Copyright.

The other day the topic of body art came up into a conversation that I was having. While this topic isn't really unusual for me to discuss with people, this time I was thinking about it in a rather different way.

This discussion revolved around a tattoo artist's right to their own work. If an illustrator can draw an image and, if he so chooses, get that image copyrighted, can a tattoo artist do the same? Even though an illustrator works on paper and a tattoo artist works on a body does that matter? Does the canvas make a difference?

Now, I haven't done any research on the topic, so perhaps a tattoo artist can copyright their work. But if they infact can not I think that is ridiculous. Every artist has the right to their own work if that is what they desire. (Yes, I know that last sentence seems to go against my views of 'world property', but not everyone has the weird hippie ideals that I do.)

But even though I do not believe in the idea of personal property I find the whole concept behind the copyright process interesting. So, if the mood strikes I'll do a little research.

Control.

So, apparently there is a lot more documented research regarding a person's ability to control their dreams than I had expected. I mean, of course I knew that people had explored the idea before but when I got around to actually doing a bit of research myself I was surprised. And although there is no surefire way to teach a person how to have lucid dreams or exactly how to remember them, there are some tricks that people have discovered.

One of the first thing that one would encounter when looking up information about remembering their lucid dreams is the concept of the four "R's". Remember, Record, Repeat, and Realization. Remembering is the first, and often the most challenging step in this process. Lucid dreams happen when a person is in the REM phase of sleep, so if one is capable of processing the dream and storing it in their short term memory they will most likely be able to remember their dream upon awakening. Then the next logical step to ensure that you remember what occurred in your dream would be to write it down. Simple as that.

The next "R" has to deal with making the first two "R's" a habit. According to some studies, the more you are in the practice of remembering and recording your dreams, the easier it will become to not only fall into the lucid dream state but to recall it more accurately. In time, you will be able to realize that you are dreaming while the dream is occurring, which is the fourth "R". After you have mastered all of the four "R's" you have successfully mastered the art of being able to put yourself into a state where you are capable of controlling the dream scene around you.

Whether this whole system works for sure, I don't really know. But I'm completely fascinated with the concept. Without even trying I am able to recognize when I am dreaming and remember it upon awakening, so maybe I will start to record them and practice trying to manipulate the dream scene that I am in... I'll post again to let everyone know how it works out.

Lucid.

Lu·cid Dream (n)
A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper is aware that she or he is dreaming. When the dreamer is lucid, she or he can actively participate in and often manipulate the imaginary experiences in the dream environment.

In my opinion, the web defenition for lucid dreaming above is somewhat confusing. It states specifically that when dreaming lucidly, the dreamer can actively participate in the events and can often manipulate the environment. While this may be true for some people, I think that a little bit of clarifying is needed. In order for it to be considered a lucid dream must the person be making these decisions to participate by their worldly self or only their dream self?

Now, I know that the question just posed was a little confusing, so I'll use a personal example: When I am asleep in bed and I have a dream the majority of the time I am aware of the fact that I am dreaming. My dream self can go through an entire night's sleep worth of events while controling my surroundings, but in my real worldly head I still know that I am dreaming but I can not manipulate the world that my dream self is experiencing. Is that still a lucid dream?

If it in fact is not, then if there was a way that people could train themselves to be able to control the environment that surrounds them within a dream would we be able to have more insight into our own subconscious?