The lucid dreaming Are those in which you are aware that you are dreaming and you are able to control your behavior and other aspects of the dream.
However, the quality of lucidity can vary considerably. When the lucidity is at a high level, you can experience that the dream happens in your mind, that there is no danger, that you are asleep in bed and that soon you will wake up.
When you have little lucidity, you will have some suspicion that you are dreaming, maybe you can fly or alter what you do, but you will not be aware that you can not suffer physical damage or that you are in bed.
Really few people have them naturally, it is necessary that you train and want to have them intentionally. In my case, I only had it after a couple of months of putting into practice the techniques that I will explain in this article.
This topic is often"strange"for people who have not heard of it before, although if you have arrived at this article is because you will be interested in knowing what they are or how to have them, so you will already have a certain predisposition. However, keep an open mind, and if you still do not believe it, you can consult the scientific research in the links that I leave at the end of the article.
In fact, about 5 years ago a guy told me that he"flew in his dreams". I had not heard of the lucidity and I thought I was a little crazy... Of course, the boy did not care to give me any scientific or rational explanation, but I do not think he had either.
Undoubtedly, dreaming lucidly is something impressive, nothing compared to anything that can be experienced in reality. I had a time, a couple of years ago, in which I wanted the night to come just to have them.
When you manage to have one completely lucid, the reality does not seem to draw so much attention, though I think it's the same as starting any hobby or new activity. At first it draws much attention, although later it is normalized.
In these dreams you can do almost anything that you feel like when you have achieved a certain practice. You can fly, practice your favorite sport, talk to someone, cook...
Is it the same thing to dream of being in control of the dream?
Not really, you may have a lucid dream and have little control over your content and you may also have great control without knowing that you are dreaming.
Of course, being lucid will greatly increase the chances that you can influence events or acts like flying or practicing a sport.
Something that seems very curious is that the ability you have in your dreams to transform objects, scenes or behaviors, will also depend Of your trust . Very similar to reality. If you have a high confidence that you can control your dreams, you are more likely to control them.
Can everyone have them?
It is a skill to be developed, such as learning to play tennis. Only a large minority of people have an innate ability to have them, but others can develop it. A very important skill is the ability to remember dreams.
How to have lucid dreams
To have this kind of dreams it is necessary to devote some time and energy to it. If you are stressed, you are all day working and doing things and you do not have moments of tranquility, it will be more complicated.
This is because if you are starting, you will need to question your own reality. That is, if for example you are cooking, you will have to ask yourself is this a dream? How do I know what is reality? And, of course, if you are in a hurry or stressed, you can not do it.
As in all learning in life, learning this skill requires motivation and effort. Without them you will not persevere, something that you will need to do because you will need at least 1 month of continuous practice and to perform these techniques to have your first lucid dream.
I tell you several previous tips:
- Start practicing them in a quiet time. Stress or overwork is not good for them.
- Get used to having free time throughout the day, even 5 minutes in which you"experience more reality"and ask yourself if you are in a dream or is the reality.
- Avoid getting problems in bed.
- Get up straight, do not jump out of bed. Spend at least 10 minutes before getting up to think about the dream you've had.
- Think about them: this is important because you are unlikely to have them without intending to.
- Read about them.
It is a psychological skill that you have to develop with certain habits and that is improving with practice. I will not comment on all the techniques that exist, but those that have served me and I think they will also serve you:
1-Get up straight
Everyone has several periods of REM sleep each night. REM sleep is the period in which you dream and is characterized by the movement of the eyeballs.
There are people who say that they"do not dream"although they do not, but they do not remember them. It seems that the human being is programmed to forget the dreams just after getting up.
Therefore, if you get up quickly and without thinking about the dream, it is likely that in a few minutes you will not remember anything.
It is necessary that when you wake up, you stay for 5-10 minutes in bed, moving as little as possible and trying to remember the dream. If at first you do not remember, keep trying and you may have a key in your mind.
If you have problems sleeping well, I advise you this article With some tips.
2-Write a dream journal
Having the ability to remember dreams will help a lot to have lucid dreams, is probably the most important ability.
If you do not remember them, stand up quietly and write in a diary on which your dreams have been based. You will have to detail them as much as possible; With who you were, when, how you felt...
Often, dreams have a number of recurring features. You may always have them with a number of people. It is these signs that will help you to recognize that you are in a dream.
For example, if you notice in your journal that you often dream of tigers, in a dream where you are with a tiger you will be more likely to recognize that you are dreaming.
Briefly it is extremely that you remember your dreams to:
Recognize signs that you are in a dream.
Remembering lucid dreams: you may have a lucid dream and you do not even remember that you had it.
3-Identifies signs in dreams
In your journal you have been able to recognize some signs that are given constantly. It may be that you always dream in one place, that you are always with the same people...
In dreams, you will have to recognize the signs so that the moment of lucidity arrives.
In turn, in reality it reflects on those signals, which may be impossible in the real world.
4-Question reality
In Origin, the protagonists have a Totem with which they check if they are in reality or not. You will not need a totem, but you will question yourself at different times of the day if you are in a dream or not.
