Do you ever wonder what it would be like to control your dreams?
Find out how to do that and more as we discuss How To Lucid Dream!
Number 10.
What is Lucid Dreaming?
People generally find it difficult to recall their dreams and even more infrequently do
they realize they’re dreaming while they’re doing so.
But, there are exceptions where people regain thoughtful consciousness during their dreams,
and this awareness is known as lucid dreaming.
Some lucid dreamers are even able to acquire control during these episodes, allowing them
to manipulate some elements of their dreams like Neo in the Matrix.
Keep in mind that control of one’s dreams isn’t necessary to categorize a dream as
lucid.
Frederik van Eeden, a psychiatrist and author, coined the term “lucid dream” in his 1913
article titled A Study of Dreams, even though the phenomenon has been a topic of interest
for centuries.
Ancient Hindu and Buddhist practices worked to achieve this state of awareness in yogic
sleep and dream yoga respectively.
Number 9.
Real or Not?
One of the most basic techniques to train your brain to recognize your state of awareness
is reality testing.
You’ll want to perform these simple tests throughout the day while you’re awake, and
when the routine becomes second nature, you should be able to do the same thing in your
dream state.
Some common types of reality checks include trying to put your finger through your palm,
pinching your nose, reading, looking at your reflection, and examining your tattoos (if
you have any).
If you push your finger against your opposing palm and it goes through, then you’re dreaming.
If you pinch your nose, and you can still breathe, then you’re dreaming.
Your tattoos and your reflection will look different in a dream, and if you try to read
something, look away, and then look back, the text will change in a dream.
These reality checks allow you to recognize when you’re in a dream state, and once you’ve
achieved that, you’re officially lucid dreaming.
Number 8.
LaBerge’s Method
One of the primary players in lucid dream research is Stephen LaBerge.
He received his Ph.D. from Stanford in 1980 and is most recognized for developing techniques
to lucid dream at will, namely the MILD technique, or mnemonic induction of lucid dreams, which
he described in his 1990 book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming.
In chapter 3, he recalled that prior to instituting any techniques, he “remembered less than
one lucid dream per month.”
When he used autosuggestion, a psychological technique developed in the 20th century by
Emile Coue which allows one to regulate their feelings, thoughts, or behaviors, for the
first 16 months of his dissertation study, LaBerge had about 5 lucid dreams each month.
Wanting to be able to lucid dream at will, he realized he needed to train himself to
remember his intentions before falling asleep and be actively motivated to do so.
Number 7.
MILD
Prior to beginning the MILD technique, LaBerge reiterates that one must be able to remember
tasks in their wakeful state using only their “mental power,” which he covers in the
section on “Prospective Memory Training” in Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming.
Once you’ve met the prerequisites for the MILD procedure, how do you follow through
and ultimately lucid dream?
You would abide by the following 5 steps LaBerge presents:
Number 1: “Set up dream recall” Before you go to bed, you must decide to wake
up during each period of dreaming through the night.
Number 2: “Recall your dream” When you wake up, you must try to remember
as much as you can from your dream.
Number 3: “Focus your intent” While going back to sleep, purposefully concentrate
on “your intention to remember to recognize that you’re dreaming.”
Number 4: “See yourself becoming lucid” While falling back into your dream state,
actively imagine that you’ve returned to the dream you came from - but recognize it’s
a dream.
Finding something within your dream to let you know you’re dreaming, a “dreamsign,”
is helpful when attempting this.
Number 5: “Repeat” LaBerge says to repeat the last 2 steps “until
your intention is set,” and then allow yourself to fall asleep.
If the procedure goes as planned, then you’ll be lucid dreaming once you re-enter your dream
state.
Number 6.
WBTB
Another method to achieve lucidity is WBTB, or Wake-Back-To-Bed, and it is often used
in conjunction with reality testing and LaBerge’s MILD.
To carry out Wake-Back-To-Bed, one has to follow 3 simple steps.
Prior to going to bed, it’s essential to set an alarm for 5 to 6 hours after you fall
asleep.
Once you wake up after the allotted amount of time, get out of bed and perform a task
that requires mental effort, such as writing or reading a book.
You need to stay awake anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour.
But, LaBerge states that staying awake longer won’t hurt in Exploring the World of Lucid
Dreaming.
Although he’s describing MILD when he says this, he adds that “wakefulness may activate
your brain, making lucidity easier to attain,” and since these two methods are used together
frequently, it’s safe to assume remaining awake for a while longer won’t negatively
affect your lucid dreaming attempts.
Lastly, once you’re ready, you’ll lay back down and start relaxing.
