Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to have a dream: for some it is a solution to problems, for others they just want to look at their loved one, and for others they can’t wait to look into their subconscious. In any case, scientists have proven that one way or another, we all see dreams, but we rarely remember them. This means that all you need to do is not to forget what you dreamed about after waking up. Now let’s figure out how to do this.
How is lucid dreaming used?
In fact, a person knows much more than he thinks. After all, the subconscious of each of us has enormous resources. Our dreams are the work of the subconscious, and if a person learns to communicate with it, then new opportunities will open up for him.
By working in this direction and improving, you may even be able to become a pioneer. There are many stories when people came up with something in their dreams or found a way out of a difficult situation. The main thing here is to at least remember the dream.
Lucid dreaming as inspiration
When lucid dreaming, you can see a suitable theme for a painting, find inspiration for new works and subjects for poets, inventors will be able to model a new model or get a hint for their creations. Scientists have found that for the brain it does not matter where a physical action occurs with a person - in a dream or in reality.
When processing information, the brain can form new neural connections. It turns out that the theory of a planned action can be worked out in a dream, but practical skills will still have to be acquired in reality. The sleeper is able, for example, to juggle perfectly, and the pins themselves can fly, since the laws of gravity are somewhat different there. But muscle memory cannot be fooled.
Projecting reality
Lucid dreams and out-of-body travel can be combined, because in this state it is easy to get to the most remote corners of the planet and even the galaxy. The human consciousness will simulate any environment - from the roof of a skyscraper, London parks and moonlit walks.
The main thing is not to forget that if you find yourself on the ocean shore, everything you see will only be a projection of the subconscious, which will be based on general knowledge about this area. Information long forgotten by a person will be automatically reproduced by the brain.
High-speed flights or trips will be great entertainment. To get adrenaline from racing in a dream, to find yourself inside a spaceship, to feel the excitement of what is happening, and most importantly - to develop actions according to your scenario, to realize that you are the main character - all this will cause real euphoria.
One of the main beneficial properties of lucid dreams can be safely called the fight against nightmares. Those people who are very bothered by night terrors are recommended to develop the ability to lucidate dreams. After all, at the most terrible moment, you just have to realize that you are dreaming - and all your nightmares will turn into comics. It will be possible to defeat all the monsters, villains and other enemies without much stress.
Training
Physical training in lucid dreams gives equivalent results to real training. The impulses sent by the brain during lucid dreams allow you to train muscle strength, as well as mechanical memory: for example, driving a car or juggling balls.
Ventilation
It is much easier and better to fall asleep in a ventilated room. If it is winter time, then it is better to ventilate the bedroom half an hour before bedtime. Well, if it’s summer and it’s warm outside, then you can leave the window open at night. Here one circumstance needs to be taken into account, namely, if a person lives in an industrial area or next to a car park, etc. It is clear that you should not expect fresh air from the street. There will only be noise until 12 at night and the flow of exhaust and polluted air. Then the open window can be replaced by an air purifier.
How to learn to lucid dream?
Learning to lucid dream is fairly easy, although it does take some time. Learning this skill took me about a month of not very hard training.
The most important thing for lucid dreaming is to hold the intention to learn lucid dreams for several weeks. In other words, think about lucid dreams as much as possible. To do this, you can intentionally create an environment or rituals that will bring you back to the idea of lucid dreams. For example, read books about operating systems every day.
The second thing you should pay close attention to is remembering and recording your dreams. I propose to solve the problem: if a person dreams 5% of lucid dreams, and he can remember 0% of his dreams, then how many lucid dreams can he remember? Answer: 0. Therefore, it is extremely important to develop the skill of remembering dreams. To do this, just put a notepad and pen next to your bed and every night write down all the dreams that you can remember.
The third and final thing to consider is to develop critical thinking to periodically ask yourself whether this is a dream or reality. Problem: if a person asked himself in reality 0 times during the course of a month whether he was sleeping or not, then what is the probability that he will ask himself this question during sleep? Almost zero. In fact, there are special exercises for this (for example, in the book “The World of Lucid Dreaming”).
