Dreams

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Dreams can say allot. They reveal things about our lives that were sometimes to scared to admit or to oblivious to understand. The subconscious allows freedom. The freedom to dream about being a 500 ft tall robot or finding the answers to our most heartbreaking problems. I don't know about you guys but dreams can show you things the ordinary conscious couldnt even imagine. Personally I would even go to say dreams are just as important as everyday life, because its the time you digest the life you've been nibbling on all these years. And just like life, sometimes your invincible ,sometimes your scared out of your mind , and sometimes your even in love .

So I ask you guys what do you dream? Or maybe even what dreams do you plan on making reality?





Below is some info from another thread on another forum, take a look at it here and there. You may find some answers you've been looking for...

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Table of Contents

What is Sleep?
How does Sleep work?

* Stages of Sleep
* Requirements of Sleep
o Recommended Hours of Sleep by Age
o Recommended Time for People to Sleep
o The Issue of Sleep Debt
o The Necessities of Sleep
* What are the Body Functions that occur during Sleep?
* Sleeping Disorder Listings
o Parasomnias

What is a Dream?

* What causes a Dream to occur?
* Dream Phenomena
* Do dreams have any meaning or purpose to them?
* Sleep FAQ

Lucid Dreaming - Sleep Paralysis

* What is sleep paralysis? What causes it?
o Sleep paralysis as REM atonia
o Sleep paralysis as hypnagogic hallucinations
* Why would I want to induce sleep paralysis?
* What can I expect in sleep paralysis?
* How can I get out of it?
* Hypnagogia

Lucid Dreaming - The Fun Stuff

* What is Lucid Dreaming?
* Why do I want to Lucid Dream?
* Required before Lucid Dreaming
o Reality Checks
o Dream Recall
* Lucid Dreaming Methods
o MILD
o WILD
o Increasing Lucidity Chances
* Lucid Dreaming General/Advanced Tips






What is Sleep?

There are several definitions by many sources to properly define what exactly is sleep:

Wikipedia.org posted:
Sleep is a natural state of bodily rest observed throughout the animal kingdom. It is common to all mammals and birds, and is also seen in many reptiles, amphibians and fish. In humans, other mammals, and a substantial majority of other animals which have been studied — such as fish, birds, ants, and fruit-flies — regular sleep is essential for survival. However, its purposes are only partly clear and are the subject of intense research.
Dictionary.reference.com posted:
[To sleep is] to take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, of consciousness; cease being awake.
Britannica.com posted:
[Sleep is] a normal, easily reversible, recurrent, and spontaneous state of decreased and less-efficient responsiveness to external stimulation. The state contrasts with that of wakefulness, in which there is an enhanced potential for sensitivity and an efficient responsiveness to external stimuli. The sleep-wakefulness alternation is the most striking manifestation in higher vertebrates of the more general phenomenon of periodicity in the activity or responsivity of living tissue. There is no single, perfectly reliable criterion of sleep. Sleep is defined by the convergence of observations satisfying several different motor, sensory, and physiological criteria. Occasionally, one or more of these criteria may be absent during sleep or present during wakefulness, but even in such cases there usually is little difficulty in achieving agreement among observers in the discrimination between the two behavioral states.
While most people aren't scientists or researchers, they know what sleep basically is. However, much is unknown about the nature of sleep; How does the subconscious work? What exactly does the brain do during sleep? Can humans use the mysterious processes of sleep to their benefit? Quite frankly, we don't know. Hopefully, time will tell.

How does Sleep work?

As of right now, we can only tell what goes on during sleep by observations; scientifically examining individuals during sleep. However, after all of the observations, much is still unknown as to how sleep works. For now, we only know the brain uses a unique brain-wave pattern that slowly transgresses into 'awakeness' over the course of time during sleep. This pattern can become malformed if someone has a sleeping disorder, or if a person does not maintain a normal sleeping routine. Sleep is known to be important to your metabolism, immune system, and plays a part in healing wounds. More will be explained later.

Stages of Sleep

There are two essential components that are present when someone is asleep. These are both known as REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement). The brain's activity alternates between these two components during sleep; switching between REM and NREM repeatedly until you wake up. In REM, the body's muscles are paralyzed and the brain is about as active as it is during daytime (or rather 'awake' time). Sleep Paralysis usually occurs when one wakes up during the onset of REM, or when the body is just exiting REM. NREM varies from REM, in that the body's muscles are not paralyzed, and eye movement is minimal or null. It's been suggested that NREM is responsible for repairing and preparing the body for the next day (But this is only a hypothesis).

The vast majority of dreams occur during REM, which in itself occurs several times in a night. This explains why a person may recall more than one dream at a time. This may also explain strange 'changes' in a dream where one minute you're dreaming you're on top of a building, and the next moment you're in a battlefield (No evidence is present to support this theory however). It has been noted that when you wake up during a period of REM, you are much more likely to remember your dreams than usual. Some have used this to their advantage in attempting to increase dream memory and even to get a lucid dream.

