Messages

Religion and Violence
U.S. encourages "religious fundamentalism" to counter nationalist & socialist movements

by Ghali Hassan

October 15, 2005
GlobalResearch.ca


It has been known for some times that U.S. President George W. Bush allegedly "heard God" telling him to invade Iraq. It is also alleged that Bush said: "I'm driven with a mission from God". Why God would tell Bush to invade Iraq remains a mystery. Bush invaded Iraq because Bush alleged that Iraq possessed Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD). There were no WMD in Iraq. The war was an immoral act of aggression.

As it is promoted by Western politicians, propagandists and the mainstream media, the new "War on Terror", is a war against those Muslims, who "hate our freedom", and who have a broad strategy to "dominate much of the world". Although most Muslims believe – as Christians believe that Jesus is the only God – that "Islam is the only path to Heaven", Muslims are not interested in dominating the world, and most Muslims see this as impossible. On the contrary, most Muslim nations are striving to be free from Western domination and imperialism. The Arabs masses, in particular, want "liberation from foreign occupation and the freedoms of opinion, _expression and movement", noted the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report.

A recent report by the Defence Science Board of the Pentagon revealed that; "Muslims do not 'hate our freedom,' but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favour of Israel against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing even increasing support for what Muslims collectively sees as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, and the Gulf states". It is these U.S.-sponsored tyrannies and the unfair exploitation of the region's oil resources – by Western corporations – that contributed to the emergence of political resistance movements against Western domination and imperialism.

The illegal war on Iraq and the ongoing colonial Occupation of the country reinforce the anti-imperialism view of the Muslim peoples. Thus, political Islam is "the work of non-religious political intellectuals" as a response to Western imperialist policies, and has very little to do with 'Islam versus everything Western'. The labels of 'Islamists' and 'Jihadist' are convenient as a way to denigrate Islam in Western thoughts and remove any devotion to self-government and national independence.

By contrast, descriptions like nationalist and resistant are avoided by politicians, propagandists and the mass media because they describe people's aspirations. The current usage of 'Islamists', 'Jihadists' and 'insurgents' – in place of nationalists and resistant – to describe the Iraqi Resistance is straight propaganda designed to dehumanise the Iraqi people and deny them legitimacy to resistance based on a just cause. Furthermore, the misleading description of the Iraqi Resistance as "insurgency", represents violence and devoid of any noble cause and self-defence. The purpose is to blacken the Iraqi Resistance not only in the eyes of the Iraqi people, but also in the eyes of Western public.

It is important to recognise that the U.S. has encouraged 'religious fundamentalism' to counter nationalist and socialist movements. In the 1980s the U.S. and its allies created and financed the so-called 'al-Qaida' groups against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Members of al-Qaida, including Osama bin Laden, were called the "freedom fighters". With the aid of these fundamentalist groups, the U.S. was able to spread it ideology in West Asia. In the U.S., Bush is supported by roughly 50 million right-wing fundamentalist Christians, who fuel his war machine and his rightwing agenda. The 20 million fundamentalist voters helped sweep Bush back into office on 02 November, 2005, and maintained a Republican majority in Congress.

In Iraq, the U.S. is cultivating all kinds of religious fundamentalists and fanatics at the expense of progressive and nationalist movements. Nationalism and pan-Arabism is imperialism real enemy, not religious fundamentalism. It is now clear that the U.S. supports and encourages sectarian forces and territorial disintegration, as spelled out in the U.S.-crafted illegitimate constitution; the trap for unending colonial occupation. The truth is that the U.S. and its Western allies are not concern with democracy and the rules of law; they act collectively to enhance and protect their own imperial and Zionist interests with disregard to human rights and democracy.

Contrary to Christian teachings – propagated by U.S. and Western leaders as "shared values" –, U.S. forces and their allies have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi Christians and Muslims. Based on the conservative estimate – 100, 000 Iraqis killed between March 2003 to October 2004 – provided by the peer reviewed British medical journal the Lancet (Lancet, 364: 857), if one includes the atrocity of Fallujah, Ramadi, Qaim, Tel Afar, Hillah, Baghdad and the daily bloodsheds instigated by U.S. forces and their collaborators, the number of Iraqis killed since March 2003 would be in the 200,000 mark or even more. The majority of the victims have been innocent women and children. Who hates who?

In addition, Iraqis basic human rights and freedom are violated on daily basis. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been arrested, imprisoned, abused and tortured without charges. Instead of building Iraq, the U.S. is continuing the destruction of Iraq. Iraq's vital civilian infrastructure, including: transport and communication systems, the health care services and the education system have all been destroyed. A sovereign nation has been destroyed by premeditated violence. Sadly, the U.S. is fighting wars and committing war crimes against nations, such as Iraq, most Americans knew virtually nothing about.

The American people must know that, the reality on the ground in Iraq is that the U.S. brought death and destruction on massive scales. Each time a village or a town is attacked by U.S. forces, it is completely obliterated together with its civilian population. The people's only crime was that they are against the occupation of their country. It is a murderous crime that is completely removed from the conscience of Western public by the elites and very complicit mainstream media. The propaganda is that the U.S. fighting a minority of Iraqi opposition to the Occupation is a falsehood. The opposite is true; only a small minority of expatriate criminals and fanatics support the U.S. Occupation. Echoing the majority of Iraqis opposing the Occupation, more than 100 members (more than one-third ) of the same puppet parliament, signed a letter in June 2005, calling for 'the departure of the occupation'.

Unfortunately, violence and destruction have become and addiction of the U.S. elites and warmongers. On 05 October 2005, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly called on the U.S. government to assassinate Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. O'Reilly said: "We should take his life if he doesn't help us out" with the war in Iraq. Since when, a "Super Power" needs help against a defenceless nation, which has been a victim of international terrorism for nearly 15 years? Can you imagine a prominent Syrian TV host publicly advocating the assassination of the President of the United States? Chances are that the U.S. (and its allies) will order "a military action" against Syria on the basis of "inciting and glorifying terrorism". It seems that the violent destruction of Iraq and the mounting daily bloodshed are not enough to deter the U.S. from committing further crimes. An attack on Syria is a war of aggression against a sovereign country that neither attacked nor threatened to attack the U.S.

As the ruling of the German Federal Administrative Court showed that the attack by the U.S. and its allies against the nation of Iraq was a clear war of aggression – as specified in Article 4, Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter – that violated international law. In addition, The Nuremberg Tribunal clearly stated that; "To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole". There is prima facia evidence to prosecute those who violated international and U.S. laws, and order the invasion, which led to this mass murder.

President Bush uses religion because it serves his purpose of manipulating the public. If Mr. Bush is familiar with God's teachings; God said: "thou shall not kill". God doesn't advocate premeditated act of aggression and the mass murder of innocent human beings through "Shock and Awe" terrorism. The Iraqi people are defending themselves and their families against international terrorism.

To put an end to the mounting bloodshed in Iraq, President Bush should make the most humane decision and free the Iraqi people from U.S.-imposed oppression. The only path to freedom is the full and immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops and their collaborators from Iraq.

