Is it possible to control your dreams?

The Lawrence of Arabia once said  "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." Well to a certain extent your dreams could be possible. What if I were to tell you that living in a dream world isn't just a wild claim made by Morpheus trying to sell Neo on the idea to give up his current life?  If what one defines as real as what you can taste, touch and feel then having control of your senses within a dream would surely constitute some form of reality wouldn't it? Lucid dreaming is the term for coming as close as possible to this wild idea and chances are the majority of people have experienced it without realizing. Lucid dreaming is the self-awareness that your are in a dream while you are experiencing one. This usually occurs while a person is in the middle of a regular dream and suddenly realizes that he or she is dreaming. This doesn't necessarily mean that one can control their dreams entirely but one feels the reality of them more so than usual, as if you are directly involved in your own movie. 


Here are some steps to help you achieve this type of consciousness while dreaming.

-Become ever so aware of lucid dreaming


The shear fact of being familiar with the concept will take you a long way to achieving a lucid dream. Let yourself understand that if is possible to have awareness within a dream. Never under estimate the power of your sub-conscious. (Watch Inception, Vanilla Sky, Matrix to get your mind boggling)

-Daily reality checks

Ask your self during your day if you are dreaming. This ties into how you think on a sub-conscious level in that our brains are extremely receptive to even the slightest habits. When your dreaming your sub-conscious will be so used to questioning yourself about reality that no matter what state of mind your in, the control will be in your hands if practiced enough.


-Dream Journal

They say keeping a log of your dreams is highly beneficial. Make sure to write entries in it right after you wake and be sure to keep it near your bed. It allows your self to take your dreams seriously (as you should). Remember that your mind creates your dreams. If you don't understand exactly what I am getting at here is that whats directly and indirectly on your mind will come out from your dreams. Keeping a journal can be constructive for you personally by defining what is dominating your thoughts and can help you maintain clarity in your life.


-Timing

Major lesson in life, timing is everything and lucid dreaming is no different. Being aware of your personal sleep schedule will greatly aid you on your quest through your sub-conscious. Experts have stated that napping a few hours after waking up in the morning is the most common time to have a lucid dream. Early in the morning is when you are deep within your REM cycle in which the majority of dreams are produced. The initial wake up will help you maintain a more level head before your fall back asleep. Remember also to nap in the same position as you woke otherwise so you do not disrupt your previous dream.

-The WBTB

The WBTB or Wake back to bed technique is an effective technique to induce a lucid dream if your willing to actually give it a realistic shot. First, you fall asleep with an alarm clock set 5 hours ahead of the time you plan on being asleep by. Then once you are woken up by your alarm set at what ever time may be, stay awake in your bed for an hour with your mind solely concentrated on lucid dreaming and ONLY lucid dreaming (no one said this shit was going to be easy). When re-entering sleep, try to re-create your previous dream in your mind as much as possible while telling your self that you are aware that it is a dream.


If you dare to try to lucid dreaming always remember that what we dream comes from everyday life and thought process. It is an opportunity to learn things about yourself that you might normally neglect.



Here is some inspirational dreaming music for you and the only thing my roomates will play on my computer.






FEEL FREE TO COMMENT AND TALK ABOUT YOUR DREAMS!