This seems like a logical place to put this post. It can always be moved if an admin has a better spot.

There has been more than a few discussions on how to make lucid dreaming better understood by the portion of society who knows nothing of the phenomenon. Yes, we all know the stock description, and yes it is accurate but boring.

I think there is some general interest in a MM definition (elevator speech if you will) on what lucid dreaming is, or how we would best describe it. I think the goal is to generate something accurate and enticing

Here was my best shot. Maybe we can brainstorm a bit.

Have you ever watched an episode of Star Trek and wished that the holodeck really existed? Or have you ever wondered why virtual reality has fallen so short of the claims and predications that people were making years ago? Is there some other way to realize ones goals, desires or fantasies in a simulated but otherwise realistic environment? Yes, there is. It's called lucid dreaming. Consider this. Have you ever had a dream about flying? It was incredibly exhilerating and felt so real, right? Now imagine you're back in that scene, and you realize it's a dream. You reflect on the complexity of the experience. In real time, you consider how your mind is fabricating the scene, the look, the sensations, the smells. You experiment with altering the scene and perceptions.

It is a well kept secret that this type of experience can be obtained regularly, with the right mental exercise and training. Now, by definition a lucid dream is nothing more than a dream in which one is consciously aware. But it can be so much more. When you learn to become aware in your dreams, you can learn to build scenarios, in a very literal sense. It's almost like picking a virtual reality program. But ... an intermingling of your conscious and subconscious minds builds and executes the program. A program where all five of your senses are perfectly simulated. Imagine the possibilites, limited by nothing more than imagination, encapsulated in a virtual reality world that is a projection of your own mind.

Okay, time for constructive criticism and also suggestions of my own:

Not a bad summary, but... I think you are hyping up the experience a tad too much. As much as the first experience of intentionally becoming lucid was an almost transcendental feeling for most of us, the reality is that lucid dreaming is really about learning to 'recognise' the dream state and to become aware of it. Most of us already know that dreams can produce fantastical scenes that do not follow logic nor rules, and what we should be aiming to get across is that lucid dreaming merely adds us into the equation as conscious controllers/observers of this phenomenon. By hyping the experience up to such a point, it might actually come across as a turn off to some people, who might view it was "woo-woo", "fluff", etc.

Also, I would not say perfect simulation of our senses. It would make recognising the dream state a bit harder if it did. Dream reality is not a perfect simulation, and making it out to be so again is overhyping things (not to mention inaccurate). Maybe cut out the whole subconscious stuff too. Again, we want to get across the idea of lucid dreaming without injecting too many explanations. We want to convey an idea in as concise and simple manner so not to confuse or bedazzle people with complex terminology or concepts.

Here's a suggestion of mine:

Adding a narrative to explain that moment of realisation might be the better option of highlighting the experience. You stop and notice that something isn't right, you examine it, and thus the realisation of being in a dream occurs. What does this suddenly mean? Do we wake up now? But what if you don't wake up? What do we do next? Etc.

"I'm walking through a corridor in what appears to be a hotel. I notice a door was open and peeked inside the room. The bed and interior was a mess, bedsheets were all over the floor, and a chair by the desk had been knocked over. I close the door and turn to continue walking down the corridor to my own room, but almost immediately, I walk into a cleaner. She gets mad and begins to tell me off about not only walking into her, but also closing the door to the room she was going in to. She walks by me and unlocks the door to the room, opening it wide so to pull in the trolley with all her cleaning kit in. I look inside the room... but it was different now. The bed is in a different place... there's a TV in there now as well. The bed is tidy and instead of a small chair and desk, there's a sofa. The carpet had changed colour too, and it now had a pattern.

"I am taken back by this change. Why did it change so suddenly? I swear it looked different just a moment ago. The maid is now staring at me again, complaining to me some more, but I'm not paying attention. Why did that change occur? Wait a moment, what am I doing in a hotel all of a sudden? I don't remember coming here... ahh... could it be?"

Etc. Explaining the thought process, realisation and experience could be done better with a simple narrative. It builds a picture of what is happening in a person's mind more quickly and more readily, so it should be easier to convey the concept. Just my two cents.

Thanks Bluefinger. And no, I don't mind constructive criticism.

