Lucid Dreaming (LD)
Have you ever heard of lucid dreaming? Or maybe you've experienced it yourself?
I've known about lucid dreaming for a really long time. I've always found the topic fascinating, but somehow I never took it seriously enough to actually try it.
Just think about how amazing it could be. You're sleeping, you're dreaming, and suddenly you can take control of what's happening in your dream. You can do almost anything you can imagine.
Want to fly? No problem!
Want to meet someone close to you who you haven't seen or spoken to in a long time? There you go!
From what I've read online and from other people's experiences, it seems like you can do almost anything you can imagine. But getting there takes some patience and, most importantly, consistency.
So I decided to learn more about Lucid Dreaming (LD) and try to experience it for myself.
But there's one problem...
Before I start trying to control my dreams, I should probably learn how to... remember them first 😂
And for me, that can be pretty random.
I've noticed that there are two things that really affect how well I remember my dreams.
The first one is sleep hygiene. I almost never remember my dreams when I go to bed really late. If I go to sleep around 10 PM and I'm not completely exhausted, there's a pretty good chance I'll remember my dream in the morning.
The second thing that makes my dreams disappear very quickly is getting distracted right after waking up.
If I wake up calmly and have a moment to myself to think about what I was dreaming about, I can usually remember it.
But when you have kids and work, sometimes there's just no time for that 😂 Sometimes I have to get out of bed immediately, or someone wakes me up so suddenly that I miss that short moment when the dream is still perfectly clear in my head.
Dream Journal
The most important thing at the beginning is actually very simple.
A dream journal.
It can just be a regular notebook next to your bed. The idea is to write down everything you remember as soon as possible after waking up.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend using your phone. The screen and everything happening on your phone can quickly distract you, and before you know it, your dream may already start disappearing from your memory.
It doesn't have to be some beautifully written story. Just write down whatever comes to your mind and everything you can remember from the dream.
It really works. Over time, if you regularly write down your dreams, you should start remembering them more often and in greater detail.
Consistency is the most important part.
The first moments after waking up are important
This is probably one of the more interesting things I've learned.
When you wake up, it's better not to immediately grab your phone or start thinking about everything you need to do that day.
If possible, stay in the same position for a little longer, close your eyes and try to remember what you were dreaming about just a moment ago.
Sometimes one tiny detail can suddenly bring back the rest of the dream.
Affirmation
Another interesting method that may help with remembering dreams is affirmation.
The idea is to repeat a simple sentence to yourself during the day, and especially right before falling asleep. Something like:
“I will remember my dream.”
or
“Tonight I will remember my dream.”
Setting your mind on a specific goal like this may actually help you remember your dreams more often.
My little experiment
Starting today, I'm going to keep my own dream journal.
For now, I'm not going to mess around with more advanced lucid dreaming techniques. First, I want to learn one basic thing:
Remember my dreams regularly.
So for the next few days I'm going to:
keep my dream journal next to my bed,
try to remember my dream before doing anything else after waking up,
write down even the smallest fragments,
remind myself before going to sleep that I want to remember my dreams in the morning.
We'll see what happens!
After some time, I'll share my results with you and let you know if I'm actually getting better at remembering my dreams. And of course, I'll probably share some of the more interesting dreams too.
In my next post, I want to write about techniques that can help us realize while we're dreaming that we're actually inside a dream, and how we can try to take control of it.
And now I'm curious about your experiences!
Have you ever heard about lucid dreaming?
Have you ever had a lucid dream yourself?
You can also tell me about a dream that keeps coming back, a dream that bothers you, or maybe one that you enjoyed so much that you still remember it today.
I'm waiting for your stories and opinions! 😄