August 11, 2025 • 19 mins
This is Episode 127 of Christian Research Journal Reads. This is an audio version of the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL article, “Consciously Dreaming: A Look at Lucid Dreams” by Cole Burgett. This article was published exclusively online in the Christian Research Journal, Volume 48, number 02 (2025). https://www.equip.org/articles/consciously-dreaming-a-look-at-lucid-dreams/
It was accompanied by Postmodern Realities Episode 442: Consciously Dreaming: A Look at Lucid Dreams.
This podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. As the flagship publication of the Christian Research Institute, the Journal seeks to equip followers of Christ to think and to live Christianly—to exercise truth and experience life. Truth, especially essential Christian doctrine, forms the basis for how we live our lives in Christ. As the apostle Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:16, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”The Christian Research Journal enjoyed a print incarnation of almost 45 years. Now exclusively an online publication, the Journal consists of thousands of free articles. We hope that through these audio articles you are not only equipped to proclaim and defend your faith but that as a disciple you also draw closer to Christ in your walk with Him. You can find the written version of each article that is an episode of Christian Research Journal Reads at the website of the Christian Research Institute, equip.org. All Christian Research Journal articles at equip.org are completely free and do not require a subscription and are not under a paywall.All episodes will be available at the following podcast platforms with more being added daily! You can help spread the word about this new podcast by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on and telling others!You can view off our Website at the at this link and off our Journal main page.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/christian-research-journal-reads--6022978/support.
It was accompanied by Postmodern Realities Episode 442: Consciously Dreaming: A Look at Lucid Dreams.
This podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. As the flagship publication of the Christian Research Institute, the Journal seeks to equip followers of Christ to think and to live Christianly—to exercise truth and experience life. Truth, especially essential Christian doctrine, forms the basis for how we live our lives in Christ. As the apostle Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:16, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”The Christian Research Journal enjoyed a print incarnation of almost 45 years. Now exclusively an online publication, the Journal consists of thousands of free articles. We hope that through these audio articles you are not only equipped to proclaim and defend your faith but that as a disciple you also draw closer to Christ in your walk with Him. You can find the written version of each article that is an episode of Christian Research Journal Reads at the website of the Christian Research Institute, equip.org. All Christian Research Journal articles at equip.org are completely free and do not require a subscription and are not under a paywall.All episodes will be available at the following podcast platforms with more being added daily! You can help spread the word about this new podcast by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on and telling others!You can view off our Website at the at this link and off our Journal main page.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/christian-research-journal-reads--6022978/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
This is episode one hundred and twenty seven of the
Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast. Consciously Dreaming a Look at
Lucid Dreams by Lindsey metten Walt. This article was published
exclusively online in the Christian Research Journal, Volume forty eight,
(00:27):
number two, twenty twenty five. The Christian Research Journal Reads
Podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. To
read the full text of this article and its documentation,
please go to equip dot org. That's e qu ip
(00:49):
dot r G.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Consciously Dreaming a Look at Lucid Dreams. This article is
by Lindsay Medenwalt and is read by an automated voice.
By waking in your Dreams, you can waken too life
Stefan Leburge. Have you ever had a dream so intense
that you could have sworn it was real? Or maybe
you experienced something fantastic in your dream, like you were flying,
(01:16):
or you had some other superpower, or maybe you had
a deep conversation with philosophers of the past about the
meaning of life. Dreams are generally thought of as a
compilation of your experiences, thoughts, and emotions, sort of like
the brain unscrambling what happens during the day and creating
an alternate dream reality at night. Sometimes they get a
(01:36):
bit insane too, for example, why does mine decease? Grandpa?
Hanging out with my boss in the chocolate factory I
visited last week. Dreams are a big part of our lives.
The average person dreams for two hours per night and
roughly six years over the course of their lifetime. What
could we achieve if our dreams were useful and help
to solve problems or overcome fears? Some people claim is possible,
(02:00):
and that our dream stake can directly help us resolve
some of our awake state issues. These kinds of dreams
are called lucid dreams, when a person knows they are
dreaming and can consciously control what happens in their dreams.
