The events and feelings in dreams are so real to our minds that we consider them to be actually happening. It is not until we awake that our mind registers the events that took place as solely mental ("Lucid Dreaming" 338). .
LaBerge developed a way of studying lucid dreaming called biofeedback. This is when stimulants, such as light or sound, are used on a person who is in REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep. If these stimulations are evident in their dreams, one can then use these to realize they are dreaming. Without the use of Biofeedback, one will usually realize they are dreaming when something bizarre or impossible happens, and find no other explanation than that it is a dream ("Lucid Dreaming" 338). On occasion people realize they are dreaming without recognizing a particular clue within their dream; they simply all of a sudden realize they are dreaming. A small amount of lucid dreams result from returning to REM sleep directly from an awakening with "unbroken reflective consciousness" (LaBerge and Levitan par. 2). One who experiences a lucid dream will claim to be in touch with all of their "cognitive faculties." These include being able to reason normally, recall conditions of their waking life, and act/speak freely based on decisions and thoughts created before going to sleep (LaBerge "Lucid Dreaming" 338). Dreams tend to have the same effects on the mind, and partially the body as waking life instances do. If our muscles were not paralyzed during REM sleep, we would literally do the things we do in our dreams ("Lucid Dreaming" 341).
While lucid dreams cannot have much effect on the body during REM sleep, they certainly have a large effect on the mind. There are several benefits from learning to lucid dream that we can use in our everyday waking state. Creative thinking is one major benefit. Lucid Dreams serve as a way of reaching the mind's untapped "creative powers.