Ghali Hassan lives in Perth, Western Australia
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre for Research on Globalization.

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Last Man Out of WTC Possibly Slated for Mainstream Film Documentary
Irish film documentarian and recent Emmy winner pitching William Rodrriguez to HBO and others for ground breaking 9/11 truth documentary.
28 Sep 2005

Emmy winner and documentary film maker, Pat O'Mahony, is pushing hard with HBO and others to film a story of William Rodriguez, the last man out alive of the World Trade Center and declared a national hero for saving hundreds of lives.

"William's story needs to be told and what he has to say is a great way to lead up to the bigger story of 9/11," said O'Mahony last week in New York, a day after receiving an Emmy for his acclaimed documentary called 'Reporters at War.'

O'Mahony, recipient of his first Emmy and originally from Ireland, is now in the process of pitching the story to major studios after meeting with Rodriguez on two occasions, once in London and recently in New York.

"It has all the ingredients. The last man out alive, heroism, his fight for the truth and, of course, his interesting life starting back as a boy in Puerto Rico," said O'Mahony.

Rodriguez, a 20-year-veteran WTC head maintenance man who had one of the only master keys for the towers, barely escaped death several times on 9/11, as he risked life and limb opening doors and pulling people to safety all the way up to the final seconds before the towers collapsed.

His heroics have been well-documented overseas, also being declared a hero in his home country of Puerto Rico, but strangely the true story of what really happened to Rodriguez in the North Tower has been muffled and silenced for four long years by the mainstream media and the 9/11 Commission.

Not only did the brave maintenance man save numerous lives, but he also claims to have heard explosions coming the sub levels of the North Tower prior to the jetliner striking the top floors.

On the morning of 9/11, Rodriguez and at least 14 other people, all able to verify his story, were huddled in a sub-level one office when an explosion emanating from beneath their feet rocked the lower levels of the tower, cracking walls and rupturing sprinkler systems.

The explosion came a split second before Rodriguez said he heard another more faint and distant explosion coming from high above in the tower, which he later surmised to be the airplane striking the upper floors.

Besides those in the office, at least three other eye-witnesses in the sub levels have corroborated Rodriguez's story. Felipe David, walking in the sub-level hallway near the office and severely burned moments after the basement explosion was heard, stormed into the office where Rodriguez and the others were still reeling from the explosion, yelling 'explosion, explosion, explosion!'

Rodriguez then immediately rushed David to safety, where he later was taken to a hospital where he spent more than three months recovering in a coma from severe third degree burns.

Salvatore Giambanco, trapped in an elevator between sub-level one and two of the North Tower, also tells the same story about hearing an explosion in the basement. After Rodriguez brought David to safety, he returned to the North Tower basement, where he then crawled in a darkened elevator shaft, pulling Giambanco and another man trapped after the explosion brought the elevator to a halt between floors.

Still another eye-witness, Jose Sanchez, working on sub level four, came forward with the others, telling the same story about a powerful explosion heard beneath the North Tower.

Filmmaker O'Mahony didn't reveal whether the documentary would delve into Rodriguez's controversial statements that contradict the government's jet fuel theory as being the sole cause of collapsing the towers. But Rodriguez for years has said he never would allow his story to be told without "telling the truth" about what he experienced, even if it leads to proving that the government was responsible for lying and covering up the truth about what really happened on 9/11.

What has troubled critics of the government story and the subsequent 9/11 Commission Report is that the stories of explosions in the North Tower, told by Rodriguez and the other eye-witnesses, has been systematically censored by the government, media and 9/11 Commission.

Even though Rodriguez's story has been presented overseas unedited in numerous markets, including Europe, South America and the Middle East, the New York Times, Washington Post and all major television networks have kept his story from earshot of most Americans.

Although he recently told his story on ABC radio after the fourth annual 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero, Rodriguez has documented how the media in this country has either edited his story or censored it completely in what he calls a systematic effort to keep any serious evidence that contradicts the official 9/11 story out of the mainstream news.

"From day one, I have told the same story, never straying from the truth," said Rodriguez at Ground Zero at the recent 9/11 ceremony held in New York. "I am going to continue to tell my story, trying to get at the truth of what happened at the WTC since the 3,000, people who died on that tragic day, including more than 200 friends, deserve nothing less than the truth in order to preserve their dignity and honor."

Besides the documentary, First Amendment Publishing, a subsidiary of the American Free Press, is in the process of publishing a book about Rodriguez to be released early next year.

Also, Rodriguez has begun to speak out publicly across the country, recently talking about his experiences at speaking engagements in Hollywood and Chicago. Presently, he is actively looking for sponsors to jump-start what he hopes will turn out to be a nationwide tour.

"I will speak at every church and university in the country if that's what it takes to get at the truth. The government story is a lie and I know it for a fact because I was there that morning," added Rodriguez.

Besides the media censorship, the 9/11 Commission finally met with Rodriguez before releasing its 2004 report, but in the final version his story was completely omitted and his name never mentioned.

"Unless there is a cover-up, why didn't they use my comments or even mention my name," said Rodriguez, saying all the other statements were omitted from eye-witnesses in the basement who also heard the same explosion.

Rodriguez contends after "not playing ball" with the government who wanted him to change his story or keep quiet, he was systematically black balled, going homeless in 2004.

At one point, living under a bridge while feeling hopeless and destitute with no place to turn, he planned to tie himself to a cross in the middle of Ground Zero to prove his point. But before taking such drastic action, a 9/11 Methodist support group came to his assistance, finding him shelter and providing financial assistance to get him back on his feet.

Even though he now lives more comfortably in Jersey City, his troubles haven't completely vanished. Recently, after returning from a 9/11 truth speech near Chicago, his apartment was suspiciously burglarized, the thieves taking his laptop containing personal information as well as a camera and jewelry.

By Greg Szymanski

Transport George Orwell's novel 1984- in which a totalitarian Big Brother government tries to rule citizens' lives and control their thoughts - into the 21st century, and it would look a lot like China today.

Consider what happened this week. Continuing a long battle to curb what it considers a subversive information source - the Internet - China tightened its censorship of online news services and bulletin boards.

Major search engines and portals have been ordered to stop posting unauthorized commentary. Only opinion pieces from government-controlled sources are allowed. Private individuals and groups must register as "news organizations" before operating e-mail distribution lists. Anyone who violates the rules faces prison. Already, China has jailed a journalist for sending text of a Communist Party memo to foreign websites.

Distressingly, Western companies, notably Yahoo, have cooperated with the authorities as a price of being allowed to do business in China. In doing so, they become partners of the totalitarian state. The specter arises that the Internet, usually assumed to be a catalyst for free speech and democracy, is becoming a tool for repression. If China is successful, other regimes no doubt would follow.

China, of course, can't possibly stamp out all material it doesn't want its citizens to see. Internet use in China is soaring, along with cellphone use and text messaging. About 8% of China's 1.3 billion people are now Internet users. Many have proven adept at skirting the most advanced censorship methods in the world.

