5 Common Dreams And Their Meanings

We have shared numerous tips on how to start lucid dreaming, and what to expect in lucid dreaming once you do. But lucid dreaming requires practice, and in your quest to learning how to lucid dream, often you’ll end up going to sleep and experiencing regular dreams, like the ones you’ve been having before. You may experience a lot of things in these dreams, but have you ever wondered what those dreams mean? There are a multitude of dream scenarios, and each one has a meaning, but here we’ll discuss just the 5 most common dreams and what they mean.

1. ) Flying – perhaps the most common and most euphoric dream of all, flying is said to represent freedom, escape from troubles anxieties, and unleashing one’s potential and creativity. Many people wake up from a flying dream very motivated and empowered to do a lot on that day due to this. However, a flying dream that is difficult (such as flying low and being caught by tree branches or being lost in buildings, or flying slow as if swimming in molasses) may symbolize a personal hurdle or problem that is holding your back from your full potential.

However, here are many other levels of the flying dream, like flying fast, flying out of control, flying but full of fear, and so on, that may mean many different things, which we will discuss in detail in a post specifically about flying soon.

2.) Showing up naked – a dream like this usually starts like a false awakening: you wake up, go about your routine, and show up at school or at work. All of a sudden, you see people looking at you weird, and lo and behold, you look down or we look at a mirror and see yourself naked! This dream symbolizes vulnerability, anxiety, and lack of security, especially when you experience embarrassment when it happens. This may also mean exposing your true self, which is often the case when the dreamer is used to putting up a façade in front of other people.

3.) Losing teeth – this dream is mostly if not always an unsettling experience. Like showing up naked, it can happen at any moment of any kind of dream, but when it does, it is often accompanied by feelings of dread and fear and loss of confidence and capability. And that is the most common interpretation of this dream. Many people see teeth as symbolic of our ability to live (using teeth to eat our food) and be beautiful (our smile), and when our teeth fall out we feel like losing both. When the dreamer tries to gather or the falling teeth and return it in the mouth, it is symbolic of exerting effort to repair what they feel they are starting to lose in order to regain confidence and the ability to live or survive.

4.) Taking a school exam or making a school project – this dream usually ends up with the dreamer rushing to go to school to take an exam or trying to pull an all-nighter to finish a school project, often only to find out they shouldn’t doing either at all! This is often the case with people who have long finished school and yet are still having these dreams. Many interpret this kind of dream as either a reminder to remember a lesson from the past that can be applied today, or as a trigger to perform a self-evaluation to be a better person. On a more practical sense, this kind of dream symbolizes being focused on work or school, and is often induced by stress and pressure.

5.) Being chased by monsters/animals/a mob/anything – one of the more terrifying dreams, often inducing very real fear and dread, being chased can pinpoint actual problems in our lives. That is because being chased is symbolic of the dreamer escaping or running away from things that need attention, often represented by the things chasing the dreamer. It can be anything from a mob of people, to wild animals, and even aliens and ghosts and monsters. It is said that sometimes the dreamer will have a good idea what needs to be addressed as soon as they wake up even if they didn’t know prior what the chasers are representing.

These are just five of the most common dreams and their meanings. There are literally a multitude more dreams, and we will be discussing more of them soon in future updates. For now, listen to this binaural beat track for relaxation to help induce better dreams.

And don’t forget to drop by our binaural beats music library to get more albums and tracks. If you want to find out how binaural beats work and what their benefits are, check out our informative post about it here.

What Are Binaural Beats? How Does It Affect You?

A while back we wrote a guide on how to prepare for lucid dreaming, more specifically, how to prepare your room and your environment to be able to do lucid dreams. In that guide we included everything from how to control lighting and sounds, and mentioned one specific thing that can help open your mind for lucid dreaming: listen to binaural beats. In fact, at the end of every blog post, we offer binaural beats tracks from our music library that you can listen to. But what exactly are binaural beats? And how can it affect the mind in preparation for lucid dreaming?

Binaural beats

Discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, binaural beats, as defined by Wikipedia, “are auditory processing artifacts, or apparent sounds, caused by specific physical stimuli” that can help induce relaxation, meditation, and creativity.

This is done is by playing two tones or signals of varying frequencies, one in each ear. The brain then receives both tones and detects the differences between the two, and then processes the difference to create its own third signal, which is what's defined as the binaural beat. This third signal, which contain low frequency pulses, affect the mind and do anything from simply relax the person to improve their cognitive abilities and their mental awareness.

