You have heard about people who lucid dream and think it is something you would like to do. That is a good starting point but exactly how do you begin and what are the steps to being a successful lucid dreamer?

You need to know why it is that you want to be a lucid dreamer. Are there benefits to be gained through lucid dreaming? There are, but to understand them we should first start by examining normal sleep.

How is lucid dreaming different? Have you ever considered the process of sleep before? Every night you make preparations, crawl into bed and go to sleep. You may have dreams or nightmares or all may just be dark for a few hours, it is rather boring isn?t it?

The sleep we normally have fulfills the purpose of allowing us to rest up for the next day.However, what would it be like if you were able to control your dreams? Instead of being a spectator to your dreams, what if you could be an active participant?

What if you could control your dream rather than the other way around? A lucid dreamer is someone who can do exactly that; someone who is not a passenger but a driver of their dreams.

How can a person achieve this? How do you learn to be a lucid dreamer? DILD refers to a dream initiated lucid dream. You need to realize you are dreaming. In other words, if you are dreaming and know it, you are having a lucid dream.

WILD refers to a wake initiated lucid dream. You slip into a dream before you are fully asleep. Instead of going to sleep before you dream you simply enter into the dream with your mind still conscious.

How exactly do you induce either one of these lucid dream states?

Dream Recall

A simple place to start when you would like to lucid dream is in dream recall. This is where you can remember and perhaps recite your dream in part or in whole. You are very likely to have the same dream more than once in your life and being able to remember them will alert you the next time you have that particular dream.

To make dream recall easier you can keep a dream journal. This is a notebook or pad of paper that has the sole purpose of recording your dreams. Whenever you have a dream, you should write all you can remember in the journal as soon as you wake up. The longer you are awake the more details of the dream that will be lost.

Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD)

Developed by Dr. Stephen LaBerge the idea is to tell your self to recall an object or situation from your dreams, before you go to sleep. You can look back to your dream journal for an example of a recurring them like a pink haired woman. Anything that when you see it in your dream will tell you that you are in fact dreaming.

Wake-Back-to-Bed (WBTB)

The way you do this one is, only plan on sleeping for a few hours like five or six. Set your alarm if you need to so you will wake up. After you have slept the few hours and wake up, stay up. Find something to do to stay awake. Do a little house work; Think about what you might like to do in your lucid dreams. Return to bed in an hour.

This technique of learning to lucid dream has a sixty percent success rate according to Stephen LaBerge. You have waked up during the dream cycle of your sleep which is referred to as REM. This is like a trigger telling your mind that you want to be aware when you are dreaming.

Cycle Adjustment Technique

Wake-initiation of Lucid Dreams (WILD)

WILD refers to Wake Initiation of Lucid Dreams

The trick is to keep your conscious mind aware and let your physical body sleep. This can prove to be very interesting. Lay back, close your eyes and wait for your dream to begin. Imagine you have put a movie in the DVD player and you are waiting for it to begin. Focus on the black screen until your dream begins to play out.

You need to stay aware; it is a lot like self hypnosis. This is not a good exercise to try when you are tired as your mind may not stay as aware. Try to focus on things that require brain activity such as doing math puzzles, jogging or anything to keep your mind active. Breathe evenly and focus on relaxing every part of your body.

There are also technological innovations which can help to induce lucid dreaming, among them strobe lights and dreaming masks.

With self-hypnosis and a conscious preparedness before you go to sleep anyone can practice lucid dreaming.

Binaural beats induce lucid dreaming by causing the hemispheres of your brain to work synchronously, making your brainwaves shift to the frequency required for lucid dreaming.

Anyone can learn to be a lucid dreamer. Practice the self hypnosis and keep telling yourself when awake that you will be aware when you are dreaming. This will prepare you for your lucid dream experience.

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