NREM has little to no dreams. This component of sleep comes in four stages; N1, N2, N3, and N4 (Stage N4 has been declared to be a sub-category of N3, but I'll go over N4). Stage 1 is where the body begins to exit REM and enter NREM. Stage 2 is where an individual is completely unconscious (most of the time anyway) and is a period where the brain engages in high amounts of electro-activity. Stage 3 is a transition stage to enter stage 4 (though, most state stage 3 is the last stage, and stage 4 is a later component in stage 3). Stage 4 is where slow-wave sleep occurs. In this stage, long-slow moving brain waves are dominant. Despite the slow moving nature of SWS, the amount of energy put into it is high (Higher than when you are awake, but no one knows what specifically this does or means). Parasomniacs will begin to show symptoms when they enter SWS.

To sum it up, sleep basically goes from N1, N2, N3(-N4), N2, REM, N2, N3(-N4), and so forth until you wake up. (if you want to be technical, at hour 6 of sleep, the body begins to pass stage 3).



As you can see, REM sleep occurs roughly every 90 minutes, with a dream occurring within each REM cycle. If you sleep for six hours, you'll dream about 3 times. As you get older, however, your cycle becomes more fragmented and it drops down to somewhere between 180 to 270 minutes. This, combined with lower amounts of sleep, means that the elderly only dream once or twice a night. (This scares me, as a lucid dreamer. )

Requirements of Sleep

Everybody is different, some are good as baseball, some good at studying, and then there's the lucky ones good at both. Sleep is no different. Some people need more sleep than others, and some will take naps to compensate for lost time. However, studies have been made in an attempt to find out the general optimal amount of sleep required for healthy living. Keep in mind the graph below is only a recommendation. Studies have shown that adults who sleep 6 to 7 hours a day live longer than those who sleep 8 hours a day. It is unknown why, but it's possible the brain exhausts itself if it sleeps too much (Which is possibly caused by the strength of brain waves in SWS; it's possible that over sleeping causes SWS to 'over-shock' the brain, causing damage to it, however, this is only speculation).

Recommended Hours of Sleep by Age

[Age]....................:=:..[Recommended # of hours to sleep]
______________________________________
|[1 - 15 Days].........:=:..[16 Hours].................|
|[3 - 5 Months]........:=:..[14 Hours].................|
|[6 - 23 Months]......:=:..[13 Hours].................|
|[2 - 3 Years]..........:=:..[12 Hours].................|
|[3 - 5 Years]..........:=:..[11 - 12 Hours]...........|
|[5 - 9 Years]..........:=:..[10 - 11 Hours]...........|
|[10 - 13 Years]......:=:..[10 Hours]..................|
|[14 - 18 Years]......:=:..[9 Hours]....................|
|[19 - 30 Years]......:=:..[8 Hours]....................|
|[33 - 45 Years]......:=:..[7 Hours]....................|
|[50+ Years]...........:=:..[6 Hours]...................|
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Note: This Data is from 1966, and that is is only a recommended average for the general public, so your recommended hours may vary.

Recommended Time for People to Sleep

Humans have a set of biological functions and psychological triggers to help prepare the body for sleep. The 'biological clock' is frequently referenced when someone incurs sleep debt or jet lag. This is a phrase used to describe the body's natural cycle during the course of a normal day where the body can tell the time by undergoing a routine or procedure everyday and essentially 'memorizing' the time to go to sleep. The brain, unsurprisingly, helps not only keep track of this, but can make adjustments to a change in a person's schedule as long as a person slowly adjusts to the new change. There really isn't a set time to go to bed, however, the one requirement is that sleep belongs in night time. Humans, for centuries, have basically imbued into the brain that night equals sleep. Disobeying this essential requirement usually bears strange effects on the body's metabolism, hormones, and other bodily effects. Unless of course the person underwent a special training regiment involving meditation, polyphasic sleeping, etc.

The Issue of Sleep Debt

This is one of the unknown aspects of sleeping that scientists have a hard time debating over. Essentially, when you miss some sleep or skip a night of sleep, your body keeps a note of this, and makes an attempt to make-up for the lack of sleep. This is documented in certain studies where individuals who missed sleep had a stronger, deeper SWS than usual. This might indicate that the brain is doing more work on the body to repair and help restore it to normal. It is unknown how much debt the body can hold, but it is certain the more sleep debt an individual carries, the more damage and pressure the individual puts on him/herself.

Sometimes, taking a nap for a set period of time (anywhere between ten minutes to an hour) can help deal with sleep debt. Naps usually enter a period of REM (and sometimes lightly enter a period of NREM) and can help make up an hour or two lost in sleep.

The Necessities for Healthy Sleep

This is the 'obvious' section of the guide. For a good sleep, you need a bed. However, not all beds will provide good comfort. It's possible for individuals to sleep on couches or sofas, and even the floor! However, they might not provide the necessary level of comfort; and may in fact cause you to undergo strange side-effects while sleeping. An example would be me sleeping on a sofa. Whenever I slept on a sofa, I would not get a full night's sleep. But I also noticed I was more susceptible to getting sleep paralysis. This happened almost every time I did not sleep on my bed. But then I would stop getting SP when I slept on my bed. Just an example...

Pillows might sometimes be required for individuals to get sleep. Usually, pillows are more of a posture-related issue during sleep; but the neck and head areas are important. Sleeping with a pillow is more of a learned behavior, so it's not a requirement at all. Basically, it's only necessary if you feel it is.

