What is a lucid dream?
A lucid dream is a dream in which during some course of the dream you realize you are dreaming. Lucid dreaming is often accompanied by dream control; the ability to alter the material or course of the dream.
Why lucid dream?
Lucid dreaming has no effect on the amount of sleep, or quality of sleep (same as a normal dream); so theres really no downside. However, there are infinite possibilities when it comes to lucid dreaming. It can be used for a variety of reasons, the most obvious being fun and exploration, adventure, but it can also be used as a tool for preventing recurring nightmares, testing social situations, and self exploration, and innovation. Many great minds throughout history have dreamed and lucid dreamed; often coming up with ground breaking technologies. Einstein's theory of relativity came from a dream in which he was traveling in a spaceship at the speed of light. Nikola Tesla deliberately lucid dreamed to discover many innovations.
Entertainment being the primary reason most start lucid dreaming, the possibilities are endless. Fly, go to space, go under the ocean, talk to someone who is dead, have sex with anyone, go to Pandora, punch Justin Bieber, ride a Yoshi; literally anything you can imagine. During REM4 stage sleep (the stage in which dreams occur [roughly 4+ hours into sleep]) our logic cortex in our brain shuts down almost completely, allowing anything and everything to occur.
The average person spends at least 1/3 of their life sleeping- why not enjoy it to the full extent?
After this tutorial you will be a graduated Oneironaut.
Etymology
From oneiro- + -naut.
[edit] Noun
oneironaut (plural oneironauts)
1. A person who explores dream worlds, usually associated with lucid dreaming.
Methods of Induction
There are two basic methods of initiating a lucid dream, all other methods are subcategories of these two:
1) Dream Induced Lucid Dream (DILD)- This is a lucid dream in which usually begins as a normal dream, and at some point you realize you are dreaming at become lucid. The basic line is: you fall asleep, and have a lucid dream. This can occur spontaneously, and you have likely had one at some point during your life.
2) Wake Induced Lucid Dream (WILD)- This is a lucid dream in which you don't ever have a lapse of consciousness- you go straight from being awake to dreaming.
Before I get into how to initiate DILDs and WILDs and other subcategories, first I'm going to lay down the basics of things you will need to know beforehand in order to have a successful lucid dream.
Basic Tools of the Trade
Dream Journals- I recommend starting a Dream Journal (DJ); as they are imperative to your success as a lucid dreamer. This is a journal in which you record your dreams, not necessarily every detail, I recommend starting with the gist of the dream and working your way towards complexity from there. Keeping a DJ helps improve dream recall, helps you recognize Dream Signs, and ultimately helps you remember and file your dreams. Dreams are volatile in nature, if you wait to write them down, or take a shower beforehand you may loose pieces of the dream, or the entire dream. When you first wake up, remain still with your eyes closed. Try to remember everything that happened in your dream. Try to keep in all in your head; and once you have a good picture, gingerly roll over and write down everything that occurred (I recommend keeping your DJ at your bedside, I have an app on my IPod that lets me quickly write and categorize them).
Reality Checking- Reality Checking (RCing) is an extremely effective way of determining if you are dreaming, and enable you to become lucid if one fails. I recommend RCing whenever you wake up, to catch False Awakenings (FA), dreams in which you are tricked into thinking its reality and going about your daily affairs (also known as a dream within a dream). I also recommend that you perform a RC whenever you see something strange or unnatural (as dreams are often of this nature). Remember that when you RC it is important to consider your reality, as opposed to mindlessly doing it; think about how you got where you are, examine your surroundings- is anything strange? It is also a good idea to perform a RC whenever you think about lucid dreaming, or discuss lucid dreaming with anyone (often times you can be discussing lucid dreaming with a Dream Character (DC) and fail to become lucid anyways). Also RC whenever you notice a Dream Sign (a recurring theme, object, place, person, or event that occurs in more than one of your dreams. Keeping a DJ can effectively catch subtle ones).
