Lucid Dreaming Tips & Techniques

Dream Ideas

2009-04-14T03:50:00.000-07:00

This is a new section titled: Dream Ideas
The idea is things to do or try in your lucid dreams.

We will cover from the obvious to the obscure, some topics
would be: Places to go, things to do, people to meet, objects to eat, and many more.

I hope you will find something of interest and if you try any of the
Dream Ideas I hope you will post to the comments about you experiance.

The fist topic will be: Lucid Dream food.
coming soon.

Lucid Videos

2009-04-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hey, been awhile... I've been busy but I just found this last week How to trick your body into falling asleep and having a Lucid Dream 2 great videos on how to Lucid Dream, I tryed it out and the Lucid Dreams are flowing now!
This method really works amazinly well. they did there lucid research for sure, and used technology to present it well.
Give it a look, The first video does a great job of explaining why your body falls asleep and how to keep your brain awake while it does it's thing, and the second goes into Wake Initiated Lucid Dreams (WILD). I myself don't really believe in OBEs (they only talk about OBE a bit) so I just omitted that from the information and had my Lucid Dreams, this worked great for me and I'm sure it'll work for you. Self inducing lucid dreams has become an easy task now for me because of this short series.
Click here to read more...

Taking time off

2009-02-02T23:17:00.000-08:00

I'm taking the day off, and so should you.
If you been trying to lucid dream all week, or month or whatever,
maybe today is the day to take a break.

You might not be having your lucid dreams because your focusing
to much on having a lucid dream, and not giving you brain a rest
so it can process the information.

take a break, forget about it have some food some drink
and a nap and maybe i'll see you in your lucid dreams,
just remember to do a reality check...

Tips on staying / increasing lucidity

2009-02-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

When you first become lucid it's normal to get excited but it can sometimes wake you up or even make you think you've woken up only to wake up again later (false awakening).
So first things first: Try to stay calm, and if you do wake up, make sure you do a Reality Check just to make sure you aren't still dreaming.

Sometimes your in a lucid dream and it's still foggy or low detail just like a regular dream, there are lots of ways to try to fix this here are a few that have worked well for me, please comment if you have any good ones I have missed.

Rub your hands together (makes you connect with the dream more in order to replicate the action, feelings and sounds your hands make).
Spinning: Spin around like a child would when trying to get dizzy (could take you to a different location).
Shout "Increase my Lucidity NOW!".
Feel your eye lids on your face, are they closed? open them with your fingers.
If you wear glasses take them off or put them on
Touch walls and solid objects, paying attention to the detail, the feelings and the sounds.

Just a short list.
Also taking some off the shelf supplements or food and drinks have helped me and countless others, I will talk about some of them in my next post.

Waking Life DVD

2009-01-31T22:54:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen this movie then you should I just watched it again yesterday
and last night I had a lucid dream!

It's a great movie by it's self, but it really helps you think about lucid dreaming
which sometimes is all it takes.

Inside the movie they touch on: Dream signs, Reality Checks, Flying, False Awakenings, Philosophy of dreams, Dream control and tons tons more.

under 10 bucks brand new on dvd, I paid 15 for a used copy.

Interlude 2

2009-01-31T00:06:00.000-08:00

Now were starting to get more towards tips and techniques and away from basic introductory lucid dreaming.

We have covered a few ways to get your lucid dreams up and going; DILD, WBTB, WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dream) and The Increase Dream Recall in one step (a good quick read) (basically a MILD) methods.

I plan to still cover: , CAT (Cycle Adjustment Technique), LDS (Lucid Dream Supplements) and LDID (Lucid Dream Induction Devices).

As well as discuss / review lucid dreaming books and other items that I have read or used in the past and consider obligatory or useful.

Plus lots more Lucid Dreaming material.
So stick around or bookmark cause there's lots more to come and if you haven't learn't anything then you will.

Wake Initiated Lucid Dream (WILD) PART 3

2009-01-30T18:50:00.000-08:00

WILDs are best done while being fairly alert, so best not to do it at the end of a day, maybe half way through the day or if your doing a WBTB maybe you could double up and try to do a WILD and if it fails and you fall asleep you can try your DILD in your WBTB.

Firstly lie down and relax, check out the Forced Relaxation article for more info.

I put two pillows under my head as to cut down on my want and need to swallow.
Now remain passively active.

There are many things different people do to remain passively active during a WILD here a a few:

Imagine walking up or down stairs
Count your breaths
Count too or from 100
Count and sing to yourself

The last one is the one I have found works best as counting interacts with the analytical side of the brain and the singing interacts with the creative side.
I usually do it like this:
1...I'm Dreaming
2...I'm Dreaming
3...I'm Dreaming
etc..
all the way to 100 and then back down if needed.
all the time singing "I'm Dreaming" in my head after every number I count.

Soon you should pass through all the stages presented in the WILD part 2 article.
To push along sleep paralyses you can tense and relax your muscles like when
body builders flex there pectoral muscles every 10-15 seconds or so for about a minute.

Soon the imagery should become clearer or more real and you should find yourself in a dream, while fully awake.