So, to learn to lucid dream, you need to:
- • Think a lot about lucid dreams;
- • Write down your dreams;
- • Do reality testing exercises.
How to induce the dream you want to see
If a person wants to achieve an effect in which sleep will seem to be on order, one should not be overly tired before this. That is, you cannot lie down and immediately fall asleep; there must be time to formulate an idea. You need to lie down comfortably, relax and concentrate all your attention on the planned plot.
When you wake up, you should also not make sudden movements, urgently get out of bed and run somewhere to do your business. Relax, lie down for a while and try to remember all the details that you dreamed about. There are several techniques to help you figure out how to see the dream you want to see.
Factors contributing to lucid dreams
Some general tips for increasing your likelihood of experiencing a phase state:
Morning
There are two main stages of sleep. During the “deep sleep” phase, a person sleeps deeply and does not dream, the “clock frequency” of the brain is very low, 1-4 Hz. (If a person is woken up at this time, he will be inadequate for some time and will not immediately realize where he is). During the REM sleep phase, the frequency of the brain increases and a person dreams. Externally, this phase is easy to determine by the movement of the eyes of a sleeping person.
During the night, a person enters the REM sleep phase more than five times (which means he dreams more than 5 dreams), and as the morning approaches, the REM sleep phases become longer. Lucid dreams most often appear closer to the morning, provided that the person has already had enough sleep.
Caffeine
Caffeine typically prolongs deep sleep and shortens REM sleep, which means it reduces the likelihood of lucid dreams. For me this is true, however, I have also met opposite reviews. Therefore, I will focus on the statement: caffeine can influence the likelihood of lucid dreams in one direction or another.
“Focus 10”
The Monroe Institute patented HemiSync technology, based on binaural beats, and recorded a special music track called “Focus 10”. Focus 10 allows you to use sounds to adjust your brain to a frequency that corresponds to lucid dreams (the body is asleep, the brain is awake).
This significantly increases the likelihood of experiencing a lucid dream, especially for those who have never experienced them before. Optimal use of “Focus-10”: go to bed early, get up early, stay up for about an hour, lie down again, put on headphones, fall asleep and listen. Let me remind you that HemiSync only works with headphones.
False awakening
Most lucid dreams can be caught during what is called a “false awakening.” A false awakening is a dream in which a person wakes up and gets out of bed.
Therefore, if you do a dream/reality check while waking up, you can find yourself in a lucid dream. For me, this is especially true when using binaural beats: if I take off my headphones with hemisink, then the probability that this is a dream is 50%.
You can't eat at night
The most optimal thing is a light dinner three to four hours before bedtime. The stomach must have time to digest all the food before resting at night. Otherwise, it will work at night, although not at full capacity. The body will not rest completely. And the remains of undigested food can cause gastrointestinal diseases. It is not recommended to drink invigorating drinks before bed, or eat chocolate (it also invigorates). Otherwise, sleep disturbance or even insomnia is guaranteed.
Bedding must be properly selected. This is: a mattress that is neither hard nor soft. The ideal option is a medium-hard mattress. You will also need a comfortable, small pillow so that your neck can rest during the night. Bed linen should be pleasant to the body, and pajamas should not hinder night movements.
Ways to control sleep
The ability to control a lucid dream requires a lot of training and practice. Sleep control is achieved in different ways:
- • with the help of special exercises that increase the likelihood of becoming aware of oneself in a dream and allow you to continue sleep after this awareness,
- • by training attention to the degree of perception of the moment of falling asleep: consciousness is preserved during the transition to sleep,
- • using psychoactive substances,
- • self-hypnosis or audio recordings for hypnosis, listened to before falling asleep. The practitioner is asked to come up with a symbol that, when it appears in a dream, will become a signal of immersion in a lucid dream.
- • at the moment of transition to a lucid dream from a state of wakefulness, a person’s sense of reality may change: sounds, body, time, space, etc. The body, for example, in a dream seems to be just as solid, but if you press with your finger, it easily goes inside, like plasticine.
Practitioners claim that the entire dream world is made of such matter that it allows one to pass through walls in a dream and produce other amazing things.