You may be familiar with the term lucid dream because
of various films like Vanilla Sky, Paramount two thousand and one,
(02:22):
Waking Life, Fox Searchlight Pictures two thousand and one, and
Inception Warner Bros. Twenty ten, or the Netflix series Behind
Her Eyes twenty twenty one. In Waking Life, the protagonist
consciously encounters various people in his dreams and asks them
philosophical questions about life, free will, and other topics. The
(02:45):
opening scene features a little boy and a little girl
playing a paper fortune telling game, and his fortune is
dream is destiny. That seems to be the common theme
of those who promote lucid dreaming, that dreams can impact
our future in this life and beyond. Some proponents claim
that lucid dreams help us experience joy while sleeping that
(03:07):
maybe we cannot or simply have not experienced in real life.
Co authors of the book Lucid Dreaming Plain and Simple
note often when people become lucid, they repoor a kind
of spontaneous euphoriat in which they feel a strong sense
of energy and mastery, coupled with a profound sense of
awareness and clarity. While a conversation about lucid dreams may
(03:28):
yield questions about potential benefits and dangers of the practice,
Christians should consider whether it's moral to take part, especially
because lucid dreams are often connected with the New Age
and the occult lucid dreams throughout history. Lucid dreams are
dreams in which the person who is asleep is conscious
that they are dreaming. They can control who they interact with,
(03:51):
what they experience and in some cases when it ends
at the outset. We should address the key questions, are
people really to experience lucid dreams? And if so, is
the experience verifiable? The short answer to both questions is yes,
at least according to various scientists and researchers in the
West who have tackled the topic over the last century.
(04:14):
But to find the earliest historical recordings of lucid dreaming
we must travel east. For centuries, Tibetan monks have been
practicing dream yoga, a process by which the practitioner learns
how to become conscious during dreams. Although they are not
asleep while exercising dream yoga, the yogis are preparing for
lucid dream experiences. Hindus have a similar practice called yoga nidra.
(04:40):
In the West, Lucid dreaming is less associated with religion,
though not completely detached, and more related to psychology. Interestingly,
the Greek philosopher Aristotle alluded to the ability to be
conscious while dreaming in on Dreams, stating, when one is asleep,
there is something in consciousness which declares that what then
(05:01):
presents itself is but a dream. Although there have been
references here and there about consciousness and dreaming. Since Aristotle,
lucid dreaming started coming to the forefront in the West
in the twentieth century. Dutch psychiatrist Frederick Willem van Eden d.
Nineteen thirty two coined the term lucid dream in nineteen
(05:21):
thirteen in his article A Study of Dreams. He noted
that he intentionally avoided using the terms conscious and unconscious
in his analysis, but he still suggested that lucid dreams
are controllable by the dreamer. In these lucid dreams, the
reintegration of the psychic functions is so complete that the
sleeper remembers day life in his own condition, reaches a
(05:43):
state of perfect awareness, and is able to direct his
attention and to attempt different acts of free volition. Some
have suggested that although he used the term lucid dream,
van Eden was not referring to how we think of
them today as the conscious awareness of being in a Rather,
he was referring to mental clarity and ability to take
(06:05):
the dream in and understand it. In other words, he
thought lucid dreams were simply dreams we could remember and understand,
not necessarily situations we could control. Consciously. In the decades
that followed van Eeden's dream study, several other researchers tackled
the topic of lucid dreams. In nineteen sixty eight, British
(06:25):
parapsychologist Cilia green published a book called Lucid Dreams Institute
of Psychophysical Research, in which she described how people could
gain control of their dreams. Although Greene's research dealt primarily
with psychic and out of body experiences, she was the
first to predict that lucid dreams were correlated with rapid
eye movement RAM during sleep. Green's suspicions about their rim
(06:50):
connection to lucid dreams were confirmed in an experiment in
nineteen seventy five by Keith Hearn, a British psychologist, who
discovered a way to communicate with some one in a
lucid dream state through coded eye movements. Hearn also invented
a dream machine, which is on display at London Science Museum.
The machine is designed to help trigger lucidity in a dreamer.
(07:13):
In nineteen seventy six, Scott Sparrow, a psychotherapist associated with
the Edgar Case Association for Research and Enlightenment, published a
book about lucid dreams as related to cases psychic readings.
