What if I told you that flying like a bird, hanging out with celebrities and hooking-up with your high school crush are all totally possible for you to experience? (spoiler... they are)
Most human beings spend ~18 hours each day in the waking "real" world living their lives, followed by "checking out" for ~8 hours to sleep - but not lucid dreamers.
For lucid dreamers, when they go to bed they are simply checking out of the "waking world", only to check into the "dream world". Dreams offers lucid dreamers a whole new world to explore, have fun in and learn more about your deeper inner-self. A world where ANYTHING (and I mean anything) is possible and you have full control to do what you want.
This may sound like something out of a science fiction novel or movie... but rest assured, it's definitely possible and people just like you are doing it every night. You just need to be a little open minded and practice.
Interested in trying Lucid Dreaming out yourself?
This notebook entry will walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to start lucid dreaming. #DreamOn
What is Lucid Dreaming: When talking to people I often find myself having to define what a lucid dream is (and is not).
- What it is: A lucid dream is a when you:
- Become aware you are in a dream
- AND - - Start to consciously decide what to do and how to control the dream. Just like in the waking world, you can decide what to do and how to do it (but in the dream world you can do anything you want)
- Become aware you are in a dream
- What it is NOT: Having a vivid dream that feels very real is not lucid dream... that's just a vivid dream. If you're having these, you're close to a lucid dream and the below steps will help snap you into a lucid dream.
Once in a lucid dream you can decide to do ANYTHING you've ever wanted... the options are limitless. You can fly like a bird, hang out with dead historical figures or celebrities, travel around the world, time travel, hook-up with your high school crush, etc.
What I find extremely attractive about lucid dreaming is your ability to practice or train a skill while sleeping. As many elite performers will tell you, the mental game is as important (if not more) than the physical game. I see Lucid dream was a option to get extra practice on the mental game.
- For example: If I wanted to get better at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, not only will I be able to train in the waking world by going to practice... I can also get extra reps and rolls in when sleeping = help build my mental game of Jiu Jitsu.
Sound pretty crazy right?
This all sounds like it's straight out of a science fiction book/movie... but I assure you it's real and possible. Even withe my limited experience, it's been a crazy and fun ride.
Ready to try it out? - The rest of this notebook entry will walk you through how to start lucid dreaming for yourself.
Note - I don't claim to be an expert on this. I'm still learning/practicing myself, however, the below information will still be very helpful for those interested in starting to lucid dream.
Note - I don't claim to be an expert on this. I'm still learning/practicing myself, however, the below information will still be very helpful for those interested in starting to lucid dream.
How to Train Yourself to Lucid Dream
I've broken up the process into two phases. Phase one contains an outline of the major activities to build a routine around. Phase 2 is how to refine and improve on the routine once you have it established.
Step 1: Reality Check
There are cues within your dream that will tip you off that you're in a dream world. By practicing "reality checks", you can train yourself to start seeing these cues in your dreams and thus make it more common to know you're dreaming and snap into a lucid dream.
Common Reality Checks: The reality check that works best is different for everyone. You may need to try a handful of them out over time and see which ones work best for your. Don't overwhelm yourself, pick just 2 to try at a time.
Because the subconscious, dreaming mind is really bad with analytical things like counting, numbers or patterns, there are a handful of commonly used reality checks:
- Reality Check (what it will do in your dream)
- Try to passing your finger through your hand (go through your hand)
- Jump in the air (you will float)
- Hold your nose (you still breath)
- Count your fingers (may have four or six)
- Flip light switches (may not work)
- Study digital clocks (the numbers will be jumbled)
- Look at a pattern, then look away (the patter will change on second glance)
Practicing Reality Checks: Perform "reality checks" while awake 5-10 times per day. The goal is to make it a habit that you do both in waking world and dream world.
- Pro Tip - Do your reality check every time you get a phone call or text. Or set a simple reminder alarm every 2 hours.
Step 2: Dream Journal
A dream journal is an extremely useful tool to help you with your dreams. There are two major benefits to a dream journal:
- Remembering your dreams and creating vivid dreams - Once you're having vivid dreams, you'll be in a great spot to trigger a lucid dream.
- Noticing patterns - After a few weeks you'll be able to start looking at your dream journal for patterns in the types of dreams you're having and what conditions (time to bed, food, etc) that create the best conditions for yourself to lucid dream.
Buy a journal (I personally like hand written. You could use your phone/tablet to use an app), keep it right next to your bed and do the following:
- Before Bed:
- Log the date
- Times that you plan on falling asleep, wake-to-bed (explained below) and wake up
- What you did leading up to bed (food, exercise, activities, etc).
- What will dream about
- What reality checks you're practicing and will be on the look out for in your dream
- Right Upon Waking:
- The second you wake up... Grab your dream journal, start replaying your dream in your mind and write everything your remember out.
- When you first start out, you might not remember much... but this will change 2-3 weeks in
- If you don't remember much -or- if you're strapped for time, you can simply use bulletpoint format instead of a full recap.
- Pro Tips:
- Write in the present tense as if it was happening to you at that moment
- If you don't want to write down a ton, just write down keywords
- Write down emotions you are feeling
- Title each dream (so you can look for recurring dreams)
- Note if you were lucid and what the trigger was that made you lucid
- The second you wake up... Grab your dream journal, start replaying your dream in your mind and write everything your remember out.
- Reviewing Your Dream Journal: Once a week take a few minutes to review your dream journal and look for patterns.
