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PREFACE

When attempting some of the techniques in this book, you may have some frightening experiences, such as falling or shaking sensations. Although the authors attest these are not dangerous, you should avoid techniques that create these sensations if you would prefer not to experience them.

 

Some of the drugs may have side-effects. It is recommended you research drugs further online and/or with your doctor or general practitioner before using them.

 

Additionally, the placebo effect has a major effect on dreaming. If you believe that dream characters act dull and lifelessly, they are far more likely to do so. If you believe they can be creative, original, and surprising, they are far more likely to be. Much of the content of your dreams is affected by the placebo effect. Remember that the easier you think it is to dream lucidly, the easier it will be.

 

Many of the techniques and “facts” presented on these pages are not backed up by research. This is not to say that these techniques do not work, only that they may be placebos or be ineffective much of the time.

DREAMING EXPLAINED

Each night, we spend about one and a half to two hours dreaming. We dream about once every 90 minutes of sleep. The time you spend in dreams becomes longer throughout the night, from about 10 minutes to around 45 minutes or slightly longer. But what happens when we sleep?



The stages of sleep


There are five stages of sleep: four stages of NREM (Non-REM) sleep, also called SWS (Slow-Wave Sleep), and one stage of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. The most vivid dreams, and therefore the ones we remember the most, occur during REM sleep (though we dream in other stages too). One sleep cycle is roughly 90 minutes long.


 

       (NREM) The first stage is a transition state between wakefulness and sleep. This is the stage that hypnagogic imagery occurs in. It usually passes into stage 2 within a few minutes.

 

       (NREM) During stage 2, the body gradually shuts down, and brain waves become larger.


 

       (NREM) Stage 3 usually occurs 30 to 45 minutes after falling asleep the first time. Large, slow delta brain waves are generated.


 

       (NREM) Stage 4 is often called “deep sleep” or “delta sleep”. The heart beats the slowest and there is the least brain activity. It is during this stage that sleepwalking usually occurs.


 

       After stage 4, the NREM stages reverse and move back to stage 2, and then into REM sleep.


 

       (REM) During REM sleep, some parts of the brain are nearly as active as while awake. In this stage, your eyes flicker rapidly (hence the acronym Rapid Eye Movement). Your body is paralyzed, probably to prevent you from acting out your dreams.



 

After the REM state, you sometimes wake briefly. This is usually forgotten by the time you wake up in the morning. If you don't wake up, you go to stage 2.

”I never dream anyway.”

You do, actually — you simply don’t remember any of your dreams. In the next chapter, you will find out how to improve your dream recall.


 

Why do we dream? What do dreams mean?

The various hypotheses for this are detailed in the dream recall section.

WHAT IS LUCID DREAMING?

Lucid dreaming is basically dreaming while being aware that you are dreaming. If you are in a lucid dream, you will usually have some power over your dream — anything from being able to fly or making an object or room appear behind a door or inside a pocket, right up to being able to change into animals and create a whole world! It is like being a director of your own movie. Lucid dreams have been scientifically proven to exist.


Stephen LaBerge of The Lucidity Institute (http://www.lucidity.com) used a special machine to track eye movements during a dream (these are linked to your eye movements within the dream). He asked lucid dreamers to point their eyes left and right in quick succession and this movement was recorded on the machine. For more information on this and other experiments, read Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming.



There are plenty of reasons you might want to lucidly dream:

       Simply for fun! Just flying in a lucid dream is an exhilarating feeling. Lucid dreams are generally far more intense and vivid than most non-lucid dreams. You can use a lucid dream to wind down after a long day.


 

       Transforming into animals or getting superpowers is a unique experience that is hard to get any other way.


 

       A major part of “training” for lucid dreams is improving your dream recall, that is, how many dreams you can remember.


 

       If you are particularly interested in dreams — either in spirituality or in psychology — trying lucid dreaming could help you in your research.


 

       If you're writing fiction or even creating a world for a computer game, lucid dreaming can help you visualise it. You could ask your characters how they feel about something or what they think will happen.


 

       Some people compose music in their lucid dreams.


 

       Lucid dreams can be realistic enough to rehearse a speech or musical performance.


 

       You can relive previous dreams or experiences.


