If you're like most adults, you spend as much as a third of your life sleeping. What if you could use that time more effectively?

Don't misunderstand—I don't mean to encroach upon your valuable sleep time. A good night's sleep is necessary for optimal health and well-being, and it just plain feels good.

But what if you could use your snoozing hours to find creative solutions to problems at work, develop a skill or talent to perfection, or explore a whole new career?

You can—with lucid dreaming.

In a lucid dream, you are consciously aware you are dreaming and are able to creatively interact with your dream world in ways that can help you increase your abilities in the waking world.

You gain access to more of your inner genius, because lucidly dreaming widens the channels of communication between your conscious mind and nonconscious mind.

Dreaming is how your nonconscious mind attempts to communicate with you. But you must learn its language and become aware of the symbolic ways your dreams communicate.

Start by noticing your regular dreams. Motivation is key. Simply having the intention of remembering your dreams when you go to bed is enough for many people.

Your first thought when you awaken should be "What was I just dreaming?" Lie still and recall the striking elements of the dream. Keep a journal beside your bed, and jot down the images and symbols you remember.

Be aware of what these symbols mean for you, and notice patterns and themes. Then when you're in the midst of a lucid dream, you'll understand it better, giving you even more control of where you take your dream experience.

Our Dream Play Paraliminal offers guidance for entering a lucid dream from your regular dreams. Consider trying this technique developed at the Stanford Sleep Research Laboratories by Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D.:

1) During the early morning when you awaken spontaneously from a dream, go over the dream several times until you have it memorized.

2) While lying in bed and returning to sleep, say to yourself, "Next time I'm dreaming, I want to remember to recognize I'm dreaming."

3) Imagine yourself as being back in the dream just rehearsed; only this time, feel the realization that you are aware of yourself in the dream.

4) Repeat steps two and three until you feel your intention is clearly fixed or until you fall asleep.
Then explore in your own virtual reality lab!

Lucid dreaming can be fun, because you get to play with your responses, giving you more choices in whatever you want to do… perfect your French speaking skills on the streets of Paris… apprentice to Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel… play drums with The Rolling Stones… explore other galaxies with Albert Einstein… or whatever strikes your fancy.

To help you take command of your dreams, I recommend you listen to the Dream Play Paraliminal. It includes two sessions, one helps you work with and benefit from your regular dreams, the other helps you develop lucid awareness from within your dreams. Simply push play, close your eyes, relax, and listen. This closed-eye process activates your "whole mind" with a precise blend of music and words to help you get the most out of every minute.

To learn more about Dream Play and all our other Paraliminal programs, please click here.