To What Extent Is Lucid Dreaming A Viable Practice For Real world Skills

Contents
Why I chose to explore lucid dreaming.................................................................................................2
What Is Lucid Dreaming?.......................................................................................................................2
Evidence for Lucid Dreaming.............................................................................................................3
How a Lucid Dream can be achieved.....................................................................................................4
Improving a person's likelihood of spontaneously becoming Lucid (DILD-Dream Induced Lucid
Dream)...............................................................................................................................................5
1. Dream Journaling.......................................................................................................................5
2. Reality Checks............................................................................................................................6
3. Mindfulness and Meditation......................................................................................................7
Lucid Dream induction techniques....................................................................................................7
1. MILD (Mnemonic Induced Lucid Dream) technique..................................................................7
2. WBTB (Wake Back To Bed) technique33.....................................................................................8
3. FILD (Finger induced Lucid Dream) technique35.........................................................................8
4. WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dream) technique36........................................................................9
To what extent do we know that improvement of skills in a LD is possible?.........................................9
Theoretical ability to improve waking life motor skills in a Lucid State (Is it possible?)...................10
How are motor skills improved in waking life?............................................................................10
Improvement in a Lucid State......................................................................................................10
The Study.....................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................12
Theoretical potential of improving one's ability to source and retain information in a Lucid State.
.........................................................................................................................................................13
How does sourced information retention (the process of creating memories) occur in waking life,
thus how does it compare to in a LD?..........................................................................................13
How does our ability to recall retained information improve in waking life/In a LD?..................15
Theoretical ability to improve soft skills in a Lucid Dream...............................................................15
What do we mean by soft skills, their importance, and how they can be improved in WL?.......15
Improvement in a Lucid State......................................................................................................16
Primary investigation into the viability of lucid dreaming and its use to practice real-world skills for a
typical person......................................................................................................................................17
The conclusion on a subjective level................................................................................................17
Conclusion – Is Lucid Dreaming a Viable practice for real world skills?...............................................18
Bibliography.........................................................................................................................................19
Why I chose to explore lucid dreaming
Time is finite, and it is believed that conscious memories of prior times stem from one's awareness
of the present moment. If you do not embrace the present or immerse yourself in it, time appears to
pass at a faster rate1. The same time that is so finite to begin with. Not only does it pass faster, but
looking back on prior times, the most vivid and immersive memories (hence those that are perceived
to be longer) are those that we are entirely conscious and attentive to in the moment. If you are not
conscious of your experience, your prior memories appear lesser and you perceive your own life as
being shorter.

The practices of Lucid Dreaming (A state of conscious in which an individual is aware that they are
dreaming and can manipulate the dreams contents) appear to address this in two major ways.
Firstly, the preparation involved in attempting to Lucid Dream (Covered later) improves one's
consciousness of the world around them and of their experience, thus making time appear to move
at a slower rate (through the persons own perception). Secondly, the average person will sleep for
around 229961 hours of their life, with roughly a quarter of this (55000 hours) spent dreaming.
These dreams are often forgotten and therefore do not contribute to our conscious experience. The
act of LD, and its conscious state, enables all these dreams to be remembered, enriching our life
experience and slowing down our perception of time. Not only this, but these dreams are also able
to be controlled and can essentially offer us an extra 2 hours on top of every waking day in which the
dreamer can do anything they want to, beyond the limits of their physical self and even reality.

I therefore chose to delve into the depths of Lucid Dreaming in order to attempt to enrich my
perception of life, grant myself some well needed extra time to do whatever I wanted (Productive or
not), and experience some extraordinary feats that are not possible in the waking world. This project
aims to explore the practical uses of Lucid Dreaming in order to improve a person's waking life and
assess the viability of using it to do so.

What Is Lucid Dreaming?

This section uses the subjective experience of others to form an explanation as to what lucid
dreaming actually is. The information is based on anecdotal evidence so is not ‘proven’, though the
accounts are consistent.

Lucid Dreaming (LD) is a phenomenon in which a dreamer is consciously aware that he/she is
dreaming, whilst they are in a dream. This ‘Conscious’ allows the dreamer to exert a level of control
over the experience that was previously not possible; they are able to alter the environment,
characters and outcome of the dream itself as well as conjure entities within the dream. A standard
dream is forged out of the subconscious thoughts of the dreamer and so becoming aware of such
thoughts opens up a limitless array of possibilities. Anything that can be consciously imagined can
come to exist in the persons dream; should they wish to fly over LA, meet with Einstein to discuss
relativity or even speak to a loved one that passed away, all that is required is for the dreamer to
consciously imagine the scenario and watch as the nature of their dream shifts to enable such a feat.
It is limitless.

1
Marlynn Wei M.d. J.D. - Article published on psychology today titled ‘Meditation May Change The Way We
Perceive Time’ - Date Accessed 22/01/2020 -
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/urban-survival/201910/meditation-may-change-the-way-we-
perceive-time
Not only does LD allow the dreamer to control the reality of their experience, but the activation of
the conscious mind transforms the fuzzy, distant normality of a typical dream into an alternate
reality in which everything that you see, hear, touch, taste and even smell appear as authentic as in
waking life – It is fully immersive. In simpler terms, the dream becomes much clearer and the senses
heighten to the level that is present when you are awake. You feel just as you would if you were
awake, yet you continue to dream. This is since actions in a LD produce the same effects on the
brain, and to a certain extent the body, as the equivalent movements in waking life (WL). An
example is that when you sing in a LD, the same regions of the brain are activated as when you sing
in WL2, thus making it appear to your brain – the organ responsible for sensory perception of an
environment – that they are equivalent. This suggests that to your brain, actions in a LD are identical
to actions in WL, hence all of the same perceptive effects are created; the movements in WL feel
identical in a LD.

Many people will or have already experienced a lucid dream randomly without knowing. However,
one theory suggests that our brain tends to wipe the memory of false experiences (dreams) from our
mind to prevent us recalling and confusing information/experience that did not occur in the waking
world (Reality)3. It is for this reason that many of us do not remember our dreams – including those
that were ‘Lucid’, hence the phenomena is not massively understood. However, the ability to lucid
dream, to recall such dreams, and to use such dreams as a method of improving aspects of a
person’s WL (I explore the extent of which certain aspects can be improved with such methods in
this project) is a skill that can be developed over time just like any other. In fact, it has been
practiced by Buddhists in the mountainous region of Tibet alongside meditation for thousands of
years4. It has been described as a “fully immersive, virtual simulator” in which you can “consciously
and reflectively enhance aspects of your psychological development”5 as well as potentially improve
motor skills and your ability to recall information in WL. For example, it may be possible that in this
“fully immersive, virtual simulator”, a footballer could practice their free kicks and transfer any
improvements into their WL, or a student may be able to forge a solution to a scientific conundrum
using resources that were inaccessible in reality.

