Lucid Dreaming
Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming is the ability or skill to consciously be aware that you are dreaming, while you are dreaming. This term was created in 1913 by Frederik van Eden, who used the word “lucid” as a term for describing mental clarity. Lucid dreaming occurs when the dreamer, in the midst of a dream, realizes they are dreaming. This at times, happens due to the dreamer noticing some events or occurrences that are more likely than not, impossible in the physical reality. When this occurs, a novice lucid dreamer may wake up due to excitement or fear, though with practice, it will become more natural and the dreamer will have several fun and exciting experiences. After all, when in a lucid dream you are limited only by your imagination.
There are levels of lucidity that one may reach when practicing or experimenting with lucid dreaming. These levels are both low and high. At a high level of lucidity, the dreamer will know they are dreaming, and be able to experiment and play freely without fears or concerns, knowing they will wake up shortly. At low levels of lucidity, one may acknowledge the fact that they are dreaming, but they may not have any control over the dream. Imagine knowing you are in a dream, having it feel extremely real, and have that dream turn into a nightmare that you have absolutely no control over. It’s not always the most fun of experiences, but interesting none the less.
Lucid dreaming occurs in the REM state (rapid eye movement; a recurrent period of sleep, typically totaling about two hours a night, during which most dreaming occurs as the eyes move under closed lids and the skeletal muscles are deeply relaxed.) Research has been done in this field, and they’ve learned a lot more about this state. They know that when in the REM state, the activity of the brains neurons are similar to that during waking hours. Due to this, the phenomenon has been termed paradoxical sleep. They also know that the most vividly recalled dreams are those which happen during the REM state. During a session of sleep (6-8 hours) we experience about 90-120 minutes of REM sleep, about 5 sessions in all. This time varies with age.
The Lucidity Institute is widely known for researching lucid dreaming, as well as developing commercially available lucid dream induction devices (Dream Link, Dream Light) in the hopes of making lucid dreaming universally accessible. Though these products are available, they are not the only way one can learn to lucid dream. Lucid dreaming can be learned by most, if not all, individuals. It does take a great deal of time, patience and effort to learn, though, but it is well worth it.
Why Learn Lucid Dreaming?
When in a lucid dream you are bound only by your imagination. You are free to do whatever it is that you wish to, be it fly, talk to fictional characters, create your own reality, practice physical things (martial arts, etc…), even run over business ideas; the list really goes on. People have overcome nightmares, solved problems by going over different outcomes of a scenario, and even done self healing. The true question is, with this much potential, fun and excitement, why wouldn’t you learn lucid dreaming?
Okay, So How Exactly Do I Lucid Dream?
We’ve learned that lucid dreaming is a learnable skill and like with most learnable skills, some people may have a slightly faster learning rate. We are all individuals, therefore do not rush your learning, and rather take your time and do things 100%. You get out of it what you put into it, as the saying goes. With that said, there are several different methods one can use to experience lucid dreaming. I will list a few of the methods that have worked for me here. But before you even start practicing, there’s one thing you should start to make habitual, and that’s keeping a Dream Journal. I don’t think there’s any coincidence that I didn’t start having good Lucid Dreaming experiences until I started keeping one. Not only does keeping one enable you to remember and look back on to your dreams easier, but it can, in effect, actually cause you to have Lucid Dreams.
In your dream journal you should mark down the time you woke up. Things like, how you feel (mood, physical feelings, etc…) can also go in the journal. Your main goal for the entry is to put down, in COMPLETE detail, everything you remember about the prior nights dream. Using as much detail as you can will not only help you remember your dreams on a daily basis, but eventually you’ll learn your own dreaming patterns, which can lead to a lucid dream. After a few days/weeks of keeping a Dream Journal, you may notice that you are writing over two pages each morning, this can get frustrating sometimes, I know it did with me, but it’s useful. You’ll be remembering your dreams like never before, and it’s incredibly entertaining. If you can’t remember your dreams on a particular morning, just mark down; “I chose not to remember my dreams today” for that entry.
