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In Dream Initiated Lucid Dreams, the moment you become lucid is the moment you suddenly realize you are dreaming. In the movies, fictional characters often realize they're dreaming and make funny comments about it but otherwise allow the dream to continue of it's own accord and nothing changes. In real life, the effect is quite different. Saying (and knowing) "This is a dream!" results in a rush of clarity of thought. Your surroundings will zoom into focus and become much more vivid. You will have far greater awareness of your body and it is more like a waking experience, seeing the dream through your own eyes and having the opportunity to move freely at will. A lucid dream involves your conscious brain. So it will look and feel a lot like waking life, where the conscious brain is in charge. The more experience you gain of conscious dreaming, the better you will become at observing and controlling your dream awareness. You can focus on distant landscapes, feel the texture of the grass underfoot, and taste any food you can imagine. However, the features of conscious dreams can spontaneously change just like a normal dream. For instance, you may manifest a group of bear cubs which later change into a pile of boxes. Of course, you can easily call the bear cubs back again. But don't be surprised if you notice these subtle changes which seem beyond your control. This is the subconscious mind showing its influence in what is, after all, a subconsciously generated landscape. Just remember to reassert your conscious will every now and then by reminding yourself "I'm dreaming - and none of this is real." How can I stay lucid for longer?If your lucid dream is coming to an end, you will notice your senses fading away - starting with vision and finishing with touch. It can happen within seconds so you need to act fast to stay lucid or you'll wake up. Alternatively, you may just lose your clarity of thought and slip back into a regular dream state which is blurry and guides itself. I recommend you increase your awareness with these Tips for Prolonging Lucidity the moment you recognize that you're dreaming. Often, beginners find their lucid dreams last only a few seconds before they get too excited and accidentally wake themselves up. With these techniques you can prolong your conscious dreams for up to an hour. My favorite way to enhance my lucidity and ground myself into the dream is to rub my hands together, which stimulates the conscious brain and distracts me from thinking about my physical body lying in bed. I also say out loud "I'm dreaming. I'm lucid."
How can I change the scenery?Making the dream scene morph in front of your eyes can sometimes difficult - mainly because you simply don't expect it to happen. This is typical of the results beginners complain about because they lack the anticipated control of the dreamworld. If you are having problems with dream control (and I should stress that not everyone does have such issues) the best way to change things is to work WITH your subconscious dream logic. For instance, to change the scenery:
As you can see, there are many creative solutions to issues of dream control. The most important thing to remember is that your conscious expectation plays a major role. If you question your own ability to manifest new scenes, then your abilities will falter. But if you remain confidence and learn from your experiences, you'll soon find that absolutely anything is possible inside a conscious dream.
How can I have flying dreams?Learning how to fly in lucid dreams is something we all want to master first. However, it's not like you've had any practice in real life, so the concept can be a little difficult on the conscious dreaming mind. While some people take to the sky like Superman, others can get stuck in power lines, bump into buildings, or waver as if there is wobbly dream gravity acting against them (which of course there isn't!) Think of the movie The Matrix, when Morpheus asks Neo how he beat him in a virtual reality fight. Was it because he was stronger, faster, or fitter in this simulated world? No! It was because he truly believed he was better. It's the same concept in dreams. Take a look at this article on How to Have Lucid Flying Dreams, which explains the rules of flying in dreams and gives you a three-step flight training program to work with.
Are lucid dreams tiring?The short answer for 99% of people is no. You dream for around 100 minutes every night, broken down into multiple different dreams occurring in different phases of sleep. The average proficient lucid dreamer can expect to do it maybe 2-4 times a week, with each session lasting 10-40 minutes. Most people don't miss that sleep - even if it were deemed to be worthless (which it isn't). Indeed, a lucid dream can often leave you on a natural high for the rest of the day, which gives you more mental and physical energy. For a very small fraction of people, lucid dreaming occurs every night. They can feel engulfed by their conscious dreams and unable to sleep deeply and properly the whole night. This can leave them feeling sleep deprived and is a very real sleep disorder once it begins to impact on their normal daily life. That's not to say lucid dreaming is a sleep disorder - anything in excess can have profound effects on the mind and body. People who complain of this condition have usually been lucid dreaming their whole lives and should seek expert advice from a sleep specialist.
Can I get stuck in a lucid dream?If you are imagining getting stuck in a lucid dream that way a child gets stuck in a painting in a horror movie, then no, that's science fiction! Often it's the opposite problem: people find it difficult to stay in their dream, and just about all mine end before I'm done with them. Waking yourself up from a dream is usually easy and something many lucid dreamers develop early on when they encounter nightmares. Simply open and shut your dream eyes in quick succession (which triggers your real eyes to open) and shout out to yourself "Wake up!" I have always been able to wake up from nightmares this way. Some people report being stuck in lucid nightmares or false awakenings against their will but in my experience this is no worse than being in a regular nightmare. Eventually you either wake up naturally or you have the consciousness required to think "Hang on... this is all a dream. I don't have to deal with any of this!"