Evidence for Lucid Dreaming

This phenomenon in which a dreamer is consciously aware that they are dreaming (Lucid Dreaming)
appears very abnormal and, up until 1975, it was disbelieved by many of the scientific community. It
was believed that dreams did not allow for this conscious awareness and that this state of conscious
could not exist in REM sleep6 (the stage in which virtually all dreams occur). Many saw it as a
delusion, despite thousands of first-hand reports on the subject. However, in 1975 Dr Keith Hearne
of Hull University devised an experiment that would attempt to confirm the existence of Lucid
Dreaming. In prior years, scientific evidence had emerged confirming that movements of the eye
during a dream were reflected by our actual eye movements behind our closed eyelids; a report by
Dr William Dement (a pioneer sleep and dream researcher) stated that a dreamer had been
awakened from REM sleep following a series of around two dozen regular left-right eye movements
and was asked what he was dreaming about. The response was that he was “dreaming about

2
Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. & Howard Rheingold – Audiobook Titled “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming” –
Date accessed 19/11/19 – Ch. 2 24:00
3
Sarah Fielding – Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, PhD, PsyD – Date accessed 14/11/19 –
www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/remembering-dreams-psychology#1
4
Ryan Hurd – Title-History of lucid dreaming: Ancient India to the enlightenment – Date accessed 14/11/19 –
www.dreamstudies.org/history-of-lucid-dreaming-ancient-india-to-the-enlightenment/
5
Tim Post – Tedx Talk on LD – Date accessed 14/11/19 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK3SfNxbK3Y
6
Tim Post – Tedx Talk on LD – Date accessed 14/11/19 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK3SfNxbK3Y
watching a table tennis match, and at that moment had just finished watching a particularly long
rally”7, suggesting that movements of the eye in a dream were reflected my movements of the eye
behind closed eyelids in WL. Hearne used this information to circumvent the natural bodily paralysis
of REM sleep and test whether “Lucid Dreamers” were actually Lucid in their dreams. He instructed a
subject to, when they became lucid that night, perform a sequence of eye movements from left to
right 7 times. The subject was wired to a multi-channel chart consisting of an EEG - Electro-
encephalograph (brainwaves trace), EOG - Electro-oculograph (eye-movement trace) and an EMG -
Electro-myograph recorder to record the movements of their eye that night. Succeeding a 30 minute
period of REM sleep, the signal was received (Shown in the graph below), confirming the lucidity of
the patient and thus the existence of LD itself.

This experiment and the resulting confirmation of the existence of LD has since been used as a
foundation for dream research; Lucid dreamers have been able to signal their lucidity (as displayed
above) and then perform predetermined tasks under monitored conditions so as to analyse the
corresponding activity in the brain. The fact that the same method of ‘lucid signalling’ has been
repeated on numerous occasions for dream research cements the evidence for the existence of LD
as the ocular signals are less likely to have been a coincidence for the one experiment (It is extremely
unlikely that the same coincidence reoccurred under all succeeding experimentation).

How a Lucid Dream can be achieved

The basic principle is that for a person to experience a lucid dream, they have to realise that they are
dreaming whilst they are actually dreaming. This is therefore very specific to the individual, as is
subjective to his or her own conscious mind. However, there are a few universal things that can be
done to improve a person’s likelihood of realising that they are dreaming (Somewhat randomly
within the course of the dream or succeeding deliberate induction methods). In this section, I will
7
Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. & Howard Rheingold – Audiobook Titled “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming” –
Date accessed 19/11/19 – Ch 2 16:20
8
Chart Record from Dr Keith Hearne’s experiment at Hull University presented in an interview by Rebecca
Turner of WOLD– Date accessed -17/11/19 - https://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/keith-hearne-
interview.html
outline these techniques and compare them with existing studies to see which are theoretically the
most effective.

Improving a person's likelihood of spontaneously becoming Lucid (DILD-Dream

Induced Lucid Dream)
Our WL is usually perceived as being normal and we are often not fully conscious of everything that
is going on around us. It is for this reason that when we are dreaming, we are also not fully conscious
of everything around us and so we do not question the abnormal content, subconsciously believing
it to be normal, being unable to see any difference to WL (There is no conscious doubt as to whether
or not we are dreaming). Therefore, for a person to improve their chances of becoming
spontaneously lucid (In the midst of a dream), they have to become more aware of the differences
between a dream and reality (WL)23 and begin to question whether things are in fact normal or
abnormal. However, this awareness is hard to quantify and so it has not been conclusively studied,
hence the given techniques are based on the anecdotal experience of others. The techniques for
doing so are as follows:

1. Dream Journaling
Dream journaling is the act of writing down dreams in detail after they occur. In doing this for lucid
dreaming, a few steps need to be taken:

1) Designate a notebook to dream journaling and keep it at the side of your bed; look at it
multiple times – before bed, during the night and in the morning. This is where you will
record your dreams, but it is also what is known as a Lucid Anchor24. By looking at such
anchor multiple times and reminding yourself that you are going to remember your dreams
as you do so, the act itself supposedly acts as a trigger for the subconscious, labelling the
succeeding experience as ‘important’ allowing the mind to subconsciously attend to it,
making it easier to remember upon waking. Designate 15 minutes upon waking to record
any dreams.
2) Upon waking, write down, in as much detail as you can, everything that you can remember
from the dream. Write it in first person present tense to help you reimagine it upon later
reading. Note the date in the top corner.
3) Identify any strong dream themes – Location, characters, emotions, objects, etc. Underline
or highlight any of these key themes, annotating any details you feel necessary/ that you
couldn’t remember upon initial writing. This will help you to discover any dream signs as well
as understand the context of your dreams.
4) Sketch any strong images if you believe it will help you to recall the dream at a later date.
5) Underline any impossible ideas of the dream e.g. The location layout was different, you
teleport from one place to another, you meet an alien etcetera.
6) After the dream, jot down any major life issues or any connections with the dream and your
current waking life. For example, if you feel distance with a loved one and a similar theme
occurs in the dream. This will help you to identify any recurring dream symbols and better
understand your dreaming mind.
7) Title the dream (Short and simple) and note a capital L next to it if it was a LD, stating also
what induced the lucidity i.e. what made you realise that you were dreaming.

The importance of dream journaling

Dream journaling is hugely beneficial for increasing one’s likelihood of having a DILD and
understanding such dreams in several ways:
-Crucially, if carried out consistently, it improves a person’s ability to recall dreams and as a result, it
allows for analysis of such dreams, identification of recurring themes and greater awareness of the
dream state. The identification of recurring themes can be used to trigger lucidity as you can
consciously tell yourself that the next time such theme arises, you will test whether or not you are
dreaming (explained in the next section – 2.Reality checks)

-In creating a bank of dreams, they can be used to identify the individuals ‘dream signs’ (Aspects of a
dream that are impossible in WL, thus when consciously identified can trigger lucidity for the
individual knows that they are dreaming). They come under a few categories 25, for example: context
– you may be on mars, Inner awareness – Something is unusual about your dream self (thoughts,
emotions etcetera), Action – brakes may not slow down the car when you apply them, Form –
Objects, words, people may be malformed/abnormal. Once these signs are recognised, the most
frequent ones can be identified and consciously looked out for in WL26. This should establish a habit
that transfers to the dream state, allowing the subconscious mind to look out for such signs and thus
trigger lucidity should one be identified.

-Another subjective importance is the use of dream journaling as a form of motivation. Should a
person, over time, remember more dreams with a higher proportion of them being lucid, it is
arguable that this success will drive the individual to continue to puruse lucidity.

2. Reality Checks
A Reality check is a physical or mental action that aims to test whether the performer is in a dream
or in WL27. The desired outcome of the check is usually impossible, and so its success would conclude
that the performer is in fact dreaming. An example of such check would be to attempt to push one
of your fingers through the opposing hand with the intent of its success. If there was resistance, and
the finger did not pass through, the individual would conclude that they were awake. If it passed
through (The impossible) then the individual would conclude that they were dreaming, thus
initiating a lucid dream.

However, when performing a reality check, it is important that the performer is completely
conscious of the action whilst they are carrying it out. It is also important that they genuinely believe
that it is going to work, else in a dream, it will not work either as the dream is controlled by the
individuals mind and intent.