Let me take you through the tought process I see as a summary:

1. relate LDIng to some general analogy that people get (e.g. Holodeck, virtual reality)

2. Get them thinking about a cool dream they had (e.g. flying)

3. Get them to realize that this thing called LDing can help them realize intense dreams and even a level of control

4. The very general but powerful statement:

Imagine the possibilites, limited by nothing more than imagination, encapsulated in a virtual reality world that is a projection of your own mind.

Anyway, that's what lucid dreaming means to me. Lucid dreaming is my own world, my own constructive playground. I don't know if anything in there is hype for an advanced lucid dreamer.

I do BTW like your idea of building a scenario and the getting to the realization that you're in a dream. I could see that concept worked into the verbaige above. I can also see toning down some words regarding the perfect nature of the simualtion. But yeah, good contributions.

This is really what I was hoping to achieve. Some good feedback, some reworks etc ...

Keep the comments coming. Don't be shy.

The key difficult is explaining a broad concept in relateable terms. For example I found Bluefinger's explanation just fine but limited. Not all lucid dreams begin by finding something wrong in the dream.

Like I said in another thread I'm still considering my approach to this. It may sound silly for me to explain an experience I've never had though.

Quote from: DrTechnical on September 23, 2010, 12:07:26 PMHave you ever watched an episode of Star Trek and wished that the holodeck really existed? Or have you ever wondered why virtual reality has fallen so short of the claims and predications that people were making years ago? Is there some other way to realize ones goals, desires or fantasies in a simulated but otherwise realistic environment? Yes, there is. It's called lucid dreaming. Consider this. Have you ever had a dream about flying? It was incredibly exhilerating and felt so real, right? Now imagine you're back in that scene, and you realize it's a dream. You reflect on the complexity of the experience. In real time, you consider how your mind is fabricating the scene, the look, the sensations, the smells. You experiment with altering the scene and perceptions.

It is a well kept secret that this type of experience can be obtained regularly, with the right mental exercise and training. Now, by definition a lucid dream is nothing more than a dream in which one is consciously aware. But it can be so much more. When you learn to become aware in your dreams, you can learn to build scenarios, in a very literal sense. It's almost like picking a virtual reality program. But ... an intermingling of your conscious and subconscious minds builds and executes the program. A program where all five of your senses are perfectly simulated. Imagine the possibilites, limited by nothing more than imagination, encapsulated in a virtual reality world that is a projection of your own mind.

This is great, DrT! We might also want to add brief examples of a few actual lucid dreams.

Another thing we might want to do is address common objections people have to lucid dreaming. In my case, I was interested in lucid dreaming for years before I actually tried it. The reason I didn't try it is that I had the misconception that it'd be too hard. I thought I'd have to buy expensive equipment and do a lot of complicated things, and that I was unlikely to ever get it to work. Some religious people might object to lucid dreaming because they think it's an occult practice. We could point out that the Bible generally portrays dreaming in a very positive light. The story in Genesis of Joseph and his ability to predict the future by means of dreams is an example. Robert Waggoner gives some good answers to other common objections to lucid dreaming in his book.

It might be worthwhile for MM members to post objections to lucid dreaming that they've heard--or once believed themselves--and discuss the arguments against them.

Sound good Dr. T.  What you might want to say depends a lot on who the audience is going to be, I think.

I like the last paragraph about the mingling of the conscious and subconscious, but I don't think dreams are limited by the imagination, as one usually thinks of it.  You dream about things that you can't even imagine while awake.

I still remember the text that first brought me into lucid dreaming.... (click to show/hide)Quote                   ----------------------------------

The projection of consciousness

by keptune

Since the Ancient times, as far as we know, humankind has been animated by the most impressive curiosity for almost everything, especially for this strange thing that is the Mind : something concrete although impalpable to the subject, yet invisible to the world. Some of the oldest carvings and paintings that have been discovered in Africa are full of dream visions and abstract symbols, most likely depicting chamanic inner travels. However, it appears that the .power. to investigate how the mind works and to retrieve pieces of information on the consciousness and its mecanisms has been monopolized early in History by a few ones. Call them chamans, sorcerers, wisemen, etc., they have gained a social position through the ages by grabing the exclusive rights of these investigations. Which might has been wise at first, as the initiations to these practices were mostly done from master to disciple in order to keep the teaching intact. But indirectly, it has led the majority to be ignorant of these subjects, almost fearful about the workings of the consciousness and what could modify it.  When the time came for the brand new .modern science. to study the Mind, during the XIXth century, some would have thought that everything was about to change. But in place it was only the continuity of the past traditions, although by fathering new ones: psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists. Nowadays, if you do not have at least a master degree in one of these subject, you are simply considered ignorant by the scientists about the mind. That.s right, your . own . mind, your consciousness. You are just not .authorized. to talk about it, or mocked at if you try, like a child who would try to build a skyrocket . cute, but impossible. It is no more than another form of monopoly, to control the main dogma of materialism in our society. It is like saying that you are not intelligent enough to think about it, so just do not try, serious people are doing it for you and will tell you what to think and how to apprehend your own life. Meanwhile, just work, consume and enjoy.

