Acupuncture therapy is an ancient Chinese medical practice. The Chinese believe that it helps in unblocking qi, using ultra fine needles which are then inserted at few specific points in the body. Qi is a Chinese term for energy that flows through our bodies along the twelve main pathways, also known as meridians. There are reportedly five hundred specific points in the body which have been identified by this traditional Chinese medical practice.

In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture needles are the main tools. Below are some key information regarding these acupuncture needles:

1. Acupuncture needles are usually made of steel, iron steel, copper or silver. While silver can be on the pricey side, it is also known to have antiseptic effects. There are varied sizes for acupuncture needles: half an inch, one inch or 1.5 inches. Aside from a person’s weight, the area being treated also determines the size of the needle.
2. If you aspire to be an acupuncturist, it is better if you just buy your own acupuncture needles. In order to save, make sure to buy them in bulk since you are most likely to waste several as you practice the correct technique in acupuncture therapy.
3. When buying acupuncture needles, it is only practical to choose those with a trusted brand name. SEIRIN is among the leading manufacturers of acupuncture needles. Many acupuncturists around the world are using their needles.
4. When buying acupuncture needles, it is always best if you look for products that provides the patient with a painless insertion. The amount of pain felt can be reduced by using Activa’s specially designed acupuncture needles. The treatment becomes ineffective when the energy flow is broken when needles cause pain.
5. Color-coded needles are the best choice since they easily enable acupuncturists to identify different sizes just by being aware of the colors.
6. Acupuncture needles that are coated in silicon can cause allergic reactions in certain patients, so it is better if you refrain from buying these. Choose silicon free acupuncture needles instead.
7. Try purchasing acupuncture needles online since they tend to be cheaper. It might be better if you do some online research first before you go and start buying acupuncture needles. Try reading the customer reviews regarding the company. When you read good reviews, also try to compare the prices of the acupuncture needles on several sites and then buy it off the site that offers the best deal.

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So you want to be a lucid dreamer. Well that’s a good start, at least you know what you want to do; but how exactly do you go about it?

You also need to think about exactly why you want to become a lucid dreamer. What are the benefits of lucid dreaming? To help us find the benefits, let us first look at ‘normal’ sleep.

Sleep itself is not so interesting; you get ready for bed, lie down and close your eyes. Then you may have uncontrolled dreams or not and several hours later you awaken.

This kind of sleep allows us to get the rest we need to go about our activities the following day. Have you ever wondered, though, what it would be like if you could actually take control of your dreams and dictate their events?

What if there was a way to become a full participant in your dreams? Lead them in the manner in which you alone determine consciously? That my friend is basically what a lucid dreamer does. They control all aspects of their dreams, going where they will and doing whatever they want in the confines of the dream state.

This sounds great, but how can you become a lucid dreamer? There are two ways to reach this state – one is by having a DLID, or dream initiated lucid dream. These are instances where the dreamer has taught themselves to recognize that they are having a dream and start to assert control over the direction of their dream.

The other method is by having a wake initiated lucid dream (or WILD) this is where the dreamer transitions from a state of wakefulness to lucid dreaming without a sensation of falling asleep. The dreamer simply goes straight from being awake to lucid dreaming.

Now that we know the basic how, what are the fine points to entering either one of these lucid dream realms?

Dream Recall

The easiest place to begin your lucid dream search is in dreams you have already had. When you can remember your dreams, you will be able to recognize when you have that dream again. Many times, we will have the same dream or part of a dream over and over.

The way to practise dream recall is by keeping a dream journal. The dream journal is meant as a tool to write down anything you can remember about your dream, in order to recall it for the future. This should be done right after waking up; otherwise dreams will become harder to remember.

Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD)

Developed by renowned lucid dream researcher Dr. Stephen LaBerge, this technique works by telling yourself to recognize a certain object or situation when you see it in your dreams. When you see this object, it triggers the realization that you are in a dreaming, allowing you to begin lucid dreaming.

Wake-Back-to-Bed (WBTB)

This technique is fairly simple. You set your alarm for just a few hours after you go to bed. When you wake, don’t just go back to sleep. Instead, stay awake for about an hour, then return to sleep.

According to Stephen LaBerge, there is a 60% success rate of this technique. The reason why is that you would have woken up during the process of sleep, meaning that your mind is not fully aware of this, and are still in the middle of REM cycle. So basically, it’s like going to your mind and telling it that you want to lucid dream.

Cycle Adjustment Technique

Developed by Daniel Love, in this technique you first acclimate yourself to waking 90 minutes earlier than usual. Then alternate waking early with waking at your usual time. When you wake up at the later (regular) time, your body will begin to stir 90 minutes earlier, giving you a much better chance at achieving a state of lucid dreaming, at least during this 90 minutes.

Wake-initiation of Lucid Dreams (WILD)

This method was described before. If you would like to achieve a lucid dream this way, all you have to do is to keep your mind awake while you body falls asleep. This is perhaps the most interesting way of entering a lucid dream. It is as if you are getting ready to watch a movie. You are in the real world, you sit on your couch, you turn on the TV and press play (starting to sleep), the screen is black (in the same way as when your eyes are closed), and all you have to do is wait for the movie to actually start.

You can also use this technique with tactics like counting, chanting or imagining yourself climbing stairs as you go to sleep. This method of achieving lucid dreaming is best done in the afternoon or other times when you are not terribly tired.

Like many other areas of our life, technology has made its mark. Today you can find several electronic devices that can aid you in inducing lucid dreams. There are masks that can detect when you enter REM sleep then use a vibration, sound or small lights to induce lucidity.

Listening to binaural beat frequencies through a head set is the simplest and most consistent way to create a lucid dream.

These binaural sounds induce lucid dreaming by causing the hemispheres of your brain to synchronize, making your brainwaves reach the state required for lucid dreaming.

Put all or many of these techniques together and you are ready to begin your journey into the wonderful world of lucid dreaming. It is a simple process that anyone can do.

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