 

       They can help in dream interpretation and communicating with your subconscious.







 

“I Can’t Control My Dreams.”

This is very rarely actually the case (though sometimes it is in nightmares). Usually it is just your memory which treats you as though it were beyond your control. If you become lucid in a dream where you have a body, you will almost always be able to control your body. However, you might not manage to do anything else. Don't worry, though — most people have no problem with jumping very high or flying in a lucid dream!

 

On the other hand, parts of your brain are less active while dreaming, which can lead to dream/trance logic and sometimes choices you will later regret. For example, you might choose to continue your lucid dream, although you know that once you wake you will only remember half of it. Once you wake up, you may wish that you had stopped your dream. Another example is of somebody who dreamt they were sitting next to Mother Theresa. They wondered if they might be dreaming, thinking isn’t Mother Theresa dead?. They then concluded that she was obviously right next to them and therefore alive, and that it wasn’t a dream!



 

“Are Lucid Dreams Related To PSI Phenomena?”

There are differing views on this. Some people claim to have organised shared dreams or precognitive dreams through lucid dreaming. Others say these are simply created in the brain like any other dream, something like self-hypnosis.

“How Long Does It Take To Learn How To Dream Lucidly?”

This completely depends on the person and circumstances. Some people have a lucid dream just a few nights after finding out about it (usually by accident), while some people can take months! If you don't get enough sleep or feel too stressed after work to try techniques, then it may take a long time, especially if you expect it to. It will also depend on how much effort you put in. However, everybody has the ability to dream lucidly.



 

“I Think I Do This Naturally. Does This Happen?”

It is quite rare to have regular lucid dreams naturally, although most people have had a lucid dream at some point in their lives. If you want to increase the frequency of your lucid dreams, carry on reading through the book; otherwise, skip to the Using section to get some ideas for your dreams.



 

“I Had [dream], Was I Lucid?”

In general, a lucid dream is defined as a dream in which you know you are dreaming at some point, regardless of anything else. Even if you were lucid one second but lost your lucidity, it is still technically a lucid dream.

However, this can be a little misleading. Sometimes you dream that you fall asleep and have a lucid dream! This is often thought of as a sign that you will have a proper lucid dream soon, as your mind is thinking a lot about lucid dreams.

 

Try using this table:

Possible Dangers of Lucid Dreaming

While there is no current evidence of lucid dreaming being abnormal or unhealthy in any way, there are a few things you should be aware of that could occur as a result of practicing lucid dreaming techniques. These possible side effects have been outlined for you below. Please don’t let this scare you away from this wonderful tool; rather, remember that with dreams you are dealing with your own subconscious mind, and recklessness is not recommended.

Alienation

Many people have never even heard of lucid dreaming, much less ever experienced it. Some people are also less than open-minded and receptive to new ideas. Don’t be surprised if someone considers this whole phenomenon “weird” or “crazy” (which it is not). Don’t preach, either; it’s not your job to absolutely convince everyone.

Often people who spontaneously lucid dream, especially children, may find it surprising that not everyone does. They may even start thinking that they are the only person in the world who has lucid dreams. If they’re worried, the best support is to let them know that they’re not alone, and they’re not abnormal.

Addiction

Lucid dreaming can be used for different purposes. Some may want to try it just for fun, using it as a "safe drug", or a personal virtual reality machine. Having fun is a fully valid application of lucid dreaming. However, be careful not to be addicted to this way of escaping your waking life. If you find that you are spending more time asleep than actually needed, or that you are thinking more about lucid dreams than your real waking life, take a break.

Dissociation

Lucid dreaming may weaken the borders between waking and dreaming, the conscious and subconscious mind, reality and fantasy. This might lead to problems of a dissociative nature. Probably the most common form of dissociation involves having problems distinguishing your waking memories from dream memories. Everyone who recalls at least one dream will have to sort out their dreams from reality in the morning. This can really be a problem for those who have previously had zero recall and, due to lucid dreaming, have had a major uptick in recall. Now, suddenly, they have all these excess, illogical memories to sort out. This is unlikely to be a major problem, but may be a big annoyance.

