Control your Dreams with Lucid Dreaming

As mentioned above, lucid dreaming means that you are able to consciously direct and control your dreams. Normally, when you dream, the brain is asleep and your awareness shuts down. So, you are just a passive observer to your dreams with no control over them. When you wake up, sometimes, you may have some memory of what you were dreaming but often you won't even remember your dreams. 

Lucid dreams are different. You are dreaming and your brain wakes up. So, now you are dreaming. You are aware that you are dreaming. You can change things around just like you would in reality. It is like living in an alternate reality. 

Keep in mind that lucid dreaming is not an out-of-body experience or a paranormal phenomenon. A lucid dream is believed to begin in two ways. It may begin as a normal dream and end as one. It may begin from a normal waking state and end in a dream state. In the latter, the dreamer remains conscious all the while and it may occur when you enter REM sleep directly from waking state and your self-awareness remains intact.

Researchers have proven the existence of lucidity in dreams. In the 1970s, a parapsychologist Keith Hearne studied lucidity in a volunteer by the name of Alan Worsley.  

Hearne and the volunteer agreed upon a set of predetermined eye movements to signal the onset of lucidity. Worsley would simply move his eye in one direction or the other in the dream state causing his eyeballs to actually move in reality. These eye movements were recorded using a polysomnograph machine. Basically, Worsley was communicating with the waking world from the dream world.  

However, this study was not distributed widely and it was only in 1983 that another researcher, Stephen LaBerge, went on to conduct his own experiment in lucidity to prove its existence at StanfordUniversity. He even founded the Lucidity Institute and is one of the leading researchers in this field to this day.  

A study conducted at the Neurological Laboratory in Frankfurt in 2009 found that lucidity is characterized by increased brain activity with frequencies recorded in the 40 Hz or Gamma range. Frequencies recorded during a normal dream state range from 4-8 Hz or Beta range whereas those recorded in the normal waking state are in the Beta range (12-38 Hz).  

What does this mean? This basically means that brain activity is higher during a lucid dream than it is even during the normal waking state.  

Basically, research has proven that if you want, you can decide on a few actions during normal waking state and perform them when you are experiencing lucidity during the dream state. In short, you can control your dreams. Just state your intention in the waking state before going off to sleep and you can enjoy the benefits of lucidity. 

People who frequently experience episodes of sleep paralysis or nightmares can benefit a lot from lucidity. Just being aware that that they are dreaming can end these terrifying episodes which are often believed to be a result of demonic possession. In fact, psychologists have actually been exploring the benefits of lucid dreaming for problems such as depression and self-mutilation. 

Now, these are only therapeutic benefits for people who are suffering from sleep-related or psychological disorders. That doesn't mean that if you don't have any such problems, lucidity is of no use to you. 

If you could just imagine what you could do if you could control your dreams, the results can be endless. Conscious dreaming allows you to create your own virtual world and you can do anything without worrying about its effects on the real life. 

So, if you are not sure how to propose to that girl, you may want to practice some lucid dreaming and experience the real magic before doing it in reality. And if you think something cannot come true in real life, you can always practice your fantasy in the dream world. 

Lucid dreaming can provide you with the answers you are looking to a problem. If you have a problem that you are just not able to solve in your waking life, ask a question and let your dream world provide you with the answer. It allows you to free yourself of your logical conscious mind and access the insights from your subconscious mind. So, basically you can expect improved problem solving with lucidity. 

Having control of your dreams through lucid dreaming can help improve your creativity and your confidence. You can just practice performing in a situation while dreaming before actually facing it in reality. 

It can allow you to face your fears. So, if you are afraid of heights, you may want to stand at the top storey of a high-rise and look down without any fear. You can even practice new skills before using them in reality without the fear of failure. 

So, do you think you can control your dreams with lucid dreaming? Of course, you can. All you need is to learn a few techniques that can help you do anything during the dream state and at the same time access your subconscious for some amazing results. So, have fun and experience all your fantasies in the dream world. It's as good as reality. In fact, it is much better than the real thing.