How to Lucid Dream and Techniques to help with Defense Lucid dreaming is awareness of the fact that you are dreaming. This awareness can range from very faint recognition of the fact to something as momentous as a broadening of awareness beyond what has ever been experienced even in waking life. Lucid dreams usually occur while a person is in the middle of a regular dream and suddenly realizes that they are dreaming. Once you realize this, you have the ability to control your dreams, which is pretty much the most essential part of lucid dreaming. Steps 1.During the day, repeatedly ask Am I dreaming and perform some reality checks whenever you remember. With practice, if it happens enough, you will automatically remember it during your dreams and do it. 2.Keep a dream journal. This is perhaps the most important step towards lucid dreaming. Keep it close by your bed at night, and write in it immediately after waking. Or you can keep a recording device if you find it easier to repeat your dream out loud. This helps you recognize your common dream elements (people from your past, specific places, etc.), and also tells your brain that you are serious about remembering your dreams! It will also help you to recognize things that are unique to your dreams. You will be able to recognize your own dream signs. These will be recurring things or events that you may notice in your dreams. 3.Learn the best time to have a lucid dream. By being aware of your personal sleep schedule, you can arrange your sleep pattern to help induce lucid dreams. Studies strongly suggest that a nap a few hours after waking in the morning is the most common time to have a lucid dream. Lucid dreams are strongly associated with REM sleep. REM sleep is more abundant just before the final awakening. This means they most commonly occur right before waking up. (Sleep-onset REM is a symptom of narcolepsy. If you have lucid dreams right after falling asleep, you may wish to consider seeking medical advice from a sleep medicine specialist. However, there are studies which show people can recall dreams after being awakened during non-REM sleep). Dreams usually run in 60-minute (Weiten Psych book 2004) cycles during sleep. If you are working on dream recall, it may be helpful to try waking yourself up during one of these cycles (interrupted dreams are often the ones we remember). 4.Try Stephen Laberges mnemonic induction of lucid dreaming (MILD) technique. Set your alarm clock to wake you up 4 1/2, 6, or 7 1/2 hours after falling asleep. When you are awakened by your alarm clock, try to remember the dream as much as possible. When you think you have remembered as much as you can, return to your place of rest, imagining that you are in your previous dream, and becoming aware that you are dreaming. Say to yourself, I will be aware that Im dreaming, or something similar. Do this until you think that it has sunk in. Then go to sleep.If random thoughts pop up when you are trying to fall asleep, repeat the imagining, self-suggestion part, and try again. Dont worry if you think its taking a long time. The longer it takes, the more likely it will sink in, and the more likely you will have a lucid dream. 5.Attempt the WBTB (Wake Back To Bed) Technique. This is the most successful technique. Set your alarm clock to 5 hours after you fall asleep. Fall asleep.After you wake up, stay up for an hour with your mind focused on lucidity and lucidity only. Go back to sleep using the MILD technique. 6.Try attempting the WILD (wake initiated lucid dream) technique. Basically what it means is that when you fall asleep you carry your awareness from when you were awake directly into REM sleep and you start out as a lucid dream. The easiest way to attempt this technique is if you take an afternoon nap or you have only slept for 3-7 hours. Try to meditate into a calm but focused state. You can try counting breaths, imaging ascending/descending stairs, dropping through the solar system, being in a quiet soundproof area, etc. Listening to Theta binaural beats for an amount time will easily put you into a REM sleep. See the warnings at the bottom, as these are very important. 7.Another technique for overall dream awareness is the Diamond Method of meditation, which can shortcut the overall learning curve, of Lucid Dreaming. When one meditates, try to visualize your life, both awake and dream-life as facets on a diamond. Some choose to call this diamond the Universe, others God, and even your Spirit. The point here is to begin to recognize that life is happening all at once. It is only our Perception that arranges our dramas into linear or timed order. So just as a diamond just is, each facet if viewed as an individual experience, still is going on at the same time the Dream Body experiences as well. This method is also known by Remote Viewers. Remember it is just a slight shift in awareness that this exercise calls for. 8.Try marking an A (which stands for awake) on your palm. Every time you notice the A during your waking hours challenge whether you are awake or asleep. Eventually you may see the A in your sleep and become lucid. 