When I did a formal research study of how truly lucid (in the original sense of logically clear) "lucid dreams" are, I found that some contained major illogic about points that should automatically follow from knowing one is dreaming. For instance, lucid dreamers might still think that they could be physically harmed by a dream peril, that other characters would awaken remembering the same dream, or that they could write down events as they occurred and retain the account upon awakening.

I found another subgroup of dreams that were not lucid in the sense that the dreams identified the fact that "I'm dreaming," yet were accurate in realizing they could fly and ignore other usual laws of physics, or that characters were not real people, but could be summoned and dismissed at will. Some explanations for these dreamlike abilities involved magic, but the most common one went, "I knew it wasn't real life, I thought it was a movie," or "I knew I was the director."

While dreams shape film, director Jose Luis Boreau makes the point that viewing this modern medium has also changed how we dream: "Our dreams have been enriched by the movies. We witness events that would be difficult to live out in daily life (an incursion into the ocean floor) or which are patently unreal (the rebellion of an entire galaxy against the central power). Such indirect experiences, which were once impossible, now offer the subconscious suitable vehicles for expressing our eternal yearnings and preoccupations. On the purely formal level, they provide new ways of visualizing in our dreams-camera angles, slow-motion shots, combinations of colors and of black and white-techniques we have learned only in movie theaters."

While writing this chapter, I had a dream that illustrated Boreau's point.

I dreamed I was floating or gliding slowly over the ocean--deep, clear waters like those of the Caribbean. The low angle of the sun allowed two perspectives. One was of faint reflections on the surface of the water from sky, clouds, and shadows. But at the same time, I could look into the depths and make out dark shapes of coral reefs and shadowy hints of exotic fish swimming beneath the surface. I felt a glorious sense of promise as I gazed down into the water.

But the specific form of the dream--gliding low over tropical water--is not something I've experienced in snorkeling coral reefs or even while landing at coastal airports. Rather, it is the typical opening shot of any number of movies set at the seashore--and of Jacques Cousteau documentaries--making its way into my possible experiences directly from my history as a filmgoer.

SOURCE: Deirdre Barrett's The Committee of Sleep, 2001, pp.34-6. Stephen King's image of dreaming comes from Naomi Epel's Writers Dreaming.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Barrett gives three examples of "illogic" in lucid dreams. But are they?

1. Lucid dreamers might still think that they could be physically harmed by a dream peril. Actually, there are some risks. Intense fear or even extreme exertion in a dream can be dangerous for dreamers with high blood pressure or heart conditions. Further, vividly picturing injury to a body part really can increase the risk of injury or illness in that part. The dreambody isn't the physical body, but they are linked. For most dreamers the risks are low, but dismissing fears as inherently absurd is extreme.
2. Other characters would awaken remembering the same dream. Illogical? It's happened to many dreamers, including, frequently, me. Yes, some dream characters are internal symbols, aspects of the self. But all? Apparent shared/telepathic dreams are a pancultural phenomenon, and it's only Euro-American psychology that denies them so stubbornly. Illogically.
3. They could write down events as they occurred and retain the account upon awakening. It may feel like wasted effort to write on dream-paper that vanishes at dawn, but it firms up my memory of the dream so it can be written on more lasting paper. What's more, in dreams I often write more than the bare events: interpretations, too! Often surprising ones apparently dictated by the dream itself. Such self-interpreting dreams aren't infallible--what is?--but in my experience they're more reliable than most therapists' interpretations.

Her next paragraph, about the opposite--acting as if lucid without explicitly thinking "It's a dream"--is my normal dream-mode. I simply know I'm on a plane that's not too stubbornly material, and act more freely. (But I don't jump to the conclusion that others I meet there must all be parts of me. Why? In an online meeting, your friends aren't physically there, but does that make them your private hallucinations?)

The point of her story is of course how culture can enrich dreams--here, with film's visual vocabulary. Quite true. But culture can limit you too.

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