A lot of people get really excited the first time they lucid dream, and that wakes them up, so try to stay calm. My experience was actually the opposite: I got so scared of what was happening that I urged myself, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" And it was really quite difficult to wake up!
Anyway, stay calm. Try to control something. Once I realised I was dreaming when I was in my bathroom. I willed the clock there to disappear, and it did! I tried to will it back calmly, but it wouldn't happen. Apparently, my dreams don't want to give me control.
One more thing: Don't try to think of your physical body or physical self. If you wonder, "What position am I sleeping in?" or something similar, you will most likely wake up. In my most pleasant and free lucid dream, I couldn't undo myself from a certain position as I was floating into the air above the wreckage below me (after I drove a car through the brick walls of a mall). I got obsessed with the question, "Am I sleeping in this silly position?" and ended up waking myself up. (And, no, I wasn't sleeping in that position.)
There are other methods of lucid dreaming. One other method that worked for me quite accidentally was the Wake-Initiated Lucid Dreams (WILD) technique. I read the best way to go about this is to go to sleep for a few hours, wake up for an hour, and then go back to sleep. I actually only woke up for a second and then the dream melted into view before my eyes: A room of gold columns and finery. How nice! Of course, then I was accused of "stealing" someone's boyfriend and was chased by a mob...(I became really lucid later in the dream...).
Don't be discouraged if it doesn't work for you right away. Some people can do it naturally without a problem and do it all the time but don't realise it has a name or anything, while others can't seem to do it at all. It took me about four years to have a really lucid dream that I could control with ease, -- or at least that I remember, -- and I'm still not very good when it comes to controlling my dreams. My subconscious and conscious minds are always battling, it seems. I'll often have a moment where I want to change something in my dream, and I do because I realise it's a dream, but then the dream goes on without much or any lucidity. It's actually a strange thing, where I know I have control for hardly a second, and then I no longer think of it that way.
Feel free to diverge from these three steps, if you find something else is working better for you. But these are the steps that, as I've said before, have worked best and most consistently for me.
Showing posts with label dreaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dreaming. Show all posts
13 May 2011
003 How to Lucid Dream: Knowing You're Dreaming
I find dream checks are the best method of knowing you're dreaming. Dream checks are habits you need to get into to see if you're dreaming. It sounds silly: You should know you're not in a dream, right? The problem is, when you're dreaming, you think you're not dreaming and you have a tendency to not to question that. So, you need to get into the habit of checking if your experience is a dream, and then you will perform your dream check in your dream: If something is amiss, you can say, "Hey! This is a dream!"
My dream checks consist of checking a clock and trying to fly.
Checking a clock: It can be any clock, which I use, but I prefer analog clocks. All you do is look at the clock, look away from it, and then look back at it. Nothing should be unusual if you're awake, -- the second hand might be different, or maybe it is no longer 3:37, but now 3:38. My first lucid dream used this method: I looked at my watch, it was normal. I looked away, and then back at it: It had several small clock faces bunched up near the edge of the watch face. So, I knew I was dreaming!
Trying to fly: This doesn't mean jumping out of trees or anything. All you have to do, really, is tell yourself to fly and sort of tighten your muscles and try to get your body to physically float up. You can do this pretty much anywhere undetected, because you don't need to make any great effort to move yourself to fly. If you're dreaming, you will most likely fly without much effort.
There are many other dream checks, such as, instead of a clock, using words of some kind. This is why patterns could help you: If you start noticing certain patterns while dreaming, you could realise you're dreaming. Or, if you know you can read text sometimes in your dream, then using words to see if you're dreaming may not be the best option for you.
The best thing is to note when things are strange. If something strange happens, you can say, "Is this a dream?" (or even if something strange isn't happening), so that when you're dreaming you will ask the same question, but the answer may be quite different!
I had a dream where I walked out of my room, saw two of my dog Kyra and said, "That's weird, this must be a dream!" And it was. Unfortunately, my dream started itself all over again.
Another time, I saw my grandmother driving my mum's convertible, and I said, "Wait a minute!" That time I became incredibly lucid, could control my dream intuitively (much more difficult than it sounds for me), and decided it would be best to drive my car through several brick walls. (Don't ask.)
The cliché method is slapping or pinching yourself, or asking someone else to do it: This method won't necessarily work. You can actually feel pain and pleasure in your dreams (you know, -- wet dreams are called "wet" for a reason). This is also probably not a very good thing to get into the habit of doing.
My dream checks consist of checking a clock and trying to fly.
Checking a clock: It can be any clock, which I use, but I prefer analog clocks. All you do is look at the clock, look away from it, and then look back at it. Nothing should be unusual if you're awake, -- the second hand might be different, or maybe it is no longer 3:37, but now 3:38. My first lucid dream used this method: I looked at my watch, it was normal. I looked away, and then back at it: It had several small clock faces bunched up near the edge of the watch face. So, I knew I was dreaming!
