LUCID DREAMING AND THE HUMAN BRAIN

Lucid dreaming: we have all heard the term one way or another, but many are not familiar with its actual meaning. A vast majority of the population might have actually experienced it before without knowledge of it occurring. Lucid dreaming is simply the awareness of when you are dreaming; when you can look around in your dream, realize that you’re just dreaming, and then control what you do in that realm of space.

Lucid dreamers imply that there are many positive benefits of doing this. Besides the amazing abnormal feeling of flying, walking through doors, visiting any place you wish in a blink-of-an-eye, you may also be able to overcome fears! For example, with a fear of heights you can climb to the highest cliff, stand on the edge (knowing it is not real life), and confront your fear. Also, America’s number one fear in life, even over death, is public-speaking. Engulf yourself in a crowded room where you are in front of the group speaking about a topic of choice, interact with the on-lookers, and build self-confidence via lucid dreaming.

In order to perfect this, there are several techniques that may induce the lucid dreams. These include, but not limited to: Writing down your dreams when you first wake up to better remember them in the future (because we all repeat same or similar dreams, therefore it will make it easier to recall). Next, perform reality checks. Glance at your hands during the day and ask yourself if you are dreaming. Make a conscious effort throughout the day to check the time on a clock, where it may trigger you to do that in a dream. If the time jumps after a couple glances in a dream, it may trigger your awareness! And lastly, try to read a paragraph in your dream. See if the words change or don’t make any sense as you read them. It may spark an idea to test if you are dreaming, or if it’s reality.

But what truly is reality anyway? What if we are living in a dream right now and can’t realize it? Life is open to interpretation, and testing our ‘realities’ may bring us one step closer to understanding our existence and boundaries. Lucid dreaming is an explorative step into altering your reality. Our brains are extraordinary tools, and the only limit it has is the limit you think it has.  

-Mike Rubino