Let's begin !

Have you ever wondered what a lucid dream  feels like ? 

Normally you experience an array of random colors, sounds and feelings in your  dreams.

You see things from your daily life. You encounter people from your past. You experience  jumbled stories and ridiculous situations.

These sensory stimuli are created by your subconscious  mind which stays awake and active while you sleep. But a lucid dream is unlike any trip to dreamland  that you've ever experienced. 

In a lucid dream your body falls asleep but your conscious mind wakes up, what happens next is a phenomenon few people can explain even the leading experts in the  field instead of waking up in bed your conscious mind wakes up inside your dream.  Yeah ! It sounds far-fetched.

I know for those who've never experienced a lucid dream, it's a difficult concept to wrap your head around. 

But lucid dreams are very real according to a 2016  study in the journal consciousness and cognition, over half the population has had a lucid dream at least once in their life. A little over a fifth of the population has lucid dreams one  or more times a month. A 2017 article from the journal dreaming called lucid dreaming a  learnable skill that anyone could experience with the right knowledge under their belt .

But in a lucid dream you can interact with bizarre worlds, create  impossible phenomena and perceive environments from new fantastic perspectives. Lucid  dreams are a wonderful source of entertainment and fun. Isn't the  only reason you should learn how to lucid dream ? 

Lucid experiences also enhance your creativity  when you have a lucid dream you're challenging your mind to create vivid and meaningful stimuli . Most people don't have strong enough imaginations to create environments or even single objects  from scratch. 

Try this !   Imagine a slice of cake. What does your slice of cake look like ? Is it chocolate  or vanilla ? Is it a birthday cake or a wedding cake ? Is it sitting on a plate or just floating  in the air ? 

When we imagine things we capture the gist of the object instead of a detailed image. 

Most people can't visualize mental images as well as they think but lucid dreams offer your brain a  unique opportunity to test its creative capacity in an unconscious state.

You have to imagine every  detail of your environment once you become lucid you'll find yourself immersed in a vibrant world  of your own creation.

All right let's move on to another benefit of lucid dreaming. In a lucid state experienced dreamers move around and they interact with their dream environments.

To move in a lucid dream your brain activates the sensory motor cortex which also helps you move in  real life. So running in a dream is like in real life the only difference is your muscles aren't  moving. Lucid dreams exercise your sensory motor cortex. Your legs aren't getting any stronger but your mind is becoming more coordinated. Your movements may get smoother and more athletic simply by walking around your dreams.

Some experts use lucid dreaming as a form of physical therapy in theory. Lucid movements could  help people with physical disabilities to increase their range of motion. Lucid dreaming could  transform the lives of people around the world but the data isn't there quite yet lucid dreaming can  also improve your life by unraveling stress and anxiety.

In general, sleep is a powerful stress  reliever but dreams specifically lucid dreams unlock a powerful new method for relaxation. Inside a dream you can experience euphoric emotions unlike anything in your daily life flying ; for  example is a common lucid experience which makes you feel light and airy as you lift off the ground . You may notice the stress of your day melting away. You can take off and fly into the distance leaving  all of your worries behind. Flying is just one of many relaxing and uplifting dream experiences. With a little practice you can create and feel anything you want inside a lucid dream. 

So how  do you stimulate your very first lucid dream ?

How to lucid dream ?

Lucid dreaming is much more accessible than people. Think  you just need a few simple techniques .

First you need to start keeping a dream journal. A dream  journal is a notebook dedicated to your dreams. As soon as you wake up write down everything you  can remember from your dreams. It doesn't have to be good. It doesn't even have to make sense. Just  write down as many details as you can. Keeping a dream journal reveals the inner workings of  your unconscious mind.

 But that's not why dream journals are so important for lucid dreaming. Each time you write about your dreams you're developing your dream memory. Dream memory or dream  recall is your ability to retain information from your dreams. The better your dream memory is the  more of your dream you'll remember each morning. By improving your dream recall you can sharpen  your imagination. 

It takes plenty of practice to create a dream detailed enough to inhabit  just like your slice of cake. Most streams are underdeveloped, scattered and poorly constructed but with a strong dream memory you can create a world large enough to occupy your conscious mind. 

Alright ! What else does your dream memory do ?

 Dream memory helps you distinguish between dreams and  reality. This is very important if you want to become lucid, you have to wake up your mind in  the middle of a dream this is not an easy thing to do that's why experts have devised a simple  trick that stimulates your brain just enough to initiate a lucid state. This technique is called  a reality check.

 Reality checks are small gestures you practice and memorize on a daily basis. When  you get really familiar with your reality check you can use that reality check to distinguish  between the real world and a dream world.

For example let's cover a common reality check just  take your index finger and try to push it through the center of your palm what happens well your  finger stops when it hits your skin because you're inhabiting the real world. In a dream your finger  would pass right through your hand once you see that happen you'll know you've left reality. Behind  these two techniques journaling and reality checks build your dream memory.

 But how do you set  the stage for a lucid dream ?

 

Each night your body experiences several cycles of rapid eye movement  or rim cycles. According to the American sleep apnea association the first rim cycle occurs about  90 minutes after you go to sleep, after you finish your first rim cycle you'll experience additional  cycles every 90 minutes for the rest of the night. The most important rim cycle is stage five. Stage five is when you dream to give yourself the greatest chance of lucid dreaming. Your goal each  night should be five complete rim cycles.

But how do you ensure that you have as many rim cycle

 as possible ?

 

You should keep yourself on a consistent sleep schedule that means waking up and going to  sleep at the same time every night. Once your body gets on a schedule its natural rhythm will adjust  to that schedule, when it gets close to bedtime your brain will get tired and fall asleep quickly. In the morning your brain will naturally wake up feeling more rested than ever. Everyone's rhythm is  a little different some people get up later some earlier. So find the pattern that works for you. Once you've got your cycle stick to it if you stay consistent you'll trigger a lucid dream in no time.

  Now you've learned the basics of lucid dreaming if you practice all of these techniques your  lucid potential will skyrocket. So how do you actually induce a full-blown lucid dream. 

There  are two popular techniques that many people use to directly stimulate lucid experiences. Even though  these induction techniques are the more common they're not the only ones out there. If neither of these work for you do a little research of your own and don't be afraid to experiment.

The first  technique is mnemonic induction of lucid dreaming or MILD. MILD is pretty simple, before you go to bed  each night tell yourself one thing tonight I'm going to lucid dream just say it over and over  again until you truly believe it's going to happen. Make sure you maintain that confidence until you  fall asleep. If everything goes as planned you'll sink straight into a lucid experience.

 The second  is called wake back to bed. This method can be a bit jarring but it's worth the effort. To use this technique you have to wake yourself up in the middle of the night. Set an alarm five hours  after your normal bedtime when your alarm goes off lie back in bed but don't let yourself fall asleep. Let your body relax, allow your mind to drift into a meditative state before you know it. You'll find  yourself standing in a lucid dream.