At this point, it's anyone's guess how many Chinese will succeed in getting a free flow of information, and how many will be scared off by government intimidation or manipulated by censorship and propaganda.

What's more clear is that democratic nations and their companies should not help China's Thought Police turn the Internet into a platform for Orwellian Newspeak and Doublethink. However appealing collaboration might seem, they would eventually find that the world of 1984 was not a pleasant place

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20050928/cm_usatoday/internetthoughtpolice;_ylt=A86.I1cOdjpDVPYAdhr9wxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

no worries. i think it's both.

+++"WHAT DO MY DREAMS MEAN?"+++
Our 12 Most Common Dreams...




ANIMALS**Wild animals denote troubles or fears, even misfortune. Domestic animals, especially pets, usually mean good fortune. Their demeaner is significant. A fierce animal is a warning. A calm one indicates happy times. Animals often represent the primal side of our makeup and the dreamer's relationship with the animal tells how much control they have over that part of themselves.
....BIRDS*depending on the kind of bird, this is usually a sign of prosperity and unexpected happiness for you. Large birds are the symbol of Freedom. Singing birds, of happiness.
....CATS*an age-old symbol of the Feminine; the elegant and mysterious elements of our lives. To dream of a friendly cat, means you are developing your intuitive powers. If you are attacked by a cat, beware of an enemy pretending to be a friend. If you hear a cat screeching, beware of gossip. A purring cat promises happiness.
....DOGS*traditional symbol of the Masculine; courage and loyalty. A friendly dog denotes coming domestic happiness. A vicious dog warns you of financial or health concerns. A howling dog warns of separation from loved ones.
....HORSES*a symbol of animal power, strength and energy. To be riding a beautiful horse denotes you will achieve much power in life. A wild horse, out of control, is a warning to curb your own passions. A sick horse cautions you of ill health.
....INSECTS*usually represent small, nagging worries. Things that "bug" you. Traditionally, they can represent relatives. How you handle the insects in your dream, tells you how to handle these worries.
....RATS*beware of deception! Especially from someone close to you. The dream-meaning of killing a rat is one of success.
....SNAKES*lead us not into temptation. A symbol of betrayals and enemies. If a snake bites you, beware of a quarrel with a friend. Your dream will show you who your enemy is.
....SPIDERS*traditionally a sign of good fortune. Money, and much of it!
....WOLVES*a balance of the Dog's loyalty and courage with Nature's ferocity. Be prepared to face a disastrous turn of events. You can overcome if you have powerful allies.


AUTOMOBILE**the great modern symbol of power, status, vitality, sexuality. Life itself. Automobile dreams are very common and have many meanings. It depends on factors like -- who is driving? Is it a pleasant journey or a treacherous one? An old clunker or a luxurious new car? Beginning a drive in an automobile generally means that you are in the beginning stages of a new life-plan. Where the car takes you metaphorically shows you where your life should be going. If your car breaks down, you could be placing your trust in someone not worth it.


CELEBRITIES**Meeting a famous person can indicate a profitable new offer will be made. There will be a change for good in your life. A goal can finally be obtained. Celebrities are our cultural heroes, and to dream of them can mean that it is time for you to join their ranks.

CHASE**To dream of being chased by some frightening being can mean that it is time for you to set out on your destined path. But you are refusing to let go of elements in your life that are hindering your quest. If you are caught by that being, you have much work ahead of you. If you escape, you are almost free -- your life-quest is taking a new road.

DEATH**This dream depends on the emotional content -- if you awoke with a dreadful sense of real death, it could be a true death-dream and you have sensed someone's passing. This happens to sensitive people. The elderly may have dreams that prepare them for their passing. If, however, you dream of death without having dark emotions, it has the meaning of release from current worries and actually signifies its opposite: a recovery, a rebirth is about to occur in your life.

FALLING**The most common dream of all. It can mean the dreamer is in fear of losing respect or status; or of financial difficulties; or fading physical vitality; or losing someone's love. If you land and awaken suddenly, it is literally a "wake-up call" to attend to matters in the physical world. If you land but the dream continues, then the answer to your dilemma is being given to you in that dream

FLYING**The great Mythical symbol of Freedom. The meaning of flying dreams is one of good omens. You instinctively know the goals in life and how to seek them. Whether it's love you seek, or a place in life, or fame and fortune, you will fly over earthly obstacles and find your happiness. Recurrent flying dreams indicate great fortune. All Traditions explain flying dreams in the same way. If you are in your own human form, you will find happiness in an ordinary but successful life. If you are a bird in your dream, you will be most fortunate in life and attact good luck. If you are a Winged Human (Greek: ORNITHANTHROPUS), you are bound for a highly creative and fulfilled life.

HOUSE**a symbol of many meanings! If Falling is the most common dream, then a House or Apartment is the second most common. In a dream, a house usually represents You. ROOMS represent different aspects of yourself. DOORS are opportunities. If it is your own home, you are on a solid spiritual foundation. If you dream that you are in a strange new house, it indicates your future, what you must do. The BEDROOM has many obvious meanings...the BED is the most common dream object of all. The BATHROOM...from bathing to using the toilet, are common situations.

LOST**The meaning of this dream is literal. You are lost in your life, adrift. Something is gone from your life -- Love, Career, Spirituality. The SETTING of your dream, where you are lost, holds the answers to your salvation....LOSING SOMETHING PRECIOUS is a variation of the LOST dream; the object lost being the key to the dream.

NAKED**Most often, this is not a sexual dream. Usually this common dream is a dream of inadequacy: you don't feel prepared for some event, or for life itself. This dream may have an element of comedy -- lighten up! Don't worry. Traditionally, this has been a dream of money luck. Buy a lottery ticket.

SEXUAL DREAMS**The meaning of sexuality in dreams depends on the emotional element. If you wake up sexually aroused, that is common. Sexuality is a fundamental part of living and sexual dreams express part of your being. Only if the content is disturbing or if your arrousal is more intense from dreams than from waking experience, do you need to explore your dream's meaning. If you dream of sexual experience but are not sexually aroused, the traditional meaning is one of general happiness. Your love relationship is deepening or about to be renewed.
The most common sexual dreams are:
....ADULTERY
....LOVE WITH AN ACQUAINTANCE
....MASKED or FACELESS LOVER
....PASSIONATE ENCOUNTER WITH EX-SPOUSE
....RAPE
....SEX IN PUBLIC PLACE
Curiously, a more recent sexual dream is....SEX CHANGE.