Sparrow later founded the Dream Star Institute, an organization designed
to train clinicians on how to interpret dreams. Perhaps the
(07:34):
most notable lucid dream researcher, known as the Godfather of
lucid dreams, entered the scene in the nineteen eighties. While
he was a PhD student at Stanford University. Psychophysiologist Stephen
Leberge began researching various aspects of lucid dreaming, including techniques
to induce lucid dreams at any time. Because of his
(07:55):
research and the results produced, he founded the Lucidity Institute
in Hawaii in US in nineteen eighty seven. Leberge has
published a lot since the eighties, including several studies that
explore lucid dreaming. Leberge believes that lucid dreams are helpful
because they aid in clarifying real world situations. In their
book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, Leberge and his
(08:18):
co author Howard Reinold wrote, properly practiced lucid dreaming can
enhance your ability to see the stars in any situation,
to mindfully look for a better way of doing things,
to become an active shaper of your destiny to move
your control expectations from external toward internal. Research about lucid
(08:38):
dreams continues even today. Studies range from researching potential impact
on mental health to whether it is possible to communicate
with someone while they are dreaming. For example, in twenty
twenty one, a team of international researchers attempted to speak
with thirty six participants who were asleep and engaged in
a lucid dream. The results were mixed, but the research
(09:00):
has spawned more interest in the scientific community to continue
to investigate lucid dreams. In fact, along with a couple
of his core searchers, le Berge commented on the journal article,
a recent study illustrates how experimenters can question lucid dreamers
during ongoing dreams and asks whether more extended two way
(09:21):
communication during lucid rem sleep dreaming is feasible. In other words,
they are encouraged by the research. The question which will
be addressed below is if lucid dreams are real, should
Christians pursue them the new age in occult connection. Throughout
my research on this topic, I discovered that many proponents
(09:41):
of lucid dreams are involved in New Age practices or
some aspect of the occult. For instance, meditation is a
key part of lucid dream practice. Author and therapist Damien
Blair says you can achieve a more focused state of
mind and perceive things that happen in your dream state
with mora al waywareness. Meditation is a great way to
(10:02):
improve your mindfulness and increase awareness of yourself. Christian Research
Institute President Hank Hannigraft clarified the difference between worldly meditation
and biblical meditation. Like what we find in the Psalms,
it has to do with our purpose. Worldly meditation focuses
on the self, while biblical meditation focuses on God. In
(10:23):
the various books, articles, and videos I found regarding meditation
and lucid dreaming, the focus was overwhelmingly on the self
in addition to meditation. Some lucid dream advocates encourage the
use of crystals to promote better experiences. Some at the Fay,
author of The Await Dreamer, says certain crystals can facilitate
(10:44):
better dream recall. Crystals can receive, hold, direct project, and
reflect light, so it makes sense that they can help
us with our dreams. The Suburban Witchery website offers a
list of eight crystals for Lucid dream To be fair,
not all Lucid dreamers believe Crystal's work. In fact, the
(11:06):
Lucid Guide website comes up strongly against anyone claiming they do.
While crystals and minerals are certainly absolutely beautiful, inspiring, and
a testament to the beauty of the universe in which
we live, it remains unethical to make claims about their
use in treating or influencing physical or psychological states. Nevertheless,
(11:26):
you need to know that crystals are connected to the
New Age. As former Christian Research Journal editor Elliot Miller explained,
demonic energy can work through people's belief in magical objects.
He continued, when people associate crystals with an occult understanding
of universal energy and place faith in them for healing
or other desired ends with their free wills, they are
(11:48):
opening up a door for demonic intrusion and deception. In
other words, don't play with fire and assume crystals will
help you achieve anything in dreamland. Regarding demons, there have
been some anecdotes of people encountering demonic creatures while in
a lucid dream. One contributor to the Lucid Dreaming Reddit said,
I have lucid nightmares at least once a week before
(12:12):
they always had the same shadowy demon, always in the
back watching me. Another recounted a lucid dream involving her father.
When another being entered the dream, I remember very vividly,
but I can't recall the exact shape or form of
anything that my father promptly turned into an unrecognissible inhuman form.