That's because a binaural beat will cause the brain to resonate to, or “follow the beat” of the third signal, and when it resonates at certain ranges, the brain activity is affected and changes. This effect, called the “Frequency Following Response”, was discovered by biophysicist Gerald Oster and actually helped in the development of the use of auditory or sound stimulation to improve brain function.

How it works and its benefits

Our brain's activities are classified into “brainwave patterns”, which is how the electrical signal of brain activity appears when it is detected by an EEG. When the binaural beat is within the range of a certain brainwave pattern, it causes the brain to be affected according to what each brainwave pattern is known for. We will discuss in detail each specific brainwave pattern in a future blog post, but for now, here are the general descriptions:

Gamma Waves (40 Hz and up) – gamma waves are associated with mental capacity, perception, problem solving skills.

Beta Waves (14-39 Hz) – beta waves are related to capacity to concentrate, cognitive skills, mental alertness.

Alpha Waves (7-13.9 Hz) - alpha waves are associated with relaxation (being in the pre-sleep/pre-wakening stage), and are seen during meditation sessions. This is also indicative of trances, and when superlearning is occurring.

Theta Waves (4-6.9 Hz) – theta waves are seen during dreaming or REM sleep and during the hypnagogic state, and during very deep meditation when the brain is accessing the unconscious mind. Involved in creativity increases, behavioral modification, and memory.

Delta (.1-3.9Hz) – delta waves are seen during dreamless sleep and is associated with loss of body awareness.

Through meditation and other mental techniques, a person can reach different brainwave patterns for the desired effect, but using binaural beats to aid in this is a more stable and consistent way to change the brainwave activity, thus achieving the benefits much faster and much more reliably.

How to use binaural beats

Before loading up a binaural beats track, it is highly suggested that a good pair of earphones or headphones are ready to be used. This directs each of the two primary tones or signals properly to each ear, allowing the brain to hear the binaural beat properly.

Next, make sure to also be in a relaxing place. For instance, is not advisable to listen to a binaural beats track while driving, lifting heavy equipment, or doing any physical activity even if it commuting home from work (although it is not really forbidden to do so.) We advise to take extra precautions if you do so wish to listen to relaxing binaural beat tracks, as these alter the brainwave state.

The best time to listen to binaural beats is during bedtime to aid in lucid dreaming, power naps, or even just a quick relaxation or meditation session.

And finally, while the binaural beats can certainly help in relaxing the mind, it is important for the listener to do their part as well, by emptying their mind and allowing the binaural beat to do its work without any mental interruption or obstacle. Breathing techniques, lack of other distractions like mobile phone notifications, and many other methods can be employed to do this.

Tips on how to use binaural beats to their fullest will be discussed in a future blog post, so stay tuned!

For now, listen to this binaural beats track for relaxation that uses alpha frequencies to keep you calm and improve peace of mind. 

And don't forget to visit our binaural beats music library for more tracks and albums here: http://www.brainwavepowermusic.com/the-music-store

What Is Astral Projection? Introduction And Basic Information

We have discussed the basics of lucid dreaming, how to prepare for lucid dreaming, and what to expect from lucid dreaming over the past few blog posts, but there is one subject we have left out so far: astral projection, an advanced phenomena that, when experienced, can truly open one’s mind about the possibilities in our universe. But what is astral projection? Is it dangerous? Is it even real?

What is astral projection?

Astral projection, as defined by Wikipedia, “is an interpretation of an out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of an "astral body" separate from the physical body and capable of travelling outside it.” In layman’s terms, astral projection is the phenomenon when one’s astral body, which we all have, actually leaves the body behind and can travel anywhere they wish, even to what is known as the “astral plane,” a plane of existence in the universe accessed only by astral bodies.

Once the astral body leaves the physical body, it will be tethered to it by a silver cord, a “lifeline” if you will, and it is through this silver cord that you will be able to come back. Some people believe that if that cord is cut, you will perish, some believe that the cord can only be tampered with, while others believe the cord is your indestructible connection to your body.

It seems like there’s a lot to take in, but don’t worry. We will have a more in-depth discussion about the astral plane, the silver cord, and even more details about astral projection in a future blog post, so stay tuned!

What is the difference between astral projection/OBE (out of body experience) and lucid dreaming?

With both being very vivid experiences, one can easily deduce astral projection and lucid dreaming to be one and the same. But they can’t be any  more different. To put it simply, lucid dreaming is internal, astral projection is an external experience.

When you lucid dream, everything you experience happens within your mind, influenced by your mind’s control over your dream. In essence, it is an “internal journey” if you will, to worlds and events of our own making.

