The term ‘lucid’ means ‘clear’. So, we can say, that a ‘lucid dream’ is one such dream in which the person is quite sentient of the fact that he or she is simply dreaming. The Dutch psychiatrist, by the name of Frederik van Eeden, coined the particular term. Suddenly in the mid of the dream, the dreamer begins to be aware that what he is seeing is not happening in real life.
Such a dream can start in two different ways: 1) ‘dream-initiated lucid dream’ is one that begins as a dream, and the individual ends up concluding that it is a dream. 2) ‘wake-initiated lucid dream’ is one where the individual is waking and then goes directly to a dream-like condition, without any change in his consciousness.
There are different levels or degrees of the clarity in these lucid dreams. It can be of a low level or a high level. In a lucid dream of a low level, the dreamer is often confused regarding the reality of what he is experiencing. He might not understand that he is actually dreaming. On the other hand, in a high level dream, the individual is extremely clear that whatever he is watching is not the reality.
Unlike what is generally assumed, lucidity is not the same as dream control. It is always possible to be lucid in the dream and still have very little control over the dream content. Conversely, it is also possible to have immense control over the dream, without being clearly aware that we are dreaming.
However, it is quite true that becoming lucid in a dream is liable to augment the extent to which we can intentionally manipulate the course of events in the dream. Once they are lucid, dreamers generally decide to do something that is allowed only by the extraordinary liberty of the dream state, like flying.
Unlike what it actually thought to be, the concept of lucid dreaming is not something that has no proof. It has been proved scientifically many times. In this context we can take the name of Allan Hobson, who along with his team of experts, have shown us a ‘neurophysiologic’ approach towards the study of dreams. This has reduced the amount speculation that lucid dreaming had been subject to in the past.
Lucid dreams are not a new concept. It was always there in ancient mythology, and philosophy, especially in the eastern and South-east Asian civilizations. We have found evidence of lucid dreams going back to the 8th century. These sorts of dreams were often used by the Tibetan and Buddhist monks. There is a concept in yoga similar to this, which is called dream yoga. But it is not that only the East used this idea. Even people living in western have often utilized the concept of a lucid dream.
The possibility of getting a ‘high’, that is, experiencing something exhilarating and out-of-the-world, is what pulls most people towards lucid dreaming. Research has shown that, in a lucid dream, people like to do extra-ordinary things, e.g., flying. Lucid dreaming also has therapeutic properties. It can cure people who tend to have horrible nightmares.
Some people have an inborn and instinctive ability to experience a lucid dream. But even others can do so. But for this they need the correct guidance and knowledge. Thus, it is a skill that can easily be developed by anyone who wants to, as long as that person has the right frame of mind, and the willingness.
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