Monday 8 December 2008

Is Instant Lucid Dreaming Really Possible?

By Trevor Albitt

Lucid Dreaming or Conscious Dreaming is the art of being aware that one is actually dreaming. In simple words, while in dream, you are aware that all the events are not happening in fact, or 'It's Just A Dream!' kind of situation. There is certain amount of control you can exercise while lucid dreaming, which is not the case in normal dreams.

Having control over your dreams is an incredible experience. Everything which you thought you couldn't keep from holding you back from your goals just falls before you and you have new found mental clarity, even when awake.

However, is it really that easy to have lucid dreams? Can anyone experience lucid dreaming and reap the benefits?

Luckily, it's really not that hard to begin lucid dreaming, as long as you are determined to learn it. There are proven ways to help you access this ability and use your untapped mental power.

First, you must decide exactly what you want to accomplish here. Are you just trying to make your dreams a playground through lucid dreaming, or is there a specific goal which you are aiming to achieve through lucid dreaming? Whatever your reason, you should be clear and determined about it.

Next you have to learn the actual techniques of lucid dreaming. The first step is to learn the process of Dream Recall, which is exactly what it sounds like. You need to begin practicing remembering your dreams in detail. This is a step on the road towards lucid dreaming.

This isn't going to happen overnight (if you'll forgive the pun). Many find it helpful to keep a dream recall register, which is a sort of dream diary. Here you'll write down each detail of your dreams which you can remember. Do this each day. You'll find it easier the more you practice. Also, start trying to become aware of your dreaming, to get your mind trained to be alert in your dreams.

Hypnosis can be very helpful for many in preparing their minds to have lucid dreams and can get the process of learning lucid dreaming off to a good head start. In fact, hypnosis can have people remembering their dreams in detail in as few as a few sessions. When you can do this, you are ready to try out lucid dreaming.

When you are lucid dreaming, you may suddenly awake. Don't worry! Recall the details of your dream and try to go back to sleep and continue the dream in the way that you want. When you awake, you may just be surprised! If successful, your dream will have been under your control and your mind will have a new found power.

Another great way to have lucid dreams is to go back to sleep for a couple of hours after you wake up in the morning. These dreams are the closest to lucid dreams as they leave you wondering if they were actually dreams or your thoughts manifested in the form of a purported event. You can easily set an alarm to go off a couple of hours before your scheduled wake-up time. And when the alarm sounds, just wake-up, switch it off, and go to sleep in order to enjoy lucid dreams.

In this regard, it's extremely useful to keep track of your sleeping patterns so as to discover the best time to have lucid dreams.

Lucid dreaming can be a helpful practice for those with sleeping troubles such as insomnia. When you are having a hard time getting to sleep, remind yourself that sleep means lucid dreaming; and your subconscious mind will make sure that you get to sleep quickly.

Up until recently learning the art of lucid dreaming was a time consuming process. However recent advances in sound technologies have made things drastically easier for anyone to experience lucid dreaming.

One of the quickest and most reliable methods of inducing lucid dreaming is to listen to binaural beats audio.

These work by playing slightly different frequencies in each ear and have the result of deeply relaxing the listener and bringing their brain waves to the correct frequency for lucid dreaming to occur.

Before this technology, meditation was the technique of choice, which did not work out so well for many people. Binaural audio is much faster and works reliably for the majority of people.

By listening to binaural sound waves, particular when combined with hypnosis to prepare the subconscious mind, it is possible for you to experience lucid dreaming very soon after your first attempt.