Has it ever happened to you that you are dreaming in your sleep and suddenly the knowledge dawns on you that you are dreaming? That is, you understand that it’s a dream. May be you have felt it for some fleeting moments before waking up or it may also be that you have never experienced anything like this before. Whatever the case may be, this is what is known as lucid dreaming, where you know that you are dreaming and are fully conscious about it.
Lucid Dreaming experiences can vary in its nature and intensity from person to person who is fortunate enough to experience it. At one end there are people who fall asleep and while dreaming they suddenly feel that it is only a dream. That is, the realization suddenly dawns on them.
In the other extreme, consider the fact that you pass into the realm of dream fully conscious and awake. You see your dreams, knowing fully well that it is not reality and have full control to see or live whatever it is that you want in your dream.
The reason why people are so interested in lucid dreaming is for the single fact that the sole ability of controlling your dreams and going to any place, or doing whatever you want to is possible since you have the knowledge that whatever you do, you will never be harmed in reality since its only a dream.
A concept such as Lucid Dreaming draws a lot of criticism from various quarters. In one instance a common view is that it promotes escapism. That is, it is sometimes seen as a way to escape from life. As an answer to this argument, it can be said that lucid dreaming happens during the time a person sleeps. The person would anyways have dreamt in that time, be it lucid or not. Thus, it is not true that this time period cuts out someone’s life. Hence, it is not a way to escape.
Secondly, lucid dreaming is also much linked to occult practices. Many argue that our dreams give us certain messages and by trying to indulge in lucid dreaming and controlling our dreams we loose them. Though this line of thought has a little bit of sense, but it must be mentioned that lucid dreaming does not involve having it all the time and everyday in the first case.
Another point in this respect would be that if a person is capable of lucid dreaming it directly implies that he is capable of dream recalling as well. Hence even if the dreams have any messages, the lucid dreamer would be in a better position to analyze the same.
Irrespective of all the above skepticism, it may be said that lucid dreaming has advantages too. It is a great treatment in case of people suffering from nightmares since the best thing for a nightmare sufferer would be to realize that the nightmare is only a dream. Thus, lucid dreaming ability is a gift that lets the individual enjoy one of the most addictive out of the body experience where he is the sole captain of the ship in his dream world.