Lucid dreams in one night. Technique

Lucid dreaming is a special state that is fundamentally different from ordinary sleep. Perception in him is not inferior to reality; however, this state is extremely unstable, and it can be maintained only with full concentration of attention. Each person is capable of gaining power over own dreams and change the events in them at his own discretion, if he uses special techniques that allow him to go to the borderline state.

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      What are lucid dreams?

      A dream is called lucid, in which the sleeper is well aware that what is happening is unreal. At the same time, he is subject to changes in events in the desired direction. In a fictional world, new opportunities open up before him that are inaccessible in real life, unusual abilities appear (the ability to fly, change appearance, pass through walls, etc.): this state of altered human consciousness is accompanied by thrills and deep emotions.

      • A lucid dream is not fiction: this phenomenon has been proven by scientists. Their experiments confirmed that the activity of the brain during it differs significantly from other phases and from the state of wakefulness.

        Dreams are directly related to our subconscious, the resources of which are huge and still not fully understood. A person who can establish contact with him and learn to control subconscious processes will open unthinkable horizons. This is confirmed by numerous historical examples when scientists managed to do ingenious scientific discoveries, poets - to write poetry, and musicians - to compose great works.

        In addition, such practices are actively used in psychotherapy to solve complex problems. psychological problems and overcoming personal difficulties.

        With the help of lucid dreams, you can get rid of phobias, fears, learn introspection and control your behavior in difficult situations, prepare for life changes, get answers to exciting questions.

        Experiments with your own consciousness, in addition to the positive aspects, can be fraught with some dangers. Before moving on to practical methods to induce a lucid dream, you need to learn the basic rules:

        • It is impossible to make attempts to get into such a dream in an altered state of consciousness (in alcoholic or drug intoxication). This can lead to irreparable consequences for health and psyche.
        • Need to lead correct image life: monitor your physical and psychological state, master the technique of meditation in order to learn how to relax or concentrate as much as possible. These aspects greatly influence a person's ability to enter into a controlled dream.
        • It is not recommended to rush. Everything needs to be carefully studied. possible techniques, choose the most suitable for yourself and bring it to perfection with regular training. Sometimes it is possible to easily get into a lucid dream the first time without preparation, but it is not a fact that this will happen again in the future.
        • Full sleep for 8 hours a day is also a prerequisite for mastering the practices of meaningful dreams. The atmosphere is also important - the absence of extraneous noise, subdued light, etc.
        • Any experience of such dreams, successful or not, should be recorded in a special diary in full detail immediately after waking up. This will help you remember your dreams better and understand their meaning.

        Effective Techniques for Beginners

        Lucid dreaming, as well as out-of-body movements, which are often associated with each other, arise for different reasons. Sometimes this happens spontaneously in an uncontrolled dream or as a result of some factors leading to a state of altered consciousness, for example, when clinical death or under the influence of psychotropic drugs. But you can repeat this experience using special techniques. Most of them are described in the books of R. Webster, R. Monroe, M. Rainbow and many others.

        Laboratory studies have helped to trace the close relationship between the phase REM sleep, lucid dreams and imaginary exit from the physical shell. It is she who links controlled dreams and movements out of her body, which almost never happens in the slow or orthodox phases. exit illusion own body in this case, it is interpreted as a lucid dream that begins in the waking state. This phenomenon takes place in the background sleep paralysis. There are simply no other differences between these two phenomena.

        To date, official science and medicine cannot offer universal ways to control dreams and immerse yourself in such border states. Independent researchers independently practice and select effective methods to gain power over their own dreams. Absolutely anyone is able to comprehend them: training depends not only on the chosen method, but also on individual capabilities, temperament and level of knowledge specific person.

        How to get into a lucid dream in 7 days

        A well-known dream expert, Bradley Thompson, provided step-by-step instructions for entering the borderline state in his short book Lucid Dreaming in 7 Days. He makes the following recommendations:

    1. 1. On the first day, the author advises to study the numerous theories of dreams, to understand their nature. This will help you concentrate and tune in to the desired mood.
    2. 2. In the second - all your dreams must be carefully remembered and written down in all details in a special diary. From this day on, such recordings should become a tradition.
    3. 3. The third day will consist of mastering ways to help distinguish the world of dreams from reality. This will allow you to further realize yourself as a dreamer and try to control the events that occur in a dream.
    4. 4. During the fourth day, the subconscious will tune in to achieve the goal. On this day, you can relax a little, re-read what is written in the diary, highlight the main features of your dreams and remember them.
    5. 5. From the fifth to the seventh days, long-awaited lucid dreams may occur. As a rule, by the end of the week, 90% of people had them. You don't need to stop there. You should continue to practice regularly to bring the effectiveness of this technique to perfection.

    Indirect Entry Techniques for Beginners

    This is one of the most simple methods. However, it will take several attempts to master this entry technique. The mechanism lies in the development of the ability of consciousness upon awakening to maintain a balance on the border between sleep and reality for a short time. It consists of several stages:

    1. 1. First you need to set the time on the alarm clock so that it rings exactly six hours later at night or daytime sleep. As soon as the signal works, you need to get out of bed, go to the bathroom or the kitchen, drink a glass of water, or do any other simple actions.
    2. 2. After that, you need to go to bed again. In this case, you need to concentrate your mind on the desire to see a controlled dream. You can even plan it, trying to imagine in detail what exactly will happen in it.
    3. 3. This time you need to wake up naturally, without alarm sounds. After waking up, try not to open your eyes, imagine how physical body separated from the astral. You can visualize flying or just getting out of bed, but you absolutely cannot move.

    If the subconscious did not manage to break out of the physical shell immediately after awakening, you can go to one of the following techniques:

    • For a few seconds in your own imagination, you need to actively swim until you get the feeling that the body is really immersed in water and keeps on its surface. This will be the beginning of a lucid dream, which can already be continued at will, adding new events, characters, etc. to it.
    • Imagine rotating your own body around its axis or swinging it from side to side, as if on a swing. If you feel a slight dizziness, a sense of the reality of what is happening, then by concentrating on them, you can separate from your body and fall into a controlled dream.
    • Without opening your eyes, you should actively peer into the surrounding darkness. After some time, some vivid images will appear with which you can try to merge or, conversely, separate. You should not focus on specific details, pictures flashing before your eyes, you need to look through them. This will help bring you to the edge.
    • Visualizing your own hands, imagining the sound of their rubbing against each other, for example, or simply looking at fingers, lines will help you go into the world of lucid dreams.

