Dreams. I've been interested in dreams all of my life. I think a lot about dreams and how if we could REALLY and consistently dream lucidly, that it would be the ultimate RPG. I'm sure everyone has had a lucid dream on occasion. You know that you are dreaming, but almost the instant that you realize it--at least in our perception which is really all that counts--you tend to wake up.
Since I've done a lot of research into dreams over the years, I know that we go through cycles of sleep throughout the night. The deepest level is where REM--rapid eye movement--and dreaming is said to take place. We enter that level several times throughout the night. We don't always wake up in the middle of that state even though it often feels like we do.
Some ways to increase lucid dreams are:
1. Keep a dream journal next to your bed. If you have the time, write down every detail of your remembered dream as soon as you wake up. It's good to have a special journal and pen that you only use for the purpose of documenting your dreams.
2. If you can remember, ask yourself every hour or so--Am I dreaming?. This supposedly creates a loop in your head, and at some point you will ask yourself and realize that you are indeed inside a dream.
3. Surround yourself with what you want to dream about. Any little collectibles or pictures that you can keep in your bedroom to remind that you want to dream about 'X'.
4. This one is tricky to do and tricky to explain. Keep your hand up by your side as you are lying down to sleep. When you actually fall asleep your hand should fall, but it shouldn't be enough to disturb you out of sleep...only enough to wake you in the dream.
So how has it worked out for me? I can say after trying these techniques off and one for nearly two decades and I've only had a handful of very memorable lucid dreams, but they are fun when you can have them. There are books on the subject--I know some came out when A Nightmare on Elm St. was popular, and I assume they came out again when Inception was popular--but, they tend to go off in new age/occult directions that I like to reserve strictly for fantasy.
I start travelling toward Manila and onward to China tonight, so we'll see if I can keep the streak going tomorrow with the prompt 'One'.
Since I've done a lot of research into dreams over the years, I know that we go through cycles of sleep throughout the night. The deepest level is where REM--rapid eye movement--and dreaming is said to take place. We enter that level several times throughout the night. We don't always wake up in the middle of that state even though it often feels like we do.
Some ways to increase lucid dreams are:
1. Keep a dream journal next to your bed. If you have the time, write down every detail of your remembered dream as soon as you wake up. It's good to have a special journal and pen that you only use for the purpose of documenting your dreams.
2. If you can remember, ask yourself every hour or so--Am I dreaming?. This supposedly creates a loop in your head, and at some point you will ask yourself and realize that you are indeed inside a dream.
3. Surround yourself with what you want to dream about. Any little collectibles or pictures that you can keep in your bedroom to remind that you want to dream about 'X'.
4. This one is tricky to do and tricky to explain. Keep your hand up by your side as you are lying down to sleep. When you actually fall asleep your hand should fall, but it shouldn't be enough to disturb you out of sleep...only enough to wake you in the dream.
So how has it worked out for me? I can say after trying these techniques off and one for nearly two decades and I've only had a handful of very memorable lucid dreams, but they are fun when you can have them. There are books on the subject--I know some came out when A Nightmare on Elm St. was popular, and I assume they came out again when Inception was popular--but, they tend to go off in new age/occult directions that I like to reserve strictly for fantasy.
I start travelling toward Manila and onward to China tonight, so we'll see if I can keep the streak going tomorrow with the prompt 'One'.
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