Only in our dreams is it possible for us to see a dead loved one or ourselves at age three and accept it unquestioningly as reality. For some, there is no alarm that goes off when we see the surreal, but for others, the sign of the surreal itself is a blunt indication that what we are seeing is just a dream.

When a person is aware that what they are seeing is a dream, it’s called lucid dreaming. A person’s awareness that they are dreaming can vary. Lucid dreaming can afford a person the power to take control of what they are seeing and manipulate what happens in the actual dream. Being able to change the outcome of a dream endows a person with something they perhaps cannot have in real life. Lucid dreaming essentially gives a person the power to have what they want in a fantasy state. It gives a person freedom to do what they cannot or will not do in real life.

There are a number of ways to bring about the lucid dreaming state. A technique called the wake-back-to-bed (WBTB) has been proven to be the best method of bringing about a lucid dream. It takes advantage of the REM cycle and prompts a longer lucid dream.

Lucid dreaming can be particularly useful if you are suffering from a nightmare. The primary reason that we are so frightened by a nightmare is because we often mistake what we see as real. However, by knowing that whatever we see is not reality, we destroy the power that the nightmare has over us.

Terrifying experiences like being attacked by monsters, being chased, or falling into an endless pit become powerless once we can take back control. That empowers us to also do the impossible like fly ourselves to safety or defend ourselves.

Once we realize that we are dreaming, we can enjoy what we see more. If the dream is something positive, then the dream can become that much more enjoyable if we control what happens to us and the people around us, giving us a sense of control that we cannot have in the real world.