Lucid Dreaming

Lucid Dreaming by Stephen Laberge is a short read packed with detail upon detail of dreaming and psychology. For those not interested in lucid dreaming, this book still offers insight on the meaning and purpose of dreams, but the real meat is it's function as a guidebook to the would-be lucid dreamer. Before I read this book, I had a few lucid dreams under my belt. They had been spontaneous and fleeting occurences, but enjoyable and even inspiring. I have to agree with basically everything said in Lucid Dreaming. The effect of dreams on your mood when you wake and even throughout the day can significant. Also, dreaming and in particular lucid dreaming, can assist you in anticipating problems or situations that may come your way. Lastly, dreaming can help you realize and identify deep emotions and concerns that may otherwise never come to mind. Does Lucid Dreaming help increase the actual amount of lucid dreams you have? Does it help people who've never experienced a lucid dream experience their first...and second and third, etc? Definitely yes. Laberge is not just another self-help/metaphysical self-proclaimed guru with little education or genuine widosm like so many others. Laberge is more like a master of martial arts trying to pass on some obscure wisdom to a mainstream audience. The tips and steps he outlines to achieve Lucid Dreaming will work for many many people, though probably not everyone. I know they have helped me out. You need an open mind and a little effort, but Lucid Dreaming is very real and worth experiencing at least once. My main takeaway from this book was to improve my ability to recall fully multiple dreams each night. Though, there is surprisingly a lot more to this slender booklet. While, the cd is a nice inclusion, and some of the tracks may be very helpful to certain people, I got little use out of it. Wether you are looking to expand your understanding of your inner self, or just curious about that one time you realized you were dreaming in your dream, Laberge's Lucid Dreaming is the perfect reference. You'd think after all these years advancing our knowledge of the universe, that we'd understand lucid dreaming (and polyphasic sleeping, sleepy paralysis, etc.) perfectly well, but the truth is that these are not mainstream fields of research with companies throwing loads of money into exploring with hopes of big cash returns. This kind of subject is more of a curiosity and one of the rare curiosities that is much more elusive than smoke and mirrors but more substantial too.

Per sub-title, this is "A Concise Guide to Awakening in Your Dreams & in Your Life." Thus, while it does provide some context (history of lucid dreaming=LD, arguments for its value, etc.), it's mostly a practical handbook for prospective lucid dreamers ("oneironauts"). Thus (it is by Sounds True!), it includes a CD--its tracks interwoven w/text; #1/p. 7, #2/p. 22, #3/p. 24, #4/p. 27, #5/p. 29, #6/p. 29; I found it helpful. INDUCING LD--methods to induce lucid dreaming: p. 24: verbally resolving to remember you're dreaming & Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD), p. 25: visualize yourself lucid dreaming after awakening from it, p. 27: WILD=Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming, p. 29: trance induction, post hypnotic suggestion, & LDIDs=Lucid Dreaming Induction Devices--flashing lights. AWARENESS OF LD--methods to tell if you are dreaming: p. 21: dream signs (dream artifacts that are anomalies in waking life= clues that you are dreaming--so you become lucid) & Dr. Paul Tholey's "critical reflective attitude"--ask the "critical question"--"Am I dreaming or not?" during the day, establishing the habit so you'll ask it in the dream as well, & p. 22: "guided reality test" to see if you are in a dream--e.g. can you fly? MAINTAINING LD-- pp. 27-8: preventing premature awakening--spinning your dream body & false awakening (dream you're awakening while you're still really asleep & dreaming) LEARNING FROM LD-- p. 54: good list of questions to ask dream characters such as "who are you?" p. 58: recurring nightmares--spiritual aspects a la Tarthang Tulku, & what you see is not necessarily what's there-- p. 48: "If your mind resembles a fun house mirror, do not be surprised if in your dreams an angel seems a demon" or per Afghan Sufi Master Hakim Sonai, 800 years ago--"Creatures comelier than angels even seem, in a dagger, to have devil's faces." LaBerge addresses the important resolution of conflicts & Jungian shadow integration via lucid dreams--a powerful method of psychological growth. Also, per Buddhism/Taoism, using dreams to establish the dreamlike quality of waking life. CONCLUSION--Like most of life's experiences, you usually get out of it what you put into it--often depending on your perspective--e.g. p. 36: "Two men looked out prison bars; one saw mud, the other stars" Anonymous & p. 49: Mark Twain--"Do the thing you fear most & the death of fear is certain." I almost always give books I've read to the library, but for me this one's a keeper. ADDITIONAL READING ON DREAMS: Tibetan Buddhist--Das, Surya Tibetan Dream Yoga: A Complete System for Becoming Conscious in Your Dreams (2 tapes), Norbu, Chogyal Namkhai Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light, Revised, & Rinpoche, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep Psychology--Freud, Sigmund The Interpretation of Dreams & Delaney, Gayle "The Religious Process Manifest in Dreams as Seen in the Works of Carl G. Jung and Edgar Cayce" or All About Drea

Having read the previous lucid dreaming book by the same author, I find I like the second one, this one, better, though both are worth reading. This one is more practical and more concise. There are a few "new" methods (methods not found in the older book), ones that I was already practicing that I had found in other books on lucid dream work. I was happy to see them included in this one. I also like the more open acknowledgment of some of the Sufi and Tibetan sources that were drawn from, and referencing the excellent work of Patricia Garfield. The summary of the scientific research on lucid dreaming is well worth reading and gives more reasons why this kind of work is useful. For those who do not know, lucid dreaming is when we are in a dream and are aware than we are dreaming. Because we spend around 8 hours sleeping each day, adding lucid dreaming into our lives is almost like getting a second life, or doubling our timespan. Much learning and growth can happen if we are able to make this state alive to us. This book can serve as a start to learning how to do this.

Look around and observe your environment. Now ask yourself, "Ask I dreaming or am I awake?" Now look at the time on your watch. Let's say, it reads 3:25 p.m. Now look away for a moment. Now look again. If it says 9:55 a.m. then in all probability you are dreaming. This simple reality is one of the techniques that you train yourself to do while you are dreaming a regular dream. When you remember to do this reality check during a regular dream, the chances become very high that you will realize you are dreaming while you are dreaming. This all things impossible become possible. You can fly. You can make love to anyone you can conjure up in your imagination, real or fictional. You could talk to Einstein about the nature of the universe or you could walk with the Buddha amongst fragrant garden in the Orient and discourse on the meaning of life. Once you are lucid, everything you can imagine can become real! Stephen LaBerge is world authority on this phenomenon, and he has helped thousands to develop the ability of lucid dreaming. This book is a must have read for anyone interested in lucid dreaming. After you get this one, the others that I recommend to follow are: Creative Dreaming: Plan And Control Your Dreams to Develop Creativity, Overcome Fears, Solve Problems, and Create a Better Self Teach Yourself to Dream: A Practical Guide to Unleashing the Power of the Subconscious Mind The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep Thank you, Mr. LaBerge for your work.

this book is MUCH better than the author's earlier book(exploring the world of lucid dreaming)for three reasons.(1)it is WAY more comprehensive.(2) the exercises are simpler and easier to understand.(3)it has up to date information.the previous book was written sixteen years ago and this book has a lot of recent research results/techniques.i highly recommend it for anyone who really desires to use this valuable skill.