Sleeping on your side helps with several issues. It usually reduces sinus problems, lowers the risk of SP, and sometimes helps those with sleep apnea. It's also NOT a requirement, but something to make a note of when you're sleeping.

You must try to maintain a normal, circadian sleep schedule! Sleep belongs to the night time. It's common sense, but some people don't have a choice since they have to work night shifts. If you have a night shift, you may want to include a nap into your daily schedule (coupled with a 6 hour sleeping regiment). This isn't written in stone. However, it's very important to keep sleep in the night time.

What are the Body Functions that occur during Sleep?

Sleep has many effects on the body, known and unknown. What is known so far is that healthy sleep helps increase a person's metabolism, and that during a healthy sleep, the body releases high levels of growth hormones. Sleep deprivation will alter the amount of growth hormone produced, and it will affect metabolism. It has been noted REM sleep tends to focus on brain development, and that NREM sleep focuses on developing and recovering the body (with much work done on the nervous system, immune system, and muscular system). Sleep deprivation over a long period does severe damage to not only the body, but the brain as well. As a matter of fact, during WWII nazi soldiers had conducted experiments on their victims to determine how long a human can survive without sleep. The average time determined in those experiments was 264 hours (11 days).

However, they have been a couple of those who stayed awake longer than that, and have suffered little or no symptoms. Maureen Weston currently holds the record of intentionally not falling asleep for 449 hours. There were a few other individuals who have stayed awake for years, but this was un-intentional, and may be a result of an unknown disorder. However, the body has a built-in mechanism on the occasions where an individual tries to remain awake. Micro-sleep is a variation of sleep that lasts anywhere between a fraction of a second, to several. This can only be noted by an individual when the person notices several seconds have passed unnoticed; otherwise it's missed by the individual.

Sleep deprivation can have detrimental effects on a person's health if they intentionally extend their waking time. Hallucination, behavioral problems, and short memory are usually noted after 3 days without sleep. Sleep deprivation is one of several interrogation uses used in several countries.

List of Sleep Disorders, Sleep Problems, and their Definitions

The following is just a list of disorders that revolve around sleep. This is NOT meant for individuals to diagnose themselves; only a doctor can do that. A disorder isn't permanent, but a symptom of a problem affecting an individual. This list is for educational purposes only.

Parasomnias

Parasomnias are sleeping disorders that occur while an individual is asleep. These disorders are divided into two categories: NREM and REM disorders. NREM Disorders occur during deep-sleep, and are much more dangerous and disturbing than REM disorders.

NREM Disorders

Somnabulism: This is more commonly known as sleep walking. Despite popular belief, sleepwalkers usually do not dream; they simply act out normal routines, and may look awake, but are asleep. Episodes of somnabulism usually last anywhere between a few seconds and over 30 minutes. Their face may make a blank expression, and may talk incoherently. Stress, fatigue, and a heavy addiction to alcohol may trigger sleep walking. Sleep walking isn't the only activity a person may do when they're asleep. They may drive cars, eat, bathe, whistle, dress themselves, urinate, and/or have sex. The only way to prevent sleep walking is to properly restrain the individual, or seek medical help.

Pavor Nocturnus: Otherwise known as Night Terror. The sufferer may jolt from bed and scream or gasp for an arbitrary amount of time. The subjects usually have no recall, or can barely describe what happened. Aside from other disorders, night terrors may be caused by stress and fatigue. From a metaphysical point of view, night terrors can be caused by a weak state of mind (via stress or fatigue) undergoing the long, slow waves of SWS, since low frequencies tend to trigger a person to experience negative emotions like fear, hate, and loneliness. In turn, these negative emotions can perpetuate stress or fatigue; becoming a vicious cycle. This may be the case for other parasomnias as well, where a weak mind tends to skip necessary steps in maintaining the body during REM and/or NREM sleep, but this is just more speculation.

Auditory Sleep Starts: More commonly referred to as exploding head syndrome. Again, usually caused by stress or fatigue. The victim may hear a loud noise (an explosion, waves, or ringing) that may emanate from within the head. The causes are unknown, but this syndrome is not thought to be harmful or detrimental to personal health.




What is a Dream?

Many definitions to choose from:

Wikipedia.org posted:
Dreams are the images, thoughts and feelings experienced while sleeping, particularly strongly associated with rapid eye movement sleep. The contents and biological purposes of dreams are not fully understood, though they have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout recorded history. The scientific study of dreams is known as oneirology.
Dictionary.reference.com posted:
[A] succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.
Britannica.com posted:
[A] hallucinatory experience that occurs during sleep.
A person's subconscious and their imagination play integral roles in determining how dreams work, and what images are used. All in all, dreams are a unique aspect of humanity that are difficult to grasp an understanding of, but are essential to not only being human, but to learning more about yourself; to help get your bearings on this crazy existence called life (Not intended in a bad way mind you).

What causes a Dream to occur?

Nobody knows. However, it's theorized by some scientists (and the common people) that dreams help the brain make sense of all the information it collected; converting artificial problems into natural ones (via awkward symbols and other representations). There are many other theories, but this one is the most hailed and most logical. It's also theorized the brain uses dreams not only to make sense of information, but to help build and maintain it's connections in memory for optimal performance.

