<ul><li>Lucid dreaming is an exceptional experience of consciousness within the altered state of sleep. </li><li>Also known as metacognitive dreaming or conscious dreaming, it is a phenomenon that occurs at the end of REM sleep when a dreamer becomes conscious and aware that they are within the dream itself.</li><li> They can then proceed to interact with their dream environment with their conscious free will.</li></ul>

What exactly is lucid dreaming?

<ul><li>Human beings have been lucid dreaming for thousands of years .</li><li> Lucid dreaming is most known for being central to both the ancient Indian Hindu practice of yoga nidra and the Tibetan Buddhist practice of dream yoga.</li><li> Aristotle once wrote, ‘often when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream’.</li><li>Although people have been experiencing lucid dreams for thousands of years, it was only in recent history that it was scientifically proven in a sleep lab by Dr Keith Hearne, in 1975.</li></ul>

What is the history of lucid dreaming?

<ul><li>Most lucid dreamers find they will naturally wake up for about five to ten minutes just before their final REM cycle, and when they go back to sleep, they usually go lucid.</li></ul> You can experiment with this by setting your alarm to wake yourself up earlier than normal, then go back to sleep again.

Step 1: understand your sleep cycle 

<ul><li>Make sure you get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night, avoid electronics in bed and avoid caffeine/sleeping pills/alcohol before bed.</li></ul>Let your bedroom be your dreaming sanctuary.

Step 2: improve your sleep hygiene 

<ul><li>The amazing potential of unlocking creative genius is amplified when a dreamer is able to become fully present and aware within the dream itself. </li><li>Lucid dreaming is an incredible opportunity to interface with your unconscious potential in an organic virtual reality arena created by your consciousness.</li></ul>

How can lucid dreaming be used to improve or unlock creativity?

<ul><li>Make oneirogen herbs into tea and consume them before bedtime .</li></ul>Not only does this prepare your mind for dream time, but the herbs themselves help activate more vivid dreams and increase the potential of lucid dreaming.

Step 5: Work with some oneirogens (dreaming plants) 

<ul><li> Embrace self-awareness by observing, studying and analysing your day-to-day environments. </li></ul>Set goals, intentions, mantras before sleep. Perhaps it is to find your hands in your dreams, or a doorway. Perhaps it can simply be: ‘I will go lucid in my dreams.’

Step 3 : Study Your Environment Carefully 

<ul><li>Start a dream journal and record your dreams daily. This is the most important foundation of conscious dreaming. </li></ul>The more you record your dreams, the more you improve your dream memory recall and trigger more dreams.

Step 4: Keep a dream journal 

<ul><li>Consciousness is a muscle that can be trained and evolved. </li></ul>The more conscious, aware and present you are in your waking life, then the more chance you have of becoming conscious, aware and present within a dream.

Step 6: Keep practising  

Lucid dreams helps us to unleash our dreaming potential and makes sense of dreaming. Here is a step by step guide for lucid dreaming. Practice makes a man perfect; also dreams.✓ 