As the field of cognitive neuroscience continues to expand, an innovative area of study has emerged that stands at the intersection of consciousness and sleep: lucid dreaming. It's a topic that has always stirred curiosity, and today, we're diving deep into it with someone who has made it a significant part of her life and work – Lana Sackwild.
Born in Britain and now residing in Texas, Lana is a passionate lucid dreamer and researcher. She's not just an enthusiast; she's used lucid dreaming as a tool for personal growth and has even launched a unique course, The Lucid Entrepreneur Lab, through her venture, Get Lucid With Lana.
In our conversation, Lana shares with us her intriguing journey into the world of lucid dreaming, the transformative potential of this practice, and how she's incorporated it into her entrepreneurial journey. Regardless of whether you're new to the concept of lucid dreaming or you've explored it yourself, Lana's experiences and insights are sure to pique your curiosity. So, come join us as we navigate this fascinating dreamscape with Lana Sackwild.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Lana Sackwild, and I'm a British researcher currently living in Texas, USA. I published the world’s first award-winning scientific paper on The Healing & Transformative Potential of Lucid Dreaming for Treating Clinical Depression which led me to launch my business ‘Get Lucid With Lana’ & start up my signature course ‘The Lucid Entrepreneur Lab’!
How did you first become interested in lucid dreaming?
I had my first lucid dream when I was 4 or 5 years old that stemmed from childhood night terrors. When I realized I could change scary monsters into cartoon images I became excited to go to bed at night and explore what else was possible. I used lucid dreaming throughout childhood for things like spelling tests at school or learning to ride a bike. In my teenage years, I used them frequently for dealing with depression and this led me to pursue research on lucid dreaming for my MSc.
How has lucid dreaming impacted your waking life, if at all?
In every single way! I run a full-time lucid dreaming and lucid living coaching company and produce research on lucid dreaming, so my life’s work is really dedicated to this practice. Most people I am connected to are via a mutual interest in dreamwork. The practice has completely transformed my life for the better which is why I’m on such a mission to share it with the world.
Have you ever used lucid dreaming to boost creativity or solve real-life problems?
Yes, all the time. The entire concept for The Lucid Entrepreneur Lab came entirely from a single lucid dream I had during the pandemic. I had spent the past 6 months prepping for a year of lucid dreaming retreats and the first one was scheduled for April 2020. When the world shut down and no one could travel anymore, all the retreats were postponed and my business essentially crumbled into nothing overnight. So I induced a lucid dream asking for the next steps to take and the entire concept of The Lucid Entrepreneur Lab was shown to me. I woke up and started creating it. The week I launched it I made $8000 and was able to quit my other side jobs and go all in on my business.
What advice would you give to someone new to lucid dreaming or someone struggling to achieve lucidity?
I’d encourage them to start up a really simple dream journal that follows the CEEO method. Simply note down the Character, Emotion, Environment, and any other notable Observation upon awakening. You can just bullet point these if you don’t want to take too much time. Then use the most common one after 7-10 dreams to create a personalized reality check for yourself. For example, if you notice you have water in 70% of your dreams you might want to create a reality check around water (when washing your hands, flushing the toilet, drinking water, seeing rain etc.) so that you have a much higher amount of opportunity for lucidity!
How does using a lucid dreaming mask compare to other methods of inducing lucid dreams?
They can be effective for people who don’t have the time or energy to work on personalized reality checks at that time of their life. You don’t need to necessarily prepare yourself for anything other than the mental reminder right before going to bed that when you see flashing lights you are dreaming!
Can you share a lucid dreaming goal you have set for yourself or a dream scenario you're excited to explore in a future lucid dream?
At the moment I’m super focused on cultivating powerful techniques for emotional regulation and healing inside the lucid dream space. This is because I’m about to launch something brand new called the “Lucid Dream Incubator” which will be a group (10 people) and individual lucid dreaming and living 9-week course exploring lucid dreams and dream analysis for emotional self-development and growth.
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Using lucid dreaming as a tool for creativity, emotional regulation, and even entrepreneurship, Lana demonstrates the versatile ways our sleeping minds can influence our waking lives. And while it's a journey that's uniquely personal, it's one that we can all embark on with a bit of guidance.
As we continue to uncover the mysteries of our sleeping minds, one thing is clear: when it comes to lucid dreaming, the only limit is our own imagination. Now, the question is: are you ready to explore your dreamscape tonight?