Reality Testing
Reality testing is not only one of the most used methods, but one of, if not the most basic techniques used to induce lucid dreaming. Reality testing is both one of the most basic and one of the most commonly used techniques used to induce lucid dreaming. This habit eventually develops and you end up checking while you are dreaming. This in turn, allows you to lucid dream.
To begin with, during normal living hours through out the day, begin testing the world around you. If something unusual or strange happens, don’t ignore it, go over it again in your mind and ask if whatever happened was actually possible. If you’re awake, the answer will most likely be yes. Another good way is to carry a book, or wristwatch around with you through out the day. Periodically check the watch or text to see any abnormalities. If you are awake, despite how many times you look at it, the characters should all still remain stable, and “normal.” If you look at it repeatedly and you notice the characters changing, or the text seems to be different every time you check it, then you are most likely dreaming.
The first lucid dreaming experience I had in which I was completely lucid happened in a pretty funny way. In my dream I had been on a bus, and this bus went from one location to near my house in an incredible amount of time. This immediately had my thinking, "Wait, how is this possible? It normally takes..." The second I questioned my reality, it hit me that I was dreaming. Sadly, the second I realized that, I woke up. The reason that triggered a lucid dream for me was because I had been so used to taking public transportation everywhere that I innately knew that what was going on was completely impossible, therefore allowing me to lucid dream. Well, become lucid anyway.
Dream Activities and Surroundings
Activities:
During waking hours, try to imagine some of the activities you would enjoy doing if lucid dreaming. If it’s flying, imagine yourself flying, as vividly as possible, in the first person perspective. What you would do, how it would feel, etc… Get completely into it. Just imagine it, with the knowledge that you have no limits or boundaries in the dream world.
Surroundings:
Throughout the day, regardless of what you’re doing, imagine that everything that happening right now is a dream. Your surrounding area, the sights, smells, sensations, everything is a dream. Imagine your environment changing as randomly as a dream might. Create unexpected scenarios, like floating off of a chair, running through walls, etc… These exercises might seem like random and meaningless day dreams. That’s probably because, for the most part they are. But when you allow yourself to do this, it in turn may cause you to become more aware of these things while dreaming, which would allow you to question your environment and experience lucid dreaming.
Focused Intent
I personally didn’t have very much success with this method, though, I’m sure it helped me with my dream journal when I first started. There’s not much to actually say about this method, It’s very simple. While lying down, and before sleep, continue to focus on the intent that “I will remember my dreams when I wake up.” or “I will become lucid in my dream.”/”I will have a lucid dream tonight.” Basically anything that will trigger you to have a lucid dream. The goal is to repeat it in your head and/or out loud if you want, until that repetitive mantra follows you into your sleep.
Day Dreaming
Before you go to sleep, begin having a day dream. Keep the day dream going and going, as you feel yourself getting more and sleepier. Eventually, the goal is to fall asleep, with that same day dream going on, only now, it’s your actual dream. This is good because while you’re dreaming, you should recall falling asleep day dreaming the exact same thing, which could trigger you to have a lucid dream. This method personally works wonders for me on a nightly basis. Also, focusing on one object, or thought is said to help you have a lucid dream. It’s the same basic concept, you focus on an object or thought while falling asleep, and because you focused on it so attentively, you may remember that thought or object while sleeping, which in turn, causes you to acknowledge the fact that you are dreaming.
Mindfulness Meditation
No, I’m not referring to the actual practice of the meditation, but rather the after effects. Basically, in mindfulness meditation, it’s a practice of being/living in the moment. This is done by becoming aware of the breath periodically throughout the day. You follow the path of the breath, during walking, jogging, sitting, reading, etc… The longer you’re in the moment, the better. Doing this eventually builds a habit, and apart from being in the moment throughout most of the day, this habit I’ve found eventually follows you into sleep. And while you’re sleeping you lock onto the breath, and become aware of the moment. Naturally, if this happens while sleeping, you realize that more often than not, in my experience anyhow, and are able to have a lucid dream.