Trying to fly: This doesn't mean jumping out of trees or anything. All you have to do, really, is tell yourself to fly and sort of tighten your muscles and try to get your body to physically float up. You can do this pretty much anywhere undetected, because you don't need to make any great effort to move yourself to fly. If you're dreaming, you will most likely fly without much effort.
There are many other dream checks, such as, instead of a clock, using words of some kind. This is why patterns could help you: If you start noticing certain patterns while dreaming, you could realise you're dreaming. Or, if you know you can read text sometimes in your dream, then using words to see if you're dreaming may not be the best option for you.
The best thing is to note when things are strange. If something strange happens, you can say, "Is this a dream?" (or even if something strange isn't happening), so that when you're dreaming you will ask the same question, but the answer may be quite different!
I had a dream where I walked out of my room, saw two of my dog Kyra and said, "That's weird, this must be a dream!" And it was. Unfortunately, my dream started itself all over again.
Another time, I saw my grandmother driving my mum's convertible, and I said, "Wait a minute!" That time I became incredibly lucid, could control my dream intuitively (much more difficult than it sounds for me), and decided it would be best to drive my car through several brick walls. (Don't ask.)
The cliché method is slapping or pinching yourself, or asking someone else to do it: This method won't necessarily work. You can actually feel pain and pleasure in your dreams (you know, -- wet dreams are called "wet" for a reason). This is also probably not a very good thing to get into the habit of doing.
002 How to Lucid Dream: Remembering Your Dreams
The best way to remember your dreams is to keep a dream journal. When I read this, I thought it would be stupid. I thought, "Why does it have to take so much time?! I want to do it tonight!" But be patient, my young padawan. Not only has this method of remembering dreams been mentioned over and over again, but it is the very best method.
A dream journal shows your intentions of remembering dreams and works your mind to try and remember and continue to remember details of your dreams. Normally, your dream slips away very quickly upon waking, but by keeping a dream journal you will train your mind to remember them better.
It's most helpful to keep a notebook or some paper and a writing utensil by your bed at night. This way, even if you wake up in the middle of the night, you can jot down some things. Try to write it out as fully as possible: You may think that, "Pink napkin, smelly cat, magnet, CD, dinosaur, wallet," will mean something to you when you wake up, but that's not always the case. And, it may be difficult, but try to write legibly as well.
Try to write down everything you remember upon waking if you can. It's best to do this first thing after waking up, so you can get as much information as you possibly can. Feel free to draw pictures or maps. Don't hold back, just get everything you can remember down on that paper. You can go and type it out later if you want to keep them neat and organised.
You should have about five dreams a night, the last one being the one you usually remember. (I used to be able to recall every dream I had a night.) Try to remember as many as possible. Usually, it will just happen after you get into trying to remember your dreams. If you don't remember your dreams, who's to say you did or did not lucid dream? And what fun is lucid dreaming if you can't remember it?
Some people also add that, before going to sleep, you should consciously tell your mind, "I will remember my dreams," or something similar. Some people say you should say it a few times, others say keep saying it 'til you fall asleep. If I remember to do this, I use the former.
Try to take note of different patterns: You don't have to write them down if you don't want to, but you can. Examples:
You can also compare your dreams to others'. Examples:
Remember, these are dreams, not reality! You can have a dream where you're Harry potter or The Little Mermaid, you can have a dream where one person is actually many people you know, you can have a dream where Voldemort had a traumatising experience with glitter in his childhood and is therefore terrified of it. -- Yes, these all happened for me. You can be a dog, you can be the opposite sex, you can be a god, -- anything is possible in a dream, so don't hesitate to write it down. I find it's best to be as accurate and honest as possible. "This may have happened before that..." "Somewhere in my dream, this happened..." etc. I don't think it's important try and make it work in a logical way: It's a dream.
As for intimate or other personal experiences, just remember that you don't need to share these with anyone. -- You can. Go for it if you want! But just be honest with yourself about it.
A dream journal shows your intentions of remembering dreams and works your mind to try and remember and continue to remember details of your dreams. Normally, your dream slips away very quickly upon waking, but by keeping a dream journal you will train your mind to remember them better.
It's most helpful to keep a notebook or some paper and a writing utensil by your bed at night. This way, even if you wake up in the middle of the night, you can jot down some things. Try to write it out as fully as possible: You may think that, "Pink napkin, smelly cat, magnet, CD, dinosaur, wallet," will mean something to you when you wake up, but that's not always the case. And, it may be difficult, but try to write legibly as well.
Try to write down everything you remember upon waking if you can. It's best to do this first thing after waking up, so you can get as much information as you possibly can. Feel free to draw pictures or maps. Don't hold back, just get everything you can remember down on that paper. You can go and type it out later if you want to keep them neat and organised.
You should have about five dreams a night, the last one being the one you usually remember. (I used to be able to recall every dream I had a night.) Try to remember as many as possible. Usually, it will just happen after you get into trying to remember your dreams. If you don't remember your dreams, who's to say you did or did not lucid dream? And what fun is lucid dreaming if you can't remember it?