Whatever I try to recall, I'm just imagining some black,
(12:35):
disfigured form. It's hard to explain. And spoke in a deep,
I think guttural voice and in an unknown language. Stephen
le Berge spoke about demonic beings and lucid dreams, but
minimize the situation, denying that people should be concerned or
fearful of demons in their dreams. No, you want to
(12:55):
transform the demons into angels, their messengers, as they were
of wholeness, and if you accept them, they transform. On
the one hand, I can understand where Laberge is coming from,
because lucid dreams are supposed to put the dreamer in charge. However,
demons are real and we have no power to transform them.
Scripture says, submit yourselves than to God, resist the devil,
(13:20):
and he will flee from you James four to seven.
The Bible also tells us to put on the full
armor of God so that you can take your stand
against the devil's schemes Ephesians six'. Eleven neither of these
verses say we can transform the evil. Spurts, rather we
are to resist and stand against. Them, finally consciousness itself
(13:42):
should be. Addressed although in the lucid dream, sense consciousness
refers to being aware or knowing you're in a, dream
consciousness in The New age sense means connection to a
higher self or some kind of universal. Energy New agers
often refer to a collective, consciousness that we're all all
connected with each other and the. Divine David, wilcock author
(14:04):
Of awakening in The dream and frequent guest On History
Channels Ancient, aliens has spent his life evaluating his dreams
and trying to connect the dots with his. Spirituality he,
writes my dreams were making it clearer THAT i needed
to somehow form a bridge from the world OF ufo
research into the spiritual side of. Dreaming lucidity ancient spiritual
(14:25):
teachings and higher. Consciousness lucid dreams do not offer special
opportunities to commune with the. Divine romans ten seventeen. Says,
consequently faith comes from hearing the, message and the messages
heard through The word About. Christ our opportunity to be
With god comes through Knowing, christ and we Know christ
by knowing The word Of. God hebrews four to twelve,
(14:48):
says for The word Of god is alive and, active
sharper than any double edged. Sword it penetrates even to
dividing soul and spirit joints and marrow judges the thoughts
and attitudes of the. Heart we don't have to seek
out false light when the light of The lord is
alive and well within, us so long as we seek
(15:08):
him and known. Him morality and lucid. Dreams if lucid
dreams are, real can they be? Immoral much could be
said on this, topic but one common theme throughout my
research is that lucid dreams give the dreamer total. Freedom
if you want to, fly you can. Fly if you
want to talk With, aristotle you can talk With, aristotle
(15:29):
or at least The aristotle you consciously create in your.
Dreams if you want to have an affair with your. Neighbor,
wait isn't that taking it too? Far how far is
too far in lucid? Dreaming if we are aware and
if we can choose our own, adventures so to, speak
do those choices in our dreams have eternal? Consequences can
we sin while we are dreaming if we're aware that we're?
(15:51):
Dreaming some may or you, know because your dreams aren't
really real even if you are conscious that you are. Dreaming,
however we all had dreams that have impacted our real.
LIVES i think of wives who have woken up angry
with their husbands because in the wife's dream the husband
did something. Despicable it wasn't, real but the wife still
(16:11):
felt emotionally escalated against her husband when she woke. Up,
further how do choices we make in lucid dreams affect
our waking? Thoughts if someone has an affair with their
neighbor in a lucid, dream does that result in lustful
thoughts during the daytime. Hours sin is something we should take,
seriously And jesus said it quite. Plainly if your right
(16:34):
eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it.
Away it is better for you to lose one part
of your body than for your whole body to be
thrown into. Hell and if your right hand causes you to,
stumble cut it off and throw it, away it is
better for you to lose one part of your body
than for your whole body to go into. Hell if
lucid dreams cause you to, stumble gouge them. Out, interestingly
(16:57):
even in The New, age there are counts sequences for
your dream. Actions lucid dreaming is in tax Free, Karmically
author and Spiritualist Andrew holichek, said you can actually create
negative karma if you're indulging your wildest, fantasies which may
or may not be to benefit all sentient. Beings if
new agers acknowledge the potential sins related to lucid, dreams
(17:20):
albeit in a missiled way related to, karma we should.