This is one of my favorite methods due to my being heavily into meditation, though I’d love to share more about it, the actual practice of the meditation, and of mindfulness period, is far outside the scope of this article. I do advise you to perhaps look it up, or buy some books on the subject; it’s interesting and extremely fun. Jon Kobat-Zinn wrote an excellent and highly acclaimed book titled “Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life” check it out.
Napping
Wake up about an hour earlier than you usually would and walk around, read a book, just occupy your time for about 15-30 minutes before heading back to the bed. Whichever dream you were having before you woke up, imagine starting that dream where you left off, and falling back asleep into the dream. If you however cannot remember your dream for whatever odd reason, just start with a day dream and go from there. Doing this is said to increase your chances of becoming lucid in a dream by 15 to 20 times. This method was apparently started in the late 1970s, and is still held in high regard by the Lucidity Institute for their training programs. It was also one of the first methods I came across, but didn’t actually start experimenting with it until I had those random occasions where I’d wake up for whatever odd reason, and head back to sleep. Though it’s not one of my favorite methods, due to the fact that I’m not a big morning person, it’s still incredibly useful, and tends to work pretty well.
Conclusion
Though there are a lot of other methods for inducing a lucid dream, I’ve only listed the ones that I have personally experimented with. Lucid dreaming is not only fun, but other psionic skills can be used from there, whether that be dream walking, astral projection, healing, etc… It’s not only a fun and exciting practice, but it’s useful too. My advice to you is to continue to practice, read about others’ experiences and methods, and have patience. I never knew how useful lucid dreaming was until I experienced it myself, I never even knew how to do it until years after I began my psionics practice. Aside from that, I think I’ve basically covered what this article was about and why you should practice, I guess the only thing left to decide is what you’ll do with this information, and how far you’ll take your lucid dreaming practice.
~Float
Lucid dreaming is the ability or skill to consciously be aware that you are dreaming, while you are dreaming. This term was created in 1913 by Frederik van Eden, who used the word “lucid” as a term for describing mental clarity. Lucid dreaming occurs when the dreamer, in the midst of a dream, realizes they are dreaming. This at times, happens due to the dreamer noticing some events or occurrences that are more likely than not, impossible in the physical reality. When this occurs, a novice lucid dreamer may wake up due to excitement or fear, though with practice, it will become more natural and the dreamer will have several fun and exciting experiences. After all, when in a lucid dream you are limited only by your imagination.
There are levels of lucidity that one may reach when practicing or experimenting with lucid dreaming. These levels are both low and high. At a high level of lucidity, the dreamer will know they are dreaming, and be able to experiment and play freely without fears or concerns, knowing they will wake up shortly. At low levels of lucidity, one may acknowledge the fact that they are dreaming, but they may not have any control over the dream. Imagine knowing you are in a dream, having it feel extremely real, and have that dream turn into a nightmare that you have absolutely no control over. It’s not always the most fun of experiences, but interesting none the less.
Lucid dreaming occurs in the REM state (rapid eye movement; a recurrent period of sleep, typically totaling about two hours a night, during which most dreaming occurs as the eyes move under closed lids and the skeletal muscles are deeply relaxed.) Research has been done in this field, and they’ve learned a lot more about this state. They know that when in the REM state, the activity of the brains neurons are similar to that during waking hours. Due to this, the phenomenon has been termed paradoxical sleep. They also know that the most vividly recalled dreams are those which happen during the REM state. During a session of sleep (6-8 hours) we experience about 90-120 minutes of REM sleep, about 5 sessions in all. This time varies with age.
The Lucidity Institute is widely known for researching lucid dreaming, as well as developing commercially available lucid dream induction devices (Dream Link, Dream Light) in the hopes of making lucid dreaming universally accessible. Though these products are available, they are not the only way one can learn to lucid dream. Lucid dreaming can be learned by most, if not all, individuals. It does take a great deal of time, patience and effort to learn, though, but it is well worth it.
