Image ŠiStockphoto.com/Renphoto

Lucid Dreams

Information and Techniques

What Are Lucid Dreams?

Life's too short, we need to live every minute to the full. Lucid dreaming is a technique that allows us to make use of some of those hours otherwise wasted in sleep. In our lucid dreams we can put our dreams to some purpose: analyse our dream symbols, face our challenges and have fun!

People have been having lucid dreams for as long as the human mind has been dreaming. The first known use of the actual term "lucid dreaming" was by Frederik van Eeden in his work "A Study of Dreams" which was published in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research in 1913. (Van Eeden also wrote the novel The Bride of Dreams)

Since then the term has become part of mainstream popular culture. Lucid Dreams have recently been popularised by a number of books and films (including the brilliant Waking Life) along with the work of people such as Stephen LaBerge.

It's important to recognise that lucid dreaming - lucidity - occurs in the middle of true sleep. The imagery you experience on the edges of sleep - the hypnagogic & hypnopompic states - is not lucid dreaming. Those states, fun as they are, are more akin to daydreaming. Imagine that but a hundred times sharper, more detailed and more real - that's the lucid dream experience. In a lucid dream you are totally conscious yet still asleep. You'll know it when you experience it.

These pages will discuss some of the relevant facts and basics of lucid dreaming and introduce a few simple induction techniques to guide you through the process of achieving lucidity. Unless you're one of the lucky few you won't be able to have lucid dreams immediately. It will probably takes weeks or even months of work to learn lucid dreaming. Don't give up - the experience is worth the wait.

If you have any concerns that lucid dreams might not be right for you, or if you suffer from any medical condition, please consult your doctor.