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How to Experience a
Lucid Dream
by David Slone |
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Lucid dreaming means dreaming while you know that you are
dreaming. The term was coined by Frederik van Eeden who used the
word "lucid" in the sense of mental clarity. With practice
nearly anyone can experience lucid dreams.
Lucidity is not the same as dream control. It is possible to be
lucid and have little control over the dream. However, becoming
lucid in a dream is likely to increase your ability to
deliberately influence the events within the dream. With
practice you may extend the amount of control that you have over
dream events. Many lucid dreamers choose to do something
permitted only by the extraordinary freedom of the dream state,
such as flying.
Some people have objections to lucid dreams. They say that it is
un-natural and could be harmful to the psyche. In my opinion
this is not true at all. Perhaps if all of our dreams were lucid
and controlled there may be some harm, but with our lucid dreams
spread out among many "normal" dreams we have plenty of time for
non-lucid dreaming.
While we are in a dream our mind accepts what we see and feel as
reality. We often find ourselves in very unusual circumstances
when compared to our waking life. You could be living in a
different house or driving a different car. The sky could be
green and the river yellow. In most cases we accept these things
as being true. Why doesn't the mind "think" 'Hey! I don't have
this vehicle' or 'This isn't where I live!' or even 'Hey! I know
the sky isn't supposed to be that color!'
This is what I call incongruities. Things in our dreams that are
not "normal". We must wonder, and many have, why our mind so
readily accepts anything we experience within our dreams as
being real. We know there are no monsters. We know the proper
colors for things. We know our home and our daily life. While we
are dreaming we often forget these things and we believe what we
see in the dream.
Just knowing this and thinking about it can actually help you on
your way to a lucid dream experience. An incongruity is one of
the triggers to lucid dreaming. A trigger is that which inspires
or begins lucidity.
Here is an example of this from one of my own lucid dreams:
I was driving a blue Ford Bronco down a dirt road. I think it
was a late 70's model. There was a young boy in the passenger
seat. I was giving him a ride because his motorcycle had run out
of gas. The bike was in the back. Suddenly I realized it. I did
not own a blue Bronco! In the dream I slammed on the breaks and
held my hands up. "I don't own a Ford bronco!" I said, "I am
dreaming!" from that point on I was lucid.
A recurring dream or nightmare can also be used as a trigger. If
you have a recurring dream make a conscious effort to realize
that you are dreaming the next time you are in that situation.
If the dream involves a certain person or place try to think as
you go to sleep, "The next time I see that house I will know
that I am dreaming". Since the dream is recurring it wont be
long before you see that house, person, etc. This may take
several attempts. Don't be discouraged if it doesn't work the
very first time.
Another technique that works for a lot of people is asking
yourself "Am I dreaming?" and leaving notes for yourself.
Several times a day ask yourself the question aloud. Also write
the question on a note and put it on the refrigerator. Put the
same message in other places where you will see them throughout
the day. Many people will find them self asking that question or
seeing the question written on a note while they are actually
dreaming. This will trigger a lucid dream.
My first lucid dream, that is the first one I had when I was
trying to achieve lucidity, was triggered by a flying dream.
Try to go to sleep in the same place and around the same time as
much as possible. It is best to sleep with silence as music or
other sounds can affect your dreaming. If you do choose to
listen to music while you are going to sleep choose soft and
soothing music, preferably without vocals. Use the same music
each time. Before you go to sleep concentrate on a trigger. My
first time I said, "tonight I will fly", aloud several times and
I concentrated on it. The second night I had a flying dream but
I did not become lucid. On the fourth night I had another flying
dream and at that time I became lucid. I was then able to fly to
wherever I wanted to!
The trigger or combination of triggers that you use will depend
upon you. If you have a common dream theme this is a great
trigger. Just concentrate on the next time that you see or
experience that you will be dreaming. Think of it as often as
you can while you are awake.
Lucid dreamers often comment to themselves in dreams. You may
say aloud, "This is a dream! I know that I am dreaming."
Make a list of questions that you have about dreams. Read the
list often and look over it several times and concentrate on it
before you go to bed.
Can you read text in a dream? Can you add numbers in a dream?
These were some questions I had on my list at one time. I had
read in a dream book that it was not possible to read text or to
calculate numbers in a dream, but I didn't believe it. I
eventually found myself lucid in an office. I walked over to a
calendar on the wall and I read the text describing a New
England farm house. I turned to another man there and said, "You
see? You can read text in a dream!" I turned back to the
calendar to read again and found that the words had completely
changed. That amazed me and I commented to the other man about
it. Next I walked over to a desk and found a calculator. I added
and subtracted numbers and came up with correct answers. Yes,
you can read text and perform mathematics in a dream. I proved
it to myself beyond any doubt and with more confidence than I
ever could have by reading anything about dreams.
Keep a Dream Journal
Keeping a dream journal is one of the most effective tools to
achieving lucid dreams. Try to write down your dreams as soon
after you wake up as you can. Don't just write a narrative of
what took place in the dream. Record your thoughts and emotions
felt. This will help you later on as you develop your dreaming
research. Be sure to note all major elements, such as people,
places, animals, etc.
