How To Stay Lucid in Dreams

Learn how to stay lucid in dreams - it's easy when you know how! I have listed a number of dream stabilizing techniques below, based on Dr Stephen LaBerge's lucid dreaming experiments and my own personal experience.

My first lucid dreams were very short - we're talking seconds. I would realize I was dreaming and run around telling everyone about it! This is a common pattern for newbie lucid dreamers. You have to keep a cool head, or you'll just wake up.

So next time you become lucid, perform these dream stabilizing techniques to increase your self awareness and better control your dreams.

My Longest Lucid Dream

As soon as I learnt how to stay lucid, my dream world exploded (not literally!) My conscious awareness of the dreamscape let me to go to new places and perform impossible acts never experienced before. I had incredibly vivid conscious dreams that lasted a lot longer.

Learn these techniques to prolong lucid dreams. Next time you realize you are dreaming, it should be a habit to do two reality checks, then perform as many of these exercises as you can remember. It only takes a few seconds and dramatically improves the outcome of your lucid dream.

How To Stay Lucid: FAQ

Can you have lucid dreams that guide themselves?

Yes, although you will probably want to control your dream given the amount of freedom you now have. It is also possible to be self-aware and control some elements of the dream, while allowing your subconscious mind to control others. Conversely, you can control your dreams without having very much awareness or clarity going on. It is always better to increase the intensity of the dream before you begin (by saying "clarity now!")

I fell backwards and woke up in bed - what happened?

In his experiments, Stephen LaBerge found that falling backwards with the aim of relaxing could often bring on false awakenings. If you expect to wake up in bed, there is a chance that you will do just that. Of course, it is only a dream bed and you are still inside a very lucid dream! Make it a habit to perform a reality check every time you wake up and you can turn your false awakenings into brilliant lucid dreams.

I span around and woke up in bed - what happened?

Another false awakening! Spinning around can feel so vivid and real that you may imagine your arm hit the bed. But as LaBerge teaches us, it is only your dream arm hitting a dream bed. Perform a reality check to get your lucid dream going again - this time from your bedroom.

I span around and the dream went black - what happened?

LaBerge also discovered that spinning often causes a new dreamscene to emerge. However if the dream goes black, you can create another one by simply visualizing the next scene in front of you.

When this happened to me, I found myself a bodyless point of consciousness, floating in space! I improvised the next dream scene by picturing it on a piece of movie reel in the darkness. Then I zoomed in until I was in the movie, and the scene became 3D around me. You may surprise yourself with unusual ways to overcome problems in your lucid state of awareness. Once you understand the rules of the dreamworld you will see the possibilities are endless.

For more tips on how to stay lucid, how to change the dream scene and how to have flying dreams, see the lucid dreaming FAQ.

Related articles

What is Lucid Dreaming?

Introduction to Lucid Dreaming

Easy Lucid Dreaming

Benefits of Lucid Dreaming

How To Have Lucid Dreams

How To Stay Lucid

How To Control Your Dreams

Levels of Lucidity

How to Become Lucid in Dreams

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