Lucid Dreaming
by Denise Linn

 The value of lucid dreaming is enormous. When individuals begin to have the experience  of lucid dreaming, the truth of who they really are and their personal reality expands.

 Have you ever been dreaming and then suddenly become conscious that you were, in fact, dreaming? In lucid dreaming, the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming during the dream.

 You have probably experienced some degree of lucidity.

 Perhaps you have been involved in a frightening dream only to find yourself thinking, 'Hey, I'm OK, this is only a dream!' When the dreamer realizes that some segment of the dream is only a dream, it is called 'prelucid dreaming.' A fully lucid dream is one
 which the dreamer definately recognizes that he is dreaming. These dreams tend to seem more real and more vivid than normal waking reality. Also, the sense of sound, sight, taste and smell seems intensified.

 Though lucid dreaming has received much attention from the metaphysical community in recent years. It is not a new idea by any means. In Eastern cultures, lucid dreaming has always been an esoteric element of the spiritual practices of Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

 The Tibetan Buddhists have expanded the practice of lucid dreaming, into an art form. Tibetan Buddhists believe that dreaming is a way to connect more deeply with one's soul. They feel that each time we dream, we are experiencing the condition of our soul essence.   If we die while dreaming, the dream will only continue. The ancient text, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, gives instructions on how to pass through the different dream dimensions that occur after death. These dimensions are called Bardo states.  If you are unable to manouvre your way through the Bardo states, you are forced to reincarnate into another life. However, if you are able to successfully weave through these dream states,  you most surely return to God and total oneness. Obviously, then, lucid dreaming to a  Tibetan Buddhist is of utmost importance.

 It is considered a means to release oneself from what they consider 'a world of suffering.' Tarthang Tulku, a modern-day Tibetan teacher, states, 'Dreams are a reservoir of knowledge and experience, yet they are often overlooked as a vehicle for
 exploring reality.'

 The value of lucid dreaming is enormous. When individuals begin to have the experience of lucid dreaming, the truth of who they really are and their personal reality expands. They begin to feel more expansive as one does when taking in a lovely, deep breath of air, and this feeling begins to affect other aspects in their life. Personal limitaitons begin to dissolve and there is a sense of being more in control of personal destiny. Intuition and imagination during waking hours are noticeably increased.

 One of the goals of lucid dreaming is to transport your waking consciousness into your dreams and your dreaming consciousness back into your waking life without feeling a break. The purpose for this continuity in consciousness is that it allows the dreamer to recognize that the world of the waking self is a self-created dream as well.  If you are working with lucid dreaming, an excellent affirmation to keep in mind is, 'All that I see I can dream. All that I can see, and I am aware of all my dreams.'

 Lucid dreaming can be regarded as a spiritual evolutionary process, a step towards remembering who you are and what your true destiny is. An arabic mystic said, 'A person must control his thoughts in a dream. The training of this alertness ... will produce great benefits for the individual. Everyone should apply himself to the attainment of this ability.'  Cultivate the skill of lucid dreaming much as you would any other ability. Just as the ability to type, swim or paint can be developed and fine-tuned with practice, so can the ability to lucid dream. It takes a certain amount of discipline at first, but it becomes easier, and in time, even effortless.

 LUCID DREAMING TECHNIQUES

 As you are going to sleep, say, 'Tonight I am aware and conscious that I am  dreaming.'  Recall your dreams, and as you remember a dream during the night, while you  are drifting back to sleep, say, 'During my next dream, I remember that I am dreaming.' Sometimes repeating the phrase, 'I am dreaming, ... I am dreaming, ... I am dreaming,' as you fall asleep will contribute to having lucid dreams. Having made a conscious choice to experience lucid dreams, be vigilant and consistent and, over a period of weeks, it will begin to happen for you.

 APPLICATIONS

 Once you are adept in recognizing that you are dreaming while in that state, begin to alter the circumstances of your dream. Deliberately choose some action you can take. Start with something simple. The Mexican mystic, Don Juan, told Carlos
 Castaneda to try to look at his hands while he was dreaming. Other simple dream actions could be picking a flower or opening your arms to the heavens in delight or hugging a tree. Become the hero, or heroine of your dreams. You don't necessarily need to force your visualization, but simply be in your dream with awareness.

 Stanford University psychologist, Stephen LaBerge, a proponent of lucid dreaming, has developed sensors which detect the eye movement that accompany vivid dreams. A pulsing red light is activated to be used as a signal to remind the dreamer
 that he is  actually dreaming.  Though mainstream sleep and dream researchers may be skeptical of this controversial  technique, it demonstrates once again the interest beging generated for a deeper understanding of our dreaming selves.
 

