October 13, 2013

I am dreaming

I was listening to a radiolab episode a few days ago when I stumbled upon the words "lucid dreaming". It piqued my curiosity and I looked it up only to find very interesting things about it. So what is "lucid dreaming"? To quote dreamviews.com

A lucid dream is a dream in which you know you are dreaming. Typically this happens when the dreamer experiences something strange, and when they stop to question their reality, they realize they are in a dream. Lucid dreams happen naturally on occasion, although some people may have them naturally more often than others.

Now, why would anyone want to be aware of what dreams he"s having? Well, there are some very interesting advantages:

  • A dream (in which you are aware) is like talking with your subconscious. And I mean literally talk. You can ask it questions, and it will answer back. You can learn something about yourself which you never knew. Maybe find out your passions, fears, etc. Sometimes it"s difficult to "really" know what you "really" like/dislike. This technique will help you find it.
  • Being aware that you are dreaming makes it possible to modify a dream and even control it. This makes A dream an ideal place for visualization and rehearsal. This is very useful due to the following 2 facts
    • Visualization techniques are great tools for "goal achievement" (for example, see here, here, here, here and here)
    • As mentioned here

Because brain activity during the dream state is the same as during a real life event, what you "learn" or "practice" in your lucid dream state is similar to the training and preparation you do in the waking world.  Your neuronal patterns are already being conditioned.

Lets come to the "how" of "lucid dreaming". There is a ton of good material out there to help you if you are interested. But here are some starting points