Monday, December 7, 2009

How Do I Know When I Am Lucid Dreaming

Many of you new to dream interpretation have asked how do I know when I am lucid dreaming? A Lucid Dream is having a dream where the dreamer is totally conscious of what is going on. Basically this means being awake while you are dreaming. In these types of dreams, anything is possible and unlike the other types of dreams, lucid dreams do not fall in so much to tragic experiences because the dreamer can create their own dreams just from imagining their ideal scene.

Below are some dreams of people who describe their lucid dreams. These lucid dreams are from a book called Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. & Howard Rheingold.

Case Examples of Lucid Dreams

1. I realized I was dreaming. I raised my arms and began to rise (actually I was being lifted). I rose through the black sky that blended into indigo, to deep purple, to lavender, to white, then to very bright light. All the time I was lifted there was the most beautiful music I have ever heard. It seemed like voices rather than instruments. There are no words to describe the joy I felt. I was very gently lowered back to earth. I had the feeling that I had come to a turning point in my life and I had chosen the right path. The dream, the joy I experienced, was kind of a reward, or so I felt. It was a long, slow slide back to wakefulness with music echoing in my ears. The euphoria lasted several days; the memory forever. (A.F., Bay City, Michigan).

2. I was standing in a field in an open area when my wife pointed in the direction of the sunset. I looked at it and thought, "How odd; I've never seen colors like that before." Then it dawned on me: "I must be dreaming!" Never had I experienced such clarity and perception - the colors were so beautiful and the sense of freedom so exhilarating that I started racing through this beautiful golden wheat field waving my hands in the air and yelling at the top of my voice, "I'm dreaming! I'm dreaming!" Suddenly, I started to lose the dream; it must have been the excitement. I instantly woke up. As it dawned on me what had just happened, I woke up my wife and said, "I did it! I did it!" I was conscious within the dream state and I'll never be the same. Funny, isn't it? How a taste of it can affect one like that. It's the freedom, I guess; we see that we are truly in control of our own universe. (D.W., Elk River, Minnesota).

3. One night I was dreaming of standing on a gentle hill, looking out over the tops of maples, alders, and other trees. The leaves of the maples were bright red and rustling in the wind. The grass at my feet was lush and vividly green. All the colors about me were more saturated than I have ever seen.
Perhaps the awareness that the colors were "brighter than they should be" shocked me into realizing that I was in a dream, and that what lay about me was not "real." I remember saying to myself, "If this was a dream, "I should be able to fly in the air." I tested my hunch and was enormously pleased that I could effortlessly, and fly anywhere I wanted. I skimmed over the tops of the trees and sailed many miles over new territory. I flew upward, far above the landscape, and hovered in the air currents like an eagle.
When I awoke I felt as if the experience of flying had energized me. I felt a sense of well-being that seemed directly related to the experience of being in a lucid dream, of taking control of the flying. (J.B., Everett, Washington).

As you can see from the above, lucid dreams can offer the dreamer more fun than he or she usually has when entering a normal dream state. How many dreams have you had when you woke up and gone through the day totally unaware of what dreams you have had? To me, and to many others, it would be interesting to see what types of dreams we have in the moment of dreaming and remembering with vivid clarity, what we've dreamt the night before.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Lucid Dreams

Recently there has been considerable interest in lucid dreaming. A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper is aware that they are dreaming. When the dreamer is lucid, they 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. Lucid dreams are strongly associated with REM sleep. REM sleep is more abundant just before the final awakening. This means they most commonly occur right before waking up. A lucid dream can begin in one of three following ways.

  1. A dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD) starts as a normal dream, and the dreamer eventually concludes that he or she is dreaming.
  2. A wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD) occurs when the dreamer goes from a normal waking state directly into a dream state with no apparent lapse in consciousness.
  3. A mnemonic-initiated lucid dream (MILD) can happen when the dreamer intentionally affirms to himself or herself that he or she will become lucid during the upcoming sleep. Reaching lucidity can sometimes occur due to dream-signs or spontaneously upon remembrance.

