Lucid Dreaming shouldn't be confused with Astral Projection. I had come across some articles on the web mixing the two up. Lucid Dreaming simply means that you are lucid in your dream; you KNOW you are dreaming, while Astral Projection is a totally different metaphysical experience. In lucid dreaming, the dreamer feels awake, is aware of dreaming, and is able to control events consciously.
Have you seen Christopher Nolan's film, "Inception"? That pretty much sums up what Lucid Dreaming is all about.
But in this reality of ours, and not of the world of movies, in order to achieve lucid dreaming, we need to learn and understand the different triggers and methods that one should practice regularly. If you are very interested in starting your Lucid Dreaming Journey, here are a few tips to nudge you to the right direction:
First and foremost, do not be afraid. Igniting fear and putting it forward will just tap into your subconsciousness later on and will manifest itself during your dream experience. This could possibly be the culprit for people who experience sleep paralysis and nightmares.
Have Patience.
High expectations and being impatient and frustrated won't help at all. Patience is a very important factor, and just like anything else that you want to become good at, you need regular practice. Once you start to lucid dream, the feeling upon waking will be ecstatic.
We each go through four stages of sleep, also known as "sleep spindles". Stage One is where your body and mind start to relax and drift in and out of consciousness, while your brain produces natural theta waves. Stage Two is where your body temperature drops and your heart rate begins to slow, while your brain creates a different fast-paced rhythmic pattern. Stage Three is where your brain makes delta waves and slows down your brainwave pattern. It is here where you are no longer conscious of reality and your environment. The Fourth Stage is where most dreams happen, and this is when you will be having REM (Rapid Eye Movement). Your brainwaves become more active again, causing you to dream.
Of course, these sleep patterns and stages will differ from each individual. One person would be able to fall asleep within 5 minutes, while for another it would take maybe an hour before Stage One even happens. This is where you will need to know and understand your sleeping habits and patterns. It is a good advantage to use when you start preparing for your lucid dreaming experience.
Lucid Dream Triggers.
What works for another might not necessarily work for you, too. Some use daily meditation practice to prepare themselves for lucid dreaming. Others would use totem recognition during the day to do reality checks (—yes, the same totem concept as that in the film, "Inception"). Then there are those that use binaural beats and isochronic tones.
Sound is such an important element that we perceive in our subconscious mind. Have you ever experienced a noise from your own real-world surroundings that had managed to seep in and materialize (in the same form or not) into that dream you just had seconds ago? Sound is an important element that also connects to lucid dreaming, and there are sound triggers that people use, too.
As mentioned earlier, our brainwave patterns change during the Four Stages of Sleep. Audio tracks with binaural beats and isochronic tones contain the same brainwave sound equivalents (Hertz) that can help to trigger these sleep spindles.
Just like the 8-hour long audio track we have composed, it contains four different sections that each contain various frequency formulas similar to that of the generic sleep stages that are naturally created by our brains.
In the first 2 hours we've used frequencies that range from 3-13Hz (Alpha-Theta range) to help calm your mind and feel deeply relaxed. There is a pleasurable feeling of floating and it will give effects such as stress reduction, relaxed awareness, release of serotonin, and an induction to sleep spindles as your mind and body allows itself into sleep. It also contains triggers for creativity and imagery and access to subconscious images as you doze off.
The second and third sections contain more of the Theta waves, which are also present in dreaming, sleep, deep meditation and creative inspiration. As you have already fallen asleep, the binaural beats tap into your subconsciousness as your mind prepares itself into a lucid dream state. The music is more steady so as not to interrupt your sleep.
The fourth and last section returns itself to the Alpha range with a mix of Theta and Delta. This is where deep sleep occurs and more often than not, the dream state. There is a decreased awareness of the physical world. This section also contains the Earth Resonance or Schumann Resonance, which will leave you feeling revitalized upon waking up.
We also would like to share a very helpful (and simple) How-To article on different methods to do and practice regularly, such as reality checks; the benefits of keeping a dream journal; learning when the best time to have a lucid dream is; and mnemonic induction of lucid dreaming.
Please read more about it HERE.
We hope you'll enjoy our first-ever 8 hour full audio track. Share with us your experiences in the comments section! We'd love to hear from you.
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