9.Get into the habit of doing reality checks. Do at least three reality checks every time something seems out of the ordinary, strongly frustrating, or nonsensical, and that habit will carry on into your dreams. In a dream, these will tell you that you are sleeping, allowing you to become lucid. In order to remember to do reality checks in dreams, you need to establish a habit of doing reality checks in real life. One way to do a reality check is to look for dream signs (elements that frequently occur during your dreams, look for these in your dream journal), or things that would not normally exist in real life, and then conduct the reality checks. When these actions become habit, a person will begin to do them in her or his dreams, and can come to the conclusion that he/she is dreaming. Frequently doing reality checks can stabilize dreams. This is also known as DILD (Dream Induced Lucid Dreams). Some tactics include: Looking at a digital clock to see if it stays constant; Looking at a body of text, looking away, and then looking back to see if it has changed; Flipping a light switch; Looking in a mirror (your image will most often appear blurry or not appear at all in a dream). However, your figure can be horribly disfigured in a mirror, frightening you into nightmare or a dream. Pinching your nose closed and trying to breathe; Glancing at your hands, and asking yourself, am I dreaming? (when dreaming, you will most often see greater or fewer than five fingers on your hand); Jumping in the air; you are usually able to fly during dreams Poking yourself; when dreaming, your flesh might be more elastic than in real life; a common reality check is pushing your finger through the palm of your hand; Try leaning against a wall. In dreams, you will often fall through walls. 10.Prolong lucid dreams by spinning your body or falling backwards in the dream (suspected of prolonging REM), and rubbing your hands (prevents you from feeling the sensation of lying in bed). Take care while spinning. Remind yourself even as you spin or fall that you are dreaming, as you will find yourself in a completely different location when you stop spinning or hit the ground and may lose lucidity otherwise. If you feel a dream shakes or is about to fade out, look down to the ground and visualize your surroundings, reminding yourself you are dreaming. 11.Look through previous dreams in your Dream Journal. If you start to notice patterns in your dreams, you will notice dream-signs, or certain things that continue to reappear in your dreams. This may be as basic as all dreams are in your backyard, or all your dreams have fans in them. Get into the habit of doing dream checks every time you see your dream sign, and eventually youll see your dream sign IN a dream, do a check and realize youre dreaming. Look at Hand Method 1.As you prepare for sleep each night, sit in your bed and take a minute to relax. look at the palms of your hands for 30 minutes, and repeat to yourself, I will dream about, your own dream. 2.Continue to repeat this phrase, I will dream about, your own dream as you look at your hands. 3.After the thirty minutes, or whenever you get tired turn off the light and go to sleep. 4.When you wake during the night, Look at your hand, and say the same phrase. If you did not see your hands, remind yourself of your intent to see your hands in the next dream. 5.With consistent practice of this phrase each night before sleep, you will suddenly see your hands pop up in front of you when dreaming, and consciously realize, My hands! Oh my gosh! This is a dream. Tips If you ask people in your dream Am I dreaming?... most of the time theyll say No. Get your own reality check and use it a couple times a day. You could use a coin that you spin on the table. If the coin stops spinning, you know that everything around you is reality. If you make this your daily routine and do this a couple times a day, youll have a good chance that you will do this in your dream. Youll notice that the coin wont stop, and gain full control because you know youre dreaming. Supplements If you are scared of something, for instance, spiders, you can conquer that fear in your dream. Just imagine it becoming something amusing. If you repeat this practice enough, you will conquer your fear. If you have recurring dreams, then aspects of these dreams can act as reality checks. If you notice something happening that is part of a recurring dream, think to yourself, this only happens in my dreams, I must be dreaming. Try not to worry about what might happen in the dream. Try to remember its only a dream, and nothing there can hurt you. If you worry a lot about the people in your dream attacking you, for example, quite likely they will. You can try visualizing something in your hand, or in your pocket. Trying to feel its weight, shape, and texture may help. In case of a nightmare, or other frightening dream, if practiced, this can become a self-defense system against any of those perils. Of course, they will not really harm you, but it IS fun to blast a horribly disfigured monster at point-blank with a rocket-launcher of some sort... Vitamin B6 can increase dream vividness. (Bananas, Most fish) Pre-determine what you want to