(NOTE on SEXUAL DREAMS: If you are troubled by the sexual content of your dreams, or need to enhance your sexual life -- there are 2 books we highly recommend to our clients -- one for our Male Dreamers -- and one for our Female Dreamers -- to see them, just scroll down and *CLICK* on ++BEST of the WEB++)


WATER**Traditionally, calm water means good times ahead, clear sailing. Rough waters: caution, reconsider your actions. To drown can be a warning -- but also indicate your need for more spiritual examination.
....BATHING*warm water fortells of increased love in your life or of spiritual rebirth.
....DRINKING WATER*if the water is clear, the dream augurs financial security, prosperity. If it is cloudy; financial problems.
....SWIMMING*a complex dream, where meaning depends on all the details: conditions of water, weather...Generally, to be swimming is a sign of current good health. If you are swimming naked, you feel energized and ready for the successes of life that are arriving.




+++Other Common Dreams+++


FOOD**preparing or eating food in a dream, means coming happiness in your life, domestic contentment. Being hungry or thirsty indicates a dissatisfaction in your life, often spiritual.

In this irreligious age, GOD and the DEVIL appear less in our dreams, than in our grandparent's time. When they do appear, however, the meaning is much more imperative than in by-gone times.

Dreaming about SCHOOL, TEACHERS or an important exam are usual for adolescents (definitely falling into their "most common dreams" category) -- but have a more critical meaning for adults long out of school.

PEOPLE in our dreams can be extensions of ourselves or represent external forces -- they represent the most complex element of your dreams. The most common people are: PARENTS, PARTNER, FRIENDS, EX-LOVER, STRANGERS, a BABY...





DREAM MEANING **from YOUR DREAM TEAM ** DREAM MEANING


Dream>Meaning: TEETH

Dream: "I bit into a bright red apple and my front teeth broke into bloody pieces and came out in the apple. I have good teeth."

Meaning: TEETH are one of our most common dreams. This dream is an anxiety dream with a promise of optimism. The dreamer has a low self-esteem problem, but the "bright red apple" is a traditional symbol of a well-earned reward. "Don't worry, go ahead with your new plans."



DREAM MEANING ** from YOUR DREAM TEAM ** DREAM MEANING






For more on the Winged Human motif see: ORNITHANTHROPUS
http://www.webspawner.com/users/brianburhoe/index.html
Or find ORNITHANTHROPUS on ESOTERISM.com



"What do my dreams mean?" --

DREAM EXPLORATION -- Call it Dream Interpretation -- call it dream analysis -- more than that, it's really Dream Exploration -- together, we explore the meaning of dreams -- some fall into the "most common dreams" catagory -- many are unique and highly creative -- it's fascinating stuff!



Compliments of: YOUR DREAM TEAM

http://www.yourdreamteam.0catch.com
http://dreamdoor.00server.com

The Six Basic Steps
There are many techniques and methods that you can use for inducing lucid dreams, but there is an underlying process behind most, if not all of them. I have broken this underlying process down into six basic steps to serve as a foundation for your lucid dream training. Once you absorb these steps and start following them, it is only a matter of time before you have your first lucid dream.
       In case you are wondering how long it will take for you to have your first one, just follow through with the steps and have faith that you will have one. Statistically, the time it takes for someone to have their first lucid dream averages from three weeks to two months, but yours may be tonight, but don't be discouraged if you try for a while and don't succeed. There seems to be an obsession in our society for instant results. If you are one of these people, realize that this is one of your first obstacles to overcome. Only one thing is certain: If you never stop trying, you are guaranteed to succeed.
 
 
The Six Basic Steps
1) Doing the Mental Prep-Work
2) Increasing dream recall
3) Keeping a dream journal
4) Becoming familiar with your Dreams
5) Adding Awareness to your Waking Consciousness
6) Linking your Awareness to your Dreams
 
Step One) Doing the Mental Prep-Work

This step involves setting up the right mental foundation and building a mental framework that will maximize your success. In order to do this, you must take a look at your belief systems. I can't emphasize enough the crucial role that our belief systems play in determining our experience. As you develop your ability to lucid dream, you will be directly interacting with your thoughts and your belief systems, and you will be able to experience first hand how important it is to manage your thoughts.
Here are four key questions that you need to ask yourself. Do you think you can do this? Do you think dreams are important? Do you really want to have lucid dreams? Do you know what you will do when you become lucid? Not only should you be asking yourself these questions, but you should also be taking an active part in strengthening these beliefs, or changing them if that is the case. Let's go over each of these questions to emphasize what kind of mental prep-work you need to be doing.
"Do you think you can do this?" For starters, you must always have a positive attitude. If you have any doubts, then your first assignment is to replace each and every doubt with a self-empowering belief. If you think lucid dreaming is some rare phenomenon, realize that it is a natural ability. If you think it is going to be difficult, assure yourself that it will come naturally. Just remember, tying your shoes as a child was difficult but with time it became second nature, and so too will lucid dreaming. As soon as you have your first lucid dream, it'll be that much easier to have a second one, and a third one, and in due time you will be having them consistently.
"Do you think dreams are important?" Once you have a positive, confident attitude, the next step is to make dreaming a top priority. The simple act of believing that your dreams are important will dramatically increase your results. Most people don't place any emphasis on their dreams so they in turn don't recall many dreams, and not surprisingly most of these people are not even aware that it is possible to have lucid dreams. They don't know any better because they haven't made dreaming a priority. You, on the other hand, will view your dreams as important, and this will speed up your progress substantially.
"Do you really want to have lucid dreams?" The key to this question is desire and enthusiasm. The more you cultivate your desire to have lucid dreams, the more emotionally charged your intent will be. The more charged your intent is, the more likely that these desires will produce results. Along the same lines, the more enthusiastic you are towards learning how to lucid dream, the more you will absorb and the more you will be actively drawing this experience towards you. Sending messages to your subconscious that you think dreams are important and that you enthusiastically want to have them will speed up your progress dramatically.
"Do you know what you will do when you have a lucid dream?" The point of this question is to be purposefully prepared. It sounds so simple, but just by having a plan you increase the odds of becoming lucid. If you have a goal or a mission planned, you will have that much more reason to become lucid and carry out your mission. The plan should be well thought out and thoroughly embedded in your mind. Throughout the day and before going to bed, remind yourself of your goal, and in keeping with the last question, cultivate a desire to fulfill your goal. In the beginning, you may want to keep your plan simple. Your goal may be as simple as looking at your hands or surveying the dreamscape or maybe you would like to fly. As you develop the ability to prolong your lucid dreams, you will be able to carry out more elaborate missions.
       So be positive. Replace doubt with confidence and skepticism with belief. View your dreams as being important. Make dreaming a priority. Cultivate your desire to reach your goal. Be enthusiastic. Be prepared and have a plan. As you can see these mental prep-work concepts do overlap and intertwine, so start making all of them work for you today. This mental conditioning will not only help speed up the lucid dreaming process, but you can apply it to any other aspects of your life that you want to develop.
 