There are many, many reality checks that you can perform, but I'll list a few of the most effective and consistent ones. I recommend doing more than one (around 3 should do), as sometimes one or two might give a false positive. I'll list them in the order of most and least effective:
Plugging your nose- this is the most effective RC and works 90% of the time for most people. You can attempt it right now. Plug your nose and close your mouth; try to inhale and exhale through the blocked nostrils. If you can still breath though them then you are dreaming.
Examining your hands- simply bring your hands up and examine them, do you notice anything out of the ordinary? Often times in dreams your hands will be blurry or out of focus, colors might be different, or you may have extra or less fingers. Even the act of bringing your hands up to your face may make you lucid as I typically don't see my hands much in dreams.
Light Switches- it is often impossible to change the lighting in dreams when not lucid, try flipping a light switch; does it work?
Mirrors- looking in a mirror is an effective tool for checking reality. Glance in a mirror; in dreams the image will often be different than what you would normally see. The image may be distorted, blurry, you may be not there or have the head of a rabbit, your shirt might be a different color than when you went to sleep or your hair may be different. You may have heard to never look in mirrors in dreams in fear of seeing something evil or scary- the fact is dreams are what you make them to be. If I go into a dream thinking "Oh shit oh shit. Must. Not. Look. In. Mirror. I'll see my face melt off!" it'll probably happen. If I go into a dream thinking "Oh Emm Gee, if I look into a mirror a talking rabbit will jump out and punch me in the nuts!" it'll probably happen. Bottom line- its a dream, you are in control, your mind populates it.
Text and Clocks- text and time are volatile in dreams and can be an effective way of RCing. Look at a clock or piece of text for a moment, look away, and then look back. Did anything change? In a dream it will typically be different. You may also try reading what you see out loud- often times it will be difficult or impossible in a dream.
Awareness- this one is important. Be aware. This technique is known as All Day Awareness. You can try it right now; the ultimate goal is to have complete awareness at all times. Feel how being awake feels. Notice the smell of the air, the weight of gravity. Notice how your clothes come in contact and cause friction against your skin. The feel of the floor and your mouse in your hand.
Stabilization- If you have been lucid before it was likely only for a brief period of time; I would venture a guess that you woke up shortly after coming upon the realization that you were dreaming. Often the excitement of becoming lucid will wake you up, much like being in a very scary situation in a nightmare will. I'm going to tell you a stabilization technique that will enable you to extend your dreams. This can also be used to increase clarity and vividness in a dream.
Rub your hands together. This will cement you in the dream and allow you to explore it further. You can also simply calm yourself and examine your surroundings. Smell the air, get down on all fours and touch and taste any objects near you. Spinning in circles in a dream will also stabilize the dream, but it is a more drastic method and can also be used to transport yourself to destinations within the dream. You may also try shouting "Clarity" or "Increase Lucidity" or something similar to stabilize yourself and/or increase clarity.
Dream Control- Most people have difficulty with (some) aspect of dream control. Whether it be large (conjuring planets from thin air), or small (flying); most people struggle to some extent. You may find yourself grounded by reality's fickle laws. Try to remember that you are in control, and that you are dreaming. Also keep in mind that it is often easier to start small- instead of jumping up and flying through a wall, try expecting to find a flying pill in your pocket, and taking it. Instead of trying to make someone appear in front of you, go around a corner calling them and expecting them to be there.
Wake Back To Bed- A WBTB is a method used during any kind of WILD attempt. Basically, it involves getting up in the night during REM4 stage sleep, (roughly 4-6 hours into sleep, I'd go with 5 hours to be safe; if you wake up from a dream, you are definitely good to go.) Since you were right in the middle of REM sleep when you were awoken, you will be able to slip right back into it easily. It is impossible to go right into a dream without sleeping beforehand. After waking up, I suggest you do something to wake yourself up partially. Go to the bathroom or write in your DJ. Don't turn on your T.V. or do anything too strenuous, you want to be tired enough to quickly fall back asleep. A correct WBTB is one in which you are awake anywhere from 30sec to 15minutes (could be more or less, depending on you), and then perform a WILD.
