Lucid dreaming (清醒梦或清明梦), is the art of controlling dreams with your conscious mind, while you are dreaming.
It was years ago when I first read about it, and I quickly dismissed it as just another esoteric hype. But recently I happened to get more exposure to it, and since there seem to be a sizable community around Lucid Dreaming, I decided to give it a shot myself.
第一次感受”睡眠瘫痪”是在我正式开始研究清醒梦的当天 – 处于将睡未睡之间,身体已经睡去但头脑还清醒,只是完全无法支配身体,传说中的”梦魇”也就是这种状况.这是进入Lucid Dreaming多种方式中的一种.而我也只有过一两次这种经验,而且每次都没能顺利进入清醒梦而是在努力挣扎中醒来.
Then I realized that this is really no joke, I need to make a serious commitment. Persistence, patience, all part of the deal. So, more reading, more experimenting, which mainly involves trying to improve the ability to recall dream details, and making “reality check” part of my daily routine so that I’d remember to do that in dreams as well.
If this reminds you of the movie Inception, I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
Finally, last night, the epiphany!
也许是因为近来的训练吧,这次在梦中我开始了”Reality Check” – 先是低头认真地数自己的手指(梦里往往不是五个) – 结果是六个,而且手每晃一下,就会多一个或少一个手指头:D我心里有数了,知道自己多半是在梦里.
然后又照了一下镜子(梦中自己的镜像往往会模糊或不是自己),结果发现是个哈哈镜.但是,我的精力越集中,镜像就会越朝我自己的样子靠拢.
所谓进入”清醒梦”,需要满足两个条件:
第一,意识到自己在梦中
第二,意识到自己的身体躺在床上
我此刻已经清楚地知道自己在梦中,但还需要检查一下现实的身体状况.念头刚一到,我就意识到了自己的身体 – 周围一片漆黑,身体舒舒服服地躺在被窝里!
再一转念,又回到了梦境,此刻的欣喜与兴奋是言语远远无法表达的!
用意念随心所欲地转换身边的环境,从大街到深山到海滩, think Matrix or Inception and you are close!而且,梦中的任何场景,只要我认真去凝视,它就会增添无穷无尽的细节,远不是简单的概念化的戏台布景. The whole world seems to be evolving right at my finger tips, a mind-numbing amount of details pouring in wherever my attention leads!
I will spare you the details of what I did with the rest of my dreams, but really, the phrase “Your only limitation is your imagination” has never been truer!
Intoxicating, overwhelming, exhilarating!
此时此刻,忽然想起Pink Floyd的Learning To Fly:
Into the distance, a ribbon of black
Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reeled
A fatal attraction is holding me fast,
How can I escape this irresistible grasp?
Can’t keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted, just an earth-bound misfit, I
Ice is forming on the tips of my wings
Unheeded warnings, I thought, I thought of everything
No navigator to find my way home
Unladened, empty and turned to stone
A soul in tension — that’s learning to fly
Condition grounded but determined to try
Can’t keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I
Above the planet on a wing and a prayer,
My grubby halo, a vapour trail in the empty air,
Across the clouds I see my shadow fly
Out of the corner of my watering eye
A dream unthreatened by the morning light
Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night
There’s no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, a state of bliss
Can’t keep my mind from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I
Lucid Dreaming is a scientifically proven phenomenon, so YES, this crazy sounding stuff is very real and YES, you can do it too!;-)
Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dreaming
http://www.ld4all.com/guide.html