From: Greg Jordan (jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu)
Date: Mon Mar 10 2003 - 10:42:36 MST
Another way you might explore to get vivid, recallable dreams, if that is
what you are really interested in, is to meditate to the point of
tranquility and empty your mind before you go to sleep. In a way, this is
the exact opposite of some techniques of lucid dreaming, because you make
sure you do not have a "seed" of conscious intent before you begin
dreaming. This is what works for me, and I think it opens the mind up much
more to unconscious, subconscious, areas of the mind that the conscious
mind is not aware of. Consciousness is like the tip of the iceberg of our
minds, and bringing it in to dream states might actually limit what we
can get to know about the rest of our mind (upon waking, and remembering
a free-form dream). Plus, there is a risk in seeding one's unconscious
with conscious directives, if those conscious directives are not very well
chosen. Like you say, a terrorist could use them to practice
horrific destructive and self-destructive acts. On a more banal note, a
lot of "self-improvement" folks hector their unconscious minds with
slogans of "empowerment" (these function like mantras) - so that even an
illogical and pointless notion can get "programmed" into the personality
("I can do anything," "I deserve to pamper myself," "I am a vibrant,
confident individual whom everyone likes," etc.).
gej
resourcesoftheworld.org
jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu
On Fri, 7 Mar 2003, nanowave wrote:
> Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 19:33:15 -0800
> From: nanowave <nanowave@shaw.ca>
> Reply-To: extropians@extropy.org
> To: Extropians <extropians@extropy.org>
> Subject: RE: LD as high resolution uploading sneak peek
>
> Harvey, thanks for your lengthy and encouraging reply. I had hoped for
> something along those lines, but wasn't necessarily expecting it.
>
> Wow! So you've had (more or less) controlled access to this "alternate
> reality" since you were four years old huh? What is the frequency of your
> lucid dreams now then?
>
> I've had maybe four or five in my entire life in which, for whatever reason,
> I realized that I was dreaming and so I could proceed to explore or assert
> my wishes with abandon. It has been many years since the last time, but I
> still recall that it was a highly empowering, emotionally satisfying
> experience.
>
> I remember reading somewhere that Osama Bin Laden and his cronies placed an
> unusually high value on the interpretation of dreams and I think at the time
> I said something to myself along the lines of: Wow, how incredibly stupid.
>
> I had assumed that his interest was centered on the metaphysical, signs from
> Allah angle, but now I wonder if something else wasn't going on there as
> well.
>
> For example, say if in a series of lucid dreams - and this gets back to what
> you said about doing useful work while dreaming - one were to repeatedly
> practice, in the absence of usual crippling fear, smashing a fuel laden
> airliner into a building. And every time, just as the fireball slaps you in
> the face, you wake up safe and sound in your own bed. I'd guess that after a
> few practice runs of this nature, you'd become fairly confident you had "the
> right stuff" to get the job done in the real world. Essentially, you'd know
> from past experience that you wouldn't be one to veer off at the last
> possible moment and make a bee-line for tea and scrumpets with Saddam or
> Moammar Quadaffi.
>
> Just something to think about I guess. I'm reasonably certain I'd make a
> lousy Kamikaze pilot. I don't buy lottery tickets, and my seventy-two
> virgins would probably be butt ugly and have names like Olga or Gert. They'd
> also, no doubt, be opposed to any genetic enhancements that didn't directly
> improve their chances of winning a gold medal in the weightlifting
> competition.
>
> Russell Evermore
>
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Mar 10 2003 - 10:47:40 MST