The mind of a Lucid Dreamer

Dreams are an act of pure imagination, simulations of the world and beyond created by our perceptual systems. Dreamers possess an innate creative power that can significantly impact their reality, once they tap into a subconscious realm. Not all of us recollect our dreams once we are awake.

The monotonous routine of our waking lives take over and our dreams remain forgotten. Lucid dreaming is the phenomenon in which one experiences complete awareness of the fact that you are presently in a dream state of mind. This consciousness can range from faint recognition of the fact, to something as momentous as a broadening of awareness beyond what has ever been experienced in one’s waking life.  
 

There are numerous techniques that dreamers can use, to arrive at this state of consciousness. From Tibetan dream yoga, binaural beats, dream journals and intentional techniques to oneirogens (dream herbs), that deviate from a natural path of accessing consciousness to our dreams. “The key about the dream journal is that it needs to be the first thing you do when you wake up, when the dream is just about over. Once I kept a journal, I would read through my dreams, and remember everything, realise patterns, repeating themes. These help you realize that you’re dreaming when you do,” says physics student Karan Desai, who is keen to enhance his dream awareness.
 

The eccentric artwork of Carnegie Mellon architecture student, Rohan Rathod is bizarre and unusual, just like his dreams. His visions of future occurrences dreamt in the past to experiencing odd scenarios, where the protagonist in his dream enumerates upon a solution to digestive problems and eventually morphs into a marine mammal, deviates from the conventional norms of normalcy.

 “This is what she said, ‘I can swim inside myself, everyone’s stomache is kind of connected. Once you learn the art of swimming inside yourself, you can travel between peoples stomaches and solve digestive problems.’ She turned into a half whale, half girl, behind her was an animated great white shark, with a hat, mole and lipstick on. After which, a battle commences between the two,” says Rathod, who claims he has experienced the capability of making decisions and conveying his thoughts during a dream like episode, however he could not control his physical movements. The vivid and detailed description of his dreams, showcase an imaginative, alternate reality evident in his art work.  
 

“During REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, bodily movement and sensory input from the outside world are suppressed. The brain is highly active, at this time the activity of the brain raises certain schemas above their perceptual thresholds. These schemas enter consciousness, causing the dreamer to see, feel, hear and experience things not present in an external environment,” says yoga instructor, Sangita Padmanabhan as she enumerates upon the science behind this phenomenon.

Photographer Rishit Temkar’s surrealistic visions, seen in his work are significantly influenced by his dreams. “There have been times when I’ve woken up and the first thing that comes to my mind is the particular way I’d want to take a picture. Then, 2 to 3 months later, I’ll find that I’ve taken a picture of a frame that I’d already created in my head in the past,” continues Temkar, who says ‘deja vu’ is a phenomenon that he has strongly experienced on one too many occasions.

“There’ve been times, when I’ve jumped unnaturally, been able to float around, suddenly I remember I’m dreaming and as soon as I notice that, I’d be able to do things that wouldn’t happen in an ordinary circumstance,” quips Temkar, whose tryst with photography occurred by chance, during a trip to Kenya in 2011. 
 

“Not all lucid dreams are useful, but they all have a sense of wonder about them. If you must sleep through a third of your life, why should you sleep through your dreams, too?” says Stephen Laberge, founder of The Lucidity Institute and a Psychophysiologist from Stanford University.