-Reality checks should be carried out multiple times a day in WL (at least 5-10 times).

-They should also be used as a final check in a dream state should the individual suspect that they
are dreaming (So as to avoid false diagnosis of the dream state – the individual believes they are
dreaming when they are in WL).

Why are reality checks important?

By performing reality checks on a regular basis in WL, it is believed that you will begin to do so in
your dreams, thus enabling you to induce lucidity directly. This belief that waking actions are
reflected in a dream stems from the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. This hypothesis suggests
“the content of dreams are largely continuous with waking concepts and concerns of the dreamer” 28.
There is also evidence to suggest that the hypothesis holds true, confirming that by making reality
checks a part of daily life, the chances of such person experiencing a LD increase. However, there is
an evidenced phenomenon known as ’dream lag’ in which the contents of waking life are not
reflected by a dream during the succeeding night, but rather a few days later. Michael Schredl
(Psychologist at the Central Institute of Mental Health) found that on the 6th and 7th days after an
event, there was the highest likelihood of such event appearing in the persons dream 29. This
suggests that it is important to continue to do reality checks over a prolonged period, else it is
unlikely that they will begin to emerge in your dreams.

Another importance of a reality check is that it forces you to stop for a moment, pay attention to
your surroundings and question whether you are awake. This enhances your awareness of the
differences between the two states of dreaming and WL.

3. Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness is the process of fully attending to the present moment, to what we are doing and to
what is going on around us30. Whilst it is innate to humans, there are different levels of mindful
awareness with most of us, for the most part, lacking attention to our actions and environment; we
are on autopilot. Mindful meditation is the act of bringing our full attention to the present moment,
our actions and environment, thus increasing our level of mindfulness and our present awareness.

Why is Mindful meditation important?

Mindful meditation evokes a multitude of different benefits including reduced stress, increased will
to act out of kindness, improved sleep and many more31. However, the main benefit in relation to LD
is that it increases our environmental and self-awareness of WL. This is important for LD as it means
we are better able to distinguish between a dream and reality, thus can more often induce a LD from
within an unconscious dream state. In addition, it is believed that improving one's mindfulness in WL
results in greater lucidity within conscious dreams (LD), hence when a dream becomes lucid, it more
easily altered and therefore offers more possibilities.

Mindful meditation is therefore important as its practice increases one's ability to induce a LD from
within a dream, but it also improves a person's ability to control it, offering more possibilities within
the dream itself.

Lucid Dream induction techniques

There are many techniques out there that aim to directly induce lucid dreams yet, again, the ability
to induce a lucid dream is dependent on so many factors, many of which are unique to the
individual, and therefore the techniques involved are very hard to evaluate. As a result, the
effectiveness of the techniques are again based on anecdotal evidence. It is for this reason that I
have not chosen to evaluate each, but have outlined those that are most popular so that an
individual may choose to explore and decide for himself or herself which they believe to work best
for them. The techniques (referenced either in the method or the title) are as follows:

1. MILD (Mnemonic Induced Lucid Dream) technique

The MILD technique is a very simple technique and can be carried out as follows:

-The individual, as they are falling asleep, should visualise himself or herself in a dream, and should
see themselves becoming lucid, all the while telling themselves “the next time I am dreaming, I want
to realise that I am dreaming”. The dream being visualised should preferably be a dream that they
have already experienced (one from their dream bank) which displays one of their identifierecurring
themes. This is so that there is a stronger likelihood of a similar dream occurring during that nights
REM stage of sleep, hence a stronger likelihood of the rehearsed transition into lucidity occurring 32.

-For the best chances of becoming lucid, La Berge recommends that this technique be paired with
the WBTB technique, which involves waking during the night and falling back asleep. This is due to a
number of reasons which will be explained in the following section, however it means that the
individual can visualise themselves back in the dream that they just had (Which is still fresh in their
mind) and see themselves becoming lucid in it.

2. WBTB (Wake Back To Bed) technique33

The WBTB technique involves an individual waking themselves up during a REM period of sleep to
stimulate conscious in such a stage (the stage in which dreams occur), making it more likely that
upon falling back asleep into the REM stage, the brain will remain conscious. It is as follows:

1) Go to bed and allow yourself to sleep for 6 hours. Set an alarm clock for this time. This will help to
not only awaken you from sleep, but also awaken the conscious mind.

2) When the alarm goes off, get out of bed and fully awaken your mind. Occupy yourself and mind
for 20minutes to an hour by focusing on a mentally stimulating task. For example, reading a book,
studying, meditating etcetera. However, it is recommended that this be looking back over your
dream bank, familiarising yourself with any dream signs so as to be better equipped to spot them.

3) Go back to bed and relax, visualising the next dream, practicing the MILD technique, meditating or
just slipping back into the next phase of sleep.

The reason that the technique involves waking so late in the night is because as the night progresses,
REM sleep becomes more frequent and the duration of each cycle increases, allowing more
opportunity for dreams, thus those that can be lucid.34

3. FILD (Finger induced Lucid Dream) technique35

The FILD technique is slightly different from other techniques in the sense that it is almost an instant
trigger for lucidity. It requires you to be on the verge of sleep, preferably during a REM period and so
it is usually paired with WBTB. The method is as follows:

1) If it is being paired with WBTB, the individual should set an alarm for 6 hours and go to bed, if it is
being done immediately before bed, they should proceed to stage three.

2) Once the alarm goes off, proceed to stage three.

3) The individual, as they are about to enter/re-enter sleep (they should be at a stage of intense
fatigue) should gently move their index and middle fingers up and down in an alternating manner.
This movement should displace no more than a millimetre and should feel almost as if the fingers
are not moving (like pressing a key on a keyboard without actually pressing such a key down). Focus
only on the movement of the fingers, letting yourself fall asleep. The aim is to hold conscious
awareness by sending electrical stimuli from the brain to the fingers as you enter sleep. Do not count
the movements or focus on other thoughts, as this will prevent such occurrence. Simply let yourself
fall asleep whilst doing these movements.

-After about 30 seconds of the movement, perform a reality check. If the technique was successful,
the reality check will determine that you are in a Lucid Dream. If not, then go back to sleep and
either try again after an hour or wait until another night.

4. WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dream) technique36

The WILD technique is similar to the FILD technique as it involves entering a LD straight from WL. It
requires focus on one’s mental state of waking whilst the physical body enters sleep. This technique
is not for everyone as it can result in a phenomenon called sleep paralysis in which the body is
paralysed yet the individual is still awake. This is however natural and actually occurs every night in
REM sleep so as to stop the body acting out the contents of dreams. The phenomena is not harmful
and is actually very beneficial for inducing Lucid Dreaming. It is not permanent and it will subside as
it does every REM period. However, if this scares you, it is recommend that you avoid this technique,
as the fear itself can reduce the likelihood of experiencing a LD from such event. The method is as
follows:

1) Get into bed and get comfortable; stretch muscles, relieve any tensions, scratch any itches
etcetera.
2) Carry out a phase of relaxation in which you mentally scan your body, starting from the feet
and ending at the head. Imagine any tension fading from the muscles/body as you slowly
scan over it. Continue to do so until you feel completely relaxed and limp.
3) Now begin to focus on your breathing; take deep breaths, paying attention to the inhalation
and exhalation without altering your breathing to that that feels uncomfortable. As you do
so, try to feel your heartbeat, and then if possible, try to lower it to a relaxed rate. *This
deep breathing phase whilst listening to your heart rate should last for 10-20 minutes*
4) Attempt to see images; start simple and attempt to imagine a regular shape such as a square
or circle. Once it appears, attempt to improve its clarity, and then let it fade away. Slowly
introduce other shapes and become comfortable in your ability to do so before attempting
to change their colour or make them move.
5) Following this, begin to envision more complex images such as towns or beaches. Stef at
WOLD suggests that as you go with these images, they appear more and more as if they are
creating themselves, until eventually no effort is required and the images form entirely on
their own.
6) Decide on a setting for your dream. It should be one with little complexity, for example a
woodland rather than a busy party. Intensively visualise such a scene but focus on, as Stefan
says, ‘seeing it rather than imagining it’.
7) Once the scene is established, begin to put yourself and your awareness into the
environment. Gently look around with your mind and observe. Then begin to observe the
other senses, what can you hear, smell, feel?