As you’re falling back asleep, envision something you want to dream about.
If everything works out, then you’ll hardly notice crossing into the dream world as your
thoughts transform into a lucid dream.
Number 5.
Dream Journal
Something that can help tremendously with lucid dreaming is keeping a dream journal,
which makes sense since dream recall is one of the primary aspects of LaBerge’s MILD
method.
It’s best to record your dreams on paper as soon as you wake up so your entry is filled
with as much detail as possible.
It even helps you remember more of the dream because you’re actively thinking about it.
But, even if keeping a dream journal doesn’t jumpstart lucid dreaming right away, it has
many other benefits.
According to Kelly Bulkeley, Ph.D., keeping a dream journal can help you develop insight
into various concerns, relationships, or activities in your wakeful state.
He notes that you shouldn’t worry if your descriptions seem vague or fragmented; it’s
just important that you write down whatever you can remember, even seemingly insignificant
details.
He also recommends writing down your sleep patterns and quality of sleep.
To begin your journal, Bulkeley doesn’t want you to waste any time.
He says to begin by writing down the first dream you can remember “even if it was just
a tiny fragment or wispy image,” and there you have it, “the beginning of a dream journal.”
Number 4.
Lucid Nightmares
Although lucid dreaming can be a fantastic experience - flying through blue skies, breathing
underwater, trekking through a mystical world - there are times when lucid dreaming can
have adverse side effects.
One of the risks regarding lucidity is sleep paralysis.
So, before you begin your lucid dreaming journey, it’s best to keep in mind that things like
this can happen since being prepared can ease your mind.
Sleep paralysis is when one loses muscle function while still being conscious, and although
it isn’t dangerous, it certainly seems so while it’s happening.
Episodes may last for mere seconds up to about 2 minutes, and symptoms include feeling afraid,
feeling like something is holding you down, or even feeling like there is another presence
in the room.
Number 3.
DreamLight
In addition to the techniques you can use to achieve lucidity, some devices can help
induce these dreams.
One of these devices is called DreamLight.
As with many aspects of lucid dream science, this technology was originally developed by
Stephen LaBerge.
The DreamLight was eventually discontinued and the NovaDreamer mask took over.
The newer device, also developed by LaBerge and his team at the Lucidity Institute, worked
by detecting when the wearer entered REM sleep.
Once the user was dreaming, the NovaDreamer would flash a sequence of lights through their
closed eyelids, and this flashing would work its way into their dream, stimulating lucidity.
However, the NovaDreamer was also discontinued by 2004, and the only ones still available
are through second-hand purchases.
However, there are other devices on the market with varying availability such as the ZMax
by Hypnodyne and the REM Dreamer.
Number 2.
Brain Function
A study conducted on lucid dreaming by Ph.D. holders in various fields of psychiatry, sleep,
neuroscience, and consciousness - examined the relationship between people who frequently
experienced lucid dreaming and brain function.
These doctors published a scientific journal article in December 2018 explaining their
methods and findings.
They hypothesized that people with higher aPFC, or anterior prefrontal cortex, function
would experience lucid dreams more often.
The doctors chose a study group of 14 people who reported lucid dreaming as often as multiple
times per night and a control group of 14 people who matched the study group’s ages
and genders and recalled lucid dreaming just one time per year or less.
The test results suggested that people who lucid dream more often have increased functional
connectivity in the anterior prefrontal cortex in regards to several other areas of the brain,
which supports other scientific studies linking the aPFC’s functional connectivity to metacognitive
activity.
Number 1.
Better Together?
Another study carried out by scientists from the University of Adelaide in Australia, aimed
to investigate WBTB, MILD, and reality testing.
They organized 3 test groups to see which techniques worked best to induce lucid dreaming.
One group was reality testing only, another was reality testing mixed with WBTB, and the
last was reality testing combined with WBTB and MILD.
Ultimately, the results showed that WBTB, MILD, and reality testing combined worked
best at inducing lucid dreaming.
They also discovered that the MILD technique was affected by various factors, like the
time taken to fall back asleep after following the procedure and the general ability to recall
dreams.
The experiment also revealed that using reality testing by itself did not help with inducing
lucid dreams, which supported a previous study by Stephen LaBerge that had similar results.
Contrary to what LaBerge wrote in his book, however, this study suggested that the more
you repeat the MILD technique, the less likely you are to enter a lucid dream upon falling
back asleep.
Their results also showed that the less time taken to fall back asleep, the better.
Have you tried any of the methods we mentioned in this video?
What’s your experience with lucid dreaming?
Let us know in the comments below, and then check out this next video which you might
find interesting!