I know that many of you would like to learn more about lucid dreaming so in the up and coming weeks we will be posting new articles concerning this fascinating dream mode. I hope that that you will find this new information informative and that you will keep returning for the latest updates.

Dream Interpretation of Basic Dreams

If you want to learn about the meaning of dreams then you need to start with the basics. There are plenty of places that you can look up the rules of interpreting dreams, but in this article we'll be looking at a few of the more common types of dreams that people have and what they could potentially mean. While there are an infinite amount of possible dreams there are usually a relatively small amount of different parts that make up these dreams so basic dream interpretation starts with learning the fundamentals.

Teeth Dreams

Dreams about teeth are a very common type and are often recurring. Most of the teeth dreams that people have are to do with the teeth falling out or just crumbling away to nothing which can be a distressing experience, but what does it mean? There isn't just one meaning, but some people believe it is showing that a person is unhappy with their personal appearance and what other people think of you . Another interpretation is that the teeth might be a fear of being embarrassed In other words this dream might be caused by being anxious about something.

Naked Dreams

While not as common as teeth dreams, naked dreams still affect a lot of people. Often the dreamer is in a place such as work or on a street and going about their everyday business only to suddenly realize that they are completely naked. This is often interpreted being because the dreamer feels vulnerable or ashamed of something they have done. This is because in the dream the clothes act as a sort of barrier behind which you can hide behind, but when you are feeling vulnerable the clothes disappear. A naked dream might also mean that you are being caught out unexpectedly.

Flying Dreams

these are one of the more enjoyable dreams to have and can be an amazing experience. Flying dreams are part of a section of dreams called lucid dreams that happen when you know that you are dreaming but are still asleep. Usually a flying dream is interpreted as the dreamer knowing that they are able to cope with the situation that they are in at the moment and feeling good about things. It is also sometimes interpreted as gaining a new perspective on something.

Lucid Dreams

When you lucid dream you are basically dreaming, but are aware that you are dreaming. When you are having a lucid dream, it is not unusual to have some power over the dream. Just about anything from being able to fly or making objects or people appears to fly. It is as if you are able to be the director of your own movie. Lucid dreams have been proven to exist, and there are many books and articles you can find about having lucid dreams.

As you can see, there are usually many different interpretations of a dream and which one is correct comes down to the person, the dream itself and also the situation that the person is currently in. Basic dream interpretation starts with being able to identify the important features of a dream.

Dream Interpretation for Beginners
Dreams are complex things and it takes lot of time and experience to be able to interpret them effectively. However there are certain things that are common to all dreams, so in this guide I will take you through some of the most important things to remember. They won't make you an expert overnight but these tips are a good starting point for interpreting yours and others dreams.

First of all you should remember that dream interpretation is not an exact science. That means that there might be many different interpretations of a certain dream, so just because someone else comes up with a different one doesn't mean that they are wrong.

Secondly, all beginners should remember that everything that happens in a dream is referring to you and your personality. For example if you are dreaming about loved ones then this reflects your personality and emotions, while if you are dreaming of solid objects such as a car then this refers to your body. This is probably one of the hardest rules for beginners to follow, so remember when you are trying to interpret a dream that everything in the dream is about the dreamer.

You should also remember that not all dreams are as they seem and even random events will usually be connected in some way. Try and find a common thread between the different parts of the dream. The person dreaming is always in full control of what happens even when it seems as though they are being affected by an outside control.

When you are looking at the characters in a dream remember that they are all representing part of the dreamer's personality. Try and work out which part of the dreamer each of the character represents so that you can work out what the dream is representing.

Dream interpretations are not easy and are usually very subjective. As I mentioned before, two people can follow the same dream interpretations guide and come up with completely different results for what a dream might mean. However the more experienced you get at interpreting your dreams; the more you will be able to work out the meaning of a dream more accurately Practice is the key. Online forums are a good way of comparing your dream analysis with other people to see whether you are on the right track or whether you have a completely different interpretation of a dream than others may have.