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New Beginnings For A Lucid Dreamer
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?
You may have heard that there are benefits to being a lucid dreamer. This is the case, but
to get a clearer picture of what these benefits are, you need to take a look at what usually
happens when you go to sleep.
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.
Average sleep has a purpose it prepares our minds and bodies to carry out the duties of
the next day. However, consider the idea of managing your dreams consciously.
What if there was a way to become a full participant in your dreams? Lead them in the
manner in which you alone determine consciously? That my friend is basically what a
lucid dreamer does. They control all aspects of their dreams, going where they will and
doing whatever they want in the confines of the dream state.
This sounds great, but how can you become a lucid dreamer? There are two ways to
reach this state – one is by having a DLID, or dream initiated lucid dream. These are
instances where the dreamer has taught themselves to recognize that they are having a
dream and start to assert control over the direction of their 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
The easiest place to begin your lucid dream search is in dreams you have already had.
When you can remember your dreams, you will be able to recognize when you have that
dream again. Many times, we will have the same dream or part of a dream over and over.
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 is a technique based on entering your dreams with the intention of realizing you are
dreaming or looking for a dream sign. For instance when you awaken in the nigh from a
dream and recall a blue dog you mark that blue dog in your mind as your dream sign.
Then when you encounter this again you will know you are dreaming.
Wake-Back-to-Bed (WBTB)
This simple process has you taking no action except to set an alarm that will waken you
in less time than you normally sleep. For most of us about five or six hours will do it.
After the alarm awakens you do not try to fall back to sleep. For about an hour you
should read, watch TV or concentrate on lucid dreaming then go back to sleep.
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 method was created by Daniel Love in this technique you set an alarm to awaken
you 90 minutes before you normally would awaken. This is done for approximately a
week. After a week, you begin to alternate between normal wake up and early. On the
normal waking days, the body will come alert earlier thereby increasing the chance of
lucidity.
Wake Initiation of Lucid Dreams or 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.
You can also use this technique with tactics like counting, chanting or imagining yourself
climbing stairs as you go to sleep. This method of achieving lucid dreaming is best done
in the afternoon or other times when you are not terribly tired.
Like many other areas of our life, technology has made its mark. Today you can find
several electronic devices that can aid you in inducing lucid dreams. There are masks that
can detect when you enter REM sleep then use a vibration, sound or small lights to
induce lucidity.
One of the easiest, most reliable methods to induce lucid dreaming is by listening to
binaural beats and special sound frequencies through headphones.
These work because they're able to synchronize both brain hemispheres, giving the effect
of an almost instantaneous change to the frequency used in REM sleep, which is also
necessary for lucid dreaming.
Keep telling yourself to remember your dreams and be aware when you are dreaming. Do
the self hypnosis technique often. Before long you will be experiencing lucid dreams.
Solving Problems With Lucid Dreaming |
