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is to end the fear, for as long as they fear their dream, it is likely to return. Unreasonable fear can be defused by facing up to the source, or going through with the frightening activity, so that one can observe that no harm comes to them. In a nightmare, this act of courage can take any form that involves facing the “threat” rather than avoiding it. Monsters often transform into benign creatures, friends, or empty shells (Saint-Denys, 1867/1985) when courageously confronted in lucid dreams. This is an extremely empowering experience. It teaches in a very visceral manner that fear can be conquered. Lucid dreaming can also help people achieve goals in their waking lives. There are many ways that individuals can use lucid dreams to prepare for some aspect of their waking activities. Some of these applications include: rehearsal (trying out new behaviors, or practicing them, and honing athletic skills), creative problem solving, artistic inspiration, overcoming sexual and social problems, coming to terms with the loss of loved ones, and physical healing. If the possibility of accelerated physical healing, suggested by anecdotes from lucid dreamers, is born out by research, it would become a tremendously important reason for developing lucid dreaming abilities. The following is an excerpt from Dr. LaBerge+s book entitled Lucid Dreaming. In it he gives advice on how to dream with lucidity. There are several methods of inducing lucid dreams. The first step, regardless of method, is to develop your dream recall until you can remember at least one dream per night. Then, if you have a lucid dream you will remember it. You will also become very familiar with your dreams, making it easier to recognize them while they are happening. If you recall your dreams you can begin immediately with two simple techniques for stimulating lucid dreams. Lucid dreamers make a habit of “reality testing.” This means investigating the environment to decide whether you are dreaming or awake. Ask yourself many times a day, “Could I be dreaming?” Then, test the stability of your current reality by reading some words, looking away and looking back while trying to will them to change. The instability of dreams is the easiest clue to use for distinguishing waking from dreaming. If the words change, you are dreaming. Taking naps is a way to greatly increase your chances of having lucid dreams. You have to sleep long enough in the nap to enter REM sleep. If you take the nap in the morning (after getting up earlier than usual), you are likely to enter REM sleep within a half-hour to an hour after you fall asleep. If you nap for 90 minutes to 2 hours you will have plenty of dreams and a higher probability of becoming lucid than in dreams you have during a normal night’s sleep. Focus on your intention to recognize that you are dreaming as you fall asleep within the nap. (LaBerge, 1985) External cues to help people attain lucidity in dreams have been the focus of Dr. Stephen LaBerge’s research at the Lucidity Institute for several years. Using the results of laboratory studies, he has designed a portable device, called the DreamLight ($950), for this purpose. It monitors sleep and when it detects REM sleep it gives a cue (a flashing light) that enters the dream to remind the dreamer to become lucid. The light comes from a soft mask worn during sleep that also contains the sensing apparatus for determining when the sleeper is in REM sleep. A small custom computer connected to the mask by a cord decides when the wearer is in REM and when to flash the lights. The phenomena of lucid dreaming has been looked into as a possible explanation of the out-of-body experience. In an Out-of-Body Experience (or OBE) a person feels that they are separated from their body and are free to float or fly about. They feel as if they are perceiving the physical world from a location outside of their physical body. The OBE has also been linked with the Near-Death Experience (or NDE) wherein a person who is at the brink of death has an OBE. The NDE, the OBE, and lucid dreaming all have the common element of being separated from the physical body. All include the sensation of flying combined with a feeling of freedom. In an attempt to explain the OBE and the NDE, lucid dreaming has come up as a reasonable theory. It is thought that in a half-awake and half-dreaming state a person dreams of leaving their body. OBE+s are often elicited during deep meditation and relaxation where it is reasonable to assume that during the trance a person could fall asleep and have a lucid dream which felt like an OBE but was just a dream. Further research into this area is certain to be done in the future. Since we spend about 9% of our lives in the dream world it would make sense to make the most of that time. By exploring that world with a conscious awareness one can see the inside of their own head, actually see their thoughts being formed. A lucid dream has infinite possibilities, it can happen every night of one+s life, and best of all it is totally free of charge. References Green, Celia (1968). Lucid Dreams. London: Hamish Hamilton. LaBerge, Stephen (1985). Lucid Dreaming. New York: Ballantine Books LaBerge, Stephen, & Rheingold, Howard (1990). Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. New York: Ballantine Books