- Before Bed Patterns: Are there certain patterns of what you do in the waking world before bed (time of wake2bed, supplements, working out, before bed food) that seem to create better dream states?
- You can then start adjusting your normal before bed routine to incorporate the behaviors that seem to trigger better dream states.
- You can then start adjusting your normal before bed routine to incorporate the behaviors that seem to trigger better dream states.
- In-Dream Patterns: People, events, places, thoughts, etc.
- Recognizing in-dream patters will help increase the number of triggers that you're dreaming if you have the same dream again.
- Recognizing in-dream patters will help increase the number of triggers that you're dreaming if you have the same dream again.
- Before Bed Patterns: Are there certain patterns of what you do in the waking world before bed (time of wake2bed, supplements, working out, before bed food) that seem to create better dream states?
Step 3: Wake-to-Bed
During the night, you have different phases of sleep. Dreaming (and lucid dreaming) happens during your REM cycles (two cycles per night).
An amazing tactic to prime yourself for vivid and lucid dreams is called, "Wake-to-Bed". The goal is to wake yourself up in-between your two REM cycles, get your conscious brain working - then fall back asleep so you hit your second REM cycle. With your conscious brain active and in the middle of REM, you're primed to have vivid and lucid dreams.
How to do a Wake-To-Bed:
- Set an alarm to wake you up ~6 hours into sleeping (or ~2 hours before waking up):
- The exact timing will be different for everyone. You should look for patterns of timing (in your dream journal) that work well for yourself and adjust accordingly. Try different variations until you find what works best.
- The exact timing will be different for everyone. You should look for patterns of timing (in your dream journal) that work well for yourself and adjust accordingly. Try different variations until you find what works best.
- Wake yourself up and get out of bed for ~15-20 minutes. Do something that will help stimulate your conscious brain a bit (read something, write a poem, write in your journal, etc).
- Then get yourself comfortable and relaxed in bed. Close your eyes and start visualizing yourself in a dream and doing your reality checks. You will slowly drift off to sleep. With practice, it's possible to drift directly back into a vivid or even a lucid dream without skipping a beat.
Supplements to Help with Lucid Dreaming: There are a number of supplements you could experiment with to help prime your brain for vivid and lucid dreaming. These will typically be taken during your wake-to-bed so they kick in during your last REM cycle (however, experiment with taking before bed too).
Some of these work better than others for some people. Experiement with different ones (and combinations) and see what works best for you. You can google each one of these and read about them in more detail.
Disclaimer - I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV. Make sure you consult your doctor before taking anything.
- Huperzine-A
- Vinpocetine
- Alpha GPC
Note - You can stack these three together. These are also AWESOME to take during the day for improved focus, thought and mind speed. - Melatonin
- Galantamine
Pre-mix stacks: - Lucidimine
- Alpha Brain
Extending Lucid Dreams:
It is very common to get excited during your lucid dream and wake yourself up. This is especially true when having your first few lucid dreams. Don't get frustrated by this as it happens to everyone.
Here's what you should do to help extend lucid dreams:
- Once you notice your lucid don't immediately go crazy in your dream. Simply acknowledge that you're dreaming and continue with what you were doing... simply go with the flow. But slowly start making small conscious decisions on how to influence the dream.
- Anchoring Technique: After you acknowledge your lucid and are calm, you can do what we call an "anchoring technique" to help lock you into the dream. This can also work if you feel yourself starting to fade out of the lucid dream.
- The "Spin" Anchoring Technique:
- Put your hands out in-front of your
- Start to spin yourself around
- Concentrate on your hands
- The "Interaction" Anchoring Technique:
- Once lucid and calm, avoid just sitting around
- Find something you can interact with and make the conscious choice to interact.
- For Example - see something on the table and choose to pick it up and move it
- While interacting, focus on your hands and what your hands are doing
- The "Yelling" Anchoring Technique:
- Coach yourself by yelling something encouraging... like: "Stabilize Yourself Luke!"
- The "Spin" Anchoring Technique:
If You Do Wake Yourself Up: If you wake up on accident, don't move or open your eyes. Stay calm and continue to think of the dream. Sometimes you can drift right back.
What to Do Once You're Lucid Dreaming?
I'm not going to get into great detail in this entry about what to do while lucid. Step one is to simply experience lucid dreams, then you can worry about what to do once your lucid. For now, focus on getting lucid "on-demand" and simply explore and have fun once you are.
Have Fun & Keep Practicing
So that's it! Seems simple doesn't it? - While the steps are pretty simple, it takes time, patience and practice to get it down. Don't get frustrated if it doesn't happen in your first week, second week or fifth week to have a lucid dream.
- Think of your lucid dream training as a marathon and not a sprint. Keep at it.
- Experiment to find what works best for you... but give yourself at least 2 weeks of a particular routine before experimenting with changing your activities in that routine.
- Most of all, make sure you are having fun
Comment below with your lucid dream experiences. Let me know if this was helpful in "unlocking" your first lucid dream.
Dig Deeper - Additional Resources:
- "A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming" (book)
- "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" (book)
- "Lucid Dreaming: A Gateway to Inner Self" (book)
- Introduction to Lucid Dreaming (PDF)
- Wikipedia Entry on Lucid Dreaming
- "Inception" (movie) - Doesn't really have anything directly related to lucid dreaming, but just a great movie...haha. Gets me inspired to try lucid dreaming tho
- "Waking Life" (short film) - Pretty trippy movie that is about a boy who's lucid dreaming and running into all these different people who give bite sized life philosophy.
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