LucidRaider

Anyone who has been reading my posts /replies in this forum knows I advocate visualization to induce lucid dreaming. I thought some of you might get a kick out of an article I wrote sometime back about hypnosis in general. Hopefully, some of you will come away from the article with a better understanding on how the sleeping brain works and think of creative ways to visualize yourself into a lucid dream experience.

Hypnotism Revealed

"People have been using hypnosis for about 230 years to reveal lost memories or make suggestions to the subconscious mind. Franz Mesmer stumbled upon the technique in the 1700's (mesmerizing, animal magnetism) but proceeded to completely miss the point. James Braid, taking a more scientific approach, coined the term hypnotism in 1841. We all have the image in our collective conscious of the exotic gentleman with the swinging pendulum inducing a hypnotic state. He seemed to know something we didn't. Read on and that will no longer be the case.

The human race experiences self-hypnosis every day. We don't think of it as self-hypnosis, however. We think of it as falling asleep. When we are awake and active our brains are in what has been termed the Beta brainwave state. When we are relaxed, watching television or looking at the ocean, our conscious mind slows down and enters the Alpha brainwave state. In the processes of falling asleep, meditation and hypnosis the subsequent state; the Theta brainwave state, is where all the magic happens. If the Theta brainwave state is allowed to occur then the Delta brainwave state (deep sleep) soon follows. If one accepts this scientifically proven brainwave transition to sleep then I suggest that this is knowledge we can use. In the Theta brainwave state one is neither asleep nor awake. The Theta state is a different level of awareness as our conscious mind has loosened it's control of the thought process. It is the inability to reach the Theta brainwave state that is the root of most sleep issues.

Simple Hypnotism

To hypnotize someone (or yourself) one must induce the Theta brainwave state. This requires that you relax the subject and apply one simple technique. You must get them to visualize, via the mind's eye, something. One could hold up a non-threatening object; lets say a coin or marble, in front of the relaxed subject's eyes and suggest that they close their eyes and imagine the object in their mind. Have the subject then imagine a series of non-threatening objects... all while speaking in an unemotional tone. This monotone speech pattern is important as you do not want emotion to play a part in the hypnosis induction as it is counter-productive. If the subject is too relaxed (i.e. laying down on a bed) they might fall asleep so you must continually gage where they are at in the sleep process. Let me state, once again, that hypnosis and falling asleep are part of the same process.

Once the subject is in the Theta brainwave state you can begin making suggestions. Common uses for hypnosis are smoking cessation, weight loss and anxiety reduction.

A brief theory about a more effective hypnosis technique:

If one accepts modern sleep and dream theory then the induction of sleep after a hypnosis session could greatly enhance the effectiveness of the procedure. Modern sleep theory suggests that the human brain crunches data, during sleeping and dreaming, from our day's experiences; discarding unneeded information and assimilating important experiences. In theory, suggestions from a hypnotic session could take on greater significance if sleep were allowed to happen, even for a short duration, directly after the hypnosis.

A word about why visualizing induces the Theta brainwave state and, therefore, the hypnotic state. In the rear of our big human brain there exists a smallish chunk of gray matter called the Occipital lobe. This area contains the Primary Visual Cortex and the Secondary Visual Cortices. The combination of the Secondary Visual Cortices is generally referred to as the Secondary Visual Cortex. When you visualize you are stimulating the Secondary Visual Cortex. Why is this important? Because this is the same area that is active in dreaming and dreaming is one of the first things our brains do when in the Delta(sleep) brainwave state. Visualization is part of the brain's process to deep sleep. To hypnotize someone, or yourself, you must willfully simulate the process of falling asleep without allowing deep sleep to occur.

About Mass Hypnosis

Lastly, when our minds wander we are in a form of self-hypnosis. Falling asleep during a lecture has as much to do with daydreaming as the subject matter of the speech. A daydreamer is stimulating the Secondary Visual Cortex and unknowingly beginning the process of falling asleep. If you do not want listeners to fall asleep then continually stimulate their Primary Visual Cortex with visual aids.( i.e. powerpoint presentations). The primary visual cortex is humming when we are in the Beta (alert and aware) brainwave state and processing the things we see with our eyes open. This also works in reverse. To attempt a mass hypnosis of an audience you must first relax them and then stimulate their collective visual imagination without external visual stimulation.

You are now a Hypnotist. Congratulations! "

Brad McBride (aka faceonmars)

This is a great idea and the reason i believe it is becuase this is actaully what happened to me 3 days ago!!

It all comes down to dedication, REALLY desiring it and making it an integral part of you daily thought process, not just an abstract wish or goal, but an important event taking place at night..

anyway, the ohter night i decided to do a survey of my dream journal to see how many lucids I'd had since i started just over 3 years back..Turns out i had 23! which is more then i thougth, granted only about 6 were pure mind blowing life chanignly amazing each one was special and i was able to harness those feelings your talking about. i was getting so excited thinking back and was able to recall all the imagery from the dreams as though they were yesterday!

now, the same night i had THE BEST lucid dream i ever had(though i must practce beleiveing i am a lucid master,i really like the sound of that!).
This seems the key because i usually have my most vivid non lucid dreams AFTER spending an hour before bed reading over my dream journal!

looks like you thoughts on this matter are true!

Ok, it's a bit difficult to explain, but here goes. It isn't exactly that simple to explain intent. Here is a quote directly from what I learned intent from, the carlos castaneda books.

"My steps and yours are guided by infinity. The circumstances that seem to be ruled by chance are in essence ruled by the active side of infinity: intent. What put you and me together was the intent of infinity. It is impossible to determine what this intent of infinity is, yet it is there, as palpable as you and I are. Sorcerers say that it is a tremor in the air. The advantage of sorcerers is to know that the tremor in the air exists, and to acquiesce to it without any further ado. For sorcerers, there's no pondering, wondering, or speculating. They know that all they have is the possibility of merging with the intent of infinity, and they just do it". -Don Juan

Intent is the force that runs and is reality itself. The easiest thing you can effect with your intent, is yourself. I learned to use my intent to become lucid in a dream. And that's exactly what happens when I dream. I don't become lucid because I noticed something was weird, I just, BECOME lucid out of no where. One way to set your intent is first shutting off your thoughts completely, at least for an instant, and feel that emotion of wanting to lucid dream.

Here's one more quote: "In the universe there is an unmeasurable, indescribable force which sorcerers call intent. Absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link. Sorcerers, warriors, are concerned with discussing, understanding, and employing that connecting link. They are especially concerned with cleaning it of the numbing effects brought about by the ordinary concerns of their everyday lives. Sorcery at this level could be defined as the procedure of cleaning one's connecting link to intent."

[/B]Repeat the following affirmations before bed or when you wake up from just having a dream, but plan on going back to sleep right away:

» I awaken within my dreams
» My waking consciousness goes with me into my dreams
» I am consciously aware of my dreams
» Lucid dreaming is easy for me
» When I dream, I am aware I am dreaming
» I remember my lucid dreams
» I have the power to control my dreams
» I do reality checks while dreaming
» I notice the dream signs that help me become lucid
» I become consciously aware of odd occurrences in dreams
» I am determined but detached while dreaming
» My dream intention is strong
» I visualize becoming lucid in my dreams
» Tonight I will recognize that I am dreaming
» Tonight I will have a lucid dream
» I have a greater awareness of reality
» I recognize I am dreaming while dreaming
» I remain emotionally calm when dreaming
» I check to see if I am really awake often
» I know the difference between reality and dreaming
» I do reality checks often
» I have the ability to lucid dream at will
» I am the master of my dreams
» I am a master at the art of lucid dreams