Fly me to the Moon….

Meet me by the stars….

“A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper is aware that she or he is dreaming. ” I have been practicing this? for a long time and it is becoming easier. My favorite is flying out my window, sitting on the roof of my house and looking at the moon and the stars. The scenery is so vivid and full of color that it is so hard to describe. My first experience with sleep paralysis was back in the early 80’s. I fell asleep in the afternoon after working late the night before. I was awake but paralyzed. It felt like I had a giant spider crushing my chest. I took a few deep breathes and came out of it. That brought me to the book store in the local mall. I was looking for answers and back then it was called the occult section. People always gave you strange looks when you went down that aisle. I still have those books and memories.

It all starts with practicing dream recall. Before you go to bed at night focus on remembering your dream. Tell yourself, yup you have to talk to yourself, that you want to remember. Keep a journal close to your bed and write down anything you can remember when you wake up. The more you write, the more you will remember. You have to journal as soon as you wake up though because most of the time it leaves your memory pretty quickly. It takes patience and practice, but if you can remember your dreams in the morning when you wake up, you can learn to realize when you are dreaming and become aware and participate in the dream state. It is a very unique experience!

So how do you get there you ask? I have found that after about 5 hours of sleep or so, I get up, get a drink of water and lay back down. With practice you can learn what the signs of falling asleep are like. For me it is a vibrating sensation at first. It is like my body is floating on waves in the ocean. I start to hear a fluttering noise in my ears. That is a sign that your brain is releasing the chemicals needed to induce sleep paralysis. You can read about those chemicals here. At first, the feeling is very strange and it really does take a little getting used to. In the early days, I would end up falling asleep at this point. It took some practice to get past it, so if you really want to experience what lucid dreaming is about, you can’t give up.

The sounds can be clicking or clapping too.? The fluttering / vibrations go down the length of my body. I focus on breathing and staying calm. Once I know my body is asleep, I feel like a kid in the candy store. I jump right up out of my sleeping body and start to fly around the house! So how do you know its a dream? If you turn on the light switch, the lights turn on? That is considered a clue. While you are awake you can do little “reality checks” to know when you are awake. One example is clicking your fingers. Clicking fingers don’t make a sound in a dream for me. Another check is looking at yourself in the mirror. For the longest time I was afraid to look because I did not know what? I would see. I finally did it and I didn’t see a reflection. I am not a vampire so yup another reality check, I’m in a dream!

I have practiced trying to stay in that lucid state for as long as I can. I read somewhere if you spin around when you feel like you are starting to fade, it will keep the dream alive. I have tried it a few times with mixed success.? Lucid dreaming is a wonderful experience that gives you a true feeling of freedom. Try it for yourself, you will be glad you did! See you on the moon!