Thread: Hi there and first questions

When we sleep we go through different phases of sleep including deep sleep (also called non rapid eye movement sleep, or NREM for short) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. These two are very different. Deep NREM sleep is where our body and mind get most rest and restoration, during this phase of sleep we either do not dream or dream very little. Only very advanced lucid dreamers like Tibetan Yogis report awareness during deep sleep. Most of us are happy to leave deep sleep alone and to let the body rest during that part of sleep. During REM sleep however we dream, our eyes move, and the level of brain activity is close to waking level. This part of sleep is not very restful. This is when dreams happen, and this is when lucid dreams can happen. Lucid dreams are not any less restful than nonlucid dreams, in part because all dreams in REM are not restful.

There is some debate between people who believe that trying to control dreams is not right because the subconscious creative problem solving of issues needs all the time it can get and ashould be left alone, and people who believe that lucid dreaming is an excellent way of maximizing our use of dream time to do whatever we like.

Personally I believe that subconscious and conscious mind can do their job best if they work together, and I like both lucid dreaming and dream interpretation to try to integrate subconscious and conscious parts better. Keep in mind that most lucid dreamers still have lots of nonlucid dreams, few get so adapt at lucid dreaming as to have most dreams be lucid. Also even a lucid dream has elements that we do not control, so the subconscious may still express itself. I believe that the subconscious is strong enough so that if there is an important issue it needs to work out, this will get worked out, no matter whether one chooses to lucid dream or not. Also a lucid dream can be used to better understand one's mind, for example by asking one's dream monsters why they are chasing one. Whenever I wake up from a lucid dream, I feel more energized, revitalized, and empowered. I think lucid dreaming is a powerful positive tool.

However, not everyone feels this way, and if you would rather not lucid dream, that is your choice. I know that my aunt who was a psychiatrist before she retired and became a nun, she is opposed to messing with one's dreams, and she feels that one should leave them alone. That is her choice.

Edit: Btw, your body regulates the amount of sleep spent in REM versus NREM sleep based on need for rest. We cycle through different phases of sleep throughout the night. The longest REM sleep with the longest dreams happens toward the end of the night after we already got several hours of sleep. And that is the time when lucid dreaming is most likely to be successful.