This may be weird, but it's basic. It is strange, but in dreams you believe that you are in reality, for your brain everything is real and not even you question it. Then you get up and say"it was clear it was a dream". But in the dream you did not know.
When you are in reality, you have feelings very similar to those of dreams, except that in dreams the physical and temporal laws do not exist.
For example, I would set an alarm three times a day to ask if I was dreaming or not; At 11:00 a.m., 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.
You can do it:
- Trying to do something you do in dreams. For example, try to fly (trying to lift you, not pulling you from somewhere).
- Read a paragraph: usually in dreams letters fade or are unreadable. Take a book and read a small paragraph, look away and re-read it. If it stays the same, you are in reality.
- Simply reflecting on reality and thinking why you are awake.
5-Practice Mindfulness and Meditation
Both practices will allow you to be calmer and more aware of reality and the"now". You can learn from mindfulness here .
6-Technique 1
This technique comments Stephen Laberge, the greatest expert on the international level in this subject. You can do it any time of the day when you have a few minutes.
1-Take a reality test
Look at a text or numbers on a watch. Look away and look again. If everything is stable and rational, you are probably not dreaming. Go to step 2.
2-Imagine that you are surrounded by a dream
Visualize as vividly as you can that you are dreaming. Imagine that what you are seeing, listening and feeling is a dream. Imagine instability in your environment: changing words, transforming objects, floating on the ground. Go to step 3.
3-Visualize that you are doing an activity in a dream
Think of something you would like to do in your lucid dream (play something, fly...) and visualize that you are dreaming doing that activity
7-MILD technique
It has also been developed by Stephen Laberge and you can practice it before bed or when you wake up and go back to sleep.
1-Have the intention of having a lucid dream and remembering it when you wake up.
2-Focus on your intention
Concentrate on your intention to remember and recognize that you are in a dream. Say to yourself:"When I dream, I will remember that I am in a dream"repeatedly.
3-See how you become lucid
As you focus on your intention to remember that you are dreaming, imagine yourself waking up from sleep. Imagine that you recognize that you are dreaming. For example: imagine that you are dreaming, that you see a sign and that you then recognize that you are in a dream.
4-Repeat points 3 and 4. It is important that while you fall asleep the last thing you have in mind is your intention to recognize that you are dreaming. If this is not the case, repeat steps 2 and 3 again.
-Prevent the quick term of lucid dreaming
If you have little practice you will probably get up soon after being lucid. With practice you will spend more and more time although the best way to prevent"outs"too fast is to remain calm: if you become too excited or afraid you are very likely to wake up. Just relax and try to enjoy.
Benefits
-Control the mood after getting up
There is a particular benefit of these dreams that I find very curious and that can greatly benefit those who have it. When we get up, it is often with a low mood, sad, sorry and we do not know why, we just started the day in that mood.
For many times when I had a dream that we say"it was not very beautiful", I got up with that state of mind, but being aware that it was caused by a"bad dream", I have been able to change it. However, if you get upset but do not know why or what has been for a dream, it is more difficult to change that state.
Dreams influence our reality and vice versa. This seems extremely important considering that the vast majority of people are unable to control their dreams or even remember them. Therefore lucidity can be a way to improve our life.
-Practice
Did you know that if you play tennis in dreams activate the same brain areas as if you play in reality?
Therefore, a lucid dream can be used to practice some skill in which you want to improve in real life. This option seems incredible and I think we should investigate more about it.
Examples of applications may be: confronting fears, practicing sports, speaking in public, practicing social skills...
Recurring blades
There are several scientific studies that have supported that lucid dreams are good for people with nightmares, since being able to control the content of dreams, can direct the threatening situations of the same.
-Creativity and problem solving
In REM sleep (the stage in which you dream) brain Is very active and receives no impulses from the outside, so Increases creativity And the possibility of finding original solutions to problems.
-Health
Some people have lucid dreams to overcome phobias, overcome duels, Decrease anxiety or Improve self-esteem .
-Adventure
Another great advantage of these dreams is the ability to have adventures like flying or going to extraordinary places.
Can they have negative consequences?
The vast majority of lucid dreams are positive, plus lucidity can control negative dreams and control nightmares. Perhaps the only people who should not have lucid dreams are those who are unable to distinguish between reality and their imagination.
A recurring concern is whether dying in a dream can actually lead to death, but it is not. Many people who claim to have died in a dream have no effect on their health. In fact, death in dreams can be interesting experiences about life.
Although dreams are usually believed to be messages of our subconscious, research has shown that it is not. Rather, they are models of our world. By dreaming, our bodies become paralyzed and the brain builds a model based on our motivations and expectations.
Now I'm interested in your experiences. What has served you lucidity in dreams? You've got it? Please, I am interested in your opinion. So we can continue to learn all about this topic. Thank you!
References
- The future of lucid dreaming treatment. Josefin Gavie & Antti Revonsuo. School of Humanities and Informatics, University of Skövde, Sweden. Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Turku, Finland.
- Image source www.flickr.com/photos/horiavarlan/4681837444