I had my last lucid dream a night ago (for those who don’t know what a lucid dream is, it’s a dream in which you’re aware that you’re dreaming) and have them occasionally, but they’re pretty random and I can’t have them at will. Since I don’t have them very often, I haven’t got a lot of practice and am also not very good at affecting my dreams – I’ve never for example managed to turn a nightmare into a “good” dream even when I’ve realised I’m just dreaming. I’ve only been able to decide to wake myself up but not do much to affect the mood of the dream.

I’ve been interested in lucid dreaming for a few years now and have taken certain steps towards it in the past (such as keeping a dream journal), but have never really been serious about it. There are several reasons why I find lucid dreaming an interesting concept, such as the fact that you’d learn to be conscious in a normally unconscious state. Several advanced lucid dreamers have said that exploring lucid dreams has made them realise that our waking reality isn’t all that different from a dream; we just don’t realise how much we can affect it before we become lucid, very much in the same way as it works in our dreams – you don’t know you’re dreaming and you don’t know you’ve all the control over it since it’s happening in your own subconscious before you become lucid. I know that probably sounds crazy to most people, but I find the idea that our reality could work very much in the same way as lucid dreams very interesting.

Another reason why I want to learn lucid dreaming is the simple fact that at least for me a good, interesting dream can set a great mood for the whole day, while a “bad” dream often does the opposite (I’ve actual nightmares very rarely), so having the power to affect my dreams more and even pre-program myself to have the kind of dreams I want to have sounds like a good and fairly easy way to improve my waking life, as well.

I’m not quite sure what my first step will be, but I’m probably going to read a book or two on lucid dreaming and start keeping a dream journal again. I’m not quite sure how long it’ll take to have lucid dreams more often, but I hope to have made at least some progress a few months from now. :-)