Lucid dreaming is something that is appealing to most people. Being able to do anything you want in an environment that feels real, with characters that act and look real, has great appeal. There are also many additional benefits to lucid dreaming beyond fantasy fulfillment, but it does also have some drawbacks. So, should you try to lucid dream?
Lucid dreaming is something everyone should consider doing. It offers many real-world benefits beyond just allowing you to live-out your fantasies.
However, there are also some drawbacks to lucid dreaming.
To avoid the drawbacks you should learn how to control the frequency and timing of your lucid dreams as well as learning the skill itself.
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Should I try to lucid dream?
There is a lot of conflicting advice about lucid dreaming online.
Some people will tell you lucid dreaming is absolutely amazing while others will tell you that it is dangerous and even sinful.
Which people are correct? Is lucid dreaming beneficial or is it dangerous?
Obviously the answer to those questions will determine if it is worth your effort to the learn how to lucid dream, so I will cover both the benefits and the drawbacks of it. Once armed with this information you will be able to decide for yourself if lucid dreaming is something that you should try.
Are there benefits to lucid dreaming?
Learning the skill of lucid dreaming is worth the effort for multiple reasons.
Let’s explore some of those now.
Lucid dreaming offers a multitude of benefits that far outreach the usual fantasy fulfilment.
As well as allowing you to experience things you could never do in real life, it can help you study better, make you smarter, eliminate nightmares and can even be used to affect reality in some really cool ways.
Because lucid dreaming feels just as real as real life, one of the biggest benefits that lucid dreaming offers is the opportunity to improve some of your real-world skills.
It has been shown that when you practice a skill in a lucid dream is has a very positive affect on your real-world execution of that skill.
In other words, practicing doing something in a lucid dream makes you better at doing it in real life.
There are also other ways in which a lucid dream can affect reality that are super cool.
Lucid Dreaming has also been used to help students study better, by giving them more time to study in the dreamworld (yes it is possible).
There are some restrictions on how this actually works, for example you must have at least some rudimentary knowledge of the subject and must have had access to the study materials while awake, but it is a very effective way of getting more study time in.
Having said that, studying while in a lucid dream also allows the student to retain the information they review much better, for improved recall when they are awake.
It has also been shown that through some neat lucid dreaming techniques, employed within the dreamworld, you can gain more insight into subjects and topics that you have studied while you were awake.
Additionally, and almost unbelievably, lucid dreaming can also make you smarter. No, I’m not joking nor am I over-hyping the capability of lucid dreams.
In this article I outline how lucid dreaming can make you smarter.
As well as giving the opportunity to delve deeper into topics, to deepen your understanding of key concepts, learning to lucid dream also has some very beneficial effects on how you think and focus on the world around you when you are awake.
In the article what causes lucid dreams I cover the unique, but natural, brain functions that are evident in lucid dreamers and why these make them more focused and alert while awake (two key features of higher intelligence).
To discover what lucid dreaming really feels like, and why it is so effective at helping you in the real world, read this article.
Top 20 benefits of lucid dreaming:
- Improved creativity.
- Fantasy fulfilment.
- Travel between dimensions.
- Help achieving goals.
- Sexual fulfillment & greater libido.
- Gaining more meaning in your life.
- Uncovering your true self.
- Improved real-life skills.
- Overcoming fear & eliminating nightmares.
- Ability to meet a deceased loved one.
- Exploration of your own boundaries.
- Ability to see the world from a new point of view.
- Better sleep.
- Personal reflection.
- Reduced anxiety.
- Better studying.
- Heightened intelligence.
- Reality alteration.
- Personal growth.
- Better focus.
For a more in-depth look at the lucid dreaming benefits, that I have not covered in the preceding paragraphs, read the article 15 fabulous benefits of lucid dreaming.
Why you should not lucid dream
Of course there are always two sides to every story and it would be amiss of me if I did not highlight the potential drawbacks to lucid dreaming.
For the most part, and in the opinion of most lucid dreamers (myself included), lucid dreaming is extremely beneficial to mind and body. But, there are a few drawbacks that you should be aware of. I will address these below.
As well as the drawbacks I will also address the perceived dangers of lucid dreaming in a separate section below.
I say “perceived dangers” because lucid dreaming is not dangerous at all. But, having said all that, are there some people who should not lucid dream?
The only reasons you should not lucid dream are if you find that it disrupts your sleep and/or it leads to regular sleep paralysis when you waken.
However, there are techniques to deal with these.
Although some people are concerned about the potential dangers of lucid dreaming, there really are none.
Reasons why you should not lucid dream:
- Possible disrupted sleep.
- Potential sleep paralysis.
- Fear of committing a sin.
- Fear of developing false memories.
By far the main reasons for avoiding lucid dreaming are disrupted sleep and sleep paralysis.
However, these do not have to be deal breakers; you can still learn to lucid dream and enjoy everything it offers because there are ways to handle both these problems.
It is true that disrupted sleep is a real problem for a small group of lucid dreamers.
Although most lucid dreamers suffer no ill-effects from lucid dreaming a small group may find that they are tired during the day after lucid dreaming.
It is not totally understood why this happens but the good news is that it can be easily dealt with.
There are easy-to-use proven techniques for limiting the amount of lucid dreams you have and for gaining control over when and where you have those lucid dreams.
This means you can avoid having lucid dreams during work or school days and instead enjoy them at the weekends, or your days off work, when you can go back to sleep when you awaken or simply catch up on your rest by having a nap during the day.
For people who do encounter daytime fatigue due to lucid dreaming I wrote the article how to stop lucid dreaming which describes techniques to stop and/or control the frequency of your lucid dreams as well as giving you ways to ensure that you only have lucid dreams on the nights of your choice.
Dealing with sleep paralysis needs a different approach.
Just about everyone has experienced sleep paralysis and, let’s be honest here, it is not a very pleasant experience.
Sleep paralysis can actually be even more unpleasant when it happens to you just after you leave a lucid dream.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. For starters, experiencing sleep paralysis after a lucid dream is rare and usually also very short in duration.
But the great news it that it is actually very easy to snap out of sleep paralysis (especially for lucid dreamers) and just as easy to avoid it happening in the first place.
I cover the entire topic in the article can lucid dreaming cause sleep paralysis.
Why you should not lucid dream (video)
Dangers of lucid dreaming
Are there dangers associated with lucid dreaming?
The short and simple answer is, no!
Lucid dreaming is completely safe. You cannot get hurt in a lucid dream, you cannot go into a coma from lucid dreaming, you cannot get stuck in a lucid dream and you cannot die in a lucid dream.
Although there are some potential spiritual dangers associated with lucid dreaming to the very religious among you, having a lucid dream is not at all dangerous in and of itself.
I cover the spiritual dangers that you may encounter due to lucid dreaming in the article is lucid dreaming a sin.
Be aware though that these spiritual dangers are just as evident in the waking world as they are in the lucid dreamworld.
Likewise, the potential dangers that come with lucid dreaming only really relate to practicing Christians, Muslims and Jews and anyone else who strictly follows biblical teachings.
I myself am a practicing Christian and see no contradiction with lucid dreaming and my belief and faith in Jesus Christ.
However, if you are genuinely concerned about the possibility of lucid dreaming leading you to sin, and want to ensure you avoid that happening while still being able to have all the benefits of lucid dreaming, I suggest you read the aforementioned article.
So, as you can see, lucid dreaming can not only be a lot of fun but it can be very beneficial to you in the real world and has no real dangers.
So, why not give it a try. Join a growing community of lucid dreamers who have used a proven lucid dreaming course to become masters of their dreams and take your life to a whole new level.