"A Mom/Child Dialog on 'Lucid Dreaming"
by
D’Urso, Beverly (Kedzierski  Heart,) 
Article in the Preschool Family Newsletter, Palo Alto, CA., January, 2000.


 Child: Mom? What happens when we sleep?

 Mom: Often, we dream.

 Child: What is dreaming?

 Mom: When we dream, we make up a world that seems real while we are in it. When we wake up, we realize that this world existed only in our mind.

 Child: Yes, I remember that last night I dreamed I was flying over some beautiful mountains!

 Mom: In the dream, did you realize that you don’t normally fly? For example, did you say, "If I am flying, then this is a dream!"

 Child: Gee, I never thought of that.

 Mom: You never see monsters in your normal day either. So, next time you see one, why not tell yourself "this must be a dream"?

 Child: If I knew I was dreaming, I wouldn’t have to be afraid. I could zap the monster with magic forces!

 Mom: Yes. Also, if you were not sure that you were dreaming you could just leave. But, if you knew for sure you were dreaming, you could look the monster in the eye and say, "I am not afraid because this a dream." You could ask the 'monster', "What do you want?"

 Child: What can I do if I don’t usually realize that I am dreaming, while I'm dreaming? Can I learn to do this?

 Mom: Yes, We call this "lucid dreaming." You could practice lucid dreaming by asking yourself the question over and over during the day or night, “Am I dreaming now?”. If you get into this habit of asking, you will probably ask the question when you are dreaming. If you can look for 'clues' that you are dreaming, you will most likely find some. For example, a clue might be: 'discovering a real elephant in your bathtub!' If you see something strange like that, you could then do a 'test' to make sure you are in a dream. Often, I try to float off the ground and when I can float, then I know that I am dreaming. When I know for sure that I am dreaming, I can do anything I want. I might 'fly like a bird to the moon!' Often, I look for people I never see anymore, like my friend who died. I talk to them in my dreams and it can feel very real.

 Child: What if I got so excited knowing that I was dreaming, that I woke up immediately?

 Mom: Well, you could remember to stay calm and remain very still in the dream, as soon as you knew you were dreaming. You could stare at something near to you for awhile. That works for me sometimes. Let me ask you something. Do you believe that you are dreaming right now?

 Child: What do you mean?

 Mom: Well, most people don't usually think they are dreaming, even in their 'regular nighttime, sleeping dreams.' Their dreams probably seem very real while they are happening, or the dreams are weird, but not viewed as 'dreams.' In other words, we often dream of people and places we recognize. Even when we dream of strange things, we tend to justify them. Usually, only after we wake up, do we realize that we should have known our experience was only a dream. Remember, when we recognize that we are dreaming while we are still dreaming, we call this ‘lucid dreaming.’

 Child: I have done that. Is it special? Does everyone do it?

 Mom: Lucid dreaming means merely that we are 'aware' that we are in a dream. The dream can be weird, normal, clear or fuzzy. We don’t have to study the meaning of the dream to be lucid. We just need to realize that it is a dream before we wake up. Some people dream and never remember that they dreamed. Most people dream and remember that they dreamed only after they wake up. If they don’t tell someone the dream or write it down right away, they forget it. People who remember the dream even earlier, that is, before they come out of the dream, are called 'lucid dreamers'. Not everyone has 'lucid dreams', and usually not that often. However, lucid dreamers can have lots of fun with their dreams. What kind of things can you think of to do if you knew you were completely safe in a dream and could make anything happen?

 Child: Wow, let me think about that!

 Mom: I will tell you one more thing for now. I believe that life itself is a dream, but that we are not always lucid enough to realize it. I believe that 'one mind' is dreaming us all, just as when we go to sleep, our 'mind' dreams of all kinds of people and places. In 'nighttime, sleeping dreams', after we wake up, we usually believe that all of the people and places we dreamed of were in our 'mind.' If we become, 'lucid in life', we don't have to wait to 'wake up' to discover that life is a dream. We realize that everyone we know, including our own bodies, and everything we see is part of one 'dreaming mind'. We experience our lives as being created by the imagination of this 'one mind', of which we are part. Thereby, we might also realize, that 'anything is possible' in our lives! When we feel the connection to this 'one mind', we no longer live in fear. We know that our bodies are not all that we are.

 There are many more ideas on 'lucid dreaming' and 'lucid living'. Would you like to know more?

 Child: I sure would.

 Mom: Ok. You can contact Beverly D'Urso, beverly@durso.org