    Not all techniques may be suitable for a particular person. For one of them to work, you need to try all of them without spending more than five seconds on each. You can alternate them in a circle, using any one several times to make sure that it does not work. If nothing happened within a minute, it is better to postpone the experiment until the next time.

    Self account

    It is also called the technique of drawing numbers. This method is a variation of Tibetan sleep yoga and consists of the following steps:

    1. 1. Before going to bed, you need to properly relax, reset nervous tension and be in it calm state within three minutes.
    2. 2. Then you need to write the numbers in your imagination. It is important to visualize exactly how they should be drawn, for example, with chalk on a blackboard, paints on a white sheet of paper, etc.
    3. 3. You need to start from one. The first figure should be presented very clearly, brightly, in the smallest details. Then erase it and in its place draw the second, third, etc., and so reach one thousand.
    4. 4. During the whole process, you should constantly repeat to yourself the phrase: "I am sleeping."
    5. 5. After the actions done, a lucid dream comes, which can already be planned at your discretion.

    This method is very difficult and requires great concentration. But, if you do everything right, then the probability of falling into a lucid dream is 100%.

    Overload Method

    This method is quite laborious, but it is very effective and will help you to immerse yourself in the astral on the first try. It is as follows:

    1. 1. A day before the experiment, you need to spend a sleepless night. But one condition must be observed: the pastime must be rich, full of impressions. Can you go to night club.
    2. 2. Without going to bed, you need to spend an even more eventful day, do a lot of things, attend exciting events.
    3. 3. Before diving into the phase deep sleep there will be a small gap that allows you to survive the borderline state, when the body has accumulated maximum fatigue and it is already sleeping, and the consciousness remains awake, since it processes all the information received during the day and the accumulated emotions.
      1. 1. Go to bed, close your eyes and try to relax as much as possible.
      2. 2. After a while, various circles, waves and figures, called phosphenes, will appear before the eyes. They need to be focused on.
      3. 3. On the border of dream and reality, various hypnotic images should appear at a certain moment: voices, sounds, light, which becomes brighter. This is the transition to the state of lucid dreaming.

      It is important not to miss that small time gap that allows you to enter a controlled dream. If you focus too much on hypnotic imagery, the likelihood of untimely awakening becomes high. If you do not pay enough attention to them, then the dream will drag on until the morning. Long-term training is important here, which over time will bring positive result.

      What are the dangers of lucid dreaming?

      Like any phenomenon, controlled sleep has back side.In addition to all the opportunities that are given to a person in this state, it contains the following dangers:

    • Addiction. These dreams can drag a person so much that sooner or later he will lose his sense of reality.
    • Inappropriate behaviour. Many things that cannot be done in real life can be done in a lucid dream. But if a person accidentally tries to transfer any superpowers from a dream into reality, he risks being misunderstood by others.
    • Negative experience. In a borderline state, a person can encounter various creatures and supernatural forces, which is not only dangerous, but also leads to a drop in energy and a negative impact on the psyche.

A lucid dream is a special atypical state of consciousness in which a person understands that he is dreaming, and can also partially control the dream, forming the details, events and actions of the dream at his own discretion. How to cause this state on your own and learn how to control it, prolonging it as much as possible unusual sensations? You will learn about this and much more below.

What is a lucid dream and how does it manifest itself?

For the first time, the theory of lucid dreaming was put forward by Frederic var Eden at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He described in detail the characteristics given state and also tried to explain it.

By the end of the 20th century, this theory began to be tested from a scientific point of view - the Japanese scientists advanced the farthest here, thanks to numerous tests, they revealed the phenomenon and fixed it in hardware.

Lucid dreams, in which a person understands that he is sleeping, and also partially or completely controls him, creating his own images, actions, forming events, occur during a smooth transition from wakefulness to REM sleep and vice versa. This process is not mandatory - in most cases, a person simply falls asleep and does not go into a borderline state.

Physiologically, there is a gradual relaxation of all muscle groups and an increase in the activity of the brain. Its alpha rhythms increase significantly and increase in frequency, while beta and components practically disappear, gamma rhythms lengthen the amplitude. The dorsolateral region of the prefrontal cortex is activated, which does not manifest itself in any way during normal sleep.

It is known for certain that it is almost always possible to get into lucid dreams in people who have experienced sleep paralysis - muscle atony before falling asleep or immediately after waking up. Dreams in this case are very vivid, but often disturbing, sometimes with attacks of fear and nightmares.

Where is lucid dreaming used?

A lucid dream is a unique tool for modeling a wide variety of situations in the long term. Undoubtedly, it can be used as an application in the future in a number of situations:

  • Psychotherapy. A promising complex of psychotherapy sessions using lucid dreaming can be useful for people suffering from a wide variety of phobias and fears. Flights in a dream, the formation of self-confidence in any situation, other plots can become a powerful motivator for recovery and healing;
  • Game aspect. Controlled dreams in the medium term may become the main complete virtual reality, where there are no restrictions;
  • Brain Research. Separate theories and hypotheses point directly to the hypothetical prospect of expanding the possibilities of using the brain in humans. Lucid dreaming can be the "key" to control psychic abilities, an increase in the analytical and memory functions of the brain in geometric progression to give other, previously unknown knowledge and skills.

Lucid dream training

Official science and medicine do not have at their disposal reliable methods for managing a lucid dream and methods for guaranteed immersion in such a borderline state.

Nevertheless, for many decades, active searches have been conducted in this aspect. A number of independent researchers are achieving a significant increase in the frequency of lucid dreaming in a practical way.

The terms of training vary in a very wide range and depend both on the specific methodology and on the personal data, qualities and knowledge of a particular person.

The furthest in understanding the mechanisms of adaptation of the body to the independent invocation of lucid dreams at the moment has advanced Stephen LaBerge - his " Institute of Lucid Dreams"offers people both free advice and paid individual or group courses with a personal trainer.