Why Learn Lucid Dreaming?
When in a lucid dream you are bound only by your imagination. You are free to do whatever it is that you wish to, be it fly, talk to fictional characters, create your own reality, practice physical things (martial arts, etc…), even run over business ideas; the list really goes on. People have overcome nightmares, solved problems by going over different outcomes of a scenario, and even done self healing. The true question is, with this much potential, fun and excitement, why wouldn’t you learn lucid dreaming?
Okay, So How Exactly Do I Lucid Dream?
We’ve learned that lucid dreaming is a learnable skill and like with most learnable skills, some people may have a slightly faster learning rate. We are all individuals, therefore do not rush your learning, and rather take your time and do things 100%. You get out of it what you put into it, as the saying goes. With that said, there are several different methods one can use to experience lucid dreaming. I will list a few of the methods that have worked for me here. But before you even start practicing, there’s one thing you should start to make habitual, and that’s keeping a Dream Journal. I don’t think there’s any coincidence that I didn’t start having good Lucid Dreaming experiences until I started keeping one. Not only does keeping one enable you to remember and look back on to your dreams easier, but it can, in effect, actually cause you to have Lucid Dreams.
In your dream journal you should mark down the time you woke up. Things like, how you feel (mood, physical feelings, etc…) can also go in the journal. Your main goal for the entry is to put down, in COMPLETE detail, everything you remember about the prior nights dream. Using as much detail as you can will not only help you remember your dreams on a daily basis, but eventually you’ll learn your own dreaming patterns, which can lead to a lucid dream. After a few days/weeks of keeping a Dream Journal, you may notice that you are writing over two pages each morning, this can get frustrating sometimes, I know it did with me, but it’s useful. You’ll be remembering your dreams like never before, and it’s incredibly entertaining. If you can’t remember your dreams on a particular morning, just mark down; “I chose not to remember my dreams today” for that entry.
Reality Testing
Reality testing is not only one of the most used methods, but one of, if not the most basic techniques used to induce lucid dreaming. Reality testing is both one of the most basic and one of the most commonly used techniques used to induce lucid dreaming. This habit eventually develops and you end up checking while you are dreaming. This in turn, allows you to lucid dream.
To begin with, during normal living hours through out the day, begin testing the world around you. If something unusual or strange happens, don’t ignore it, go over it again in your mind and ask if whatever happened was actually possible. If you’re awake, the answer will most likely be yes. Another good way is to carry a book, or wristwatch around with you through out the day. Periodically check the watch or text to see any abnormalities. If you are awake, despite how many times you look at it, the characters should all still remain stable, and “normal.” If you look at it repeatedly and you notice the characters changing, or the text seems to be different every time you check it, then you are most likely dreaming.
The first lucid dreaming experience I had in which I was completely lucid happened in a pretty funny way. In my dream I had been on a bus, and this bus went from one location to near my house in an incredible amount of time. This immediately had my thinking, "Wait, how is this possible? It normally takes..." The second I questioned my reality, it hit me that I was dreaming. Sadly, the second I realized that, I woke up. The reason that triggered a lucid dream for me was because I had been so used to taking public transportation everywhere that I innately knew that what was going on was completely impossible, therefore allowing me to lucid dream. Well, become lucid anyway.
Dream Activities and Surroundings
Activities:
During waking hours, try to imagine some of the activities you would enjoy doing if lucid dreaming. If it’s flying, imagine yourself flying, as vividly as possible, in the first person perspective. What you would do, how it would feel, etc… Get completely into it. Just imagine it, with the knowledge that you have no limits or boundaries in the dream world.
