Overview of the German Research in the Field of Lucid Dreaming

Abstract

With the aim of examining a number of claims about dreaming, I looked for a technique that would allow the scientist to make systematic observations during dreaming with a clear consciousness. This was in 1959, a time when the phenomenon of lucid dreaming was completely unknown both to myself and the majority of psychologists. The main thought underlying my first technique for the induction of lucid dreaming went as follows: If one develops a critical frame of mind towards the state of consciousness during the waking state, by asking oneself whether one is dreaming or awake, this attitude will be transferred to the dreaming state. It is then possible through the occurrence of unusual experiences to recognize that one is dreaming. One month after beginning with this method, I had my first lucid dream.