Step Two) Increasing Dream Recall

As mentioned earlier, if you can't remember your dreams it makes it that much harder to have lucid ones. So this step focuses on increasing your dream recall. You may be one of the fortunate ones who remembers a lot of dreams, but if you are not, don't be discouraged. There are many tried and tested methods for developing your dream recall. There are so many effective tips for increasing dream recall that you can count on remembering more and more of your dreams with a few weeks practice.
For starters, do you really want to remember your dreams? Why? Could you be subconsciously blocking your own recall because you may be afraid of what you see? These are legitimate questions to be asking yourself. Be honest with yourself. You must make the commitment to yourself to increase your dream recall because it is important to you and it is something that you want to develop. You need to make it a conscious priority. After taking this step, it is just a matter of incorporating these techniques into your morning schedule.
 
Here is a list of tips and techniques that will help increase your dream recall:
1.) Wake Motionlessly. Upon awakening, don't open your eyes. Don't move. Lie completely still.
2.) Wake Slowly. Allow yourself time to naturally remember your dreams. Don't start thinking about what you are going to do for the day. Don't allow your mind to be flooded by your waking thoughts or your dreams will start fading or may even disappear entirely like bursting dream bubbles. Let your mind be focused on whatever you were just dreaming.
3.) Let your mind drift. Allow your thoughts to meander through whatever mental imagery you may have. Once you remember one part of a dream. Relax and allow the rest of the pieces to fall into place.
4.) Drift through your dream checklist. If you have absolutely no initial recall, then start running through a dream checklist in your mind. This list should include people you know, activities, places, foods, smells, music, anything that may trigger a dream fragment to surface. Allow your mind to drift through this list and ask yourself if this person or this place was in your dream. Movement is very common in dreams so try to think about action. Were you walking or running or climbing or flying? Emotions are also very prevalent so try to think about your moods. Were you happy or afraid or surprised or confused? The more familiar you are with your dreams the better you will know which questions will most likely trigger your memory, but in the beginning you can use any list as long as it is a big one.
4.) Think and question backwards. Try to work your memory backwards from what you can remember. You will usually remember the most current dream scenario first so for maximum retrieval it is helpful to think backwards, or think in terms of effect and cause instead of cause and effect. If you can remember one part of the dream, ask yourself how you got there? Or where did a certain dream object come from? Did you find it? Was it given to you? One dream fragment will usually lead to another until the whole dream starts to take shape, and your dream memories can be jogged by questioning yourself about what you already remember.
5.) Try different sleeping positions. Try all your common sleeping positions before getting out of bed to maximize your recall. You will have the best recall when you are lying in the same position that you were in when you were dreaming. If you wake up on your right side don't move until you recall all you possibly can, and then repeat this process on your left side, then your back, and your front. This may jar loose some memories and it certainly speeds up your recall.
6.) Keep Trying. Sometimes, you may have no morning recall but flashes of dream memories will surface during your day. Be prepared to jot down any time-released memories. They may unlock your access to more memories.
         If you are still having trouble recalling your dreams, here is a surefire method that will have your remembering your dreams in no time. We know that most of our dreams occur in the last hours of our sleep so we can safely assume that this is the target time to be exercising our recall. We also know that we have a much greater likelihood of remembering a dream if we awaken directly from it, and this leads us to the ultimate method, the Alarm Clock Method.
        The Alarm Clock Method: Using an alarm clock is one of the quickest and easiest ways to start increasing your dream recall especially if you rarely remember your dreams. The idea is to set your alarm for a time when you will be dreaming and awaken yourself from a dream while fresh memories are still in your head. The earlier morning hours are the best time to use this method since this is when you are most likely to be dreaming. Your alarm clock will become a valuable tool for increasing your dream recall, and in a later section I will mention how it can be used to induce lucid dreams. Here are a few ways to take full advantage of your alarm clock. Try them all to see what works best for you
        "The Early Morning Technique" -Set your alarm for two hours before you normally would awaken. When it goes off, reset it to go off in a half an hour. Do this each time it goes off and you will have instant and plentiful recall. This is one of the most effective techniques because it takes full advantage of your natural dreaming cycle and it creates a daily target time when you habitually practice your dreaming skills. These few hours before you normally awake are going to become your new training grounds. This target time zone will be described in much greater detail when we cover lucid dream induction methods and again when we take a look at the lucid dream terrain.
        Depending on how poor your recall is you may want to immediately write down your dreams each time you wake up. If you don't, you may experience what I refer to as dream superimposition. It happens when you wake up during the night and have vivid recall of your dreams, so vivid that you are sure you will remember them later; however, when you go back to bed you have more dreams and upon reawakening these recent dream memories have replaced the previous ones. As you exercise your dream recall you will find your memory will become better so that less dream superimposing takes place, but even after years of training it still happens to me sporadically.
        "The Waking at Odd Hours Technique" This technique is pretty self-explanatory. Set your alarm to go off at any random times throughout the night. The advantage of this technique is that if you are extremely eager to develop your dreaming skills you may not want to settle for only two hours of practice a day. So you can use this technique along with the previous one to maximize your exercise.
        "The Snooze Button Method" Set your alarm for a time before you would normally wake up and then continually hit the snooze button until you have to get out of bed. This is probably the most common technique, and the odds are that you have already had some experience with this one unless your alarm does not have a snooze button. By hitting the snooze button you are constantly coming in and out of dreams so you dramatically increase your recall, and it is very helpful for inducing lucid dreams as well, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
 
