![The Daily Deluge [Dreaming]](http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheDailyDelugedreaming.gif)
I have updated the sidebar so that you can register and log in now. If you find yourself disliking typing in your information every time you leave a comment, this is a nice way to fix that. You’ll find the register and log in under Meta on the middle of the right side bar.
-Hatter
Popularity: 17% [?]
Since Paradiso, Ben’s program to help you create (or incubate) you own dream environment is now out, I thought that a post about well known incubation locations was in order. While Paradiso’s emphasis is on creating your own paradise, it can sometimes be easier to start with something that is already well described.
The lucid crossroads, while created for a different purpose, works well for this. The site has a nice picture walk through with text description. It is very helpful in getting a solid image of the lucid crossroads, and I imagine it would help in incubating a dream there. The way the crossroads are designed is also with careful thought about what you will want to do after you’re there and lucid. The doors going into the lobby allows you to leave to go to any dream environment you wish. The lucid dojo is also useful for training martial arts, and is right next to the crossroads.
Another place which was created simply to be incubated is the Astral Island. It is actually shown in one of the doors in the Lucid Crossroads picture tour. Again, the Astral Island’s main purpose isn’t quite simply incubation, it’s actually shared dreaming, but it can be used for either. This site isn’t nearly as detailed as the lucid crossroads, but it does give a rudimentary incubation technique. Note that the terms astral projection and lucid dreaming tend to mean the same thing, I’m not sure if they’re actually describing the same thing or not, but the techniques given on the site will help you incubate a dream.
Both locales have a nice surreal feel to them, which I always felt is the right mood for a dream location. It helps me keep my attention more straight, perhaps because the location I’m trying to focus on can’t really be confused with anything from real life, surreal as it is.
Popularity: 10% [?]
More and more often I see some more of the online mainstream finally discovering some very old news. All too often they praise it like it’s some new revelation, or like it is some miracle. Worse yet, sometimes they miss the point entirely. Case in point: Engadget recently posted about a do-it-yourself sound and light machine.
First off, Engadget takes a very strange angle on the sound and light machine and calls it a “Legal trip inducer,” which is very far from the truth. I seriously doubt, in fact I’m not even sure it is possible, that you are going to experience anything near the magnitude of an LSD trip using a simple sound and light machine. It’s a meditative aid, not some fringe drug. Engadget also seems to think that it’s dangerous when they say
“Of course, we’re still a bit hesitant to put our retinas at risk in order to legally experience hallucinations, but be sure to hit the read link for the step-by-step guide, and tap the via if you’re interested in catching a video before subjecting yourself.”
I bolded the words I found particularly ridiculous. I’m not sure if they know that you’re supposed to close your eyes during a sound and light session, but there is no risk whatsoever (assuming you’re not an epileptic, if so, then obviously this is about the last thing you want to try) unless you somehow manage to get super bright LED’s or turn up the volume ridiculously high. As if people didn’t deafen themselves other ways anyways.
I have also seen several appearances of lucid dreaming on mainstream sites like Digg, who seem to have a continuing fascination with the subject. It pops up occasionally, and half of the time the article that was submitted is from the early 90’s, or was stolen from a book in the early 90’s. Add to that the fact that the people commenting tend to have little to no clue about it, and you prove that nobody on Digg actually reads the story, or knows much about lucid dreaming.
At least more people are realizing that these socially taboo topics, which until now have languished in bleak obscurity, are “for real” and should be treated with seriousness. Even if a lot of the initial reactions are a bit ridiculous, at least there are reactions occurring.
-Hatter
Popularity: 21% [?]
Fizyk has developed a simple but effective and lightweight dream journaling software. You can input type of dream, duration, and method used to induce it, as well as titling the dream. The system for managing the dreams is by date, with sub-folders. I could see this being a really useful program to run off of a jump drive, as it doesn’t need any installation. It might be good for traveling, after you’ve written down your dreams on paper you could transfer them to the computer and have them easily stored in a system on your jump drive. It looks like he’s going to add some more features to it, so I’d keep an eye on this thread on Ld4all.
-Hatter
Popularity: 5% [?]
Ben posted a link to an article in his comment which I have seen before, but I had forgotten about until recently. The article is about a study relating to the brain’s activity during tasks. The whole point of the article can be summed up with this quote:
there are telltale signs in the brain of [their] action 1/2 second before the person realizes they’ve even made a decision.
I remember seeing this article a while ago, and the implications are still very profound. If the brain reacts before somebody actually acts, does this mean that you really don’t have free will over your actions? Does it mean that there is some form of time dilation in our perception of our thoughts and our actions? Or perhaps there there is more to the mind then the brain. All of these explanations are quite intriguing.
Some other interesting points from the article:
“There is a short window of around 1/10 of a second after an idea becomes conscious in which a person can squelch it. Otherwise, it procedes.”