Can I talk to my subconscious in a lucid dream?In dreams, we have easy access to our subconscious mind. It is right there, setting up the imagery and guiding the plot. So once you become lucid, you can personify your subconscious by talking to a dream figure and seeking all the information you like from your subconscious inner self. You may be surprised by the answers you get! This is a whole other application for conscious dreaming and I highly recommend looking into it. Start with the article 10 Things to Ask Your Lucid Self.
If I die in a dream will I die in reality?No, this is a myth. I have not found any action in a lucid dream to have a negative physical impact on my body. I once died in a dream of epic proportions. I was standing on the roof of one of the Twin Towers in New York. I watched in the distance as a tsunami wave headed towards the city. I was soon immersed in water, knocked off the building and drowned as I fell. I then "woke up" in the dream to find myself on an alien planet, being watched by a group of my alien peers. They had big heads and slender limbs, and waited for me while my memory of them returned. Apparently my whole time on Earth was just part of a larger lifecycle. It was a great dream. And it certainly didn't kill me in real life.
What are false awakenings?In false awakenings, you believe you have woken up but are in fact still asleep. It's a very vivid experience and shares some intriguing characteristics with lucid dreams. Some people get dressed, have breakfast and leave the house in their false awakenings. Most of these actions are performed on auto-pilot so it's not really a fun or controllable dream experience. However the realism can be shocking in hindsight - which is why people don't often recognize false awakenings while they occur. Lucid dreamers tend to have more false awakenings than other people, because this is a state in which consciousness clashes with the dream world. It is an odd side effect but not at all dangerous and can actually lead to the creation of more conscious dreams. This occurrence is often used in movies to reveal their character's fears coming true - and was used to the extreme in the comedy movie Groundhog Day. The best way to work with false awakenings is to check your reality every time you wake up and if your impossible action comes true... it means you're still dreaming ;)
Do lucid dream machines work?Lucid dream machines like the NovaDreamer, REM Dreamer or DreamMask provide external lucidity triggers which are incorporated into your dream. It is up to you to recognize the cue and in doing so, realize that you are dreaming. They do not guarantee effortless conscious dreams - nothing can, unless you are a natural - but used correctly they can certainly increase your self-awareness in dreams and help bring your consciousness into the dreamscape. To learn more, read my reviews of popular lucid dream machines.
Does brainwave entrainment help you lucid dream?Brainwave entrainment is a scientifically proven method of entering meditative states at will. It's based on precision audio technology like binaural beats and isochronic tones and hypnotizes the brain into a deeply relaxed state. I believe entrainment is good for lucid dreaming on two levels. Firstly it helps you to attain deeply meditative states on demand, which improves your self-awareness, visualization skills and ability to stay conscious throughout altered states. Secondly, it enhances your ability to enter the Mind Awake / Body Asleep state (used in Wake Induced Lucid Dreams) which is a powerful way of having lucid dreams and out of body experiences on demand. It focuses your mind on staying consciously aware while putting your body into a sleep and dream state. For more information see my brainwave entrainment review.
Should I use dream herbs?Dream herbs are very good at temporarily improving your dream recall, as well as giving you very intense and meaningful dreams the same night. Sometimes these are lucid dreams but typically they are just very vivid dreams. I find certain dream herbs create interesting dream experiences and are worth experimenting with just for fun and to understand more about the dreaming mind. Beginners may want to try the popular herb like Calea Zacatechichi in capsule form.
Can I use lucid dreams to induce OBEs?Some people believe out of body experiences (OBEs) are literal, physical projections of your awareness outside of your body. It may also be called astral projection. There is no denying the experience is somewhat similar to a lucid dream and there is nothing stopping you from inducing an OBE from within a conscious dream state. You may also find that while practicing lucid dreaming techniques, you have some other unexplained experiences which may feel like you're moving out of body. In reality, this may just be a transition from your physical body into an imaginary dream body - a bit like a false awakening, which begins with you waking up in bed. To learn more about the connection between lucid dreaming and OBEs / astral projection, take a look at Paranormal Activity and my Interview with Erin Pavlina.
What's Your Question?Remember, if you still can't find the answer you're looking for, feel free to post your question in detail in our Lucid Dreaming Forum - Questions for Rebecca. The most compelling topics will be published on this page for all to benefit.
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