In short, a lucid dream is a dream in which you’re aware that you’re dreaming, while you’re in the dream.
Basically, one’s body is sound asleep in their bed– most likely in the REM cycle, while the conscious awareness is alert of all that is happening inside of the dream. If only one realizes that both of these things are simultaneously happening, (sort of separately between the body and the mind), one possesses the power over whatever events control.
Lucid Dreams are Truly Magical!
Have you ever gotten stuck inside of a dream; feeling like it was days long, only to wake up and realize that it’s two in the morning and you’ve only been asleep for three hours?
You were the one making all the choices like you would in your waking life. It seemed totally normal to be doing certain things and seeing certain people. Somehow, however, timed seemed to pass at a much quicker rate. Then, you wake up to wonder how on earth you could possibly get lost in this dream– and just what was it that made it so real?
If only you have asked yourself whether or not you were dreaming. That realization would have awoken you into the lucid universe, all while you’re physical body is catching some much-needed Zzz’s.
Once that connection occurs, you can seemingly live another life or many lives, continuously. Being whomever you wish to be, doing whatever it is you’ve ever only imagined, and creating entire universes that are all your own!
Everyone Dreams:
Even if you feel like you’re not dreaming at all, it is likelier that you’re just not remembering your dreams. In fact, you generally spend about two hours dreaming every single night. And dreams typically last between 5-20 minutes.
Some reasons that permit dreaming: poor sleeping habits, over-stimulation of caffeine, nicotine, etc. before bed, drug or alcohol consumption, medications, long naps during the day, producing high amounts of cortisol (the stress hormone), or other health issues that may prohibit dreams or hinder quality of sleep.
REM and Sleep Paralysis:
Everyone goes into the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) cycle of sleep after about 1-4 hours after falling asleep. During this cycle, you experience the deepest and lesser interrupted part of your sleeping duration.
During REM, you become temporarily paralyzed so that your body does not act out whatever is happening during your dreams. Nothing is perfect, however, so sometimes this malfunctions and we may move around until the movement wakes us up.
Even more severe and also quite terrifying is the experience of sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis happens when you wake up while you’re in the REM cycle. Therefore, your body is completely frozen, but you wake up in a state of lucidity, in which you can have very intense hallucinations!
If you have ever been the victim of sleep paralysis, you understand both the confusion of whether or not you’re “trippin’,” and the extreme discomfort in having no control over your own body. Having hallucinations associated with sleep paralysis is truly a nightmare that comes to an insidious reality.
*Read these sinister sleep paralysis stories by ‘Sleep Cycle‘ here, (but perhaps not before bed;)*
How to Have a Lucid Dream:
If you’d like to read the blog that includes my personal backstory on lucid dreaming, click the link here. This may allow you to understand how I got to these conclusions on how to begin your lucid dream journey that I’m about to share with you.
1.) Start a dream journal
Starting a dream journal is, in my opinion, the most effective tool in lucid dreaming. No matter what time of the night, how often, or barely anything at all, creating a dream journal is a great place to start. Even if you barely remember anything, except for the tiniest detail, write it down anyway. The more you put in efforts, the more you will be able to recall over time and the closer you will be to lucid dreaming.
2.) Ask for your higher self or tell yourself you will have a lucid dream right before you fall asleep
Try to wait until right before you’re about to fall asleep. Telling yourself, as if you’re speaking to another person, that you’d like to meet your “higher self” or letting your awareness know that you’d like to be aware while you’re dreaming, you begin to build a bridge between the unconscious part of your mind and the conscious part of your mind.
3.) Eat clean
Yes, I know you like Coca–Cola and so do I, but it won’t help you have a lucid dream. If you can’t cut it out all together, at least limit your intake and don’t drink it before bed. Anything that is processed, sugary, stimulating, etc. inhibits your digestive functioning. This ultimately means that your brain uses more energy to keep you safe and as healthy as it can, which means that it also spends less time focusing on whether or not you desire a lucid dream.
Optimum health=Lots of energy!
4.) Go to bed at the same time every night
This was a really hard one for me! I loathe routine! If you’re like me and prefer to bounce around due to ADD and have a personality that requires consistent, creative urges to be met at the most random times, do your best. Find a time that actually suits your needs. Don’t make yourself go to bed at 9 p.m. or 1 a.m if these times are unrealistic to you. The more routine you make sleep, however, the more prepared your mind will be.
5.) Take cat naps instead of long naps
Long naps usually mean you’ll be up later and this will damage your good-standing in the routine you’ve created. It also means that your quality of sleep is not as deep as it would be if you had limited your nap to about thirty minutes. The result of a longer nap during the day is that REM is not as active when your body isn’t quite ready to fully relax again.
6.) Relax
Relaxing your mind is critical!
If you’re overly-stressed or imbalanced by all the hard work and none of the play, it makes it much harder to ease into a state of mind that allows you to be open and receptive to it. Don’t attempt to control the flow of how it unfolds. Frustration because it’s not happening immediately or quickly enough, by your expectations, will only set you back further.
Clear the doubt!
Just know that when you’re ready, it will happen and try to be at peace with that knowing.
From within the Labyrinth,
-Lakin <3