Step Three) Keeping a dream journal
                     
       The single most important thing that you can do to increase your dream recall and to maximize your lucid dreaming progress is to keep a dream journal. This increases your recall by engraining the idea that dreams are important into your subconscious mind. It also helps you become familiar with your dreams which is the focus of the next step. The habit of writing down your dreams soon becomes a habit of recalling your dreams. If you seriously want to learn how to lucid dream, you MUST keep a dream journal. It is not an option.
       I strongly emphasize this because I know from experience that keeping a journal is a crucial part of the process. I had been trying to lucid dream for a year with little success until I started keeping one. Shortly after I started consistently making my dream journal entries, I began to recall more dreams with greater clarity and detail, and this led to my first lucid dreams. Even now after years of lucid dreaming, I still see a correlation. If I neglect my dream journal, my lucid dreams become less frequent. All it usually takes is a few days of making entries and I will be back on the lucid track.
       Here are some tips on keeping your journal. Record all of your dreams with as much detail as you can. Even if something seems trivial, you should still write it down because it may turn out to be significant when viewed in the long run. Write down not only what happened during the dream but also what you were feeling and what you were thinking at the time. These emotional and mental notes will help you later when you are becoming familiar with your dreams. This will also help you see how your daily affairs and your waking mind influence your dreams. For example, you may notice during times of stress that you will have stress-influenced dreams. You may dream of being late for an exam or being unprepared for a business meeting. The point is that your dreams are sending you a message. They are reflecting what you think and feel at a subconscious level. Looking at the patterns of your dreams and examining the recurrence of certain dream themes will tell you a lot about yourself. This is yet another reason why keeping your dream journal is so important. It allows you to have an overview of your dream patterns which are actually reflections of an ever-changing you.
       When keeping your journal, it is best to write your entries in present tense instead of using past tense. For example, you would write, "I'm walking down this street and I see a man" instead of "I walked down this street and I saw a man." By writing in the present tense, you may be able to remember even more of your dreams as you are recording them. Also, when working with some of the methods we will cover later like dream reentry and dream incubation, it is best to be thinking and recording in terms of now not then. As an added bonus, writing in the present tense also makes for better reading at a later date.
        With each dream journal entry, you should include a date, a time if you can, and a title for each dream. To find a suitable name for your dream, imagine if it were a movie and choose the most appropriate title. Something simple is usually best as long as it captures the essence of the dream. Anything from "Red ants in a rainforest" to "Class reunion on an airplane" will be fine. If you have several different dreams during the night, it is best to separate and title each one. Mixing separate dreams together may make the dream's message harder to find and may make choosing a distinctive title nearly impossible. The main purpose of titling your dreams is to make them easier to access at a glance when you are looking through your dream journal.
         Now, if you are like me or like most people, I am assuming one of two things. You are either going to think you can learn to lucid dream without keeping a dream journal or else you will start keeping a dream journal and before you know it, it will be gathering dust next to that book you meant to read. I say this only because I thought the same way. Not to say that it could not be done, anything is possible, but why not increase your odds, maximize your results, and speed up the process with a proven method. Once you get into the habit of keeping your journal, it will become as routine as putting your clothes on in the morning. Although it gets easier with time, in the beginning it is helpful to have some pointers.
            Keeping a dream journal is not the easiest thing to do. I have spent many a day thumbing through random pieces of papers scribbled with dream accounts. To make the beginning of the process easier I have several suggestions based on several different approaches I have tried combined with the advice of others. It seems like such a simple thing. You dream, you wake up, and you write down your dreams. Well, there's more to it. For example, when you awaken if you start writing in your journal as you are recalling the nights dreams, it is hard to remember everything accurately in the right sequence. You may have already moved on to a new scene but then you remember something you had forgotten. This prompted me to write everything I could remember on a sheet of paper and then after doing this I would write an organized account of it in my journal. This works fine if you have lots of free time but with time being a valuable commodity it is rather inefficient.
        Along with the difficulty of balancing your time and determining how organized you need to have your journal, another problem you will encounter is the simple fact that you have to do a lot of writing which in itself can become monotonous. The best approach is to recall all that you can in your head before writing anything, but even so you probably will remember more as you are writing it. By recording your dreams only on the right-hand pages of the journal, you can write late arriving memories on the left-hand page and conveniently draw an arrow to the portion of the dream in which it occurred. You can also use the left-hand pages to draw pictures of any dream objects or maps of the dreamscape. This tip may require you to buy double the amount of journals, but if you want more organized entries it certainly works.
        If you do choose to use this method, you should use the left-hand pages to record what you did while awake that day, where you went, who you saw, etc... Whether you use the left/right page method or not, you should include this daily information somewhere in your journal, preferably on the same page as your dream entries. This can be very helpful when you are looking for patterns in your dreams. For example, I have found that I will often dream about things from two days before or two days after the dream. If I watched a program about natural disasters on Monday, I would not be surprised if I dreamed about it on Wednesday. If I dream about a person who I have not heard from in a while, they will usually call me two days later. I don't know why it happens, but by analyzing my dreams and the journal entries of what I did for the day, I have found this to be one of my patterns.
        Many people recommend using a dictaphone to record your dreams. Upon awakening you can just speak your dreams aloud into the recorder, and enter them into your journal later. I've tried this method and find that for me at least it is not the way to go. It is not very time efficient. It certainly is easier to record them verbally, but the problem comes when you are transcribing these tapes. It takes far too long to listen to these recordings and write them down in your journal, and you still have the problem of trying to keep the dream's sequence in order which becomes even more troublesome when you use a tape recorder.
         There are many different styles of journal keeping and everyone may have a natural preference, but if you want to save some time. Learning mostly through trial and error, I have developed the easiest and most efficient method. Prompted by the idea of how wonderful it would be if the Dictaphone could write up my journal entries for me, I employed the help of my personal computer. I purchased a speech to text recognition program called vivacious. It will convert what you say into text on your computer screen. You speak at a normal pace and it does all the typing for you, and you can use it directly with Microsoft Word, my word processing program. The speech to text program was on fifty dollars and it works just fine for a dream journal. It may make an occasion error but the journal entries are extremely legible and the time saved is enormous. It completely removes the burden of writing down your dreams and it totally solves the problem of jumbled dream sequences because you can cut and paste any misplaced dream fragments into their appropriate place. If you have the resources, this is by far the easiest and most efficient way of keeping a dream journal.
 
Step Four) Becoming familiar with your Dreams
        As your dream journal grows and your dream recall increases, naturally you will become more familiar with your dreams. Certain people, certain places, and certain activities may be more likely to appear in your dreams. For example, you may have a majority of dreams in which you are at your office or at school or at the beach. Certain dream themes might also be more common than others. You might dream of being a hero or you might dream of being chased. These recurrent patterns in your dreams are your dreamsigns, and they will be the first stepping stones on your path to lucid dreaming.
         By learning your distinctive dreamsigns, you will be able to further increase your recall. Making a list of your dreamsigns is a great idea. If you are having trouble recalling any dreams, you can run down your list of dream signs and question yourself to see if any of them will spark a memory. Sometimes, by jarring just one dream fragment loose you can recover the whole dream, so knowing and using your dreamsigns will give you just the edge you need to overcome a morning bout of dream amnesia.
          By working with your dreamsigns, you will develop an intimate relationship with your dreams. They will become more accessible and easier to understand. It is helpful to ask yourself why you are dreaming what you dream. What do these dreamsigns mean to you? The more you understand not only your dreamsigns but what they mean, the more you will benefit from them in both your dream life and your waking life.
         If at first you are having trouble identifying your dreamsigns, realize that your dreamsigns don't have to be something unordinary. As a matter of fact, they may be the most ordinary thing. For example, you may have dreams about your previous day or you may dream of cleaning your house. Whatever it is that you dream about, you need to be noting the patterns and commonalties. You can start with whatever patterns you notice no matter how insignificant they seem. Using these as a springboard, you will soon begin to notice more patterns developing. The process of looking for patterns may in fact create the patterns themselves so if you are having trouble finding your dreamsigns, just keep looking and they will emerge.
         The quest to discover and understand your dreamsigns is a lifelong journey because your dream signs are continually evolving just like you. Some themes may last for only a week and then disappear, only to resurface a month later. Other dream signs will last much longer. As times change and you change, your dreamsigns being a reflection of you and your thoughts will change as well. Keeping up with your dreamsigns will keep you in touch with yourself.
        With the help of your journal, you can easily spot the recurrent dreamsigns and you can get an overview of how they are changing. As you are making entries to your journal, you should make note of any dreamsigns that you spot. You can underline them or put a star next to them. Any notation will due as long as it is consistent and noticeable. The idea is to have them accessible at a glance so when you pick up your journal in a year you can easily see the change in the pattern of patterns, your ever-changing dreamsigns.
        Identifying your dreamsigns also plays a crucial part in the lucid dreaming process. Your dreamsigns are in effect "signs that you are dreaming", and as you will soon learn in the sixth step, you can train yourself to notice your dreamsigns while you are dreaming and this will be the springboard into lucidity.
 