 

However, there are signs that you should watch for that indicate a bigger problem may be developing. Lucid dreaming in itself should not cause these to appear in a waking state:


 

       Ability to ignore extreme pain or what would normally cause extreme pain

 

       Absorption in a television program or movie


 

       Remembering the past so vividly one seems to be reliving it


 

       Finding evidence of having done things one can’t remember doing


 

       Not remembering important events in one’s life


 

       Being in a familiar place but finding it unfamiliar


 

       Seeing oneself as if looking at another person


 

       Other people and objects do not seem real


 

       Looking at the world through a fog


 

       Not recognizing friends or family members


 

       Finding unfamiliar things among one’s belongings


 

       Finding oneself in a place but unaware of how one got there

 

       Finding oneself dressed in clothes one doesn’t remember putting on


 

If this has happened, and there is no other cause (e.g. drugs), take a break from lucid dreaming for a while. In fact, take a break from anything fictional for a while, at least until symptoms stop.

Controversial: Creating Bad Habits or Becoming a Control Freak

When lucid dreaming, you have the option to control the dream world in ways that are impossible in the waking world. You can, for example, make objects appear or disappear, or make people act according to your will. Some people believe this may lead your subconscious to desire this kind of control in the waking world, where it’s highly inappropriate. Also, you might be tempted to apply dream-world solutions to waking-life problems instead of actually facing them; for example, just willing bad things to go away or escaping or destroying them by superpowers. Again, this is probably more of a problem if you are not mentally stable at the outset of your dreaming process.

Controversial: Accidentally Encountering “Spiritual” Entities

This depends on your worldview. If dreams are a creation of your brain and nothing more, you don’t need to worry about spirits or anything similar. If you want to be on the safe side, treating objects in your dream decently and politely won’t do you any harm.

Similar Techniques

“I Can Do Astral Projection, Should I Learn How To Dream Lucidly?”

Possibly not. If you often enter a “dream world” after leaving your body, that is basically the same as the method called Wake-Initiation of Lucid Dreams. Keep in mind that many people believe that “astral projection” or “out-of-body experiences” are actually lucid dreams. Whether these PSI Phenomena are real or just the creative content of your dreams, learning to lucidly dream will expand the variety of your experiences.



 

“I Can Use Self-Hypnosis, Should I Learn How To Dream Lucidly?”

Again, maybe not. If you often enter a “dream world”, that is basically the same as the method called Wake-Initiation of Lucid Dreams.


 

“If These Are So Similar, Why Learn Lucid Dreaming and Not Self-Hypnosis or Astral Projection?”

Here are some reasons:

      Lucid dreaming is something that everybody can understand. Most people have already had a lucid dream. Self-hypnosis is not fully understood and no single theory about astral projection is accepted in the astral projection community.


 

      Hypnosis has many negative connotations for some people. This is mostly from myths in books and films, but some people remain afraid of hypnosis.


 

      In contrast with self-hypnosis, much material about lucid dreaming is available free.


 

      If you are prepared to spend money, there are some gadgets to help people dream lucidly. Usually, they will give a light or sound signal shortly after the REM state is detected. Hypnosis tapes usually focus more on self-improvement and you cannot decide what to do with your hypnotic trance.

 

      If you don’t believe in PSI Phenomena, you will likely be much more comfortable reading books about lucid dreaming or self-hypnosis than those on astral projection.


 

      You would be sleeping anyway, so it doesn't take up waking time.

 

      You'll be able to use this ebook to your advantage!

RECALLING YOUR DREAMS

It is important to improve your dream recall because it is possible to have a lucid dream without remembering it! It is worth getting your dream recall up to a few dreams per night for exactly that reason. Becoming familiar with your dreams will also increase your chances of becoming lucid in one.

 

First, a quick reminder about how often and for how long we dream. We have REM dreams approximately every 90 minutes of sleep, and while they start off at about 10 minutes, they increase in length to over 45 minutes. If you wake up while you are dreaming, you have roughly an 80% chance of remembering what you dreamt. Therefore, try setting an alarm clock to 4½, 6, or 7½ hours after you think you will fall asleep. This should wake you up directly from a dream.

