We tend to operate under the assumption that our dreams are something entirely out of our hands. We think of them as a mysterious happening which we do not fully understand, much less have the ability to control. However, these nightly journeys made by our subconscious are something which we can indeed take control of. Thanks to a technique known as lucid dreaming, dream control is an ability which is well within our reach.
But what is lucid dreaming and how does one do it? What are the benefits of being in the driver?s seat for these nocturnal journeys? Keep reading to find out more about the practice of dream control or lucid dreaming.
Exactly What is Dream Control?
Dream control, or lucid dreaming is when you are completely aware that you are dreaming while you are doing so ? and in control of the events which take place within your dream. Even while your body is sound asleep, your mind knows that you are dreaming and you are in the director?s chair for the proceedings.
Those who suffer from nightmares, especially recurring ones can get relief from these bad dreams by using dream control. Once they have learned this simple but powerful skill, these people can finally get the good night?s rest they so badly need.
Common Techniques For Inducing Lucid Dreaming
One of the most effective ways of inducing lucid dreaming is also one of the newest ? binaural audio. This is a technology which involves listening to two different frequencies at the same time. This listening produces deep relaxation and allows your brainwaves to synchronize, leading to the REM sleep state necessary for lucid dreaming to occur.
Before it was possible to find CD and DVDs of binaural audio, the primary methods used to induce lucid dreaming were self-hypnosis and meditation. While these both work very well, it takes time to develop these abilities far enough to reliably gain dream control.
Besides using these methods for lucid dreaming, there are others that have been discovered through the years by qualified psychologists and scientists. It does not matter which method is used, the basic goal is the same, which is to train your mind as it sleeps to recognize when it is in the middle of dreaming.
You need to begin this mental training, however while you are still awake. The goal is to set a cue which you will be able to perform in your dream which signals to you that you are in fact dreaming and that it is time to start taking the reins of your dream and directing it towards the outcomes you want.
This can be as simple as telling yourself that you will be dreaming and that you will do or say a certain thing in the dream; which will tell you that you are dreaming, setting off a state of lucid dreaming.
This form of dream control training is called MILD (mnemonic induction of lucid dreams) and was developed by the scientist Dr. Stephen LaBerge. This mnemonic technique allows you to start using dream control to decide how your dreams will play out. Once you are lucid dreaming, there are no limits except for your own imagination!
Starting a dream journal can also help prepare you for lucid dreaming. Keep this by your bedside and as soon as you wake from a dream, write down everything you can remember from it. Once you have been doing this for a while, you?ll begin to start lucid dreaming ? remembering is the first step to dream control.
Chase away the bad guys in nightmares, travel to whatever location you desire, go to your imagined hideaways, talk to famous people if you want, and basically be unshackled by worldly concerns. Through controlling your dreams, you can accomplish this, it gives you the ability to be in control of your nightly dream world and all that happens there.
However, there can be too much of the good thing which is lucid dreaming. Dreams can tell us important things, according to psychologists. So while you should unlock your full potential to have lucid dreaming experiences, make sure to give yourself some time off now and then to have natural dreams.