The Dream Light

by Gene Ariani

May 28, 1993

Following is instructions on how to build and use Dream Light Goggles. These goggles are intended to be a mechanical aid to Lucid Dreaming. They are roughly patterened after Stephen LaBerge's "Dreamlight".

THEORY AND USE: The best way to understand the use of dream light goggles is to read Stephen LaBerge's book, "Exploring the world of Lucid Dreaming". The function of the goggles is based on the use of "dreamsigns". A dreamsign is simply something within a dream that serves to trigger our recognition that we are dreaming (and become lucid). If you are working on inducing lucid dreams, dreamsigns become important. And the way to use dreamsigns is to take notice of common, recurring objects or events in your dreams. Especially if these objects or events have triggered lucidity before.

For example: The most common dreamsign for me is flying. I have been doing this flying for so long, that now, as soon as I find myself flying in a dream I almost always immediately recognize that I'm dreaming.

Another dreamsign I discovered by looking back over my lucid dreams is "cliffs and high places". I have found that these experiences often precede my becoming lucid in a dream. Only a couple nights after I realized that cliffs were a dreamsign for me I had a dream in which I was climbing up the face of a cliff. I was having trouble and thought I might fall. Then suddenly it hit me... Climbing a Cliff! I'm dreaming!.

Once you learn what your common dreamsigns are then you must program yourself to recognize that dreamsign as a indication that you're dreaming.

Now the problem with dreamsigns is that we must wait for them to happen and then hope that we recognize them when they do. And that is the function of the dreamlight. The dreamlight provides a ready- made dreamsign that you can program to happen when you choose.

The dreamlight or "dream goggles" as I call my device, are designed to flash a bright red light in your eyes at a predetermined time. Unlike LaBerges dreamlight these goggles have no way of determining when you are in REM sleep. So we must use a hit and miss technique of having them come on when you're dreaming. There are two methods of doing this:

(1) Set the alarm clock to come on about 1-1/2 or 3 hours after you think you'll fall asleep, and set the sound/light switch to light. Then put on the goggles and fall asleep. The reason for 1-1/2 or 3 hours is that we normally have 90 minute sleep cycles, and you want the lights to come on as you are passing through REM on the way out of a sleep cycle.

The problem with this method is that there's a very good chance that you won't be in REM when the lights turn on. Also it can be difficult to sleep for a long period of time with the goggles on. However this has a hidden benifite in that it interrupts your sleep pattern so much that that in itself can bring about a lucid dream, (it worked for me).

(2) Set the "sound" alarm to go on at a time early in the morning, at least an hour before you have to get up. When the alarm wakes you up reach over and push the snooze button, then put on the goggles and switch the alarm to "lights". Now you have 9 minutes to fall back asleep. If you can fall asleep before the alarm (lights) comes on again you will most likely be in a dream. If you aren't quite asleep yet, just push snooze again and try again.

I have been sucessful with this method. However more often than not I am so tired when the alarm goes off that I either don't bother to mess with the goggles or I put them on and then fall into a deep sleep and sleep right through the flashing lights.

This is not a fool proof method of attaining lucidity in a dream. However I believe if you put enough effort into it (more then I have), it could prove to be valuable aid.

Good Luck!

DISCLAIMER - I believe the device constructed in the way I describe to be safe, but I'm no electrician. I'm not responsible if it burns down your house, or shocks you. If you're going to be taking apart electrical appliances you really should know what you're doing yourself.

HOW TO BUILD THE DREAM LIGHT GOGGLES

PARTS: 1. AC powered LED Alarm clock with at least a 9 minute snooze function. The clock I use is a Spartus model 1108, it is small, about 5.5"X3"X2". It cost about $9.00. Any small LED clock would probably work as long as the voltage to the speaker is not too high. The speaker voltage on the Spartus is about 7 volts DC.

2. Swim eye goggles. Cost about $7.00. The main thing is to find a pair that is fairly comfortable. I'm using Speedo brand. You can get cheaper ones, but it might be worth it to get a pair you can actually sleep with.

