Sueños lúcidos: cómo pueden cambiar su vida

Lucid Dreaming: How It Can Change Your Life

Although lucid dreaming may seem like fantasy or fiction, it is a very real experience for many people, backed by science and psychology.  Lucid dreaming is primarily a mechanism that takes place in the prefrontal cortex of the brain and occurs when the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming while in a state of sleep.

Lucid dreaming is associated with consciousness and the reflection of this consciousness, which is why it is often associated with what is known as metacognition.  Metacognition refers to people's ability to reflect on their thinking processes and the way they learn.

Research conducted so far suggests that lucid dreaming and metacognitive functions share similar neural systems.  This would indicate that people with a greater ability to control their thoughts are more likely to experience lucid dreams.

Like normal dreams, lucid dreams occur during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phase of sleep, which is characterized by rapid eye movement, lack of muscle tone in the body and a tendency to dream.

 

Why do we dream?

Experiments by Dr. Mark Blumberg, a neuroscientist at the University of Iowa in the United States who has studied the REM phase of sleep since the late 1990s, can give us some important clues, as he mentions in an article for The New Yorker magazine.

Blumberg and his lab team surgically removed the cortex of baby rats — the region of the brain involved in visual imagery and conscious experience, where dreams were thought to originate — leaving intact only the brain stem, which controls subconscious bodily functions. The sleeping babies continued to twitch exactly as they had before the surgery. “There was no way the twitching could be a byproduct of dreaming.”

"A different sound was assigned to each neuron in the brain that we recorded from," he explained. In a video of the experiment, the paw began to shake, and with each shake, musical notes resonated from different neurons in the brain. The effect was like a church organ playing underwater; the chords would play and then fade away. The readings from the electrodes made clear the order of events: first the puppy moved, then the brain responded. The shaking was followed by bursts of activity in the sensorimotor cortex, which coordinates movement and sensation. The body and brain were not disconnected. The brain listened to the body.

In a series of papers, Blumberg laid out his theory that the brain uses sleep to “learn” about the body. You wouldn’t think the body is something a brain needs to learn, but we aren’t born with maps of our bodies—we can’t be, because our bodies change every day, and because the body a fetus ends up becoming may differ from the one encoded in its genome. “Babies must learn about the body they have,” not the body they are supposed to have.

In my reflections, it occurs to me that if we suffer from some disease, or have an injury, during sleep, that part of the body that is affected can show the brain how to treat it and lucid dreaming could be a valuable tool for this.

 

Why have lucid dreams?

When you sleep and during sleep you realize that you are dreaming, by remaining in it, this state can provide you with certain benefits that may motivate you to cultivate this skill.

  1. Lucid dreaming helps you develop greater awareness.

Referring to a lucid person alludes to the fact that said person has clarity and/or is aware.

Being aware that you are dreaming indicates that you are bringing the clarity, the awareness that you have in your waking state into the space of dreaming. For me, it gives me the possibility of approaching situations that I am experiencing while awake from another perspective.

Sometimes, during waking hours and with all the things we have to do at the same time, it is difficult to dedicate enough time and attention to some issue, thought or emotion that may be disturbing us.  Lucid dreaming allows us to relate to the contents of our mind, so we can relate to our thoughts and emotions from another perspective.

 

  1. Lucid dreaming allows you to better understand how your mind works and improve your problem solving skills.

By having a better reference of what is happening inside us, it is easier to understand how the situations we face affect us without being dominated by emotions.  It gives us an advantage on how we will react and respond, perhaps, in a more intelligent way.

 

  1. Lucid dreaming allows you to explore broader and deeper aspects of your mind.

As Andrew Holecek of the online magazine Kripalu explains, by awakening within your dream, you can explore the power of your mind to change your world.  Once inside your dream you develop the ability to transform what you are experiencing within it: situations, objects, characters, etc., that is, you can change your mind and your world.

This ability allows you to modify your life:  transform bad emotional states into better ones, form mental states that allow you to function in a balanced and harmonious way.  This can give you the confidence to really change your life experience.

 

  1. Lucid dreaming can help you improve your memory

This is a benefit I have personally discovered.  One of the ways to encourage lucid dreaming is through journaling, and this practice requires you to take a moment when you wake up to write down, if you remember, any dreams you had during the night.  Surprisingly, by doing this exercise, you begin to remember not just one, but more dreams that you may have had that night and in some way, that memory is consolidated during the day, that is, you can evoke and analyze it.

 

  1. Discovering your power of choice

According to Holecek, when you are in a lucid dream, you can watch the dream unfold and decide not to change anything, for example.  This is what would be called a present-day dream: you see it like a movie without getting involved in it (this would make it non-lucid).  On the other hand, you can choose to change certain aspects of that dream to give it a better ending.  In either case, you are choosing.  You can then apply this same thing to your daily life, but even better, because you exercise the power to change your mind, your way of relating to things, to people; to wake up and take control of your life.

 

  1. Lucid dreaming can help reduce anxiety

It has been suggested that lucid dreaming may reduce symptoms of anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because during lucid dreaming a person can review situations with a certain degree of control.  In this way, the person can learn to calm down in situations that would normally cause stress in the real world. 

