Many years ago I purchased a book called Lucid Dreaming. Lucid dreaming is all about being aware within a dream that you are, in fact, dreaming. Why would you want to do such a thing, you might well ask. That depends on several factors, but what's true is that if you can master lucid dreaming, you can do things you would not otherwise be able to do. Perhaps the most useful aspect of lucid dreaming is preventing the continuance of nightmares. Lucid dreaming is a very effective therapy for overcoming bad dreams; in fact, it may well be the most effective tool there is.
The fear you feel in a nightmare is completely real; the danger is not, and therefore if you are lucid dreaming, the false danger is recognized and the fear dissipates.

Another advantage to learning lucid dreaming is enhanced creativity and problem solving. In the dream world anything is possible. If you are aware you are dreaming you can try out problem solving techniques and ideas that you might not have the resources for in waking life, including time. If you find something workable, you can bring it into the real world.

On the other hand, lucid dreaming can simply be used for recreation if you so desire. People who use it regularly report enhance creativity. Some people use it simply for fun. Flying is a common activity in lucid dreaming. Nearly everyone has dreams which involve flying, and it's usually a pleasurable experience. With lucid dreaming you can do it at will. Any pleasurable experience can be had while engaging in lucid dreaming. I'll leave it to your imagination to figure out what you might want to do in a dream. You can even use lucid dreaming to rehearse things you have coming up in life, such as speeches and presentations.

So how does one go about learning lucid dreaming? The first step is excellent dream recall. By remembering your dreams in detail you become familiar with their patterns and features. Without this you would have lucid dreams that you wouldn't remember, which defeats the purpose of lucid dreaming in the first place. The primary step in good dream recall is to begin writing down your dreams as you have them. Yes, this involves waking up several times during the night. Lucid dreaming requires devotion to the task, so it's not for everyone. I personally use a tape recorder, it's much easier and you don't have to turn on a light.

I won't go into the rest of the exercises involved, if you're interested in lucid dreaming, books and articles are readily available. Suffice it to say the exercises are not difficult and it's mostly a matter of discipline.

What I've been talking about so far is referred to as Mnemonic Induced Lucid Dreaming, or MILD. There two other types. Dream Initiated Lucid Dreaming, DILD, and Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming, WILD. A DILD starts as a normal dream and the dreamer at some point concludes they are dreaming. A WILD occurs when a person goes from a normal waking state to a dream state with no apparent lapse in consciousness. That is, when REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is entered directly from a conscious state. There are several ways to do this. If a person can stay alert while passing from a hypnagogic state, the borderline between waking and sleeping (I personally know many people who seem to live their lives there), to REM sleep, then they will achieve WILD. This is difficult to achieve, and it involves exercises I won't go in to here.

Another method of inducing lucid dreaming is the one pictured above. It involves the used of a LDID, or Lucid Dream Inducing Device. The original device is called the NovaDreamer. It was designed in 1993 by an experienced lucid dreamer, Craig Webb, executive director of The DREAMS Foundation. It works by incorporating external stimuli into one's dreams. The device detects when a sleeper enters an REM phase and then triggers a tone and/or flashing lights with the aim of incorporating these into the sleeper's dream. For example, flashing lights might be interpreted in the dream as car headlights. There are other devices that use vibration to achieve the same end.

There is, of course, much more to all this, but that's enough to get you started if it interests you at all. I haven't tried this stuff in years; all I remember is that it's very difficult and requires a lot of persistence. I recall the first exercise being to tell yourself before you go to sleep that you must look at your hands in your dream. If you can achieve that, you're on your way. If you remember your dreams at all, you'll realize that you never see your body parts in a dream. You never see your hands or feet. Achieving that is the first step. Good luck.

Getting dressed for work, Bill went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he glanced at himself in the mirror he was jolted by a sudden remembrance of a dream. Standing with his toothbrush half way to his mouth with his jaw going slack he felt a chill run through him.

Why did I have to remember that, he wondered? It was horrible. Trying to put it out of his mind he hurried through the rest of his routine and got in the car, but the dream persisted, invading his mind like a stupid song lyric that simply won't go away. It was a bog standard nightmare, really. He was being pursued across an unknown landscape by some dreadful nameless thing for a reason he couldn't fathom. There was something about a scraping and grunting noise he couldn't quite remember. In the dream he kept telling himself not to look back, but of course he finally did. He had only glimpsed it briefly but he remembered it was enough to jolt him out of the dream, but not to wake him fully.

Cranking up the stereo he forced himself to just drive. Arriving at work he felt much better and settled into his cubicle and got down to the business at hand. Just before lunch Reed from across the hall dropped by for a chat.

"Hey Bill, you going to the game with us this Saturday?"

"Oh, I suppose I could. Who's gonna drive?"

"I'll drive. I'll pick you up at eleven." Reed turned to go then stopped. "Oh, by the way, I finally bought that DVD you recommended, haven't gotten around to watching it yet though."

His brow furrowing, Bill tried to remember what that was about, and then it hit him. Two nights ago he had a dream in which he'd recommended Donnie Darko to Reed and his wife. Or had he? He could remember it, but...

"Um, Reed, what DVD was that?"

"You know, Donnie Darko. I picked it up at the video store the other day. Strange, really, I had gone there to rent something and the clerk was putting some DVD's out for sale and he told me I should buy it. Then I remembered you recommending it. Hey, what's up man, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Uh...nothing. Nothing, Reed. I need to make a couple of calls. Talk to you later."

Leaning back in his chair Bill tried to sort it all out in his mind. He clearly remembered having a dream. Had he recommended it to them and then dreamed about it after? It didn't seem possible. Picking up the phone he tried to figure out how to ask without it seeming weird. He called Reed's extension.

"Hi Reed. Hey, I was just wondering, when did I recommend the movie to you? My mind is like a sieve these days."

"Oh, hi Bill. Well, it was..." There was a long pause. "Damn, I can't remember. Whatever you've got, maybe I've got it too! Well, you were over...when were you over last?"

"See, that's the thing, it's been quite awhile, but I had this dream about recommending the DVD to you, and now you tell me...oh hell, it doesn't matter. Talk to you later."

Hanging up the phone he picked up a report he was trying to write and started editing it. He needed distraction; the whole thing seemed silly anyway. He was deep into the report when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, dear. Sorry to call you at work."

"Oh, that's alright mom, what's up?"

"Well, I'm afraid it's your father. He's had a stroke. Now, don't worry, they think it's just minor, but you know we're away for a few days, we took the camper van of course, and we were parked in a rest area when it happened. We didn't get far, we're at the hospital in the valley, you know the one?"

"Yeah, Mom, I know the one. Is he alright?"

"Yes, dear, he's resting. It's just, well, I was wondering if there's anyway you could get our valuables out of the van for us. I rode in the ambulance with him, and I'm just afraid we'll get robbed." She gave him directions.

"No problem, mom. The spare key is still under the bumper?"

"Yes, dear."

"I'll go get your stuff and meet you at the hospital. See you in a couple of hours."

Driving towards the valley Bill's mind kept bouncing back and forth between the dreams and his father. What a day. Could it possibly get any stranger? It was twilight when he reached the van. There was something unnerving about the area, but he set about moving stuff to his car. The highway was deserted, not a car in sight. With the last of their valuables in, he was about to go when he heard a scraping noise in the gravel behind him. Instantly every hair on his neck and arms stood straight up. In one horrible instant last night's dream came flooding back in a grotesque rush.

The scraping quickened, and just as in the dream he heard a sickening grunting noise. He began running for all he was worth, willing himself not to look back.