Lucid dreaming is a common phenomenon which has been used as the theme of movies and books, and which is the focus of interest of psychologists, New Age groups, and artists alike. Because they often feel real, lucid dreams can often be more memorable than any other kind of dream. Even the pain of nightmares can be offset by lucid dreaming, which is why some psychologists recommend that their patients intentionally have lucid dreams, so that the patients can rid themselves of any torment or inner strife that may impair them in the daytime.
Although lucid dreaming is relatively rare, it can be achieved with different techniques, and this means you are no different. Before lucid dreaming can be done, however, you have to recognize that you are dreaming. You can do this by looking for "dream signs", which can be identified by performing the following "reality tests".
1. If you are confronted with text or a clock in a dream, read the text or the time, look away, and then look at the text or time again. In the real world, text and time will not change; in the dream world, however, text and time will alter drastically.
2. Switch on electronic objects, or look at reflective objects. Electronic switches such as light switches will not usually work in the dream world. Mirrors will be blurred, or will show distorted images.
3. Try to inflict pain on yourself, or keep yourself from breathing. If you feel your chest tighten, or if you feel little or no resistance or pain on your skin, then you may be in a dream state.
4. Observe your environment: do you see talking animals? Are there purple dogs and green horses? Do buildings suddenly get up and dance? You may be dreaming.
Not everyone can have lucid dreams. There are many factors that affect such ability, including meditation and age. If you do wish to have lucid dreams, and you can recognize that you are in the dream state, then you can get started with any of the following techniques.
In Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreaming (MILD), all you need to do is to prepare yourself mentally for lucid dreaming. While you fall asleep, remind yourself, over and over, to watch out for dream signs, and to know that you are dreaming.
The easiest way to start lucid dreaming is the Wake-back-to-bed Induction Technique (WBTB). This exploits the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) cycles, which indicate deep sleep and lucid dreaming, and which get longer in the latter parts of the night. To employ WBTB, go to sleep tired, then wake up in five hours' time. As soon as you are awake, direct all your thoughts on the will to make yourself have lucid dreams while keeping yourself awake for an hour. When you are finished with the hour of focus, go back to sleep. Not only may you have lucid dreams, you will have them longer, and more vivid.
A common technique is called Waking Induction of Lucid Dreaming (WILD). This involves going from the waking state directly to the lucid dream state. To use WILD, you have to recognize that you have reached the border between waking and sleeping, and you have to remain aware of your state. You may be able to enter a dream with complete awareness, and an ability to change events to suit your needs.
Another effective method is the Cycle Adjustment Technique (CAT), which means adjusting your sleep hours so that you are more alert during the later portions of your sleep. To do so, try to wake up about an hour and a half before you normally do, and continue to do so until your cycles are completely adjusted. This heightened awareness of having to wake up; alternating with normal hours of waking at the usual time, actually makes the body more aware of the dreaming state, and can induce lucid dreaming.
Don Juan's Technique is also like MILD, except that it requires focus on your hands. All you have to do is to stare at your hands before going to sleep, then telling yourself (preferably aloud) that when you look at your hands later, you will realize that you are in a dream state. When you do reach the dream state, look at your hands again, repeat the words to yourself, and continue to do so to keep your awareness during the entire dream.
Lucid dreaming experts recommend three basic steps to induce a lucid dream. First, you have to relax as you go to sleep. Second, remain aware of your dream state. Last, enter your dream, and continue to remain aware of the state, all while enjoying what your dream can offer. In lucid dreaming, you can fly, run at impossible speeds, experience activities that you might not normally do while you are awake, get ideas for a novel or work of art, and even rehearse scenarios that you might encounter in real life!
Once you know that you are dreaming, remember every single detail of your dream. Try to manipulate the dream to suit your preferences. If you can, keep a dream journal, along with a pen, on your bedside table. As soon as you wake up from your dream, relax, keep your eyes closed to remember as many details as possible, then open your journal and write everything down.
Lucid dreaming can be done by everyone, and its benefits can be enjoyed by all. If lucid dreaming can rid us of our inner demons, then by all means, let the sleeping begin!
?I awoke in the morning as usual. I lay in bed for a moment and reached over to pick up the phone, as I had an important call to make. I started to dial the numbers and glanced away briefly. Looking back at the phone, I noticed something odd had happened. The object in my hand had now changed into the remote control for the television! What was going on??
As you may have guessed, I was in fact dreaming. The above extract is from my dream journal. That was my first hint of what was to prove to be one of the major dream signs to occur repeatedly throughout my dream journals. After spotting this, becoming lucid became a lot easier. Whenever I see a phone in my dreams I almost always know that I am dreaming, and therefore become lucid.
