|
|
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'll need to think about why you want to be a lucid dreamer, as well as the benefits of
it. First, we'll take a look at normal sleeping.
You go to bed and sleep, and then you wake up. Maybe you remember fragments of a
dream or an entire dream; maybe you don’t remember dreaming at all. This adds up to a
pretty boring experience.
Normal sleep is just a method of refreshing ourselves for the busyness of the next day.
However, it could be a lot more interesting if you could control the period of time in
which you're dreaming.
Would you like to stop just being a passive observer and make sure your dreams are
whatever you want them to be? That's what being a lucid dreamer is all about. You're
totally in control of your dreams, and able to explore new worlds that aren't bound to the
real world's laws.
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.
Method number two is a wake initiated lucid dream, or WILD. This is when the dreamer
begins awake, then goes to being asleep, but without losing consciousness. The dreamer
enters their dream as though via a door, instead of waking up inside a dream he or she is
already having.
Now that we know the basic how, what are the fine points to entering either one of these
lucid dream realms?
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.
A dream journal is perhaps the best way to learn this skill. Use this to write down every
detail of your dream that you can remember immediately after you wake. If you wait., it
will become increasingly difficult to recall.
MILD refers to Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams
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)
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.
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
Developed by Daniel Love, this involves setting your alarm to wake about 90 minutes
earlier than usual; once you acclimate to this, set your alarm to wake you up alternately
early and at the time you used to get up. At those times when you wake up at the usual
time, you'll be accustomed to waking early. This means that you are more likely to lucid
dream during this last hour and a half.
Wake-initiation of Lucid Dreams (WILD)
Let's get back to this method which is described above. To achieve lucid dreaming, the
technique is to try to keep mentally aware even as your body relaxes into a sleep state.
Think of it this way – you are getting ready to watch a movie; your closed eyelids are like
the black screen before the movie begins and you are waiting for the trailers to roll.
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.
Technologies like strobe lights and dreaming masks can also help you to become a lucid
dreamer.
However, the most reliable method of all is to listen to binaural sound frequencies (also
called binaural beats) on headphones.
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.
How Do You Become A Lucid Dreamer? |
