ftp.pasteur.org/FAQ//ftp-pasteur-org-FAQ.zip/FAQ/dreams-faq/part4

Text File | 1995-12-21 | 24.6 KB | 519 lines

Newsgroups: alt.dreams,alt.dreams.lucid,alt.answers,news.answers
Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!newsfeed.internetmci.com!news.mathworks.com!fu-berlin.de!news.belwue.de!news.uni-stuttgart.de!rz.uni-karlsruhe.de!inka.de!bigred.inka.de!not-for-mail
From: [e-mail] (Olaf Titz)
Subject: Dreams FAQ Pt.4/4: Research, Help, reading recommendations
Date: 20 Dec 1995 14:35:54 GMT
Sender: Olaf Titz <[e-mail]>
Keywords: FAQ dreams
References: <[e-mail]>
Approved: [e-mail]
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Summary: This document tries to answer some frequently asked questions on the alt.dreams and alt.dreams.lucid newsgroups. Main contents are about sleeping and dreaming in general, dream interpretation, lucid dreaming.
Followup-To: alt.dreams
Lines: 499
Supersedes: <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Dreams FAQ)
Organization: private Linux site, southern Germany
Expires: 07 Jan 96 14:35:08 GMT
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.dreams:35425 alt.dreams.lucid:13509 alt.answers:14386 news.answers:60450

Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2
Archive-name: dreams-faq/part4
Revision: version 1.5,  last changed 1995/01/21 01:48:08
Posting-Frequency: biweekly

This is  the last in  a series  of four  postings  of Frequently Asked
Questions   for the alt.dreams  and  alt.dreams.lucid  newsgroups.  It
contains a lot of  bibliographic and other  "pointer" info from a wide
variety of sources.

------------------------------

Subject: 7. Research, further reading, dreaming help etc. ++++++++++++

------------------------------

Subject: 7.1. What are the various gadgets to help you in lucid dreaming?

[by [e-mail] (Pamela Ryan)]
These  descriptions  are   straight   from  the Lucidity   Institute's
newsletter:
DreamLink:  Computerized  mask   provides a  convenient  state-testing
procedure   and delivers  light  cues  when   you   estimate you   are
dreaming. $195
NovaDreamer: New  computerized biofeedback  mask provides a convenient
state-testing  procedure  and delivers     light  cues when   you  are
dreaming. $245
DreamLight:  Computerized  biofeedback device monitors  your sleep and
delivers light and sound cues when you are dreaming. $1200

These devices are  not a means for  "automagically" getting  you lucid
dreams. Rather they provide signs  that help you recognize your dreams
by means of external influence. Using these dream-signs is still up to
yourself and requires quite some amount of training.

Software to make   your  computer screen   act as   a  flashlight: the
hyperreal.com  (not techno.stanford.edu  any more)  WWW/FTP server has
this, among much other  interesting stuff. I  know of an MSDOS program
called "flasher" which can be  found  there and another similar  thing
for  Linux  that someone  has promised to   upload.  Such programs can
perhaps be  used as a replacement for  the less sophisticated  sort of
eqipment as described above.


------------------------------

Subject: 7.2. How do various drugs/nutritional components influence dreaming?

[Section compiled from answers by various people]

[By [e-mail] (Michael Turner)]
AMINO ACIDS & SUPPLEMENTS
Saw  some mention of Taurine recently.   B vitamins (6  and 12)?  I've
used Choline+Inositol combo w/some success.
Inositol  is  a B-vitamin (12?)  that  aids in  the uptake of Choline,
which is a precursor  to the neurotransmitter  acetylcholine.  Choline
is present  in lecithin, which is  itself  present in egg  whites, soy
products, and other sources of protein.   One would have to constantly
glut oneself with tofu in order to get the  equivalent of 500mg tablet
of Choline+ Inositol, however.

FOODS
Fish contains some substance that also helps, forget what it's called,
though.   Cheese (esp. cheddar,  for  some  reason) and  bananas to  a
lesser extent, contain  some stuff that can  cause wild  dreams.  Soy,
eggs, etc., as mentioned above.

