Hey everyone, and welcome to TopThink. Today, we are going to learn about 4 easy
steps to lucid dream every night. Now, let’s begin. For decades, dreams have fascinated psychologists,
writers, and philosophers alike. These chaotic combinations of sensation, emotion
and memory give our subconscious mind the chance to speak. Dreams can tell us stories and teach us lessons. They can transform everyday information into
something truly extraordinary. But the problem is… we’re rarely aware
of our dreams until after they’ve passed us by. Even then, we struggle to recall anything
more than a face or a feeling. You try everything to remember that fantastic
dream you just had, but the details seem to slip through your fingers. The fleeting nature of our dreams is one of
the main reasons why people are so captivated by them. They’re mysterious and challenging. Many have speculated that they contain much
more than just random emotions and memories. Our dreams may harbor secrets about who we
are and what we want. But how do we access our dreams if we can
never remember them? In 1913, a Dutch psychiatrist coined the term
“lucid dream.” Lucid dreaming is when you become aware of
a dream while it’s happening. You gain the ability to consciously explore
your unconscious mind. Some have even discovered techniques to manipulate
a dream’s content while inside of it. This term didn’t come about until the 20th
century, but the concept is significantly older. Over a thousand years earlier, Buddhist monks
in Tibet used dream yoga to access and control their dreams. They introduced a three-step process to perform
Wake Induced Lucid Dreams or WILDs. Many of these monks could move in and out
of WILDs with ease. But that took them years of intense practice
and meditation. Luckily, you don’t have to be a master of
Tibetan Dream Yoga to lucid dream. In fact, almost anyone can do it under the
right circumstances. Lucid dreams might seem like something out
of a movie or novel, but they’re right at your fingertips. So here are 4 easy steps to explore the worlds
you create while you sleep. 1. Dream Memory
Because so many people have experimented with lucid dreaming, there are a number of different
methods to make it happen. Some, like Dream Yoga, trigger lucid dreams
while you’re still awake. You enter a meditative dream state, which
lets your mind wander into your unconscious. Other methods, like Senses Initiated Lucid
Dreaming or SSILD, rely on your sensory engagement with the world around you. The goal here is to prepare your body and
brain to enter a new type of sensory environment. These techniques can be challenging for beginners,
so we’re going to start with something simpler. In this video, we’ll cover the Mnemonic
Induction of Lucid Dreams or MILD. This surprisingly effective process stimulates
lucidity using mental preparation and self-talk. The name MILD stems from the word mnemonic,
which means “to help with memory.” You probably used your fair share of mnemonic
devices in school. Phrases like, “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt
Sally” help us remember more complicated information like the order of operations. As you might have guessed, memory plays a
major role in your ability to lucid dream. Before you can dive in, you have to train
your brain to remember the content of your dreams. Don’t worry, it’s a lot easier than it
sounds. All you have to do is start keeping a dream
journal. When you wake up in the morning, immediately
write down everything you can remember. People, places, feelings, it’s all useful. Little by little, each detail will strengthen
your dream recall rate. Eventually, you’ll be able to remember one
or two dreams every single morning. So why is this so crucial for lucid dreaming? First of all, you need to be able to remember
a lucid dream when it happens. Otherwise, what’s the point? You might be lucid dreaming way more often
than you think. But you’ll never know until you improve
your dream recall. More importantly, this technique will show
you how vivid your dreams are. Not every dream has the potential to be lucid. Some are vast and extremely intricate. Others are brief and superficial. But when you wake up in the morning, it’s
hard to tell the difference. You can use your dream journal to stimulate
more sophisticated dreaming. It’s not just because you remember your
dreams. They become more complex, because your brain
is learning to dream bigger. Like any other behavior, you get better at
it the more you practice. No matter how bland or vivid your dreams are
now, this method will help them grow. If you’re consistent, they’ll develop
enough to achieve complete lucidity. 2. Speak It to Life
Now that you’ve built your dream recall, the next step is to practice lucid affirmations. Normally, people use affirmations to change
their perception of themselves or the world around them. To be feel more secure or motivated, you might
repeat statements like, “I am aware of my potential” or “Challenges are opportunities
to grow.” This repetition slowly but surely persuades
