Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming

In “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming,” (affiliate link) Dr. Stephen LaBerge uses a phenomena he calls dreamsigns as a trigger event for conscious (lucid) dreaming.  With a practice, a dreamsign alerts the dreamer to the fact that he is dreaming.  Once aware of the dream state, the dreamer can consciously participate and even direct the events of the dream.

LaBerge recommends the keeping of dream journal and suggests setting a clock for the early morning hours to help facilitate dream recall.  I was doing this for sometime with good results but found it necessary to put the practice on hold temporarily.  I am resuming tonight and going forward with the program.

I have reviewed my dream journal  this morning and identified my dream sign style.

LaBerge identifies three basic types of dreamsigns.  Each is a clue that what is occurring is not our ordinary waking reality and can become, in the words of the author, a neon light flashing the message in the dark that the situation in which we find ourselves is one that we have dreamt.

Inner Awareness:  A peculiar thought, strong emotion, unusual sensation or altered perception which would not occur in our usual waking state,  This can include inappropriate or oddly overwhelming emotions, feeling of paralysis or out of body states or magical thinking.  Examples follow.

1. Thoughts:  “I’m trying to figure out why the furnishings are from another era and realized this is an odd thing to be thinking about” (unusual thought).  “When I realized I didn’t want to crash the car swerved back onto the road” (magical thinking).
2. Emotions: “I am filled with extreme anxiety and remorse” (over whelming emotion).  “I am so angry at my sister over a minor event that I throw something at her” (inappropriate emotion).
3. Sensation:  “I seem to lift out of my body” (OBE).  “It feels like a giant hand is squeezing me” (odd sensation).
4. Perceptions: “I could see perfectly without my glasses” (not usually possible).  “There were hundreds of colors that I had never seen before” (not usually possible).

Action: The dreamer, a dream character or an object in the dream do something unusual or impossible in waking life.  This is an actual dream event as opposed to a dream thought.

1. Ego Action (dreamer):  “I’m riding home on a unicycle” (unusual). “I was under water but had no problem breathing” (impossible).
2. Character Action: “The hairdresser refers to a blue print to cut my hair” (unusual).
3. Object Action:  “A large flashlight floats past” (impossible).

Form:  The shape of the dreamer, dream character or that of a dream object is oddly formed, deformed or transforms.  This may also be applied to setting.  Includes anomalies of hair and dress.

1. Ego Form: “I have very long arms” (oddly formed or deformed).  ” “I turn into a butterfly” (transformed).
2. Character Form: “Her face changes to that of another person as I look at her” (transformed). “Contrary to reality Gs hair is cut very short” (anomaly of hair).
3. Setting Form:  “I open the closet door and step out onto a wide terrace surrounded my ornamental gardens” (my dream – oddly formed). “I get lost because the streets are not as I remember them” (transformed or oddly formed).
4. Object Form: “I see a tiny purple kitten” (oddly formed).  “My purse turns into a steamer trunk” (transformation).

Context: The place or situation in the dream is strange.  The dreamer may find himself somewhere that he is unlikely to be in waking life, involved in a strange situation or playing an unaccustomed role.  Objects or people may be out of place or the dream may occur in the past or future.

1. Ego Role: “We’re fugitives from the law.”
2. Character Role:  “My best friend, T., is now my husband.”
3. Character Place:  “My friends from high school are at the office meeting.”
4. Object Place:  “My bed was in the street.”
5. Setting Place:  “I’m in a colony on Mars.”
6. Setting Time: “I am in my first grade class.”
7. Situation: “A commercial is being filmed at my house.”

Dr. LaBerge recommends that the dream journal is examined after 30 consecutive dreams and that a dreamsign inventory be taken.  I have done that and found most of my dreamsigns to be contextual (ego role, character role, setting place) or oddities of setting in regard to form.

As I reacquaint myself with my dream journal I plan to set the alarms for 5:30 AM everyday and immediately ask myself about my dream and write an entry at that time.  Later after I have made some tea, I plan to record the dreamsign, perhaps at the back of the book.

Will share any interesting dreams (most aren’t especially here!

*Most the example given as well as all of the definitions come from Dr. Stephen LaBerge’s wonderful book, “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreams" (affiliate link).

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