Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

When we're in REM sleep, we're generally not aware of the fact that we are dreaming.  It's only after awakening that we (sometimes) remember the images and events that our brain shuffled through during this time. However, a remarkable exception occurs when one has a lucid dream.  During this state, the dreamer is aware that s/he is dreaming (LaBerge, 2000, 2007).

In fact, one can think and reason clearly,  recall circumstances from waking life, and can intentionally act upon self-reflection while remaining in a dreamworld--a dreamworld, by the way, that is often indistinguishable from the "real world" (Kahan et al, 1997).  No game console could ever compete with that kind of immersiveness, let alone for free.

Our mission at Lucidipedia is to provide grounded educational resources that allow people to effectively learn and (hopefully) enjoy lucid dreaming as much as we do!

Why learn Lucid Dreaming Techniques?

The lucid dream state provides a multi-sensory experience in which you embody all of your dream senses (taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell) in the same way that you do in waking life with one difference:  it allows you to deliberately and voluntarily direct the lucid dream--from isolated elements to the whole plot--in any way you desire.

Imagine using this to help you overcome a particular fear, or to take a "leap of faith" and experience something that you might shy away from in your daily life.  It's possible that such experiences could make you feel more confident and capable (and, indirectly, more self-assured and happy) as a person.

For instance, imagine applying lucid dreaming techniques within the following (popular) scenarios:

• Learning to fly
• Resolving nightmares or fears
• Rehearse waking life events
• Experiment with new behavior, such as fantasies that might be considered taboo
• Explore states of consciousness

With all these amazing possibilities, it's no surprise that many people enjoy lucid dreams--it is an awesome "spiritual" sport.

How to Lucid Dream In 3 Easy Steps

In reality (and in dreams), learning how to lucid dream is pretty straightforward and easy.  How easy?   So easy that you really need 3 basic steps:

1. Recall Your Dreams
2. Discover Dreamsigns
3. Recognize Dreamsigns

Sounds too good to be true, right? Let me break it down a little.

1.  Recall Your Dreams

In Lucid Dreaming, dream recall--that is, remembering your dreams--functions as your stepping stone for dream analysis; if you didn't learn how to recall your dreams, you might not be able to take control of the dream itself the next time you're in REM sleep. 

The actual recall part is simple; upon waking up, ask yourself " What was I dreaming about?"  As you remember, write down any memories in a journal.  While this can be a little frustrating as first, don't worry if you can't remember everything.  Lie still, keep your eyes closes, and let your mind do the hard work.

2. Discover Dreamsigns

Once you've amassed 2-3 weeks worth of dream recollections in your journal, take the time to review your notes and identify any recurrent dream-like features (anything bizarre or out of the ordinary is a good clue)--these are your dreamsigns.  When rereading, ask yourself "Are there any particular dreamsigns that reoccur within multiple dreams?  If so, you've found your target dreamsign.

3. Recognize Dreamsigns

Once you've established what your dreamsigns are, you can now start going to bed prepared.  As you fall asleep, say to yourself "The next time I see my dreamsign, I will tell myself that I'm dreaming."  Once you start to do this within the dream--a.k.a "turn lucid"--you can then learn how to master your dreams using various techniques.

Lucid Dreaming with Zeo

For me, the greatest feature of the Zeo PSC for those looking to induce lucid dreaming is the SmartWake™setting.  Since it wakes you after leaving a deeper stage of sleep--and dream-rich REM sleep tends to occur towards the latter half of the night--this feature not only helps you to better recall your dreams but can also help you enter a lucid dream state.

To experience Lucid Dreaming with Zeo and SmartWake™, try the following techniques:

1. Enable SmartWake™ to wake you up after about 6 hours of sleep (in order to ensure that you're in or close to REM sleep cycles)

2. Once you wake up, immediately practice Dream Recall.

3. Try to enter a dream by using Lucidipedia's WILD (Wake-Initiated Lucid Dreaming) technique.  WILD's aim is to fall asleep while staying lucid (i.e. remembering that you're dreaming) throughout the entire process.  However, WILD is only shown to be effective after awakening from REM sleep, so make sure to check your Zeo to see what state you were in when the alarm went off!

 Increasingly, more researchers speculate that lucid dreams can be used as test cases for theories of dreaming to investigate the nature of consciousness and dreaming (Hobsom, Kahn, and Pace-Schott, 1994; Hobsom, 2009; LaBerge, 2000).

As such, it's possible that a device like Zeo could become one of the tools of choice for lucid dreamers (especially since the Raw Data Library is now available!).  We here at Lucidipedia are excited to see what the future--and our dreams--hold!

Sweet Dreams! ---Lucidipedia

Tim Post is the founder of Lucidipedia, an online educational community that teaches lucid dreaming to help anyone learn how to lucid dream, or improve their own techniques.