But guess what: these people, most likely unconsciously as they are being .manipulate. too by the main dogma, just want to make you think that you canno.t know anything about the mind, your . own . consciousness, without them. And you would be a fool to try in spite of this all-powerful fact. Which is just wrong. Seriously. In fact, you are the one who is all-powerful about his own consciousness. But you must use it, and bring it to unknown territories in order to understand it by yourself, which is the only way.  Some might be thinking at this point: my mind is what it is, what is he talking about? Sometimes I am sad, or joyful, but my mind stays the same beneath that. Well, wrong. You just did not try to change it, to push it to it.s extreme. I am talking about something with the same subjective difference than the physical reality and a dream. Think Matrix, less the glasses, the robots and the giant killing computer. I am talking about a skill that anyone can develop: projection of consciousness, one of the most amazing faculty of the mind.

What is projection of consciousness? Have you ever lucid dream? I mean, dreaming and knowing that you are dreaming? Realizing that the world around you is just an illusion created by your mind and you did not notice it at first? That is a type of projection of consciousness, the lowest one in fact. You are projecting your mind out of the feeling of your physical body, into another reality. Dreaming is a type of projection of consciousness, although non-lucid one are the lowests from the lowest, not very interesting for the real mind raiders. But it.s a good bridge to do some more serious projection activities.  At this point of the article, I know that some are already thinking: whatever, dreams are not real. WRONG. That is a typical shortcut from the dominant materialistic, so-called .scientific., dogma, which considers that all that is not palpable is not real. Then your mind as a unity of perception and consciousness is not real, because guess what, even the best EEG canno.t find where the mind sets in the brain (if it is in the brain at all). All they do is record electrical signals here and there. For your mind, the dream is as solid and real as physical reality. That is why you wake up sweating from a nightmare, with you heartbeat at 200, and still all frightened during a few minutes. Or at the opposite, you wake up with a feeling of completeness after a really amazing and beautiful dream. Right? A dream is impalpable, but it is real nonetheless for the observer, you. And now think about this: about one sixth of your life is made of dreams. Almost an entire seperate life, which most people just disregard as unreal (=impalpable) and therefore uninteresting. That is just sad, when you know all the amazing possibilities of the mind, which can . and will . really transform your life by bringing your attention to a whole new dimension. Something noboby has ever talked to you about I guess. Something that is still mostly undiscovered, where you are a real pionnier.

If you have never even lucid dream, you are situated right now at the first floor of a skyscrapper, ignoring that there is an elevator just behind you that could bring you in no time to a flabbergasting landscape and a whole new perspective. Seriously. You canno.t know what your mind, your consciousness, is made of unless you accept to explore it by yourself. The modern scientific method tends to analyze from an outside point of view, which just canno.t led to a full understanding. It would be like trying to understand how you watch works without opening it up at one time or another.

I guess many are thinking right now about shrooms, pot and crack, salvia divinorum, entheogens, hallucinations etc. That.s on the exact opposite of what I am about to explain. You do not need anything more than yourself (and hopefully your mind too) to project in full consciousness. Plants have been used a lot by chamans to attain different levels of perception, but nowadays it is very unlikely that you know a chaman that could guide you into a safe practice using them. Taking some is therefore not recommended for projection of consciousness, as you need to be fully aware. Moreover, some might just think afterwards that it was hallucinations due to the drugs, which would ruin the whole point of the experience.

