The History of Lucid Dreaming

Introduction
I don’t claim to be an expert on the history of lucid dreaming, but once again, I bring this to you with the intent of keeping you involved in all aspects of the incredible lucid dream.

My research shows that lucid dreams have been around for quite a long time. Some claim that St. Augustine is the earliest record of lucid dreaming in the form of a written letter in 415 A.D. I really can’t dispute this, but my research found earlier accounts of the practice of lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming spans thousands of years, and a multitude of religions and geographical locations.

Here is a condensed list of lucid dreaming over the centuries:

* 1000 BC: Upanishads, the Hindu oral tradition of spiritual lessons, philosophy, and proverbs include lucid dreaming
* 1000 BC: Bonpo, the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet, claims that lucid dreaming has been used during meditations for over 12,000 years
* 1000 BC: Vigyan Bhairav Tantra, is another ancient Hindu region that describes how to become conscious during a dream
* 350 BC: Aristotle wrote, “when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which tells us that what presents itself is but a dream”
* 3rd Century: Saint Denys, a Christian martyr and saint claims to have been a prolific conscious dreamer
* 415 A.D: St. Augustine, a Christian philosopher and priest referred to lucid dreams in a letter
* 4th Century: Mohammed’s Laylat al-Miraj is an account of a nighttime vision that provided him with spiritual initiation
* 8th Century: Tibetan Buddhists – The Tibetan Book of the Dead described of a form of yoga designed to become conscious while dreaming
* 12th century: Sufi Ib El-Arabi from Spain suggested that controlling thought in dreams is an essential skill for aspiring mystics
* 15th Century: Sir Thomas Browne, a philosopher and physician stated his ability to lucid dream
* 15th Century: Rene Descartes, a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer wrote avidly about his lucid dreams in a private journal known as the Olympica
* 17th Century: Pierre Gassendi and Thomas Reid are two philosophers that discussed becoming awake while dreaming
* 1867: Marquis d’Hervey de Saint-Denys published his book Dreams and How to Guide Them
* 1913: Frederick Van Eeden wrote A Study of Dreams on lucid dreaming to the Society for Psychical Research and he coined the term “lucid dreaming”
* 1935: Walter Y. Evans-Wentz translates a section of the Tibetan Book of the Dead
* 1977: Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D continues to do a tremendous amount of research on the topic of lucid dreaming today

I admit that my research was short, but my intention was to provide you with a general idea of how much lucid dreaming occurred throughout the ages. I am quite positive that my list only includes a small amount of those that practiced lucid dreaming. Volumes could be written on this subject.

Dream on!

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