The psyche by nature is fluid and malleable. Belief and intention are incredibly powerful on their own terms. Think of any negative thought you might have during the day, such as, "I'm not good enough." That thought, in and of itself, is not really anything at all--it's just a thought. But our belief in that thought creates a downward spiral of negative self-talk, negative emotional energy, and negative (and mostly false!) story lines that we repeat over and over again. We transform ourselves all of the time, but unfortunately, often not in the best ways.

Lucid dreaming is so powerful because the brain does not know the difference between a virtual experience and a "waking life" experience--partly because they are all experiences! When we play video games, we often feel joy, excitement, and so forth, even though our mental "self" knows the game isn't "real." Studies have even determined that the brain releases the same amount of dopamine for a positive virtual experience as a positive "real" experience. Still with me?

In a lucid dream, everything is so real anyway, and emotional energy and creativity are at very high levels. If we channel this energy in helpful ways, we transform ourselves. These experiences don't die in the dream world--they carry over and make us who we are. If we spend time exploring our minds, breaking down mental barriers (like taking risks in the dream state, feeling confidence in the dream state, learning to turn fear or anger into positive emotions) then we begin to cultivate and then harvest those positive qualities. This is because the "dream self" and the "waking life self" are simply different iterations of the same stream of consciousness.