Well, now that I have covered some of the basic tools that you will need for lucid dreaming, I'll cover some techniques of Induction.
Techniques of Induction
DILD-
First off, I'll cover a DILD, and a variant of it. You may have already had a DILD at some point during your life, likely on accident. You reading this article has already at least tripled your chances of having one- pat yourself on the back for that one. DILDs are accomplished by realizing that you are dreaming during some point in the dream, whether this be spontaneous, or cause by RCing or noticing something odd; they can also be accomplished by repeating a mantra- performing a MILD.
A Mnemonically Induced Lucid Dream is one in which you repeat a mantra before going to sleep each night. While MILDing, try to keep your mind focused on your task at hand, and try not to let it wonder. Before you sleep each night, close your eyes and think to yourself "I will dream, and realize that I am dreaming and become lucid." Repeat this every night for about 5 minutes, try to have it be the last thing on your mind before you fall asleep. When repeating the mantra, you may also paint each individual letter on the back of your eyelids (not literally). When MILDing, make sure that you have confidence in your efforts, if you believe in what you are repeating, it becomes 100% more likely to help you become lucid.
WILD-
A Wake Induced Lucid Dream is a method that is a surefire way to have a lucid dream, but is more difficult to achieve- don't let that deter you though, many people have their first lucid dream on their first WILD attempt. A WILD is a method of lucid dream initiation in which you never loose consciousness. Don't get me wrong you still fall asleep, but you are aware of it. This is the part that usually throws people from WILDing- during your WILD attempt you will likely pass through Sleep Paralysis (SP), in which you will also likely experience Hypnagogic Hallucinations/Imagery (HH/HI).
Sleep Paralysis- SP is a natural process in which your body paralyzes itself so that you avoid acting out your dreams in waking life. SP sets in during REM4 stage sleep (dreaming stage). Sleep walking is not associated with SP, and occurs before REM4 sleep. SP occurs every night while you sleep- you just normally arent awake to expirience it. Being in SP whilst being awake has absolutely NO physical ramifications, you can't be harmed and as long as you keep this in mind you'll be aight, dawg. The hallucinations and feelings commonly associated with SP are as follows: the feeling of an immense weight being pressed upon your chest (an iron blanket being pulled on you). In olden days people used to call this phenomenon the "Old Hag", as they would feel as if they couldn't move and as if someone was holding them down; they also likely hallucinated an old witch sitting atop their chest, and as more people expected it to happen- it did. SP may also include the feeling of no feeling in ext-remedies, and/or an increased heart-rate. Just remember that you are hallucinating and the feeling will dissipate soon enough. You may also feel labored breathing- this is because your body slows your breathing while you sleep, and during SP you are tricking your body into thinking that you are already asleep. Studies show that 80% of adults have experienced SP at some point in their lives (likely by accident).
Hynagogic Hallucinations/Imagery- During SP you will likely hallucinate at some point before entering a dream. These hallucinations are simply fragments of a forming dream. They may include auditory hallucinations like banging, scraping, crashing, smashing, buzzing, walking, whispering, talking, music, singing, or even screaming. They may also include visual hallucinations (remember your eyes are still closed, but if you opened your eyes you would likely also hallucinate for a brief period), such as lights or patterns, smoke and clouds, objects or people, random things, etc. During all/any hallucinations just tell yourself that they aren't real, and that you are dreaming and they will pass and/or envelope you into a dream soon.
The WILD- Assuming I haven't already scared you off with all the talk of scary demons and whatnot (lol), continue reading and I will give you a rundown of how to correctly perform a WILD. Keep in mind that this is just one method, and you may tweak it to your liking to find a technique that works best for you.
This is important- so sit up and pay attention soldier. You must perform a WILD after a WBTB or during a nap (0-7 hours after waking). If you try when you normally sleep at the end of a day it won't do shit.
1) After WBTBing, lie down and relax. Flex your muscles one at a time and then relax them, and don't move them again. Close your eyes, and don't open them again.