When you perform astral projection, everything you experience happens outside your mind, whether it’s in our world or the astral plane. The only thing you can control is how your astral body moves, and how it acts, but everything else is simply there for you to experience. It is an “external journey.”

Lucid dreaming -can sometimes- lead to astral projection, however.

As for OBEs (out of body experiences), they are similar in that there is a departure from the physical body that happens, but different because astral projection is a conscious effort we execute, while OBEs are usually associated with times of duress, like being near death or sometimes just being very stressed.

We will be discussing the differences between the three and how lucid dreaming can lead to astral projection in a future blog post.

Basic elements for astral projection

There are many methods that one can employ to perform astral projection, but all of them rely on a few basic elements for the body to project.

1.  A relaxed environment for the person to stay in. Any place where one can lay down or sit down comfortably.
2. Controlled meditative breathing that can allow the mind to relax further and be void of any thoughts until a state of being numb is reached.
3. Exerting the willpower to project the astral body outward. This happens once the body reaches what is known as the vibration phase, a state where the body begins to feel like it’s vibrating and shifting its frequency, like what one feels when there is an electrical current going through, or when holding something that is vibrating fast, like a drill or a massager.

Depending on the method you will use, this process may vary from simply trying to clench your hand into a fist or moving it up and down, to actually trying to do something more complex like reach for a rope or jump out of your body.

    4.       Once you’re out of your body, you can either explore the world, or explore the astral plane!

What to expect from astral projection

This topic has a lot of possible answers, with some needing a lot of explanation to assuage possible fears and apprehensions people might feel. What you need to know however, is that astral projection will open your mind to things and experiences that you may not have expected, and it is important to know the exact steps on how to deal with them.

We will be discussing the various methods of executing astral projection, how to explore the world and the astral plane, and most importantly, what to expect from astral projection in detail in a future blog post soon. For now, practice getting into that relaxed state of mind that is the very first step for astral projection using this binaural beats track for meditation. 

And don’t forget to visit our binaural beats music library to gain access to more tracks and albums for all your needs here. http://brainwavepowermusic.com/the-music-store

What Are False Awakenings? What To Do When It Happens To You

Have you ever experienced, whether as a normal dreamer or a lucid dreamer, finding yourself in a normal everyday situation (getting up, showering, getting dressed, having breakfast, and heading out to work or school) only for you to find yourself back in bed after you thought your day had already started? Only to find out after waking up “for real” that you still actually haven’t? 

This is what’s called a false awakening, a phenomenon that can happen to normal and lucid dreamers, where the dream changes into the dreamer waking up but is actually still asleep and dreaming. This episode can happen multiple times when it does, leading to confusion and amusement at best, and terror at worst, feeling like you’re trapped in a time loop. And it is almost difficult to know when it happens, because the dream is so vivid, it is virtually identical to reality itself.

Why does this happen?

While there are a number of reasons why false awakenings happen, many experts have come to the conclusion that they most commonly happen when the dreamer is anxious or highly excited about the following day. It is the mind’s way of simulating what would actually happen when the dreamer wakes up on the big day, with many believing it is to prepare them and make sure they are reminded what to do and how to do it.

For example, if you’re stressed about a job interview you’ve been wanting for a long time, you might dream about it the night before and be subjected to multiple false awakening episodes before finally waking up for real. The same can be said about a wedding day, a big vacation or purchase (which is common for kids and will often be when they first experience their false awakenings) or even a sporting event, leading dreamers to believe they’ve “predicted” who would win!

Escaping false awakenings

This is where things get a little complicated. As mentioned earlier, false awakenings are very difficult to recognize due to the vivid nature of the dream blurring the lines between what’s in the mind and what’s real. Oftentimes the false awakening episode is so close to the dreamer’s real life routine, that they won’t even do anything different that could potentially make them escape the episode. With these tips however, it can be managed and over time, it will become easier and easier, even leading to more lucid dreaming!

1.) Reality checks – the most common way to try and escape false awakenings is the reality check. This is when the dreamer tries to find out if “everything is in order” so they can see if they are dreaming or not. But this doesn’t always work, especially since, as mentioned above, the dream is so vivid and close to reality that it is hard to spot incongruities. But it still works, especially when you go about your routine and see that you now live in a 30 bedroom house as opposed to your 1 room apartment when you open the door to take a bath. Things like that can jar you and wake you up.

