Each night when you close your eyes and go to sleep, you are opening the door to a truly astonishing dimension of your existence. Roughly 30 minutes after your head hits the pillow is when you typically have your first dream, and by the time you wake up the next morning you will have experienced between 3-7 dreams in total. Not only are most of your dreams will be completely forgotten by the time you awake, they are almost entirely out of your control. But there are some fascinating methods you can use to manipulate the plot of your dreams and your experience within them, known as lucid dreaming.
ASAP Science recently put together a terrific animated vignette on the topic of lucid dreaming and you can watch it below. And the hosts of Radiolab also aired a truly remarkable conversation where one man share’s his story of how lucid dreaming cured him from a traumatic issue that plagued him for years. For a more intensive exploration into the world of lucid dreaming, Brain Pickings suggests the following two books. First is Stephen LaBerge and Howard Rheingold’s 1991 bible Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. Overview: This book goes far beyond the confines of pop dream psychology, establishing a scientifically researched framework for using lucid dreaming–that is, consciously influencing the outcome of your dreams. Based on Dr. Stephen LaBerge’s extensive laboratory work at Stanford University mapping mind/body relationships during the dream state, as well as the teachings of Tibetan dream yogis and the work of other scientists, including German psycholgist Paul Tholey, this practical workbook will show you how to use your dreams to: solve problems; gain greater confidence; improve creativity, and more.
And a second recommendation is LaBerge’s follow-up book, Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide to Awakening in Your Dreams and in Your Life. Overview: The average person spends nearly twenty-five years of their life sleeping. But in all that time you can get a lot more than just a healthy night s rest. With the art of lucid dreaming or becoming fully conscious in the dream state you can find creative inspirations, promote emotional healing, gain rich insights into your waking reality, and much more. Now, with Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide to Awakening in Your Dreams and in Your Life, Stephen LaBerge invites you on a guided journey to learn to use conscious dreaming in your life. Distilled from his more than twenty years of pioneering research at Stanford University and the Lucidity Institute including many new and updated techniques and discoveries here is the most effective and easy-to-learn tool available for you to begin your own fascinating nightly exploration into Lucid Dreaming.
SEE ALSO: Incredible Discovery About REM Sleep & Dreaming Just Opened Huge New Door
SEE ALSO: The Nature Of Reality And Why There’s A 10% Chance You Are Dreaming At This Very Second