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Dreams And How To Approach Lucid Dreaming
You want to have a lucid dream. That much you are sure of; however, what you are not at
all sure of is how to go about having one.
It can be helpful to know why you would like to be a lucid dreamer. What do you have to
gain from the process? In order to find the profit in lucid dreaming we should begin with
the normal dream process.
What typically happens is you lay down, you close your eyes and you wake six to eight
hours later – you may or may not remember any dreams you gave had in this time. In and
of itself, not terribly exciting.
We need normal sleep to refresh our minds and bodies, keeping us healthy mentally and
physically. What would happen if you could control the time when you are dreaming?
Instead of being helplessly caught up in whatever dreams your subconscious mind
decides to hand you, how about you controlling the action? A lucid dreamer can do this.
It is a new and fun world, a lot like being inside your own video game where you can fly
or wish for something and have it.
How does a person train themselves to be a lucid dreamer? A dream initiated lucid dream
or DILD is when the dreamer realizes he or she is dreaming. When you are having a
dream and know you are dreaming, you are having a lucid dream.
The next way is called wake initiated lucid dream (WILD); in this process, you go from
wake to sleep stage with no loss of consciousness. To put it more simply you walk
through the door from here to your dreams instead of just happening upon them
So, what methods can you use to induce these kinds of lucid dreaming states?
Dream Recall
If you want to become a lucid dreamer, one of the easiest ways is to begin by learning
dream recall. Dream recall is nothing more than being able to remember your dreams.
Learning to remember you dreams makes it easier for you to recognize that you are in a
dream while sleeping – you are more than likely to either have the same dream moiré
than once, or at least have elements which recur in your dreams.
The best way to practice dream recall is through keeping a dream journal. This is a tool
in which you write down whatever you can remember about your dream so you can recall
it in the future. Do this right after you wake up - dreams are harder to remember the
longer you wait.
Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD)
Developed by renowned lucid dream researcher Dr. Stephen LaBerge, this technique
works by telling yourself to recognize a certain object or situation when you see it in your
dreams. When you see this object, it triggers the realization that you are in a dreaming,
allowing you to begin lucid dreaming.
Wake Back to Bed or WBTB
This technique is fairly simple. You set your alarm for just a few hours after you go to
bed. When you wake, don't just go back to sleep. Instead, stay awake for about an hour,
then return to sleep.
According to Dr, LaBerge, this method has a 60% success rate. The idea here is to wake
yourself in the midst of a REM cycle so that upon returning to sleep, lucid dreaming will
be easy to achieve.
Cycle Adjustment Technique
This invention of Daniel Love is another way to have lucid dreams. This involves getting
up earlier. Get up an hour and a half earlier until you get used to it. After that switch back
to your regular time to get up. Keep switching back and forth. This way when you sleep
the later time period, you will be likely to lucid dream as your brain is used to awakening
earlier.
WILD refers to Wake Initiation of Lucid Dreams
As described earlier wake initiated lucid dreams are matter of keeping your mind
conscious as you fall asleep. This may be the most fun way to achieve lucid dream state.
Imagine if you will that, your dreams are like a movie you are planning to watch. You get
comfortable, turn on the television set, (sleep), first you have a dark screen (eyes closed)
and now it is a matter of getting through the previews to the movie.
You need to stay aware; it is a lot like self hypnosis. This is not a good exercise to try
when you are tired as your mind may not stay as aware. Try to focus on things that
require brain activity such as doing math puzzles, jogging or anything to keep your mind
active. Breathe evenly and focus on relaxing every part of your body.
There are also technological innovations which can help to induce lucid dreaming, among
them strobe lights and dreaming masks.
Listen to binaural beats with headphones; this is a very effective way to achieve a lucid
dream.
These binaural sounds induce lucid dreaming by causing the hemispheres of your brain to
synchronize, making your brainwaves reach the state required for lucid dreaming.
With a combination of self affirmations, self hypnosis and binaural sounds, being a lucid
dreamer is something anyone can do successfully.
Confessions Of A Lucid Dreamer. |