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There are many ways to get into a lucid dream. The most promising areas are:

  • Special focus. Reading relevant literature, concentrating on certain abstract images;
  • Taking psychoactive substances. Herbal and synthetic preparations can contribute to the appearance of a borderline state in the process of falling asleep;
  • rituals. Certain sequential actions, repeated constantly;
  • Sensation Stimulation. Potentiation of tactile and vestibular images with an emphasis on the process of falling asleep;
  • Hypnosis. The most pragmatic tool that is partly used for lucid dreaming practices even now.

After a person has been able to consciously evoke a borderline state several times, it is necessary to consolidate the effect, keep a diary of the dreams you form, come up with promising scenarios for future dreams with clear, consistent actions that facilitate their control and increase their duration.

The main ways to enter into a lucid dream

Below are well-known practices of lucid dreaming that help a person with more likely learn this process. However, it should be understood that you most likely will not be able to enter a lucid dream the first time, and you will have to train for a long time.

Association principle

Its basis is the development of habits, a clear associative series that allows you to check reality and understand whether you are in the state of wakefulness or sleep. AT night period time during conditioned wakefulness, ask yourself whether you are asleep or not.

Follow the details– with a lucid dream, any changes in the virtual space-time are possible. So, the clock on the wall can move in jerks, and some physical laws are not respected at all.

Try to compare reality and dream. Remember the sensations when entering a lucid dream - this will help you build an associative array and immediately concentrate on the process. Look at your hands, try to hold your nose and mouth and try to breathe - if there is no lack of air, then you are in a dream.

An alternative variant of the associative series is the use of a background voice. The phrases “You are sleeping” and “This is a lucid dream” can be repeated both by a live voice of an outsider and a pre-recorded audio stream in the form of a file. Its volume should not be large, so that the procedure for falling asleep is easier.

Self-tuning

Self-adjustment or a mnemonic method involves the use of memorized and memorized phrases to automatism, actions that are tied to the inclusion of awareness in the process of sleep and contribute to the development of this habit.

Phrases or rituals can be anything. For example, “I will realize that this is a dream” and at the same time mentally program myself for a certain action. Self-adjustment is conveniently and functionally complemented by the method of associations with a reality check.

Having perfected a phrase or a short phrase to automatism, looping it in the subconscious, use this "anchor" to call the borderline state every time before falling asleep.

Shavasana - corpse pose

Shavasana in the general sense is a classic completion practical exercises yoga, a period of relaxation and rest. Under certain circumstances, this practice can effectively lead to a lucid dream.

According to experts in this field, Shavasana can be performed without prior preparation and performance of other asanas, which greatly simplifies the technique and reduces it to a basic set of actions.

In specialized literature, Shavasana can also be called a pose. dead body or mritasana. It is not recommended to use it for pregnant women and people with disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

The technique of performing the procedure includes a number of actions:

  1. Creating an atmosphere. It is necessary to provide a dim light, complete silence, spread a blanket on the floor and lie back on it;
  2. Position. The forehead should be in line with the chin (put a small flat pillow under the neck to facilitate the process). The loin is in full contact with the horizontal surface;
  3. Relaxation. Close your eyes tightly and start breathing through your nose. The tongue is as relaxed as possible, the body too (as if spreading over a horizontal surface, no tension and resistance). Inhale-exhale light, weak. Rib cage smoothly rises and falls. Feel your body as much as possible, if there are tense areas - relax, imagining that the breath passes through them;
  4. renunciation. Stop concentrating on your breath, just watch it as if from the side, do the same with any thoughts that arise in your head. Do not try to suppress emotions (if any arise), but simply do not notice them;
  5. Immersion. Imagine that the whole body with thoughts and emotions is immersed in water, gaining the calm of the ocean. Thoughts are the waves of the surf, easily rolling on the shore, there is no fear of the elements, a person merges with the water world.

Above, the main stages of entering the pose of a dead man are presented. With classical Shavasana, the last stages are a gradual exit from the state, with the process of concentration on the breath, but this is not necessary to enter a lucid dream.

Continue the practice of absorption and detachment for as long as possible., stay alone with the subconscious and consciousness, and then release the latter into “free swimming” - it will go into a borderline state and a lucid dream will arise.

Mask for Lucid Dreams

Modern research in the field of sleep control has led several private companies to create a gadget that helps a person enter a lucid dream. Such devices, technologically complex, are a kind of simulator that combines the methods of self-control and associations.

The mask for lucid dreams outwardly is a wide deaf bandage on the face, completely covering the eyes. Inside it is a set of LEDs, micro-speakers, boards and sensors. How does it all work?

During the transition from wakefulness to REM sleep, eyeballs a person begins to move involuntarily quickly under closed eyelids - this is a side process of their relaxation. Motion sensors installed in the mask register this process, after which they transmit a signal to the LEDs or micro-speakers.

Accordingly, during the initial phase of REM sleep, a regular soft light or sound signal is sent to the retina of the eye or to the ears. The brain that receives these peculiar “cues” associates them with the dream.. So, not seeing the source of sound or light, but perceiving them, a person can understand that he is not in reality, but in the process of sleep, and accordingly control it.

As practice shows, it will not work to enter a lucid dream the first time using this gadget - some practice and time are needed. But after the first sessions, people see more memorable and colorful dreams, sleep better.

When the owner of the device gets used to the device, will connect additional methods described above, he will be able to see lucid dreams every night.

Other Methods

  • mental planning. Make up the maximum detailed plan your future dream, saturated with emotions and actions. Try to learn it, and not only verbally, but also at the subconscious level. In the process of falling asleep, he imagines himself at the starting point of the future dream (with the designation of a specific location);
  • Working with pseudo-real images. In the process of falling asleep, try to imagine a variety of abstract shapes, concentrating on their details. Mentally rotate them around the longitudinal axis. Along the way, listen to the “white noise” in your head (it occurs during falling asleep as a pseudo-irritant at the border of sensory perception) and intensify it as much as possible, try to mentally move the selected part of your body without muscle tension with increasing amplitude;
  • mental representation of the real thing. Before going into a borderline state with your eyes closed, try to imagine hands in front of you, in one of which the real thing is manifesting (you should use it very often). The simplest example is a mobile phone. Try to feel and feel its reality, pressing keys or taps on the screen;
  • Electromagnetic stimulation. innovative method represents a direct influence on the waves of brain activity. During the phase of REM sleep, the frequency and intensity of alpha rhythms increase significantly, the human brain begins to be stimulated by electromagnetic waves at a frequency of 30-40 Hz, which correspond to gamma rhythms, in fact, the wakefulness process. In most cases, the dream becomes lucid, and the person enters the pre-awakening phase.