3. Two Radio Shack Red High-Brightness Jumbo Blinking Light- Emitting Diodes Catalog No. 276-020 $3.99 ea.

4. One Low-Current Red LED (Light Emitting Diode) $0.89

5. About 6 feet of speaker wire.

6. One toggle switch. This should be a 3 pole, 2 position switch, like Radio Shack's Mini DPDT #275-663 $3.59

ASSEMBLY - STEP ONE:

Using a tapered steel centerpunch, or some other suitable device burn a hole in the center of each plastic lens of the swim goggles. A tapered punch works well. Use a torch to heat it up, it doesn't have to be red hot (if you make it red hot you will take the temper out of the punch).

Then burn a hole in the lens until it is just the right size to snugly fit the Jumbo Blinking Diodes. The diodes are tapered and you don't want them to fit all the way into the goggles or they might touch your eyelids. Once you've done this put the goggles aside until you wire up the diodes.

STEP TWO:

Making sure the clock is unplugged, unscrew the back and take the clock apart. You should be able to get to the flat piezo type speaker. Next burn a hole in the body of the clock at the top to hold the toggle switch. Make sure you put it in a place where it won't touch anything on the inside of the clock.

STEP THREE

Cut the positive wire leading from the circuit board of the clock to the speaker. Use a voltmeter to tell which one is positive. It's not necessarily the red wire. On the clock I used the black wire was positive.

It really doesn't matter if you use the negative instead of the positive, except that the diodes are directional, they have a positive and negative pole and so will only work in one way. The way I'm describing is assuming you are using the positive side.

Be sure you cut the speaker wire in a place that you can get the solder leads to it. Now solder the positive speaker wire you just cut coming from the circuit board to the middle pole of the toggle switch.

Now take the small red LED and solder the long lead of the diode (Pos. side) to one of the outside poles of the toggle switch. I found that there is a residual voltage in the speaker circuit even when the alarm is not active, and this is enough to cause the diodes in the goggles to emit a small amount of light even when the circuit is not active. I tried resisters but I found that putting this red LED in the circuit worked the best to prevent this. For this reason this LED can be inside the clock box, just make sure it doesn't short against anything.

Next solder one end of one wire in the two wire speaker cable to the other lead of the red LED (the short one). Most speaker cable has a way to identify one wire from the other. Some have a white line on one wire, or one wire may be brass and other silver. It's best to use the wire with the marking so that you know that it is the positive side. The length of the wire is to determine how far you want to be from the clock when you're sleeping. 6ft should be plenty.

Now take the other end of the positive speaker wire and solder it to the long (pos) lead of the first Jumbo Blinking LED. Then take a short piece of speaker wire and solder it from the short lead of the first Jumbo LED to the long lead of the second Jumbo LED. Be sure you make this jumper wire the right length so that the two LEDs are spaced the proper distance apart to fit in the goggles.

Next take the goggles end of the other speaker wire (neg. side) and solder it to the short lead of the second Jumbo LED. Take the clock end of that same wire and splice it into the negitive speaker wire. This makes a complete circuit from the positive side of the circuit board, through the toggle switch, through the lights in the goggles and back to the negative speaker wire leading to the circuit board. This means that when the switch closes this circuit the lights will come on every time the clock sends an alarm pulse to the speaker.

Now you must conect the other side of the speaker wire you cut (the speaker side) to the other outside pole of the toggle switch. You will probably have to solder in a jumper wire to do this. This completes the speaker circuit so that when the switch is set to speaker the speaker sounds when the alarm turns on. Be sure you insulate all your exposed conections.

Now burn a notch in the back panel of the clock for the goggles wire to pass through and put a knot in the wire just inside the box so that it can't be pulled out. Now put the clock back together.

The last thing to do now is to put the Jumbo LEDs into the holes in the goggle lenses. Use a black tape to tape them into place and block out light into the goggles from outside. Insulate all the exposed leads of the LEDs. Run the wire from the LEDs along the goggle strap and tape them to the strap so that the wire exit the goggles from the strap at the back of the head. Leave enough slack to allow for stretching of the strap.