Pinch Me, I Must Be Dreaming:

Transcription

1 Pinch Me, I Must Be Dreaming: An Illustrated Guide to the Lucid Dreaming LifeStyle by T. Costanzo with illustrations & additional recipes by Andrew Szava-Kovats Copyright 2017 T. Costanzo, Andrew Szava-Kovats Published by True Age Media Printed in the USA First Edition True Age Media POB 9701, Lowell, MA

2 Contents: Introduction 5 Preparation 13 Supplies 15 Lucid Aids: 36 Supplements 39 Herbs 61 Teas 85 Dream Journal 91 Recipes 93 Making a Dream Pillow 130 Decorating for Dreaming 132 Glossary 134

3 Introduction Welcome to our Guide to the Lucid Dreaming LifeStyle. Whether you're an experienced Lucid Dreamer or a novice, we think you'll find this guide a handy reference for information you may need for your personal journey into Lucid Dreaming. It's a world that's as complex and varied as our waking world, perhaps even more complex, as the laws of physics, time and space do not apply. It's a world that has no limits. 5

4 Lucid Dreaming has a long history, going back thousands of years. People of all walks of life have found it and practiced it in many different ways, for different purposes and with different results. Part of it's appeal is it's mystery, and that it has no fully predictable outcome. It is at once magical and scientific. We can use scientific knowledge to help us reach the Lucid Dreaming state, by incorporating scientific understanding of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and such. And yet we must maintain a certain amount of faith in the magical powers of the inner mind and imagination to navigate the places we reach in our dream states. In the Lucid Dream state all scientific laws no longer apply. And yet we use science to get there. It's a bit ironic and hard to imagine a more powerful intermingling of science and magic than the state of being we call Lucid Dreaming. Everyone has their own reasons for exploring the Lucid Dream. Some people find it exhilarating. Some people find it relaxing. Some people find answers to problems. Some people find adventure. Some people simply go on vacation from reality... What seems to be in common among the Lucid Dream community is that it is powerful, inspiring and often transformative. 6

5 With this guide, we've assembled a variety of techniques for Lucid Dreaming. We've included things to help you reach the Lucid Dream State, including preparation of your sleep space, a special pillow, supplements and foods. The Lucid Dream induction techniques include popular techniques that have been developed by many people over time, as well as some that are exclusive to this guide. We call it a LifeStyle because it really is. Those who pursue Lucid Dreaming on a regular basis, as they get more deeply into it, soon realize that the preparation, the scheduling, and then the actual dreaming all together take up a considerable amount of time in their daily routine. Those who become adept at it are like serious athletes. They devote much of their waking time to preparing for the dreams, thinking about them, analyzing them. Many of their daily activities become part of the process, from eating to sleeping. We hope this guide helps you reach your goals for Lucid Dreaming, whether it be to simply get a fresh perspective on the world, or to escape it entirely. Happy Dreams! 7

6 Why do we dream? Scientists have been performing sleep and dream studies for decades now, and we are still not one hundred percent sure why we dream. What we do know is that our dreams are more abundant and clear during the REM stage of sleep. We all dream; although the frequency in which our dreams are remembered vary from person to person. There are several theories as to why we dream, one is to help the brain sort out everything that collects during our waking hours to decide on what to hang onto and what to forget. Another theory is that dreams reflect our emotions. Some people believe it is just our brain slowing down at night; and dreams are just random firings that do not occur when we are awake. Today, scientists still don't know exactly why we dream. 8

7 ONEIRNAUT: A person that has the ability to travel within a dream on a conscious basis. Lucid dreaming is known to have dated back to the writings of Aristotle in 350 BC, even though at that time there was no real name for it. The first published mention of lucid dreaming was by Marquis D Hervey de saint-denys in 1867 who wrote a book called Dreams and the means of directing them In 1953 Aserinsky and Kleitman discovered REM sleep which started the direct study of dreaming. In the late 1970s researchers used sleep study machines to track eye movements during dreams, at that time two scientists named Keith and Hearne devised a plan to prove that lucid dreaming exists. They took patients that claimed they could lucid dream, and decided upon a pattern of eye movements they would make during a lucid dream. As a result, all the patients were able to signal from the dream world that they were lucid. In 1980 a similar experiment was performed at Stanford University by Stephen LaBerge. This was the first ever published evidence of lucid dreaming. Research now had a method in which to study this phenomenon. 9

