Welcome to LUCIDITY*FLASHES, The Lucidity Institute's e-newsletter of events and information on lucid dreaming and related states of consciousness.

Not sure exactly what lucid dreaming means? That would be what you'd be doing right now if this were a dream, and you knew that you knew it.

Oddly enough, we don't usually notice that we have been dreaming until after we wake up. This is probably because we don't normally sleep with the intention of noticing that we are dreaming while we are still doing so. That is to say, we forget to remember to be consciously present, "awake" to our dreams. We sleep-walk through much of our lives, and unless we remember to do otherwise, sleep in our sleep. What better day than TODAY to begin sleeping with awareness, and awakening in our dreams?

Things In This Issue (August, 2013)

*  THE FOURTH WALL: Recognizing the "Fictionality" of the Dream World
 by Lynne Levitan, MD

* DREAMING AND AWAKENING: 
Kalani Oceanside Retreat, Hawaii, September 14-22, 2013 
Awareness enhancement and fun with Stephen LaBerge and guest speaker Andrew Holecek  

* NOVADREAMER V.2 UPDATE:  What kind of computer would you like to use with your new NovaDreamer2? 

* SURVEY: Life-Changing Lucid Dreams
In the past two issues of Lucidity*Flashes, we asked for reports of your most meaningful lucid dreams. So far, 109 oneironauts have responded with inspiring examples. Please keep them coming.

THE FOURTH WALL: Recognizing the "Fictionality" of the Dream World

By Lynne Levitan, MD

I left the house to see if there really was a fire, and traveled up the block. Upon turning the corner, I was in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by multiple colorful, crazy happenings like a street fair. The area was crowded with people, all engaged in seemingly artistic performances, none of which meant anything to me. I concluded that I had somehow ended up on Piedmont Avenue (where there are shops), although this hardly explained the strangeness of the environment. I was uncomfortable, felt that I did not want to be here, and now it was night, and vaguely threatening. I decided that, to find my way out of this place, and back where I wanted to be, I would traverse this scene from one side to the other. I explored in all four directions, but could not find a way out. The crazy carnival was bordered by blocked-off alleys. Now, I needed to empty my bladder, and became truly frustrated at my inability to find my way out.

Then I awoke... "Aha! That was the way out all along; to realize that I was dreaming!" Moreover, I recognized a reference to a recent mention (in Wiley Miller's Non Sequitur comic) I'd encountered of "breaking the fourth wall" the fourth wall being defined therein as "An imaginary wall between fictional characters and an audience, and it's broken when a character recognized their own fictionality."

To become lucid in a dream is to recognize the "fictionality" of the dream world; that much is obvious. How much more interesting and enlightening, however, to realize that that "fictionality" extends to our own selves in the dream world! Dream worlds, furthermore, are not just those worlds we perceive and interact with while asleep in a bed. Any world we find ourselves in is our dream of a world. This is what the transcendent Eastern spiritual traditions teach, and, from what science has learned about how our brains work in constructing our sensory, mental and emotional environments, the only rational explanation of the nature of everyday experience. We in no way directly experience "the real world" with our senses, whether awake or dreaming.

When awake, input to the brain from energies interacts with sensors in the body and with the current condition of the brain's neuronal activities, and mind and body create a world and the way we feel about it. Asleep, the brain is isolated from external energies, and is left with patterns of experience, models of prior worlds, a body image, and a model (or a variety of models) of the self with which to build worlds. The same neural mechanisms act whether awake or asleep, so the worlds we dream while asleep are as "real" as those we dream while awake. In both cases, there is a "fourth wall," a way out, which if broken, allows us to realize that our worlds, including ourselves, are not the final truth.

To recognize one is dreaming is to break that fourth wall, and see that what was so convincing, so all-encompassing, so solid, was nothing of the sort. That wall, unlike in the theater, cannot be found by turning to the audience and realizing you are in a play. It takes looking in a direction that is not within the bounds of the perceived world. It requires being able to conceive of a reality beyond the currently perceived: "I can't find my way home, because this is a dream." Without the knowledge that there is a state beyond the dream, it would not be possible to discover that one is dreaming. Having made that leap, however, a further revelation tantalizes: what reality will we discover when we recognize that our waking reality is no more real than a dream?