TEAS and HERBS
Have tried various teas and herbs, but most were either ineffective or
unspeakably vile.  (DON'T like  vivid dreams  of large bugs  burrowing
through my head, thank you very much.)   Would be willing to try again
with some guidance, though.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
Prescription drugs of various kinds can have dream effects; so much so
that  most  sleep/dream labs have  some  kind of  funding  from pharm.
companies, if they aren't owned and operated by them outright.  Never-
theless, prescription drug labels seldom warn of "nightmares"; perhaps
that all falls under "sleep disturbances."
Barbiturates can suppress   REM.   Don't know  about   tranqs  & anti-
depressants, though.  New Wave antidepressions (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil)
are serotonin- effecting, so some effect might be expected.

LEGAL PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
Both caffeine and alcohol  can suppress REM -  odd, since one is a CNS
stimulant, the other a CNS depressant.  Nicotine?  Don't know.

ILLEGAL PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
Controlled/illegal substances have  been studied vis-a-vis dreams, but
hazy on the details I  learned.  (Was high at  the time, I  guess....)
THC can suppress REM somewhat.  Various psychedelics effect aspects of
serotonin   metabolism.  Speed  keeps  you  from sleeping; amphetamine
psychosis might be  drug-induced-anxiety   + REM deprivation.    Newer
stuff, such   as illegal/controlled  "smart drugs",  "designer drugs",
etc. I don't  know about, but it would   be surprising if they had  no
dream effects.

[By [e-mail] (Pamela Ryan)]
Someone  posted a while back  that  a combination of  Choline (600 mg,
equals 1429  mg Choline Bitartrate)  and Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5,
500 mg) boosts dream recall.

[By [e-mail] (P. ZINKEN)]
Point is i am at one side a notorious  coffee-addict, and on the other
side one who  smokes  a joint or   a hookah from  time to  time.  I'll
describe  my  states of dreaming   for both,  because  they are rather
different.

Caffeine:
Under influence of  caffeine (and i mean  rather much, after drinking,
for example, 10 to  15 0.25l cups), i  tend to sleep  very light. If i
get  to dream it  usually is a lucid dream.    Thus, it seems caffeine
changes the  conciousness while  sleeping. Also,  i tend  to have more
nightmares if i drink too much coffee.

Hasjiesj:
There are times when i like to smoke some weed or hasjiesj and then go
to bed stoned  (on  these days i  usually  smoke between 0.5 and  0.75
grams) It does influence the dream  state very heavy. Hasjiesj has the
tendency of relaxing you,  and also has  a  tendency to make  emotions
stronger. While dreaming this results in very real-feeling dreams.
Last night i smoked about a half gram of  Noorderlicht, a kind of weed
grown here in Eindhoven, and after  going to bed  and falling to sleep
(almost instantly) i  dreamt  something rather  silly, but  i couldn't
help thinking it was the real-world instead of a dream.
Thus,  hasjiesj  makes the  dream stronger, more  deep. Problem  is, a
nightmare will  seem more real  too.  Also, it  seems  to make it more
difficult to dream lucid (i am able to dream lucid).

Combination:
Well, this  one is the  one  i get at  the most.  After a long  day of
working  and coffee-drinking,  i sometimes let  myself  go and  make a
blow.  This  results    in  a  combination   of  an   up-drug  and   a
down-drug.   And, strangest  of  things, this   combination does never
result in no-drug.
The caffeine still leaves the property  of easily getting into a lucid
dream, while the  hasjiesj makes the   sleep very deep and  the dreams
very intense. I've yet  to wake up  from  getting into lucidity  while
under influence of hasjiesj.
Overal conclusion from my side thus is, drugs do have a certain effect
on dreaming. And there  is quite a big  difference between  uppers and
downers.

[By [e-mail] (Bryan Byun)]

My  method isn't the  healthiest,  so  it's not   something I  want to
experiment on often, although reading your FAQ  reminded me of it, and
I might try it again sometime.
Anyway, this is the exact method I use:
1. Stay up late,  past your normal  sleeping time, until you are very,
very tired.  Do not get into bed until you are ready to sleep.
2. Just before getting into bed, take from 2-4 caffeine tablets of the
dosage included  in Vivarin brand  stimulants (I don't  know the exact
dosage), depending on your tolerance for caffeine.