Too this is not to say that lucid dreams are,
sinful per, Said, instead one should consider the implications on
our lives and. Minds, ultimately the world may promise us
freedom in dreams or in, life but our freedom is
found In. Christ remember it is for freedom That christ
(17:42):
has set us. Free stand, firm, then and do not
let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of Slavery
galatians five to. One do not become a slave to
false ideas or the pursuit of worldly. Things don't let
any earthly thing become such an obsession that it takes
your thoughts away From. Christ this isn't to, say AS
(18:02):
i noted, above that lucid dreaming is morally unconscionable or. Sinful,
rather as with all things of the, world it can
become an. Idol if you choose to engage in lucid,
dreams don't let them rule your. Life, instead set your
minds on things, above not on earthly, Things collations three to.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Two thank you for listening to another episode from The
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org you will find a brand new article for The
Christian Research journal published. Weekly in, addition please subscribe to
(18:43):
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(19:05):
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Planet at equipp dot, org you will also find a
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This is episode one hundred and twenty seven of the
Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast. Consciously Dreaming a Look at
Lucid Dreams by Lindsey metten Walt. This article was published
exclusively online in the Christian Research Journal, Volume forty eight,
(00:27):
number two, twenty twenty five. The Christian Research Journal Reads
Podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. To
read the full text of this article and its documentation,
please go to equip dot org. That's e qu ip
(00:49):
dot r G.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Consciously Dreaming a Look at Lucid Dreams. This article is
by Lindsay Medenwalt and is read by an automated voice.
By waking in your Dreams, you can waken too life
Stefan Leburge. Have you ever had a dream so intense
that you could have sworn it was real? Or maybe
you experienced something fantastic in your dream, like you were flying,
(01:16):
or you had some other superpower, or maybe you had
a deep conversation with philosophers of the past about the
meaning of life. Dreams are generally thought of as a
compilation of your experiences, thoughts, and emotions, sort of like
the brain unscrambling what happens during the day and creating
an alternate dream reality at night. Sometimes they get a
(01:36):
bit insane too, for example, why does mine decease? Grandpa?
Hanging out with my boss in the chocolate factory I
visited last week. Dreams are a big part of our lives.
The average person dreams for two hours per night and
roughly six years over the course of their lifetime. What
could we achieve if our dreams were useful and help
to solve problems or overcome fears? Some people claim is possible,
(02:00):
and that our dream stake can directly help us resolve
some of our awake state issues. These kinds of dreams
are called lucid dreams, when a person knows they are
dreaming and can consciously control what happens in their dreams.
You may be familiar with the term lucid dream because
of various films like Vanilla Sky, Paramount two thousand and one,
(02:22):
Waking Life, Fox Searchlight Pictures two thousand and one, and
Inception Warner Bros. Twenty ten, or the Netflix series Behind
Her Eyes twenty twenty one. In Waking Life, the protagonist
consciously encounters various people in his dreams and asks them
philosophical questions about life, free will, and other topics. The
(02:45):
opening scene features a little boy and a little girl
playing a paper fortune telling game, and his fortune is
dream is destiny. That seems to be the common theme
of those who promote lucid dreaming, that dreams can impact
our future in this life and beyond. Some proponents claim
that lucid dreams help us experience joy while sleeping that
(03:07):
maybe we cannot or simply have not experienced in real life.
Co authors of the book Lucid Dreaming Plain and Simple
note often when people become lucid, they repoor a kind
of spontaneous euphoriat in which they feel a strong sense
of energy and mastery, coupled with a profound sense of
awareness and clarity. While a conversation about lucid dreams may
(03:28):
yield questions about potential benefits and dangers of the practice,
Christians should consider whether it's moral to take part, especially
because lucid dreams are often connected with the New Age
and the occult lucid dreams throughout history. Lucid dreams are
dreams in which the person who is asleep is conscious
that they are dreaming. They can control who they interact with,
(03:51):
what they experience and in some cases when it ends
at the outset. We should address the key questions, are
people really to experience lucid dreams? And if so, is
the experience verifiable? The short answer to both questions is yes,
at least according to various scientists and researchers in the
West who have tackled the topic over the last century.
