Sweet dreams? It’s up to you.

Eloise GrahamStaff WriterA lucid dream is one in which the dreamer, while asleep, becomes aware that he or she is dreaming. There are two types: a dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD)and a wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD). A DILD starts out as a normal dream, and the dreamer eventually realizes it is a dream. A WILD occurs when the dreamer goes from a normal waking state directly into a dream state with no apparent lapse in consciousness.The benefits of lucid dreaming are far-reaching. You can take on a new life in lucid dreams, and free yourself of all your fears and inhibitions. Lucid dreaming helps you to feel confident that you can do absolutely anything, and that confidence can have a positive impact on your waking life.So how do you have a lucid dream? There is no proven method, but some of these techniques have been shown to encourage lucid dreams.1. Buy yourself a dream journal, a regular journal will not suffice as it does not help separate your dreams from other thoughts.2. Attempt to have a very busy and interesting day so that your brain will have something to think about while you are asleep.3. Repeat “I shall remember my dreams” in thought or out loud (as recommended by pyschophysiologist Dr. Stephen LaBerge) before going tosleep.4. Consider filming yourself while you are asleep in order to observe your sleeping positions.5. When you wake up, lay very still and collect your thoughtsregarding your dreams. Do not spend very long doing so because thelonger you wait, the less you may remember to write down.6. Immediately write down all that you remember from your dream in your dream journal.7. If you cannot remember your dreams, watch your sleep footage and try thinking in the positions that you slept in.egraham@thesamohi.com