It's my  personal  theory that what happens   is that your body  falls
asleep and  begins the REM cycle...then,  the caffeine stimulates your
brain (or at least irritates it) so that  your conscious mind awakens.
Normally, so would your body, but if  you sleep late enough, your body
will be so fatigued  that the  fact of your  brain awakening  won't be
enough to rouse it; and, if you take the right amount of caffeine, the
stimulant effect will  be just enough to  wake  up your mind,  without
forcing it completely awake.

Anyway, I  don't know   if I would   recommend  this as a   method  of
attaining lucid dreaming, but it has worked for me.

[By ot]

The Kava Kava root, a traditional drug from the Polynesian islands, is
little known but highly recommendable. It is  said to take away stress
and tension, very  mildly tranquilizing while clearing  and sharpening
thoughts.  Also told to  help dreaming, especially  for lucid dreaming
exercises. From my own  experience, it causes  a deeper but shorter(!)
sleep with more intense dreams.

[The following holds  for Germany, I  don't think other countries  are
much different.] Kava Kava root is available from pharmacies, although
not a  "standard" drug and sometimes  it takes time for the pharmacist
to obtain  supply. At least one company  makes capsules with Kava Kava
root extracts ("Kava ratiopharm"). They are sold as a stress reliever.
Though  not  as effective  as the whole  root,  perhaps the  method of
choice for many - the traditional way of chewing  the roots for a long
time does not suit Western people, who typically find the taste rather
bad.  Attention: do not   combine   with  alcohol, it  increases   the
undesired effects of the latter (same with barbiturates, etc.)


------------------------------

Subject: 7.3. What about the dream experiments on alt.dreams?

A. Several experiments  have been conducted  to find out whether there
are shared  dream experiences. On alt.dreams  was posted a description
of a particular place,  and people  encouraged  to get there in  their
dreams. Dream logs were collected via e-mail by  a person not involved
in the  actual  experiment, who compared  the  reports and looked  for
similarities.   Of   course,  reports   of different    people  having
conversation about  the same topic, or people  leaving items there and
others picking  up the  same items  (as suggested  in the experiments)
were  what was  looked  after.  The last   of  these  experiments ("SS
Dreamers"), held in Dec.92-Jan.93,  was  a  failure. The most   recent
"Cafe Dreamers" experiment [Dec.93] results have remained unpublished.
(We should get them out soon, I'll  take the necessary steps...) Other
experiments, especially "Dream Train" of [when was that exactly?] have
been   more  successful.  [Does anybody   archive the  reports?] These
experiments  do not meet all  strict  scientific criteria (cf. section
5.3.).  However,   for the   people involved,   they  have always been
interesting experiences.


------------------------------

Subject: 7.4. Books, articles and other stuff to read

Here comes a random  collection of  references contributed by  various
people. I don't know the bigger part of them...

[Recommendation by [e-mail] who is also
[e-mail]]

Carlos Castaneda: THE ART OF DREAMING, 1993

Another  very valuable  part of  Castaneda's  work,   written from  an
extraordinarily lucid  viewpoint   and  with   extraordinarily healthy
spirit. It is  a  self-beneficent act  to read  this  one, and for  an
open-minded person, there are many words that  will surely function as
a trigger.
A diary-type document   that contains clear   explanations of powerful
dreaming  sessions and    journeys, and descriptions   of  Castaneda's
conversations with his own teacher.
Statements pointing the universe in which  we are dwelling. Statements
that  feed the  flame  of   hope, telling  about  the living   beings'
possibilities giving practical, abstract advices how to reach them.

Highly recommended not  only   for those who use   their  dreams as  a
playground, but for everyone.

1st edition
ISBN 0-06-017051-4 (cloth)
   USA $22.00
CANADA $29.50
260 pages, approx. 6,25x9,5 inches
For information, address:
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022.
A leatherbound signed first edition of the
book has been published by The Easton press.