(04:14):
But to find the earliest historical recordings of lucid dreaming
we must travel east. For centuries, Tibetan monks have been
practicing dream yoga, a process by which the practitioner learns
how to become conscious during dreams. Although they are not
asleep while exercising dream yoga, the yogis are preparing for
lucid dream experiences. Hindus have a similar practice called yoga nidra.
(04:40):
In the West, Lucid dreaming is less associated with religion,
though not completely detached, and more related to psychology. Interestingly,
the Greek philosopher Aristotle alluded to the ability to be
conscious while dreaming in on Dreams, stating, when one is asleep,
there is something in consciousness which declares that what then
(05:01):
presents itself is but a dream. Although there have been
references here and there about consciousness and dreaming. Since Aristotle,
lucid dreaming started coming to the forefront in the West
in the twentieth century. Dutch psychiatrist Frederick Willem van Eden d.
Nineteen thirty two coined the term lucid dream in nineteen
(05:21):
thirteen in his article A Study of Dreams. He noted
that he intentionally avoided using the terms conscious and unconscious
in his analysis, but he still suggested that lucid dreams
are controllable by the dreamer. In these lucid dreams, the
reintegration of the psychic functions is so complete that the
sleeper remembers day life in his own condition, reaches a
(05:43):
state of perfect awareness, and is able to direct his
attention and to attempt different acts of free volition. Some
have suggested that although he used the term lucid dream,
van Eden was not referring to how we think of
them today as the conscious awareness of being in a Rather,
he was referring to mental clarity and ability to take
(06:05):
the dream in and understand it. In other words, he
thought lucid dreams were simply dreams we could remember and understand,
not necessarily situations we could control. Consciously. In the decades
that followed van Eeden's dream study, several other researchers tackled
the topic of lucid dreams. In nineteen sixty eight, British
(06:25):
parapsychologist Cilia green published a book called Lucid Dreams Institute
of Psychophysical Research, in which she described how people could
gain control of their dreams. Although Greene's research dealt primarily
with psychic and out of body experiences, she was the
first to predict that lucid dreams were correlated with rapid
eye movement RAM during sleep. Green's suspicions about their rim
(06:50):
connection to lucid dreams were confirmed in an experiment in
nineteen seventy five by Keith Hearn, a British psychologist, who
discovered a way to communicate with some one in a
lucid dream state through coded eye movements. Hearn also invented
a dream machine, which is on display at London Science Museum.
The machine is designed to help trigger lucidity in a dreamer.
(07:13):
In nineteen seventy six, Scott Sparrow, a psychotherapist associated with
the Edgar Case Association for Research and Enlightenment, published a
book about lucid dreams as related to cases psychic readings.
Sparrow later founded the Dream Star Institute, an organization designed
to train clinicians on how to interpret dreams. Perhaps the
(07:34):
most notable lucid dream researcher, known as the Godfather of
lucid dreams, entered the scene in the nineteen eighties. While
he was a PhD student at Stanford University. Psychophysiologist Stephen
Leberge began researching various aspects of lucid dreaming, including techniques
to induce lucid dreams at any time. Because of his
(07:55):
research and the results produced, he founded the Lucidity Institute
in Hawaii in US in nineteen eighty seven. Leberge has
published a lot since the eighties, including several studies that
explore lucid dreaming. Leberge believes that lucid dreams are helpful
because they aid in clarifying real world situations. In their
book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, Leberge and his
(08:18):
co author Howard Reinold wrote, properly practiced lucid dreaming can
enhance your ability to see the stars in any situation,
to mindfully look for a better way of doing things,
to become an active shaper of your destiny to move
your control expectations from external toward internal. Research about lucid
(08:38):
dreams continues even today. Studies range from researching potential impact
on mental health to whether it is possible to communicate