What technique is the fastest?

There is no unequivocal answer to this question - the speed of entering the borderline state and the time period for maintaining a lucid dream depend on the abilities of a person and his fitness.

The best option for mastering the technique of lucid dreaming as quickly as possible is to use two or more techniques simultaneously. The most popular combinations of lucid dreaming techniques for beginners usually include association and self-control, as well as work with pseudo-real images and electrical stimulation.

It is wise to try a variety of options - for example, a combination individual exercises yoga (Shavasana) and the use of a special mask when going to bed.

The study of lucid dreams

Lucid dreams began to be studied from a psychological and scientific point of view as early as the late 19th century, but a qualitative leap occurred only in the early 2000s - it was then that large-scale experiments were carried out to identify all the features of the borderline state.

It has been scientifically proven that in a certain time interval of the REM sleep phase, the human brain works atypically: the dorsolateral section of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, usually responsible for consciousness, quickly activates, its alpha rhythms partially coincide with the gamma component - the patient sees a lucid dream and can control it . This process usually lasts from a few seconds to 15 minutes.

The modern leader in the study of the processes of such dreams is Stephen LaBerge, as well as a number of followers (Allan Hobson, the Max Planck Society, Patricia Garfield, etc.), under the auspices of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. In Russia, only a few enthusiasts deal with the issue - for example, Mikhail Raduga.

Thanks to modern equipment, scientists have accurately identified the signs of a lucid dream and have even learned how to commute with the dreamer. The next promising step is understanding the underlying causes of the borderline state and developing a universal reliable method for controlling entry into a lucid dream.

Are there differences between lucid dreams and out-of-body experiences?

In the modern interpretation, there is no difference between these states - they all form in the REM phase, are potentiated by the same methods, and are associated with a partial cessation of information entering the brain through classical sensory channels.

The difference is noticeable only for a person experiencing such borderline states - if a lucid dream, as a rule, brings pleasure and delight, then the illusion of leaving the body is often frightening and occurs against the backdrop of sleep paralysis. Despite this, "out of body" is still considered a variation of lucid dreaming.

It has existed for over 4000 years. In this article, we have collected the most popular and effective techniques for entering a lucid dream.

This article describes the following techniques:

  • Technique "Drawing"
  • Technique "Overload"
  • Technique "Anchors"
  • Technique "Hyperventilation"
  • Technique "return to sleep"
  • self-hypnosis
  • "hatching" dreams
  • mobile phone technology

Auxiliary: dream diary and mask

Dream Diary

The first thing we need is to start a dream diary. In this case, a regular notebook and a pen are suitable, which should be located near the bed, it is best to put them under the pillow. After each awakening from sleep, we should write down all the details of what we dreamed as quickly as possible.

If we do not do this immediately, then our consciousness will forget the dream. It is desirable that the bed is not close to the window, since after waking up we will most likely scatter our attention to a large number of objects outside the window and will also not be able to remember our dream.

Why do we need this diary? Firstly, it promotes the development of memory and attention of the dream, and secondly, some small details that we notice in a dream will help us in the future to improve the practice of lucid dreaming.

Mask

Get into the habit of using an eye mask for workouts. You can see such masks on an airplane, on some international buses, or buy at a regular pharmacy. They are usually simple and cheap. Of course, there are expensive relaxing masks, but the main thing is important for us - that it be dark. Therefore, a cheap Chinese, or just a home-made convenient option, is quite suitable.

In addition, a mask with regular training will help the body tune in to the OS, like an anchor in NLP.

There are also masks that give a signal (light) for a person to start doing workouts. But it is best to first master the OS techniques on your own, and then try technical innovations on yourself.

Well, often earplugs serve as an addition to the mask. This is true if your household is in different time go to bed, or do you live in major city and even at night under the window the noise from passing cars does not stop. Earplugs (the drugstore option or plain cotton) will help you keep the noise down and focus on your workout.

Remember, all the presented techniques require constant practice and repetition. The first time you are unlikely to succeed, but this is not a reason to give up and give up.

There is no best technique for entering lucid dreams, because people are individuals and what works for one may not work for another.

At the stage of choosing the technique that suits you, you need to choose: do you want to start training in a dream state or in a waking state? Starting training while awake will give you an advantage, while training from a dream state is more like luck at the beginning.

So, let's get straight to the techniques.

Drawing technique.

Also referred to as the "silent counting technique", this technique is a variation of Tibetan sleep yoga developed by Tartanga Tulk, a Tibetan teacher living and working in the United States.

From the outside it may seem that the technique is very simple. But in fact it's the other way around. What do we need to do? When we go to bed we calm down and relax the body, it will take no more than 3 minutes. Next, we draw numbers in our imagination, starting from one. In this case, the very representation of numbers is very important, it can be a board with chalk, a stick and sand on the beach, or a can and a wall. The choice is yours, let your imagination run wild.

We start drawing. We mentally draw the first number, it is important to imagine it brightly and distinctly, then we erase it and draw the next one, and so on up to 1000. At the same time, it is important to constantly repeat to ourselves: “I am sleeping.” The complexity of the practice lies in the fact that the exercise itself takes a lot of time and requires tremendous concentration. But if you do everything right, then in the end you will achieve what you want.

Soon you will realize that you are in a lucid dream, what to do next is up to you. This technique is also remarkable in that it trains well the concentration of attention, willpower and maintaining awareness. All this will be useful to us in further practices of lucid dreaming.

Technique "Overload"

This is one of the most extreme techniques that require the longest preparation.

The day before the experience, you need to spend a sleepless night. But you should not just stay awake, but do it richly and brightly. It is best to go to a nightclub or a place that fills you with experiences and events. It is very important to be sober at all times.