[Recommendations by [e-mail] (Emily Stroppa)]
Two books I have found invaluable: I  wanted to mention The Dream Game
by Ann   Faraday,   published 1974.  Also, Breakthrough    Dreaming by
Dr. Gayle Delaney published 1991 by Bantam.  A third book I have found
very interesting is  Where People Fly And  Water Runs Uphill by Jeremy
Taylor published 1992 by Warner Books.

[Contributed by Jouni Smed, article reference]
    Blackmore, S. J. 1988. A Theory of lucid dreams and OBEs.  In Conscious
                     Mind, Sleeping Brain, 373-387, ed. J. Gackenbach and S.
                     LaBerge. New York: Plenum.
    --------- 1991. Lucid Dreaming: Awake in Your Sleep?. Skeptical Inquirer,
                    15:362-370
    Delage, Y. 1919. Le Reve. Paris: Les Presses Universitaires de France.
    Fox, O. 1962.    Astral Projection. New York: University Books.
    Gackenbach, J., and J. Bosveld. 1989. Control Your Dreams. New York:
                    Harper & Row.
    Gackenbach, J., and S. LaBerge, eds. 1988. Conscious Mind, Sleeping Brain.
                    New York: Plenum.
    Green, C. E. 1968. Lucid Dreams. London: Hamish Hamilton.
    Hearne, K. 1978. Lucid Dreams: An Electrophysiological and Psychological
                     Study. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Hull.
    --------- 1990.  The Dream Machine. Northants: Aquarian.
    Irwin, H. J. 1988. Out-of-body experiences and dream lucidity: Empirical
                      perspectives. In Conscious Mind, Sleeping Brain, 353-371,
                      ed. J. Gackenbach and S. LaBerge. New York: Plenum.
    LaBerge, S. 1985. Lucid Dreaming. Los Angeles: Tarcher.
    LaBerge, S. and W. Dement. 1982a. Voluntary control of respiration during
                    REM sleep. Sleep Research, 11:107.
    --------- 1982b. Lateralization of alpha activity for dreamed singing and
                     counting during REM sleep. Psychophysiology, 19:331-332.
    LaBerge, S., W. Greenleaf, and B. Kerzierski. 1983. Physiological responses
                     to dreamed sexual activity during lucid REM sleep.
                     Psychophysiology, 20:454-455.
    Price, R. F., and D. B. Cohen. 1988. Lucid dream induction: An empirical
                     evaluation. In Conscious Mind, Sleeping Brain, 105-134,
                     ed. J. Gackenbach and S. LaBerge.  New York: Plenum.
    Schatzman, M., A. Worsley, and P. Fenwick. 1988. Correspondence during
                     lucid dreams between dreamed and actual events. In
                     Conscious Mind, Sleeping Brain, 155-179, ed. J. Gackenbach
                     and S. LaBerge.  New York: Plenum.
    Tart, C. 1988. From spontaneous event to lucidity: A review of attempts to
                     consciously control nocturnal dreaming. In Conscious Mind,
                     Sleeping Brain, 67-103, ed. J Gackenbach and S. LaBerge.
                     New York: Plenum.
    Tholey, P. 1983. Techniques for controlling and manipulating lucid dreams.
                     Perceptual and Motor Skills, 57:79-90.
    Van Eeden, F. 1913. A study of dreams. Proceedings of the Society for
                     Psychical Research, 26:431-461.

[Reference by [e-mail] ( gj student 156879)]
          "Consciousness and Abilities of Dream Characters Observed
During Lucid Dreaming", Perceptual and Motor skills, 1989, vol 68(2)
pages 567-578

[Recommendation by [e-mail] (Glenn Engstrand)]
By the  way, LUCID DREAMING  IN 30 DAYS is an   interesting book and I
recommend  it highly but only to   those who can  tolerate the new-age
packaging. It combines modern dream   techniques of LaBerge et.    al.
(like   dream  incubation,   self-hypnosis   and  other   "key-phrase"
conditioning techniques) with the  ancient traditions of  the Tibetans
(ostensibly),  Yaqi Indian  Shamanism,   totemic  art and  sympathetic
magick.  I  cannot say that I  have  lucid  dreamed  (in the bottom-up
sense) since reading the book but I can say that my dream-life is much
richer because of reading the book.

