If you've never heard of lucid dreaming before, you could be in for a bit of an adventure – and one that might sound unrealistic at first. Simply put, lucid dreaming is the experience of being aware that the dreamer is dreaming. This usually happens in the phase of sleep known as Rapid Eye Movement sleep or REM sleep. Once the dreamer has this realization, it is sometimes possible to control the dream, which can open the door to different creative, educational, and recreational activities. There are methods one can utilize to increase the frequency of lucid dreams and have greater control over their dreams. Some may discover their first experience of a lucid dream by accident, while others will find they have to practice.
The possibilities in the dream world are somewhat related to the dreamer. Many people who experience lucid dreams for the first time will enjoy the excitement that awareness of the dream world can bring. If you can willingly believe you can do it, you will be able to, and with incredible effect. We're talking about soaring through the air and feeling the wind brush through your hair. Or creating a fireball above the palm of your hand and feeling the heat radiating from it, or the weight of it as you lob it and watch it explode.
Other dreamers report having an incredible ability to manipulate their dream world. James Cameron, the coveted Avatar Director, used his own lucid dreams to inspire his work with the movie. He also said he directed it in such a way that his audience would be able to experience the sort of feeling he would. Once a dreamer learns how to manipulate their dreams, the possibilities let your imagination run free really do become limitless. If you can dream it, you can experience it.
If you are yet to experience your first lucid dream or want to experience them more frequently, you can take many different approaches.
One of the most popular methods of increasing the frequency of lucid dreams are reality checks. Reality checks are straightforward actions you can undertake many times a day to test if you're in a dream by doing something impossible to do in a waking state but would work in a dream state if you will-it enough. One popular method is trying to push your thumb through the palm of the opposite hand. You must truly believe that you will be able to do it. If you do it often enough in a waking state, you will start doing it in your dreams. Then the magic happens – you will catch yourself doing it during a dream, and your thumb will go right through your hand. Eureka! You are now aware you are dreaming and should become lucid. The thumb through the palm is just one technique, and you can find what works for you.
Another effective method is keeping a dream journal. Writing down every dream you have will help you commit them to your long-term memory, which will be a helpful tool for remembering if you've experienced a dream before while you're dreaming.
There are many other methods of trying to trick your body into becoming lucid, including methods such as waking yourself up through the night and going back to sleep with the intention of becoming lucid, as you will likely be in the REM phase of sleep by that point.
The act of lucid dreaming can help the dreamer overcome nightmares as they become more and more capable of controlling their sleeping state. But becoming lucid during a nightmare also paves the way for waking nightmares and sleep paralysis. These kinds of nightmares can feel more vivid and realistic to the dreamer. Lucid dreaming can effectively reduce nightmares by continuing to practice manipulating the dream world and effective dream journaling.
If you want to experience a fun and creative dream world which feels like a sandbox environment for your creativity to run wild, you should start taking steps to begin lucid dreaming. There are so many benefits – both educationally and recreationally – that lucid dreaming can offer, with very few downsides. A small investment in time in writing down your dreams and doing a few reality checks each day is all it takes to start motivating your brain into becoming lucid. It might take a few weeks or even months to experience your first one, but when you do, you're sure to be intrigued at the very least.