Step Five) Adding Awareness to your Waking Consciousness

        This step alone could be the source of countless books. It is almost a method in itself, but used in conjunction with the other steps, it becomes an optimal way to learn lucid dreaming. As a matter of fact, the whole process of lucid dreaming is achieved by training your awareness. The idea is to increase our daily awareness in order to benefit from the carryover effects it will have on our dreaming awareness. If you are more aware during the day, you will become more aware while dreaming.
         There are many ways to increase our awareness, and we will delve into many of them in this section. The handling and manipulation of our awareness will become one of the central issues for the rest of this manual. As you exercise your awareness, you may realize that you are not usually aware of how unaware you are most of the day.
        Since this is such an important aspect, it is crucial to have a workable understanding of these concepts. The ultimate goal is learning how to apply these principles to create results. First, we will deal with the concept of awareness and then we will learn the practical applications. The term awareness as we will be referring to it applies to your consciousness. How conscious are you? It alludes to your current level of self-observation. How aware are you of your awareness? It refers to your level of mindfulness. How centered is your awareness? It refers to your waking mental state of affairs. How truly aware are you? For our purposes here, these questions will culminate in your dreams when you become aware that you are dreaming by asking, am I dreaming?
           For many people these reflective questions go unasked and in turn they remain unanswered. They were never taught that there are differing levels of awareness nor were they ever taught how to cultivate a heightened sense of awareness. To them, either one is awake or one is sleeping. The fact is that you can be fully conscious, semiconscious, and not conscious at all in your dreams as well as in your waking life. It is all a matter of mindfulness. It all boils down to your level of awareness.
        Do you ever realize you've been listening to the radio and haven't heard it for minutes? Do you ever drive somewhere methodically and not remember the drive once you arrive? How about misplacing your keys? Moments of "zoning out" like this occur when your awareness strays from the moment at hand. It is a result of losing your mindfulness, becoming attentionally uncentered. You may have been daydreaming or planning your day or truly "in a zone", but the resulting experience is that you were not aware of your position in your current surroundings.
         There is nothing wrong with daydreaming or planning your day. The point is that we often overlook the transition of our awareness from one moment to the next. The thoughts we have often flutter through our minds without us even taking note of them, let alone actively taking part in their creation and guidance. The point is not to be obsessed with your surroundings but to be aware of your awareness. Becoming aware of your thoughts and thinking patterns is just as important as identifying your dreamsigns and dream patterns. Changing your thoughts will change your awareness, and the idea is to have your awareness programmed and locked on self-observant aware mode instead of running on an non-reflective autopilot mode.
         It is as if we are normally aware of riding the crest of a wave produced by external factors instead of guiding our awareness ourselves. We react more than we reflect which leads to automated behavior. We become less questioning which in turn reduces our awareness to what we already know, or think we know. We identify with our position on this crest so habitually that after a while we fail to realize that there even are any other ways of viewing it. We overlook our part in the ocean. We overlook the active role that we play in guiding our awareness.
        Try to remain aware of your awareness as if you were a bystander just watching where it goes and how it flows. The longer you can sustain this level of awareness, the better. But it isn't as easy as it sounds, and if you think it is, try sustaining it all day long and then realize how often you lose your mindfulness. The fact is that we aren't in the habit of being aware, but this is a habit that must be changed. How is your awareness flowing from one point to the next? How often throughout the day are you aware of your awareness as well as your position in your surroundings? It is this kind of mindfulness that you need to cultivate. It is this kind of centering and grounding of your awareness in awareness that you need to practice and develop until it becomes second nature, or hopefully even first nature.
         Practicing meditation is an excellent way to exercise your awareness. Studies done by Jayne I. Gackenbach, a notable lucid dream researcher, show a direct correlation between meditation and lucid dreaming. People who meditate have a greater likelihood of having lucid dreams compared to non-meditators. Both meditators and lucid dreamers "are able to become "caught up" in an experience, and are aware of their inner thoughts and internal processes." (* Dreamtime,Dreamwork, pg244-45) This could be due to the emphasis put on consciously developing of one's awareness. By exercising your awareness, you are more able to be "in the moment", an ability that greatly enhances your lucid dreaming ability. "In addition, meditators and lucid dreamers find it easier to recall their dreams and tend to be "field independent" (that is, they could find their way out of a forest more easily than "field dependent" people, because they are not as easily influenced by people or objects in their environment.)" (*Dreamtime/work, pg 245) Other studies by Alexander, Boyle, and Alexander have shown that both lucid dreamers and meditators "have less stress-related personality characteristics" than their non-meditating and non-lucid dreaming counterparts. If lucid dreaming and meditating can have these beneficial effects on our waking self, imagine what can be accomplished by practicing both of them symbiotically.
          Meditation and lucid dreaming are intimately linked. By learning more about meditating and practicing it regularly, you will be stacking the odds in your favor when it comes to lucid dreaming. Many of the principles involved in meditation have a direct bearing on lucid dreaming. Meditation can be used to induce profound states of relaxation, and these relaxed states are extremely beneficial for inducing lucid dreams. Also, the goal of many meditational approaches is to silence the mind. Creating inner silence and stopping one's internal dialogue is an important technique we will be covering later on when we discuss some of the methods of inducing lucid dreams. Mediation also develops the ability to have a detached awareness, an awareness that allows itself to operate like a slightly removed observer. Once again, this ability to have a detached awareness will be extremely useful when attempting many of the lucid dream induction techniques. Meditation in and of itself requires developing a certain amount of control over your awareness. Since this is also a prerequisite for learning how to lucid dream, it is highly advisable to incorporate meditation into your lucid dreaming regime.
       Now that you have an understanding of these concepts, the best way to create results is to apply them toward our goal, lucid dreaming. In order to learn how to lucid dream, you must be able to differentiate between what is "reality" and what is a dream. You must develop a questioning awareness. While awake you should be regularly doing "reality checks". There are two parts to a reality check. The first part is asking yourself if you are dreaming or not, and the second part is testing your surroundings to verify if in fact you are dreaming or not.
       These reality checks should be done frequently throughout the day. The idea is to ingrain this habit into your daily routine so that it will spill over into your dreams. If you practice this consistently, it is just a matter of time until you perform a reality check while dreaming, and if you test your surroundings carefully enough you will realize you are dreaming. In the beginning, I would set the alarm on my wristwatch to go off every half hour as a constant reminder to do my reality checks. Another technique is to write one letter on each hand or wrist and each time you notice the letters you perform a reality check. You could use an L on one and a D on the other to stand for Lucid Dream or B and C for Become Conscious. The letters themselves mean very little. It is remembering to do the reality check that matters, and if this is a method you use regularly, it will surely make its way into your dreams to remind you to question your surroundings.
        Asking if you are dreaming is the easy part. The trick is to be able to distinguish whether you are really dreaming or not. The idea is to look for strange or nonsensical things that could only occur if you were dreaming, but sometimes it is hard to tell. For example, the idea of pinching yourself to make sure you are not dreaming does not hold any weight in the dream realm. You will actually feel the pinch in your dream so it may lead you to believe that you aren't dreaming unless you perform other tests.
        For some reason, we are much more accepting and much less analytical of inconsistencies while dreaming so performing multiple reality checks maximizes our odds of becoming lucid if in fact we are dreaming. It is also very helpful to always assume that you are dreaming even if the tests indicate otherwise. You should keep testing and keep trying all of the different reality checks until one works, and only after you have exhausted all options should you conclude that you are not dreaming. As you get some experience, you will see firsthand how important it is to be questioning and persistent. But luckily due to all the research into lucid dreaming, reality checks are no longer a hit or miss scenario. Many of them show wide-ranging effectiveness among all dreamers.