_Lucid Dreams In 30 Days: The Creative Sleep Program_
Keith Harary, Ph.D. and Pamela Weintraub
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN 0-312-92487-9

[Recommendation by [e-mail] (Matthew Parry)]
   Freud, S.; Ed. Strachey,  J. & Richards, A.;  INTRODUCTORY LECTURES
ON PSYCHOANALYSIS, and  THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS; Trans. Strachey,
J., (London, Penguin books Ltd., The Penguin Freud library, 1991).
   The  Introductory Lectures is   probably the best  read  of the two
books as it also has sections on parapraxes  (slips of the tongue etc)
and neuroses. The Interpretation of Dreams however,  is more suited to
someone who is interested  in  Freuds theories, Freud  considered this
his  greatest work because of  its complete exposition of his theories
at that time.

[Recommendation by: [e-mail]]
Here's a book that some may like or find helpful: Dreams, Symbols, and
Psychic Power; by Alex Tanous & Timothy Gray;  Bantam books, 1990.  It
was  fairly informative,  although  personally,  i  found some  of the
symbol interpretations a bit unusual/far fetched. Most are interesting
and offer at the least some insight .  It deals more with interpreting
dreams as opposed to lucid ones, though.

[Recommendation by Gary S. Trujillo]
/Oneirocritica   of   Artemidorus   Daldianus/   (2nd   Century   AD).
Oneirocritica is the most comprehensive, the most sought after and the
most quoted book on  dream interpretation  to have  been written  from
antiquity to the present  times.  This  is  more than  a comprehensive
dream  dictionary....   The  extensively  revised index pages of  this
second edition are designed to be of help to curious readers trying to
make sense of  their dreams.  Also from  a desire to be helpful, dream
subjects  or symbols of which Artemidorus wrote  have been highlighted
in bold face by the publisher.
THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS
Oneirocritica of Artemidorus Daldianus (2nd Century AD),
translated by Robert J. White
2nd Edition, 9" x 6", 344 pages, 2.5 Lbs.,
Hardcover $36.50, ISBN 0-944558-03-8,
(To appear 10/90)
ORIGINAL BOOKS, INC.
P.O. Box 2948
Torrance, CA 90509, USA

[Recommended by Jay E. Vinton <[e-mail]>]
i just wanted to mention another very good book by jeremy taylor (the
faq mentions a different one of his).  the one i have read is 'dream
work, techniques for discovering the creative power in dreams',
paulist press, ramsey, n.j., 1983.
it talks about techniques for recalling dreams, working on them by
yourself or in groups, lucid dreaming etc.  it is very practical and
insightful and full of wonderful examples.  it also has an extensive
bibliography.

[Recommended by [e-mail] (Matthew Parry)]
Rycroft,  C.  THE INNOCENCE   OF DREAMS,  (London: The  Hogarth press,
1979).  Has a good introduction  to and criticism  of Freud and Jung's
theories  with some Physiological    research into dreaming.   He then
introduces his  own   theory of dreaming   and gives  a list  of dream
symbols.

[References by [e-mail] (Pamela Ryan)]
"Dreams That Come  True" is a  book by David  Ryback, PhD and  Letitia
Sweitzer, a   report of  some  research into   the subject of  psychic
dreams.   Originally  a skeptic, Dr.  Ryback  administered a survey to
more than 400 students, and   discovered that more than two-thirds  of
the  group   reported having a   psychic  dream.   After  studying the
accounts, and applying  some very   strict  criteria to  them,  Ryback
determined that, at the very least, one in twelve people experiences a
psychic dream compelling   enough  to  convince most people   of   its
reality.  Informal   surveys of  people  I  know have borne   out this
finding.

Dream Periodicals: I'm pretty sure the addresses  are current, but the
subscription rates might not be.  The  first two are mythic, mystical,
personal   approaches to  dreams and  dream   work; the  latter  is  a
professional journal covering  new findings  in   the field  of  dream
study.

