Lucid dreaming, a state in which people become aware that they are dreaming, is known for its many mental and physical health benefits. However, most lucid dream induction techniques, such as reality testing, require significant time and effort to master, creating a barrier for people seeking these experiences. We designed LuciEntry, a portable interactive prototype aimed at helping people...
arXiv (Cornell University)February 13, 2025Pinyao Liu, Keon Ju M. Lee, Alexander Steinmaurer et al.
preprint
We present DreamLLM-3D, a composite multimodal AI system behind an immersive art installation for dream re-experiencing. It enables automated dream content analysis for immersive dream-reliving, by integrating a Large Language Model (LLM) with text-to-3D Generative AI. The LLM processes voiced dream reports to identify key dream entities (characters and objects), social interaction, and dream...
Access to nature and feeling connection is critical for mental health and well-being. These benefits may be mediated by self-transcendent emotions evoked by nature. We need to explore the capacity of technology to offer such experiences when we lack access to the restorative power of nature. Despite growing research validating this capacity, there is a lack of articulated design knowledge of...
The concept of transformative experience (TE) has been widely explored by several disciplines from philosophy to neurobiology, and in different domains, from the spiritual to the educational one. This attitude has engendered heterogeneous models to explain this phenomenon. However, a consistent and clear understanding of this construct remains elusive. The aim of this work is to provide an...
Self-transcendent experiences are often an integral component of ancient cultural practices that use psychedelic substances during spiritual ceremonies, such as ayahuasca ceremonies. Yet, ayahuasca contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which is illegal in many countries. Due to its illegality, ayahuasca experiences are scarce despite potential benefits of increased quality of life and reduced...
Flying dreams have the potential to evoke a feeling of empowerment (or self-efficacy, confidence in our ability to succeed) and self-transcendent experience (STE), which have been shown to contribute to an individual’s overall well-being. However, these exceptional dreaming experiences remain difficult to induce at will. Inspired by the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) to support profound...
Self-transcendence has been characterized as a decrease in self-saliency (ego disillusionment) and increased connection, and has been growing in research interest in the past decade. Several measures have been developed and published with some degree of psychometric validity and reliability. However, to date, there has been no review systematically describing, contrasting, and evaluating the...
Lucid dreaming, knowing one is dreaming while dreaming, is an important tool for exploring consciousness and bringing awareness to different aspects of life. We present a proof-of-concept system called Lucid Loop: a virtual reality experience where one can practice lucid awareness via biofeedback. Visuals are creatively generated before your eyes using a deep learning Artificial Intelligence...