with someone while they are dreaming. For example, in twenty
twenty one, a team of international researchers attempted to speak
with thirty six participants who were asleep and engaged in
a lucid dream. The results were mixed, but the research
(09:00):
has spawned more interest in the scientific community to continue
to investigate lucid dreams. In fact, along with a couple
of his core searchers, le Berge commented on the journal article,
a recent study illustrates how experimenters can question lucid dreamers
during ongoing dreams and asks whether more extended two way
(09:21):
communication during lucid rem sleep dreaming is feasible. In other words,
they are encouraged by the research. The question which will
be addressed below is if lucid dreams are real, should
Christians pursue them the new age in occult connection. Throughout
my research on this topic, I discovered that many proponents
(09:41):
of lucid dreams are involved in New Age practices or
some aspect of the occult. For instance, meditation is a
key part of lucid dream practice. Author and therapist Damien
Blair says you can achieve a more focused state of
mind and perceive things that happen in your dream state
with mora al waywareness. Meditation is a great way to
(10:02):
improve your mindfulness and increase awareness of yourself. Christian Research
Institute President Hank Hannigraft clarified the difference between worldly meditation
and biblical meditation. Like what we find in the Psalms,
it has to do with our purpose. Worldly meditation focuses
on the self, while biblical meditation focuses on God. In
(10:23):
the various books, articles, and videos I found regarding meditation
and lucid dreaming, the focus was overwhelmingly on the self
in addition to meditation. Some lucid dream advocates encourage the
use of crystals to promote better experiences. Some at the Fay,
author of The Await Dreamer, says certain crystals can facilitate
(10:44):
better dream recall. Crystals can receive, hold, direct project, and
reflect light, so it makes sense that they can help
us with our dreams. The Suburban Witchery website offers a
list of eight crystals for Lucid dream To be fair,
not all Lucid dreamers believe Crystal's work. In fact, the
(11:06):
Lucid Guide website comes up strongly against anyone claiming they do.
While crystals and minerals are certainly absolutely beautiful, inspiring, and
a testament to the beauty of the universe in which
we live, it remains unethical to make claims about their
use in treating or influencing physical or psychological states. Nevertheless,
(11:26):
you need to know that crystals are connected to the
New Age. As former Christian Research Journal editor Elliot Miller explained,
demonic energy can work through people's belief in magical objects.
He continued, when people associate crystals with an occult understanding
of universal energy and place faith in them for healing
or other desired ends with their free wills, they are
(11:48):
opening up a door for demonic intrusion and deception. In
other words, don't play with fire and assume crystals will
help you achieve anything in dreamland. Regarding demons, there have
been some anecdotes of people encountering demonic creatures while in
a lucid dream. One contributor to the Lucid Dreaming Reddit said,
I have lucid nightmares at least once a week before
(12:12):
they always had the same shadowy demon, always in the
back watching me. Another recounted a lucid dream involving her father.
When another being entered the dream, I remember very vividly,
but I can't recall the exact shape or form of
anything that my father promptly turned into an unrecognissible inhuman form.
Whatever I try to recall, I'm just imagining some black,
(12:35):
disfigured form. It's hard to explain. And spoke in a deep,
I think guttural voice and in an unknown language. Stephen
le Berge spoke about demonic beings and lucid dreams, but
minimize the situation, denying that people should be concerned or
fearful of demons in their dreams. No, you want to
(12:55):
transform the demons into angels, their messengers, as they were
of wholeness, and if you accept them, they transform. On
the one hand, I can understand where Laberge is coming from,
because lucid dreams are supposed to put the dreamer in charge. However,
demons are real and we have no power to transform them.
Scripture says, submit yourselves than to God, resist the devil,
(13:20):
and he will flee from you James four to seven.
