Did you know that all of your most cherished dreams are just a good night's sleep away?

Lucid dreamers share one of the greatest secrets of modern living. They have discovered a whole new universe-a universe within. They have learned to wake up in their dreams. They fly, explore unknown worlds, live out their deepest fantasies, have profound spiritual experiences, and gain precious insights about themselves.

With a little practice, you too can learn to lucid dream!

Here are some popular techniques people use for learning to wake up in their dreams:

1) Throughout the day, ask yourself if you are dreaming. But don't stop there, because you may ask yourself and decide you're awake when you're actually dreaming. Look at some words near you, look away, then look back at the words. Did the words change? If so, you are dreaming.

2) As you are falling asleep, stay focused on remembering that you are about to enter into a dream.

3) While awake, visualize yourself being in a dream, becoming aware that you are dreaming.

4) Wake up an hour earlier than you usually do. Stay awake for an hour, then go back to sleep. As you are falling asleep, stay focused on your intention to have a lucid dream. This technique is particularly effective, because we have more dreams at the end of our night's sleep cycle.

5) Believe that you can learn to lucid dream!

Chris Olsen is a doctoral student at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, in Palo Alto. To learn more about Chris Olsen and lucid dreams, visit http://mindfulpassions.typepad.com/lucid_dreaming