Those Who Walk Beyond the Threshold
Dreams, Narrative, and Liminal Cognition February 10, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198878117.003.0007 (opens in new tab)
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractLucid dreaming—awareness during a dream that one is dreaming, sometimes with control over events—is linked to a general tendency toward hallucinatory bodily states. Drawing on the Threshold Worlds survey and comparisons with spiritualists and tulpamancers, the chapter argues that lucid dreamers share a changed relationship to the bodily self, suggesting the proclivity arises from a broader propensity to such experiences.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Survey-based comparative analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Lucid dreamers, spiritualists, and tulpamancers |
| Key finding | Lucid dreaming may be associated with a general propensity to hallucinatory states involving the body, via a changed relationship to the bodily self. |
Abstract
Abstract Lucid dreaming refers to the awareness that one is experiencing a dream, which for some may also include being able to control actions in events in the dreamworld. In recent years there has been growing interest in the experimental possibilities of lucid dreaming, and its potential benefits for health and wellbeing. But who are the lucid dreamers, and how do they have (or learn) this proclivity? This chapter draws on the data from the Threshold Worlds survey, alongside comparisons with two other groups of people who traverse the typical boundaries of self, other, and agency: spiritualists and tulpamancers. It argues that lucid dreaming may be associated with a general propensity to hallucinatory states involving the body, via a changed relationship to the bodily self.