather familiar at the same time. It could only be a dream. And it was. By the time I realized I was inside my own dream, and aware of it, I thought about the limitless possibilities the situation held. I was in charge of my own dream, and I could do anything I wanted to. That said, I looked around one other time and up. The sky seemed beautiful now, in a shade of blue I had never seen before. And so I took off, using a propelling jump to fly my way out of that ruined atmosphere. Flying seemed great: I could feel the wind on my face, and I could see the small buildings below me. At that moment, I was free, nothing could stop me. I could fly without wings, swim without breathing, lift cars and conjure explosions out of thin air. However, the most amazing bit in all that is, the dream was so real that anytime I could mistake it for reality; details filling my imagination with awe. It was like a second life, but a life in which I was the superhero.
--Lucid account by [real life name].

Exhilarating, freeing, and awe-inspiring are only a few ways to describe the wonder that is lucid dreaming. Through them everything is possible: you could fly over a sunbathed city, shift through walls, feel incredible joy, compose music, create your own worlds, and influence any aspect of your dream. The best news is this vast realm of possibility is available to any who peruse it. By the time you have finished this book you will have learned the fundamentals of lucid dreaming, the historical and scientific contexts, how to better remember your dreams, techniques to induce lucidity, various lucid aids and more.

The benefits to lucid dreaming is far greater than meets the eye. How much time do you spend asleep over your lifetime? Most people spend a third of their lives unconscious, missing out on grand opportunities to be as awake and alive as their waking life. Within lucidity the most obvious use is entertainment value, but digging deeper there are many therapeutic and psychological advantages to be found. Through lucidity you can absolve nightmares, face your fears, learn about yourself, gain artistic ideas and insights, boost confidence, problem solve and release a new level of freedom in your life.

Ask yourself, have you ever had a dream that you knew you were dreaming? If you answered yes than you have experienced the uniqueness of lucidity. You may have had pinched yourself trying to wake up, or ran to do something you couldn’t in waking life. Whatever the case chances are this dream sticks out in your mind. Comparatively a non-lucid dream is the kind most are familiar with. In the average dream it is like you were handed a movie script and told to play out your part exactly as it was written. The truth is the scenery, characters and situations are all generated by your subconscious, yet you believe everything, no matter how ridiculous, to be true to reality.

The first concept you will learn is the importance of a dream journal. This can be anything that stores information about your dreams from a simple spiral bound notebook, a computer or tape recorder. You will also find a vast toolbox of relaxation methods to more readily fall asleep. There will be proven methods to obtain lucidity within your dream, known as a dream induced lucid dream (DILD), and even ways to fall into a dream while still conscious; known as wake induced lucid dreams (WILDS). Also you will learn the best times of the night to gain lucidity and much more. The techniques will be suggestions you can use and expand upon, or even create ways on your own that best fits your lifestyle. Our goal is more than to teach you popular techniques, but to learn to lucid dream on your own and do so masterfully.

Finally, before we plunge into the vast study of lucid dreaming it is important to understand some principles of the sleeping cycle. The use of this may not be readily apparent to you, but the knowledge will help in all aspects including dream recall and the timing of various techniques. Most dream and sleep information is obtained through an electroencephalogram (EEG). This machine gives off distinctive rhythms, or waves, of resting neurons. From these waves the four stages of Non-REM sleep was classified. The following is the complete cycle the body goes through approximately every seventy to ninety minutes of sleep.

In stage one you slip into a light unconsciousness that lasts about ten minutes, classified by a theta wave pattern. At this point your body has come under a sleep paralysis that relaxes your muscles and ceases motor messages sent by your brain. Some of you may have experienced this phenomena, waking to find you are unable to move with a tingling or electric sensation through your body.

In stage two the EEG shows a change from theta waves into the slower beta waves. The bodies functions will slow, and a sleeper can easily be woken by sounds. Sudden spikes of brain activity is common in this stage called a sleep spindle or a greater peak called a K-complex.

Stage three is the beginning of deep sleep. This stage occurs after about thirty to forty five minutes of sleep. Brain activity has slowed into a delta wave pattern. This stage vanishes after about four and a half hours of sleeping.

Soon this will shift into stage four, the deepest sleep. Bodily functions decline in deep physical rest and delta waves are over fifty percent. This stage vanishes after about three hours of sleeping.