Dream Phenomena

There are some events that seem prevalent among the population that need to be covered:

Dream within a dream: As the name implies, you'll have a dream in the middle of a dream. Sometimes this can go overboard and a person may have a dream in a dream in a dream IN a dream. The cause may be biological in nature and not harmful to your health. Also, this doesn't hold any meaningful interpretations as far as I have seen.

False Awakenings: Essentially, you wake up...in a dream. Sometimes the dreamer will not notice anything is wrong, and their surroundings seems normal. However, sometimes a relative or friend may come to the dreamer with a problem that seems unworldly ("The toaster won't fit in the tiger."), or the character will act out of character ("Hey son! Here's a thousand dollars!"). It's possible the figure is the person's subconscious trying to maintain the dream's stability (make sure the person isn't lucid, but it's speculation). It's possible that if you're in a false awakening, and use a reality check (later), you can become lucid.

Lucid Dreams: In this dream, you become aware you are dreaming (Your conscious is awake while you're asleep). With much practice and meditation, people can attain the ability to become lucid, but it takes practice. Reality checks are key to helping one become lucid. By recognizing a flaw in a dream with logic, the conscious 'turns on' and starts working.

Falling: Sometimes, an individual will suddenly fall in a dream, and wake up flailing like a fish; similar to hypnic jerks. There's nothing wrong when this happens. This is simply "the conscious feeling a bit disoriented turning itself off."

Sometimes, dreams have common themes around them, and may repeat. Repeating dream are important because they convey a message that's so important, it has to be stated several times. Remember, dreams depend on context, so even though there's many signs, they don't necessarily point to one issue; dream context and theme is much more important than the symbols, and emotions are more accurate than the signs in the dream.

Naked Dreams: This kind of dream usually indicates some kind of vulnerability you are feeling. While that necessarily isn't the case, it's the usual, common interpretation to this kind of dream: where you are naked and everyone laughs at you, or you feel ashamed. This could also mean you aren't afraid to hide yourself, and have a strong affiliation to truth. This is all barring any sexual undertones going on of course.

Losing your teeth Dreams: This usually indicates the same thing as naked dreams, except this kind of dream deals more with appearance and status. It could also mean you're afraid of losing your teeth because you don't brush them.

Test Dreams: It could be the obvious, and mean you're worried about a test. It could also refer to a situation you're in, and how you feel under pressure; it can be loosely translated.

Remember: Dream theme and context are the most important aspects of dreams, not the signs themselves (though they do help a little).

Do dreams have any meaning or purpose to them?

Yes and no. It depends on the dream. If you're conscious didn't have (or take) the time necessary to properly order the information for the day, you can get some very nonsensical dream, even moreso than usual. However, therapists and psychiatrists have definitely made use of dreams in their sessions, especially since the subconscious usually tells the truth (aside from hiding past traumas). Most people tend to give dreams far too little credit, they tell you more about your life than your conscious could ever conclude. This is why dream journals are definitely recommended. Dreams are an integral role in helping your development and self-improvement in your lifetime.




Sleep FAQ

Q: "If I stayed up one night, and go to sleep longer than usual the next night, is that unhealthy?"

A: No. It's unhealthy to have stayed up the previous night. The latter night of oversleeping was used to 'pay' your sleep debt, so it isn't unhealthy for you. However, if you constantly oversleep, it may be unhealthy.

Q: "I think I have X disorder! What do I do?"

A: You go to a doctor. However, it's generally suggested you get at least one doctor's check up once a year. Some people are afraid of having something found, but it's actually a good thing something is found, it gives you a chance to fix whatever problem you have before it becomes complicated.

Q: "One time, I went to sleep and my arm moved by itself. Was it a ghost?"

A: There's a 99.9999% chance it was not a ghost. This is called a hypnic jerk, and it's normal. However, if it happens almost all the time, you might want to get checked out.

Q: "I can't get lucid! What do I do?"

A: Practice, over and over again. It's easier for some, and harder for others. But the key is that you practice relaity checks during the day, and have a very strong will before bed and think before bed "I will become lucid!"

Q: "I am taking medication and want to know if I should keep taking it."

A: Consult your doctor or physician.

Q: "I don't dream."

A: Yes you do, you just don't remember it.

Q: "WTF! How?"

A: Keeping a dream journal helps, and keep thinking that you will dream before bed, it works if you have a strong will power and practice.

Q: "My girlfriend..."

A: Yes, it's normal for people to have dreams about their girlfriends, or ex-girlfriends. This is a part of a process in your body to comprehend the events in your life. It's normal and natural.

Q: "I have crazy dreams. Am I crazy?"

A: Most likely no. Most of the time dreams seem to not make sense. Also, just because they are incredibly vivid or detailed doesn't mean you're crazy, it means you have a lot of information your subconscious sorts through (which may be the case because you pay careful attention to details). There's nothing wrong with that.




Lucid Dreaming - Sleep Paralysis

What is sleep paralysis?

There are two different kinds of sleep paralysis. One occurs naturally, and one occurs as a byproduct of lucid dreaming, and you should know what you're getting into.

