Hello Everyone, I'm Daniel Love, The Lucid Guide.
Today we're going to explore a natural means of inducing hallucinations - namely, the fascinating
phenomena of hypnagogia - nature's very own nightly hallucinatory wonderland.
Better still, developing an interest and understanding of hypnagogic hallucinations is a vital step
towards mastering lucid dreaming.
Most people consider sleep to be a simplistic and somewhat uniform state - a withdrawal
from the world, interspersed with the occasional dream.
However, the landscape of sleep is a diverse place - with many unique phases and fascinating
psychological experiences.
Second to dreaming, there are few experiences as peculiar and spectacular as hypnagogia
- those mini dreamlike hallucinations that one experiences when drifting in and out of sleep
Hallucinations that occur as we fall into sleep are known as hypnagogic, whereas those
occurring as we awaken are called hypnopompic.
Both can occur with eyes either opened or closed - most commonly, the latter.
The experiences can vary greatly - from fully fledged mini-dreams to snippets of sound,
psychedelic and surreal imagery, tactile sensations and much more.
Generally, they build from abstract beginnings and solidify into a more coherent scene - although,
equally, you may find yourself suddenly thrust into an entirely convincing scene.
A common experience is to hallucinate some kind of dramatic or emotionally intense experience
- such as falling, someone shouting your name, or some kind of shocking scene - when these occur they
can result in the amusingly named "hypnic jerk" - those moments where you wake with
a sudden reflex movement.
There has been little research into hypnagogia, but it would seem that these hallucinations
occur each and every night, but are often ignored due to our distracted and sleepy mind
or simply forgotten.
As an explorer of dreams, it is important to familiarise yourself with the nature of
your own hypnagogia and to make an effort to observe and become aware of the experience.
To hallucinate naturally, all one needs to do, is to pay attention as you drift
into sleep.
So, as you fall into sleep - keep a calm and somewhat detached awareness - do not attempt
to visualise, simply imagine that the darkness behind your closed eyelids is a dark cavern
into which you are staring - and wait.
As long as you continue to maintain a glimmer of awareness, the show will eventually begin.
It may take a little practice as you become familiar with the psychological balance required
- but eventually, you will become an expert.
I call this process "hypnagogic surfing" - as essentially, you're attempting to balance
your awareness somewhere between active observation and passive relaxation.
Too much of either, and you'll fall from your mental "surfboard" into the forgetful ocean
of sleep - or you'll keep yourself awake.
Hypnagogic surfing is especially useful during the Wake Back To Bed technique - as, during
this period of sleep, one is likely to surf through the realms of hypnagogia, directly
into the dream world.
If done properly, one will enter the lucid dream directly from wakefulness - which is known
as a Wake Initiated Lucid Dream (or WILD).
As a lucid dreamer, you should consider hypnagogia as an important insight into the nature of
the dreaming mind.
In fact, it is important to attempt to record details from your hypnagogic hallucinations
in your dream journal, just as you would record any other dream.
You'll soon notice interesting patterns and insights into the workings of your sleeping
mind.
More importantly, it's an incredibly fun experience - you never know just what wonders your mind will
serve up.
Hypnagogic surfing is a practical and accessible means to practice maintaining awareness during
the sleeping process.
Equally, by attempting to be aware of these hallucinations throughout your night's sleep
- you hugely increase your chances of entering dreams with full awareness at their very beginning
- allowing for long and stable lucid dreams.
You can discover more on the subject of hypnagogia in my book, "Are You Dreaming", a link is
in the video description.
In the future, I'll upload various recordings designed to aid awareness during your hypnagogic
surfing practice.
As always, if you've enjoyed this video - please be sure to click the like button.
Also, it'd be lovely if you could share it on social media.
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So, Have you had an interesting hypnagogic experience?
If so, drop it in the comments below, I'd love to hear all about it.
That's it for today.
Thanks for watching.
I'm Daniel Love, The Lucid Guide, and until next time, sweet dreams.