So let us start. From my own experience (it is always important to speak by experience on this subject and not from books or theories, even more as the point is to gain a first-hand knowledge of all this), there are different levels of projection (the fact of putting your consciousness out of the perception of the physical universe, into another form of reality). From the lowest to the highest:

• dreams
• lucide dreams
• wake initiated lucid dreams
• full physical projection
• higher projections

Everyone knows dreams. Well in fact some people never remember their dreams, but everyone can after only a few days of training (thinking hard about the last image in mind just after waking up for example is a good way to progressively remember full dreams). I won.t talk about it here as everyone can achieve this state quite easily.

Lucid dream is a type of dream that not everyone has experienced, or for some only a few times. It is dreaming and realizing that something is wrong, and eventually that you are in a dream. It opens up a whole new perspective to dreaming: have you ever thought of controlling the whole universe? Well, with some training, you can in lucid dreams. It is also a place to meet solidified parts of your psyche, your subconscious. Characters become interfaces with deeper parts of your mind. You can retrieve old of lost information or interact with your own mind by creating psychic anchors through them. You are like inside of you own mind, I mean . really . inside, the universe around you is a symbolic materialized form of what you thought was so impalpable in the waking state. You can go on the lowest levels of your mind .programs. (i.e. your personality etc.) and modify them. Or you can just create your own worlds, and enjoy the landscapes, the .people. you meet (parts of you in fact, with sometimes what seems to be a real kind of independent behaviour and own proto-mind). Something I am experimenting with lately is fusioning with the strongest .people. (part of my psyche) that I encounter. I just ask to fusion and our bodies melt into one. It is a really amazing experience each time, and I gain a lot of knowledge that I did not thought I had. It is like reunifying my mind little by little. Well, the possibilities are almost limitless, so just think about anything you would like to do, and you can! It is also a good place to face blocages and fight them. The result in the physical life is real if you win. Some have destroyed their OCD in this state, others have gained enough willpower to stop drugs or take control of their lives etc.

Becoming lucid for the first time can be however some kind of a challenge. Fortunately, many types of training have been developped. Here are a few ones. I encourage you to google these for more information and technics:

• Make your watch beep every x minutes. It can be quite annoying for other people though. However, this beep will progressively be integrated by your subconscious mind and will start to appear in your dreams after a week or two. What you must do (in physical reality) is check out your surrounding everytime your watch beeps. Do this seriously, it is really important to get totally involved into this verification of reality. Try to remember your whole day, and the past days, for chronological problems etc. Do not think that you are in the physical reality but really imagine that you might be dreaming. If you realize that there is a problem, well, congratulations, you are doing a lucid dream now.

• Do some reality checks the same way when you see something strange, or on the opposite (which might work better for some) when you do something really basic, like washing your hands, or opening a door. Do it each time for a few days or weeks, and very seriously (at least for one minute). You will become lucid if you try this while dreaming after it becomes a habit (as it will be integrated by the subconscious mind).

• Before you go to sleep, while laying down in your bed, feel the world around you, feel that you are lucid, fully aware of yourself. Repeat a few times .I WILL be lucid tonight, I WILL be lucide tonight .. while holding the feeling of lucidity. Do this until you start sleeping if you want.

Once you become lucid in a dream, stay calm and enjoy. Repeat loudly every five seconds (to prevent you from risking to lose your lucidity and being caught back into a normal dream) that you are lucid, it will help you stay in this state. You can try to fly to move more easily into your created universe (lift your legs and even move your arms as if you were swimming might help at first), but do not try harder stuff like going through walls, teleporting or creating big objects from nothing before you have enough experience to stabilize entirely your dream. Indeed the mind does not like lucid dreaming at first and it will try to wake you up (in this case, if you feel that the dream is losing consistency and the image is disapearing, concentrate very hard on your five senses, touch the ground, look closely to some details etc. This will help to get you back into the dream but you might lose a lot of mental energy doing so so repeat actively that you are lucid after that otherwise you might lose your lucidity entirely), or to make you lose your lucidity (typically, by catching you back into a scenario . a naked member of the opposite sex (or same, depending of the sexual preferences) might appear, someone will tell you that something has happened to your house, a giant dinosaur might start chasing you etc., anything that would get you involved into the dream will be used, so do not get caught and stay focused!

If you have imagination and willpower (which I am sure is the case), you will see changes in your everyday life and personality in a matter of weeks of practice. Your centers of interest might change, as well as what you feel is important in life, so stay aware of your needs and aspirations. However, this kind of dream initiated lucid dream is still not as powerful as a .full. lucid dream.