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Lucid Dreaming

 Lucid dreaming is defined as dreaming while knowing that you
 are dreaming. The term was coined by Frederik van Eeden using the
 word "lucid" in the sense of mental clarity. Lucidity usually begins in
 the middle of dreams when the dreamer realizes that the experiences
 that are occurring are not that of the physical reality, but rather the
 creation of a dream.

      While the basic definition of lucid dreaming is merely the ability
 to be aware that one is dreaming, this definition can be broken down
 into two types of lucid dreaming. These two types are "high level
 lucidity" and "low level lucidity." A lucid dreamer that is dreaming
 with a high level of lucidity knows that everything being experienced
 is the creation of the mind. This dreamer is aware that he or she is
 actually in bed and asleep and can suffer no physical damage as a
 result of the dream.

      Dreaming at the lower level of lucidity, the dreamer is not fully
 aware that his or her environment is a sole creation of the mind. This
 would then allow for the dreamer to do activities such as flying, or
 participating in what is most interesting to him or her at the time.
 However, the dreamer may still see physical threats and other dream
 characters as being completely real. While dreaming at this lower
 level, the dreamer is usually unaware that his or her physical body is
 actually asleep and in bed.

      Being able to control a dream and being lucid in a dream do not
 always go hand in hand. You can have great control over a dream
 without the full knowledge that you are dreaming. It is also possible
 for to be completely aware that you are dreaming with very little
 control of the dream it self. However, a higher level lucid dreamer has
 the choice to be the partisipant or creator of the dream.

 Perhaps those who might benefit most from any lucid dreaming
 program would be those who are physically disabled in some manner
 or are bedridden. For anyone who is restricted in their ability to move
 around their environment, is infirm, blind, or has any other sense
 impaired, lucid dreaming can give an extraordinary sense of freedom.
 Within the conscious dream realms sight can be restored, youth
 regained, and the delight of renewed energy allow the waking
 disabled to once again run across the fields, feeling the power of their
 limbs. By offering such transformations, which appear so real and
 which can embrace all the senses, lucid dreaming can heal both the
 spirit and the body.

      Anyone undergoing a biofeedback program, in which, for
 instance, they are visualizing healthy cells replacing cancerous
 growths, can gain immeasurably by lucidly dreaming such a process.
 Just as a meditator can slip into the deepest of states while
 consciously dreaming, in ways which are very difficult while awake,
 so the patient who is trying to visualize healing often finds too many
 outward distractions which prevent entering the visualization deeply
 enough. Lucid dreaming avoids all distractions, for once the direction
 of the dream is established through an inner intention then the
 episode unfolds with an intensity which precludes any diversions.

      One method which could prove of help to anyone physically
 disabled is to choose some activity which you regret you can no
 longer do. This might be anything from running fast under a warm
 sun across the beach into the sea, to making love. Choose something
 which will engage all your senses to the full, and at regular intervals
 during the day close your eyes and visualize whatever scenario you
 wish to enact. If you can find a postcard, a photograph or some object
 like a pebble which brings the whole beach alive in your mind, have it
 by you. Before going to sleep hold the image as clearly as you can
 and intend to consciously dream about it that night. If you give it your
 undivided and single-minded attention it will eventually happen. The
 neural connections need to be strengthened by repetition and
 persistence in order to build a pathway to lucidity.

      Once the dream appears and you have enjoyed the sense of
 physical freedom and a new found health, you might take time to
 consciously examine your waking body to see if there is anything
 which you can do to help it heal in some way.

      One way of doing this is to wait on the beach, feeling
 overflowing with energy which you would like to share. You walk
 towards someone on a bed which looks somewhat odd as it sits by
 the sea. You recognize yourself lying there and feel that you can, by
 running your hands across the body, diagnose the deepest physical
 malady. You gently stroke the part of the body which needs your
 overflowing energy, knowing as you do so that there is healing in the
 touch. Continue until the figure responds, but do not interfere with the
 process by willing the figure to rise or sprout an amputated limb.
 Allow your disabled doppleganger, or physical self, to act on his or
 her own. You might find that the other "you" springs out of bed and
 rushes into the sea, or just stirs a little and smiles at you. Allow
 whatever happens and wait. If you can repeat this procedure through
 regular dreams of this nature you will have acquired the most
 powerful healing method possible, for you will have intended your
 own recovery, which cannot but enter the waking state. Although the
 preparation and persistence might be difficult, the rewards are truly
 overwhelming.