-At this stage, tell yourself that you are dreaming and perform a reality check. If its successful,
you are now dreaming consciously whilst the body is asleep.

To what extent do we know that improvement of skills in a LD is

possible?
Since Lucid Dreaming became a recognised state of conscious in 1975, there have been numerous
studies into its potential by leading researchers across the globe. In this section, I explore the
theoretical ability to improve motor skills and the ability to source and retain information within a
LD. I will also explore the potential of LD to improve traits known as soft skills (Communication,
public speaking etcetera). I shall do this by comparing how these are done in WL and then how they
compare to a LD.

Theoretical ability to improve waking life motor skills in a Lucid State (Is it possible?)
How are motor skills improved in waking life?
For a performer to carry out, and then see improvement in a desired motor skill, the performer
needs to be able to mentally plan the action before it is conducted. Following this stage of motor
planning, the performer will attempt to perform the action. If the action fails, this would be down to
two possible reasons: The first of which being that the motor plan was not optimal (Fault 1), hence
would not allow the movement to reach the desired outcome. For example, a jumper’s motor plan
may involve jumping off their weaker foot, which is not optimal as would not allow for a maximal
projectile force. The second possible reason is that the movement carried out did not fit the
performers motor plan (Fault 2), hence resulted in a sub-optimal outcome. For example, the
performer may have intended to take 11 steps before jumping off their right foot, however the
movement may have resulted in just 10 steps being taken and a jump off their left foot.

 In the first fault (Fault 1), the performer would attempt to improve by altering their motor
plan of the action to be carried out. Once they had established this new motor plan and
tested it in practice, if the action did not succeed, or the performer felt that improvement
was still possible, they would either: A) Revise the existing motor plan (if fault 1 was still the
issue) or, B) Work on their motor delivery of the existing plan (if fault 2 was the reason for
sub-optimal performance, as oppose to the motor plan itself).
 In the second fault (Fault 2), the performer would attempt to improve their motor delivery
by repeating the action, identifying the cause of fault (e.g. stride length) and attempting to
correct such a fault as necessary (e.g. shortening or lengthening each stride).

Once both faults are corrected, the performer would then repeat the action as many times as they
felt necessary in order to develop “muscle memory” so that they could reproduce such movement
on a subsequent occasion. This stage of practice with the intent of improvement can also help to
identify further faults, thus bring about further improvements, however the main purpose is to
improve a performer’s efficiency in the action and develop the stated “Muscle memory”.

This process of revising an identified flaw in a motor plan and perfecting such a plan through practice
enables the development and improvement of a motor skill, and so, for a motor skill to be
developed in a lucid dream, these two abilities need to be possible. However, for such improvement
to be transferred to that of waking life, the processes of developing such “Muscle memory” need to
be equivalent in the dream state and waking life.

Improvement in a Lucid State

As outlined in “What is Lucid Dreaming”, in a LD you are conscious, and so you can consciously
devise a motor plan, identify flaws in such plan and then adjust it accordingly. In fact, in a LD, you are
actually able to simulate an individual carrying out your motor plan by consciously imagining as such
and this allows you to observe it from a different perspective, thus improving your ability to identify
any errors and flaws in such plan and make any necessary adjustments. Moreover, in a LD, due to
the environment and the senses being as authentic as in WL, physical practice of such motor plans is
also possible in the existing dreamscape, just as it is in WL. However, the ability to conjure objects
and equipment as well as alter the environment of the dream means that practice is more easily
accessible than in waking life as any requirements can be met following the mental creation of such
required entities. The ability to devise motor plans and then revise flaws in these motor plans and to
practice such plans exist in a Lucid state and so, as stated earlier, this means that improvement is
possible within the bounds of the dream; the ability to simulate others and alter the dreams
contents means it may even be more effective.

However, the question as to whether the processes of developing “Muscle memory” are equivalent
in a Lucid State and a waking state is a difficult one to answer. The reason being that, at this current
date, Muscle Memory is not yet fully understood and, as a result, there is no way of studying its
development. It is for this reason that there is currently no possible way to compare its ‘creation’ in
a LD and in WL, thus no way to confirm whether the transfer of improvements made in a LD to WL is
possible. However, it has been shown that the neural mechanisms responsible for physical
movement in WL are similar to the neural mechanisms of ‘physical’ movement in a LD 9. The study
showed that brain activity in the sensorimotor cortex – which is responsible for controlling physical
movements – was very similar when movements were performed in WL and in a LD10. Two
successful Lucid Dreamers were made to LD within an MRI machine and their brain activity recorded
using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). They indicated their lucidity using a pattern of
pre determined eye movements and then proceeded to clench their left hand in the dream state.
The results showed that the same areas of the motor cortex lit up in the same way when this action
was performed in a LD and then in WL. This is significant as another study conducted on mice
suggests that upon repeatedly sending electrical impulses down nerve fibres known as axons in the
brain (neural mechanisms), due to repeating physical actions, the fatty substance called myelin that
‘insulates’ these axons appear to grow11. This idea has also been proven to occur in rats by R.
Douglas Fields who claims “myelination may be an underappreciated mechanism of activity-
dependent nervous system plasticity”12. This growth of myelin (Myelination) results in better
electrical insulation of the axons, hence better electrical insulation of the electrical signals the brain
used to enable such movements. As a result, these electrical signals move more efficiently along the
axons in the brain and body, delivering a stronger signal in less time to the muscles, which may be
the cause of improved performance, and what is known as “Muscle memory”. If we consider the
idea that myelination and its resulting increase in insulation of axons in the body is actually
responsible for improved efficiency of performance and the idea of “Muscle memory”. Then, if
myelin builds up around axons in humans in the same way as it does in mice - due to the repeated
use of neural pathways - the fact that the neural mechanisms responsible for physical movements in
reality are similar to those in a LD indicates that myelin production, hence the creation of “muscle
memory” is also equivalent. This would deliver the conclusion that any improvements made in a LD
are in fact transferrable to WL.