achieve in a lucid dream while you are awake. When you become lucid in a dream, you will already know what you want to do. When you are aware you are dreaming, make sure you know it is a dream at all times. Remember, there are no social consequences, everything, even the characters are just part of your imagination, you cannot get hurt, you need make to keep your dream stable, and you have total control of everything, including your actions, other characters actions, the environment, even physics with a few thoughts. Remember that and you will have total control over dreams at all times. You can solve your life problems , invent things and train on anything you want in your lucid dream, dont you want to solve your math homework easily? It is also cool to teleport. Close your eyes, spin your dream body, and envision a brand new landscape and open your eyes. Do not drink any fluids for one hour prior to sleeping. The last thing you want is to wake up from successfully lucid dreaming just because you had to use the bathroom. If you cannot remember the dream, focus on the feelings that you felt. Trying too hard to remember the dream will only take your mind away from it. Chances are your mind will think of everything but the dream. If you want to dream about something or someone specifically, as you slip into a light sleep, think about that person or that object. The way it feels, the way it looks, the way it smells, etc.. This will cause your mind to focus on that object or person and chances are your dream will reflect upon it. These arent the only things you can do. You can create anything you want, be whatever you want, do whatever you want. Of course, you need experience in lucid dreaming, or else it will be more difficult to dream. Before you go to sleep, think really hard about getting up without actually doing so. You will be able to lucid dream at the beginning of your dream. Be careful about looking in mirrors - it can often help you determine that you are asleep, but be prepared to see how you feel about yourself. If you notice something happening that is impossible in real life, such as being able to breathe underwater, this can act as a reality check to alert you to the fact that you are dreaming. There can be special cues to lucid dreams to find. For example, you may find colors or walls shifting and changing in unnatural ways, try to pick up these changes and you may realize you are lucid dreaming. If you find the dream is not going how you want it to, close your eyes for a bit and then open very forcefully. It might not work the first time but you will eventually end up actually opening them. When you wake up naturally - that is, without an alarm - focus your gaze on the first object you see as you open your eyes. Look at the object; focus on it. That object will most often take the vague recollection of your dream to a place mark in memory where it is easier to recall details. A doorknob, a light bulb, a set of car keys, or a nail in the wall, for example, will quell your urge to begin your day, and will help you to settle into memories of what you had experienced while sleeping. When recalling a dream upon waking, try not to move. Activating your muscle neurons can make it more difficult to access the parts of your brain that allow you to recall your dream. Lucid dreaming may be helpful for people who frequently experience nightmares, as it gives them a chance to take control of their dreams. Performing reality checks upon awakening can help you to detect false awakenings within dreams, wherein you dream that you have woken up, and thus lose lucidity. When you are in your dream and everything is going back, close your eyes and think/make it go bright. This way your dream doesnt end. It is a good idea to purposely wake a few minutes after becoming lucid, once you have experienced what you wanted to experience. This way, you can wake up with the dream very fresh in your mind, and have excellent recall. If you do not wake up, the dream may simply fade away into the night, and could be forgotten. Write down what you remember when you remember it. Most people remember dreams from nights before If you write down whatever you remember, your brain will get used to remembering instances from your dreams. Keeping a dream journal is important; it not only helps you spot abnormalities, but it also helps dream recollection, thus a more enjoyable and memorable experience. To help control specific things in your dream practice those things while your awake. For example to help yourself become a lucid dreamer try turning on and off a light switch slowly multiple times throughout the day then try doing the same action(turning on or off the lights) in your dream. Lucid dreaming can give you nightmares, so taking a break from the experimenting can be wise. Melatonin makes dreams seem extremely vivid and usually only on one subject. If you have the power to be a lucid dreamer then you have the power to do much more things than just lucid dreaming. Listen to Binaural Beats. Binaural Beats are often used to induce lucid dreams, and many assure this method dramatically improves success rate. Theoretically, listening