After stage four ends you will gradually move up the stages and enter stage one emergent, or more commonly know as REM (Rapid eye movement) sleep. Here the treasures of the subconscious are unearthed. You guessed it-- dreams. During REM your breathing is irregular, your eyes have burst of movement, your pulse rate increases and sleep paralysis holds all your major muscles in place. Your first dream period may last a short ten minutes before you begin the sleep cycle over again from stage 2. Fortunately as the night goes on stage three and four vanish, leaving REM periods longer (eventually up to an hour) and the time between them shorter.

Now then, you’re ready to begin your path to lucid knowledge. If you have never experienced a lucid dream before, take heart, it is only a matter of time and patience. Turn the page and step into the realm of lucid dreaming.

© Copyright 2007 Dreamviews education team. All rights reserved.

********************
I suggest illustrations like the ones below be used in the dream cycle part.



and

maybe switch paragraph 2 and 3, it makes a sense to me.

Done. Also a note I'm going to have to double check the information on the dream cycle, some minor things may be slightly inaccurate. (such as exact time when stage 3 and 4 disappear).

could add the 90 minutes the sleep cycle last

My personal contributions and adaptations in blue. comment placed between brackets.

********************
I was in an apocalyptic version of my house. Everything around was ruins and brown, and the horizon was black and depressing. My father told me we had to get out of there, as it was no longer safe to hide at home. After some running, I faced what was supposed to be my school. It was also in ruins, and this time there were bodies all over. This view was so awful that I told myself "No, this can't be true! I was here yesterday and my school wasn't like this!". That sentence immediately brought up an intense feeling. I knew all I was seeing wasn't real.. but if it wasn't real, were was I? I took a closer look at my surroundings. Everything was mysteriously unknown but rather familiar at the same time. It could only be a dream. And it was. By the time I realized I was inside my own dream, and aware of it, I thought about the limitless possibilities the situation held. I was in charge of my own dream, and I could do anything I wanted to. That said, I looked around one other time and up. The sky seemed beautiful now, in a shade of blue I had never seen before. And so I took off, using a propelling jump to fly my way out of that ruined atmosphere. Flying seemed great: I could feel the wind on my face, and I could see the small buildings below me. At that moment, I was free, nothing could stop me. I could fly without wings, swim without breathing, lift cars and conjure explosions out of thin air. However, the most amazing bit in all that is, the dream was so real that anytime I could mistake it for reality; details filling my imagination with awe. It was like a second life, but a life in which I was the superhero.
--Lucid account by [real life name].

Exhilarating, freeing, and awe-inspiring are only a few ways to describe the wonder that is lucid dreaming. Through them everything is possible: you could fly over a sunbathed city, shift through walls, feel incredible joy, compose music, create your own worlds, and influence any aspect of your dream. The best news is this vast realm of possibility is available to any who peruse it. By the time you have finished this book you will have learned the fundamentals of lucid dreaming, the historical and scientific contexts, how to better remember your dreams, techniques to induce lucidity, various lucid aids and more.

Ask yourself, have you ever had a dream that you knew you were dreaming? If you answered yes than you have experienced the uniqueness of lucidity. You may have had pinched yourself trying to wake up, or ran to do something you couldn’t in waking life. Whatever the case chances are this dream sticks out in your mind. Comparatively a non-lucid dream is the kind most are familiar with. In the average dream it is like you were handed a movie script and told to play out your part exactly as it was written. The truth is the scenery, characters and situations are all generated by your subconscious, yet you believe everything, no matter how ridiculous, to be true to reality.

The benefits to lucid dreaming is far greater than meets the eye. How much time do you spend asleep over your lifetime? Most people spend a third of their lives unconscious, missing out on grand opportunities to be as awake and alive as their waking life. Within lucidity the most obvious use is entertainment value, but digging deeper there are many therapeutic and psychological advantages to be found. Through lucidity you can absolve nightmares, face your fears, learn about yourself, gain artistic ideas and insights, boost confidence, problem solve and release a new level of freedom in your life.