The likelihood of becoming aware of yourself in a dream increases the thoughts about whether you are dreaming or not. It is also useful to keep a diary describing your dreams - this develops memory for dreams.
Time to sleep
Time spent sleeping is also important. There is no consensus yet on how much sleep a person needs. But if we take the arithmetic average, then 7 hours is enough. Desirable time to fall asleep is 22 hours. There is a whole science of what time, what dreams prevail. Based on it, the optimal time for falling asleep and waking up is calculated.
It is much more difficult for the working population to maintain a daily routine for a good night's rest. Since there are shift schedules. It is in such cases that interruptions in sleep occur. But here too you can find a way out. Which one then? What needs to be done to have a dream? You can simply follow the additional rules written above. There is also one exercise that works for falling asleep quickly - lie on your back, close your eyes and roll them back for at least a minute, but no more than three minutes. This method works because this is what the body looks like during deep sleep. Therefore, the brain simply perceives that the body is sleeping. Then you quickly fall asleep.
How to recognize a lucid dream?
A person who wants to become aware of a dream asks the main question: “How to determine that this is a dream?” The answer is not simple, but it is possible.
There are methods to help with this:
attempts to pierce your palm with a finger or fly up often work, because in a dream the properties of space and objects can be partially influenced by the intention of the sleeper.
According to some practitioners, they feel a certain elasticity when trying to pierce their palm or a hard object with their finger, sometimes it takes them several attempts.
A counter question also arises: “How can you understand that this is not a dream, but reality?”
American psychophysiologist Stephen Laberge offers many simple techniques to help determine that you are dreaming:
- • If you can breathe by closing your mouth and pinching your nose with your fingers,
- • The setting of a place in a dream differs from a similar place in reality,
- • Read some inscription twice, you are sleeping, if the inscription changes,
- • Look at a regular watch with a dial,
- • Look at any source of information, it will change,
- • Try to scroll through the previous minute, if that doesn’t work, then you’re asleep,
- • Using a switch, try to turn the light on or off: the switch may not work at all in your sleep or create the effect that when the light is on it is still dark,
- • Look at your own hands for a long time - they change their appearance in a dream,
- • If you are unsure whether this is reality or a dream, then you are in a dream - in reality you will not ask yourself this question, and only in a dream are you puzzled by it.
- • Large spaces in the unconscious dream are overcome instantly, if you notice this, then you are in a dream. For example, getting into a car for a long trip, the details of the monotony of the road will be missing.
- • In a dream, showing willpower and patience, you can do amazing things: change night to day and vice versa.
- • Cause-and-effect relationships may not work in a dream: the switch may not fulfill its task, and the inscriptions may change every time you pay attention to them, you get lost in space and time, you cannot understand where you are and why you are in this place .
All these actions do not guarantee that the sleeper understands that he is in a dream: you can take off, see a change in familiar surroundings, find yourself in an unknown city, pierce your palm with your finger, but still not believe that this is a dream. A person has a certain firm conviction that he is in reality; it is not easy to realize oneself in a dream.
What to do to have a dream?
If the problem with falling asleep is psychological in nature, then the person is very emotional and before going to bed processes all the information for the day (this includes incidents at work, data from the news, and so on). This can also happen to a student. Since he does the main preparation for his studies in the evening. Problems with falling asleep can also occur in people whose work involves a lot of mental stress. Insomnia is a common occurrence in such people. And so that there are no problems with how to make you have a dream, you need to add a few additional rules:
- Relaxing music before bed, watching a calm video about nature is a must.
- Evening walks in any weather are useful. Walking, not jogging. Walking calmly is helpful. If there is a forest park area nearby, you can walk there.
- It would be nice to have a relaxing massage in the evenings. You can also learn relaxing poses. Allow your body to completely relax and relieve tension. For example, this activity: simultaneously tense all your muscles for 4-5 seconds, and then completely relax. To be more convincing, you can do this on your hand, tense it, and then relax it. Relaxation will be 100%. The same thing happens with the body.
- Taking baths with relaxing herbs.
- Fill the bedroom with pleasant aromas (mint, rose, lavender, cedar, basil oils). Or replace it with a grass pad.
- Drink soothing teas or warm milk with a little honey before bed.