2) Lie completely still, I recommend on your back with your arms at your sides.
3) Here comes the tricky part- fall asleep, but do so consciously. How, you ask? This is accomplished by using an anchor. An anchor is something that keeps you barely awake enough for you to remain awake and for your body to fall asleep. There are two kinds, physical and mental anchors. A physical anchor is something that is happening to your body physically that you can keep track of to keep you awake. It can be temperature, a fan, a white noise, the feeling of your blankets, etc. A mental anchor is something that you do to keep yourself barely awake. I recommend counting breaths, in addition to saying "I'm dreaming" on every exhale, ie, [Inhale "One"... Exhale "I'm dreaming"... Inhale "Two"... etc]. You may also observe the swirling darkness of your closed eyes. While doing this try to clear your mind of things that will put you asleep or wake you up other than your anchor. Don't think about the day ahead or anything else, clear your mind. Protip: Think of your anchor like a boat's anchor, except instead of keeping the boat stationary in water, think of if as your consciousness. When the anchor is too low, the boat is stopped and you fall asleep. When the anchor is too high the boat is going too fast and you are asleep. Try to drag the anchor along the bottom, dipping in and out of sleep. If you have to itch yourself, crack open your eyes briefly, or have a hypnic jerk; do so calmly and go right back to it without focusing on it as you would while you sleep normally. Also, feel free to swallow, don't think about it. Remember, the primary goal is to fall asleep; just keep track of it.
4) After awhile you will slip into SP. If you don't, keep your eyes closed and gently roll over to another comfortable position after about 15 minutes of nothing happening, and revert to step 3. Remain calm and observe any HH/HI that you experience (keep in mind you may experience none) without really focusing on them, just let them float by. After a short while you will find yourself in your dream. It will likely be right where you began your WILD (in your bed). You will likely find yourself staring at your ceiling through your eyelids. This may trick you into a FA, thinking that you have failed so be sure to RC. Once you become lucid I recommend stabilizing and starting out slow.
There are many other techniques of WILDing such as a Finger Induced Lucid Dream, or a Dream Exit Induced Lucid Dream. There are also other techniques of DILDing such as a CANWILD, and specific peoples DILD and WILD techniques. Let me know if you are interested in them and I will explain them further.
External Lucid Aids- Supplements, Food, Music
Here I will cover some supplements and vitamins that will help you with lucidity, clarity, vividness, or relaxation, along with Food and Music.
Supplements- Vitamin B5
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Choline
Melatonin
Niacin (B3)
Tryptophan
Herbs
Calea zacatechichi (Dream Herb)
Artemisia vulgaris (Mugwort)
Silene capensis (African Dream Root)
Drugs
Galantamine
Nicotine
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
I don't necessarily recommend any drugs, as they will likely cause more harm than good unless you do the ones listed above already. Remember that alcohol and most drugs/ psychedelic drugs inhibit lucid dreaming and dreaming in general and reduce the quality of your REM sleep.
Food- There are a couple of different food items that will likely benefit you with lucidity, vividness and clarity. I recommend having peanut butter, banana, and apple juice before bed.
Music- Binaural beats are scientifically proven to induced lucid dreams (to some extent). Be sure to use only the Alpha Wave. Heres a link, remember to listen with stereo headphones or earbuds. Listen to binaural beats or subliminal messaging before bed, not necessarily as you fall asleep.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAj7ogsMy6k
In closure,
I hope that this tutorial has helped you open your eyes to the world of lucid dreaming. If you have any questions, comments or experiences you would like to share please feel free to do so in the comment section, or email me at lucidlydreamingcade@gmail.com. If you would like to read more on lucid dreaming let me know and I will be sure to post more blogs about it. Also be sure to check out the following links for more, especially dreamviews.
http://www.dreamviews.com/content/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dreams
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats
I also highly recommend you check out the following books on lucid dreaming, including the 'founder' and primary researcher of lucid dreaming Dr. Stephen LaBerge.
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