The Mystery

If you don't know what lucid dreaming means, basically it is when you become aware that you're dreaming. Sometimes during a lucid dream, the dreamer has the ability to manipulate their dream to achieve a desired outcome. Have you ever woken from a bad dream and wanted to 'go back in' and fix it? Perhaps change the outcome for a happy ending? Or have you woken from a very pleasant dream and tried to get back to sleep to continue the story or dream experience? That's lucid dreaming. And you might be interested to know that Albert Einstein, Charles Dickens, Thomas Edison, Stephen King, Nikola Tesla and Salvador Dali are - or were - lucid dreamers. In 'Lucid Dreaming Made Easy - A Beginner's Guide to Waking Up in Your Dreams', Charlie introduces the reader to several techniques to start lucid dreaming and the book kicks off from there. I thought I was an experienced and capable lucid dreamer, but it turns out I'm still a beginner. Apparently there's ...

Charlie Morley's job is to teach people how to have lucid dreams. So, the first thing is what is a lucid dream? A lucid dream is any dream where you’re actively aware of the fact that you’re dreaming as the dream is happening. So you are still sound asleep, but in the dream, you realize, aha, this is all a dream. So anyone who is listening and thinks, I’ve had one of those where I was in the dream and then they suddenly realize, Wow, I’m dreaming now. My body is asleep in bed, I’m inside my mind and I’m exploring this three-dimensional hallucination of my psychology. That is a lucid dream. For those who haven’t had that experience, I’d ask them to perhaps think of a nightmare, where in the nightmare, they’ve thought, I’ve got to wake up, I’ve got to wake up. If you’ve ever had that experience, that was actually a lucid dream, too, because the moment you acknowledge the need to wake up, you had indirectly acknowledged you were dreaming. Of course, if anyone ever has had that experie...

Why are top scientists increasingly interested in researching human consciousness? Because the quest to solve the puzzle of human consciousness – the very essence of our being – is one of the great problems of modern science. For 2000 years, the questions surrounding human consciousness – how the everyday inner workings of our brains give rise to a single cohesive ‘reality’ and a sense of an individual ‘self’ – have been the province of philosophers from Plato to Descartes to Spinoza. Descartes is remembered for his dualist theory of consciousness in which the physical body is separate from the immaterial mind (or soul), and in large part because of his famous ‘soundbite’ about human consciousness,” I think, therefore I am.” However, modern brain imaging seems to indicate that it is Spinoza’s concept of an integrated mind-body that is closer to reality. And psychologist William James’ great work on consciousness in the late 1800s is slowly regaining the pivotal position it deserves in ...

Consciousness has long perplexed scientists and philosophers alike. How do our brains, composed of billions of neurons, generate conscious experiences? This mystery is not merely academic; it has profound implications for our understanding of ourselves, other animals, and the potential for artificial intelligence to develop self-awareness. In recent years, researchers have made significant strides in this area, drawing on various disciplines to approach the question of consciousness from multiple angles. Contrary to popular belief, consciousness may be less about intelligence and more about our nature as living, breathing organisms. This perspective suggests that our conscious experiences are, in essence, controlled hallucinations that arise through our living bodies. In this view, consciousness and intelligence are distinct phenomena: one need not be highly intelligent to experience suffering, but being alive is a prerequisite. As our understanding of consciousness deepens, we may fin...