Some people also add that, before going to sleep, you should consciously tell your mind, "I will remember my dreams," or something similar. Some people say you should say it a few times, others say keep saying it 'til you fall asleep. If I remember to do this, I use the former.
Try to take note of different patterns: You don't have to write them down if you don't want to, but you can. Examples:
- I'm usually trying to save the world from some evil or another in my dreams;
- I'm usually running away from or to something (usually from a lesser bad guy (a "baddie," as I call them) to take down the bigger baddie);
- people I love will die or betray me;
- I often have to try and do what's right, instead of simply what I want; etc.
You can also compare your dreams to others'. Examples:
- I can often read text in my dreams, but many people say they can't;
- I often have third-person dreams, but most people say they have first-person dreams;
- my dreams are almost always full colour, but some people pretty much always have black and white dreams; etc.
Remember, these are dreams, not reality! You can have a dream where you're Harry potter or The Little Mermaid, you can have a dream where one person is actually many people you know, you can have a dream where Voldemort had a traumatising experience with glitter in his childhood and is therefore terrified of it. -- Yes, these all happened for me. You can be a dog, you can be the opposite sex, you can be a god, -- anything is possible in a dream, so don't hesitate to write it down. I find it's best to be as accurate and honest as possible. "This may have happened before that..." "Somewhere in my dream, this happened..." etc. I don't think it's important try and make it work in a logical way: It's a dream.
As for intimate or other personal experiences, just remember that you don't need to share these with anyone. -- You can. Go for it if you want! But just be honest with yourself about it.
001 How to Lucid Dream: Introduction
I got into dreaming back in my sophomore year of high school, and I've been wanting to make a post about how to lucid dream for a while. What got me into dreams in the first place was this one very vivid dream I had sophomore year. Before that, I could hardly ever remember my dreams at all, and I didn't really care much: It was more of a "that's-interesting,-but-who-cares?" and a "yeah,-it-was-weird,-but-that's-nice." And then I had this full-on, full-detail, from-beginning-to-end adventure with my friend and the kid I had a crush on to save the word from an evil corporation run by giant gold fish. It was intense.
I got really into dreaming and found out about lucid dreaming. The problem was I didn't get much sleep (about four hours a night), I fell directly into REM sleep, and I started having a hard time remembering if some things had been a dream or reality. And, since I had nightmares every night, this isn't really the most pleasant thing, especially when trying to get through high school. So, I stopped.
But now I'm trying to get back into it, and I want to share the best steps, -- in my opinion, -- for having a lucid dream.
Firstly, what is a lucid dream? A lucid dream is a dream where you know you're dreaming. And, if you know you're dreaming, you could potentially control your dream, which is why most people want to lucid dream.
The second thing you should know is that there are two kinds of sleep: One is called NREM for "non-rapid eye movement," and the other is REM for "rapid-eye movement." They are called this because your eyes move around more during REM, whereas they're usually quite still during NREM. Pretty basic, yes?
Usually when you fall asleep you fall into NREM sleep. During this phase, you don't have full dreams, but usually clips or flashes of things. It's during REM sleep that you have your vivid dreams. There are several phases of NREM and REM sleep a night (for a regular eight hours). Usually it starts off slowly, maybe ten minutes for your first phase of REM sleep, and then fifteen the next, etc. This is important to know for some methods of attempting to lucid dream, but not for mine.
Because you can find a tonne of information on lucid dreaming out there, I am sharing my method of lucid dreaming, what has worked for me over and over again. I'm probably biased, but I think it's the best and most consistent method.
I got really into dreaming and found out about lucid dreaming. The problem was I didn't get much sleep (about four hours a night), I fell directly into REM sleep, and I started having a hard time remembering if some things had been a dream or reality. And, since I had nightmares every night, this isn't really the most pleasant thing, especially when trying to get through high school. So, I stopped.
But now I'm trying to get back into it, and I want to share the best steps, -- in my opinion, -- for having a lucid dream.
Firstly, what is a lucid dream? A lucid dream is a dream where you know you're dreaming. And, if you know you're dreaming, you could potentially control your dream, which is why most people want to lucid dream.
The second thing you should know is that there are two kinds of sleep: One is called NREM for "non-rapid eye movement," and the other is REM for "rapid-eye movement." They are called this because your eyes move around more during REM, whereas they're usually quite still during NREM. Pretty basic, yes?
Usually when you fall asleep you fall into NREM sleep. During this phase, you don't have full dreams, but usually clips or flashes of things. It's during REM sleep that you have your vivid dreams. There are several phases of NREM and REM sleep a night (for a regular eight hours). Usually it starts off slowly, maybe ten minutes for your first phase of REM sleep, and then fifteen the next, etc. This is important to know for some methods of attempting to lucid dream, but not for mine.
Because you can find a tonne of information on lucid dreaming out there, I am sharing my method of lucid dreaming, what has worked for me over and over again. I'm probably biased, but I think it's the best and most consistent method.
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