DREAM NETWORK: A JOURNAL EXPLORING DREAMS & MYTH
1337 Powerhouse Lane, Suite 22
Moab, UT 84532
$22/year (4 issues) in the US
$28/year Canada, Library or Mexico
$36/year Foreign Air
Telephone: [phone]

NIGHT VISION: A DREAM JOURNAL
P.O. Box 402
Questa, NM 87556
$10/year (4 issues) in the US, Canada, or Mexico
$22/year -- all other foreign subscriptions

DREAMING: JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF DREAMS
Subscription Department
Human Sciences Press
233 Spring Street
New York, NY 10013-1578
4 issues $40 in the US (if the subscription is for personal use)
Outside the US, $47
For professional/library use: $110 in US
Outside of US $130
*FREE if you join the ASD... [see below]

There is also an on-line newsletter  about dreams (it  may turn into a
private mailing list, but is currently in newsletter format):
ELECTRIC DREAMS
To subscribe, e-mail    [e-mail]    or
                        [e-mail]


[recommendation by [e-mail] (Keimo Leppihalme)]
Donner, Florinda.
   Being-in-dreaming / Florinda Donner. -- 1st ed.
   ISBN 0-06-250233-6 (alk. paper)
   1. Witchcraft--Mexico.  2. Donner, Florinda.  I. Title.
   BF1584.M6D66  1991
A  natural   dreamer's autobiographical     account  of her   personal
involvement with    a group  of  rigorously    disciplined -  but  not
routinized - people, who  are highly developed and thoroughly  devoted
practicioners of   one of the   most sophisticated  Arts,  the Art  of
Dreaming.
Fairly inspiring, defiantly  challenging. Practice,  a  hang-up for  a
lazy dreamer. But reading of these possibilities can't ever injure.

[Reference by ot]
What  readers in and  around Germany might  check out: Ulrich Schmitz,
"Ich denke also   bin  ich", iX  7/1994,  p.118.  [iX  is   a computer
magazine.]   Interview with   a  prize-winning  young  researcher  who
explores  the possibilities  of making  real-world   use out of  lucid
dreaming.  Most interesting  is that this seems  to hit the scientific
mainstream.

[I'm still looking for more book recommendations. If you know a piece
of literature that should be mentioned here, let me know! -ot]

Two other  rather  extensive FAQ documents are  worth mentioning here:
The ones  from  alt.atheism  and sci.skeptic (both posted regularly in
news.answers  and archived on rtfm.mit.edu). The former contains stuff
about religious experiences, as well  as  a very well-written guide to
logical reasoning (worth reading for  all USENET  participants!).  The
latter tells much about scientific methods, how  to  back up  research
results and  avoid  obvious  and not-so-obvious traps, recommended  to
anyone who goes into dream research.


------------------------------

7.5. Organizations, etc.

[Recommended by [e-mail] (Pamela Ryan)]

Association for the Study of Dreams (ASD).

The ASD is a nonprofit, international, multidisciplinary organization
dedicated to the pure and applied investigation of dreams and dreaming.
Members include people from many different fields: anthropology,
literature, education, fine arts, medicine, psychology, religion,
and social work.  Laypeople are invited to join.  They publish a
scientific journal (Dreaming) and sponsor annual conferences, which
are usually attended by most of the major "dream personalities".....
LaBerge, Taylor, Garfield, Delaney, Hobson, Krippner, etc.

Association for the Study of Dreams
P.O. Box 1600
Vienna, VA 22183
[phone]


------------------------------

Subject: FAQ Redistribution policy

Finally, an apparently necessary small note about this FAQ in general:
I don't object  against redistributing this  document on BBSs, CDs  or
other media, but if you do so, leave  the text and identification info
unadulterated. In particular, distribute all the  parts at once, leave
the "Revision" header lines intact, don't delete any references to the
various authors of  the text, don't  arbitrarily shorten the  text. If
you make any kind of  excerpts, make sure to get  the reference to the
author correct (esp. for parts 3 and 4).                           -ot

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++