The Bible also tells us to put on the full
armor of God so that you can take your stand
against the devil's schemes Ephesians six'. Eleven neither of these
verses say we can transform the evil. Spurts, rather we
are to resist and stand against. Them, finally consciousness itself
(13:42):
should be. Addressed although in the lucid dream, sense consciousness
refers to being aware or knowing you're in a, dream
consciousness in The New age sense means connection to a
higher self or some kind of universal. Energy New agers
often refer to a collective, consciousness that we're all all
connected with each other and the. Divine David, wilcock author
(14:04):
Of awakening in The dream and frequent guest On History
Channels Ancient, aliens has spent his life evaluating his dreams
and trying to connect the dots with his. Spirituality he,
writes my dreams were making it clearer THAT i needed
to somehow form a bridge from the world OF ufo
research into the spiritual side of. Dreaming lucidity ancient spiritual
(14:25):
teachings and higher. Consciousness lucid dreams do not offer special
opportunities to commune with the. Divine romans ten seventeen. Says,
consequently faith comes from hearing the, message and the messages
heard through The word About. Christ our opportunity to be
With god comes through Knowing, christ and we Know christ
by knowing The word Of. God hebrews four to twelve,
(14:48):
says for The word Of god is alive and, active
sharper than any double edged. Sword it penetrates even to
dividing soul and spirit joints and marrow judges the thoughts
and attitudes of the. Heart we don't have to seek
out false light when the light of The lord is
alive and well within, us so long as we seek
(15:08):
him and known. Him morality and lucid. Dreams if lucid
dreams are, real can they be? Immoral much could be
said on this, topic but one common theme throughout my
research is that lucid dreams give the dreamer total. Freedom
if you want to, fly you can. Fly if you
want to talk With, aristotle you can talk With, aristotle
(15:29):
or at least The aristotle you consciously create in your.
Dreams if you want to have an affair with your. Neighbor,
wait isn't that taking it too? Far how far is
too far in lucid? Dreaming if we are aware and
if we can choose our own, adventures so to, speak
do those choices in our dreams have eternal? Consequences can
we sin while we are dreaming if we're aware that we're?
(15:51):
Dreaming some may or you, know because your dreams aren't
really real even if you are conscious that you are. Dreaming,
however we all had dreams that have impacted our real.
LIVES i think of wives who have woken up angry
with their husbands because in the wife's dream the husband
did something. Despicable it wasn't, real but the wife still
(16:11):
felt emotionally escalated against her husband when she woke. Up,
further how do choices we make in lucid dreams affect
our waking? Thoughts if someone has an affair with their
neighbor in a lucid, dream does that result in lustful
thoughts during the daytime. Hours sin is something we should take,
seriously And jesus said it quite. Plainly if your right
(16:34):
eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it.
Away it is better for you to lose one part
of your body than for your whole body to be
thrown into. Hell and if your right hand causes you to,
stumble cut it off and throw it, away it is
better for you to lose one part of your body
than for your whole body to go into. Hell if
lucid dreams cause you to, stumble gouge them. Out, interestingly
(16:57):
even in The New, age there are counts sequences for
your dream. Actions lucid dreaming is in tax Free, Karmically
author and Spiritualist Andrew holichek, said you can actually create
negative karma if you're indulging your wildest, fantasies which may
or may not be to benefit all sentient. Beings if
new agers acknowledge the potential sins related to lucid, dreams
(17:20):
albeit in a missiled way related to, karma we should.
Too this is not to say that lucid dreams are,
sinful per, Said, instead one should consider the implications on
our lives and. Minds, ultimately the world may promise us
freedom in dreams or in, life but our freedom is
found In. Christ remember it is for freedom That christ
(17:42):
has set us. Free stand, firm, then and do not
let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of Slavery
galatians five to. One do not become a slave to
false ideas or the pursuit of worldly. Things don't let
any earthly thing become such an obsession that it takes
your thoughts away From. Christ this isn't to, say AS
(18:02):
i noted, above that lucid dreaming is morally unconscionable or. Sinful,
rather as with all things of the, world it can
become an. Idol if you choose to engage in lucid,
dreams don't let them rule your. Life, instead set your
minds on things, above not on earthly, Things collations three to.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Two thank you for listening to another episode from The
Christian Research Journal reads, podcast which provides audio articles Of
Christian Research journal. Articles if you go to equip dot,
org you will find a brand new article for The
Christian Research journal published. Weekly in, addition please subscribe to
(18:43):
our other. Podcasts wherever you find your favorite, podcast you
will find The Christian Research Journal reads, podcast The Postmodern realities,
podcast which features interviews With Christian Research journal. Authors our
Flagship The bible Answer man broadcast and The Hank unplugged,
(19:05):
podcast WHERE Cri President Hank canagraph takes you out of
the studio and into his study to engage in in,
depth free, flowing Essential christian conversations on critical issues with
some of the most interesting and informative people on the.
Planet at equipp dot, org you will also find a
(19:26):
lot of resources to equip, you including many thousands Of
Christian Research journal. Articles that's e quip dot. Rg
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