Explore New Worlds: Lucid Dreaming
Have you ever woken up from a bad dream wishing you could have changed the circumstances? Lucid dreaming, or the ability to control your actions while in a dream state, can help you do just that.
What Exactly Is Lucid Dreaming?
Some people claim to be able to “wake up” mentally while physically remaining asleep, so that they can control their own actions while dreaming. These lucid dreamers use a range of “lucid dreaming techniques”—cues and mental techniques to help themselves realize when they’re dreaming, and further “training” to help themselves manipulate dream images and then remember lucid dreams upon waking.
Is Lucid Dreaming Real?
A few scientific studies have worked toward establishing whether or not lucid dreaming is real, but lucid dreaming accounts are largely anecdotal. The jury is still out on whether lucid dreaming is a scientifically valid phenomenon, but those that have experienced it are adamant that lucid dreaming is both real and valuable.
What Can Lucid Dreaming Do?
Accounts of lucid dreaming tend to emphasize the crystal-clear sensory experiences and the ability to explore your subconscious mind by examining the dream terrain around you. Lucid dreaming can work hand-in-hand with dream analysis techniques to help a person work through fears and worries at night so she can be at her best during the day.
Have you ever had a lucid dream? Do you think you could learn how?
Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.