What I mean by full lucid dream is a dream initiated from the waking state. Ok, some might think that dreams can only be initiated from this state, as we go to sleep etc. But do you ever remember the exact instant when you enter your dream? And moreover, being fully aware during the whole process? It is a really flabbergasting experience the first few times. It is like being suddenly propelled into another world. If you thought dreams appeared slowly, that is far from reality, as the transition from your black mind vision to the full-colored and 3D dream takes no more than a second. You suddenly feel a new body, into a whole new world surrounding you. The experience of a WILD (Wake Initiated Lucid Dream) is extremely joyful and what one would call .real.. Appart from what is happening (you are flying etc.) the world seems as real and solid as the physical world would. But it is more of an Alice in Wonderland thing going on.  Doing a WILD is a bit more tricky than a dream initiated lucid dream, but nothing impossible to do fortunately. One technic that is very effective is visualizing (=imagining and feeling) yourself walking into a known place (a mall, a street in your neibourghood etc.) I think that it is important to visualize some place you know (and not an imaginary one) as this will stimulate your subconscious in a passive way: it is less demanding to the mind to remember things than to create them. I will also prevent you from daydreaming a scenario and eventually fall asleep without noticing it. So just lay down, close your eyes, relax for a few minutes and start visualizing without moving. It is important to really feel yourself in that place. Do not stop whatever you feel or happens. The transition will be really quick as I said. Once you suddenly find yourself propelled into a dream environment, concentrate on stabilizing your lucidity but touching things, watch closely whatever is near you etc. And then . Well, enjoy!

About enjoying, by the way, some might want to trigger sexual fantasies in these states. Everything is possible here, remember, and all will look as solid as it could. In fact sex is even better most of the times, more intense. But climax will bring you back into the waking state, and before that you may lose your lucidity as you will get too involved into the scenario. There are much more interesting things to do while lucid dreaming, but I understand that some want to try different things.

A higher type of projection has been mastered through times by a few ones. Originally, it was used by chamans and sorcerers in traditional societies to retrieve information on a member of the tribe or the village, i.e. his illness, or discover hidden things. This technic is called by some out-of-body experience, but I prefer the term physical projection. Indeed, although real, lucid dreams stay mostly in a totally subjective universe, there are you own creation. But the mind, our consciousness, are not limited by the physical boundaries. Crazy? Well everyone thinks that before he actually does it. What I am saying here is that it is possible to be in the physical world while not inside your physical body. How does it work? It is highly debated even amongst those who practice this. However, it works, which is the important point here. The easiest way to understand this is by trying it by yourself. One technic that I developped early in my experimentations with the mind was the physical projection initiated from a lucid dream. That.s right, a projection of consciousness inside another projection. It is really easy so even if you are a full-time skeptic, give it a try. Once you become lucid in a dream, following the technics explained hereabove, allow yourself to fall backwards without trying to catch oneself. This will trigger very powerful sensations, so be prepared to the shock of your life, really.  Most of the times, this is what will happend: while falling backwards, the image of your dream will disappear as if you were losing consciousness in the physical world (it becomes black). A strong feeling of being pulled down will appear and you will hear some very loud noises, like if you were standing really closely next to an aircraft about to take off. It can be quite frightening, but stay focused. You might see some bright flashes of light, like being propelled at full speed inside a tunnel formed by black clouds during a storm at night. Suddenly, you will find yourself floating a few inches above your bed. You will most likely feel very weird, and might not see your body, although if you try to touch your hands you will feel them, but your body might be invisible (or more precisely like the predator in the eponym movie). The environment will be strange too: you room will be your physical room, but something will feel different. In fact, you will be able to get through every object, like a ghost mostly. However the environment will also be very permeable to your thoughts, so if you concentrate to see something it will appear until you stop to focus.  You will feel very different than in any dream, even lucid, and will be in full possession of your memory. You should keep your first projection of this type short however, in order to keep vivid memories from it. You will soon understand first-hand the differences with dreams and how to act in this new state of existence. However, be very careful with what you think or do, as even if this type of projection is very stable (unlike a lucid dream), you can soon be sucked back into a dream-like environment, or your body (your might feel tingling sensations in your limbs at this point, and have painful areas on your body, but don.t worry). So stay focused. A test that many projectors like to do is putting a playing card on top of a furniture without looking at it unless they are in a physical projection, in order to check it later and confirm the projection. But even without that, you will soon be amazed to observe that you can verify a lot of what you see in this state. For example, this happened to me a few years ago : it was early in the morning and my girlfriend left the bedroom, to take a shower or eat her breakfast I thought. However I was very tired and soon get back in a very deep relaxed state. I pushed my consciousness frontwards and found myself hoavering above my body, fully aware. I floated through the room, then through the door, the hall, another door, and eventually was in the living room. I was surprised to see that my girlfriend was sleeping in a f.tus position on one of the sofas, in its left corner, her face against the back and my coat (which I had left in the hall) as a blanket. I felt a powerful force sucking me back inside my body at this point. I immediately checked what I have seen: everything, down to the slightest detail, was correct. This kind of thing has happened to me a lot since then.  You do not have to be religious, of even believe in life after death to make this experience, just try it before you make your own judgement, but give it a try at least.