- No unnecessary information before bed, for example, stop watching the evening news.
Tips for beginning practitioners
- • Lucid dreaming is a skill that needs to be learned, and even those people who have lucid dreams regularly only have them 1-2 times a month. Be patient and continue to practice the above techniques and you will gradually increase your chances and frequency of lucid dreaming.
- • If you periodically experience “false awakenings” during sleep, get into the habit of doing a reality check (for example, trying to read a book) immediately after waking up. Otherwise, a false awakening can turn a lucid dream into a completely ordinary one.
- • When experiencing a lucid dream, consider intentionally waking up a few minutes later. This will increase the chances of remembering the dream.
- • Don't drink anything within an hour before bed. Waking up to need to go to the toilet is the last thing you want when successfully experiencing a lucid dream.
- • If your sleep is not going as you would like, “close your eyes” while you sleep, and then forcefully open them. Repeat until you wake up.
- • If you think you are losing control of your sleep, shout out very loudly what you want to happen next, and do this until you regain control of your sleep or until what you wanted happens.
From reality to dreams: preparation
To see a certain dream, you need to start preparing in advance.
First of all, the emotional mood is important - a few hours before you are going to go to bed, you should not be nervous, overload yourself physically or emotionally, eat heavy food and drink tonic drinks.
If you feel overly tense or stressed, take a bath and do a calm activity, such as reading.
Further actions should be performed according to a specific algorithm:
- Decide what exactly you want to see. It is not at all necessary to imagine the entire plot of the dream; it is enough to formulate the main desire or imagine the image of the person who should be present in your dream.
- If you want to see a solution to a problem in a dream, then you should think about it and imagine ways to solve it.
- When going to bed, the TV, computer and other equipment should be turned off - nothing should distract you.
- In bed, you should take a comfortable position, relax, close your eyes and think about what you have in mind.
Meanings of colors used
A dream catcher is not a simple amulet and must be made consciously. Before you get ready to do it, you first need to decide on the color. It is not recommended to make a very bright amulet. Otherwise, you will have colorful dreams that will not allow the sleeping person to get enough sleep. Each color symbolizes something:
- Black means calm, tranquility, mystery. It is a feminine color that symbolizes feminine strength and power. If this color is present in the amulet, then the strength of the spirit will be strengthened.
- White – symbolizes purity, purification, tranquility, healing, success. This color can clear away negativity and charge you with vigor and energy.
- The red color in the amulet will provide positive energy and give power.
- Pink color is a symbol of beauty, feminine harmony, tenderness, kindness, incredible love. Be sure to use this color in an amulet - it will awaken the lost love of life.
- A bright shade of yellow means freedom and admiration. It is aimed at physical and mental healing, strengthens the body's immune systems.
- Orange symbolizes a feeling of joy, rhythm, movement.
- Green shades in the amulet will bring harmony, determination, life, and faith. Color fills a person with positive energy.
- Blue color is considered a symbol of peace, lightness, tranquility, and creativity. The blue elements in the amulet will fill a person with good thoughts and help cleanse the mind.
- Blue represents truth, wisdom and peace, harmony.
- Violet instills mutual understanding, humility, and fuels energy
When choosing a color for an amulet, follow your mind and desires.
Manufacturing
Although it is easy to buy a dream catcher in esoteric stores, it is still better to make an amulet with your own hands. In this case, this object acquires magical powers, tunes in to its owner and acquires a special connection with him.
Typically, a flexible willow twig, twisted in the form of a hoop, is used as a frame. Although, if desired, you can use a metal or any other rim.
Feathers, which differ according to gender, play an important role in the amulet. For male catchers, eagle feathers are used, and for female catchers, a polar owl feather is used. Feathers can only be taken from living birds, because it is almost impossible to erase information about death.
Naturally, it is very difficult to get such feathers in our region. Therefore, they are usually replaced with goose and rooster ones, but this significantly reduces the effectiveness of the amulet.
Your mood and thoughts during the process of making an amulet are also very important. If you are in trouble, angry and irritable, it is better to postpone this activity. After all, a dream catcher is able to capture and absorb all negative emotions and images.
