Becoming a Lucid Dreamer

Becoming a Lucid Dreamer

What is Lucid Dreams?

A lucid dream is one you dream while being aware that you are dreaming. It is like being the director of your own movie.

As a rule, this awareness happens while you are in the dream and may be triggered by something the conscious mind interprets as a “strange” event. For example, you may be dreaming you are flying (which your conscious mind knows as “not possible”) and while flying become aware that you are actually dreaming that you are flying.

Most people who remember their dreams, and have experienced this awareness while still in the dream, often wake up shortly after the dream.

It is, however, possible to stay in the dream for a long period and still be absolutely aware of the fact that you are dreaming.

Are dreams able to be controlled?

As a rule, you have a degree of control of the flow of events in a lucid dream. The degree of control varies from dream to dream.

If you are in a lucid dream you will usually have at least some power over your dream — anything from being a pocket in a pair of trousers, or inside that pocket, right up to being able to change into anything and create a whole new world!

By practising different exercises, it is possible get better control over the events in your dreams.

Lucid dreamers are in any case always capable of deciding how to react to events.

For instance, you can simply decide not to run away from a terrifying figure in your dream, being fully aware that no object in your dream is able to harm you.

Just this degree of control can change the dream from one where you’re a helpless victim in a terrifying, frustrating or disagreeable adventure, to one where you are totally in control and perfectly happy. This gives you the ability to disconnect from the troubles in your life for a little while and enjoy the pleasure and delight of total freedom.

Some people become a master of control of their dreams and so comfortable that they are able to construct their own world, living every fantasy and experience they desire.

Footnote: It is interesting to note that lucid dreams have actually been scientifically proven to exist!
Lucid dreamers regularly describe their dreams as exciting, colourful, and fantastic. Many compare it to a spiritual experience and say that it changed their lives or their perception of the world

About the Author

By Trond Kristiansen. Get more info about “Meaning of Dreams”. To receive your free mini-course and ebook visit the
Meaning of Dream
website.

How can I learn to become lucid and control my dreams more?

I was talking to my fiance about a year ago and I was explaining a nightmare to him. “I was really scared in the dream but then I told myself ‘Hey, this isn’t real. It’s a dream.’ Then I was fine. You know?” and he said “>_> .. No. When I have a bad dream I always think it’s real, until I wake up.” I was bewildered. I guess I’m a lucid dreamer.
But usually I can only become aware of the dream state when something bad happened or I(in the dream) do something I disagree with in real life. Then I’m just aware of the dream state that I’m in and not worried anymore.
I only “controlled” one dream. I realized that I was dreaming once and looked into a mirror and told my hair to grow because I wanted to see what I would look like with long hair. wtf I have a world of possibilities in my head but I’m worried about my hair. Typical.

So… What do you suggest?

To start, it helps to keep a dream journal so you can both develop recall (you want to be able to remember any lucid dreams that you have) and to recognize your own particular frequent dream elements, called Dream Signs–situations, people, or things that occur commonly in your dreams.

Next, begin practicing doing Reality Checks (RCs) any time you encounter those Dream Signs, or any particularly strange situation while you are awake. Reality Checks are simply ways to determine if you are dreaming or awake. Common reality checks include pinching your nose and seeing if you can still breathe through it, trying to poke a finger through the palm of your hand, or even simply looking at your hand and counting your fingers–surprisingly, the number will be wrong in most dreams! Do RC’s as often as possible during the day. The hope is that you will eventually recognize a Dream Sign while dreaming, then do a Reality Check, and become lucid!

A useful technique to enhance the chances of getting lucid is Wake Back To Bed (WBTB). This is simply waking up at some point during the night, usually after at least a few hours of sound sleep, and staying awake for a time while engaging your mind to get it to “wake up” a bit. The amount of time this takes varies from person to person; you don’t want to be so awake that you have trouble getting back to sleep, but you do want to have your awareness sharpened a bit. While awake, you should think about dreaming, focus on what you want to do in your dream, and do frequent reality checks. Doing WBTB will dramatically enhance your chances of having a Lucid Dream.

Another good way to become lucid is to re-enter a dream. When you wake from a dream at night, lie perfectly still and try to visualize the last scene from the dream you were having. You may be able to easily go back into it–but this time you will know that you are dreaming.

Good luck! It can take some time and effort, but it’s definitely worth it. You can do a lot more than just wake yourself up from nightmares and change your hair.

A great book on the subject is Stephen LaBerge’s “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. To learn more about various techniques and for a forum with lots of dream-talk, check out the resources here: http://mortalmist.com

Lucid Dreams on Discovery Channel