THE OMNI EXPERIENCE

                                POWER TRIPS: CONTROLLING YOUR DREAMS

                                Release Date: Thursday, 19 March 1987

          A number of techniques facilitate lucid dreaming.  One of the simplest
          is asking yourself many times during the day whether you are dreaming.
          Each time you ask  the question, you should look  for evidence proving
          you are not  dreaming.  The most reliable test:   Read something, look
          away for a moment, and then read it  again.  If it reads the same  way
          twice, it is unlikely that you are dreaming.  After you have proved to
          yourself that you are not presently dreaming, visualize yourself doing
          what it is you'd like.  Also, tell yourself that you want to recognize
          a nighttime dream the next time it occurs.  The mechanism at work here
          is simple; it's much  the same as picking up milk at the grocery store
          after reminding yourself to do so an hour before. 

          At night people usually realize they are dreaming when they experience
          unusual  or bizarre occurrences.   For instance, if  you find yourself
          flying  without visible means of support, you should realize that this
          happens only in dreams and that you must therefore be dreaming.

          If you  awaken from a  dream in the  middle of the  night, it  is very
          helpful to return to the dream immediately, in your imagination.   Now
          envision yourself recognizing the  dream as such.  Tell  yoursel, "The
          next time  I am dreaming,  I want to remember  to recognize that  I am
          dreaming."  If your intention is strong and clear enough, you may find
          yourself in a lucid dream when you return to sleep.

          Even if you're a  frequent lucid dreamer, you may not be  able to stop
          yourself from  waking up in  mid-dream.   And even if  your dreams  do
          reach  a satisfying end, you may not be  able to focus them exactly as
          you please.  

          During our years  of research,  however, we have  found that  spinning
          your dream body  can sustain the period of sleep  and give you greater
          dream control.   In fact,  many subjects at  Stanford University  have
          used the  spinning technique  as an  effective means  of staying  in a
          lucid dream.  The task outlined below  will help you use spinning as a
          means of staying asleep and, more exciting, as a means of traveling to
          whatever dream world you desire.  



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          Before retiring, decide on a person, time, and place you would like to
          visit in your lucid  dream.  The target person and place can be either
          real or  imaginary, past, present, or future.  Write down and memorize
          your target  person and place,  then visualize yourself  visiting your
          target and firmly resolve to do so in a dream that night. 

          To gain lucidity,  repeat the  phrase describing your  target in  your
          dream, and spin your whole dream body in a standing position with your
          arms outstretched.   You can pirouette or spin like a  top, as long as
          you vividly feel your body in motion. 

          The same spinning  technique will help when, in the  middle of a lucid
          dream, you  feel the dream imagery beginning to fade.  To avoid waking
          up,  spin as  you repeat  your target  phrase again  and again.   With
          practice, you'll return to your target person, time, and place.

          When spinning, try to notice  whether you're moving in a clockwise  or
          counter-clockwise direction.



                               - Stephen LaBerge and Jayne Gackenbach



          Stephen  LaBerge, Ph.D.,  of  the Stanford  University Sleep  Research
          Center,  is also the author  of LUCID DREAMING,  Ballantine Books, New
          York,  (C) 1985.  LUCID DREAMING is  a 305 page book which costs $3.95
          and  is available in the  "Psychiatry" or "Self-Help"  section of most
          major bookstores.



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