After our sleepless night we must have a busy day. We can go to the cinema, do something unusual, or even extreme, of course, it's up to you. It is important to spend the night and day in such a way that you do not get bored for a minute. At the end of the day, your body will be tired and your mind awake as it processes past events.

As a result, before going to bed, you will have a short gap, when the mind is still awake, and the body is sleeping. This can be used, but we need a "reference point" - Carlos Castaneda in the book "The Art of Dreaming" suggests looking at your hands at the beginning of the practice. Although the preparation for this method is rather complicated, the effectiveness of the "Overload" technique is quite high.

Hypnotic Imagery Technique

The essence of this technique lies in a special state of “half sleep”, as the Russian philosopher P.D. called it. Uspensky, who for a long time studied the moment a person enters a state of sleep. Later, the American psychiatrist Nathan Rapport refined the method of entering a lucid dream by focusing on hypnotic images.

When we go to bed and close our eyes, after a while we begin to notice various objects in front of our eyes, various waves, circles and shapes, they are called phosphenes. If you contemplate them for a long time, then you can wait for a certain moment on the border of sleep and contemplation, when we relax, various hypnotic images jump out of our subconscious.

It can be voices, light, etc., which become brighter and clearer in the future. These images are the forerunners of sleep. The difficulty with this technique lies in the fact that we have only one small time gap in order to fall into a lucid dream. If we miss it, we will wake up in the morning, but if we try to catch our attention on these images too early, then we run the risk of waking up.

In any case, we won’t succeed the first time, practice is needed here. But when using this technique, many people noted the brightness and richness of sensations during the dream itself.

Technique "Anchors"

This is the most famous and widespread technique. It is also called the “critical state check technique”, and is described in more detail in the book The Practice of Dreams by Stephen LaBerge, a man who is considered a guru and the founder of the scientific approach to the study of dreams. The essence of this technique is that we must build a bridge between dream and reality with the help of anchors.

An anchor is an object, or an event, after which a certain pre-planned action should be taken. Anchor can be anything, the main thing is that we meet it in everyday life as often as possible. It can be a sign, a car, a billboard, a person, etc. It is also important that the anchor often meets us in a dream, here we help will come aforementioned diary.

After we have chosen an anchor, we need to perform a certain procedure.

  • Termination. All actions that we did before meeting with the anchor should be stopped. Everything is clear here, for example, if we were walking, then we stop.
  • Question. We ask ourselves, is this a dream?
  • Examination. We look at our hands or watches, reread the same text a couple of times, etc.
  • Action. We do something impossible in real life, for example, we try to make ourselves fly by force of will.

No matter how ridiculous some points may sound, they must be done without fail and sincerely. When we bring these actions to automaticity, we will involuntarily perform them during sleep. As a result, our consciousness awakens, and we enter into a lucid dream.

Technique "Hyperventilation"

It also has the name "Breathing Method", this is a fairly ancient practice. breathing exercises, or pranayama - breathing yoga, which is applicable to achieve lucid dreaming. This technique has been described by many gurus and scientists who study this phenomenon, such as Carlos Castaneda, Stephen LaBerge, etc.

This is the most simple technique but, despite its simplicity, it works, and for us this is the most important thing. Before going to bed, we set ourselves an alarm clock for 4 in the morning. When he calls, we wake up and are in a state of cheerfulness for about 20-30 minutes, although everything is individual here, two or three may be enough for some. The main task is to achieve such a state that would be aware of what is happening, but still want to sleep.

Then we move on to the hyperventilation phase. When we lie down in bed, we begin to breathe quickly and deeply, as if after a long run. We do this for no more than 2 minutes. What happens next? We somehow discover that we are already inside a lucid dream.

Technique "return to sleep"

This method belongs to the so-called "indirect techniques" for entering a lucid dream. The secret to the success of indirect techniques is that attempts to exit the OS are carried out in an awakened state. At this time, the brain, according to research, is very close to the desired phase state.

On average, when using the indirect technique, it takes 1-2 days, and about 5 attempts, to achieve a result. Those. if this method works for you, then it will be fast enough, and it makes no sense to train him for weeks and even more so for months if something goes wrong.

So how to do indirect technique Return to sleep:

Step 1. After a little sleep, after 4-6 hours of sleep, you wake up with an alarm. After a few minutes (but not more than an hour), you return to sleep again. In general, it will be great if during this period of time you do something related to lucid dreaming - for example, read a book with techniques, or fill out a dream diary.

Step 2 We fall asleep with the intention of making an exit into a lucid dream.

Example, you should have time - at least an hour after falling asleep again. So it is very convenient to try this method on the weekend.

Step 3 When we wake up again, without opening our eyes yet, we try to separate from the body. To do this, use the tricks in turn: get up, roll out, take off. We do this without straining physically, using sensations. The main thing is to make attempts immediately, without wasting time. Otherwise, you will fall asleep or wake up completely.

Step 4 If it didn’t work out within a few seconds, then we sort through known light techniques (for example, visualization of hands, or a mobile phone technique), suddenly one of them will work. Do not spend a lot of time on each, use just a few seconds for each too.

Step 5 If it didn’t work out again, we fall asleep and upon awakening we make an attempt to get out of the body into a lucid dream again. So you can make several attempts until you get up.

The disadvantage of technology is that you can knock yourself out of sleep. On the other hand, very often the first lucid dreams come precisely when using this method.

self-hypnosis

The bottom line is to convince yourself in the evening, before going to bed - that today you will definitely succeed. And there will be a lucid dream.
It doesn't always work, but it can work for people who are prone to suggestion.

The second type of this technique is receiving reminders.
Before falling asleep, concentrate on the desire to remember your dreams. Repeat several times, like a mantra, a text like this: "The next time I have a dream, I will definitely remember it." You can remind yourself all day, keep in mind to go to the store in the evening and buy bread and milk. Here - the same principle.

Technologies of "awakened consciousness"

This is a collection of techniques similar to self-hypnosis, based on the attempt to maintain consciousness while falling asleep. To do this, lie down, relax completely and use any technique that suits you: direct or backward counting up to 100, mental contemplation of pictures (the so-called hypnotic images), focusing on the sound of tinnitus, etc.

Slight physical discomfort

There is no need to keep yourself sleepy here. It is enough to give yourself uncomfortable posture, or sit on a hard-backed chair, or something similar.