While working, draw only positive and bright pictures in your imagination. Think positive, listen to pleasant music, sing or recite mantras. The more positive energy the amulet absorbs, the greater its strength and effectiveness will be.
Stages of making an amulet
To make a dream catcher yourself, you must proceed in the following sequence:
- Tear off a thin willow twig for the frame. If desired, you can use another durable and flexible material: steel hoop, wire. In addition, you need to stock up on strong threads, beads and feathers.
- Make a ring from a willow twig. In more complex versions, the amulet is made in the form of several circles, which are intertwined with each other.
- Start braiding the frame with thread. This must be done strictly clockwise, without leaving any knots or breaking the thread. After braiding the hoop, secure the end of the thread.
- Now we proceed to the most difficult and important part - weaving the web. You need to weave it so that the thread is never interrupted. Turn the thread gradually, turn by turn. It is best if the total number of turns is odd.
- As you weave the web, you need to string beads onto the thread. The largest and brightest bead is placed in the center of the amulet.
- During weaving, you need to tighten the thread more tightly, otherwise it will sag in the future.
- The cells in the network must be identical. And in the center of the web you should leave a hole - an entrance for good dreams.
- To thread the center bead, use a thick needle. After this, secure the web and begin decorating the amulet with feathers and other attributes as desired.
When making an amulet, you can show your imagination. For example, use several frames intertwined with each other in a chain or in the form of a ball.
How to make a dream catcher
The willow twig needs to be wrapped with thread, ribbon, but so that the tip remains at least 15 cm. The other end of the thread is tied on the willow twig, thereby forming a circle. From this moment the weaving of the web begins. To make this easier, you need to figuratively divide the circle into parts, the distance between which is 4 cm.
Next, you need to tie a half-knot with thread and wrap it around the base, threading it through a loop. Thus, we complete the entire first row to the end.
The next rows are made using the same method, but the thread is tied not to the base, but to the thread of the first and subsequent rows. If you need to weave beads or stones, then thread the beads periodically.
Do it at your discretion, there are no clear rules. When the web is woven to the middle, secure it with glue.
The Catcher's middle can be open or closed. Both options will drive away bad dreams.
REALITY OVERFLOW
Maria, 35 years old, producer Maria believes that her life is filled to capacity with work and many other external events. It seems to her that she lives too superficially and, without seeing dreams, does not have the opportunity to disconnect from reality and look inside herself.
After my request to observe whether she really wasn’t dreaming, Maria realized that dreams are an exact continuation of the events of the day. That is, the density and dynamics of real life events are so intense that they even cover the unconscious part of the psyche. I invite Mary to look at the content of the dream not as an exact copy of reality, but as something resembling reality. For example, characters, events, and rhythm may be similar. Perhaps the unconscious part of the psyche simply uses in dreams images that are introduced into it from consciousness. But all dream images can be interpreted symbolically. This means that any situation seen in a dream can have significantly more meaning for a person.
For example, when Maria sees herself firing an employee, this may refer to her past experience of getting rid of something unnecessary in herself. Or an event in which all participants are present may symbolize Mary’s unconscious need to “get together,” to unite the disparate parts of her soul. And a dispute at work may turn out to be, for example, a conflict between the active and passive principles of her personality.
If your dreams completely repeat reality: keep in mind that the content of the dream is only similar to reality, try to interpret the events and images of the dream symbolically, putting forward hypotheses regarding their possible meanings for your past, future and regarding your inner mental life.
Types of amulet
Depending on the meaning of the dream catcher, there are two types of this amulet.
- Among the American Indians. It is used to scare away dark entities that perish in the intricate patterns of the amulet at the first rays of the sun. Light spirits descend along the feathers to a person and bring him pleasant dreams.
- From Siberian shamans. It is a magical attribute of shamanic practices and has sacred meaning. The network of the amulet catches any spirits that are not divided into positive and negative. During night sleep, they descend along the main thread and bring various images to the shaman, often very harsh and far from pleasant. Sometimes in a dream a shaman fights with otherworldly entities. Such an amulet can only be used by specialists in shamanic practices. It is dangerous for ordinary people to use.