However, this conclusion relies upon the fact that the process of myelination of axons in humans is
equivalent to that in mice - in the sense that it occurs due to the repeated use of neural pathways -
as well as being the scientific reasoning behind “developing muscle memory”. Both ideas are yet to
be proven, and as a result, without further investigation we cannot confirm that improvements
made in a LD are transferrable to WL from such information, though it does suggest such case. Our
lack of understanding of the concept of “Muscle memory” or what it is in the body that changes due
to practice means that there is currently only one way to assess whether the improvement is
transferrable to WL. This is to compare two groups of people, both of which will undertake some
sort of identical motor test, then one will practice such motor movements in a LD, and the other will
not practice at all. There may also be a group of people that practice in WL or mentally. The same
test will then be taken again by each group following such practice and the results preceding
practice will be compared to the results succeeding practice. This will not be able to confirm whether
the improvement is transferrable, but it will help to identify any correlations between lucid practice
and waking life improvement, thus enabling an informed conclusion to be made.
9
Derek Beres – Date accessed 19/11/19 - https://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/lucid-dreaming
10
Max Planck – Scientific study titled “Dreamed Movement Elicits activation in the sensorimotor cortex” – Date
accessed 19/11/19 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22036177
11
Annie Bosler and Don Greene – Ted-Ed Talk – Date accesses 19/11/19 - https://youtu.be/f2O6mQkFiiw

12
R. Douglas Fields (Neuroscientist) – Scientific study titled “Myelination: An overlooked mechanism of
synaptic plasticity” – Date accessed 27/11/2019 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1474837/
 The Study
This experiment has been carried out and studied on numerous occasions, all with similar results.

The one that I have chosen to use was electronically published on the 7 th April 2015 by the Journal of
Sports Sciences and was titled “Effectiveness of motor practice in Lucid Dreams: a comparison with
physical and mental practice”13

The Procedure
1. 64 adults (ages averaging 31 years old with a mix of female and male) were all asked to
complete an online sequential finger tapping exercise in which they were shown 5 numbers
and asked to type the sequence as quickly and accurately as possible for 30 seconds. This
was done in the evening prior to practice.
2. The participants were then split into four roughly equal groups: Lucid dreamers, a mental
practice group, a physical practice group and a control (who would not practice) group.
3. Alarms were set during the night for each group so that either LD practice, mental rehearsal
practice, or physical practice could be completed at the same time.
4. The following morning, each group completed the same test and any improvements were
recorded.

The Results
After analysis, the researchers found that “All three types of practice increased performance speed
without compromising accuracy – the error rate did not significantly differ between the two tests
(pre-test and post-test)”. In addition, it was found that “No significant improvements were observed
for the control group”, thus displaying that the improvements for each group were in fact due to the
practice itself as oppose to having been exposed to the test prior. This allows the conclusion to be
made that practice in a LD and any improvements made within such dream are in fact transferrable
to WL as when practice in a LD was compared to no practice, there was a significantly greater
improvement. Moreover, when comparing the extent of progress between the 3 types of practice
the largest increase in performance speed was as a result of LD practice. The increased performance
speed following LD practice was 20%, mental practice in WL was 12% and physical practice was 17%.
This suggests that practicing motor skills in a LD may be more effective than physically practicing in
waking life, though not by much.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the required abilities for motor improvement to occur (The ability to revise flaws in a
motor plan and the ability to practice such a plan) exist in a LD, and so improvement within the
dream is possible. Furthermore, although the exact processes of “muscle memory creation” cannot
be confirmed as identical (thus proving improvement is transferrable to WL), many studies conclude
that this is the case, for example the one displayed above, and so it is also possible to transfer the
improvement made within the dream into waking Life. Hence, it is possible to improve waking life
motor skills in a lucid state.

13
Date accessed 20/11/19 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25846062?
utm_source=World+of+Lucid+Dreaming&utm_campaign=6e663efed6-
EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_11_04_59&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_677e18ea2c-6e663efed6-
57542945&mc_cid=6e663efed6&mc_eid=0c998b3efd
Theoretical potential of improving one's ability to source and retain information in a
Lucid State.
How does sourced information retention (the process of creating memories) occur in waking
life, thus how does it compare to in a LD?
The entire process of creating and storing memories is not yet fully understood and there is a lot
about the role of the brain in relation to such processes that we do not know enough about to
formulate an exact demonstration. However, the most used model of memory creation and storage
is that of the information-processing model which is as follows:

As stated by James Kelly14 , Human Memory is divided into 3 functions for storage:

1. Sensory
2. Short Term (STM)
3. Long Term (LTM)

The sensory memory phase involves the brain holding onto any sensory stimuli for a small fraction of
time after the initial stimulation. Kelly claims this time to be between a fraction of a second and a
few seconds, though another source claims it to be in the region of 200-500 milliseconds 15. At this
stage, the brain can hold onto a huge amount of information. This information is almost
instantaneously processed, and the brain decides in that moment whether it should be ignored or if
it is perceived (consciously or subconsciously attended to). Should it be perceived, then the brain
stores it in its STM. It is believed that the Temporal Lobe is responsible for this process of deciding
how sensory memory is used16.

The STM can then hold around 7 pieces of information at a time for a period of around 20-
30seconds, so long as it is not rehearsed e.g. conscious thought of such information. However, the
stage at which STM is stored in LTM is again, not yet understood, though some sources believe that
this stage occurs during sleep17.

In long-term memory, encoding (conversion into an interpretable form) occurs at the hippocampus
(a structure within the brain) in which all relevant information for the memory being attended to is
brought together, for example: time, place, Iconic sensory memories (Visuals) and echoic sensory
memories (Sounds) as well as much more. Neurons establish new physical connections with one
another, and this is the first stage in which physical entities are created. This stage results in the
creation of either an implicit or an explicit memory. An implicit memory relates to unconscious
habits such as chewing or walking. It is therefore the explicit memories – those that we are
consciously aware of - that we are interested in. They are split into two groups – Episodic and
Semantic – with episodic being events or things that happen to you, and semantic being the general
retention of information. However, the creation and storage of all memories in the long term are

14
James Kelly – Article titled ”Memory” - Published in September 2011 – Date accessed 25/11/2019 -
http://thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/learning/memory/
15
The Human Memory – An article titled ”Sensory Memory” - Updated Sept 27 2019 – Date accessed
25/11/2019 - https://human-memory.net/sensory-memory/
16
Lumen Learning - Lesson titled ”Memory and the brain” - Date accessed 25/11/2019
-https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/memory-and-the-brain/
17
Scientific American – Scientific article – Date published Sept 26 2007 – Date accessed 28/11/2019 -
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-short-term-memory-to-long-term/
selective; the hippocampus determines whether the memory is important, thus whether it should be
stored – If they have been “rehearsed repeatedly," or have a strong emotional value 18 .

As a LD is as authentic as WL, sharing the same level of conscious, and as it appears somewhat
identical to the brain as WL, the creation of implicit and explicit memories should be the same,
hence a person should be able to retain information sourced in a LD and transfer such information to
WL. However, this is yet to be scientifically proven and as a result, such assumptions are based on
the accounts of others and their experiences with LD’s.

In terms of a person’s ability to source information in a LD, it is very restricted as they will not have
access to common resources such as books and websites that are found in WL. The lucid dreamer is
locked inside his or her own mind, hence can only source information that they have previously
retained. This leads to the conclusion that new literary information found in books, websites
etcetera cannot be sourced or retained whilst in a Lucid State as the resources are not available.
However, this does not mean that all information is unable to be sourced. In actuality, the ability to
conjure objects, to change the environment and, to a certain extent, access the subconscious means
that there is potential to retrieve episodic memories such as visuals in a dream state that could not
be retrieved in WL. For example, you may be able to conjure images of maps and photographs
etcetera that you had previously seen but ‘forgotten’ and thus memorise information on such
entities for use in WL (though again, this theoretical idea is currently impossible to prove so remains
just a theory). In addition to information that has previously been seen, the abilities stated above
also allow solutions to problems of any nature to be more easily determined. For example, if a
person in WL cannot determine a solution to a mathematical problem that they have come across,
once lucid they may use their subconscious mind and dream state to help connect the dots and
reach a solution that they were unable to prior. They may be able to summon visuals to help aid
such experimentation or explore all their thoughts through multiple perspectives. An example of this
can be found in Stephen LaBerge & Howard Rheingold’s 1990 book, “Exploring the World of Lucid
Dreaming” in which a computer coder would summon ‘Einstein’ in their dreams to attempt to create
computer codes and, once back in WL would test such codes to find that they worked. Though
Einstein may not be very helpful when it comes to computer coding, it is proposed that the
individual's perception of Einstein's intelligence allowed this embodiment to act as an intermediate
between the pure ability of the individual and the individuals conscious thoughts. It is essentially said
to have bypassed any of the doubt and mental cloud an individual can experience when they are
stuck in a single perspective of a problem, allowing them to progress via a personally unbiased route.
Though again, there is no scientific evidence for this and currently no way to produce such, so this is
just a theory based on the observations of those involved.