Here is a list of the most effective reality checks:
 
1.) The Common Sense Test: This is the first and most obvious check. Examine your surroundings for anything that logically should not be there. Ask if this could happen in your normal life. Look for inconsistencies. Are you somewhere you have never been before? Are you with people who live on the other side of the country? Is there an elephant in your kitchen? These are the kinds of questions that can spark your lucidity.
2.) The Reading Check: This is one of the most effective checks. Simply look around and find something to read. After reading it, look away and then look back again to reread it. Do this several times. If you are dreaming, the text or numbers will usually change after several glances. It may become garbled or may have changed completely or it will not remain stable while you are reading it. Anything containing words or numbers will work: a book, a street sign, an address. Many people use the dial on their dream watch.
3.) the Flying or Levitation Check: This is another very effective check. See if you are able to fly. If you are not able to fly, try to levitate or hover slightly above the ground. As you become more skilled at lucid dreaming, this may become your favorite check as it is mine. The only down side is that at times you may try this and be unable to fly or levitate, yet you still may be dreaming. Always remember to use this in combination with other checks unless of course it works, which in most cases it will.
4.) The Light Switch Check: This is usually a quite reliable check. Find a light switch and turn it on and off. If it malfunctions then the odds are you are dreaming. Try it several times and pay close attention to when it should be on and when it should be off. It usually will not take long before it malfunctions or operates correctly while in the wrong position.
5.) The Memory Check: This is a very effective but largely unknown method. Simply backtrack in your mind where you have just come from and what you have been doing. Keep thinking back as far as you can and eventually you may find that there are inconsistencies in your memory. By backtracking your dream memory, you may also become aware of something illogical that has happened which you overlooked at the time. You also may find that you have an amnesia-like block that prevents you from remembering accurately. In all of these cases, you can safely assume that you are dreaming.
6.) The Mirror Check: This is not only an extremely effective method but as an added bonus, it usually results in quite a remarkable experience. Find a mirror and while gazing at yourself, ask if you are dreaming. You may become startled by your reflection. You may be younger or older or have different hairstyle and hair color or you may even be someone different entirely.
7.) The Self Observation Test: This is also a very useful check. Just take a look at yourself. Examine your hands, arms, legs, and clothing. Usually you will immediately be tipped off that are dreaming because you will be wearing clothes that you do not own. Other times, simply looking at your dream body will spark your lucidity.
8.) The Penetration of Matter Check: This is not the most reliable method but it has helped me on many occasions. Simply try to push your finger through something solid like a wall or a door or a glass. At first, it may not work but if you believe that you can do it, you eventually will be able to pass your finger right through any solid. As an added bonus on this check, you are also developing your ability to allow your beliefs to directly influence your experience.
9.) The Gravity Check: This is a somewhat reliable check. Find something that you can throw into the air and catch safely. Start tossing it up and down and you may just find that it isn't obeying the laws of gravity as it should if you were in "reality". To maximize the success of this check, while tossing it into the air try to effect the object's rise and fall with your mind.
10.) The Questioning of Dream Characters Check: This may not be the best thing to try while awake but sometimes it can be effective if in fact you are dreaming. In "reality" if you asked people if we were in a dream, their response would be to accuse you of being insane, yet in the dream realm, it is sometimes a different matter. Usually the dream characters will deny that it is a dream, but they deny it with an air of denial. They usually never question your sanity, and in some cases, they don't even understand what you are saying and disregard you entirely. Also, on rare occasions, someone in your dream will admit that it is in fact a dream.
         As mentioned earlier, these reality checks should be practiced regularly throughout the day. The more they become embedded into your daily routine, the sooner they will appear in your dreams. If there were one word that sums up what you need to develop in order to speed up the lucid dreaming process, it would be awareness, awareness, awareness. Working on your awareness will have direct carryover effects into your dreams, and once you become more skilled at lucid dreaming you will realize that your awareness combined with your intent is your passport into the dream realm.
 
Step Six) Linking your Awareness to your Dreams

          This last step is rather simple and easy compared to the previous steps, and due to its simplicity you should have no problem incorporating it into your daily regime. But before we move on, let's review where you should be at right now. At this point, you have done the mental prep-work, you have been increasing your dream recall, and you have been keeping your dream journal. You are becoming familiar with what you dream about, noticing your dreamsigns, and exercising your awareness by meditating and doing your reality checks consistently.
        The final step is to combine what you have learned about your dreams with what you have learned about your awareness. Put simply, you need to merge your reality checks with your dreamsigns so that whenever you encounter one of your dreamsigns you automatically start doing reality checks. If you dream of classrooms or beaches or driving fast in a car, whenever you see a classroom or a beach or whenever you are driving in a fast car you will be programmed to do a reality check. The end result will be this: Inevitably you are going to dream about one of your dreamsigns and eventually you are going to remember to do a reality check and eventually you are going to realize that you are dreaming.
        It is helpful to stay updated on your current dreamsigns and dream themes. If you have been having dreams of being chased for the past week, you need to activate a trigger onto the idea of being chased so that whenever you are being chased you will realize that you need to do a reality check. By becoming intimately acquainted with your dreamsigns and linking reality checks to these dreamsigns, you will be laying a solid foundation for future lucid dreaming adventures.
        As you can see, these six steps are all interwoven into one basic process. Leaving out just one step will diminish the effectiveness of all the other steps, and in turn, it will decrease the actual results of the entire process. Almost all of the other techniques and methods mentioned for inducing lucid dreams are based on this process to a certain extent. Often, they are offshoots of this process or are limited versions of one or more of these six basic steps. Study them and internalize them. Practice them diligently and consistently and your subconscious will become ingrained with them. By following these six basic steps, you will inevitably have a lucid dream.  Eventually these habits will carry over into your dreams, and hopefully the final payoff will be when you say, "Yes, I am dreaming!"
stay lucid,
bird ^v^
Marc VanDeKeere

http://www.consciousdreaming.com/lucid-dreaming/how-to-lucid-dream.htm