8 Today Steven LaBerge runs the Lucidity Institute, which he founded in This organization promotes research into lucid dreaming as well as provide courses to the general public on how to lucid dream. LaBerge has also developed a series of devices to assist with entering the lucid state. The Nova Dreamer is his most popular device. It's a mask that is worn over the eyes and contains LED lights that rest over the eyelids. The lights flash whenever the mask detects the user is in REM sleep. The stimulus is incorporated into the user's dreams thus signaling them that they are dreaming. There are several devices that are on the market that work in a similar fashion. Some people have had varying amounts of success with them, and there are more being developed. There are even some devices that use electrical scalp stimulation. Along with the wearable dream devices, there are supplement stack products that may be useful in achieving the lucid state, along with a battery of smart phone apps that can help a dreamer become aware while asleep. 10

9 Tia's Story: I always had an interest in the spiritual and supernatural. When I was a very young girl, at the age of six or seven, I started to take an interest in card reading. From there, my interests ranged from sea monsters to aliens, and then to all things psychic. I never really fit in with children my age because I always thought that I was different. The more I studied and learned, the more curious I became. I'm surprise my parents never thought I was an unusual child, because while other children were asking to go to Disney movies I wanted to go to to see things like Chariots of fire. My parents obliged and never questioned. I asked my mom just the other day what she thought of all this when I was little, and she replied I never really gave it a second thought. It was something you were interested in, and I had no problem with it. I was very lucky to have such great parents. As I got a bit older I started getting into things like magic and Wicca. 11

10 One day, I stumbled upon techniques for astral projection. I started to read everything I could on the subject and even purchased to tape the contained binaural beats to help achieve that state of consciousness. It was fun and mysterious because I had a secret that no one else knew about, something that I could do that young children my age knew nothing about. Later, I learned about lucid dreaming and practiced techniques to achieve the lucid state of consciousness. Later, I realized that the state of Lucid Dreaming and Astral Projection are very much the same. Today, I still feel as though I'm different from many other people, and I still keep these things personal to myself. I share very little with even the closest people in my life. It's still my secret. Lucid dreaming is fun and adventurous. It's also very spiritual. These techniques, and what I have learned, are things that I do want to share with people. 12

11 Preparation As in any other form of exploration, Lucid Dreaming requires preparation in order to be successful. By preparing in a methodical and thorough way you can go further than you might otherwise. 13

12 The preparations we've cataloged here include: Techniques Teas Supplements Herbs Food Decor Dream Pillow Dream Journal Each preparatory element contributes to the experience, or the possibility of the experience of Lucid Dreaming. There is no way to guarantee that one will reach it. Rather, the preparations here are a way to maximize your chances. 14

13 Techniques The Techniques are step-by-step processes for going from preparation to dreaming. We will walk you through various sessions that incorporate a variety of the supplements and show how they work. 15

14 RC - reality checks TILD - Totem Induced Lucid Dream ADA - all day awareness WBTB - wake back to bed MILD - mnemonic induced lucid dream or mantra induced lucid dream FILD - finger induced lucid dream WILD - wake induced lucid dream DILD - dream induced lucid dream DEILD - dream exit induced lucid dream COBRAS method used with other techniques SILD - senses induced lucid dream CILD clock induced lucid dream Rausis Method OOBE Dream Portal by Tia Hybrid COBRAS by Tia Dream Journal CAT adjustment technique THILD - Thirst Induced Lucid Dream PALD - Partner Assisted Lucid Dream Binaural Beats 16