THE DREAM-CONSCIOUS STATE:  A PERSONAL JOURNAL OF INNER EXPLORATION
Bruce G. Marcot

JOURNALS -- PART TWO (1986-present)

     Reading and Writing
 
     Can one read or write in a lucid dream state?
 
     In several dreams I have had a book or other written material in my hand, and upon entering the lucid state made a willful effort to read the piece in front of me.  In other non-lucid dreams I can recall afterwards that written material in my dreams always faded or blurred or became nonsensical when I tried to read it.
 
   However, in a recent lucid dream of this type, I wanted to see how a conscious directive might change that experience.  In my lucid dream, I began reading, but what I read seemed to be disjointed and nonsensical.  At first the letters were various symbols and not even English; then the symbols formed into letters, but were jumbled and did not form words; and finally the letters organized into words to form into "organic" ("open") poetry.  I read a number of lines.  In the dream it seemed profound and marvelously written, but upon awakening I realized that the words made little sense, like writing  profound poetry when stoned.

     I wonder if this suggests that symbols, letters, words, and lines are progressively more difficult and constitute a continuum of written mental skills?

     And that organic poetry is somehow archetypal?
 
     In other dreams of this type I have tried to consciously compose poetry while lucid.  In a couple of these dreams I succeed in rapidly creating and reciting entirely original poems, spontaneously.  In some of these dreams I have even written them down in the dream, but this is laborious and takes great concentration in the lucid state.  In other dreams, I just recite them aloud in the dream, and this takes far less effort than does writing.
 
     A few times I've woken just after the dream and was able to recall some of the lines of the poems, and some seemed intelligible and even moving and profound, as if spewed from the deepest part of my heart and soul.
 
     It's interesting that the poetry is sensible and emotionally moving when I try to "compose" it in these dreams, and that it is gibberish when I force myself to simply try to "read" it ... although, of course, what I am "reading" in my dream is what I must "compose" in my dream to read!  Why this difference?  It is as if reading and writing (or spontaneous oral composition) are fundamentally different processes that use different parts of the brain that react very differently in the dream state, lucid or otherwise.  I wonder if people with brain damage, that differentially affects reading and writing (or speaking), have experienced similar contrasts in the ease of spontaneous creativity, in dreams or in the waking world.
 
     And I wonder what kinds of lucid dreams that people with different kinds of brain damage have.
 
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