Dreaming I’m Awake

Have you ever been trapped by someone wanting to tell you their dream? While it can be uncomfortable, it can also be very insightful. Maybe you have experienced something similar to what they are describing.

Do you have lucid dreams? Perhaps you have the pleasure of experiencing both worlds of reality and dreaming. Maybe you have control over your bad dreams in order to bring yourself out of them.

What are Lucid Dreams?

A lucid dream is where you are aware you are dreaming. It doesn’t happen to everyone, or some may simply not remember. Some people dream more than others, and some people don’t remember their dreams at all.

The best part of having a lucid dream is that it allows you a bit of control over the situation. Perhaps we somehow manage to wake ourselves slightly in order to get out of a scary situation in our dreams.

Lucid dreaming can also happen while we are waking up. There is a brief moment where we are still in the dream, moving toward the conscious world and aware of both at the same time.

Can We Control our Lucid Dreams?

In many cases, yes. But there are different types of lucid dreams, so trying to control them will take practice and patience. There are a few ways you can try and train your brain to allow you to have more lucid dreams.

Keep a Dream Journal

Keeping track of your dreams makes them more real. Writing them down as best as you can remember them makes your mind more aware of them. You will become more aware of the dreams you have.

You will also start to see patterns. It may be large plants, people standing on different levels, or reoccurring people or situations. Make a note of these repeated images to see if there is any reason why you keep dreaming them.

Make Your Room Dream-Worthy

Keep the room dark and quiet with a tolerable temperature, if possible. Dreams happen during REM sleep, so you need to be able to get a restful night’s sleep in order to have more dreams.

Try meditating before you go to bed, a warm bath, and aromatherapy scents. Our memories are triggered by our sense of smell, so it may help you sleep better and sounder, which can also help with your conscious life, as well. Unplug or remove all your electronic devices.

Try Choosing Your Dreams

As you are falling asleep, focus your mind on a particular item or situation, like you would do while meditating. Perhaps you are worried about something you have to do at work.

Picture yourself in that situation as you are falling asleep, and you may find yourself with more confidence the next morning. You may also see yourself resolving the issue in your dreams, as this is also a form of lucid dreaming.

Give Yourself Reality Checks

People often take note of their surroundings in an effort to make their brain more aware of the space they are in. It starts to train your mind to become aware of whether you are sleeping or awake.

While this may happen in a dream, we don’t do it in our reality. By asking yourself to recognize the fact you are awake will train your mind to do it while you are dreaming.

The MILD Method

MILD stands for Mnemonic Induction to Lucid Dreaming. People who practice this repeat the same phrase every night as they are falling asleep. Try something like “I will know that I am dreaming” or something that will work for you, and keep repeating it until you fall asleep if you can.

Repeating this over and over means you are training your brain to be aware of when you begin dreaming, and it should increase your chances of having a lucid dream.

Is Lucid Dreaming Dangerous?

The easy answer is no. We have all had the dream where we are falling. There is very little risk when you are lucid dreaming. There are a few things that can happen.

• Scary dreams or nightmares
• Panic attacks
• Loss of sleep
• Fatigue
• Scared to go to sleep

Even trying to train yourself to have more lucid dreams can interrupt your regular sleep patterns and cause you to be tired and cranky throughout your day.

There is an issue with sleep paralysis that can cause people to panic during lucid dreams. There are other risks, as well, like dream claustrophobia, which is like the paralysis.

The dreamer finds themselves in a situation they can not control, and they suffer the same types of symptoms. Those include the same things, like the sensation of not being able to breathe, unable to move, and a complete loss of control.

Sleep Paralysis

Our most vivid dreams occur during our REM sleep.

Our bodies naturally go into a state of paralysis to keep us from flailing about and hurting ourselves. However, for those who are in between the REM and awake stage may find themselves in paralysis during a lucid dream.

This occurs mostly when we are in an uncomfortable or seemingly dangerous situation. We try to yell, run, drive a car, or operate some type of device and can not.

Our bodies have not yet released the paralysis that is keeping us still, and our mind is trying very hard to move in the dream.

Because we can tell we are sleeping and awake, it is very disorientating for us, if not downright frightening.

Benefits of Lucid Dreaming

Once you become aware of the methods needed to have lucid dreams, there are many benefits that come along with it.

Develop Your Creativity

While you have a lucid dream, you can try different things that you have always wanted to. Paint, play the piano, ride a horse, run a marathon

Control Your Dreams

You can decide what you will dream about. It allows you to also eliminate any bad dreams you may have been having and find things you like or desire to fill your dreaming mind.

This can be particularly helpful in uncomfortable situations or times when we feel out of control in our dreams. With reality checks, you become very accustomed to doing the small task, and your mind will allow you to do it when you have a lucid dream.

Talk to Your Subconscious

You can tap into your inner subconscious and take all the negative talk away. It’s a great way for self-promotion and improving your sense of self. We all have those voices in our heads that tell us we’re not worthy. In a lucid dream, you can tell your subconscious that you are.

It also offers us a greater insight into what is happening in there. In our waking hours, it’s too noisy and busy to really hear what it is saying. With some practice, we can tap into it and dispel the negative thoughts and doubt that cripple is and keep us from reaching our potential.

Better Sleep

When you can take control over your dreams and your sleeping mind, you can get rid of all the nagging, annoying things that keep you up at night.

Face your demons in your dreams, and then you can realize how small and meaningless they all are.

Removing the things that make us afraid can ensure we get a night of more restful sleep and stop worrying every time we close our eyes. Often, people are afraid to go to sleep in fear of what might pop up.

Dreaming of a Lucid Future

If you have problems sleeping, nightmares, or just don’t sleep well, training yourself yo have lucid dreams can eliminate so much of that.

By facing the problems you have while sleeping, you can take more control over your dreams and your life.

Lucid dreaming may not be for everyone, and if sleeping is a concern for you already, it’s best to avoid training yourself to do so.

It’s not something you can learn to do overnight. It takes years of training and trying to get there.

It will only happen during the REM stage of sleep, but that is also when our bodies take advantage and heal themselves and repair damaged cells.

So, if you need a good night’s sleep, and don’t we all, just enjoy the occurrence if it happens and appreciate it for what it is.

For many people, the sensation of knowing you are awake or aware of the dream in progress can be upsetting; for others, it is a fantastic experience of living in both of your own worlds.

For those who suffer from nightmares and other types of horrible visions at night, becoming more aware of your sleeping state can greatly reduce those types of dreams.

Here are some inspirational quotes about dreaming that may encourage you to learn more about lucid dreaming and how to achieve it. There is plenty of information available about lucid dreams, and many studies have been done exploring this fascinating area.