Problems at Refining the "Lucid" Label: Shooting at a Moving Target

Abstract

In 1976, when I began dreaming dreams in which I became "conscious" without waking up,I recognized that something new was going on, and wanted to know what it was called. A psychologist patiently explained to me that it was impossible that I had become conscious while I was asleep, because one is unconscious while asleep, by definition. In the spring of 1983, after seven years and many bookstores, I was relieved to finally encounter a less controversial word, "lucid", in Charles Tart's book Altered States of Consciousness. Later the same year I found Scott Sparrow's book on Lucid Dreaming--Dawning Of The Clear Light, which also gave me labels for prelucid and false awakening dreams, as well a number of new perspectives. In the interim, however, I continued to evolve independently, and developed a number of my own ideas.