Ma ke r

Lucid

Dreaming

Mask

Timed LEDs prompt your brain to direct your dreams. By Nathan True

Power Switch

YOU’RE SITTING IN YOUR CAR, DRIVING to work. At a stoplight, the car across the way starts flashing its lights at you. Squinting, you think: What’s this guy’s problem? Lazily, you recall something about bright lights … and then you remember. Flashing lights mean I’m dreaming! You take a 1K 1K moment to confirm it (yes, your glove compartment is filled with goldfish, as expected), then step calmly out of your car and decide to fly through the air.

+ 6V

PIC16LF628

Photography by Nathan True

This is the “lucid dreaming” state, which lets you interact consciously with your dream worlds and break the rules of reality. Lucid dreaming is fun, and more complicated than they needed to be. If I’m not enthusiasts have developed many ways of trying dreaming, what would flashing lights do? Nothing at to induce the phenomenon, from simply repeating all — they would just flash and I would keep on sleep-statements of intent (“I will realize I am dreaming ing. Thus came my epiphany — I could just set the tonight”) to using hypnosis and brain wave analysis. lights on a timer and have them flash at intervals once Technological solutions have also emerged, I’ve fallen asleep. With this design, the hardware is the most noted of which is the Lucidity Institute’s drastically simple: LEDs pointed at the eyes connect NovaDreamer, a product that uses infrared light to directly to a PIC chip. The only other components are sense the rapid eye movements (REM) that char- a battery, a power switch, and a mode button. acterize the brain state associated with dreaming. The program inside the PIC is dead simple, too — Once it senses your REM, the NovaDreamer cues it waits 4 hours, then flashes the LEDs in a predeter-sounds and flashes lights into your eyes. This injects mined pattern ( 5 flashes, pause, 5 flashes) every 5 the experience of flashing lights into your dream, and minutes. The LED brightness is carefully controlled so with luck (and training), you will recognize the lights, as not to wake you up, but still bright enough to make realize that you’re dreaming, and be able to start it through your eyelids and into your dream. playing your own first-person dream-world game. Using the mask is as simple as turning it on and

Unfortunately, the NovaDreamer and similar strapping it to your face. It’s surprisingly comfort-products are expensive, costing $200 and up. able, and falling asleep with it on is no problem at Many DIY efforts (most notably the Kvasar, online all. Then just keep an eye out for flashing lights! at brindefalk.solarbotics.net/kvasar/kvasar.html) I’ve put together Lucid Dreaming Mask kits, which have attempted to copy the commercial masks, but I sell for $30 each (or $10 for the programmed PIC these weren’t reliable enough for me — they require alone) at lucid.natetrue.com. tight-fitting masks to sense REM properly, and often need careful calibration to detect anything at all.

When I thought about it, I realized the masks were

Nathan True is a casual inventor, tinkering in both hardware and software. He runs the website cre.ations.net.

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