 

The most important part of improving your dream recall is keeping a dream journal (a.k.a. dream diary). You could use an office notebook, artist’s sketchpad, an online journal, a sheet of paper, or even a Dictaphone — whatever seems natural to you. Here are some general tips for keeping your journal:


 

      Write all your dreams and only your dreams

 

¨      Write down everything you remember about the dream. Phrases, colours, feelings, everything. Write it down in the morning.


 

¨      Sketch pictures into your notebook to help you remember symbols, places, faces, or whatever you think you will forget about your dream over time.



 

      Ritualize your diary

 

¨      Using a dedicated pen in a special colour helps to make keeping your journal more of a ritual.

 

¨      You might want to copy out rough notes into a neater dream diary later on in the day. This helps engrain the dream in your mind.



 

      At bed

 

¨      Try to go to bed early enough to ensure that you wake before your alarm clock rings. In the time you get, mull over any dreams you had and do a reality check.

 

¨      You may want to keep your eyes closed for as long as possible, particularly if you wake up near the sunrise. Try to use a notebook which holds a pen and scribble down whatever you can with your eyes still closed.

 

¨      Stay in the same position and run your dreams over in your head a few times before jumping out of bed. After you have remembered your dream, move to a different position (with your eyes still closed) that you normally sleep in, and try and remember other dreams. The position that you are in may help your brain remember what dream you had while sleeping in that position.

 

¨      If you can’t remember anything, allow your mind to wander through events of yesterday or issues you’ve been thinking about. These may be a link to your dreams.




 

      Throughout the day

 

¨      Keep a small dream diary notebook with you all the time. It is quite easy to remember a dream in the day and then forget it by the time you get home.

 

¨      Even if you only get a fleeting feeling of some dream during the day, note down as much as you can remember about the dream and what triggered the memory.

 

¨      Think about your dream or dreams throughout the day, and ask yourself “What did I dream?” several times. Often, you only get a good answer to this an hour after you woke up.



 

      You can try to remember your dream by “back-tracking” — start from the moment when you wake up, and try to remember what you were doing before that. You may even be able to reconstruct your dream to the beginning.


 

      If you find that many of your dreams are about certain items, such as cars and painting, then, if you cannot remember your dream in the morning, think about whether it contained your specific dream signs, in this case, cars and painting. You can even make a “dream lexicon” — a piece of paper with common dream items written on it, so you can read it every time you wake up.


 

Also, use the autosuggestion technique to improve your dream recall (see the full description of the autosuggestion technique in the next chapter).

 

Once you have a lot of dreams in your diary, you can start looking through it for dreamsigns. Common ones include flying, running to chase something, and being in an old house. However, it could be anything, such as crouching, skateboarding, or having one shoe missing! Try to look for these dream signs in real life and always do a reality check when you notice them.


 

“I Sometimes Remember More Dreams Than The Time I Was Asleep Could Allow. How Is This Possible?”

You may have had several dream scenes within a single dream period or some memories could be from past nights.

It is also possible that dream time doesn't strictly correspond to real time. Days may pass in a dream during a single night's sleep. Dreams which seem to last for hours while you have them have sometimes been found to actually have a duration of only a few minutes.


 

“In What Order Should I Write My Dreams?”

It is usually very hard to tell if the dreams you dreamt happened in the order you recalled them. Generally you should write them in the order you remember them, or in a random order. If you dream that you told somebody about a previous dream that happened the same night, then that previous dream probably came before the other one (though the “previous dream” could have been a false memory).

INDUCTION TECHNIQUES

Preliminary

There are some things which are common to many techniques and these will be handled first.

Waking Up and Getting To Sleep

Firstly, you need to know how to wake yourself up and then to go to sleep just 10–60 minutes later. Probably the easiest method is a fairly quiet alarm clock. You can put it on the other side of the room to force you up. However, you could also use the MILD technique (see below) to try and wake yourself up immediately after your dreams. This should also help with your dream recall. You might want to drink lots of water or some tea, which is a diuretic (makes you go to the toilet). However, you might just wake up in the morning feeling very uncomfortable! Also note that the diuretic effects of tea come from caffeine, which may affect your ability to sleep.

 

If you have trouble getting to sleep in the first place, don't drink water for about an hour before you think you'll turn your lights off. In fact, do drink water an hour before, to stop you from getting thirsty later on. Avoid caffeine and sugar before bed.

