Lucid dreaming, something that 55 percent of people on this earth have experienced. But what is it, and how do I lucid dream? This is a question that will be answered in today’s speech. Lucid dreaming is a concept that is not only beneficial, but really refreshing and overall a fun experience to have! In these five minutes I have with you, I will explain what lucid dreaming is, and how to become lucid in your dreams.

So, what is lucid dreaming, you ask? Well, lucid dreaming is the ability to consciously observe/control your dreams. Cool, right? In the article, “What is Lucid Dreaming?” it states, “You're basically transforming your inner dream into a living alternate reality.” (Turner). This makes everything you see, hear, taste, and smell as authentic as real life. You’re probably wondering why I put so much emphasis on taste, well for all my foodies out there like me, because your sense of taste is so authentic, any food you eat in a lucid dream tastes very real, and most importantly, delicious! Let's say you wanted to eat your favorite burger at your favorite restaurant, as you start to dig in your brain simulates the delicious taste of that burger, possibly making it the best-tasting burger you’ve ever had. And the best part is, no calories, so eat up!

Know that you know what lucid dreaming is, you're probably wondering, well how do I become lucid? There are many ways to become lucid but these are the two most effective ones known to man.

Number One: Reality checks. This is one of the easiest lucid dreaming techniques out there. Reality checks are things you do in your dream that can’t be done in real life. So, let's say you were to grab your skin and tug on it. In real life, your skin would stretch a little bit and fall back into your natural state. However, in a dream, your skin will stretch out like aluminum foil. This will help you come the realization that you are dreaming, and will hopefully make you become lucid.

Number Two: Wake Back To Bed (WBTB) Technique: This method involves waking up and simply going back to bed. According to the article, “The Dead Simple WBTB Lucid Dreaming Tutorial (Wake Back To Bed),” it states “This method is the most effective for lucid dreamers and beginners. The Wake back to bed lucid technique involves waking up very early and then letting yourself go back to sleep.” (HowtoLucid.com). During your dream, you have something called REM sleep, which is the period of time where your dreams are the most vivid and active. REM sleep usually happens two to three hours before you wake up. For us students we wake up at the tiring time of 6 AM. For us, to use this method we would have to wake up at 4 AM. Scary I know but I promise you it's worth it. Once you wake up, you want to keep your eyes closed, shut your alarm off, while thinking about the dream you had, and then fall back asleep. Your brain will simulate the same dream you had previously, and because you remembered what the dream was when you woke up, you realize that you are in a dream, allowing you to become lucid.

Now that I am lucid in my dream, what can I do? The things you could do in a lucid dream are absolutely endless, and that's why lucid dreaming is such an amazing experience. These things include becoming an animal, reliving memories and experiences, writing music and practicing it, becoming your favorite superhero, flying and a billion other things, that I don’t have the time to tell you about.! All these things I'm saying to you are all fun and games, but lucid dreaming can also be really beneficial. Let's say your grandpa passed away, and all that pain inside of you is just dying to be released. Well, a good way to relieve that pain is simple, lucid dream. Have a nice long conversation with that relative, talk about you miss them, and how life is going. And as you drift back into consciousness, all that pain might just be relieved, all thanks to lucid dreaming.

Now I wanna talk to you about my lucid dreaming experience. For a long time, I have tried to lucid dream, I’ve used countless methods that I make one mistake on and it throws me off. But one night I finally had gotten it. I used the WBTB and bam! I became lucid in my dream. Now I’m not going to lie to you and tell you some crazy story about me fighting dragons or versing Darth Vader in a lightsaber match. Oh no. You see, I took full advantage of my authentic lucid sense of taste, and by that I mean I ate entire menus from our local Marlboro diner to any fast food restaurant on the planet. You name it, I ate it. While in real life, I would have probably blown up like a balloon, in my dream I didn’t gain a thing. And when I woke up, I felt happy and refreshed, which carried on for the rest of the day.

What I want you to take away from this piece is this: lucid dreaming is a lot of things. It's refreshing, extravagant, jaw-dropping. You could say it's worth 1,000 words. It's an experience that can make your dreams come true! If you ever do lucid dream, I promise you it will be one of the greatest experiences of your life, or well, your dream life, that is…