That is exactly what a dream sign is. It's a common theme that occurs within your dreams that may give you some sort of hint that you are dreaming. Keeping a dream journal is the key to spotting these because you can read through old dreams and try to spot a common element. Some dream signs can be something as subtle as a flashing light or the appearance of an animal occurring repeatedly in your dreams. Noticing them and seeing them for what they are is the key to making a dream sign work for you.
Reality Checks
One of the most powerful tools for inducing lucid dreams, is the reality check. It is also the one method that requires the most commitment. This method often seems futile to those who have never experienced a lucid dream but a certain amount of faith has to be put in the advice offered by those who have more experience.
Where ever you are at this very moment as you are reading this book, just stop for a moment and ask yourself ?Is this real or am I dreaming?. Now, this may seem silly to a lot of people but I can assure you that I have failed to achieve many a lucid dream because I was convinced that my dream was real life and I chose not to bother with a reality check.
Merely asking ?is this real?? is not enough to test your reality. You need to perform a test. The following paragraphs describe some ways of testing our reality.
The Clock Test
It's a little known fact that when we dream, our short term memory becomes very poor indeed. A good example is the clock test. If you look at a clock or wristwatch now, either an analogue or digital clock will do. Now, look at the time on the clock and remember it. Look away from the clock for a couple of seconds and then check the time again. You will notice that the time is exactly the same (except for a few seconds). In our dreams, when we check the clock for the second time, the time will be totally different! This then tells us that we are dreaming and hey presto we enter a lucid dream.
My own mother once asked me to have a look at her alarm clock for her because when she woke up during the night it would sometimes read a later time than when she woke in the morning. What in fact was happening was during the night she was having what is known as a ?false awakening?.
A false awakening is when we wake up in during the night but we are in fact still asleep and just dreaming we are awake. This happens a lot more than people realize. I have several false awakenings per week. Usually I perform reality checks that can alert me to this false awakening and cause the onset of a lucid dream.
As it turns out, the alarm clock was perfectly o.k. but my mothers dream alarm clock was reading strange times. When I pointed this out to her (she didn't believe me at first) the next time it happened she looked away from the clock and then re-checked the time. The second time she checked, the time had changed. This immediately told her that she was dreaming, and so began the first of my mother's lucid dreams. That method has worked several times for her.
An extension of this check is reading text. In our dreams just as with the clock, if you read something it often changes when you read it again.
You'd better read that sentence again just in case. Who knows, you may be dreaming!
Light Switch Test
Another way to check your reality is to test the light switches. In our dreams, light switches do not seem to work properly. In fact most gadgets seem to do odd things. Phones don't seem to work very well either. To test a light switch just go over and press the switch a few times. If the lights fail to operate properly, either your dreaming or somebody forgot to change the bulbs.
Pinch Nose Test
In my opinion this is by far the best reality check. If you consider that you will be checking you reality through the day it is the most convenient and the most reliable. Simply pinch your nose and then try and breathe in with your mouth closed. As you'd expect, you can't. In our dreams we can! If you can breathe in easily through a pinched nose then you must be dreaming.
How To Use Reality Checks
The most effective way to use reality checks is to periodically throughout the day perform at least one reality check. Some people find it easier to set their watch to bleep on the hour and then perform the clock check for example.
Others find it easier to look for ?weirdness? during the day like a flickering light, or a door jamming shut. As soon as you encounter one of these situations, ask yourself ?Is this real ?? and do a reality check.
The commitment involved with this method is actually doing the reality checks and also not just saying the words ?Am I dreaming? but actually meaning what you are asking yourself.
If you perform ten reality checks per day, eventually that habit will start to enter your dream world and this is when things really start happening. You will find yourself questioning your reality whilst you are dreaming and that is why reality checking is the single most powerful tool to assist you with lucid dreaming.
Both Abbas Abedi & Andrew Strachan are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Abbas Abedi has sinced written about articles on various topics from Business Grants, Stress Management and First Date. Abbas Abedi--Learn about ancient ways of holistic medicine, health and healing from my Shamanism and Holistic Medicine Blog. You can pick what works for you on. Abbas Abedi's top article generates over 110000 views. Bookmark Abbas Abedi to your Favourites.
Andrew Strachan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Lucid Dream, Consumer and Lucid Dream. Andrew Strachan has been lucid dreaming for over 20 years. Anybody can learn how to lucid dream. Let him teach you the techniques he uses so that you can learn to lucid dream yourself.. Andrew Strachan's top article generates over 4400 views. Bookmark Andrew Strachan to your Favourites.