In the endeavours for becoming lucid in your dreams, one important ability is the one to recall dreams. In our daily lives, our chores always stand in first place, leaving us few time to know ourselves better. In this tiring routine, many of us lose the ability to remember our dreams. One may even conclude that he or she doesn't dream anymore: that is hopefully not true. Everybody has an average of five dreams in a good night of sleep. Had this being the core of it, we would remember our dreams with great ease. But there is also the fact that, while we're having a regular dream, we're mostly unconscious. That makes recalling dreams a challenge of key importance to lucid dreaming. A good ability to recall dreams will not only increase your lucidity rate, but also make sure you do not forget your lucid dream, when you have one.

For improving this ability, there is a consensus that keeping a Dream Journal is of uttermost importance. It can be anything that stores information about your dreams from a simple spiral bound notebook, a computer or tape recorder. Considering the importance of dream recall, the topic will be expanded on the following chapters.

You will also find a vast toolbox of relaxation methods to more readily fall asleep, which do also hold great importance. These techniques will not provide you lucid directly, but are fundamental to the induction techniques themselves.

There will be scientifically proven methods to obtain lucidity within your dreams, whose purpose will be explained in detail. They are popularly named by the lucid dreaming community by the use of acronyms. For example, the most general technique, known as a dream induced lucid dream, is called DILD for short. Apart from those main techniques, you will learn many relevant pieces of information, such as the best time of the night to gain lucidity and much more. The whole extent of techniques will be, though, mostly guides you can use and expand upon. You may even create ways on your own that best fits your lifestyle. Lucid dreaming involves creativity: if one way doesn't seem to work for you, then you can adapt it and make you own method. The goal behind this book is more than just to teach you popular techniques; it is aimed to have you learn to lucid dream on your own and do so masterfully. All said, lucidity is more of a personal achievement rather than learnt techniques.

[[moved from the bottom]]Now then, you’re ready to begin your path to lucid knowledge. If you have never experienced a lucid dream before, take heart, it is only a matter of time and patience. Turn the page and step into the realm of lucid dreaming.

[[new chapter suggested here: The aspects of dreaming]]

Before we plunge into the vast study of lucid dreaming it is important to understand some principles of the sleeping cycle. The use of this may not be readily apparent to you, but the knowledge will help in all aspects including dream recall and the timing of various techniques.

Most dream and sleep information is obtained through an electroencephalogram (EEG). This machine gives off distinctive rhythms, or waves, of resting neurons. From these waves the four stages of Non-REM sleep were classified. The following is the complete cycle the body goes through approximately every seventy to ninety minutes of sleep.

In stage one, which means soon after falling asleep, you slip into a light unconsciousness that lasts about ten minutes, classified by a theta wave pattern. At this point your body has come under a sleep paralysis that relaxes your muscles and ceases motor messages sent by your brain. This is thought to be for preventing involultary movements that could get your sleeping self hurt. Some of you may have experienced this phenomena, waking to find you are unable to move at all; while experiencing a tingling or electric sensation through your body.

In stage two the EEG shows a change from theta waves into the slower beta waves. The bodies functions will slow, and a sleeper can easily be woken by sounds. Sudden spikes of brain activity are common in this stage, called sleep spindles, or a greater peak called a K-complex. [[Sincerely, unless you can explain what this changes in your sleep, I don't see a reason to add it]]

Stage three is the beginning of deep sleep. This stage occurs after about thirty to forty five minutes of sleep. Brain activity has slowed into a delta wave pattern. This stage vanishes after about four and a half hours of sleeping.

Soon this will shift into stage four, the deepest sleep. Bodily functions decline in deep physical rest and delta waves are over fifty percent. This stage vanishes after about three hours of sleeping.

After stage four ends you will gradually move up the stages and enter stage one emergent, or more commonly know as REM (Rapid eye movement) sleep. Here the treasures of the subconscious are unearthed. You guessed it-- dreams. During REM your breathing is irregular, your eyes have burst of movement, your pulse rate increases and sleep paralysis holds all your major muscles in place. Your first dream period may last a short ten minutes before you begin the sleep cycle over again from stage 2. Fortunately as the night goes on stage three and four vanish, leaving REM periods longer (eventually up to an hour) and the time between them shorter.

© Copyright 2007 Dreamviews education team. All rights reserved.

********************

Originally Posted by GestaltAlteration

I suggest illustrations like the ones below be used in the dream cycle part.



and

The illustrations are great: just make sure you list the source you took them from.

Also, list any material you used for consultation into a reference section at the end of the book. (this is valid for all writers) A work is more coherent and accurate when based on reliable sources.