Sleep paralysis as REM atonia

When you fall asleep you first go into non-REM sleep stages. In these sleep stages the tone (tension) of your skeletal muscles is reduced, that is, you become physically relaxed. You can still move, even though movements may be sluggish. For example, you can turn around in your sleep.

When you enter the REM stage, the skeletal muscles (except for the eye muscles and the diaphragm) become paralyzed. Since there is practically no muscle tone at all, this is called REM atonia. When you exit the REM stage, the muscles go back to the reduced muscle tone of non-REM sleep.

There are two ways that REM atonia could go wrong: it could be activated outside of REM sleep, or it could fail to be activated during REM sleep. The former is the kind of sleep paralysis that affects lucid dreamers, and the latter is signs of a severe mental defect that you should go to a doctor for, because it makes people act out their dreams physically (which, obviously, is bad.)

Sleep paralysis as Hypnagogic Hallucinations

Hypnagogic states occur in the transition from wakefulness to sleep. This is the stage in which hypnic jerks occur. I'll explain that more later.

In hypnagogic states people may experience hallucinations. Hallucinations, including hypnagogic ones, are experienced as if you had actually perceived them through your senses, and they may involve any and all of your senses. The most common ones are:

* Visual HH, also known as hypnagogic imagery (HI), are typically faces, landscapes, geometric shapes.
* Auditory HH are typically roaring sounds, explosions, people shouting.
* Kinesthetic, vestibular, tactile HH are typically vibrations, the feeling of being electrocuted (minus the pain), and a sense of extreme acceleration.


Why would I want to induce sleep paralysis?

The main reason a lucid dreamer would want to induce SP is because one of the methods used to achieve lucidity requires sleep paralysis. (More on that later.) However, generally sleep paralysis isn't a desired effect, more of an unfortunate, inescapable outcome of an awesome event.

What can I expect from sleep paralysis?

It's not enjoyable in the slightest. Because the main SP you'll be exposed to occurs after you wake up, it's almost all going to be hypnagogic hallucinations, and they're shit-your-pants scary. You're completely paralyzed and your brain is still in dream mode, which leads to some very fucked up experiences.

How can I get out of it?

Very appropriate question. There aren't very many ways to get out of it, unfortunately. The best way to escape it is to focus all your brainpower on wiggling your toes. No, that is not a Kill Bill reference. Once you can wiggle a toe, you should be out of it.

Otherwise, it only lasts ten minutes. Just hang in there and remember nothing you're seeing is real.

Hypnagogia

Just a brief mention here, since it's not really too relevant. Hypnagogia is the transition period between waking and sleeping, and everyone experiences it. If you've ever been falling asleep and your leg suddenly jerked, waking you up, you experienced what's referred to as a 'hypnic jerk'. It's caused by irregular sleep schedules, so if it's happening a lot, fix your sleep pattern.




Lucid Dreaming - The Fun Stuff

Oh boy. This is probably why most of you are here.

What is lucid dreaming?

A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper is aware that he or she is dreaming. When the dreamer is lucid, he or she can actively participate in and often manipulate the imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can seem extremely real and vivid depending on a person's level of self-awareness during the lucid dream.~ld4all.com

Basically, it's dreaming while you're aware you're in a dream, which lets you do whatever you want. Literally.

Why do I want to Lucid Dream?

See above. You can do anything you want. There are literally no boundaries. Fly to Mars. Have sex with Phillip Seymour Hoffman with an enormous rack. Grow a unicorn horn and invade Poland with your army of penguins with faces like Morgan Freeman. Whatever your fucked up mind can imagine, you can do.

Required before Lucid Dreaming

Reality Checks

Before you can Lucid Dream, there are a couple things you need to be good and consistent at before you attempt achieving lucidity. The first is something called a 'reality check', and this will come in handy for achieving lucidity within a dream.

Basically, it involves getting into the habit of doing a certain activity that makes you reinforce that you are, in fact, not dreaming. Popular ones involve flipping every lightswitch you see (lightswitches in dreams do not do anything), pushing your tongue against your teeth (in dreams, your teeth won't stop your tongue), or simply asking yourself "Am I dreaming?" and forming a logical answer as to why you are not. (In dreams, obviously, this will not work.) Get into the habit of doing this repeatedly, and eventually you'll do it inside your dream. When it can't be reinforced, you will gain lucidity.

Dream Recall

There's no point having a lucid dream if you can't remember having it, now is there? Dream Recall is incredibly important because it allows you to remember your dreams.

There are two things required to develop dream recall:

* A pencil and notebook
* Patience


Before you go to sleep, tell yourself "I will remember my dreams." When you wake up, lie in bed without moving and try to remember everything you dreamt about. Then, when you're sure, write it down. It doesn't necessarily have to be full sentences, no one will read it but you. Phrases, pictures, whatever will jog your memory. The idea is to get adequate recall so when you ARE lucid, you'll remember your shenanigans in the morning.

Lucid Dreaming Methods

There are several methods to induce a lucid dream, but these are the two most popular, for good reason.

MILD

The first method is called MILD, or 'Mnemonic Induced Lucid Dreaming'. This technique combines focus of your intention with the power of reality checks to induce lucid dreams.

