hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're going to learn about how to lucid dream
a comprehensive guide for beginners now 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 what's the point of lucid dreaming in a lucid dream you can interact with bizarre worlds create
impossible phenomena and perceive environments from new fantastic perspectives simply put lucid
dreams are a wonderful source of entertainment but as fun as they can be entertainment 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 because it activates the same part of the brain 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 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 rem 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 cycles 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 or wbtb 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 ultimately the best strategy doesn't revolve around just
one technique you can and should use all of them together our 2017 study from the journal dreaming
found that a combination of mild wbtb and reality checking is more effective than any one of these
techniques on their own so try different patterns see what works for you and always keep a close eye
on your dreams if you keep your dream memories strong you'll have a lucid dream in no time
and the best part you'll remember exactly what that euphoric experience felt like hey thank you
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