Dutch psychiatrist and writer Frederik Van Eeden first coined the term lucid dreaming in the 1880s.
Eeden's research demonstrated that during lucid dreaming the dreamer was able to manipulate their experiences within the dream environment.
More recent research studies have closely analyzed the phenomenon and properly defined the measurable differences from being awake and typical REM sleep:
lucid dreaming constitutes a hybrid state of consciousness with definable and measurable differences from waking and from REM sleep, particularly in frontal areas.
Lucid dreaming is basically a hybrid state of consciousness whereby we become self-aware during a dream.
Typically, when we dream we have no control over our actions or those of others. It is like being a fly on the wall; we are watching ourselves play a role in the dream.
But when we lucid dream, we can take control of the actor playing the role, so to speak.
To lucid dream, we need to be in a sleep state but remain aware. It sounds complicated, but actually most of us will experience at least one accidental episode in a lifetime, so it is very possible to achieve.
If you have ever experienced a dream where you had some level of awareness that you were dreaming, you have probably lucid dreamed. Having this awareness is common during light sleep episodes, like those you experience during an afternoon nap.
How Our Lucid Dreaming Meditation Works
Sleep has a specific brainwave cycle blueprint. It isn't always exactly the same, but each night we cycle through the same frequency zones.
Theta waves are present in sleep stages 1 and 2, when we're in light sleep. Delta waves are the slowest brainwaves and present in deep sleep, stages 3 and 4.
Understanding this is key to understanding how lucid dreaming can occur, and determining how to achieve it.
Our binaural beats Lucid Dreaming meditation almost mimics the sleep cycle process, but with a specific advantage that will assist you in lucid dreaming.
First, the music uses Theta frequencies to guide you into a calm, relaxed state.
This is essential for lucid dreaming.
Theta is known as the meditation state; because Theta waves are abundant when meditators access deep meditation.
Also consider that in deep meditation we stimulate the third eye, the gate that leads to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness.
It is in this state of higher consciousness that we obtain awareness beyond that of our everyday physical world experience.
Once the music has taken you down into a deeply relaxed Theta state, it then begins to slowly drop down into the Delta frequency zone, hovering just above the point where you might fall asleep.
This balance keeps you in a state of limbo, in a cat-nap-like sleep state where you are almost asleep and able to dream lightly but would be woken if someone made a noise or called out your name.
If you've ever fallen asleep but woken a few minutes later because you dreamt that you stepped down a hole or off a ledge in your sleep (and you actually physically feel yourself taking the step), you'll know the limbo state I mean.
In this state, your subconscious remains awake but your conscious mind remains asleep. This is a mind trick of sorts.
In addition to the binaural beats frequencies that take you down into the Theta and Delta states, we have tuned the instrumentation in the music to 174 hertz.
This frequency is taken from the ancient Solfeggio scale. It is considered a natural anesthetic, which complements the binaural beats in helping you enter a light state of sleep.
Towards the end of the track, the frequencies move out of Delta and up into the upper Theta zone to arouse you to wakeful awareness.
How to Lucid Dream
Dream studies have shown that the best time to try lucid dreaming is after waking up. This might sound a bit counterintuitive but it makes perfect sense.
The brain is already in a sleepy state, which makes it easier to fall back into a semi-like sleep state while maintaining the awareness required to control your dreams.
Consider this scenario:
Think about those times on a weekend when you have a lie in, or when you're a little sick and have a day off to stay in bed.
You may recall waking up in the morning at your normal time and then falling back into a light sleep where you're sort of aware of the fact that you have woken up and are in bed, but you're also having a vivid dream – so vivid that it seems real.
In this state, you are very close to lucid dreaming: because you are dreaming but part of your brain is aware of where you are and what you are doing.
This is essentially the crossroads of lucid dreaming and where you will access this special state of consciousness.
We therefore recommend that you listen to the Lucid Dreaming meditation just after you wake up in the morning, or when you lay down to take an afternoon nap. For a beginner, this is when you are most likely to experience a lucid dream.
Download Lucid Dreaming today and create your own dreamworld, with your own environment, characters and stories!
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Once you have purchased the track, further specific advice on how to lucid dream can be found in this article.
Note: Although perfectly safe, be aware that lucid dreams can be vivid and feel very real. This means that when you wake up, it may take a minute or two to adjust back to the circumstances of the physical world.