The fact is that if you comfortably lie down in bed, then the temptation to fall asleep will be much greater than to remain conscious in order to see a lucid dream and remember it. It is assumed that when falling asleep in an uncomfortable position, the consciousness is awake longer, and your state will be closer to a trance than to normal sleep.

"hatching" dreams

Some time before dreaming, you begin to think about your dream, for example, "I want to go snowboarding."
Write down this phrase, think it over, wish it .. And when you have a good break up dreaming of such a dream, immediately go to sleep. And try to keep thoughts about your goal as the last before you fall asleep.

mobile phone technology

When you wake up, imagine that you have something in your hand. The easiest way to imagine is a mobile phone, hence the name of the technique.

Actively concentrate on the sensation in the palm of your hand, it should become brighter. Feel it with your fingers (feeling, not physically). When the mobile phone can be twisted in your hand, use the techniques of separation from the body - getting up, rolling out.

Now you know more techniques for achieving lucid dreams.
Apply them and find the best ones for you.

Mankind has long been interested in lucid dreams, but until recently they were not studied by anyone and remained something unknown, incomprehensible and even strange. Today's practical studies and studies of specialists provide us with a lot of information about this extraordinary phenomenon. Lucid dreaming is attracting more and more attention, because it turns out that this state is controllable, and you can enter it yourself. Special training will help you achieve any results in a dream, realize your plans.

Lucid dream - what is it?

Conscious dream - a dream in which a person knows that everything that happens to him is virtual, he understands that he is sleeping. Being in such an altered state, a person can easily control his actions, for example, transform into a movie character, easily fly and jump from rooftop to rooftop, accomplish the unattainable in real life. It all depends on fantasy and unresolved problems in reality. Immersed in a lucid dream, people experience what is happening very emotionally. Sensations and feelings seem completely natural to them. There are whole teachings about similar conditions. They say that lucid dreams and out-of-body travel anyone can survive.

How Lucid Dreaming Is Used

In fact, a person knows much more than he thinks. After all, the subconscious of each of us has huge resources. Our dreams are the work of the subconscious, and if a person learns to communicate with him, then new opportunities will open up for him. By working in this direction and improving, you may even be able to become a pioneer. There are many stories when people in a dream came up with something or found a way out of difficult situation. The main thing here is to at least remember the dream.

Fighting fears

If a person is afraid of something or suffers from phobias, he is not sure of his abilities, then by plunging himself into a lucid dream, he will be able to model an action plan, learn how to behave correctly, master fears, emotions and actions. Having learned to control himself in difficult situations during night dreams, he will easily transfer this experience to everyday life, and it will be much easier for him to act in reality.

Many psychotherapists suggest that their patients play difficult life scenes in a dream several times. Finding it difficult to complete a responsible task in real life, you can “rehearse” it in a dream. There, a person will pay special attention to his feelings, reactions and all the details of what is happening. A well-designed dream will help you prepare for business meetings, interviews or exams.

A lucid dream lasts about five minutes on average. Therefore, in order to achieve a good result, it is necessary to learn how to be in this state for a long time. Moreover, lucid dreams are not so frequent as to be spent on fighting your fears. It is better to deal with phobias in reality, the only way to get rid of them for sure.

Lucid dream as inspiration

When dreaming, one can see a suitable theme for a painting, find inspiration for new works and plots for poets, inventors can model a new model or get a hint for their creations.

Scientists have found that it does not matter for the brain where the physical action takes place with a person - in a dream or in reality. When processing information, the brain can form new neural connections. It turns out that the theory of the intended action can be worked out in a dream, but practical skills will still have to be obtained in reality. The sleeper is able, for example, to juggle perfectly, and the skittles themselves can fly, since the laws of gravity are somewhat different there. But muscle memory cannot be deceived.

In a dream, significant people or wise men can meet. The conversation does not take place with real people, and a person receives smart thoughts and instructions not from someone, but from himself, from his consciousness.

Projections of the subconscious

Lucid dreams and out-of-body travel can be combined, because in this state it is easy to get into the most remote corners of the planet and even the galaxy. The human mind will simulate any environment - from the roof of a skyscraper, to London parks, to moonwalks. The main thing is not to forget that if you find yourself on the ocean, everything you see will be only a projection of the subconscious, which will be based on general knowledge about this area. Information long forgotten by a person will be automatically reproduced by the brain.

Great entertainment will be high-speed flights or trips. Get adrenaline in a dream from racing, be inside spaceship, to feel the excitement of what is happening, and most importantly - to develop actions according to your own scenario, to realize that you are the main character - all this will cause real euphoria.

One of the main beneficial properties of lucid dreams can be safely called the fight against nightmares. Those people who are greatly disturbed by night terrors are advised to develop the ability to realize dreams. Indeed, at the most terrible moment, one has only to understand that you are sleeping - and all nightmares will turn into comics. It will be possible to overcome all the monsters, villains and other enemies without much effort.

When Lucid Dreams Occur

They may appear during rapid eye movement in the process. When they start to move in different sides, a person sees a dream. Movements appear at completely different moments of this action. Thus, it is possible to realize a dream several times a night.

There are five phases of sleep. The first occurs in the first 5-10 minutes of "falling asleep", when the body enters a state of rest after being awake. The person may not yet be aware that he is already asleep. Then comes the second phase. This period is characterized by unconscious muscle twitching and general relaxation of the body. The next (third and fourth phases) are characterized by too slow brain wave activity. These periods cause deep dreams. At such a time, it is very difficult to wake a person, and the awakened person will feel weak and will not immediately adapt to the environment.

The first four phases last for two hours (moreover, several times each, we will talk about this below). Then comes the most important - the fifth, in which a person is able to dream. Eye movements last from 10 to 30 minutes, at which time the brain is most active, blood flow to it increases, and we are able to dream. At the same time, the muscles are immobilized so that they do not walk or jump in a dream. The brain studies the subconscious, analyzes the available information and independently creates for a person his own inner reality.

Interestingly, when falling asleep, a person goes through the first, second, third phases, and after the fourth, he returns to the third, second. Only then comes the fifth - rapid eye movement and sleep. Such a cycle can take place several times during the rest, but it is not constant. During the night, the time of the third and fourth phases is reduced, when the fifth increases to an hour. This means that a person can experience lucid dreaming up to 5 times per night.