In conclusion, even though the ability to source existing literature in a dream is inexistent,
information in the form of solutions to problems like the one stated above can be sourced and
retained via simulations, experiments and potentially subconscious interactions. Moreover,
information in the form of episodic memories can also be attained and even simulated so that any
entities such as maps, books etcetera that have been seen in WL can be consciously recreated and
memorised (though this ability has not been thoroughly explored and so the accuracy of memories
may not be maximal and more research would be needed to assess this practice). The transferral of
this information to WL can then be improved by repeatedly rehearsing the solution in order to signal

18
Dean Burnett, Doctor of Neuroscience – Date published Sept 2015 – Date accessed 25/11/2019 -
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/sep/16/what-happens-in-your-brain-when-you-make-a-
memory
to the hippocampus that it is a short-term memory that the individual wishes to retain. This will
cause the hippocampus to encode it into that of an episodic memory that can be retained.

How does our ability to recall retained information improve in waking life/In a LD?
As with the process of creating memories, there is little information as to what changes in the brain
that enables a person to recall information on command efficiently, such as that from a semantic
memory. However, like the development of motor skills, Alison Pearce Stevens believes that
improved ability to recall information may be due to the myelination of the axons on Glial cells
found in the brain, and that this myelination occurs when the Glial cell them self-grow due to
repeated use19. Although, again, this is yet to be fully proven on humans and there is currently no
practical way to monitor its creation. It is therefore due to this inability to fully understand the
process of strengthening neural pathways and improving one’s ability to recall information that
means there is no way to compare such processes in a LD to that of WL.

Theoretical ability to improve soft skills in a Lucid Dream.

What do we mean by soft skills, their importance, and how they can be improved in WL?
Soft skills are defined by Collins dictionary as “Interpersonal skills such as the ability to communicate
well with other people and to work in a team”20. However, Investopedia claims that they are
character traits that characterise a person's relationships with other people, though they also claim
that sociologists use the term ’soft skills’ to describe a person's emotional intelligence 21.

So essentially the term ‘Soft skills’ is very loosely defined and encompasses a huge range of ideas,
skills and abilities such as a person's ability to communicate, to be understanding, to overcome
mental challenges, to evoke laughter and so on. They contrast ‘Hard skills’ which are very rigorously
defined as being “specific, teachable abilities which may be required in a given context, such as a job
or university application”22. The reason that they are so loosely defined is due to their vast nature
and inability to be quantified. However, they are very highly regarded in the workplace, in education
and in many other aspects of life as it is these skills that give rise to a well-rounded individual that
can adapt to any given issue, be resilient to stressful situations, go above and beyond what is
required, but also be a great person to be around. As a result, many seek improvement of such skills
in an attempt to improve as an individual.

In order to improve these skills in WL, I believe the steps to be taken are as follows:

1. An individual must first identify a skill that needs improving. They may already have an idea
of what they aren't good at through experience, or they can find out by throwing themselves
into a given situation and testing their ability to interact with it. For example, you may test
your public speaking skills by performing a speech in public i.e. at an assembly of some sort.
2. Once the skill to be improved is identified, in order to improve, the individual must identify
what needs to be improved i.e. what makes the ‘soft skill’ as good as it can be. However, due

19
Alison Pearce Stevens – Scientific Article titled “Learning rewires the brain” – Date Accessed 27/11/2019 -
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/learning-rewires-brain
20
Collins dictionary – Date accessed 02/12/2019 - https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/soft-
skills
21
Investopedia – Article titled ”Soft skills” - Reviewed and updated by Will Kenton and Brian Abbot on
14/04/2019 - Date accessed 02/12/19 - https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/soft-skills.asp

22
Margaret Rouse – Definition of hard skills – Date accessed 02/12/2019 -
https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/hard-skills
 to the nature of soft skills, this can be very subjective and so it is down to the opinion of the
individual. In order to identify aspects of the skill that make it ‘good’, the individual must
look at themselves or others at times when the skill is demonstrated and note what they
perceive as ‘good’.
3. Following the identification of what needs to be improved, the individual must practice the
skill in several different situations, attempting to implement such changes. For example, if
public speaking was the skill, it may be practiced in front of peers, strangers, a camera etc.
This is so that the individual is eventually able to remain at ease and is consistently effective
in any given scenario.
4. Repeat steps 1-3

Once all these steps are taken, and if the individual is persistent in practice, they will acquire
noticeable differences in such skills.

Improvement in a Lucid State

In a lucid dream, everything that is required to practice soft skills are available without the potential
negative implications on WL.

As outlined in the prior section, in order to improve, you need to be able to identify skills that need
to be improved. This is extremely accessible in a LD as you can consciously create and simulate social
situations designed to test specific skills. For example, you could place yourself in front of a huge
audience in an auditorium to practice public speaking. In addition, it may be possible to review such
speech on a big screen or holographic simulation to observe what was good or bad about it and
identify whether it needs improvement.

Once this need for improvement is identified, the second step (identifying specifically what about it
needs improving) is also very accessible as you can simulate others demonstrating such skills,
observe them, make changes and repeat to see whether you perceive it as being better or worse,
hence identifying what makes the skill as good as it can be and thus what you need to do to improve.

Finally, the third stage (Practice in several different situations with the aim of implementing
improvements and becoming confident in any given situation) is very easily achieved in a LD. The
ability to alter the dreamscape and its contents means that you can immerse yourself in a huge array
of different situations in a very short time frame. For example, you could perform a speech in front
of a mirror, implementing that, that you believe to be ‘good’ and then you could immediately step
onto a stage and attempt to perform in front of an audience of 1000 people. It is for this reason that
practice of soft skills in a LD is so much more effective than practicing in WL; there is no
inconvenience of attempting to find such situations, no time consuming travel or build up and no
social/career based consequences e.g. a failed pitch to a major client in a LD would not lose you said
client. You could just practice the pitch again and, once perfected, take it into the waking world and
do it for real.

In conclusion, just as in WL, there is the ability to consciously identify weaknesses in an individual's
arsenal of soft skills and, to an extent, it is easier than in WL as the individual can simulate and
immerse themselves in situations to test and identify such weaknesses. There is also the ability to
think about what makes a performance of the identified skill good in a LD, either from the limits of
thought itself or the individual can simulate others performing it and make changes to the others
actions whilst observing for an easier identification of what works well. This ability to simulate others
is not available in WL, though in WL you have other people's opinions and entities such as YouTube
which can be more effective. Then, the practice of such skill is also available in a LD and is
dramatically more convenient than in WL as you can immediately create any desired situation and
practice any soft skill in a multitude of different scenarios without the need for travel, sourcing of
such situations or the social/career-based consequences of a poor performance of any such soft skill.