As you read in the experience I shared just above, I did not project physically from within a lucid dream. Indeed you can project from full conscious state too, which is even more powerful. If you want to learn more about these technichs, I suggest you buy some books about this subject, like the trilogy of Robert A. Monroe, a classic written during 30 years of experimenting by an electrical ingenieur which found himself projecting without even willing it. There are many good books out there. However projecting from a fully aware state is much more difficult (but feasable of course), so be prepared to spend some time in training (usually a conscious projection can be attained in a few days for the gifted to a few months for the ungifted, like I was).

It seems that there are higher states of projection, apparently in some all-mental levels, but in an objective, all-mental, universe. I have yet to get into these, but hopefully some of you will get there in a few years. Let the community of projectors of consciousness know your discoveries at this time, as it is all about sharing. Indeed, projecting your consciousness is even more than a life-changing experience, it is a matter of protecting your freedom, your freedom to exist as a mind and a body, and to use both to their extreme limits, and even beyond. Noone can take that from you, even locked into the smallest and deepest prison of all. It is not even about believing, it is about trying by yourself to push your limits out of the ordinary, out of the known into mostly or fully unknown territories, and discover your true nature doing so.

See you in other levels of consciousness.

K.A bit too controversial, some may add...

Quote from: StarSeeker on September 25, 2010, 06:24:59 AMI still remember the text that first brought me into lucid dreaming....

The projection of consciousness

by keptune

Since the Ancient times, as far as we know, humankind has been animated by the most impressive curiosity for almost everything, especially for this strange thing that is the Mind : something concrete although impalpable to the subject, yet invisible to the world. Some of the oldest carvings and paintings that have been discovered in Africa are full of dream visions and abstract symbols, most likely depicting chamanic inner travels....

Definitely controversial, but also inspiring. I like the way it tries to appeal to people who have an adventurous spirit and who are interested in exploring the nature of consciousness.

In simple terms lucid dreaming is simply being aware that one is dreaming while they are dreaming. Just like normal dreams where a person might barely remember one dream which might be considered a fragment, and then become completely immersed in another dream which would be super vivid, there are various depths and levels of awareness and control that a person can have during a lucid dream.

In a low level lucid, a person might be experiencing something like remote viewing, feeling their dream body being somewhere doing something else while they are totally aware of their body laying in bed, while in a high level lucid a person might be so involved in the dream that they are not even aware of their physical body, which would be more of an out of body experience than just a dream, since more of their consciousness is in their dream body than in their physical body.

There are also various levels of control that a person can experience in a lucid dream, from having no control at all like if you are driving a car down the road and realize you are dreaming so let go of the steering wheel after the car goes crashing off the road, to lucids with great control where you might take your hands off the steering wheel and then control where the car is going using your mind.

I think I should have provided some context up front. The question in the subject line relates to a question PJ posed in the last newsletter. He had asked how one would describe lucid dreaming, and I think was challenging the reader to come up with something other than the stock answer. Something that would intrigue a newbie instead of bore them. Maybe this description would be on the front page eventually, or in a link via the front page, etc ...

Also, IMHO since that is the motive, we're probably not in need of a dissertation. One or two good paragraphs should do, so as to not discourage the moderately interested reader from digging in.