Many are afraid to enter such states, but practice shows that there is nothing difficult and scary here, on the contrary, it is very exciting. Scientists different countries I tried lucid dreaming myself. How to enter it, they set out in their many works. You just need to figure out what is needed for this, and follow the prompts step by step.

Lucid dreaming in 7 days

Bradley Thompson is the world's leading expert on methods of influencing the human subconscious. His designs are used all over the world. Studying and researching dreams, he developed a step-by-step scheme on how to enter a lucid dream in seven days. Following his instructions, some people achieved excellent results much earlier.

The technique of lucid dreaming of the first day involves familiarizing a person with general information about dreams and recognizing oneself in it.

How to recognize yourself in a dream

For many beginners in the practice of lucid dreaming, a logical question arises: “How do I understand that I am not dreaming?” There are ways to enter lucid dreams. Practice has some of the most precise actions that need to be done to make everything clear.

  1. Look at your palms. If they are clear and the lines are clearly visible, then this is not a dream. If the palms are poorly visible, then the person is sleeping.
  2. You need to try to find a mirror in a dream and look into it.
  3. Gotta try something.
  4. In a dream, you can breathe underwater.
  5. Actions in visions do not comply with the laws of physics.
  6. The ability to see dead people. This is one of the most common factors dream awareness.
  7. Mismatch of time factors. For example, a person dreams of something that has not been there for a long time. Or people around are much younger or older than they really are.
  8. A person finds it difficult to return to the place where he just was. And if it succeeds, then it has already changed.
  9. It is impossible to get out of the room - additional rooms appear, someone stops you, delays you.
  10. Man sees the same things in different places. For example, a friend is talking to you, and looking back, you see that he has abruptly disappeared or is far away.
  11. People and objects are in different places at the same time.
  12. The ability to pass through walls or any other solid objects. You can easily stick your hand into the wall.

These are the most common ways for those who do not know how to enter into lucid dreams, how to learn not to get lost, and try their hand again and again.

The second day of teaching tells that a person must learn to remember his visions. Waking up, you need to immediately remember what you dreamed about, and it is better to write it all down. Thompson suggests starting a diary in which, upon awakening, even if it is at night, the student will write down the main characters and details.

On the third day and the fourth, they offer to start testing reality. As often as possible, ask yourself the question: “Am I dreaming?” The point is that the question should often be repeated in reality. Gradually, this will become a kind of habit, and a person, while in a dream, will also be able to automatically ask himself this question. After doing a few actions learned on the first day, he will be able to understand what is happening to him. Noticing flying cows or dead people around, of course, it is easier to realize that you are sleeping.

In four days, a person will already be so deeply imbued with the task of realizing a dream that his brain, already at the subconscious level, will automatically help to achieve the goal. After rereading the diary, in which at least four visions can be recorded, one can identify the main signs of an individual dream. This means that you need to determine the nature of dreams, highlight what is more common. If the statistics turned out to be completely different, then Thompson advises not to be upset, but to continue practicing awareness further.

The fifth day promises to exponentially increase the chances of entering lucid dreams. Practice shows that on this day, not every student can succeed. The task for the fifth day is the whole technology.

It is necessary to set the alarm clock so that it rings exactly 6 hours after the person goes to bed. After this time, you need to wake up and stay awake for an hour and a half. In the meantime, you can re-read your diary and focus on your dreams. After 90 minutes, we go to bed again and for another 10 minutes we are engaged in self-hypnosis and set ourselves up to enter a lucid dream. After that, we fall asleep, and, in theory, awareness should occur.

The sixth day is identical to the fifth, with only minor changes. After 90 minutes of waiting, you need to lie down and concentrate on the score. Repeat to yourself: “1, I am sleeping, 2, I am sleeping…” It is recommended to count until a certain effect is felt: flickering, vibrations, sounds, images. Such appearances mean that the person is on the verge of entering sleep. If he can keep his mindfulness, he can do whatever he wants to do.

Thus, if you tune in correctly and follow all the instructions exactly, you can enter a lucid dream in 7 days. Practice shows nice results. And to increase the speed of awareness, they developed special glasses.

Are there risks of entering lucid dreams?

The practice of awareness has not yet had time to "acquire" risks and is currently safe. It can be said that the scientific study of lucid dreams has only just begun. An exception can only be those people who are not able to draw a clear line between real life and sleep. The experience they have in the virtual world may be too vivid and completely different from their real life. People who can easily be aware that they are dreaming sometimes become addicted to these dreams, like an addiction.

Dream comprehension devices

Studies by many scientists have proven that dreams bring great benefits to a person. They are the keys to self-knowledge, a kind of introspection. Scientists have developed a unique device that helps to enter the world of dreams. They made special glasses for lucid dreaming.

The invention is a gadget shaped like a regular sleep mask. It runs on batteries and does not require additional chargers.

Inside the mask are buttons that help turn on the device and adjust the brightness. The mask for lucid dreaming is compact, comfortable and its dimensions are universal. Dreams are controlled by LEDs. Several built-in bulbs give a light signal, which allows a person to see a specific blink in a dream and understand that he is sleeping.

Lucid Dreaming Glasses Must Catch deep phase sleep of a person and give several signals for each eye. They are not enough to wake their master, but enough for him to realize that he is sleeping. Here a person will already be able to fully control his actions, do the impossible and fulfill his dreams.

People who have experienced lucid dreams leave a wide variety of reviews. The mask helped them orient themselves in time, suggested that they were sleeping. With the help of it, people rarely missed the deep phase, which could not but rejoice them. The dreams, according to their stories, were very vivid, believable and completely changed their lives.

Now you know what lucid dreaming is and you can practice it at least every day.

A lucid dream (OS) is a special altered state of consciousness, which is fundamentally different from ordinary sleep. In a lucid dream, the reality and clarity of perception of the surrounding space is not inferior to the objective, and sometimes even seems even brighter than in the physical world. At the same time, the sleeper remembers that he is sleeping.

