If you have ever had a lucid dream, the chances are high that you want to have another one. Lucid dreaming is what happens when you realize that you are dreaming but you do not wake up. Instead you find yourself able to control the situations in your dreams, perform acts that you would never be able to perform in the “real world” (leaping tall buildings in a single bound is not just for superheroes in the dream world) and you might notice some signals that give you insight into your waking life. So how can you make a lucid dream happen? Here are a few lucid dreaming methods that have proven effective for other lucid dreaming enthusiasts.
The Mild Technique
The Mild technique is the easiest of the lucid dreaming methods. It involves telling yourself that you are going to remember your dreams. When you wake up after a dream, as you are falling back to sleep, tell yourself “I will remember the next dream I have.” Focus on this thought and you will tell your brain that you find your dreams important and it will pay more attention to what happens in your next dream.
Reality Checks
Periodically, and on a regular basis, throughout the day ask yourself if you are dreaming or if you are awake. Take stock of your situation and try to make sure that you are fully conscious and not having a dream. Sometimes this can be hard to discern, especially if your dreams are very vivid and tend to mimic your waking life. But if you get into the habit of proving that you are awake, eventually you will prove to yourself that you are dreaming. If you know that you have a habit of dreaming about certain people or situations, when you encounter them in your waking life do a reality check. Your brain will get into the habit of doing this and when you dream about them, your brain will let you know that you are dreaming.
Memory Recall
This is the most tried and true of all of the lucid dreaming methods. This method involves simply making it a point to remember all of your dreams. Keep a dream journal and write down every detail you remember from your dreams. Do this even if you wake up from a dream in the middle of the night. By keeping a journal and trying to remember your dreams, you are telling your brain that you think your dreams are important and you want to pay attention to them. Your brain will start to pay m ore attention to your dreams and the fact that you are dreaming. As soon as you are aware that you are dreaming, you are in a lucid dream.
Purposefully lucid dreaming is a hard skill to acquire, but it is worth the time and effort that goes into learning the different lucid dreaming methods. Lucid dreams can provide a wonderful release from the stresses of your waking world as well as helping you figure out some of the situations and emotions you encounter while you are awake.
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.
