What is Lucid Dreaming
A lucid dream is a term coined by Dutch author and psychiatrist Fredrik Van Eeden in 1913. IT refers to dreaming in which the dreamer is aware that he is dreaming. It is a complex phenomenon and it is also a type of dream where the dreamer is able to exert a certain amount of control over the characters in the dream, the environment in which the events are meant to unfold as well as the narrative. The lucid dream is in contrast to the regular dream you might have and was suggested by early studies to be associated with REM sleep. The techniques in Sleep Meditation are quite close to the lucid dreaming process
Lucid dreaming types
Lucid dreaming can be of two types
- Dream initiated lucid dream – this refers to the state when you are in the middle of a normal dream and suddenly realize that you are dreaming
- Wake-initiated lucid dream– this refers to a dream that occurs to you when you are awake or when there is no apparent loss of consciousness.
Benefits of Lucid dreaming
The benefits that you can expect include
- The ability to access your Subconscious– If you are wondering as to why accessing the subconscious is important or How it will be beneficial? Here is the answer. The subconscious is a storehouse of different codes that you must use to understand how your mind works. When you are able to access the subconscious you will be able to decode the reasons for the stress, trauma, and anxiety you experience and just might be able to recode it to make you anxiety free.
- Interpreting your dreams– When you indulge in lucid dreams and experience them in real time you will be able to interpret what the subconscious mind is trying to tell you. you do this even before your conscious mind has an opportunity to confuse or interrupt you.
- Conquering fear– The Lucid dream is proven to be very effective in conquering the fears you experience in waking life. The subconscious will play out these fear dramas and when you are able to intervene at the right moment and manipulate the reaction, it may actually work wonders in waking state.
- Reduces or even nullifies nightmares– When lucid dreaming habit is cultivated there will be no nightmares as you know how to intervene and make necessary reactions.
Sleep Meditation techniques
For lucid dreaming, you also need to cultivate good sleeping habits. To sleep well, The Sleep Meditationtechniques or rather the techniques that you could follow to get better sleep through meditation include
- Guided Imagery– This refers to imagining a calm scene to help blow away the stress you feel at the end of the day. Clouds, ocean, waves, and mountains are the suggested choices and the most common ones as well. However, you even have persons who visualize that they are blowing bubbles. Anything is just fine as long as it is vivid and peaceful.
- Mindful meditation– Mindful meditation is not Sleep Meditation as much as it is a meditation that helps you to focus on the issue in your life and just let go.It allows you to live in the present and stop worrying about the future.
- Counting down-You lie on the bed, gaze upward and then take an abdominal breath and hold it. now relax. Then you imagine yourself walking down a flight of stairs or even a hill. You imagine this as you keep counting down from 20 to 10 each number getting you lower don the step and letting you exhale with each and every step. This technique is believed to induce sleep and treat sleep-related problems.
To cultivate lucid dreaming habit is difficult, but the results you get is well worth the trouble.