your brain to believe what you tell yourself. But why does this work? On a conscious level, affirmations aren’t
all that helpful. The conscious part of your brain can easily
tell the difference between what is real and what is imaginary. If, for example, you pretend you have confidence,
your conscious brain isn’t going to fall for it. But your subconscious will. Your subconscious, which controls about 95%
of your brain, can’t distinguish between real and imaginary stimuli. Say you’re walking down a dark alley at
night. What’re the chances a monster pops out and
attacks you? Pretty low, right? Yet, your subconscious brain still interprets
this imaginary creature as a legitimate threat. You’ll start to sweat. Your heart rate will go up. You’ll panic even though you know, consciously,
that it’s impossible. Affirmations work the same way. Your subconscious begins reacting to these
positive messages like they’re real, which changes your behavior. This can create confidence, empathy, and even
lucid dreams. You should use lucid affirmations right before
you go to sleep. You need to convince your subconscious that
what you’re saying is about to happen. When you’re feeling drowsy, begin repeating
phrases like, “I will remember that I’m dreaming.” As you get closer to falling asleep, transition
to affirmations like, “the next thing I see will be a dream.” The goal is to verbally usher your brain into
a dream-like state. In other words, you convince your subconscious
that you’re about to dream, so you do. 3. Visualizing Trajectory
It’s critical that lucid dreaming is the last thing you think about before knocking
out. But when you’re laying in bed, feeling relaxed
and cozy, it’s easy to let your mind wander. This step takes advantage of that natural
inclination by aiming your creativity. In most cases, loosing focus before falling
asleep lowers your chances of achieving lucidity. But what if you’re losing focus by immersing
yourself into a dream? Just like affirmations fool your subconscious,
visualizations create the illusion of entering a dream state before it actually happens. You can often convince your brain that you’re
dreaming before you’re even asleep. Start by re-imagining a previous dream. Of course, it helps if the content is fresh
in your mind. While getting ready for bed, take a few minutes
to skim through your dream journal. Ideally, you should choose a dream that was
particularly vivid or powerful. After finishing your affirmations, try to
place yourself at the end of that dream. Imagine the scenery. The characters. Are you going somewhere? Are you doing something? The more detailed you are, the better. If you can, try to create a dream environment
that’s developed enough to support a lucid dream. Ultimately, your objective is to fall asleep
in the middle of that daydream. It won’t happen every time, but there’s
a chance that the daydream will transform into a lucid dream. Sometimes, this happens so quickly and naturally
that you don’t even notice. Your body falls asleep, but your conscious
mind is so engaged that it stays awake. At this stage, you need some way to distinguish
between reality and lucidity. Most people assume it’s easy to tell them
apart, but it isn’t. Before you’re lucid, your brain will automatically
assume everything you’re seeing is real. It’ll feel like an incredibly vivid dream,
but not a lucid one. You won’t have autonomy or control until
you know, for certain, that you’re dreaming. That’s where reality checks come into play. A reality check is any physical object or
action that only works when you’re dreaming. You might, for example, try pushing your hand
through a table. Obviously, this would never work in real life,
but it’s very possible in a dream. Whenever you suspect you’re in a lucid dream,
give your reality check a try. If it works, you have free reign to explore
your dream however you want. 4. Wake-back-to-bed
If you’re having trouble using MILD to stimulate lucid dreams, there’s another simple step
you can take. It’s called the wake-back-to-bed method. All you have to do is set your alarm two hours
before you’re supposed to wake up. When it goes off, lie awake for about 20 to
30 minutes. During that time, you’ll feel groggy and
sluggish. But that’s a good thing. This method is designed to help you enter
REM sleep faster. REM sleep is when most lucid dreams happen. So the goal is to minimize the time between
REM sleep and your lucid affirmations. The combination of MILD and wake-back-to-bed
was tested in 2017. Researchers divided 170 participants into
three groups. One used just MILD. The second used wake-back-to-bed, while the
third practiced both. Nearly 60% of the third group had at least
one lucid dream during their first two weeks of practice. And that number will only increased over time. So don’t wait. With these four easy steps, you can see this
one-of-a-kind experience for yourself. Thank you for watching TopThink, and be sure
to subscribe, because more incredible content is on the way.
