We can use the transitional process as we drift off from wakefulness into sleep as a way to plant seeds of intention.
And we're going to use that intention setting as a technique for becoming aware within our dreams.
Becoming lucid and recognizing that we're dreaming while we're dreaming and remaining in the dream.
But before we do that I want to talk about this phenomenon of lucid dreaming and the vast potential that lies within this unique hybrid state of consciousness where our waking rational mind can proactively interface in dialogue with our unconscious dreaming mind.
A lucid dream is a dream in which you know you're dreaming while you're dreaming.
It could also be called a mindful dream.
You are mindful of the fact that you're dreaming while you're dreaming.
Or an aware dream.
There's this awareness of the state of mind that you currently find yourself in.
Now what happens in the brain in a lucid dream is that the region of the brain that is normally offline during REM sleep and when we're dreaming called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex all of a sudden comes online.
This is what happens in that aha moment when we realize that we're dreaming.
This particular region of the brain is linked to memory and self-reflection and executive functions.
The implication of this region of the brain becoming online in our lucid dreams is massive because it implies that our neurological system doesn't differentiate between waking and lucid dreaming experiences.
So a lucid dream isn't just a visualization for the brain it's a reality and because of this neural pathways can be created and strengthened in our lucid dreams just as they can when we're awake.
This is due to neuroplasticity.
The idea that the more we use certain brain networks the more blood flow they receive and the deeper the grooves and the gray matter and density of that brain region becomes.
So as bold as it may sound lucid dreaming can actually rewire our brain and we can create new habits of mind.
Get better at waking state activities and make lasting changes to our neurology while we sleep.
So if we integrate a trauma in a lucid dream or we have a spiritual breakthrough does our brain actually think that we've done so in real life?
In fact it does.
That's the core neurological process underlying this huge transformational potential of lucid dreaming.
One of the most powerful benefits of lucid dream for me personally has been in the form of nightmare integration.
A nightmare is a perfectly normal process.
It's the sign of a healing mind.
Our dreaming mind helping us work through difficult heavy emotional material.
Adopting this mindset allows us to have a sense of gratitude towards the dream and towards the nightmare and allow us to accept without judging these challenging dream experiences that tend to happen.
Adopting this mindset is very helpful and also I think if anybody had the choice between having a terrifying nightmare and not having one they would probably choose not to have that nightmare.
And so lucid dreaming is a way that we can proactively work with the dream and use a nightmare to recognize that we're dreaming while we're dreaming.
We use it as a dream sign,
A prompt for lucidity and we can train our mind to recognize when the nightmare is happening that it's just a dream.
And in that moment of recognition,
This moment of awareness and lucidity,
The nightmare loses its power over us.
This veil of the nightmare being a real thing that's really happening to me is lifted.
I now see through the illusion.
I see that it's a dream.
I see that it is my mind,
My subconscious streaming mind co-creating this dream environment here in front of me.
This allows an incredible opportunity for inquiry into the subconscious mind to understand why I'm being presented with this nightmare.
And the opportunity to ask the subconscious streaming mind to offer healing for whatever nightmare this is attempting to process.
Whatever the underlying emotional content is that's being processed and allow us to gain insights from these experiences.
And just one moment of lucidity,
Just one lucid dream experience and the integration that can be achieved can be life-changing.
I can speak from personal experience and say that the nightmare is something that can be worked with and it's being demonstrated that with lucidity it can remove these nightmares altogether and lead to very profound healing in populations that truly suffer with their experience of the nighttime.
So that's a huge benefit and we'll move from one that's really profound,
Deep,
Psychological benefits to something that's maybe a little bit more light and also exciting and cutting-edge.
For myself as a lifelong athlete I tend to dream a lot about sports environments or practicing or games where I'm competing.
This is normal.
Anybody who spends a lot of time in any particular activity it's been shown through research that you're more likely to dream about that activity.
This makes sense.
And so what you can do is learn to apply this lucidity principle to dreams where you're performing your sport.
And in this dream you can recognize that you're dreaming while you're dreaming.
And in that moment you're presented with a pristine hyper real mental virtual reality of the environment that you would be practicing in.
And again because the prefrontal cortex is activated in a lucid dream you are engaging your brain's neuroplasticity.
So if you're practicing a sport in a dream,
Practicing a movement in a dream,
It's been shown scientifically to have a corresponding physiological mental brain activity as if you were practicing that sport in the waking state.
So here you could literally practice while your competition is fast asleep in bed.
I was told recently that lucid dreaming is something trendy which isn't a word I would necessarily use but I think because of a lot of the science that's coming out and the research that's demonstrating how powerful it can be and the potential that exists for it could be why a lot of people are tending to talk about it more these days.
And also it's a practice that's been around for generations,
For centuries.
This lucid dreaming is a foundational skill for practicing what is known as the Tibetan yogas of dream and sleep which is a practice that has been cultivated and developed in Tibet over the course of many many many years.
Close to a couple of thousands of years.
So while Western science is considering this trendy and still getting up to speed and understanding what's happening on a neurological level,
This Tibetan culture and tradition has been investigating experientially this state of mind again for centuries.
So these practices have been around for a very long time to help us build the skill.
And in building this skill there are maps and tools we can use for navigating the dream territory once we become lucid.
These are fascinating opportunities for us to engage with our unconscious dreaming mind and leverage its natural healing potential.
So I hope you feel inspired by the vast potential of this state of mind and inspired to learn how to work with it in your own practice which we will go through in future lessons.
Thanks for joining me.
