Methods and training for lucid dreaming.

[jason]

hi TradeMAAK![]

here's some techniques you might want to try:

the first one is very simple.just wait until you are about to fall asleep,when you are feeling very relaxed and comfortable,and ready to drift away.in this state you will probably have a closer connection to the subconcious mind,since you are readying it to take over.in this state you will hopefully be very suggestable.say to yourself "I will have a lucid dream tonight".maybe repeat it several times until you feel that you've 'drilled it in'.try the same thing if you wake up in the middle of the night sometime,or very early,since most lucid dreams happen in the later hours of sleep.that's all there is for the first one.I think it's called "dream incubation".

the second technique is to truthfully ask yourself throughout the day "is this a dream?".even if you know it isn't,really ask anyways.try to put your hand through a wall or fly up into the air,purely by mental thought.if you do this enough,it will seep into your dreams,and when you try that,and something happens,you will suddenly get that "oh!"[:O] feeling.and lucidity will result.

a third technique is to meditate when you wake up really,extremely early,when you have time,or during the day.the idea is to focus the mind,not let it go,as you do when falling asleep.try this when you are VERY,VERY tired.and you might want to try some 'hemi-sync' cds.I have one called "transcendence".I put it on loud,in headphones as I'm drifting off ,or meditating,and it really helps to bring you to the borderline state, and HOLD you there (if it's loud enough).

I'll post some more if I remember.

good luck![]

[TradeMAAK]

Thanks! I will certainly try your methods! If anyone has other methods it would be very good, if they could be posted here.

[Michael_E]

A good way to have lucid dreams is to first familiarize yourself with the dream world. Keeping a dream journal and copying every detail about the dreams you have will give you insight into some common themes you will find among them that can tip you off of you r dream state. For example i commonly dream of walking around in places ive never been before. So, next time i become aware of a dream in which i find that i am in someplace im totally unfamiliar with i know to question my state of awareness to check if im dreaming.Once you realize that you are dreaming you have become lucid and can do pretty much anything.

Other things to look for in your dreams are your own feelings: for example if you are dreaming you are yelling at your brother about something little, you can say wait a minute im not like this and realize its a dream and take control. Also things that are out of place for example your bed is on another side of the room or your cat is on the cieling things like that should be looked out for. Do lots of reality checks during the day, and question your surroundings as if you were thinking you are in a dream. For example: if you have common dreams where your surroundings are mispaced you could sit in your room and consciously check to see if everything is in the right order or just as you are walking down the street check to see if a tree is unnaturally bright or someother phenomenon. By doing frequent checks you carry the habit over into the dream world and you can find yourself doing reality checks there that will realize lucidity.

Another thing that helps greatly is to keep a goal journal. Set clear and specific realistic goals for yourself. Make sure you have long-term goals and short-term goals for example:

Long-term goal: to increase the number of lucid dreams i have this month
Short-term goal: 1.to remember at least two dreams a night for a week
2. to have at least 2 lucid dreams a week.

Update your goal journal according to your success.

[Nick]

Another method I have read (but can never seem to remember to do) is a technique of looking at your hands in a dream. That is, telling yourself when you do this that you know that you are in a dream, thereby becoming lucid.

There is a pretty good website on lucid dreaming also: http://lucidity.com


Very best,
Nick

[Amber]

Trade,
I think Michael_E's suggestion about keeping a journal is a surefire way to drag your attention into the dreamworld. Funny thing about us humans, the more we focus on something, the larger it gets. So, definitely start writing down all the dreams you can remember, helps if you keep it near your bed so you can catch them before they slip away.

My favorite technique, which might sound a little off beat, is to take a long walk during the day or evening. As I am walking around, I start to silence my mind and feel my surroundings as if I were in a dream. I take short glances at everything, trying to hook into that lucid feeling as much as possible, I look at the leaves of every tree, people, cars with the same sense of wonder and attention that I have in lucidity. I make sure my mind is perfectly focused as much as possible, continually making efforts to sustain the attention for as long as I can. Combined with the journaling and other techniques, I can have them fairly often.

Hope this helps, best of luck!
Amber

[TradeMAAK]

WOW! Thanks! I will try all of these methods!

PS
I have had a dream journal, but I have never written anything in it. Not because I don't remember, but because I was too lazy and didn't want anyone to read it

[Tombo]

After practicing LD for about 1 Year I found out that I have by far the most sucess by this simple methode:
When falling asleep I repeat in my mind "I want to have a LD"
If I do this in  the morning hours with enough intention I almost get a LD at will.
Looking for dreamsigns during the day doesn't seem to help me much.

[TradeMAAK]

Tombodenmann, I tried telling myself that I will se a lucid dream for some time but I never succeeded. I guess, I just have to continue doing it with 100% belief.

[Amber]

Trade, I forgot one more technique that seems to help if you have the discipline to carry it out. Wake up a little early, like a half hour, get up and drink some water, read a book about lucid dreams ect. whatever, for a few minutes, then lay back down and tell yourself to have a lucid dream. Fall asleep, and chances are, you'll have one.
Amber

[Tombo]

TradeMAAK: What works for me may not work for you. Maybe my method works better if one already was succesfull in inducing a LD. Because then you know you can do it. I forgot to mention that I praciced the dreamsign method in the beginning, which helped me get my first couple of lD. If you practice my method it is very important that the last thought in your mind before falling asleep is "I want a lucid dream". I usually try to remember the "feeling of beeing lucid" when doing that method. I think that helps as well.

[TradeMAAK]

Nice, I did it. It was the second dream this night, because I know I had 3. Anyway, here are the main parts:
I understood that I was dreaming when I was in a strange place, some 2 quarters of town made from strange static blocks + heavy raining + only me. I crouched on the ground and sit next to the wall of the house. I tried to brake the wall (the strange block house thingie which was only a static with grey tecture) just to see how powerful I can be in dreams, but I didn't feel that I could do it, I felt just as in my life, I didn't feel that I could fly or something. I really felt like I was in my bedroom crouching on the floor (but I wasn't) only seeing another picture. Then I thought: "Maybe I should run in the far?" But it felt so real that I though "I'll just run off my bed in the real life and God knows what will happen". So I didn't do anything so active this time, I just knew I was dreaming and I know that when I woke up I was peacefully lying in my bed, so I never crouched on the ground or something. I know that then I opened my eyes for a bit (in life) and then closed them after and was in the same situation, I looked at my hands just to be sure I am in a dream (and it worked) and I don't remember what happened later. Nothing much, I guess. Anyway, I am still curious, why I had this feeling that everything is so real that I can't even do anything what I couldn't do in my real life.

PS
This was my first planned lucid dream by the way.

[jason]

I suspect that the reason why you couldn't do anything you couldn't do in real life is that it felt so real.like a mental block or something.I get those sometimes.lately I've had trouble flying 'cause of that.

you probably just have to get used to being concious in that state.once you get more accustomed to to lucidity those blockages should dissapear.

[Michael_E]

quote:Originally posted by TradeMAAK


PS
This was my first planned lucid dream by the way.

Congrats TradeMAAK!!

[TradeMAAK]

I have had only some lucid dreams in my life at random times. But I never planned of seeing them, I just realized that I'm dreaming and started running the walls and doing that kind of unuseful stuff. Now I would like to find out more about lucid dreaming, because I believe there are a lot of things you can achieve through this state (except silly humping over the rooftops). Can somebody write down some methods, which would help me practice lucid dreaming?