Chapter 2: History of Lucid Dreaming

[sourcejedi]

I think this chapter has stalled. I'm seeing if we can get anywhere on it by taking it one event at a time, then they can be combined later.

[sourcejedi]

The term "lucid dreaming" was coined by Dutch author and psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden in his 1913 article A Study of Dreams. The word lucid is derived from the latin word for clear; psychologists use it to refer to clarity of mind. For example, a patient might be said to suffer from prolonged bouts of schizophrenia alternating with brief lucid intervals. In a fully lucid dream you have access to all your mental faculties; your memory of what just happened, logical reasoning, skills and knowledge from waking life. If you read an account of a non-lucid dream [[insert example below]], the faculties of the dreamer often seem somewhat impaired, and it's easy to draw parallels with mental illness. -- It's interesting to know where the term comes from, and it helps demonstrate that lucid dreaming has been a subject of minority interest for quite some time. Please edit/comment mercilessly.

[Kromoh]

It's great to know someone released his sword and cut the first steps through this chapter. This is a dense one, so we might need to camp a few days. Nonsense left apart, the origin of the term "lucid dreaming" is a hell of a first topic for the chapter. Maybe I could develop something, but right now I'm going for my polyphasic nap. When I'm back I'll post whatever is worthy.

[Kromoh]

Ok ok, chapter 2 is a delicate (and potentially annoying) chapter to write. But I think I'll be picking it up: if I don't, I doubt other people ever will (typical perfeccionist heh?). I'll probbaly have time by the end of this week, so why not?

[sourcejedi]

Ok ok, chapter 2 is a delicate (and potentially annoying) chapter to write. Really? Maybe writing history isn't as interesting as the more instructive chapters, but I wouldn't have thought it was a very controversial one, and the history is well documented outside of, um, specific books (), so it's not hard to avoid plagarism (stealing :-)) for this one. But I think I'll be picking it up: if I don't, I doubt other people ever will (typical perfeccionist heh?). I'll probbaly have time by the end of this week, so why not? More power to you. You could post a timeline while you're doing the research, would let me help if I spotted anything interesting, before you'd described each event in detail and threaded it all together.

[Kromoh]

I like the idea of the timeline for organisation purposes, but I'm in favour of plain text for this chapter. Tomorow is friday and I'll have time to start writing it. Today is just not a good day.

[Needcatscan]

Ok ok, chapter 2 is a delicate (and potentially annoying) chapter to write. But I think I'll be picking it up: if I don't, I doubt other people ever will (typical perfeccionist heh?). I'll probbaly have time by the end of this week, so why not? Oh thank god! Thanks Kromoh, between family, college, and work I really wouldn't be able to find the time until winter break.

[Needcatscan]

Here's some info I've gathered. Marquis d'Hervey de Saint-Denys – 19th century Hervey de Saint Denys has recently started to be known for his introspective studies on dreams. He wrote down his dreams on a daily basis from the age of 13. In 1867, he anonymously published Les rêves et les moyens de les diriger; observations pratiques (Dreams and the Ways to Direct Them[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Jeremy/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif[/IMG]ractical Observations). In this book, he proposed techniques to control dreams, and he described dreams in which the "dreamer is perfectly aware he is dreaming". This particular state of consciousness later came to be called lucid dreaming. In 1867, he first published his book Dreams and how to Guide Them, in which he documented more than twenty years of his own research into dreams. In the book, the Marquis describes the sequential development of his ability to control his dreams, first increasing his dream recall, then becoming aware that he was dreaming. Lastly, he tells us how he became able to awaken from his dreams at will. The Marquis d'Hervey de Saint-Denys was probably the first person to demonstrate that it is possible for anyone to learn to dream consciously. Frederik Willems Van Eeden – 19th-20th centuries He coined the term "lucid dreams" to those dreams where the dreamer knows that they are dreaming. Though he was interested in all aspects of dreaming, he found that these lucid dreams aroused his keenest interest. At first he presented his ideas in a fictional book entitled The Bride of Dreams, because the fictional guise allowed him to freely deal with delicate matters. Then, in 1913, he presented a paper on lucid dreams to the Society for Psychical Research reporting on 352 of his lucid dreams collected between 1898 and 1912 In the paper, he describes the 8 classifications of dream, including wrong waking-ups (more commonly known today as false awakenings) and demon-dreams. It is in this work that he first uses the term "lucid" to describe those dreams where the dreamer is conscious of them happening. Although many of his conclusions contradict the findings of modern researchers, the paper remains a classic.