How to MILD, Step 1

MILD only really requires one thing in order to work correctly: a mnemonic, or mantra.

A mantra is any word, phrase, or sentence that you repeat to yourself to help you focus on and meet your goal. There are many good mantras for MILD. You should choose one that you think will work for you. You can always create your own or change one of these suggestions. Some ideas for MILD mantras include:

* I will notice my dream signs and I will realize I am dreaming.
* Then next time I dream I will realize I am dreaming
* I will notice dream signs and do RCs in my dream.
* I will recognize the next dream sign I see.


How to MILD, Step 2

* Relax. Use whatever relaxation technique you have found works for you. Do it for 5-10 minutes, or longer if you need it.
* Once you are relaxed repeat the mantra you have chosen for your intention over and over to yourself in your head. Keep your mind focused on your goal while you do this. You should repeat this mantra as long as you can, but you don't want it to keep you awake. Try to make your last thought before falling asleep be about lucid dreaming.
* If you wake up during the night lay still and try to remember any dreams you have had. Write down some notes about them immediately. If you haven't had a lucid dream yet you may repeat the MILD technique if you wish.
* If you sleep through the night try to remember any dreams you had before you get out of bed. Hopefully you had a MILD during the night and will remember it now.


That's really all there is to it. MILDs are good because they require no preperation, and they're much easier than WILDs. They do rely heavily on reality checks, however, and if you forget to do them, you'll most likely miss your chance.

WILD

WILD stands for 'Wake Initiated Lucid Dream' because you lapse into a dream directly from consciousness. In other words, you stay awake while your body goes to sleep, and you transition directly to dream control.

The trick is to recognize the hypnagogic state and stay conscious while it develops in dream images. You will then be able to literally step into your own dream world.

The hypnagogic state occurs on the border between waking and sleeping. It can be anything from colored dots to flashes of color or complete images. As you keep paying attention to it they will develop into more detailed images and if you stay aware you will find yourself inside your dream.

WILD in 3 easy steps
The below steps are interwoven. I separated them to make the process clearer.

Step 1: Relax
The hypnagogic stage occurs when you are relaxed. So first you do a relaxation exercise.

Feel yourself breathing in and out. Breathe in and tense the muscles of your feet. Breathe out and relax the muscles of your feet. Breathe in and tense the muscles in your lower legs. Breathe out and relax them again. Go on until you have come to your head.

Step 2: Stay Conscious
The next step is staying conscious, and not drifting off. The best way to do that is to imagine yourself walking down stairs, counting each stair. Also, it helps to not focus on any specific hypnagogic imagery you see.


Step 3: Entering your dream
If you succeed in staying aware your hypnagogic images will become clearer. You will suddenly have a feeling you can now step into your dream. It's hard to describe the feeling, but you'll know it when you feel it. Once you have this feeling, you can grab an object you see before you or zoom in on an image. This will pull you into the dream. Other people have reported feelings like a black room with a door, and within the door is your "dreamscape" - the location of your dream. It ultimately depends on how you prefer to visualize it.

Keep Practicing
The hardest thing is to stay aware and not drifting off to sleep. If you don't succeed, keep trying. WILD can take some time to master but it is worth it.

Experienced WILDers can reach this state without the counting - they just relax, keep paying attention to the hypnagogic images and then consciously enter the dreaming state. (I can do this. )

Increasing Chances of Lucidity

This only consists of one tip, until I can remember others. But one way to greatly increase your chances of attaining lucidity is this tasty creation.



Peanut butter banana toast. Taste the deliciousness.

(For those of you that are wondering, the Vitamin B12 in the Toast greatly increase metabolic [and therefore brain] activity, the vitamin B6 is famous for improving Dream Recall [go figure], and the peanut butter is there because it is delicious and ties the food together.)

Eat one or two slices a night, and it'll greatly improve your chances.




Lucid Dreaming General/Advanced Tips

You want to talk to someone/something: Put yourself in a fairly empty setting. I suggest your neighborhood, or a park or field or something. Maybe a parking lot. Just make sure there's no one else there. (Just don't visualize them. If they won't go away, focus on them not being there, close your eyes, and spin 360 degrees and open your eyes. They're gone.) Now, to talk to said person. Visualize them behind you, close/open your eyes, and turn around. Voila.

While you can generally do anything in dreams, your brain can't handle making people disappear. You can, however, make a shitload of people appear/disappear. More on that later.

If you're ready, you can summon your subconscious. You can have long talks with yourself, but it's usually very scary and will probably wake you up. DO NOT ASK IT WHAT YOUR BIGGEST FEAR IS. You won't sleep for days, I shit you not.

So you want to fly, eh? Don't try this early on, it's a bad idea. First, make sure you're dreaming. (You should always do this, goes with the reality check idea.) Practice jumping really high, and get your brain to realize there are no laws of physics. Then, just start flying. Your brain won't let you at first, but if you work at it, you will.

Fuck physics, it's my brain. If you've run out of fun things to do, here's a list of my dreaming shenanigans.