Remembering or entering the OS from a normal dream feels like going through a pipe: as if something is being sucked into another, parallel world. This world is impermanent and changeable, unlike the earthly world, and therefore awareness can be maintained here only with full concentration of attention.

Attention management and the practice of lucid dreaming

The lack of concentration turns OS into normal sleep, therefore, many dreaming techniques are aimed at developing the ability to control one's attention: through the contemplation of objects or stopping the internal dialogue. These techniques develop the habit of returning yourself to the goal, which increases awareness, both awake and in a dream. One of the methods for entering a lucid dream is to develop the habit of checking reality for authenticity by asking yourself the question “Am I dreaming?” or returning oneself to the state of presence - "I am". Such a habit increases the chances of remembering yourself in a dream and entering the OS.

Lucid Dream Concentration: Fixing Reality

Fixing attention on the hands is one of the effective methods used by practitioners to keep their attention in a lucid dream. After all, entering the OS is only the first step. And it is also important to be able not to fall into a dream again immediately after entering. For these purposes, touching the objects of a dream or their detailed examination will help.

Concentrating on the objects of a lucid dream helps keep the dream reality relatively stable, preventing it from constantly floating around. The surrounding space in a lucid dream is held by consciousness, but it can also be a hook that consciousness clings to while maintaining its awareness. Although, in the second case, hands are still a more versatile object for fixation, because they are always with us. However, it can also happen in the OS that there are no objects for fixing attention, although these are isolated cases.

From personal experience

One day I seemed to be in a very unusual lucid dream. Everything around was absolutely white. At first my mind decided that the space around was limited by white walls, but when I tried to feel at least some solid foundation, it turned out that there was none: no walls, no floor, not even my own body.

If we draw parallels with the esoteric systems of the cosmic hierarchy, we can assume that I ended up in the zero point of Alva, which the ancients called the ultimate depth of the universe. There are no divisions and manifestations in this world. The walls, initially outlined by my consciousness, were probably the product of the mind, which could not immediately accept such unusual condition. In that reality, the only thing I could cling to to maintain awareness was only one memory of my existence “I am”, because there simply were no other objects to fixate there. Having mastered this state, the practice of lucid dreaming will no longer need fixation on visual objects, which greatly expands the horizons of possible experience.

scientific view

The phenomenon of lucid dreams has been scientifically confirmed experimentally. During the experiment, dreamers were able to prove their lucidity in a dream by transmitting a signal with a certain eye movement. At the same time, it turned out that entry into the OS is most likely during the period of REM sleep, which lasts from 5 to 15 minutes. This stage is on the threshold of wakefulness, and it is during this period that a person dreams.

The fast phase of sleep occurs approximately 90 minutes after falling asleep, after the passage of the main and longest phase of slow sleep. The phase of slow or deep sleep is associated with recovery processes. During this phase, all processes in the body slow down, muscle activity, respiratory rate and pulse rate decrease.

Per night human body goes through several such cycles of sleep - from slow to fast. And with each new repetition, the duration of the non-REM sleep phase becomes shorter, and the REM sleep phase, respectively, is longer.

Severe energy depletion can lead to a complete exclusion from the REM sleep cycle, because key point in the practice of lucid dreaming is to provide good rest. sleep deprivation and chronic fatigue sharply reduce not only the possibility of entering the OS, but also the likelihood of seeing and remembering even unconscious dreams.

Lucid Dreaming Techniques

In fact, dreams visit us at the threshold states of consciousness - the period of falling asleep or waking up. Based on this, there are two options for entering the OS:

Technique for direct lucid dreaming

This option is most suitable for daytime practices. Sleep in the middle of the day is usually light and light, at the level of a nap, without diving into a deep phase, which makes a direct exit to the OS more likely.

This technique of direct entry into a lucid dream consists of maintaining the memory of the presence of one's consciousness along with maintaining complete stillness of the body. In this method, the main problem is precisely the preservation of immobility, since the brain, checking the consciousness for shutdown, can supply various impulses to the body. You may suddenly feel a tingling, itching, or desire to change position somewhere. However, the brain, as it turns out, can be deceived: stopping the internal dialogue and physical movements leads to falling asleep after about 15 minutes.

Also, this method is used in the morning practice, when the body has already managed to fully recover overnight, but has not yet fully awakened. In this method, a short beep set to a certain time, earlier than the usual wake-up time, will help. The most favorable time is considered to be from 5 o'clock in the morning.

A short sound signal for consciousness will be enough to bring it out of unconscious sleep, but not enough for it to go into full wakefulness. Thus, you will find yourself in that very threshold state, which some practitioners call a phase. Further, your task will remain to maintain awareness of your stay in the OS, in which I will help the concentration practices proposed at the beginning of the article.

Technique for exiting the OS from normal sleep

This technique of lucid dreaming involves remembering yourself directly in a dream. To do this, it is recommended that beforehand, during wakefulness, from time to time to carry out a reality check.

Reality check examples:

  • Time check. If you look at the clock in a dream, look away, and look again, the time will be different. The same goes for inscriptions;
  • Try flying, walking through a wall, or plunging your hand into a solid object. True, sometimes even in a dream this turns out to be impossible;
  • Look at your hands. In a dream, the lines on the hands will be different;
  • Thoughts about the past. Think about where you were before you got here, or try to remember yesterday;
  • Count your fingers. In a dream, their number may be more or less than ten;
  • Try breathing with your nose closed;
  • Reach for the ceiling;

There is a whole host of options for checking reality for objectivity. You can use accessories: for example, wear without removing a ring or bracelet, from time to time checking it tactilely or visually. You can set yourself sound signals for the period of sleep and wakefulness, associate awareness of yourself here and now with some kind of action: for example, passing through doorways, or checking e-mail, or reading SMS. For best effect worth applying different methods, better even creating your own.

Alternative technique for entering a lucid dream

Another alternative technique for indirect OS entry is setting an intention before going to sleep. Conventionally, this can be tied to the phrase "this night I will have a lucid dream." However, here the main essence is not in words, but in the strong-willed message that is embedded in them. After the message is formed, you should turn off the internal dialogue and fall asleep. Preliminary recapitulation of the day and focusing attention before going to bed, for example, on the heart chakra or on a pleasant image that you would like to meet during the upcoming dream practice, will help get rid of obsessive thoughts.