Lucid Dreams
Lucid dreams are the dreams, wherein the person is aware of the fact that, he or she is actually dreaming. It is also known as conscious dreaming. It is possible to have conscious control over the characters and situations in a dream. When individuals are in lucid dreaming state, the thought in their mind becomes real and intense. It depends on the level of self-awareness of the person in the lucid dream.
Lucid dreams begin in two ways. The first one is dream induced lucid dream (DILD). This state of lucid dreaming starts as a normal dream. Later, the dreamer finds that he or she was actually dreaming. It means that they later come to know that they were actually dreaming.
The second one is the wake induced lucid dream (WILD). In this lucid dreaming condition, the dreamer reaches the dream state directly from a normal awake state with no apparent lapse in consciousness.
How to Induce Into Lucid Dreaming Stage:
The most common method to induce lucid dreaming is MILD (Mnemonic induction of lucid dream). Individuals need to set up an alarm at a particular time. Keep a journal and pen next to your bed. Avoid drinking water before going to sleep.
Now, go to sleep and tell the mind that, it has to wake up after a certain time. As you wake up after the alarm rings up, you need to write down whatever you recall. Later on, you need to get back to sleep again. While in lucid dreaming state, the brain sends signal to the rest of the body to immobilize the muscles.
If you find it difficult to slip into lucid dreams, visualize something, which you want to see in your dreams. It can be anything such as a movie, favorite actor, conversation with someone and so on. It helps to set up the intention before going to sleep. Thus, practice this technique and then only, will you be able to enter a lucid dreaming condition.
How to Recall Lucid Dreams:
While sleeping inform the mind that, it will remember everything after waking up. Repeat this phrase a few times while drifting back into a dreaming state.
If you wake up naturally without the help of an alarm clock, you need to focus on the first object you set your eyes on. That object often helps to recollect the dream.
Learn the best time to have lucid dreams. If a person understands the sleep patterns, it is possible to practice a sleeping pattern to help induce such dreams. Studies claim that the best phase of lucid dreaming is taking a nap after waking up in the morning. Dreams often run in 90 minutes cycles during sleep. Thus, it is easier to recall a dream, if you manage to wake up during one of these cycles.