DREAMING AND AWAKENING

with Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D 
and guest speaker Andrew Holecek

September 14-22, 2013: Kalani, Hawaii

In potential, the dream state offers the highest degree of freedom from external constraint, and perhaps the highest degree of power, yet to convert this potential into reality, we must be lucid. Otherwise, to sleep we give our powers away. It is as if we play the role of a minor character in a second-rate soap-opera, and while we dream our way through this quotidian shadow-show, we believe that the role we play is who we are, and remember nothing more. Wake up and join us September 14-22 in Hawaii!

We are delighted to welcome Andrew Holecek to this program as a special guest lecturer. An acclaimed author, spiritual teacher, and humanitarian, Andrew will share his extensive knowledge regarding Buddhism and the yogas of dreaming, death and beyond.

Becoming adept at lucid dreaming requires practice with effective techniques and a degree of focused attention difficult to maintain during our busy lives. This program provides an ideal opportunity to nurture lucid dreaming abilities and enhance mindfulness in daily life.

Suitable for all levels of experience, our program will feature group and individual exercises for developing awareness skills and valuable insights into the application of lucidity; a sleep schedule optimized for the promotion of lucid dreams; use of lucid dream induction technology including the new NovaDreamer2, and (optional) use of a natural substance that our research has shown to be an effective promotor of lucidity; discussion sessions and personal guidance. Over the more than 12 years of offering this program, we have found that most participants, regardless of whether or not they have had a lucid dream in the past, will succeed in having at least one during the program.

Discussion topics include: Learning how to dream more lucidly; inducing, stabilizing, and guiding lucid dreams; dream control: freedom, flexibility, and choice; brain and mind science of sleep, dreaming, and waking; lucid dream work: from nightmares to wholeness; dream ego, shadow, and self-integration; Dreaming, Illusion and Virtual Reality; physical body, body-image, and OBEs; Dreams within dreams, shared dreams, and false awakenings; consciousness as a model of self and world:  Dreaming, Death and Transcendence; Tibetan Dream Yoga; identity: personal and transpersonal; Life as a dream quest: Awakening in your Dreams and in your Life;  Inception: science vs. fiction?

See website for registration fees. Special rates are available for alumni, groups of 3 or more, and where appropriate, Kama'aina discounts.

Scholarships are available for this program, but space is limited. If you would like to attend, but cannot afford the standard fee, please complete the online application form. We'll do our best to work out a way for you to join us.

For program details (including testimonials from previous participants) and online registration, please visit: lucidity.com

NOVADREAMER V.2 UPDATE: What kind of computer would you like to use with your new NovaDreamer2?

If you don’t know what a NovaDreamer is, think of it as an electronic reminder that gives you a hint when you are in REM sleep and dreaming.

The NovaDreamer (no longer in production) has been superceded by a new, improved version (NovaDreamer2, ND2). We have been extensively testing and successfully using the ND2s with hundreds of participants in our Dreaming and Awakening retreats since 2008. Now after 25 years of R&D and 5 years of testing, we are preparing to ship....

What are we waiting for?! Software. To make these little sandmen conveniently usable at home by non-technical type dreamers (like you), we have been developing user-friendly software to interface between you and the NovaDreamer2, allowing you to adjust settings, download and plot results, and generally act like your very own dream genie. Now we need to know what kind of computers or smart phones you have at home that you might wish to use with the new NovaDreamer2.

If you are interested in getting a NovaDreamer2 in the near future, please fill out the very short survey at: http://lucidity.com/nd2survey

CONTINUING SURVEY: Have you ever had a life-changing Lucid dream?

"Peak experiences", a term coined by psychologist Abraham Maslow, indicate quasi-mystical and mystical experiences typically accompanied by sudden feelings of intense happiness and well-being, and possibly the awareness of "ultimate truth" and the unity of all things. They may or may not be framed as "religious" or "spiritual". When you have a peak experience your world view can be strikingly elevated: the view from the mountaintop. You may be filled with wonder and awe. It is as if you have been given a peek into the Infinite. Life seems correspondingly more meaningful and your outlook is broadened, brightened, and yes, a little more enlightened.

We know that lucid dreaming can sometimes provide the occasion for similar transcendent experiences. If you've had a lucid dream that you could consider a peak experience, or was highly significant or life-changing in some way, we'd like to hear about it. And even if you haven't had a peak experience yet, we'd like to hear about how meaningful you find the lucid dreams that you do have.

Please help us expand knowledge of dreaming and consciousness by filling out a web questionnaire about your personal experience with lucid dreaming and related topics. The survey takes about 5 minutes to complete.

For this issue's survey go to: lucidity.com/meaning