When you fall asleep tonight, you most likely will have a dream. But what if you could “Wake up” in this dream and realize that you are still asleep? Lucid dreaming is a strange and exciting phenomenon that allows you to be fully conscious while you sleep and to control all events, people and yourself within the dream. In this article, I will share with you 9 of the most effective tips on how to lucid dream easily. Also, I’ll explain to you how you can easily recognize that you’re dreaming. Are you excited? Me too! Let’s get it started!
What Are Lucid Dreams?
Lucid dreaming is an altered state of consciousness in which you are aware that you are dreaming and can control the content of the dream in one way or another. This is a kind of borderline state between REM sleep and wakefulness.
Lucid dreaming can begin either during normal sleep when you eventually realize that you are sleeping, or directly from a state of wakefulness without temporary loss of awareness.
Some people reach the state where they experience sleep paralysis. For some people, it happens spontaneously and usually when their sleep is very sensitive.
In the process of lucid dreaming, it is possible to simulate any situations that are impossible in everyday life. From this point of view, a lucid dream can be seen as a virtual reality, where there are no restrictions. In this dream, you can meet famous people, easily cook dinner for 5000 people, ride a giant tarantula or participate in the Hunger Games. You have your dream under control, and you can do whatever you want in there.
In addition, those people who have learned the practice of lucid dreaming, are able to get a psychotherapeutic effect from this practice. Thus, having learned the confident management of actions and events in a lucid dream, you have the opportunity to transfer a sense of confidence in your daily life (for example, to get rid of some fears or phobias).
How To Lucid Dream?
Lucid dreaming is not a natural gift, but a trained ability. Of course, some people are naturally more prone to this ability than others. Usually, children can practice lucid dreaming easily. But then as time goes by they forget about this ability and stop practicing it. But the good news is that every person can train this ability and start practicing lucid dreaming regularly. Some people gain this ability fast, others need more time. It all depends on the individual. No matter what category you belong to you need to be persistent and keep trying until you succeed! Trust me, it worth your effort!
First, it wasn’t easy for me to lucid dream at all! Though I had pretty bright dreams that I could easily memorize I still wasn’t able to stay lucid in my dreams. But I had a very strong desire to succeed in my practice and I knew all about the benefits that lucid dreaming can give to me. I’ve been studying this subject a lot and religiously was trying all the methods I could find. Now I’m happy to share with you 9 tips that helped me to start lucid dreaming and stay 100% conscious in my dreams. You can try all of them or maybe pick a couple of these tips that resonate with you the most. But what really helped me was the combining of different methods.
9 Tips On How To Lucid Dream
1 – Dream Diary
This is what I’ve started with! I created a dream journal and started writing down all my dreams in details in it. I placed it next to the bed, along with a pen, so I could write down all my dreams right after waking up or sometimes even in the middle of the night.
According to scientific research, the habit of writing down your dreams will increase your chances of having lucid dreams. Moreover, the mere thought that you are going to write down your dreams can help raise your awareness in your dream.
Write down all the dreams that you remember, whether they are interesting or not, clear or foggy.
If you can’t remember the whole dream, write down only what you remember, even if it’s just a face, a place, a phrase, or something else.
Write down everything you remember from your dream right after you wake up (even if you wake up in the middle of the night!). The longer you wait, the more you forget.
Stay in bed when you’re writing down your dreams to increase the likelihood of remembering them.
2 – ‘Wake-Back-to-Bed’ Technique
This is the easiest way to quickly get into a lucid dream!
Its essence: set the alarm two hours earlier than your usual wake up time. For example, you usually wake up at 7 a.m., then set the alarm to 5 a.m. Wake up at 5 a.m. be sure to get up and stay up for 15 minutes (get up and use the bathroom, or brush your teeth, for example). Then go to sleep for those two hours that you have not slept.
In fact, this method has scientific justification. In the morning we usually have most of our dreams, so we have a bigger chance to get into a lucid dream.
