Dreams are powerful, if sometimes mysterious, ways to connect with our sub-conscious or the super-conscious of the universe. There is certainly plenty of research and information to explore about the nature of dreaming, the mechanics of the brain while dreaming, and the interpretation of dreams.
Like any complex task, with effort, and practice, we can learn to master the task and break through the mystery. Mastering the dream world can be done by training your mind to become lucid when you are in the dream state.
What is Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming, also known as oneironautics, is the ability to be consciously aware while in the dream state. One of our most common frustrations is to wake up knowing we have had a strong dream, but be unable to recall the dream. Or, perhaps we have had a nightmare that we could not stop until we forced ourselves awake.
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If you teach yourself to dream lucidly, then you will be able to become conscious while in your dream state, fully aware that you are having a dream. As you can imagine, such a skill would be most helpful to pull yourself out of bad dreams before they become nightmares or allow you to remember a dream more clearly upon waking.
Training Yourself to Dream Lucidly
Tapping into the psychic reading skill of lucid dreaming requires consistent meditation just before falling asleep. One technique involves lying on your back, steadying your breathing, and focusing your mind. You can focus your mind by attempting a task with your imagination.
Imagine that you want to touch and feel the ceiling of your room, but you will do so while you are still lying in bed. It may help to get a step ladder or stand on your bed and actually touch the ceiling before you begin this exercise, so your mind and body have a point of reference.
While lying still, imagine lifting your hand “out of” your hand. You need to think of your spiritual self as an energy construct simply “riding” the body; and with effort, you can step out of your body and project yourself beyond the constraints of your physical form using another psychic skill, astral projection.
Try not to get frustrated if you fall asleep before you feel yourself disengage from your body in some way. You may have to repeat the task for days or weeks before you make a breakthrough. You will not just “jump” out of your body. A good first step is imagine pulling your hand out of your hand just enough to run your fingertips over the top your hand.
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The first time you can feel a part of your body outside your body will surprise you and the feeling may drop off immediately and be hard to recover in the same mediation process. Do not worry, each night you want to keep repeating the meditation effort and focus on the same goal, to touch the ceiling without moving out of the bed.
Keep in mind that it could take some time to get to this point in your meditation. And with each successful night getting your hand out of your hand, you will want to move to raising your arm out of your arm until you can move your entire torso to sit up outside your body. Eventually you will be able to pull yourself out of your body entirely.
Once you are able to get fully out of your body and stand up and touch the ceiling, you will have completed the meditative task and should be able to access your conscious awareness the next time you are in the dream state.
The Benefits of Lucid Dreaming
After you become aware you are dreaming while dreaming, you will find many benefits in lucid dreaming. Foremost among them is the ability to stop a bad dream from progressing into a nightmare. You will be able to bring yourself into awareness and move in and out of the action of the dream, simultaneously being in the dream and observing the dream.
You will not stop your dream state from progressing, and you will not always dream lucidly, but you will have access to the skill when you need it. You will also discover that you can wake yourself up on command from within the dream state.
Another side benefit can be choosing a specific time in the morning to wake and be able to wake up at that time exactly. If you cannot gain control of a dream, or you want to break the dream cycle, you will find you can force yourself awake rather easily thanks to lucid dreaming.
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Besides avoiding or transforming bad dreams, you will find you can enjoy performing amazing feats in the dream state, like flying or swimming and breathing underwater. You can also commune with spirit in conscious and more direct ways.
Lucid dreaming is a fascinating skill, and one you can learn. It does take quite a bit of meditation in the beginning to train the mind during the in-between stage of wakefulness and sleep. Fortunately, there are plenty of books available to offer guidance on techniques for developing lucid dreaming, which can be found online or in a bookstore. Here are some titles to explore.
