Participating In A Lucid Dream

By definition, a lucid dream is "a dream in which the sleeper is aware that he or she is dreaming." When the dreamer becomes lucid, he or she may then participate in the dream with the same responses and decision making capabilities that occur in waking life.

It's no surprise that a lot of dreamers would love to reach this state and that a number of marketers have devised products to help facilitate lucid dreaming. The "Brilliant Dreams" pill promises to improve dream recall, vividness, REM sleep and lucid dreaming for $45/bottle.

Progressive-wake alarm clocks that use sounds and lights to gradually awaken you retail for $70. Yet, sleep experts say you don't have to purchase anything to become a lucid dreamer, but rather, you must take a series of steps to build up to lucid dreaming.

After you improve your dream recall, you can take one step further toward a lucid dream by learning how to tell if you're dreaming, thus becoming conscious mid-cycle. The movie "Waking Life" demonstrates several ways of "awakening" within your dream.

Maybe you'll try to flip a light switch and observe that the lighting in the room doesn't change. Perhaps you'll look down at your hand and see that you have six or four fingers. Reading may suddenly become a challenge because the letters on the paper keep rearranging themselves.

Or you might notice someone begin to float, which signifies you're in a dream. Plausibly, you can practice these actions while you're awake so you are more likely to do so while you're asleep. The idea is that only when you stop to think "I'm dreaming" will you be able to then control your dreams.

The idea of controlling dreams appeals to many. Some people treat the lucid dream as a sought-after phenomenon, while others find them pleasant when they arrive but don't explicitly seek out lucid dreaming.

The final step is to try to restructure your sleep to wake you up several hours before your usual time, so you can fall back asleep and have richer, more imaginative dreams that are better linked with your conscious mind.

The power of dreams is indisputable -- you can go anywhere, be anyone and experience anything -- yet is it worth making lifestyle changes to achieve? The final answer is up to you.

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