 

If it still takes very long for you to fall asleep, you can take advantage of this by reading books about lucid dreaming before going to sleep. This could greatly increase your chances of getting a lucid dream. You definitely need a light next to your bed to read until you're too sleepy to carry on, as getting up to turn the light off can often wake you up fully.

Reality Checks

Reality checks are a method of discerning between dreams and reality. It is extremely important to perform these.


One could say they are the “keys” to lucid dreaming. It is also extremely important to make sure that you expect these to produce dream results — you accept your reality, even when it is a dream. It would be counterproductive to expect real-life results in a dream, as the outcome of a reality check can be modified by the placebo effect. It won't affect outcomes in real-life (unless you are mentally ill!), but you will probably have a higher success rate in dreams.







 

So here are some reality checks. You should be familiar with the entire list even if you only use a few.

Choose a few reality checks which you will do regularly. Keep doing reality checks until you are convinced that you aren't dreaming. You should always carry out more than one reality check. If you find that it is not a dream, look around you and think of what would be different if it was a dream. If you do this it will make it more likely that you will do a reality check in a dream.

 

Apart from doing reality checks throughout the day, you also need to do a reality check immediately after you wake up. This helps you become lucid in false awakenings, when you begin to act out the following day in a dream.



 

If you have trouble bringing reality checks into your dreams then before going to bed imagine yourself in a dream, noticing odd details and doing a reality check. Then do a reality check in real life. If you do this a few times before bed you will find that you will do it more often in dreams.

 

If you are in a situation where you cannot do a reality check, such as at a public speaking, try to do one as soon as possible. You can do some reality checks very discreetly, such as feeling your fingers to make sure you have five. If you start to say “well, I can't do a reality check now” you should not be surprised when you make this mistake in a dream!



 

Which reality checks are best?

When selecting reality checks, the most important properties of a reality check are reliability, speed, and discreetness.

 

      The reliability of each reality check is how likely you are to recognise the dreamsign's results as showing that you are dreaming once you do them in a dream. It changes for each person but some reality checks are overall more accurate than others. The figures in the table above are rough only and differ for each person.


 

      It is important for a reality check to be fast. It wastes dream time if you have to search around for a book or (perhaps worse) a mirror. Plus, it could also give your subconscious more time to produce real-life results, especially if you believe that the check will give real-life results.

      Last of all, a reality check should be discreet; that is, it should not draw too much attention to you when you do it in the waking world. Suddenly jumping in the air or trying to walk through a wall as a reality check could cause much embarrassment!


 

On the table above, these are scored out of 5.



 

I have trouble remembering to do reality checks throughout the day. What reminders can I use?

You are lucky to have an interesting day and forget about lucid dreaming! It isn't advisable to explicitly write “reality check” or “lucid” on your hand, as this could create an overdependence on this reminder, which may not exist in a dream. However, you might want to just draw a dot or small circle on your hand. This should be enough to remind you to do a reality check.

 

Another technique is to write down three things you do regularly in a day. Examples include hearing your name, going through a doorway, turning on a TV, beginning to read a book, and seeing a stranger. In the morning, choose three such events and intend to do a reality check whenever they happen in the following day.



 

I did a reality check in a dream but it said that I was not dreaming. What went wrong?

Some reality checks work perfectly for some people and awfully for others. These are mostly the light switches one and the hands one. If you find that the light switch works or that your hands are perfectly normal, you need to change to a different technique.



 

I did a reality check in a dream but I didn't quite realize I was dreaming. What went wrong?

An example of this is looking into a mirror and seeing some huge boils or a grey mist on your reflection and not realising that you are dreaming. This is rare if you actually intended to look into the mirror as a reality check. You need to be more careful when doing your reality checks in real life or pick more reliable reality checks which show more obviously that you are dreaming. Also try to pick reality checks that are easy to do. For example, don't pick the Time RC (Reality Check) if you never wear a watch, and don't pick the Mirror RC if you hardly look in the mirror or you know that you won't find a mirror in your dream.





 

Techniques

When you read through these techniques, remember that different techniques work for different people. There is no “best technique” and most techniques could be used to have 2–5 lucid dreams every night!

