Dr Keith Hearne & Dr Clare Johnson discuss the nature of lucid dreaming at the Dream Research Institute, London: A celebration of the 40 year anniversary of Keith’s discovery

Exactly 40 years ago today, in 1975, a young psychologist devised a pioneering experiment – one which provided the first scientific proof of lucid dreaming, where the dreamer ‘wakes up’ inside the dream while remaining physiologically asleep. This young pioneer was Dr Keith Hearne, and today we are celebrating 40 years of lucid dreaming science.

It was great fun to spend the day with Dr Keith Hearne, talking about topics ranging from the lucid dream body and his ‘light switch effect’ in lucid dreams to the healing potential of lucid dreaming and the ultimate nature of reality. Afterwards we had a Lucidity Dinner and a lovely walk along the canal. To join in the online fun and games around Lucid Dreaming Day, check out this link.

If you missed the day with Keith and I, you can catch up on parts of it another time as we videoed it, and in the meantime you may like to check out this DreamTime magazine feature, where Dr Keith Hearne talks to me about his experiment, his first ever lucid dream, and 40 years of lucid dream research. Just click on the cover.

Just ten years ago, outraged psychoanalysts would leap to their feet during my talks on my research into lucid dream creativity and challenge me about the possibility of anyone waking up in their dreams…http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/celebrating-40-years-of-lucid-dream-science.html

40 years ago a young scientist provided the first proof of the existence of lucid dreaming. This was at a time when most scientists claimed that lucid dreaming – waking up inside a dream – was impossible. Even many psychoanalysts and other professionals who worked closely with dreams doubted that anyone could become conscious in the unconscious world of dreams. Dr Keith Hearne’s pioneering experiment with lucid dreamer Alan Worsley showed that lucid dreamers can not only wake up inside a dream; they can also signal their awareness from within the dream, through a series of pre-agreed eye movements. On the morning of 12th April 1975, history was made, and the first ever ocular signals from a lucid dreamer were recorded.

Now it’s time to celebrate the incredible progress that has been made with lucid dream research over 40 years. Lucid dreaming is now known to help with nightmares, creativity, problem-solving, sports skills and trauma, and its use in therapies is expanding. Together with Dr Hearne I’ll be exploring everything from the science of lucid dreaming to its creative and healing applications in a day-long celebration at the Dream Research Institute in London on Sat 28th March (click here for tickets). Come and join us! There’s even a lucidity dinner afterwards where participants can chat informally to Keith and I about all things lucid.

Celebrating 40 Years of Lucid Dreaming Exploration flyer 2015