3 – Fix Your Attention On Your Hands
This is another effective method on how to lucid dream easily! During the day fix your attention on your hands, peering into them. Try to look at your hands as often as you can remember while you’re awake. Eventually, you will see your hands in your dream, but in your dream, they will change their appearance. This is how you’ll know you’re asleep. From that moment on, the control of the dream will begin!
4 – Ask Yourself The Question “Am I Asleep Or Awake?”
Constantly ask yourself the question: “Am I asleep or awake?” and make checking actions. For example, pinch yourself or look at yourself in the mirror. If you won’t be able to recognize yourself in the mirror, you’re asleep.
When I started using this method I put reminding notes with this question all around my house, my purse, on my computer and my phone. So every time I saw these notes I could remember to ask myself this question. And, you know, it really helped! Eventually, I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn’t recognize myself. I looked so much different than I usually look that I immediately realized that I was dreaming.
5 – Set The Intention
On a piece of paper write down the following intention: “Tonight I’m lucid in my dreams” and put this note under your pillow.
6 – Observation Of The Images
When you’re falling asleep try to see the emerging images in front of your closed eyes and focus your attention on them. Imagine how you’re zooming in on them and try to see more and more details of these images.
7 – Attentive Listening
When you’re falling asleep try to hear the noise in your head and make it louder and louder.
8: Visualization And Meditation
Use visualization or meditation before going to bed. Many experts on lucid dreaming recommend visualizing what you dream about before you go to sleep. Vividly visualize your dreams right before bedtime, and you will have a big chance to have a dream about it. Meditation will help you to relax and get into the “blank slate” at the moment of falling asleep.
9: Vitamin B
Increase your intake of vitamin B6. According to preliminary studies, vitamin B6 can increase the brightness of your dreams and help you to memorize them better.
12 Ways To Recognize That You’re Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreams feel so real that usually, it’s hard to understand if you’re dreaming or awake. Therefore the main question that arises in a person who wants to be lucid in a dream is: “How do I recognize that this is a dream?”.
Here are 12 ways to recognize that you’re lucid dreaming:
- Try to close your mouth and nose. If you’re still able to breathe, then you are in a dream.
- Look 2-3 times at the clock with a dial. If the time changes unnaturally fast, then you are in a dream.
- Try to read anything twice – if the text changes, then you are in a dream.
- Look 2-3 times at anything that contains certain information. If the information changes then you’re in a dream.
- Try to remember the previous minute of your life. If you are unable to do so, you are most likely asleep.
- Take a long look at your hands. If you’re dreaming then your hands will start changing their appearance.
- Try to turn on or turn off the light in the room with a switch. In a dream, the switch may not work or produce a strange effect when, for example, the light is on, but it is still dark.
- Take a long look at yourself in the mirror. Usually, the reflection in the mirror is modified in a dream.
- Look at any text. If the text is very blurred, then you are most likely in a dream.
- Try to change something with your will power. If you can change, let’s say the day to night with just your will power, then you’re dreaming.
- Look closely at the appearance of a person from your constant environment (for example, a colleague, family member or friend). In the dream, his/her appearance may be unnaturally distorted or even have the appearance of another person from the same environment.
- In a dream, distant movements are instantaneous. If you notice it, you can understand that it is a dream. For example, if you are driving the car somewhere, the monotonous road will be skipped if you’re dreaming.
How To Stay Conscious?
There are certain techniques of staying conscious in a dream, allowing to extend the period of lucid dreaming. For example, at the first signs of weakening attention, begin to closely examine the details of the dream, not concentrating on just one object. Or periodically remind yourself aloud that you are dreaming.
The Bottom Line
The phenomenon of lucid dreaming has not yet been studied enough by modern medicine and psychology but is already used for psychotherapeutic purposes as an extension of the tools of psychoanalysis, along with the usual interpretation of dreams. By staying lucid in your dreams you will discover limitless possibilities of using this state for self-development, letting go of your fears and manifesting your desired reality!