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Lucid Dreams Revealed
Wouldn’t it be nice to have lucid dreams, to be aware you are dreaming and control what
happens? Of course you do, but how does one learn to do this?
Why do you want to be a lucid dreamer? How will it help you? To understand the
rewards of this type of dreaming better, let’s look at common sleep experiences.
Sleep itself is not so interesting; you get ready for bed, lie down and close your eyes.
Then you may have uncontrolled dreams or not and several hours later you awaken.
This kind of sleep allows us to get the rest we need to go about our activities the
following day. Have you ever wondered, though, what it would be like if you could
actually take control of your dreams and dictate their events?
How would you like to control what you do while in your dream? Control the events that
happen in it in any way you like. A lucid dreamer is in complete control of their dreams.
They are able to enter the spiritual realm of existence far removed from what exists in the
physical waking hours.
All well and good, but how exactly do you become a lucid dreamer? There are two ways
of accomplishing this goal. The first method is to have a dream-initiated lucid dream, or
DLID. This is where the dreamer becomes aware that they are in fact dreaming and
begins to take control over the dream.
A wake initiated lucid dream or WILD is a state where the person passes almost
immediately from being awake into having a dream, with no period of dreamless sleep in
between. In this way your mind will still be aware of what you are dreaming.
So, what methods can you use to induce these kinds of lucid dreaming states?
Dream Recall
If you're interested in lucid dreaming, dream recall is one of the most effective ways of
learning to do it. Dream recall is the ability to remember your dreams. If you remember
them, you're more likely to be able to recognize them while you're asleep. That's because
most of us have the same dreams or dream elements more than once.
Keeping a dream journal is the best way to learn this skill. A dream journal is for writing
down anything which you can remember about your dreams for future reference. You
should do this immediately after waking up; the longer you wait, the harder it will be to
recall.
Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD)
This method was developed by top lucid dreaming researcher Dr. Stephen LaBerge. The
idea is to affirm to yourself that you will remember something when you see it in a dream
– then when you do, you will realize that you are dreaming and begin to assert control
over your dream.
Wake-Back-to-Bed (WBTB)
In this technique, you sleep and set your alarm for only a few hours from the time that
you go to bed. Upon awakening, don't go right back to sleep – stay awake for about an
hour, then go back to bed.
Dr, LaBerge says that his method has a 60% rate of success. Why is this? Basically, you
wake in the middle of an REM cycle, so when you return to sleep, you will have a better
chance of lucid dreaming.
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.
Wake-initiation of Lucid Dreams (WILD)
This technique involves maintaining mental alertness even as your body shuts down for
sleep. Think of it as if you are in a movies theater, with the film soon to begin; your
closed eyelids are like the black screen just before the movie starts.
Some of the methods which can keep you mentally alert are chanting, being aware of
your breathing, counting, and picturing yourself climbing up or down stairs and focusing
on relaxing your body from head to toe. All of these techniques fall under the umbrella of
self hypnosis. The best time to use this technique is when you are not physically tired,
especially in the afternoon.
Technologies like strobe lights and dreaming masks can also help you to become a lucid
dreamer.
The best and easiest way to achieving the state of lucid dreaming is by using headphones.
You should listen to sounds that naturally alter your brainwaves, these are called binaural
beats.
Binaural beats induce lucid dreaming by causing the hemispheres of your brain to work
synchronously, making your brainwaves shift to the frequency 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.
How Do You Become A Lucid Dreamer? |