2.) Read, Write, Remember – This method is quite effective as it uses the brain itself to try and jar you from your false awakening. In a dream, it is very hard to write, read, or even just recognize words and numbers, as well as remember details from your life that involve words and numbers, as the parts of the brain that are involved in those processes are still shut down due to being asleep. So, to help escape your false awakening, add tasks that involve these in your daily routine: check your clock every morning, read a passage in a book or your phone, remember your home address or your own phone number. If you find yourself able to do these easy when you wake up, then you’re truly awake. But if you can’t even see what time it is or remember your own phone number, you’re still asleep and in a false awakening!

3.) Go with your gut – As simple as this sounds, people often miss it. If you wake up one morning and begin to have doubt, asking yourself “am I dreaming?” then you probably are. If you feel like something is off or amiss, even without doing a reality check or a memory check, then you probably are still dreaming. So trust your gut!

Once your mind recognizes any of these flags, it will usually make you escape the false awakening by waking you up, or by readying you to take control to turn that false awakening into the start of a lucid dream, which we will tackle in a future blog post soon!

In the meantime, listen to this binaural beats track for relaxation and calming the mind using ambient alpha range music from Brainwave Power Music. 

And if you enjoyed that, check out our expansive binaural beatsmusic library here and get more awesome tracks for you to use! http://www.brainwavepowermusic.com/the-music-store

Keeping A Lucid Dream Journal: Basic How-To And Benefits

Lucid dreaming is an amazing experience that anyone can have and enjoy if they know what lucid dreaming is about, how to prepare for a luciddream, what to expect from lucid dreaming, and what to do in a lucid dream. But what should you do once the lucid dream ends? What post-dreaming benefits will you gain from lucid dreaming? This is where a lucid dream journal comes into play.

Your Mind’s DVR

A lucid dream journal is simply your way of recording what you have seen, felt, experienced, and done in your lucid dream. Many people have amazing normal or lucid dreams and enjoy the experience while it is happening, but moments after they wake up, it is lost, and they struggle to recapture the amazing feelings all throughout the day. It can be quite a loss to feel that, so the best solution to be able to relive it is to record it ASAP!

Fortunately, it is quite easy and fun to record your lucid dreams; it can even be the first thing you do for your daily routine. And like any skill, the more you do it, the better you become at it, and the more you can enjoy the benefits of the lucid dream journal!

The Basics

We’ll have a more detailed guide on how to use a lucid dream journal to record your dreams in a future blog post, but for now, here’s what you need to know and what you should have:

1. Have a notebook, notepad, or actual diary (with a pen of course!) ready to record your dreams by your bedside within reach. It is important you can easily grab your journal as soon as you wake up because your dreams will start fading at that moment, so be quick!
2. As soon as you wake up, write everything you can remember. It is best to write them in the present tense so you keep the “moment” experience when you read them back.  Be sure to add as much details as you can. Don’t think about grammar or spelling. Don’t correct anything! Write things down!
3. Draw what you saw. It doesn’t matter if it’s stick figures or if it looks like a 3 year old made it. Dreams are mainly visual after all, and this will help you recall your dream when you read back.
4. Don’t skip a dream day. Write it down every time you dream, whether it’s a normal dream or a lucid one. This will train your mind to do it.

Oh, one more thing. It is important to have a dream anchor, something that will trigger your mind to remember your dream when you wake up. To do this, simply select an object in your room before you sleep and tell yourself that that object will make you remember your dreams. Always look at this object before you sleep, if you wake up in the middle of the night, and of course, upon waking up. Training your mind to do so will associate that object to your dreams, making you remember better!

The Benefits Of Keeping A Journal

The main benefit of keeping a journal is improving dream recall, and extending the experience of the dream into reality. Just like how re-reading a book or re-watching a favorite movie evokes the feelings felt when experienced the first time, only more potent and personal. This is most especially important with lucid dreams, as lucid dreams are of your own conscious creations, and like any work of art, you don’t want it to go to waste!

Another benefit is training your mind to be able to revisit your previous dreams, or at least, the theme of said dreams. Have you ever experienced dreaming about very similar places and experiencing very similar things over the course of your life? Imagine being able to consciously go back to those dream places when you lucid dream. The journal, with its records of details, will help you with that.

And finally, it also helps expand your mind. Making effort to recall your dreams, and the skills and the knowledge you have gained in those dreams, makes your mind stronger, its reach bigger than before. Think of it like bodybuilding, but for your brain. And the stronger your mind gets, the more potent your dreams and the potential they carry can be.

More details about recalling dreams and keeping a journal will be coming soon! In the meantime, enjoy this binaural beats track formemory and learning, which helps with dream recall. 

Listen to more useful tracks in our binaural beats tracks library here! http://www.brainwavepowermusic.com/the-music-store