This article[]
This article attempts to explain what LucidWiki is, isn't, and what it aspires to be, all of which are subject to change.
Of course, the founder of LucidWiki, IDX, doesn't have the only say in what LucidWiki is supposed to be. Indeed, it is a community project administered using the Wiki format, which means that anyone can edit it. As such, this article may be read as a guide to the current sentiment of community members regarding the best way for LucidWiki to progress. If and when this project becomes more substantial, you may find that some of the goals have changed somewhat. Your feedback and active participation in this area is constantly welcomed and encouraged.
Why wiki?[]
LucidWiki is a wiki. A wiki is a collection of articles that anyone can edit or add to. See Wikipedia for an example of what wikis can be.
Lucid dreaming, and dreaming in general, has a lively presence on the Internet. Many sites have thousands of active members, who have produced endless reams of helpful material on the subject. This outgoing approach to community building is why IDX chose to create this wiki; so that users might each contribute their reports of knowledge and experience to create a clear and coherent reference on the subject.
It's going to take a while; let's not kid ourselves on this one. Wikipedia wasn't built in a day, after all (and neither was Rome). But the enthusiasm for lucid dreaming is palpable, evidenced by the rapid growth of various other lucid dreaming communities.
What LucidWiki is[]
A summary of what LucidWiki aims to be is given below. For a more detailed account, see each corresponding section in this article.
- An online collection of articles referring to all aspects of lucid dreaming, from reality checks to induction techniques, and lucid activities, e.g. flying, polymorphism etc.
- A collection of tutorials on the subject.
- A repository for findings and results from research projects in the field.
- A collection of users' dream journals which are written for the purpose of attaining, recording, and learning about lucid dreams.
What LucidWiki is not[]
LucidWiki is not:
- Primarily a reference for dreaming in general. Our focus is on lucid dreaming. Too much generality makes for a non-lucid wiki. Although some information on dreaming in general must inevitably appear, please relate it directly to lucid dreaming. Information on the general topic of dreaming is vast and widely available. If you would like be part of a community on dreaming in general, please do not hesitate to start a new Wikia and name it "DreamWiki" or something similar!
- A wikibook. A wikibook on lucid dreaming can be found at Wikibooks.
- Purely a place for discussion. Discussion can be created between users via their talk pages, but for discussion on the topic please visit one of the other communities.
LucidWiki as a reference[]
Although LucidWiki is primarily intended as a reference for lucid dreaming, it should contain information on all aspects. Separate aspects should be introduced as separate articles, and related but more minor aspects should be given in dedicated sections of the parent articles, or, more preferably, its own mini-article.
Dreaming as a general topic is not as broad here as that covered by several other wikis and most certainly not as broad as Wikipedia. Even so, such information is welcome as long as it candidly assists our knowledge of lucid dreaming.
Making a wiki purely on lucid dreaming would be unwise as many of the determining aspects of lucid dreaming depend on an understanding of key topics in non-lucid dreaming. So, LucidWiki aims to be a wiki on lucid dreaming, but one that cohesively integrates lucid and relevant non-lucid concepts to offer the reader a thorough and well-rounded understanding on the subject.
Please note that LucidWiki does not "lead you by the hand," in that you are not led on a fixed route to learning lucid dreaming. Indeed, such an approach would not only nullify LucidWiki's key goals but would endanger LucidWiki's position as an unbiased reference. You should never feel that a particular subject is thrust upon you. You are encouraged to explore LucidWiki's resources autonomously.
To aid in this exploration, a Wikipedia-esque category system is used as a form of navigation. For a detailed description of this, see article classification.
Tutorials[]
Although we have said that LucidWiki is by no means a wikibook and that the reader should not be led by the hand, we feel it is necessary for LucidWiki to facilitate a collection of tutorials on various skills or subjects.
A general tutorial is given by the wikibook, so LucidWiki tutorials should focus on the attainment of specific skills.
See writing tutorials for more on this.
Dream journals on LucidWiki[]
It is early days yet at LucidWiki and thus this can only be an aspiration for the future, but a future hopefully not so distant. A working system for this will require a lot of effort to implement, effort that is going into the foundations of LucidWiki at the moment.
What next?[]
LucidWiki is still in its very early days, so please be patient, and more importantly, please contribute!
The most important articles relating to LucidWiki are listed here.
If you have any queries (and I'm guessing you might have a few) feel free to discuss LucidWiki at the dreamer's corner.