As long as I can remember, I've been a lucid dreamer. I've always been able to remember the majority of my dreams, and most of the time have varying level of control over what happens in them. For those not familiar with lucid dreaming, Wikipedia defines it as: "the conscious perception of one's state while dreaming, resulting in a much clearer (lucid from Latin, lux "light") experience and sometimes enabling direct control over the content of the dream, a realistic world that is completely in the control of the dreamer."
For a few people like myself, this ability to control a dream happens naturally, but for others it is a skill that can be learned, much like learning an instrument [ed.-My mind is my instrument. I practice eight hours a night.]. The first step is to improve dream recall; you may be having lucid dreams already but forget them the next morning. The next step is to practice what are called "reality checks" throughout the day while you are awake: for example, one reality check is to read some nearby text, look away, and re-read the same text. If it doesn't change, you are probably awake. If the text looks garbled or changes, then you are definitely dreaming. Now comes the fun part. You simply have to visualize what you want to happen in the dream and it will happen. It takes practice, but in a few weeks you'll be flying high in no time.
So that's how you lucid dream.
Nowadays, I don't have very many lucid dreams. It's not because I'm out of practice, I simply choose not to control my dreams anymore. Instead, once I realize I am dreaming, my mind becomes focused on remembering the dream and analyzing it for meaning, if any. This way my dream recall is near 100%. I've been a professional dreamer ever since I dropped out of college six years ago. Now I have a notebook full of dreams that I've recorded. Here's one of my favorites:
Date: Saturday March 30, 2003
Title: “Operation: Iraqi Basketball”
Location: My apartment
Last night I dreamt that I was the coach of the American basketball team facing off against the Iraqi basketball team in a game which would decide the fate of the current war. The crowd was eerily calm, and the players were very focused. It was forbidden for anyone to show any emotion, lest a fight break out. There was no cheering or applause, just the sounds of the basketball bouncing and sneakers squeaking. After all, this game was supposed to be a replacement for the war, not the cause. However, at one point, a tall player (I wasn’t sure what team he was on) dressed in a white uniform was dribbling the ball and lost it out of bounds. He walked over to the sidelines and screamed in the direction of the people on the bench (not at them in particular). He then grabbed a towel and walked to center court where he put the towel over his face and dropped to his knees, raised his arms and screamed up in the air. The game continued, and I continued to sleep, and unfortunately never learned the outcome of the game. That’s the last time I watch CNN before I go to bed.
Hmm, I wonder what the dream means....I can't even begin to imagine what would happen if I tried to change the events of that one.
Sweet lucid dreams. See you on the other side.
Peace.
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