Dreams have been a mystery for people since ancient history. You can only imagine the shock of first people when they experienced dreaming.
It must have been something they couldn’t understand, and in some way we still don’t completely understand them.
Dreams have also been interpreted as some sort of messages, and signs that people should pay attention to.
In today’s caves we can find numerous evidence of dream writings and drawings. Dreams have also been seen as religious signs, and in some way a communication method with the divine.
They were also seen as a prediction of our future, and because of that they were taken very seriously.
What are dreams exactly?
Dreams represent mix of different images, sounds, smells and even feelings. We experience dreams only for a short period of time during the night.
Even though we think they last longer, they don’t. When it comes to how dreams happen, they occurr when we are in the REM phase of our dreaming and also outside this period of time. That is the phase when our eyes actually move fast around.
Some case studies have shown that dreams that occurr in the REM phase of dreaming are a little more emotional and intense and the ones that happen outise REM phase are more easy going, friendly dreams.
In this phase our brain collects information that we have acumulated during the day and in our life in general, and then it organizes them. This is perhaps the explanation why we dream. We in some way, relieve sutuations we have experienced and they come to us in a form of a dream. We don’t experience them completely the same, but we do dream about familiar people, similar situations and events.
Many case studies have been done on the theme of dreams and why people dream in general, and none of them have been completely satisfying. Any sort of supernatural connection to dreams and paranormal activity are not accepted. They can’t be taken seriously even though there are people who believe in these cases.
Dreams are also caused by electric impulses that our brain creates. In certain way, this energy that is being sent is causing our brain to remember events and memories that our brain has stored.
So, if this is a result of our brain activity, is there any way that we can control these actions and make our brain dream whatever we want it to dream? And the answer is yes.
Tehniques used for dreaming what you want
If you want to make your brain dream what you want, then you should try some of these tehniques. They won’t work 100% always, and they are not easy to learn, but when you get the hold of them you will be amazed by the effect.
First thing you should do is to keep a dream journal. This will help you keep track of your dreams, and you can even see if certain dreams repeat themselves.
Another plus side of this method is that you will train your brain to remember more dreams and that won’t be so hard for you in the future. You can do this with help of recording or writing.
So, first thing you should do after waking up, is recording or writing down what you dreamed about.
Another trick is to remind yourself during the day for a few times, if you are dreaming. Ask yourself a straight question: „Am I dreaming?“. This way you will be able to remmebr this during your sleep, and even ask yourself while sleeping this exact question. Of course the answer should be different.
You can also stop breathing for a while, close your mouth and see if you can breath. Take a look at your limbs which are almost never present in our dreams, and we can’t see them at all in our dreams.
When going to sleep you should tell yourself that you are going to be concious of the fact that you are dreaming. This way when falling aslpeep you will go with the fact that everything that happens afterwards is only in your mind. These phrases will help you to stay aware of the fact that you are dreaming, and it goes together with questioning yourself are you dreaming. It is actually some sort of mind training.
You can also note in your dream diary or on your recording certain dream signs. They can be various situations and events that occurr often and you have probably already know what I am talking about.
When you wake up from a dream, try to write down your dream and go back to sleep imidiately. When you do this try to continue your dream, from the point when it got interrupted. If we are having a lucid dream, it doesn’t mean that we are deep in a dream phase.
There is also a light alarm clock that lights up every few hours and reminds you that you are sleeping. This won’t make you wake up, it will only keep you aware of the fact that what is happening is not real.
Dreams that are lucid and vivid happen during REM phase, and this is when you should apply Wake back to bed trick. You should sleep for 90 minutes until the REM phase happens and then wake up. After that you should go back to sleep and continue dreaming.
Also amount of REM sleep is very important. If you want to have more lucid dreams and vivid dreams you should try to interrupt your dreming at night and then try to go back to sleep to indicate your REM phase of sleeping.
After waking up you should try to stay up for a little while and then go back to sleep. The time you should be awake is for 30 to 60 minutes and then try to go back to sleep. Another good method is meditation.
Try to meditate during the day or early in the morning to remember your dreams. Experiencing a lucid dream and remembering is not that easy when certain time pases. So it is good to try out meditation, and train your brain to collect dream informations that occurred earlier.
Have you ever tried flying in your dreams? Spin yourself around and fall down. this will help you fly in your dream. Imagine yourself falling and also rub your hands together to get the attention of your body for a while. For all the games lovers out there, there is a case study that shows that playing games before bed will help you get more lucid dreams. They will awake your imagination and increase your vivid dreams.
If you are a fan of medicines than you should try galantamine. This drug is used for inducing lucid dreaming. Only a small amount is ok, because too much of it can interrupt your sleeping habits, and cause nothing good.
This medicine has also been proven as a nightmare inducing drug. This means that you will probably experience some scary stuff while dreaming, but if this is your goal, go for it. So, sleep paralysis as a possible side effect.
Galantamine is not recommended for people who have troubles with asthma and any other medical issues because it can make them worse, or we can’t wake up if we feel something is not okay with our bodies. So be careful, and inform yourself with your doctor.
Other, more safe medication is vitamin B. This supplement is important in our every day diet, so taking it won’t harm you, and you might even induce your lucid dreaming. Vitamins B5/B6 can make our dreams more alive, and this has also been proven by many case studies.
They affect our brain functions, and this way we are able to experience dreaming in another way. You should only take up to 100mg, because taking this vitamin for a long period of time can cause some issues with your health.
For any medications you are planning to take, it is best to inform yourself with your doctor, just to be 100% sure that it is okay to take them. Maybe your body doesn’t need certain supplements, and they can only harm you. Drugs like Galantamine, should be used carefuly as well, and only in special occasions when you are trying to motivate yourself in having lucid dreams.
In the end, there are some possible methods sed for controling our dreams. Some of them work and have been proven, and others are just a small number of experiences by certain people. You can try them and see if you have that talent, to control your dreams.
Also, be very patient. This task is not that easy as it sounds. Medicatons and other tehniques only promise a possible success, and our brains don’t work the same, so this might help to certain people and for others it won’t have any effect.
To induce lucid dreaming try to follow instructions above, and if you fail, then don’t be disappointed. Perhaps you would be missing on some pretty amazing dreams, your brain has set up for you in advance.
