Lucid dreaming means dreaming while knowing that you are dreaming. The state of lucid dreaming or “lucidity” sometimes starts at the beginning of a dream. The dreamer understands that the experience is not occurring in physical reality but their dream.
Often this understanding is noticed once one is either floating, flying or meeting a deceased relatives. In some instances one may lucid dream randomly during one’s dream, suddenly realising that you can control the settings. The state of lucidity can range from high and low.
If the dreamer is at a high level, one might be cognisant of all the details of the dream. You will not be in any danger as you move with free will possibly manipulating your dream settings. However, the low lucid state is quite different. In the lower frequency of lucidity, one may be able to float or fly around, though will still feel one is in the dream.
Why Lucid Dream
Pros
If you have ever experienced flying or floating in your dream you will know the experience was exhilarating. It feels as if you were on top of the world. You can feel as if you are superman, scoring through the clouds and looking down on earth. Waking up from this experience can alter your mood to being more positive throughout the day. Many people report that their dreams are filled with adventure and fantasy, that they have become more creative in their waking life. It feels almost like a drug taking over your body as you enjoy the euphoric feeling. You would be able to control your nightmares by simply changing your settings in a blink of an eye.
Cons
You might hear only positive and rewarding benefits about lucid dreaming, though it might not be all that its cracked up to be. To debate whether lucid dreaming is either good or bad, one must see the importance of dreaming. For many people dreams and the symbols in them are powerful tools that connect the conscious to the unconscious. Dreams interpretation has not only been around for centuries but is a way many cultures to be aware of our hidden shadows. Our internal issues might be causing us havoc in our waking life and a dream might be the only tool used to make us aware. Disrupting your settings to benefit you in the short run might have some effects in the future. Dreams and the symbols in them are a forgotten language that we should take seriously.
Learn to Lucid Dream
Learning how to lucid dream isn’t something that you can just learn overnight. This is something that takes time but when accomplished is very rewarding. Be confident and don’t let it discourage you even when it’s not working. Learning how to perfect the art of lucid dreaming can take weeks or even months of practice. Once you do have the ability to lucid dream your dreams are just not dreams anymore.
Benefits of Lucid Dreaming
- Strengthening your problem-solving skills
- Able to confront your fears first hand
- Becoming more creative
- Great way to improve your confidence level
- Become more in tune with yourself and others around you
- Experience a different way to dream
- Understanding more about our unconscious mind
- Healing aspects
Lucid Dreaming Steps
Repetition
Though out the day working or at home you must practice repetition. You will have to keep asking yourself “am I dreaming right now?”. After a couple tries an hour it might sink into your head that you are not dreaming. This repetitive thought process helps you unknowingly remember this when your dreaming.
Record Your Dreams
You must learn how to record your dreams when you wake up. Keeping a dream journal is vital because it improves and expands your dream capability. Once you can remember the events and symbols in your dream you have a better chance of getting to that lucid state. Taking the time and going through your previous recorded dreams before bed helps build a sense of awareness when you’re in a dream state.
Control Your Sleep
Controlling your dreams consists of being mindful of your sleep schedule. Changing your sleep behaviour will greater your chances of having a lucid dream. Scientists revealed the lucid dreaming works best when taking a quick nap after you have gotten up from a long sleep. Randomly interfering with your sleep schedule usually increases Lucid dreaming as well
Believe
Start believing in your dreams and the significance behind them. People who feel a dream is just a dream would have trouble trying to lucid dream. You must understand the symbols and the mystic power behind them. Try your best to remain positive and confident. You must have a desire to want to feel lucid.
Meditation
For thousands of years, meditation has been directly linked to human inner peace. Learning how to meditate is a great way to build your awareness on in your conscious and unconscious world. Practising mindful meditation at least 10 minutes a day can increase states of lucid dreaming.
Conscious Mind Awareness
The most important step is training your “Conscious Mind”. You want to start by becoming more aware of your daily surroundings and the objects around them. Any items in your walking life that you would usually overlook now has to be taken into consideration. Anything from the tiniest detail that was once overlooked like stop signs to billboards now needs attention. You must observe everything in full detail. This means the colour, shape and feel of objects so when it appears in your dream it will connect. Dreaming about an object that you analysed in detail in your walking life you can apply it to your dream to see what is real and what is not. Once you can convince your mind that it’s just a dream the fun starts. Stretching your awareness in your day will help you gain more control of your dreams. You don’t need to keep the focus on every single detail in your life because it would drive you mad. Just start with a couple of small observations a day that you would normally never look at in detail.
How To Stay In Your Lucid in Dreams
The hardest part about lucid dreams is trying to stay in them. Learning the proper technique provided below will turn an armature dreamer to an experienced one. If trained properly you can last up to 30 minutes in the lucid state.
Relax
Relaxing is key when you want to stay longer in your fun lucid dream. Most of the time we tend to get over-excited and wake up from sleep. To achieve a long period on lucidity you must calm your mind.
Hand Movement
Once in a relaxed state try to rub your hands together. This helps to prolong the lucid dream because it’s constantly stimulating the conscious brain. Doing this technique you can last up to 10 to 30 minutes in a lucid state.
Focus
Focus on your hand in your lucid dream. Don’t lose track of them, keep them in front of you. Also, focus on wanting to be in your dream. Keep repeating out loud “attention or focus” and you will become more in tune with the dream for a longer time.
Spelling Test
Think of spelling word or doing an easy maths question. This will help engage the logical part of your brain when your losing focus of the dream.
Circles
Going around in circles helps you ground your awareness in your lucid dream which in turn brings you to a new dream scene.