Lucid Dream

You're standing at the edge of an active volcano. The boiling lava almost burns your skin. Around you, there are just rocks illuminated with the red light of fire. Suddenly a tremendous rhino in the size of a bus, emerges to the surface. It's furious and it charges in your direction. His eyes are full of madness, but his horn is… pink! This is the moment when you realise, Hey! Something is out of its place! It's not real... I'm dreaming!

Now you're the master. The rhino just a moment before smashing your body turns into water on your command and splashes into your face. You’re looking at the sharp rocky walls, and by the power of your thought, they turn into white columns covered with wildflowers. You're jumping into the lava, and now it's just orange juice. At the bottom of the volcano, you're emerging to the second world which is upside down. You're in your room and there's a crowd around you. Zeus and Nikola Tesla are arguing about electricity. Your favourite musician plays your favourite song in the living room. Twenty babies are playing golf in your kitchen. After a long conversation with your favourite film character you get into your own motorcycle and then you're flying between the skyscrapers like in an airplane. In the end, you're so excited and tired that you just relax with your love at the top of the Eiffel Tower on Mount Everest.

Does it seem impossible? Well, not in your imagination. In Lucid Dream, you bring it to the next level of dreaming, and it becomes a new reality where you make your own decisions! A Lucid Dream is a powerful tool that reflects pure creativity without any limitations.

What exactly is a "Lucid Dream"?

A Lucid Dream is a kind of dream when you're aware that you're dreaming. And that's the spirit! It’s not magic or some phantasy. You’re aware that you’re dreaming. Your mind creates a whole new functioning world, with all the details, and you can interact with it in real-time. You are the creator and a part of your creation at the same time.

It has an unlimited number of possibilities. It's like a second life which can give you one of the most exciting experiences that you will ever have. Because you're aware, you can control it and later you will remember the dream.

Dream and Reality

Is it important if you're dreaming or not? No. It's good to explain it with the example:

I love mango ice cream. Especially the one which is mixed with white yoghurt. Together they create a delicious composition. Unfortunately, when I write this article I have a normal mango sorbet. I appreciate it with my senses. It has nice orange colours, it's cold and it has a light fragrance. (usually, I don't smell ice creams, for article purposes only). What I like the most, is the taste.

All of these experiences are not in the ice cream. There are in my mind. The ice cream just stimulates my brain which reacts with feelings which provide me pleasure.

Let's say that I am dreaming now. The ice cream doesn’t exist. It's just the projection of my mind. But these feelings are still in my mind. I still see it, it's still cold. In my mouth, I feel this delicious taste of the mango.

It doesn't matter if it’s real or not, until I experience all of these is still the same. And this’s not all. In my mind I can have it for free, I can eat my favourite mango with yoghurt instead of just mango. I can eat any type of food, go wherever I want- I can do anything…

By the way, what if our life is only a big dream?

What can you use it for?

• Creativity

The creative ideas are no longer just in your mind. You're in your own mind so your ideas are around you. You can interact with them, transform them just with your thoughts. There are the most interesting ideas

• Library of all your knowledge

Everything that you have ever experienced, all of that is in your mind. Since you have been born, every adventure, every kiss, every song, all the friends (even those who you lost) and knowledge is stored in your brain. This huge library is open to you when you sleep.

• Applying ideas and designing yourself.

Every time when you're trying to accomplish something, an external life goal or change in yourself (quitting smoking, losing weight, stopping complaining), you're doing it intentionally, but your subconscious mind has a huge impact on it. When you dream you have the direct access to your subconsciousness. It can be in the form of conversation. Design it and you will get motivation and determination to reach your goals.

• Lab

We have already established that it's like the second world. You can research the world, satisfy curiosity as an artist, musician or scientist. Why not trying things that you are afraid to do in the real life. Are you an introvert? - try to chat with people, do you want to learn how to make a good speech? - talk to an imaginary audience, do you do sport? - exercise ( psychological exercises expand your skills, but surprisingly physical exercises too, it's almost as efficient as normal training, many top sportsmen exercise in their imagination to improve their scores in real life)

• Access to the hidden potential of your mind

Do you think that geniuses are so extraordinary because they were born as geniuses? I don't. They are smarter, they create amazing things because they think differently (maybe more intensively), they are more engaged, they just do their best to use potential. In a Lucid Dream, you can have a direct conversation with yourself. You can get to know yourself better and even ask big questions and get answers, not from a mirror, but much wiser subconscious.

• Fun

There's always time to have some fun. Fly to the sky, design your own firework show, play sports, have sex, eat your favourite food. You can even be a part of your favourite film or game. You can ride a roller-coaster with the speed of the jet, or have a car racing or epic fight in ancient Greece. Everything that you have ever desired as a child, and later as a teenager, now you can experience it.

Who can learn it?

Everyone, all of us dream. Not everyone is aware of the fact that we do this every day! In 8 hours of sleep, you've got about 4 states of REM (Rapid Eyes Movement), so hypothetically you can have 4 Lucid Dreams in one night.

How to increase the possibility of Lucid Dreaming?

There are 3 essential things: strong motivation, a memory of your dreams and proper practising the techniques

Before you go to sleep, make a strong resolution to remember your dreams after you wake up. Your engagement and mindset are essential.

Dream diary

write there your dream. It can be in any form: for example paper and pen, or app on your phone. When you have dreams you can look for patterns and symbols. Something that repeats itself in your dreams. That will be an impulse to realise that it can be a dream. When you get this doubt, it's important to make a habit of a reality check.

Reality check

• Look at your arms

Rapidly look and don't at your hands, expect to see changes, and look for them. Your brain won't have time to recreate the details.

• Read text

Read it twice and almost for sure it will be different

• Use electrical and digital devices

They will be unclear or there will be something strange about them

Techniques

Here are a few techniques that will help you to accomplish a Lucid Dream, from the moment when you go sleeping to the final success.

• Technique of surprise

Whenever something strange happens, ask yourself, whether you dream? And do reality check. Do it in everyday life, so that this habit will be automatically used when you dream

• Mindfulness

Stop for a moment and look at the world like a detective at a crime scene. Stay focused and look at all details around you. Is there anything strange? How did you come here? When you look carefully enough in everyday life, in a dream you will notice absurdity.

• LaBarge’s technique

It consists of 4 steps

1. Study the part of your dream very precisely.

2. Use autosuggestion intensively. When you go to sleep, repeat in your mind constantly "Next time, when I dream, I will become conscious".

3. Visualization. Imagine yourself in a dream, with all the details, and imagine how you become aware

4. Go sleeping with your mind designed to become aware.

• Technique "wake up and go back to sleep"

Wake up 2-3 hours earlier for one hour, and go back to sleep for 1-2 hours. Just don't sleep for one hour, you can read a book, meditate or draw something. Go back to bed with strong resolution to have a Lucid Dream

• Anchor your mind

When you go sleeping, try to focus on something that will keep your attention. It could be: counting, repeating a phrase that you want to have a Lucid Dream, or being focused on your body experience. These are just examples

How to stay conscious?

In the beginning, it can be hard, you may wake up. When you realize that you are dreaming you can be so excited that you will wake up. Also, if you are not focused enough, you can very easily lose your consciousness. So keep practising, and when you learn how to keep balance, the Lucid Dream will be open to you.

Let us know in comments about your experience with Lucid Dreams and if you want more articles about this topic.

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