Lucid Dreaming
Introduction
Lucid dreaming refers to the state of awareness that one is dreaming, and it takes place during sleep. Lucid dreaming entails the attention skillfulness of having metacognition about the dreamer’s condition of consciousness as well as engagement in the dream situation (Holzinger 218). A lucid dreamer becomes aware that he/she is in a dream. Frederik Willems van Eeden coined the term lucid dreaming. Strange, impossible and marvelous things usually take place in dreams. However, people never realize that the explanation is that they are in their dreams. Lucid dreaming allows a dreaming person to recognize the explanation for the bizarre occurrences they experience. Empowered by the understanding that the world they experience is a formation of their own imagination, lucid dreamers consciously influence the upshot of their dreams (Holzinger 218). They have the ability to form and change objects, situations, worlds, themselves and other people. A lucid dreamer has the potential to wake up during the dream and take control of his/her dreams.
Symptoms and Causes
Symptoms of lucid dreaming include the recognition that one is in a dream and trying to stabilize a dream. Other signs include waking up when one realizes that she or he is in a dream, talking to the dream characters and attempting to do the actions highlighted in the dream (LaBerge 3). Lucid dreaming is because of sleep disorders, and it can result to alienation, addiction where one engages lucid dreaming for fun, and dissociation where one weakens the precincts between dreaming and waking.
Benefits of Lucid Dreaming
There are many advantages accompanying a personal experience of lucid dreaming that benefit people in dealing with various challenges in day-to-day endeavors. Research proves that one can recover time from sleeping in that one spends time as he or she sleeps doing some of the things that they love most (Molfese p. 15). This gives someone that opportunity to experience life in a way that he or she has always been dreaming. There is benefit of enjoying life by one’s own rules where the bonds of reality are however broken. The world we live in is full of rules that limit people from other activities. Lucid dreaming gives a person the chance to explore the world with personal rules provide room for wildest imagination.
Dealing with emotional feeling is another benefit from lucid dreaming. As someone sleeps then he happens to tag his feelings along to dream world. If a nightmare can have someone stressed, then an inspirational dream can serve an optimistic purpose by ensuring that one is happy (Molfese p. 15). A good number of people apply lucid dreaming as a modus operandi to start their day in a good mood. Lucid dreaming serves as an entertainment. In other cases, they are further than entertainment where one can have it as an exceptional dexterity to acquire knowledge about just anything. This happens through reinforcement of someone’s learning, reminiscing past memories, and preparation for upcoming responsibilities.
Other benefits linked to the lucid dreams include the ability of someone gaining the confidence of facing his or her own fears only that it is through dreams with limited settings (Molfese p. 15). However, one has a chance to improve his or her self-reliance through lucid dreaming. The benefits are plenty such as journeying into swap realities, as well as working on new set of proficiency. One gets a chance of dealing with death of a beloved close person or other when away from reach lucid dreaming gives an opportunity to close the gap.
Work Cited
Holzinger, Brigitte, “Lucid dreaming: Dreams of clarity”, Contemporary Hypnosus 26.4(2009):216:224.
LaBerge, Stephen. Lucid dreaming: A concise guide to awakening in your dreams and your life. New York: Sounds True, Feb 1, 2009.
Molfese, Jeremiah. My Adventures in Lucid Dreaming: A Dream Journal & Guide into the World of Lucid Dreaming. Authorhouse, 2012. Print.
