Awake but Not Really: Lucid Dreaming

Title: Awake But Not Really: Lucid Dreaming

General Purpose: to inform

Specific Speech Purpose: to inform my audience on what lucid dreaming and how it happens to us as well as some of the effects that it might have on us.

Thesis Statement: The concept of lucid dreaming encompasses the dreams that people experience during which they are conscious of their state, the definition of lucid dreaming will be further investigated and the science and interpretation of lucid dreaming will be explained

Introduction

1. Attention-getter: Everyone knows that jumping off of the ground and flying is impossible. Everyone knows that you can’t dance on the stage of Beyonce’s sold out concert. However all this is possible while your asleep. Suddenly you become aware that you are just dreaming but you don’t wake up, you continue to dream. You begin to control yourself and the characters in your dream while remaining fast asleep. If this has ever happened to you then you have experienced lucid dreaming.

2. Establishment of ethos: The film Inception has sparked my interest in the concept of lucid dreaming and how it affects our dreams and perception of reality. I hope to inform you on what causes lucid dreams and how it affects the human mentality for a better understanding of our own brains.

3. Preview (each main point): First I would like to define exactly what lucid dreaming is, then explain the science behind it and how the effects of lucid dreaming can be interpreted.

Transition 1: So without further adieu, lets dive deeper into the definition of lucid dreaming...

According to Appel Kristoffer’s article in the Interdisciplinary science review, “During dreaming, we experience a wake-like hallucinatory reality, however with restricted reflective abilities: in the face of a bizarre dream environment, we do not realize that we are actually dreaming. In contrast, during the rare phenomenon of lucid dreaming, the dreamer gains insight into the current state of mind while staying asleep.”

This insight or ability allows for the dreamer to take full control of their dreams. In fact lucid dreaming is used in a variety of purposes.

i) Out of 301 luicid dreamers surveyed, Over 80% of them said that they used lucid dreaming to simply have fun. Besides that others reported solving problems, and actually changing nightmares into more pleasant ones.

ii) From that survey, it