 

However, you will probably want some advice as to which technique you should try first. A major choice is whether you want to use a method which starts from a dream or a method which starts from being awake.^* If you master a technique which starts from being awake, you are able to have lucid dreams wherever you can sleep. For other techniques, you have to rely on your luck to give you lucid dreams after you have done your technique. Here are some advantages and disadvantages for specific techniques:

Remember, it'll help a lot to have your recall up to at least one dream a night before attempting these techniques.

 

^* The usual acronyms in forums for this are DILD (Dream-Initiated Lucid Dream) and WILD (Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream). All the techniques that induce WILDs are described under WILD on this page.

WBTB

WBTB stands for “Wake-Back-To-Bed”.

 

Wake yourself up after 4 to 6 hours of sleep, get out of bed and stay up for anywhere between a few minutes to an hour before going back to bed. It's preferable that you do something related to lucid dreaming during this time (such as reading about lucid dreaming), but it is not required. This is best combined with other techniques; many people have amazing results with a MILD/WBTB combination.


The WBTB technique significantly increases your chance of a lucid dream, and using MILD (see below) in conjunction with it puts you at good odds if you're planning to sleep an hour or more after your WBTB session. However, you might need plenty of sleep time and therefore you may only be able to use it at weekends.


 

I am sometimes awake for very short times, but cannot pull myself together enough to get up and out of bed. What can I do?

Put a bright piece of paper on the wall or ceiling so that you will see it when you wake up. Other stimulus could be a hot water bottle, an alarm clock or a light turned on under your bed. After you get a lucid dream with this method, you'll find it easier and easier to get out of bed because you'll have more motivation.

Autosuggestion

This technique describes how to use autosuggestion to have lucid dreams. It can be especially effective for people who are highly susceptible to hypnosis, but for most people, MILD will probably be more effective.

 

As you're falling asleep, suggest to yourself that you will have a lucid dream either that night or in the near future. You can use a mantra (such as “I will recognize that I'm dreaming.”) if you want, but make sure you don't try too hard to get a lucid dream. Instead of putting intentional effort into the suggestion, try to genuinely expect to have a lucid dream. Let yourself think expectantly about the lucid dream you're about to have, but be patient if you don't get one right away.

 

You could also use autosuggestion to improve dream recall. Just use the technique as described above, but instead of suggesting that you'll have a lucid dream, suggest that you'll remember your dreams when you wake up. You could also use a mantra with this, such as “When I wake up, I will remember what I dreamt.” Just be careful not to put too much intentional effort into the mantra — try to genuinely expect to remember your dreams instead.

MILD

MILD stands for “Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams", or sometimes, “Mnemonically Induced Lucid Dream". The MILD technique was developed by Stephen LaBerge, and is described fully in his book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming.

 

With the MILD technique, as you're falling asleep, you concentrate on your intention to remember to recognize that you're dreaming. Repeat a short mantra in your head, such as “Next time I'm dreaming, I will remember I'm dreaming.” Think about what this means (i.e., that you want to remember that you're dreaming—in the same way you might go to a grocery store and suddenly remember that you need bread), and imagine that you're back in a dream you've had recently, but this time you recognize that you're dreaming. For example, imagine yourself flying and realizing that it's a dream because you're flying. Keep repeating and visualizing the mantra until you're sure that your intention is set in your mind or you fall asleep. If you stop repeating and visualizing the mantra, then still try to make sure the last thing in your mind before falling asleep is your intention to remember to recognize that you're dreaming.

 

In general the MILD technique can be practiced when you first go to bed at night, or after you have awakened from a dream during the night. If you practice the MILD technique after you have awakened from a dream during the night you should first run through the dream you have awakened from in your mind to ensure that you remember it. Some people find it helpful to jot down a few notes about their dream in their dream journal.
Once you have committed the dream to memory, go back to sleep following the steps above, except this time visualize the dream you just had. Run through the dream until you encounter a dreamsign that you originally missed. Now instead of missing the dreamsign in your visualizations recognize the dreamsign and become “lucid”.

 

Repeat these steps until you have fallen asleep, hopefully you will find that you have reentered the dream that you just had and will recognize the dreamsign you marked earlier and become lucid.