The Human Mind
Lucid dreaming means exploring what it means to be conscious.
Are there different levels of consciousness in dreams? How does the brain make sense of this information? Who or what is in control of the experience?
If our dreams can be so realistic as so mimic real life, can we even trust our waking senses? How do we know what's real? Are we living in a dream world? How would we know?
This section aims to take apart our automatic assumptions of consciousness and reach more meaningful conclusions. My goal is to help you probe your own beliefs and evolve them for a better understanding of reality.
What Is The Self?
What is the self? Do I have a soul? Am I just a series of biological processes? Comparing bundle theory vs ego theory and their implications for the self.
Is Free Will an Illusion?
Is free will an illusion? On the surface, this seems like an odd question to ask. But when you break down the neurological processes, free will is nowhere to be found.
10 Animals with Self-Awareness
The human mind is very special, but it's not unique in its capacity for self-awareness. Here are 10 animals with self-awareness, proved by the mirror test.
7 Mental Traits Every Human Needs to Have Imagination
Humans are unique in our ability for imagination. But how did we evolve this free-thinking ability over all other apes?
How to Meditate for Lucid Dreaming
Meditation means emptying the mind to achieve a focused state of awareness. With a few tweaks, it can be used to harness wake induced lucid dreams.
What Is Reality?
Where do we draw the line between fantasy and reality? Is something real because I imagined it? What if we share the same delusion?
The Simulation Argument
Nick Bostrom's Simulation Argument is a probabilistic theory that states we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation created by future humans.
How Consciousness is Created in The Brain
Scientists and philosophers have long scratched their heads over the origins of consciousness. But this new research strongly suggests we have an answer.
Seeing Faces? How Pareidolia Can Influence Your Lucid Dreams
Pareidolia is the tendency to see faces where there are none. But did you know you can use this psychological quirk to hack your dreams?
Did a Near Death Experience Influence Einstein?
J Timothy Green highlights an intriguing link between Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity and the time-distorting Near Death Experience of his professor Albert Heim.
The Man Who Thinks He's Dead
The story of Graham, a sufferer of Cotard's Syndrome, who woke up one day thinking he was he was dead... PET scans of his brain showed he wasn't far off.
Real Life Zombies: Can Consciousness Be Controlled?
Thriving in tropical rainforests is a parasitic fungus that creates real life zombie insects. Can humans fall victim too? Can consciousness be controlled?
Synesthesia and Dreams
A look at synesthesia - the ability to see music, taste words and touch time - and how this perceptual anomaly transfers to our dreams and lucid dreams.
Can't Visualize? You May Have Aphantasia
What's it like to live without a visual imagination? With no mind's eye to see your daydreams and replay memories? This is aphantasia.
Are you aware of your Day Dreams?
A look at the understudied phenomena of 'day dreaming', it's scientific basis and its relationship with awareness and lucid dreaming.
4 Olympian Ways to Harness The Power of Visualization
What can we learn from the Olympic champions who turn their dreams into reality?
25 Inspiring Cases of The Power of The Mind
The human mind is capable of far more than dreaming. Let's look at it's power, across the whole spectrum of consciousness - and beyond.
About the author
Rebecca Turner is a science writer, illustrator, explorer of consciousness - and founder of World of Lucid Dreaming. She is currently studying for a biology degree in Auckland and blogging at her site Science Me.
The Anatomy of a Dreaming Supplement
A lot has happened in the last 5 months. But how did we go from business as usual to changing the face of the entire lucid dreaming supplements industry? It’s a story that I think will interest you – and you might even learn a thing or two in the process. When I was first taken on-board as Chief Lucidity Officer in 2016, one of the first things I was tasked with was taking a good look at our operations and giving things a bit of an overhaul.
How a Lucid Dreaming Community Was Born
Gather round. I’ve a story to tell. It’s a story of tragedy, re-birth and fresh beginnings... But fear not, it has a happy ending! Our forum had some pretty impressive stats at its peak: 60,171 posts, 134 people online at once and over 10,000 registered users.
How to remember your dreams
To lucid dream, I recommend being able to remember at least one vivid dream per night. That will boost your self awareness in dreams (making lucidity more likely) and also means you can actually remember your lucid dreams. Which is nice. Here are four detailed tips on how to remember your dreams more frequently. And if you don't think you dream at all - trust me, you almost certainly do. It takes an extraordinarily rare sleep disorder to deprive someone of dream sleep.
What Do Lucid Dreams Feel Like?
Years ago, before I had my first lucid dream, I had a very specific idea about what a lucid dream would feel like. I thought it would be intense and magical and a little bit spooky. This turned out to be a pretty accurate representation. Becoming aware in the dreamstate is like entering another world. One where physical laws can be manipulated (there is no spoon, Neo) and your fantasies can come true in an instant. There's definitely something magical about that - and it's as if the lucid dream world is a living, breathing organism that can react to your very thoughts.
How to have amazing lucid dreams
Experts agree that everyone is capable of having lucid dreams. Dreaming itself is a normal function of the mind. We all dream every night, even if we don't remember. And we all achieve conscious awareness while awake every single day. So what does it mean to combine these states? Why, the amazing ability to have conscious - or lucid - dreams. Sounds simple, doesn't it? So why do I keep hearing from people who say they can't achieve their first lucid dream?
Mugwort: Dream Sage of the Chumash Indians
It is estimated that these wise and wily Indians have been using mugwort in their healing and ritual practices for 13,000 years, where it is known as the ‘dream sage’. They use the herb to promote good dreams, which they consider an essential aspect of normal human functioning! But that’s not all...
