Lucid Dreams

Sometimes when you are dreaming, you might still be conscious about what you are dreaming. You might know that the things you are experiencing are not happening in the real world, but just in a dream. However, you are still dreaming. It's not an illusion. This condition is called lucidity and the dream is called a lucid dream. Simply, it's a dream that you can control consciously.

The extent of lucidity differs from person to person. High level of lucidity indicates that the dreamer knows what he is experiencing in the dream and also knows that he is currently lying in bed and will soon be awake. And similarly, low level of lucidity means the person knows to a certain extent that it’s a dream but cannot realize that all these peoples are dream representations and that he/she can suffer no physical damage.

So why have a lucid dream? There are many advantages of it. Mostly, people are attracted to it because they can create their perfect life in a dream. People can always fulfill their wildest fantasies and desires in dreams as they realize they are dreaming and are free without the restrictions of physical damage. The fulfillment of desires can help tremendously in overcoming nightmares. Furthermore, it depends on the level of lucidity. When there is high-level of lucidity, people can muster courage and carry out rehearsals of something that they are planning in real life. This helps to build up confidence and ultimately achieve success.

So can everyone have a lucid dream? Yes. Everyone has the potential to do so. It is a skill which can be learned. However, it's not very easy to do so hence lucid dreaming is still a rare thing. An essential thing required for having a lucid dream is motivation and effort. From each trial, we can gain experience and failures can make us more proficient.

Recalling your previous dream can be one of the best places to start. In this process, the dreamer tries to remember the dream he/she had i.e. recognizing what they had already seen and realize this was a dream. Mostly it’s what you desire in your real life that you see in dreams. So realizing the most desired thing can also help in having lucid dreams. So the simplest way to do this is to recall your previous dreams, keep calm and focus on the fact that you are dreaming. With enough practice, you'll get the hang of it in no time at all.

And yes, it has no disadvantages.