Primary investigation into the viability of lucid dreaming and its use
to practice real-world skills for a typical person.
In this section I have attempted to form an in-depth opinionated claim as to whether LD is a viable
practice for real world skills. I have done this by using my secondary research into how it can be
achieved to attempt to become lucid and then assess the difficulty of doing so. I also aim to identify
any barriers to practice of skills in the state. My plan was as follows:

Over a 16-day period, I did the following:

1.Began a dream journal following all steps outlined in the prior section on dream journaling. I Then
used this journal to identify recurring themes in my dreams, identify dream signs and improve my
awareness of the dream state.

2.Meditated for a minimum of 5 minutes every day to improve my awareness of WL as well as to

improve the lucidity of any LDs that I had.

3.Practiced mindfulness at least 3 times a day – For the same reason as meditation.

4.Performed reality checks at least 10 times per day as well as consciously looking out for any dream
signs identified as a result of 1.

5.Attempted the paired combination of WBTB and MILD on 3 designated occasions.

The conclusion on a subjective level

During the investigation, I was able to Lucid Dream on numerous occasions (though due to my lack
of equipment – a sleep laboratory – I was not able to demonstrate this externally) confirming its
existence on a personal level. This success also enabled me to gain a better understanding of the
state and as a result I have discovered a few things that may impact the viability of the practice for
the typical person and have concluded a few determining factors as to whether practice in a LD is
viable for such a person:

Firstly, I found that the practices required to prepare for attempting to become lucid required a lot
of commitment and constant attention; the dream journaling meant waking up earlier than normal
to allow enough time to do so, the mediation again required time to be set out during the day which
at times felt impossible (especially on a busy day) and the mindfulness and reality checks were easily
forgotten and felt unending. This at first, alone, was enough to want to stop before the end goal was
achieved and may initially deter those already struggling for time. However, on the one hand I felt
that these practices by the end of the experiment were no longer perceived as chores and I found
them impacting my day less and less, with the majority (Meditation, mindfulness, dream journaling)
actually enriching my day as well as making me feel as if I had more time. Although, on the other
hand, due to external factors I was forced to stop these practices altogether for an extended period
and succeeding this period, getting back into the habit of doing them once again felt like a chore, as
if it was eating again into my precious time. It is for this reason that I believe if an individual's
schedule is not well organised and/or they have very little time or a poor motivation to commit to
the practices for an extended period, then I do not believe that practice in a lucid state for their skills
is viable. However, if the individual can dedicate such a period and is willing to commit for the long
run then such a practice is viable and offers great opportunity.
Secondly, after achieving lucidity on numerous occasions, I discovered that there appears to be a
range of Lucidity and on the lower end it is difficult to control aspects of the dream (which is
fundamental to improving your ability to develop skills as previously explained) whilst on the
opposing end the opposite is true. I began looking at how I could improve my lucidity from within
the dream and discovered a few techniques that are used to ‘stabilize’ such a dream 37 and improve
your ability to control it. These techniques were however limited, and I found that the ability to
control the state was, for the most part, dependant on my mind-set and level of subconscious doubt
as to whether the dream was controlled entirely by the mind or not, though I did find that my ability
to control the dream improved with subsequent attempts; the first left me only being able to take
off a few floors into the air, whilst in my second I was able to teleport throughout the dreamscape
and conjure a few simple objects. The factors that I believe to determine one's ability to control a LD
from my experience are subconscious doubt (or a lack of) and experience of LD (or a lack of). I
believe the doubt stems from acceptance of WL and its continuities that are out of an individual's
control - Time, setting, other individuals etcetera - hence I believe that if an individual is not open
minded and willing to accept that reality is not constant within the dream state, then they will not
be able to utilise a LDs full potential and it may be argued that, for them, LD is not a viable practice. I
also believe that if an individual is not able to commit to practice on a regular basis and/or suffers
from sleep deprivation, hence cannot develop their experience then LD is not a viable practice (at
least until this changes/ is resolved). On the other hand, should an individual exhibit such traits and
be able to practice, then, once within a LD, they would be able to use the state to complete such
practices with ease. Moreover, I found that succeeding the practice of the preparatory techniques
stated above, achieving lucidity (even if on the lower end of the spectrum) was relatively easy as I
found that the paired induction methods that I used were very effective and worked on all 3
occasions.

Overall, in light of my primary experiment, I can conclude that Lucid Dreaming is not a quick practice
that can be performed on random occasions (Like physical practice); it is a skill in itself and once the
skill is developed, it can then be used to improve certain skills (with many advantages over physical
practice). The process of becoming adept in controlling this alternate state of conscious, and
therefore being able to practice real world skills, offers many challenges that may mean the practice
is not possible for some individuals, rendering LD an invalid option. Though for those that can
overcome such challenges, LD is arguably a very valuable skill and is a very viable practice.

Conclusion – Is Lucid Dreaming a Viable practice for real world

skills?

The theoretical answer to whether LD can be used to practice real world skills is yes, it can be. In its
optimum form, all the necessities for practice and improvement of a skill are present and the
impossible becomes possible allowing the performer to practice anything, in any state that they wish
as long as information of a tangible nature in WL is not required. For example, any physical skills, soft
skills and to a certain extent memory can be improved, though study – if the material cannot be
recalled – cannot be achieved as you cannot retrieve the tangible material from WL within the
bounds of a LD. In terms of its viability, the subjective nature of LD means that it depends on the
person attempting such practice. LD is a skill, and without proper development of the skill, the
optimum form cannot be achieved, thus limiting the uses of such a state. This development offers a
few direct challenges such as the consumption of time, a conflicting view of conscious reality and a
battle against our natural tendency to enter the semi-conscious state of ‘autopilot’. These challenges
for many require too much commitment, motivation and time to overcome and for these
individuals, the optimum form of LD would be unattainable and so LD would not be a viable practice.
On the opposing side, many people will be able to commit, find the time and have the motivation to
endure the process of developing the skill of LD and for them, LD is a viable practice as they would
be able to experience such a state of conscious in its optimum form. Finally -

Lucid Dreaming is a capable and viable practice for real world skills so long as the circumstances of
the individual seeking such practice do not prevent the LD’s reaching their optimum form.

Bibliography

1. Marlynn Wei M.d. J.D. - Article published on psychology today titled ‘Meditation May
Change The Way We Perceive Time’ - Date Accessed 22/01/2020
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/urban-survival/201910/meditation-may-change-the-
way-we-perceive-time

Evaluation – This resource is an article from ‘psychology today’, which is intent on keeping readers
up to date with current psychological developments. It was written by a board certified psychiatrist
who is a public speaker of mindfulness, and it was published recently – Oct 2019. The article helped
to evidence my belief about the passage of time in relation to conscious attention. It was therefore a
very useful resource as it was contemporary, written by a trusted professional and provided useful
information for my project.
2. Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. & Howard Rheingold – Audiobook Titled “Exploring the World of Lucid
Dreaming” – Date accessed 19/11/19 – Ch. 2 24:00

Evaluation – This resource is an audiobook aimed to make aware of and explain how to utilise lucid
dreaming. A doctor of psychophysiology who has dedicated over 40 years of his life to Lucid
Dreaming wrote it in 1990. It has provided a lot of information in regards to the physiological
similarities between WL and LD as well as how a LD can be achieved. This resource was extremely
useful as even though it was not written as recently as some others, it provided a huge amount of
valid information and anecdotal evidence for my project.