If you dislike any of my changes, or want to comment on them, feel free. I can take criticism nicely.

@Gestalt:
Adding a new chapter doesn't mean any of them is over. All I believe is that the sleep cycle thing is too deep for a first chapter.

Also, revising the sleep cycle information, as you mentioned, is always recommended.

Lastly, I edited this from your posted version. If you made any chanegs since, they might not be in the section.

Enthusiatic hugs,

Originally Posted by arby

No, not angry. =( I probably seem a little heavy handed but thats the way I make a point =O.




Sorry, i'm really not trying to attack your ideas. From what i'd seen in this thread, thats where it looked like it was going. You evidently don't feel very warmly to what i've said. Perhaps it was the way I wrote it perhaps its the content... but do consider what i've said, eh?

I'm sure the book will be good either way. (like I said, I think your intro was pretty sexy) But promise me you won't copy pasta tutorials and say "All the required knowledge is in here! Go learn!". Instead what I suggest is to break off the main ideas from each (most have similar ones) and put those together.

Did I even say that last time? I dunno. Perhaps thats why I fail in english. But thats the point I really wanted to get across.

I think gestalt spoke for all of us with her reply. We don't intend to just copy and paste tutorials, we intend to go in depth with each method, showing poll results in how many found them useful, ease of use, and so on, while also incorporating personal experiences. This is the plan. So I don't see how it's going to be mediocre. We WILL appreciate constructive advice and criticism, but only if people will give advice as to how to improve it instead of just bashing it.

To Oneironaut: Thanks for inviting me on the team

To gestalt: I got a lot of different stuff from a lot of different places. Trust me, you don't have to use it all or even a quarter of it for the chapter, just what you want to use.

To everyone: I really wanted to use Seeker's guide too; I've PMed him about advertising in the forum and getting a separate forum for the project, yet to get a reply though.

Originally Posted by Needcatscan

To everyone: I really wanted to use Seeker's guide too; I've PMed him about advertising in the forum and getting a separate forum for the project, yet to get a reply though.

Seems Seeker hasn't been online lately. Still, a separate forum would be a great idea (although I believe it should be invite-only... just to protect the information a little bit and make sure only the interested people join)

I didn't think the dream cycles really fit either, but I didn't see anywhere else it would be placed. The new chapter idea is good, it just depends on if we have enough information to put in it.

Otherwise thank you very much for the editing. I'm making notes of sources and the like and will make the appropriate changes to the text. Are we happy with this chapter length, though? Since it is introductionary and most of the content in the book is talked about I don't know what else to put that won't be put in later on. We don't want to go too in depth about the techniques to save room for expounding later.

I could make a forum area for this, all I need to do is have seeker turn me into and admin

I believe it is great the way it is. If we feel the need to, we can always come back at it.

For now I say it's done.

Regarding the next chapter, I could elaborate soem text explaining the current views on what dreams are, their characteristics, influence on daily lives... Mayeb even explanation on unconsicous and conscious processes

Sounds good. So it's agreed to add the new chapter then, and have history as chapter 3?

Maybe we could make that chapter 3 and history 2. Hrm..

Either way the text would be greatly helpful.

Actually, now that you mention it, history 2 and dream aspects 3 sounds way better

Hey! Me thinks you guys are keeping this a secret and I want in! lol

If you need any help, let me know. I'm kind of a jack of all trades...

we already have that, its jeff777

Originally Posted by sugarglider11

we already have that, its jeff777

:< what about me xD



In Brazil, the correspondent for "jack of all trades" is "wood for every construction"... way nicer huh?

now back on topic

Citizen, you are more than welcome to the team. Although roles aren't really decided yet, you can always start up a new pursuit
Any contribution is appreciated.

citizen, you could get some more tehcs that are not just plane dild mild wild or wbtb

hey!

Great Idea you have here I really like what you lot are doing

Just a random thing...when I talk to people about lucid dreaming I often find that I have to explain how dreams themselves work...you know schemas and the likes of that pshycological stuff. I t helps when explaining to people about this to make them understand how the dream works before talking about anything else. Would it not be useful to include some of that stuff in the bokk.


I personally am not trying to involve myself in this just thought I would offer a suggestion please feel free to ignore lol...cant wait to see what else you come up with