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Home > Lucid Dreaming Techniques > How to Have Lucid Dreams
How To Have Lucid Dreams
This section lists practical instructions on how to have lucid dreams; including my favorite lucid dreaming techniques for beginners. Enjoy...
What is Lucid Dreaming?
 Before you begin, it's important to understand exactly what lucid dreaming is. Though the media portray lucid dreams as sex, instant gratification, and total dream control, the reality is a little different. Three main points:
1) Lucid dreaming is the ability to "wake up" in your dreams. It is the conscious stirring inside an unconscious dream world. So the most significant thing about lucidity is conscious dreams are perceived like real life. They are much more tangible, vivid, and real. It's the difference between watching a movie with a bad TV signal - and actually starring in it.
2) Lucidity stems from the realization that you are dreaming, which makes you become self-aware. This gives you the full mental faculty to consider the dream in context, while it unfolds. You immediately have the power to control your own movements in the dream, as this is normal in waking life.
3) With a little experience, you can accomplish all kinds of feats, like flying through space, creating new worlds, dreaming up new characters, and having sex with anyone you want. But dream control is only the start. There are many more things to do in a lucid dream that will blow your mind, and many allow the dream itself to deliver the subconscious goods to you. |
How to Have Lucid Dreams
The majority of lucid dreaming techniques train your mind to these ends:
- Increasing your dream intensity and dream recall
- Learning how to recognize when you're in the dream state
- Becoming more self-aware in your daily life through meditation
- Advancing your visualization skills to enter dreams consciously
- Subconsciously programming your dream content with reality checks
Having frequent lucid dreams can become a way of life. You'll be more successful in your efforts if you incorporate these techniques into your everyday life. After all, your dreams reflect your thoughts, experiences and emotions from the day before. This is why simply thinking about lucid dreaming can produce lucid dreams the same night.
There is no guaranteed method of having a lucid dream tonight. However, there are many tried-and-tested techniques which can certainly increase your chances.
To get into the habit of practicing lucid dreaming techniques, begin with these simple exercises today. This could produce your first spontaneous lucid dream tonight :)
Five Simple Ways to Have Lucid Dreams
Here are five very basic techniques to get you started today:
- Spend an hour learning about lucid dreaming today - the internet is a great source of information, as is this website with more than 200 articles.
- Every time you open a door or go up/down stairs do a reality check - basically ask yourself if you are awake or dreaming right now?
- Imagine what you will do in your first lucid dream - spend 10 minutes with your eyes closed and visualize in vivid detail your first lucid dream.
- Incubate a lucid dream as you fall asleep tonight - recall your imagined dream as you fall asleep, while saying to yourself "I will lucid dream tonight".
- Repeat the last step every time you wake up in the night - especially if it's in the later stages of sleep (after more than 4-5 hours of sleep).
That's it! These basic lucid dreaming techniques are very simple but powerful ways to spontaneously have a lucid dream.
But don't just read this and forget about it - actually do it!
Once you've spent a day committing to all five techniques, it's time to move on to some advanced Lucid Dreaming Techniques.
What's The Best Way to Have Lucid Dreams?
I've been lucid dreaming since I was 14 years old and I've spent the last three years researching and writing about lucid dream control for this website.
Understandably, I get a lot of emails and forum questions from beginners, and by far the most common one goes like this:
"What's the BEST way to have lucid dreams? I don't have time to read up about everything - I just want to do the one technique that works best!" |
Of course, if there was just one ultimate method, by which every single person in the world could learn how to have lucid dreams - don't you think I'd share it? :)
The truth is there are lots of methods, and usually they produce lucid dreams by combination. One person might have a lucid dream simply by dream journaling and doing lots of profound reality checks. Another might achieve lucidity by meditation and incubation. Another yet might just adjust their sleep cycles.
There is no "best way" to have lucid dreams that applies to everyone.
But I know that isn't a very satisfying answer, even if it is undoubtedly true.
So I'm going to share the best way for me to have lucid dreams. Take what you want from this - try it yourself, by all means - but don't ignore other techniques because they may deliver spectacular results for you personally.
My Best Lucid Dreaming Techniques
Over the years I have found that these techniques, both individually and in combination, allow me to have the most lucid dreams:
1) Night-Time Meditation - There is a wonderful half-sleep state I like to go and explore, just before falling asleep or just after waking up. I lie perfectly still and relaxed and allow my mind to drift. I hold on to that thin strand of consciousness while allowing my body to fall asleep. Not only is this deeply relaxing, it creates all kinds of interesting phenomena, like out-of-body sensations, memory impressions, auditory hallucinations and emerging dream scenes. This method is great for increasing your self-awareness, visualization skills, and walking your mind directly into a lucid dream.
To start your own night-time meditation I recommend a combination of listening to brainwave entrainment while performing the WILD technique.
2) Dream Journaling - If there were one technique that is absolutely essential to frequent lucid dreaming, it is to keep a dream journal. Spend 10 minutes writing down your dreams each morning and you will find not only your dream recall and intensity increase, but you will have many more moments of spontaneous self-awareness in the dream world. This conscious awareness is what causes you to have a lucid dream.
Dream journaling is pretty self-explanatory but if you want to learn some of the finer details, read my article on dream journals.
3) Incubation - There are many ways to incubate a lucid dream. They can range from simply thinking "I will have a lucid dream tonight" to spending quality time meditating before bed and repeating affirmations like "The next scene will be a dream". Another way to incubate a lucid dream is to day dream about what you might do... by visualizing a powerful wish in detail, your subconscious mind may play back this same scenario in your dreams tonight. The memory of having done it all before may well trigger your self-awareness and lucidity on the spot.
Incubation can be done by simply reading and thinking about lucid dreaming, or you can follow a step-by-step method like the MILD technique. |
For beginners, this may all seem quite overwhelming. I've shown you quite a few different techniques - but where to start? If you're in this boat, check out my dedicated course called The Lucid Dreaming Fast Track.
This is a structured course for beginners who want to learn how to have lucid dreams as soon as possible. Rather than skipping between techniques online, you'll learn a systematic approach for priming your brain for lucidity each night. My promise is to give you your first lucid dream within 30 days or your money back. Learn more about this practical lucidity course here.
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