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The Life Of A Lucid Dreamer
Do you want to dream lucidly? Knowing what you want to do is a good start, but it's not
all you'll need to do. There are several different methods you can use.
So, what is so good about being a lucid dreamer? What would you gain from it? In order
to understand the advantages of being aware when you are dreaming, we need to examine
what regular sleep actually is.
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.
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 you could be an active instead of passive participant in your dreams? What if you
could take control of your dream instead of being controlled by it? Someone who has
managed to become a lucid dreamer can do all of this – they are not bound by anything
except for their imagination.
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.
WILD refers to a wake initiated lucid dream. You slip into a dream before you are fully
asleep. Instead of going to sleep before you dream you simply enter into the dream with
your mind still conscious.
How do you go about achieving these two states of lucid dreaming?
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.
Keep a record of your dreams. You may not remember much at first but write down any
details regardless of how trivial. You will begin to remember more and more as time goes
on. Do this as soon as you wake up when your dreams are still fresh in your mind,
otherwise you will forget as the day goes by.
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 (WBTB)
Go to sleep as usual but only for five or six hours, set your alarm if need be. When you
wake up from this, don’t go back to bed; instead occupy yourself with something to keep
you awake. Think about lucid dreaming or watch some TV. After about an hour go back
to sleep
This technique of learning to lucid dream has a sixty percent success rate according to
Stephen LaBerge. You have waked up during the dream cycle of your sleep which is
referred to as REM. This is like a trigger telling your mind that you want to be aware
when you are 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)
Keep your mind aware and let your body sleep is the theory in this technique. Prepare to
go to sleep but imagine you are staring at a blank screen waiting for the movie to appear,
perhaps even daydream about something you like. Soon your dreams will begin to play
out and you will be aware enough to have a part in what happens there.
There are any number of ways to keep your mind alert, count, controlled breathing
techniques or concentrated relaxation are all great ways to keep the mind alert. It is a bit
like hypnotizing your self. This works best if you are not exhausted, try it during an
afternoon nap.
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.
Possibly the best method of all is to play binaural sound frequencies 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.
Anyone can learn to be a lucid dreamer. Practice the self hypnosis and keep telling
yourself when awake that you will be aware when you are dreaming. This will prepare
you for your lucid dream experience.
Lucid Dreaming |