3. Merriam Webster – Date accessed 10/11/19 - www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lucid

4. Sarah Fielding – Article titled ‘Why some people always remember their dreams and others forget’ -
Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, PhD, PsyD – Date accessed 14/11/19
– www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/remembering-dreams-psychology#1

Evaluation – This article’s purpose is to enlighten its audience on the different theories behind
why we forget almost all of our dreams. It has been medically reviewed and the theories stem
from existing research, though the source itself was mainly just a summary of others ideas and
didn’t offer a conclusive reason, hence its use was limited. Though it did provide me with a few
ideas about the reasoning behind why we forget dreams and so it was fairly useful.
5. Ryan Hurd – Title-History of lucid dreaming: Ancient India to the enlightenment – Date accessed
14/11/19 – www.dreamstudies.org/history-of-lucid-dreaming-ancient-india-to-the-enlightenment/
6. Tim Post – Tedx Talk on LD – Date accessed 14/11/19 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=OK3SfNxbK3Y

Evaluation – This resource is a video made by TEDx who’s intention is to spread academic ideas
and simplify the concepts so that they are accessible for everyone. The video itself provided
useful and valid information as to what LD is and the development of its acceptance. Moreover,
it provided a more modern perspective which builds upon that of Laberge’s, allowing me to see
how it and its acceptance has changed over time.
7. Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. & Howard Rheingold – Audiobook Titled “Exploring the World of Lucid
Dreaming” – Date accessed 19/11/19 – Ch 2 16:20

8. Chart Record from Dr Keith Hearne’s experiment at Hull University presented in an interview by
Rebecca Turner of WOLD– Date accessed -
17/11/19 - https://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/keith-hearne-interview.html

Evaluation – The image displays the results of a test carried out by Hearne. The test provided
evidence for the existence of Lucid Dreaming. This resource is therefore incredibly useful as I no
longer had to question the concept of Lucid Dreaming’s validity itself, but could focus on its
applications. The data is very trusted as has been recreated on multiple occasions to test other
aspects of lucid dreaming.
9. Derek Beres – Date accessed 19/11/19 - https://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/lucid-dreaming

Evaluation – This resource is an article written by Derek Beres, a fitness instructor who is a
columnist of big think, a website which claims to ‘Challenge common sense assumptions’ and
promotes ‘thinking in new ways’. The resource provided valuable information about the
possibilities of improving motor skills in a lucid state and began to cover the scientific reasoning
behind why it was possible which I then applied to my project. However, even though the source
was written fairly recently – 2016 – Beres is not a professional and the information he used was
not referenced, so its validity is in question. Although, after some external research, I discovered
the source study of such information and it proved accurate. Therefore, the resource is very
useful as it provided valid information for a key aspect of my project – Motor improvement.
10. Max Planck – Scientific study titled “Dreamed Movement Elicits activation in the sensorimotor cortex”
– Date accessed 19/11/19 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22036177
Evaluation – This is the source study for information in the prior resource. It has been
published on PubMed which is the US National library of Medicine and the study itself
proves that there are similarities between the neural activities of Waking and dreamed
Movement. Therefore it is useful as it provides good information and comes from a trusted
domain.

11. Annie Bosler and Don Greene – Ted-Ed Talk – Date accesses 19/11/19
- https://youtu.be/f2O6mQkFiiw

12. R. Douglas Fields (Neuroscientist) – Scientific study titled “Myelination: An overlooked mechanism of
synaptic plasticity” – Date accessed 27/11/2019
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1474837/
13. Date accessed - 20/11/19 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25846062?
utm_source=World+of+Lucid+Dreaming&utm_campaign=6e663efed6-
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6e663efed6-57542945&mc_cid=6e663efed6&mc_eid=0c998b3efd

14. James Kelly – Article titled ”Memory” - Published in September 2011 – Date accessed 25/11/2019
- http://thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/learning/memory/

15. The Human Memory – An article titled ”Sensory Memory” - Updated Sept 27 2019 – Date accessed
25/11/2019 - https://human-memory.net/sensory-memory/

16. Lumen Learning - Lesson titled ”Memory and the brain” - Date accessed 25/11/2019
-https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/memory-and-the-brain/

17. Scientific American – Scientific article – Date published Sept 26 2007 – Date accessed 28/11/2019
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-short-term-memory-to-long-term/

18. Dean Burnett, Doctor of Neuroscience – Date published Sept 2015 – Date accessed 25/11/2019
- https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/sep/16/what-happens-in-your-brain-when-you-
make-a-memory

19. Alison Pearce Stevens – Scientific Article titled “Learning rewires the brain” – Date Accessed
27/11/2019 - https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/learning-rewires-brain

20. Collins dictionary – Date accessed 02/12/2019

- https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/soft-skills

21. Investopedia – Article titled ”Soft skills” - Reviewed and updated by Will Kenton and Brian Abbot on
14/04/2019 - Date accessed 02/12/19 - https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/soft-skills.asp

22. Margaret Rouse – Definition of hard skills – Date accessed 02/12/2019

- https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/hard-skills

23. Lucid Dream Society – Date accessed 12/12/19 - https://www.luciddreamsociety.com/reality-checks-

guide/

24. Rebecca Turner – WOLD – Article titled ‘Keeping a dream journal’ – Date accessed 16/12/19
- https://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/dream-journal.html

25. Rebecca Turner – WOLD – Article titled ‘The Four Types Of Dream Signs That Will Help You Become
Lucid’ – Date Accessed 16/12/19 - https://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/dream-signs.html

26. Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. & Howard Rheingold – Audiobook Titled “Exploring the World of Lucid
Dreaming” – Date accessed 9/12/19 – Ch3
27. Lucid Dream Society – Article titled ‘When And How To Do Reality Checks Correctly‘ - Date accessed
12/12/19 - https://www.luciddreamsociety.com/reality-checks-guide/

28. Patrick McNamara Ph.D. - Article titled ’The Continuity Hypothesis of Dreaming: A More Balanced
Account’- Date posted Sept 10th 2014 – Date accessed 12/12/19
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dream-catcher/201409/the-continuity-hypothesis-
dreams-more-balanced-account

29. Lucid Dream Society – Article titled ‘When And How To Do Reality Checks Correctly‘ - Date accessed
12/12/19 - https://www.luciddreamsociety.com/reality-checks-guide/

30. Mindful Staff – Article titled ’What is Mindfulness?’ - Date Published October 8th 2014 – Date Accessed
12/12/19

31. Matthew Thorpe, MD, PhD – Article titled ’12 Science-Based Benefits of Meditation’ – Date published
July 5th 2017

32. S La Berge – Lucidity letter titled “Induction of lucid dreams including the use of the dreamlight” –
Date published December 1988 – Date accessed 17/12/2019
- https://journals.macewan.ca/lucidity/article/download/823/763

33. Rebecca Turner – WOLD – Article titled ‘Wake Back To Bed: Lucid Dreams with WBTB’ – Date accessed
17/12/19 - https://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/wake-back-to-bed.html

34. Cleveland Clinic – Article titled ‘Sleep basics’ – Date accessed 17/12/2019
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/12148-sleep-basics

35. Chris Hammond – WOLD – Article titled ‘How to have Finger Induced Lucid Dreams (FILDs)’ – Date
accessed 17/12/2019 - https://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/finger-induced-lucid-dreams.html

36. HowToLucid – Article titled ‘WILD Lucid Dreaming tutorial: Effective Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming’ –
Date accessed 17/12/2019 - https://howtolucid.com/wake-induced-lucid-dream-w-l-d-technique/