Lucid Dreams for Beginners
You have heard about people who lucid dream and think it is something you would like to do. That is a good starting point but exactly how do you begin and what are the steps to being a successful lucid dreamer?
So, what is so good about being a lucid dreamer? What would you gain from it? In order to understand the advantages of being aware when you are dreaming, we need to examine what regular sleep actually is.
How is lucid dreaming different? Have you ever considered the process of sleep before? Every night you make preparations, crawl into bed and go to sleep. You may have dreams or nightmares or all may just be dark for a few hours, it is rather boring isn�t it?
The human body has a built in requirement for sleep. It rests the body so that we are prepared to continue our lives. Without it, there is strong evidence for insanity. That is all well and good but there is nothing saying we cannot control certain aspects of sleep is there?
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.
All well and good, but how exactly do you become a lucid dreamer? There are two ways of accomplishing this goal. The first method is to have a dream-initiated lucid dream, or DLID. This is where the dreamer becomes aware that they are in fact dreaming and begins to take control over the dream.
WILD refers to a wake initiated lucid dream. You slip into a dream before you are fully asleep. Instead of going to sleep before you dream you simply enter into the dream with your mind still conscious.
So how are these types of lucid dreaming induced?
Dream Recall
A simple place to start when you would like to lucid dream is in dream recall. This is where you can remember and perhaps recite your dream in part or in whole. You are very likely to have the same dream more than once in your life and being able to remember them will alert you the next time you have that particular dream.
Keeping a dream journal is the best way to learn this skill. A dream journal is for writing down anything which you can remember about your dreams for future reference. You should do this immediately after waking up; the longer you wait, the harder it will be to recall.
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
The way you do this one is, only plan on sleeping for a few hours like five or six. Set your alarm if you need to so you will wake up. After you have slept the few hours and wake up, stay up. Find something to do to stay awake. Do a little house work; Think about what you might like to do in your lucid dreams. Return to bed in an hour.
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.
As the name suggests this technique is all about cycling your sleep. Go to bed at your normal time but for a week set an alarm to wake you one and a half hours early. You should continue to do this for around 7 days. Once your body has settled somewhat into this routine, begin to alternate your wake up times. One day normal, wake up time the next early, on your normal days you will be trying to wake up early and should increase lucid dream chances.
Developed by Daniel Love, this involves setting your alarm to wake about 90 minutes earlier than usual; once you acclimate to this, set your alarm to wake you up alternately early and at the time you used to get up. At those times when you wake up at the usual time, you’ll be accustomed to waking early. This means that you are more likely to lucid dream during this last hour and a half.
WILD refers to Wake Initiation of Lucid Dreams
To get into this correct frame of mind if you will there are a few tricks you can use. Focus seems to be key so try to focus your mind on things like your breathing, counting, perhaps chant or meditate. In a way, you are practicing self-hypnosis. Use this technique when you are not extremely tired, perhaps during a late nap.
You need to stay aware; it is a lot like self hypnosis. This is not a good exercise to try when you are tired as your mind may not stay as aware. Try to focus on things that require brain activity such as doing math puzzles, jogging or anything to keep your mind active. Breathe evenly and focus on relaxing every part of your body.
There are also technological innovations which can help to induce lucid dreaming, among them strobe lights and dreaming masks.
However, the most reliable method of all is to listen to binaural sound frequencies (also called binaural beats) on headphones.
Binaural beats induce lucid dreaming by causing the hemispheres of your brain to work synchronously, making your brainwaves shift to the frequency required for lucid dreaming.
Anyone can learn to be a lucid dreamer. Practice the self hypnosis and keep telling yourself when awake that you will be aware when you are dreaming. This will prepare you for your lucid dream experience.
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Tags: conscious dreaming, dream control, lucid dream, lucid dreamer, lucid dreaming, lucid dreams
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