to Binaural Beats lowers brain frequencies, triggering different effects such as relaxation and dream induction. Look for Theta bin-aural beats, as they use the same brainwave frequency used in dreams. You may also want to listen to Alpha and Delta binaural beats as they help you relax and fall into non-REM sleep. What a dreamer does with lucidity reflects personal tendencies and levels of skill attained usually through experience and practice. Although a lucid dreamer can influence the dreams structure, characters, course, etc., it is not a given that a lucid dream is about what the dreamer wants it to be about. Seasoned lucid dreamers who are more often lucid than not will continue to encounter psychological and developmental challenges in the dream scape. The agreeable and the distressing, the easy and difficult, beautiful and horrifying, are all occasioned much as they are in regular dreaming. But whereas a regular dream is filled with the convoluted subtleties of the subconscious mind enumerating its issues before a largely unconscious dreamer, a lucid dreamer has the opportunity to consciously explore at any level. To end sleep paralysis (which is not dangerous) try wiggling your toes or swallowing. When you are in sleep paralysis, your brain is sending a signal to the rest of your body to immobilize your muscles so you dont thrash around while you sleep. The larger muscles are usually more affected than the smaller ones. So trying to wiggle your toes tends to wake you up during a state of sleep paralysis. Some people find it helpful to take a low dose of caffeine (a caffeinated tea, for instance) shortly before sleeping. They claim that this keeps them mentally aware while the body is going to sleep. For other people caffeine may postpone or disrupt sleep. 5-HTP is the immediate precursor of serotonin, and can increase your odds of having a Lucid Dream greatly. It is fun to fly in lucid dreams. To start flying try bouncing higher and higher after each step (while walking in the dream.) Some find that they need to train themselves, while others can just think that they want to fly, and therefore lift off the ground, and start to hover. You can also try walking on walls or the ceiling, as flying for the first time can be intimidating if you are not totally convinced that you are dreaming. Many people experience flying as being very natural and very exhilarating. Do not use a radio alarm clock. If you hear talking or a song, it will distract you and may clear the dream out of your head. If you have to use a radio alarm clock, dont think about what is playing and quickly turn it off. Alternatively, change the radio setting to a non-assigned frequency so the alarm creates static (white noise). As you get older, it will be harder to lucid dream, and it starts getting difficult during the teenage years of puberty. An Amino Acid Blend made up of 2000mg L-aspartic acid, 4000mg L-glutamine, and 300mg L-theanine can substantially increase your odds of having a Lucid Dream. Fish Oil helps recall dreams. Galantamine used with Choline bitartrate or Alpha-GPC can dramatically increase your odds of becoming Lucid. Ginko Biloba may have a similar effect to B6. You can also try shape-shifting. It is hard to do it on command, but you can also make an excuse to transform by making a transformation machine or a magic assistant that can change you into an animal. Also, you can relax your muscles and go somewhere you think your dreaming. Try to do all of these because some are more important for other people. If dreaming and you worry about something happening it will happen! So image conquering it even if it is impossible. EXERCISE: DIALOGING WITH DREAM CHARACTERS 1. Practice imaginary dialogs in the waking state. Choose a recent dream in which you had an unpleasant encounter with a dream figure. Get a piece of paper and pen to write down the conversation you imagine. Imagine yourself talking to the dream character; visualize the character before you. Begin a dialog by asking questions. You may choose a question from the list above or substitute any personally relevant question. Write down your questions, and the responses you get from the character. Try not to let critical thoughts interrupt the flow, such as this is silly, or Im just making this up, or Thats not true. Listen, and interact. You can evaluate later. Terminate the dialog when it runs out of energy or when you achieve a useful resolution. Then evaluate the conversation and ask yourself what you did right and what you would do differently next time. Once you are successful with this, try the same exercise on another dream. 2. Set your intention. Set a goal for yourself that the next time you have a disturbing encounter with a dream character you will become lucid and engage the character in dialog. 