TWH – Many Pagans and others interested in mysticism are familiar with the phenomenon of lucid dreaming, where an individual becomes conscious during a dream but remains asleep. Some traditions even encourage the development of the skill of lucid dreaming.
Image by Rogier Hoekstra from Pixabay
Research suggests that up to 55% of people experience lucid dreams in their lifetimes and almost 25% of individuals experience lucid dreams once a month.
Lucid dreams should not be confused with the sinister sleep disorder of parasomnia or sleep paralysis that is sometimes called an incubus attack. These are realistic and frightening experiences that can occur while awake (hypnopompic) or while falling asleep (hypnogogic).
Instead, lucid dreams are often gentler. Those experiencing lucid dreams often gain the ability to control the outcome of a dream much like a director controls the process of a film.
Interestingly, the prevalence of strange and vivid dreams that are often apparently lucid in nature, has been anecdotally reported after receiving COVID-19 vaccination. One Twitter user described “dreams in which I savagely insult myself! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯”
Another Twitter user described saving a town from Nazis!
I can confirm that the Moderna vaccine dose 2 is no joke. Aside from the flu like symptoms and general “vax fog” for 24-36 hours, the strangest thing were the weird dreams. I dreamt that I saved a small Belgian town from the Nazi’s. So now I’m a Covid Hero! #modernavaccine
— Richard Vetstein (@richardvetstein) March 19, 2021
Another Twitter user described novel work responsibilities after covid vaccination.
Strange dreams again because I was the one who had both covid vaccines I was allowed to deliver the toilet rolls, but not ordinary toilet rolls drug wrapping foil toilet rolls 😂
— Al ™ (@Allongstaff) March 18, 2021
Many of the dreams appear to have a connection with space. Dr. Dave Hnida, the medical editor for CBS Denver said that “Flying to the moon, planting the flag on the moon. Even somebody going out and taking Abraham Lincoln to get a Big Mac and having the staff want him to autograph the bills. We really think it has something to do with the immune response. They are temporary.”
The connection between vaccination and unusual dreams is very much anecdotal though future research will likely explore the phenomenon and the relationship.
The latest research on lucid dreams, however, has uncovered some interesting aspects of the event such as that communication is possible with lucid dreamers while they are experiencing the phenomenon.
Karen Konkoly, a graduate student in cognitive neuroscience at Northwestern University, led an international team of researchers to explore the communication question. In a series of four research groups, the team found that communication was possible with individuals who had been trained to invoke lucid dreams.
The researchers found that lucid dreamers could communicate that they were in a lucid dream by using eye movements. Some participants were even able to respond with answers to arithmetic problems using the same eye movements. One participant, for example, used left and right eye movements to respond correctly to the arithmetic problem “4 – 0.” To underscore the point, these are answers obtained from people who are still sleeping.
Lucid dreams may bring some benefits that include relaxation and a sense of control through willful access and manipulation of dream content. There is even some research that hints that lucid dreams may be a therapeutic avenue to help against the impact of traumatic experiences as well as anxiety and depression.
It is important, however, to place all these findings correctly in the stream of research. Emotional and vivid lucid dreams may contain the emotional coding (often called tagging) to have therapeutic benefits. Unfortunately, the science in this area is still under-developed for clinical recommendations.
Moreover, there may be some negative consequences as well, including hallucinations and derealization, a sense of detachment from one’s surroundings. It is also not clear whether lucid dreaming could lead to sleep disorders or ultimately lead to sleep debt.
But there are hints from science that lucid dreaming is a fruitful line of research with potentially important benefits. The phenomenon has been shown to have some benefits for athletic performance. In a small study of German athletes, researchers found that those who were also lucid dreamers appeared able to rehearse and practice their athletic skills while still asleep improving their athletic performance using wakefulness.
The findings on athletes do suggest that motor skills may be developed or improved by having the refined in dream states. These findings could have important benefits for individuals with physical disabilities or are in recovery after physical trauma.
Lucid dreams are also a type of metacognition that helps the mind to becomes aware of its own awareness which could lead to some important psychological benefits. One immediate and practical benefit of lucid dreaming is that the development of the skill may promote some important control against nightmares by recognizing either that the images are not real or by taking control of the bad dream and altering its ending and consequences.
Image by Anja🤗#helpinghands #solidarity#stays healthy🙏 from Pixabay
It may also raise resilience against stress and anxiety. Lucid dreamers may be able to shape how they respond to difficult or novel challenges. Even activating extraordinary powers during a dream may help individuals feel more capable and empowered to solve waking problems.
Lucid dreaming may also offer insights that are obscured during wakefulness that could also improve creativity and self-efficacy, the belief that you can tackle problems effectively.
Research in this area is still very new and incomplete. One researcher wrote, “It seems that we may be cultivating a shared blind spot by focusing solely on the possible beneficial effects of LD induction, without taking into account possible risks. Might frequent induction be deleterious to sleep hygiene and sleep-wake psychological boundaries? If so, is it worth it?” Somewhat the same question we ask in any magickal act.
Because we mention the COVID-19 vaccine, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) offers helpful tips and describes common side effects of vaccination.
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