Dreams: Waking, Sleeping and Lucid
The dream state may be the most liminal condition of all, and one that most of us find ourselves in daily (it is believed by sleep researchers that we dream at some point in our sleep whether we remember it or not). Dreams can be dismissed as mere sleeping fantasies or studied as Freudian clues to our subconscious. Or they can be seen as journeys into other realms of reality. The ancient Chinese sage Chuang Tsu, the most famous Taoist next to Lao Tse, told a famous parable about having dreamt he was a butterfly. Upon awaking, it occurred to him that he had no way of knowing if he was a man who had just woken up from dreaming he was a butterfly or a butterfly who was now dreaming that he was a man. This may seem like a silly thought to some, but upon reflection, how can we really be sure that the line between dreaming and waking is something real? A modern film from 2002, Richard Linkletter's Waking Life looks at this dilemma in an interesting way, as people wake from one dream and find they are not really awake, but only in another dream. Mystics and shamans, of course, have long questioned the conventional (at least conventional in today's rationalistic society) view that dreams are imaginary while our waking state is "real." According to some Eastern philosophies, both are equally illusory. The Tibetan Buddhists in particular have a deep knowledge of Dream Yoga. Of course, the goal of Buddhism is to "wake up" from all dreams, whether sleeping or waking, to arrive at a state of pure consciousness. A more Western way to approach dreams is the modern concept of Lucid Dreaming, as put forth by researchers such as Stephen LaBerge. Lucid dreams are those in which you are aware you are dreaming. If you have this awareness, you can then direct the dream, at least to some extent, in the direction of your choice. Many therapists who have worked with this concept believe that if you can control your dreams, you can have better control over your waking state as well. A good general introduction to many diverse ideas about dreaming can be found in Patricia Garfield's, Creative Dreaming. It is interesting to note that most traditional cultures see dreams as both important and just as real as our waking state.
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