Keeping a dream journal will also help you a great deal in
understanding your non-lucid dreams. As you continue to write in
your journal and re-read your previous entries you will begin to
see parallels with your dreams and your life. Gradually you will
be able to recognize what the symbols in your dreams are really
saying to you.
Once lucid in a dream, people can often choose their actions and
exert some deliberate control over the dream content. This
ability has been utilized in the laboratory to study lucid
dreaming and dream psychophysiology. For example, proof that
lucid dreams occur in REM sleep was achieved by having subjects
give a prearranged distinct signal with deliberate eye movements
to mark the points in time when they realized they were
dreaming. The dreamers' reports of the eye movements they had
made in the dreams corresponded exactly to their physical eye
movements as recorded by means of electro-oculograms on a
polygraph record. Reports from experiments conducted using eye
movement signaling in lucid dreams can be found in the
literature (Dane, 1984; Fenwick et al., 1984; Hearne, 1978;
LaBerge, Nagel, Dement & Zarcone, 1981; Ogilvie, Hunt, Kushniruk,
& Newman, 1983).
What Are The Benefits of Lucid Dreaming?
The scientific study of dreaming and REM sleep
A variety of psychological and recreational applications.
Lucid dreaming can be a powerful tool for overcoming nightmares
In therapy, lucid dreams appear to be promising for providing
personal insight, assisting with integration, and as a safe
environment for experimentation with new behaviors (LaBerge &
Rheingold, 1990).
Many lay people are attracted to lucid dreaming because it
offers an outlet for fantasy, an opportunity for adventure
unfettered by the laws of physics or society, and free of risk.
As such, lucid dreaming is for many a source of creative and
inspiring recreation. Anecdotes indicate that lucid dreams are
helpful for artistic creativity, problem-solving, and practicing
skills for waking life (LaBerge & Rheingold, 1990).
Dreams hold the most vivid mental images attainable by most
people. Lucid dreaming is probably the best method for achieving
the benefits such as enhancing physical performance, learning,
remembering and facilitating healing.
REFERENCES
Dane, J. (1984). An empirical evaluation of two techniques for
lucid dream induction. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Georgia State Univ.
Fenwick, P., Schatzman, M., Worsley, A., Adams, J., Stone, S., &
Baker, A. (1984). Lucid dreaming: Correspondence between dreamed
and actual events in one subject during REM sleep. Biological
Psychol, 18, 243-252.
Hearne, K. M. T. (1978). Lucid dreams: An electrophysiological
and psychological study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, U of
Liverpool.
LaBerge, S., Nagel, L., Dement, W., & Zarcone, V. (1981). Lucid
dreaming verified by volitional communication during REM sleep.
Perceptual & Motor Skills, 52, 727-732.
Ogilvie, R., Hunt, H., Kushniruk, A. & Newman, J. (1983). Lucid
dreams and the arousal continuum. Sleep Research, 12, 182.
LaBerge, S. & Rheingold, H. (1990). Exploring the world of lucid
dreaming. New York: Ballantine.
About The Author:
Copyright 2006 David Slone. Visit Why Do We Dream for
information on dreams such as nightmares, sleepwalking, lucid
dreaming and more. Free content articles you can use on your
website, ezine or newsletter. You may republish this article on
your website provided author information and active link(s) are
left intact. |
| This article
is provided courtesy of Roxanne Courtmanch. Please visit
www.thehelpingcircle.com for more articles on
lucid dreaming
as well as many other topics that may be of interest to you. |
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How to Contact Your Inner Wizard
Every human being has a natural
"Inner Wizard" which represents a personified source of greater wisdom
--which remains untapped and unused by most people.
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How to Control Your Dreams
How would you like to
learn how to control your dreams? With lucid dreaming, anything is
possible and this article will show you the secrets of controlling
your dreams while you sleep soundlessly through the night.
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How to Experience a Lucid Dream
Lucid dreaming means dreaming
while you know that you are dreaming. The term was coined by Frederik van
Eeden who used the word "lucid" in the sense of mental clarity.
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Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming is simply being
aware that you are dreaming while you are in a dream. Learning how to do
lucid dreaming intentionally is a personal growth tool.
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Lucid Dreaming - What Are Reality Checks?
Learn how doing a few simple
tests will help you to lucid dream.
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The Real Science Behind Lucid Dreaming
Lucid Dreaming is Conscious
Dreaming and is the ability of awareness that you are dreaming. In a
nutshell, you are aware that all the occurrences you
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Dream Interpretation and Types of Dreams
Dream researchers have
discovered several distinct categories of dreams, and these dream categories
can be very useful both to people attempting to interpret their own dreams
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Understanding Your Dreams
The meaning of dreams has been
of interest to mankind throughout history. Dreams come to us in a variety of
forms that range from frightening to erotic.
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What Is
Lucid Dreaming?
Lucid dreaming is a skill that
can be learned, and anyone who has the interest to learn can easily do so.
There's science behind lucid dreaming, though.
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