[Buddha-l] Natural lucidity for all, a Buddhist dream

[Joy Vriens]

hi curt,

<<On the other hand it could be that people who are naturally prone to 
lucid dreaming are also drawn to video games - in other words, the cause 
and effect could be exactly the opposite of what everyone seems to be 
assuming.>>

***I don't think lucid dreaming is for people who are naturally prone to it. The only thing that could naturally prevent it would be deep sleep as far as I can see. But you can arrange your sleeping conditions in such a way that your sleep becomes lighter. It's a question of conditioning oneself.


<<Intuitively this seems more likely than the absurd idea that 
playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon has some spiritual or psychological 
benefit - or really any measurable effects whatsoever other than carpal 
tunnel syndrome.>>

Yes that seems to be the conventional view on it. I read somewhere that lucid dreaming has been noticed by gamers among themselves and seemed to have occure for the first time with games like Tetris and Doom. I played both I have to confess. And probably so much that I actually dreamed of Tetris. And sometimes I would have Tetris nightmares, i.e. I would dream of Tetris pieces going down and I would exactly know where to place it, but the commands wouldn't function. Extremely trivial, but isn't any nightmare basically about things not going according to our wishes without us having any control about them. My main argument against gaming would be that it confirms our natural tendancy to want to control things and of thinking we are in control. But then basic reality will show us that isn't the case and the bigger the gap between both realities, perhaps the bigger the chance our mind will pick up on something.   

<<It could also be that some psychologists will do anything for a buck, 
and that a couple of hucksters like Gackenbach and LaBerge have made 
some kind of sweet deal with Nintendo to do for them what "biochemical 
researchers" have been doing for the pharmaceutical industry (providing 
free publicity in the guise of "science").>>

Yes developping conspiracy theories is another, but quite desperate manner, of wanting to be in control. All right you are being f...d around, but you know they are doing it to you, they won't fool you! ;-)

<<After all, the American 
Psychological Association won't even prohibit it's members from aiding 
and abetting torture. This is actually true - here's a little reading 
material: http://www.counterpunch.org/bond08232006.html.>>

Tha,

Joy
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