It might seem a little strange to consider that you have more than one identity at first, but when we look at identity we realize it’s not a fixed thing anyway. Are you the same person you were yesterday? What about five years ago? As we see, identity changes over time. When we make the transition from waking to dreaming, we also transit from our waking self to our dreaming self so that we can operate proficiently in dreaming reality.

To ‘get’ this, let’s use an analogy. If you hold both hands out wide, one hand is your waking self and the other hand is your dreaming self. If you turn your head and shift your focus from one hand to the other and back, is either one ‘less you’ or ‘less real’? Of course not. Both exist simultaneously and are equally valid. So when we switch between our waking and dreaming selves, we are just changing focus. We may or may not remember we have another ‘hand’, another identity while we’re busy using the other one! And in the same way, your waking and dreaming selves are both still ‘you’.

One of the many benefits of lucid dreaming is that by training our lucidity, we are opening channels between our waking self and dreaming self identities, blending them in a way that will enrich the experience of both. We are integrating into a more whole being. We bring more of the creativity and knowing of our dreaming abilities into waking life, and the sharpness of conscious focus, intent and reflection into the dream world. And in the process, we get to explore lots of new ideas and have a whole heap of fun!