The Dream of God: How Do Religion and Science See Lucid Dreaming and Other Conscious States During Sleep?
Sérgio Mota-Rolim, Kelly Bulkeley, Stephany Campanelli, Bruno Lobão‐soares, Draulio B. de Araujo, Sidarta Ribeiro
Frontiers in Psychology 2020 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.555731 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Lucid dreaming Meditation Dreaming |
| Keywords | Dreams Religion |
| Citations | 31 |
| Key findings | Religious traditions offer diverse interpretations and practices related to lucid dreaming, with Abrahamic faiths emphasizing divine communication and Indian traditions focusing on self-awareness and LD induction techniques. |
Abstract
Lucid dreaming (LD) began to be scientifically studied in the last century, but various religions have highlighted the importance of LD in their doctrines for a much longer period. Hindus' manuscripts dating back over 2,000 years ago, for example, divide consciousness in waking, dreaming (including LD), and deep sleep. In the Buddhist tradition, Tibetan monks have been practicing the "Dream Yoga," a meditation technique that instructs dreamers to recognize the dream, overcome all fears when lucid, and control the oneiric content. In the Islamic sacred scriptures, LD is regarded as a mental state of great value, and a special way for the initiated to reach mystical experiences. The Christian theologian Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) mentions LD as a kind of preview of the afterlife, when the soul separates from the body. In the nineteenth century, some branches of the Spiritism religion argue that LD precedes out-of-body experiences during sleep. Here we reviewed how these religions interpret dreams, LD and other conscious states during sleep. We observed that while Abrahamic monotheisms (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) recognize dreams as a way to communicate with God to understand the present and predict the future, the traditional Indian religions (Buddhism and Hinduism) are more engaged in cultivating self-awareness, thus developed specific techniques to induce LD and witnessing sleep. Teachings from religious traditions around the world offer important insights for scientific researchers today who want to understand the full range of LD phenomenology as it has emerged through history.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming | 2019 | Review | |
| My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares? | 2019 | Review | |
| What about dreams? State of the art and open questions | 2022 | Review | |
| Insight and Dissociation in Lucid Dreaming and Psychosis | 2018 | Review | |
| What is the State-of-the-Art on Lucid Dreaming? | 2015 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 22
- Benefits and concerns of seeking and experiencing lucid dreams: benefits are tied to successful induction and dream control. SLEEP Advances 2022
- To be or not to be hallucinating: Implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders. PNAS Nexus December 19, 2023
- Awake or Sleeping? Maybe Both… A Review of Sleep-Related Dissociative States. Journal of Clinical Medicine June 6, 2023
- Spontaneous and induced out-of-body experiences during sleep paralysis: Emotions, "AURA" recognition, and clinical implications. Journal of Sleep Research February 1, 2023
- Sleep Paralysis and Lucid Dreaming-Between Waking and Dreaming: A Review about Two Extraordinary States. Journal of Clinical Medicine May 12, 2023
and 17 more in the library
Cites 30
- The Experimental Induction of Out-of-Body Experiences Science August 23, 2007
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin Brain January 15, 2004
- Linking Out-of-Body Experience and Self Processing to Mental Own-Body Imagery at the Temporoparietal Junction Journal of Neuroscience January 19, 2005
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Out-of-body experience, heautoscopy, and autoscopic hallucination of neurological origin Brain Research Reviews July 13, 2005
and 25 more in the library