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The lucid Dreamer and Dreams
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.
When you lie down to go to sleep, your eyes close and hopefully you go to sleep. When
you wake up you remember dreaming something or you don’t remember anything at all.
Kind of strange when you think about it.
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.
What if you could control your dream rather than the other way around? A lucid dreamer
is someone who can do exactly that; someone who is not a passenger but a driver of their
dreams.
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.
The second method is to have a wake initiated lucid dream, or WILD. In these situations,
the dreamer goes from awake to lucid dream with no change in consciousness. The
dreamer simply begins dreaming without having the sensation of falling asleep.
So how are these types of lucid dreaming induced?
Dream Recall
You will need to learn how to remember your dreams if you want to be able to have lucid
dreams. It is referred to as dream recall, the ability to remember your dreams. If you can
remember your dreams you are more likely to realize when you are dreaming because
many of the dreams you have will be the same or almost the same.
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)
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.
WBTB refers to Wake Back to Bed
To use this process, go to sleep with an alarm set to wake you up five to six hours later.
When you wake up, don't go right back to sleep. Instead, do something else, like think
about lucid dreaming or read a book, for about an hour. Then go back to bed.
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
Daniel Love came up with this way to accomplish lucid dreaming. Start getting up an
hour and a half earlier. After you get used to this, go back to getting up at your usual
time. Since you are used to getting up earlier but don’t have to now, your mind is still
thinking you are awake, therefore you will be more likely to be aware in your dream.
WILD refers to Wake Initiation of Lucid Dreams
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.
Technologies like strobe lights and dreaming masks can also help you to become a lucid
dreamer.
One of the easiest, most reliable methods to induce lucid dreaming is by listening to
binaural beats and special sound frequencies through headphones.
This type of sound can alter your brain and bring you to the REM stage of sleep very
quickly. This is where your lucid dreaming will occur.
Put all or many of these techniques together and you are ready to begin your journey into
the wonderful world of lucid dreaming. It is a simple process that anyone can do.
Understanding Your Dreams |