* Full-scale reenactment of World War II, except all the soldiers look like Obama and the generals all look like Mister Feeney. With me leading the charge dressed in samurai armor riding a flaming unicorn.
* Put myself on a runway in an airport. Ran so fast I outran the Earth's curve and ran to Mars. Populated Mars.
* Inserted myself into x-amount of TV shows.


Be careful dreaming about sex. If you're not disciplined, you'll get excited and wake yourself up. It's very hard to do it, I don't recommend it.

Also, you will probably fail a LOT attempting this. On average, it takes about three to four weeks to achieve lucidity.

{Acknowledgements, etc.}

Idea came from the Lucid Dreaming thread, as well as having seen a lot of sleep/dream boards pop up recently. I, being fairly well versed in this stuff, figured it would be smarter to make a big thread where I can answer questions and just generally inform people of this stuff, because it's really cool and people deserve to see it.

Also, a lot of material was paraphrased from DreamViews, which is an excellent Lucid Dreaming website. On the forums they even pair you up with a mentor, and it's completely free. I was absolutely not paid to say this.

I used to have a sleep disorder when I was younger - night terrors.

Anyway, since this topic's about dreaming (I wonder how Val actually beat me to it... I was actually thinking of making a topic about dreams right before I logged on today), I'm going to add a few stuff about the lucid dreams part.

I dream lucid dreams whenever I'm not stressed out. It's perfectly doable, and yes, it's fun. You feel a lot more energetic often, when you wake up from one. I do.

I'm going to share an alternative technique, one that I've been using in the past year: Autohypnosis.

We are accustomed to the idea that "hypnosis is mind control," from the shows that we have seen on the trimedia. This is not so, mind you. Hypnosis is actually the art (possibly, science) of suggestion or subliminal messaging. Think of it as a form of temporary reprogramming of the subconscious, if that is how you see it.

Autohypnosis is the act of hypnotizing yourself, mostly to attain a bigger goal: Like to stop or curb smoking, to be more assertive, to be more focused on a particular task, etc. It's like reprogramming your own mind.

Now, most people will find it hard to actually "hypnotize" themselves, since most people are often defocused on things (daily stressors and more pressing priorities) and often have mental barriers and personal prejudices against such an idea.


Here's a simple how-to on how to hypnotize yourself, to help you overcome your basic personal frustrations (a perfect example would be PROCRASTINATION) or to attain something as simple as lucid dreaming:

Note: This is the original site that contains the statement in the quote: Autohypnosis and how to do it It's pretty helpful, really.

Quote :

How to Do it


If it is not possible to take a course from a reputable professional, you can begin using the following self-programming process.

1. 
   Fashion your suggestion. It must be
   
   
   
   • 
     positive, with no negative words.
     
   • 
     short, between 6 and 15 words.
     
   • 
     meaningful, this is what you really want to happen.
     
   • 
     possible, something you can achieve. Avoid absolutes and time limits.
     
   • 
     focused, tackle one suggestion at a time, not a laundry list of wishes. You might double up on suggestions if they are complementary. For example "Every day I am healthier and happier," combines health and happiness. And they are clearly related to each other - if you are healthier, you are going to be happier and the other way around.
     

Write it down on a piece of paper

• 
  in clear, legible handwriting.
  
• 
  Write it as if you were writing to your best friend or your love.
  
• 
  Concentrate and write slowly thinking about the meaning of the words as you write each of them.
  

Find a place where you can relax and be by yourself to do the programming. You might put on some of your favorite (non-vocal) music in the background. You should begin by doing the programming three times a day;

• 
  When you wake up in the morning - as soon as possible after awakening.
  
• 
  In the middle of the day, best just after lunch if you can find a time and place where you will be left alone and quiet.
  
• 
  Just before going to sleep at night
  

Read the Message to yourself

• If you can say it out loud, all the better. Listen to yourself, and to your words. Think clearly about their meaning.
  

Sit or lie comfortably, Find something to look at, something to focus on.

Take three deep breaths.
Letting yourself relax all over. Feel all the stress and tension leaving your body with each exhalation. Breath in calm, breath out tension.

Close your eyes and hold the last breath for at least 10 seconds then slowly let it all out, letting all the tension in all of your muscles flow outward with that last exhalation.

Now you are very relaxed, and breathing evenly and smoothly, and you begin to count backwards from 5 to 1. As you count you feel yourself relaxing deeper and deeper with each and every breath you take, with every number you count.

When you reach the count of 1, feel yourself drop quickly and deeply into a very comfortable and relaxed state of mind.

Now begin to say, in your mind, not out loud, the words you wish to program into your subconscious.

• Repeat this phrase 20 times.
  
• To help you keep count, each time you say the phrase, move the tip of a finger to the tip of your thumb. Start with the index finger of the right hand. Move it to the tip of the thumb of the right hand and say the phrase. Then tough the tip of the middle finger to the tip of the thumb and say the phrase again. Then the ring finger, then the little finger and open the right hand on the fifth count. Repeat this with the left hand then start all over again to complete the twenty repetitions.
  

• Don't hurry. Go slow. Go deep. After you have mastered the process, it becomes fairly automatic and you don't have to pay too much attention to either the hand movements or the words themselves. This might take a few days.
  