In a recent pilot study of people suffering from PTSD, all received a week-long lucid dreaming workshop and 85% showed a significant enough decrease in symptoms that they were no longer classified as having PTSD.

The participants had a wide range of traumas, from childhood sexual abuse to military service and traffic accidents. A significant decrease in negative emotions, frequency of nightmares and anxiety was also observed.

 

Steps and strategies to become an oneironaut

There is only one requirement to have a lucid dream:  realize that you are dreaming.  Of course, this is easier said than done, however, learning how to lucid dream is like any other skill you decide to learn, it takes time, discipline, making adjustments to your lifestyle and dreaming; and consistency.

According to the online magazine World of Lucid Dreaming , some people may have their first lucid dream on the first try, while other people will need weeks and sometimes even months before they achieve consciousness in the dream space. 

Below you will find some of the essential steps to trigger lucid dreams, or at least the ones that have worked for me:

  1. Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep at night . This is part of sleep hygiene and helps your body get ready and give itself the space for lucid dreaming to take place.
  1. A dream journal should be kept (essential). As soon as you get up in the morning you should write down at least one dream that you remember having had the night before.  This exercise is key because when you start writing and evoking that dream, more details of the dream or memories of other dreams you had during the night may begin to arrive.
  1. Do reality checks. Several times during the day ask yourself if you are dreaming.  This is also key because when you are in the dream space, that question is going to resurface.
  1. Meditation and/or breathing exercises. Both practices help you lay the foundation for lucid dreaming because they involve higher states of consciousness (up to the Gamma band or 40Hz) which facilitates mental concentration, self-awareness and becoming accustomed to reflection.
  1. Program yourself to consciously access your dream space . This is a hybrid technique between instructing your brain to be aware while dreaming and self-hypnosis, which I explain below.  The latter provides you with a step-by-step guide to achieving the right conditions.

 

According to Rebecca Casale, founder of World of Lucid Dreaming,

“Hypnosis involves putting the brain into a relaxed trance. It makes you more susceptible than normal. It is not something unnatural, malignant or mind-controlled…

…In the real world, hypnosis has very productive uses in therapy and personal development. It gives you the ability to talk to your inner self and program your unconscious mind.”

Casale suggests 5 easy steps to achieve lucid dreams with self-hypnosis:

  • Make yourself comfortable. Find a place to sit or lie down, do not cross your arms or legs. Adopt an open posture that you can maintain for 20 minutes.

Let your eyes close naturally and breathe slowly and deeply 3 times.

Observe the thoughts that enter your mind and let them pass without interacting with them. 

  • Release tension from the body. Visualize each muscle relaxing and melting into the furniture. Release each muscle group one by one.

Focus on your shoulders, upper back, and jaw.

  • Visualize your descent. Visualize yourself at the top of a staircase.  This represents your consciousness.  As you descend the steps one by one, you delve deeper into your relaxing trance state.

Count the steps, if you wish.  Try to gently roll your eyes back into your head and keep your body still.

  • Use autosuggestions. Once you reach the top of the ladder, you are ready to begin your autosuggestion script.

Gently repeat one or more of the following phrases in your mind (choose the one that seems most appropriate to you).  For example,

“I can remember my dreams”

“I can have lucid dreams”

“I can be conscious in my dreams”

Repeat the affirmation you have chosen as many times as you like.

  • Wake up gently. When you are ready, get ready to exit the trance.  Tell yourself that you are going to count to 10, and that with each step you will slowly return to full awareness. Then count up as you climb the steps in your mind.

Take a deep breath when you reach the top and open your eyes. Sit down for a moment if you want, and remember to get up slowly.

 

Useful tips to promote lucid dreaming

  1. Make sure you have good sleep hygiene.  This means, among other things, a room that is as dark as possible, maintaining a temperature of around 15-17ºC and dedicating at least 7-8 hours to restful sleep.
  1. Avoid consuming marijuana or alcohol as they do not allow you to sleep deeply because they inhibit REM sleep.
  1. Take short naps in the afternoons if you feel tired, especially after meals.
  1. Take advantage of aromatherapy to influence olfactory-induced dreams (SLIPO). Smells are processed in the limbic system of the brain which is where memories and emotions are stored.  Sometimes just the smell of a scent can evoke and invoke powerful emotions. Some essential oils that can help promote lucid dreaming include rose, sandalwood, clove, anise, mugwort, lavender, and clary sage. 
  1. Take 100 mg of a vitamin B6 supplement at least two hours before bedtime to dream more vividly.
  1. Experiment with mugwort, a plant known to make your dreams vivid.
  1. Include cheese or a dairy product in your last meal. Cheese contains tryptophan, an amino acid that helps promote sleep, normalize sleep patterns and reduce stress levels.

Finally, don't be afraid to consciously find yourself within the dream space.  Lucidity during sleep is a positive and powerful tool for your personal development.

In the words of Hocelek,

 By learning to work with your mind in your dreams, you have the potential to transform your life. Same mind, different state. Take the insights you glean from your dreams, and your new, lucid relationship to them, then apply them to the “outer vision.” Awaken in your dreams to learn how to awaken to your life.”

 

 

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A mi todo se me va en deseos

José Joaquín Rivera Ramirez

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