~author unknown

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Lucid Dreaming

 Although learning what lucid dreaming is and the stage of sleep
 where it occurs is very important, it is just the beginning. There are
 several techniques and a few prerequisites which you should
 become very familiar with if you want to have regular lucid dreams.

      The first step you should take towards learning to lucid dream is
 the process of writing down your dreams immediately after
 awakening. To do this you should acquire a note pad. This note pad
 is referred to as a "Dream Journal." The dream journal should be kept
 beside the your bed, with or next to some form of light and writing
 implement.

      Upon wakening from a dream, you should try to lay as still as
 possible while asking the question to your self "what was I just
 dreaming." After completely mulling over the dream in your mind you
 should then proceed to write down the dream in the Dream Journal. If
 you consider this process to be too lengthy, just write down
 significant elements from the dream. When you awaken in the
 morning it is very important to go over these notes and record the
 dreams before doing anything else.

      Dream recall is one of the most important steps in learning to
 lucid dream. With out the memory of what was dreamt during a night's
 sleep, you could have had several lucid dreams without even
 knowing it. As you continue to recall and record your dreams, your
 dream recall should increase. This increase in dream recall should
 allow you to remember three to five dreams a night.

      As your dream journal reaches around ten dreams, you should
 proceed to examine each of the recorded dreams for what is know as
 "dreamsigns." These dreamsigns are the out of place or context
 events or objects in the dreamscape that alerts the dreamer that he or
 she is dreaming. Such dreamsigns are completely obvious to the
 dreamer upon going over the dream in a waking state. However, they
 remain elusive during a non-lucid dream. Dreamsigns can be
 represented by many things like being in the presence of someone
 deceased, being chased by an axe wielding mutant, or having one's
 house covered in cream cheese. Flying is also a great reminder that
 the world which the dreamer is functioning in is actually a dream.

      You should go through your dream journal picking out
 dreamsigns and make a list of them. When the list is complete you
 should categorize the signs into categories of "strange thoughts,
 actions, forms, and context." The category in which contains the
 most dreamsigns, would then be your target dreamsign to look for
 while dreaming. Once you have prepared your mind to look for and
 recongize these dreamsigns, you will have taken the first step
 towards becoming lucid within a dream.

      The next step in learning to lucid dream is to practice a
 technique call "critical state testing." This technique requires you to,
 as the name implies, critically test the present state that your are in.
 Several times throughout the day, when you encounter something
 that could resemble a dreamsign, you should ask the question "Am I
 dreaming or awake." This should be performed five to ten times a day.
 You should then look for things that may be products only found in a
 dream state.

      It has been found that often things in dreams quickly change
 and mutate, such as text or digital clocks. If you can, you should look
 for something to read. While reading the text, look away and read it
 again. If the text has changed, the world that is being represented is
 actually a dream. It also helps to try to read a digital clock. For some
 reason digital clocks will change and mutate into something
 indecipherable. Both are excellent ways in which to test your state.

      The "autosuggestion technique", along with the "MILD"
 technique (Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams), should be used to
 help induce lucid dreaming. The autosuggestion technique is merely
 relaxing before going to sleep along with suggesting that later in the
 night or perhaps in the following nights you will have a lucid dream.

      The MILD technique is to be performed by suggesting that you
 will recall your dreams upon awakening throughout the night. Later in
 the night when you awaken, you should recall your dream in as much
 detail as possible. After total recollection of the dream, you should go
 back to sleep with the intent to recognize that the next things you will
 be involved in are the products of a dream. At the same time, you
 should imagine that you are back in the dream, and imagine
 becoming lucid within the dream. The last two steps should be
 performed until falling a sleep.

      There are other techniques that are incredibly powerful in
 inducing lucid dreams, however they are also some of the hardest to
 master. For example, the "WILD technique" (Wake Induction of Lucid
 Dreams) and many like it, have been used to enter a lucid dream
 directly from a wakened state, for centuries. Those using this
 technique have the intent of "falling asleep consciously." To reach
 this goal you would focus on a visualized object while deeply relaxed.
 Then you should open your mind to the unconscious by allowing
 whatever dream sounds or images to fade into the visualization. As
 the dreamscape begins to form you should then consciously allow
 yourself to be pulled into the dreamscape. This should be done while
 focusing on the original visualized object and state of
 consciousness. When you have successfully carried over your
 waking state of consciousness into the dream, the goal has been
 obtain.

~author unknown