Many people wonder if there are such things as lucid dream machines. This depends on whether or not machine means something mechanical to you or simply a technique or method by which to achieve lucid dreams. There have been several mechanical devices created to help people have lucid dreams. Here are the three major kinds of lucid dream machines:
The DreamLight is a machine developed by lucid dream scientist Stephen LaBerge. This lucid dream machine was developed in the late 1980s. The prototype of this machine was built with an old portable computer, the Commodore SX64. The computer is connected to a night mask by a ribbon cable. The person hoping to achieve a lucid dream puts the mask on and then goes to sleep. While you are sleeping, the machine keeps track of your eye movements by way of sensors that are built into the mask. When your eye movements indicate that you are in REM sleep, the computer begins to flash lights that have been put into the mask. The lights might appear in your dreams somewhere, if you recognize them for what they are. The idea is that the lights alert you to the fact that you are dreaming without waking you up. Fifty five percent of the first group of test subjects reported having at least one lucid dream during the test. The DreamLight was used by the Lucidity Institute of California and went on sale not long ago for twelve hundred dollars.
The REM Dreamer is another of the lucid dream machines that has reached a certain level of popularity. This machine can use lights or sound during your REM cycles. The same basic principle is at work with the REM Dreamer as with the DreamLight. The cues are supposed to appear in your dream in some fashion and when they appear they distract you from the action of the dream and you will remember going to sleep with the machine, but not wake up. The cues are delivered by way of a mask that is worn while you sleep. Unlike the DreamLight which used a sensor to monitor your eye movements, this lucid dream machine uses a timer that you program yourself.
The Nova Dreamer is a lucid dream machine that was also built by Stephen LaBerge and continues with the same line of thought that went into the DreamLight. This is also a mask that flashes a cue (as either a sound or a light) to remind you to remember that you are dreaming without waking you up and stopping the dream. The NovaDreamer was discontinued in 2006, but scientists are working on bringing it back onto the market.
Lucid dreaming is something that everybody has experienced and something that most people hope to experience again. There is nothing quite like realizing that you have control over your dreams or being able to recognize dream symbolism for what it is. Lucid dreaming machines are just one method to make yourself have lucid dreams.
Lucid Dreaming Tip #1
Lucid Dreams can be very addictive. Once you realize you are dreaming, especially if you have developed the ability to control the actions taking place in your dreams, you are going to want to have more dreams just like that. There is a lot of information that will tell you how to induce lucid dreams and how to make them a regular part of your sleep cycle.
Lucid Dreaming Tip #2
Nobody is sure exactly how dreams happen. Scientists know that during REM sleep the brain's activity is almost like the activity of a brain of a person who is awake, but nobody is sure why this is or how it happens. Scientists don't know if the brain generates dreams or if the body forces the brain to be active during REM sleep.
Lucid Dreaming Tip #3
Analyzing dreams is one of the most popular areas of psychology. There are lots of resources for people who are trying to figure out the symbolism of their dreams. There are online dream dictionaries and dream encyclopedias for sale at bookstores. Analyzing the individual symbols of a person's dream can help that person deal with areas of their waking life and this is why it is such a popular subject.