3. Dialog with problem dream figures. When you encounter anyone with whom you feel conflict, ask yourself whether or not you are dreaming. If you find that you are dreaming, continue as follows: Stay and face the character, and begin a dialog with one of the opening questions from the list below. Listen to the characters responses, and try to address his, her, or its problems as well as your own. See if you can come to an agreement or make friends. Continue the dialog until you reach a comfortable resolution. Then, be sure to awaken while you still remember the conversation clearly, and write it down. 4. Evaluate the dialog. Ask yourself if you achieved the best result you could. If you feel you did not, think about how you could improve your results next time. You could use Step 1 to relive the dialog to attain a more satisfying result. Ask the following in your dreams... Who are you? Who am I? Why are you here? Why are you acting the way you are? What do you have to tell me? Why is such-and-such happening in this dream? What do you think or feel about such and such? What do you want from me? What do you want me to do? What questions would you ask of me? What do I most need to know? Can you help me? Can I help you? SUGGESTED METHODS The following is a list of some of the more common dream themes, with suggested methods of transforming the dream to achieve a positive outcome. Make yourself a goal that whenever you next find yourself in a dream, you will become lucid, and overcome your fear. If the dream features one of the following themes, try the suggested responses. 1. Theme: Being pursued Response: Stop running. Turn to face the pursuer. This is in itself may cause the pursuer to disappear or become harmless. If not, try starting a conciliatory dialog with the character or animal. 2. Theme: Being attacked Response: Dont give in meekly to the attack or flee. Show your readiness to defend yourself and then try to engage the attacker in a conciliatory dialog. Alternatively, find acceptance and love in yourself and extend this towards the threatening figure (see Chapter 11). 3. Theme: Falling Response: Relax and allow yourself to land. The old wives tale is false—you will not really die if you hit the ground. Alternatively, you can transform falling into flying. 4. Theme: Paralysis Response: When you feel trapped, stuck or paralyzed, relax. Dont allow anxiety to overcome your rationality. Tell yourself you are dreaming and the dream will soon end. Let yourself go along with any images that appear or things that happen to your body. None of it will hurt you. Adopt an attitude of interest and curiosity about what happens. 5. Theme: Being unprepared for an examination or speech Response: First of all, you dont need to continue with this theme at all. You can leave the exam or lecture room. However, you might enhance your self-confidence in such situations by creatively answering the test questions or giving a spontaneous talk on whatever topic suits you. Be sure to enjoy yourself. When you wake up, you may want to ask yourself whether you should actually prepare for a similar situation. 6. Theme: Being naked in public Response: Who cares in a dream? Have fun with the idea. Some find being naked in a lucid dream erotically exciting. If you wish, have everyone else in the dream remove their clothes. Remember, modesty is a public convention, and dreams are private experiences. EXERCISE: RE-DREAMING RECURRENT DREAMS 1. Recall and record the recurrent nightmare. If you have had a particular nightmare more than once, recall it in as much detail as you can, and write it down. Examine it for points where you could influence the turn of events by doing something differently. 2. Choose a re-entry point and new action. Choose a specific part of the dream to change, and a specific new action that you would like to try at that point to alter the course of the dream. Also select the most relevant point before the trouble-spot at which to re-enter the dream. (If it is a long dream, you may wish to begin at the part that immediately precedes the unpleasant events). 3. Relax completely. Find a time and place where you can be alone and uninterrupted for between ten and twenty minutes. In a comfortable position, close your eyes and relax as described in EXERCISE: PROGRESSIVE RELAXATION. 4. Re-dream the nightmare, seeking resolution. Beginning at the entry point you chose in Step 2, imagine you are back in the dream. Visualize the dream happening as it did before until you reach the part at which you have chosen to try a new behavior. See yourself doing the new action, and then continue imagining the dream until you discover what effect your alteration has on its outcome. 5. Evaluate your re-dreamed resolution. When the imagined dream has ended, open your eyes. Write down what happened as if it were a normal dream report. Note how you feel about the new dream resolution. If you are not satisfied, and still feel uncomfortable about the dream, try the exercise again with a new alternative action. Possibly, achieving a comfortable resolution with the waking exercise will be enough to stop the recurrence of the nightmare. 6. If the dream recurs, follow your re-dreamed plan of action. If the dream occurs again, do in the dream what you visualized during waking re-entry. Remember that the dream cannot harm you and be firmly resolved to carry through with your new behavior.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 17:40:11 +0000
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