As you improve, begin to focus on relaxing deeper and deeper, drifting away, just letting yourself completely relax. You can hear your own words in your mind and soon you will find you can think other things at the same time you are saying the words you have memorized and repeated so many time.

When you reach this level (don't hasten this process, just take your time, you might do this for a week or two before you feel comfortable with the next stage), when you find yourself able to think of other things, begin to parallel the suggestion with the following thoughts:

• "Each and every word you hear me say takes you deeper and deeper into a very beneficial state of relaxation."
  
• "You can hear my words giving you suggestions, these suggestions will make your life better and happier."
  
• "Each and every time I do this exercise the effect is stronger and more beneficial. The suggestion is helping improve my life more and more as I move deeper and deeper during the exercises."
  

Stay with the same phrase for a lunar cycle, starting the week before the full moon and ending on the week after the full moon. Then forget about it for one week. On the dark of the new moon, begin again and continue for another week.

It takes time to perfect. You can't do this stuff flawlessly in one night. Once I started getting the hang of it, I started to record my own voice reading my own hypnotic script and I listen to it as I start to meditate.

You know you're doing it right when you feel all relaxed and really drowsy, but not asleep. - That's the alpha state, the start of trance. That's just the beginning.

See, clinically, there are four states of mind: Alpha, beta, theta, and delta.


The beta state serves as our normal state of consciousness. During this time, we are wide-awake and aware of all that is going on around us. This is the state of the mind that we deal with on a day-in and day-out basis; it is what propels us throughout the day. The beta state of mind also allows individuals to evaluate and react to the things around them. Through this state of mind, we cultivate all of the positive and negative balances in life that show through a session of hypnosis. When we deal with the conscious mind, there are several barriers that exist, which calls for the use of hypnosis.

The theta state of mind is discussed when a deeper level of hypnosis is achieved. When it comes to theta brain waves, it possesses a frequency that is connected to drowsiness and hyperventilation. In regards to hypnosis, one may encounter trances, deep day dreams, lucid dreaming, as well as a light sleep through theta brain activity. It is also known to present a preconscious state that exists just before you wake from sleep and presents itself again just before you fall asleep. With the theta state of mind, this level of consciousness is needed to achieve deep sleep and rather deep levels of hypnosis or meditation. Some of the extraordinary accomplishments you hear ordinary people achieving have been associated with the theta state of consciousness. When people walk on coals, eat fire, or control other aspects of their body and bodily functions, it is thought that theta consciousness is behind these kinds of activity. This is why various mystics speak upon the slowing of brain wave patterns as correlating with the alteration of body vibration, which is associated with the belief that the impossible can be accomplished during this time.

Through the delta state of mind, deep levels of sleep are achieved that can be used to repair tissue, as well as aid in recovery. During the stages three and four of sleep, this level is prevalent. Delta consciousness is the level of the mind that is most often seen in comatose states. Through the work of Oliver Sacks, the perception of this level of consciousness has changed over time. He proved that even through this state of mind, you may appear completely unconscious, but you still possess some level of awareness. He is the one who had a movie based upon him ("Awakenings"), as his work showed that he could temporarily awaken most of his patients through the use of extremely heavy doses of dopamine. Even more amazing, some of his patients were able to recall various aspects of their treatment.



To cap all of this stuff off, personally, it's very, very relaxing; I suggest you guys try it. It helps you get lucid dreams too, in a sense. It's a great mood stabilizer too. Takes all of that anger out pretty smoothly.

@>@ to much to read

Too much and to confusing all in two posts.....

indeed.

Mr. Gorbachav, TEAR DOWN THIS TEXT WALL!!

You missed out Autosaver's favourite type of dream, wet dreams.

LOL TMI.

Ai actually had a lucid dream a while back, and attempted to fly, but instead I fell. I assume my mind couldn't accept a world without rules.

You can summarize this entire thread in three words, actually: GO TO SLEEP

Captain Kiwi wrote:

You missed out Autosaver's favourite type of dream, wet dreams.

You're so annoying. >_>

Autosaver wrote:

Captain Kiwi wrote:

You missed out Autosaver's favourite type of dream, wet dreams.

You're so annoying. >_>

Lmao!!

Jesus <3 me too

Hmm I'll look into the hypnosis stuff df thanks!
Gunna be getting a journal soon to right my dreams in. Hopefully I'll be flying in no time

I'd be scared as hell to ask my subconscious what my greatest fear is though
But I'll probably end up doing it by accident at some point and waking up soiled :/

Val wrote:

Hmm I'll look into the hypnosis stuff df thanks!
Gunna be getting a journal soon to right my dreams in. Hopefully I'll be flying in no time

I'd be scared as hell to ask my subconscious what my greatest fear is though
But I'll probably end up doing it by accident at some point and waking up soiled :/

I'm using the hypnotic scripts written by Forbes Robbins Blair. I have a copy of his book, actually (the link goes directly to his website, where you can learn more about the technique).

I can personally testify that it's highly effective once you get to do it correctly.

If you want me to send you a copy of the actual script (including the preliminary 'trance' script --- I'll type it here), just ask. I'll send it to you via PM.


This thing IS copyrighted material.

my greatest fear is...................................................im not telling.