simon's dream project
tinkering with the mechanisms of sleep
Proposed Experiment 1:
PRIMING YOUR DREAM STATE CAPABILITIES WITH PRE-SLEEP SYMBOLS
June 21, 2003 I conducted a successful attempt to enter lucid dreaming.
Before bed I had watched several animated films that may have had an influence on my experience:
One short piece by the Brothers Quay called The Comb (from the Museum of Sleep) was an exploration of a dream state, during which a character's hands stay affixed to the side rails of a ladder while s/he falls asleep. Standing with my hands on either side of the lizard tank (and being aware of the tactile experience) was very reminiscent of this.
In René LaLoux's Fantastic Planet adults from an 'advanced' civilization spend most of their time meditating in a dreamlike state while visiting with beings from other civilizations in the universe. This may have seeded me with the idea of contacting other dreamers.
And Hiyao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke may have been the source of all those vivid color images.
That that leads me pose the questions:
Can you "prime" your dream states by injecting (loading?) major symbols into your memory before going to sleep?
Could a premeditated and methodical choice of symbols or ideas give you the proper tools to achieve lucidity or other dream goals?
This is worthy of further experimentation. Please contact me if you care to explore this possible technique.