Dream On: A Beginner’s Hack To Using Music To Lucid Dream

lucid dream

The lucid dream realm is a mysterious and fascinating place. A whole universe awaits – but how to access it? Find out below.

The lucid dream

The dream realm is a mysterious and fascinating place. There’s a whole universe within our psyche that needs exploring and lucid dreaming might be the compass needed to point us in the right direction. 

Think back to the most memorable dream you’ve ever had. Imagine taking control of that dream, altering the series of events, which unfold within it. We’re all really fascinated by our dreams.

They take the real and mash it up with subconscious fantasies, playing out a bizarre movie before our (shut) eyes. Now imagine being the writer, producer, director and star in your very own mind-movie. That’s lucid dreaming for you. 

Why try out lucid dreaming?

Dreams tap into our subconscious; a state we cannot reach when we’re awake. Lucid dreaming has the potential to bring awareness into the mix. Being able to actively explore this mind state can elevate your sense of self-awareness.

For example it will bring you closer to unresolved traumas and give you the power to overcome them. Letting go of deeply embedded pain, bringing peace to your mind and liberating you. 

Diving through the crevices of your mind can also help unlock some creative endeavors you might be searching for. And listening to music can help induce this state quite easily. But before getting into that, we need to get into what’s going on in your brain when you’re sleeping.

Your sleeping brain

Your brain is made up of a complex system of neurons that send messages across your brain through electrical impulses producing frequencies we refer to as brain waves. The higher the frequency and the faster these waves travel, the more awake you are.

Our brains work at different frequencies depending on which mind state we’re in: 

Beta (14-40Hz): Waking State

High frequencies produce a lot of brain energy to keep your mind’s active, aware and engaged. 

Alpha (7.5-14Hz): Mellow State

These frequencies are lower and calmer. This is your brain’s way of winding down after a long day or coming to after a good night’s rest. Your brain is at this frequency when you’re meditating or being really still and present. 

Theta (4-7.5Hz): Lucid Dream State

This is the sweet spot between the waking realm and the dream realm. It’s that place your brain goes to right before dosing off. These frequencies are active during light sleep, deeply meditative states and lucid dreaming. 

Delta (0.5-4Hz): Deep Sleep State

These frequencies are extremely low and deeply penetrating, like a drum beat. Deep sleep is needed, as it allows your body and mind to rest. 

Our sleep cycle is a sequence of the last three states. If you wake up in Theta state, you might remember your dreams. But, waking up in Alpha will leave you wondering if you dreamt anything at all. 

Binaural Beats for Lucid Dreaming

I wanted to listen to music that would induce lucid dreaming. So far, binaural beats is the top recommendation. There’s a lot of science behind why these sounds can induce lucid dreaming, and it’s got a lot to do with our brainwaves.

Listening to this array of rhythms, sounds and musical tones is an effective tool to keep you in activate lucid dreaming while your mind is in the Theta state:

You can also use them to wake you up and keep you focused as some Binaural Beats match the frequency of your mind in Beta (Waking) State. 

For Focus: 

How to use Binaural Beats

The first step to activating lucid dreaming is an open mind. The less skeptical you are, the better your results will be. 

Grab an eye mask and plug your headphones in. Block all notifications and lay back somewhere comfy where no one will bug you. If you want to kick it up a notch and try out a quick meditation to relax yourself further.

Block out the daylight, find some binaural beats that can bring your brain to the frequency it needs to wander into your subconscious and see what happens. 

You may not lucid dream on your first try, but don’t give up so easily. It’s all about tapping into your inner psyche and gaining control of your mind. 

You can use this playlist to help you out:

Can we induce lucid dreaming with drum & bass?

That depends entirely on what relaxes you! Atmospheric DnB has got that same bar and bass line layout as the classic DnB we know and love, but it’s far more zen. It has less bar-oriented samples, implementing natural or synthesized instrumental layers that infuse harmonies, melodies and ambiance to create a calming atmosphere. It could be the perfect mood music for a subconscious adventure. 

Train your brain to induce lucid dreaming

If you’re up for using a particular track to carry you into the conscious-dream state, you need to be patient. You’ll need to train your brain to respond to the music, but it can be done if you’re determined enough. 

Find a genre of music that works for you, something in the middle –not too hyped up but not too zen either.  Here’s a few examples:

Ambient Electronic: Four Tet- Lush

Atmospheric D’n’B:  Aural Imbalance- Astral Forest

They’ve got the same dreamy undertones that Binaural Beats elicit, but they’re layered under some hard-hitting bass to kick your creativity into high gear. 

The scope of this method is to condition your brain to associate a specific song with wakefulness while you’re sleeping and this may take some time, so be patient!

1. Pick one song that you like and stick with it. It’s got to be a song that you can recognize the moment you hear it. Make sure you can tolerate it for long enough, as it’s going to be on repeat for a while.

2. Use this song as an alarm to wake you up for several days to trigger an association with wakefulness in your brain. 

3. After going through that process for several days, set an automatic timer to play this track at low volume while you’re sleeping. 

4. If you’ve successfully conditioned your mind to associate with wakefulness, it will activate your brain in sleep and bam, you’re lucid dreaming. 

Trial and Error

Some people are more inclined to lucid dreaming than others, so you might need to go through the process a couple of times to get in the driver’s seat. But using music to induce lucid dreaming is claimed to be one of the most successful methods. 

Be Consistent

Once you manage to have a lucid dream, you might get so excited that you’ll wake yourself up. So stay consistent and stay tranquil.  Over time you’ll train your mind enough to tap into lucid dreams on demand and stay in them. 

Change the song you use occasionally, to avoid desensitizing your brain to it. Set a playlist of your own lucid dreaming songs and rotate them to keep it varied. 

If you start to get frustrated by the process, take a step and remember why you wanted to do this. It’s supposed to be an intriguing and exciting experience, so keep your focus on the exploration in the end goal, and let the ambient tunes guide you there. 

Here’s one more mix for y’all:

Written by Nicola Tabone

Nicola Tabone is a Malta-based content writer with experience writing about music and subculture.

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