“Also, when we speak, we generally are not aware of the words we are about to say, but rather have the gist in mind, and allow our unconscious to come up with the words.”
“Libet has shown that, in general, it takes about 1/2 second for information in our environment to become conscious.”
Do you have any other ideas about how this could be explained?
-Hatter
Popularity: 18% [?]
Bendrummin, the creator of Infinity and Paradiso along with Skipper, the administrator for the site, have formally announced their new site, Dreamport. This site deals with lucid dreaming, and more specifically, all of the programs that Bendrummin has created.
The site is going to have Ben’s lucid dreaming digibook embedded on the techniques page, giving the user a large wealth of information in an easy to access manner.
The site also has a forum, which is taking off tonight as I type. One of the cool features of Dreamport is that if enough people request specific software, people work to create that software. The forum will also be the planning place of the 2007 Sea Party, which Ben has promised to be much better organized then the previous Sea Party. If you want to download the new software or the old re-done software, you’ll also have to sign up.
Paradiso is also now out of beta testing and ready for download.
(You have to be registered on the forum to download Paradiso)
So check out Dreamport, it already presents the user with a lot of valuable resources, and it looks to get even better from here on out.
-Hatter
Popularity: 11% [?]
I saw a post over on A Little Weird about randomness. Sean’s view is that it doesn’t exist, and that people winning the lottery twice proves it. “we’re told the odds are 419 million to one. That would mean the winner would have to play the lottery every minute - for 796 years” Now this seems like fairly damning proof that the current model of probability is a bit off, but I’d say that there’s always room otherwise. Nobody said that the person who won the lottery did it fairly, for instance.
The idea that nothing is random also brings up an interesting argument I’ve come up with. It involves belief, specifically about anything beyond the body. If you don’t believe in anything beyond the mind and body, then I would say you’d have an easier time swallowing the “nothing is random” idea. Why? Because that means you get to have a free will.
If randomness doesn’t exist, and you have nothing outside of your body, and your brain is the only thing controlling your decisions and actions in life, then you are nothing more then what has happened to you. To elaborate, when you go through life, stuff happens, you are influenced by other people, actions, words, the weather, etc. This leads you to your next thought, or your memory of it makes you react to a similar situation a certain way next time because of how last time turned out. Your brain has action done unto it, it makes physical changes, and then the next time something comes up to it, like a decision, the physical and chemical build of the brain determine your reaction.
But aren’t my thoughts still unique?
No, if there is nothing truly random, and there is nothing beyond the physical, then even your precious thoughts aren’t actually yours. They are the result of what has happened to you, and the situations your environment has put you into. They are traces of all the things that have been put into you, as a person. As I said earlier, without anything beyond the body, and without randomness, you are nothing more then a collection of all the influences that have ever occurred to you.
Having said all of that, I am very happy to say that I think there’s something outside of the body, and the brain. Wouldn’t it at least be nice to believe you have a free will?
-Hatter
Popularity: 9% [?]
Psi experiments has the results for the second experiment up now. This experiment was a little better conceived then the first, but still had some flaws in that people identify more or less with one of the objects. The results were not encouraging, with the correct answer being the least often chosen, but not by a significant margin. (it was one away from another object) The third experiment should be much better in getting results. It simply asks you which color the card is, and shows you the back of a card. You are asked to do this 20 times.
I hope that we see some good results this time around.
-Hatter
Popularity: 9% [?]
I recently ran into an old article I had co-authored about dreaming for PsiPog. This is a general article about most aspects of dreaming. It doesn’t go into anything too much, but if you’re new to dreaming, I’d recommend reading over it.
I should also mention that I have redone the general layout of the sidebars. I think they’re a little more logical and condensed now. I noticed that the poll had a large amount of votes for the lucid mask, which I have officially given up on. You’ll notice the poll itself is also gone. The other highest option was photo-reading, by Paul Scheele. I will start working that into my schedule and report on my progress.
-Hatter
Popularity: 6% [?]
These are 10 things that I have found helpful in my practice of dreaming.
1: Getting 8 hours of sleep
2: Having a regular Sleep schedule
3: Using hypnosis and brainwave generator to aid MILD.
4: Not using substances that alter REM, unless you know what you’re doing and plan accordingly.
5: Keeping a dream journal, and keeping it consistently
6: Meditating
7: Keeping your enthusiasm level high by staying active in the dream community by reading about other people’s experiences. Also watching/reading lucid dreaming related materials, such as Waking Life.
8: Being consistent by picking a technique and giving it a “trial” period of about a month.
9: Being serious about techniques and not halfheartedly trying.
10: Trying new techniques and being open to new variations and refinements of your current one.
These are just strategies and habits that I have found helpful. Do you have any different approaches to dreaming? Do you disagree with something I’ve stated? Say so in the comments.
Popularity: 6% [?]