Surroundings:
Throughout the day, regardless of what you’re doing, imagine that everything that happening right now is a dream. Your surrounding area, the sights, smells, sensations, everything is a dream. Imagine your environment changing as randomly as a dream might. Create unexpected scenarios, like floating off of a chair, running through walls, etc… These exercises might seem like random and meaningless day dreams. That’s probably because, for the most part they are. But when you allow yourself to do this, it in turn may cause you to become more aware of these things while dreaming, which would allow you to question your environment and experience lucid dreaming.
Focused Intent
I personally didn’t have very much success with this method, though, I’m sure it helped me with my dream journal when I first started. There’s not much to actually say about this method, It’s very simple. While lying down, and before sleep, continue to focus on the intent that “I will remember my dreams when I wake up.” or “I will become lucid in my dream.”/”I will have a lucid dream tonight.” Basically anything that will trigger you to have a lucid dream. The goal is to repeat it in your head and/or out loud if you want, until that repetitive mantra follows you into your sleep.
Day Dreaming
Before you go to sleep, begin having a day dream. Keep the day dream going and going, as you feel yourself getting more and sleepier. Eventually, the goal is to fall asleep, with that same day dream going on, only now, it’s your actual dream. This is good because while you’re dreaming, you should recall falling asleep day dreaming the exact same thing, which could trigger you to have a lucid dream. This method personally works wonders for me on a nightly basis. Also, focusing on one object, or thought is said to help you have a lucid dream. It’s the same basic concept, you focus on an object or thought while falling asleep, and because you focused on it so attentively, you may remember that thought or object while sleeping, which in turn, causes you to acknowledge the fact that you are dreaming.
Mindfulness Meditation
No, I’m not referring to the actual practice of the meditation, but rather the after effects. Basically, in mindfulness meditation, it’s a practice of being/living in the moment. This is done by becoming aware of the breath periodically throughout the day. You follow the path of the breath, during walking, jogging, sitting, reading, etc… The longer you’re in the moment, the better. Doing this eventually builds a habit, and apart from being in the moment throughout most of the day, this habit I’ve found eventually follows you into sleep. And while you’re sleeping you lock onto the breath, and become aware of the moment. Naturally, if this happens while sleeping, you realize that more often than not, in my experience anyhow, and are able to have a lucid dream.
This is one of my favorite methods due to my being heavily into meditation, though I’d love to share more about it, the actual practice of the meditation, and of mindfulness period, is far outside the scope of this article. I do advise you to perhaps look it up, or buy some books on the subject; it’s interesting and extremely fun. Jon Kobat-Zinn wrote an excellent and highly acclaimed book titled “Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life” check it out.
Napping
Wake up about an hour earlier than you usually would and walk around, read a book, just occupy your time for about 15-30 minutes before heading back to the bed. Whichever dream you were having before you woke up, imagine starting that dream where you left off, and falling back asleep into the dream. If you however cannot remember your dream for whatever odd reason, just start with a day dream and go from there. Doing this is said to increase your chances of becoming lucid in a dream by 15 to 20 times. This method was apparently started in the late 1970s, and is still held in high regard by the Lucidity Institute for their training programs. It was also one of the first methods I came across, but didn’t actually start experimenting with it until I had those random occasions where I’d wake up for whatever odd reason, and head back to sleep. Though it’s not one of my favorite methods, due to the fact that I’m not a big morning person, it’s still incredibly useful, and tends to work pretty well.
Conclusion
Though there are a lot of other methods for inducing a lucid dream, I’ve only listed the ones that I have personally experimented with. Lucid dreaming is not only fun, but other psionic skills can be used from there, whether that be dream walking, astral projection, healing, etc… It’s not only a fun and exciting practice, but it’s useful too. My advice to you is to continue to practice, read about others’ experiences and methods, and have patience. I never knew how useful lucid dreaming was until I experienced it myself, I never even knew how to do it until years after I began my psionics practice. Aside from that, I think I’ve basically covered what this article was about and why you should practice, I guess the only thing left to decide is what you’ll do with this information, and how far you’ll take your lucid dreaming practice.
~Float
posted by Erick C. Vice @ 11:24 AM
1 comments