Let me take a stab at working in some of the good suggestions thus far:

Have you ever watched an episode of Star Trek and wished that the holodeck really existed? Or have you ever wondered why virtual reality has fallen so short of the claims and predications that people were making years ago? Is there some other way to realize ones goals, desires or fantasies in a simulated but otherwise realistic environment? Yes, there is. It's called lucid dreaming. Consider this. Have you ever had a dream about flying? It was incredibly exhilerating and felt so real, right? Now imagine you're back in that scene and some clue jumps out at you challenging the overall logic of the scenario. The logical processing of your left brain kick in and you realize it's a dream. You reflect on the complexity of the experience. In real time, you consider how your mind is fabricating the scene, the look, the sensations, the smells. You experiment with altering the scene and perceptions.

It is a well kept secret that this type of experience can be obtained regularly, with the right mental exercise and training. Now, by definition a lucid dream is nothing more than a dream in which one is consciously aware. But it can be so much more. When you learn to become aware in your dreams, you can learn to build scenarios, in a very literal sense. It's almost like picking a virtual reality program. But ... an intermingling of your conscious and subconscious minds builds and executes the program. A program where all five of your senses are simulated, sometimes to perfection. Imagine the possibilites, limited by nothing more than the creative energy of your conscious mind, and the unpredictable creative force of your subconscious. Encapsulated in a virtual reality world that is a projection of those creative energies and influences.

Quote from: DrTechnical on September 26, 2010, 01:26:58 PMI think I should have provided some context up front. The question in the subject line relates to a question PJ posed in the last newsletter. He had asked how one would describe lucid dreaming, and I think was challenging the reader to come up with something other than the stock answer. Something that would intrigue a newbie instead of bore them. Maybe this description would be on the front page eventually, or in a link via the front page, etc ...

Also, IMHO since that is the motive, we're probably not in need of a dissertation. One or two good paragraphs should do, so as to not discourage the moderately interested reader from digging in.

Let me take a stab at working in some of the good suggestions thus far:

Have you ever watched an episode of Star Trek and wished that the holodeck really existed? Or have you ever wondered why virtual reality has fallen so short of the claims and predications that people were making years ago? Is there some other way to realize ones goals, desires or fantasies in a simulated but otherwise realistic environment? Yes, there is. It's called lucid dreaming. Consider this. Have you ever had a dream about flying? It was incredibly exhilerating and felt so real, right? Now imagine you're back in that scene and some clue jumps out at you challenging the overall logic of the scenario. The logical processing of your left brain kick in and you realize it's a dream. You reflect on the complexity of the experience. In real time, you consider how your mind is fabricating the scene, the look, the sensations, the smells. You experiment with altering the scene and perceptions.

It is a well kept secret that this type of experience can be obtained regularly, with the right mental exercise and training. Now, by definition a lucid dream is nothing more than a dream in which one is consciously aware. But it can be so much more. When you learn to become aware in your dreams, you can learn to build scenarios, in a very literal sense. It's almost like picking a virtual reality program. But ... an intermingling of your conscious and subconscious minds builds and executes the program. A program where all five of your senses are simulated, sometimes to perfection. Imagine the possibilites, limited by nothing more than the creative energy of your conscious mind, and the unpredictable creative force of your subconscious. Encapsulated in a virtual reality world that is a projection of those creative energies and influences.

I think this is pretty good, Dr. T. Were you thinking of putting this somewhere in the introductory material people see when they first go to mortalmist.com?

I think it would be great to have whatever ends up being developed here end up front and center.  To me, this remains one of the great hurdles to "breaking the news" to the world.

John - you have another related thread going here that addresses this in a little different manner, but it is very much related. . . that thread about trying to tell your friend about what we do.

Quote from: pj on September 28, 2010, 01:02:52 PMI think it would be great to have whatever ends up being developed here end up front and center.  To me, this remains one of the great hurdles to "breaking the news" to the world.

John - you have another related thread going here that addresses this in a little different manner, but it is very much related. . . that thread about trying to tell your friend about what we do.

Good point. We might want to have an FAQ section with answers to those kinds of questions. Oh, I see there's already an FAQ section on the main page, but we might consider adding more questions.

Everything is always open to modification.  If you want to have access to change the front end pages, just ask an Aegis member.  (Don't ask me though - I don't remember how to grant access.  I think maybe it's just a group switch.  mu has it all wired together somehow.)