Wake Initiated Lucid Dream (WILD) PART 2

2009-01-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

When you fall asleep while aware a lot of things happen:

You have a need or want to roll over or move... DON'T or you will have to start all over
Insatiable urge to swallow. same as above
You go into sleep paralysis and are unable to move
You see hypnagogic imagery (colors and blobs and patterns)
You hear sounds that aren't in the room (voices etc.)
You get strong or weak feelings of waves of energy through out your body
You feel a "Presence" in your room and its frightening

These things all happen every night when you sleep but you will normally sleep through them,
during a WILD you will have to expect them and or ignore them.

Don't be frightened because:

If you don't move you will be fine the feeling of uncomfortableness will pass soon.
Your body paralyzes its self every night so you don't act out your dreams in your sleep and wake yourself up.
Avoid swallowing as it will wake you up, this is a test to see if you are really asleep or not.
Be passive to the imagery, if not it will pull you into sleep mode.
These sounds are just warning signs that your getting close to dreaming while awake.
These waves are part of sleep paralysis they may seem uncomfortable but they will pass.
This has been called the Gatekeeper or Presence, some people think this is one of the final tests to see if you are asleep or not, you'll be fine just tough it out.

Why this works: Your body and brain are less connected then previously thought, if you lie still with your eyes closed and relaxed enough your body will think your brain has fallen asleep.
so your body tests the brain (with above tests) to make sure you really are asleep, and if you pass them all your body will go to sleep and engage your subconscious mind while your still conscious... A Lucid Dream.

Wake Initiated Lucid Dream (WILD) PART 1

2009-01-30T16:30:00.000-08:00

The Wake Initiated Lucid Dream (WILD).

The WILD technique has many slight form variations but the general theme is the same: Go from an awake state directly into a lucid dream state without loss of awareness.

This sounds WILD in its self, so it's no wonderthat the most sought after skill in lucid dream inductions is the WILD technique.

It is considered a very hard skill to acquire, which is only half true.
It is more difficult to a beginner than DILD or WBTB but unlike the others with a WILD you don't need to become aware, you just need to stay aware while relaxing and not fall to sleep, and not be startled awake or else you have to start over.

Why would you be startled awake? well there are things your body does to test if your brain is really asleep and other things that your usually sleeping through that could frighten you if your not expecting it.

A basic rundown of doing a WILD would be:

Get somewhat comfortable, not enough to fall asleep but just enough to relax.
Close your eyes prepare yourself for your induction.
Trick your body into thinking you brain is asleep
Maintain awareness and shift your consciousness in to your lucid dream.

I will walk you though what I do and have found works best and explain the stages you go through so you will be less likely to be surprised and wake yourself up.

coming in PART 2 of Wake Initiated Lucid Dream...

Forced Relaxation

2009-01-30T15:26:00.000-08:00

Now I know this title is an oxymoron, but If you don't have Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming I doubt you know about the 61 point relaxation technique used in it, so I have another simple relaxation technique which is somewhat trimmed down and might need to be repeated more than once.

Firstly take your hand and make a fist, now tense up the fist so it's as tensed as you can get it without pain or strain.
now relax it to the same degree you tensed it.
remember this feeling of tension and relaxation.

Instructions:

Get comfortable and relaxed.
Close your eyes
Focus your awareness on your feet
Imagine or visualize tensing, Release...
Focus your awareness on your legs, Release...
Focus your awareness on your hips and butt, Release...
Focus your awareness on your stomach and lower back, Release...
Focus your awareness on your left arm and right arm, Release...
Focus your awareness on your chest and back, Release...
Focus your awareness on your head and face, Release...

Repeat as needed starting back at the feet.

Exploring the world of Lucid Dreaming

2009-01-30T03:04:00.000-08:00

If you haven't picked up a copy of Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming
yet then do yourself a favor and get it now!

Considered by many Lucid Dreamers (and myself) as a definitive
source of lucid dreaming information.

If your serious about lucid dreaming I can not recommend this book enough.

Just take a look through some of the reviews on amazon or even the description!
And at the price it's going for it's a steal!

Increase Dream Recall in one step

2009-01-29T23:43:00.000-08:00

This simple technique could help you immensely!

This technique has been reported to; Increase dream recall dramatically as well as increasing chances of having lucid dreams.
You should have at least one lucid dream in one week if done everyday, works very well.

Simple tools needed:

Fresh new notebook.

Now all that is required is for you to do a free association writing (write whatever comes to mind, nonsensical or not) session for 5-20 min (15 is perfect) every night before sleeping.
When you wake up do another free association session for the same amount of time, if you remember a dream make sure you record it first.

Try this for a week or two and see your results, every report I have seen has had great results.
I hope you enjoy your lucidity.

WBTB (Wake Back To Bed)

2009-01-29T02:00:00.000-08:00

If DILD hasn't worked for you then this technique might do the trick.
WBTB (Wake Back To Bed) is a pretty simple technique:

You set an alarm to get up an hour earlier than normal (do this on the weekend if your employed.)
Wake up and get out of bed and think about lucid dreaming and maybe have a bite to eat, whatever just get up and hang out for an hour (no coffee) all the time thinking about lucid dreaming.
You set another alarm to wake yourself up in 3 hours so you don't sleep through the day and then you go Back to bed.

"A 60% success rate has been shown in research using this technique."
- Stephen LaBerge of The Lucidity Institute
(quote citation found on wiki)

Make sure you think about having a lucid dream, think about what you want to do, where you want to go and as much more as you can.
As you may have noticed what you think about effects your dreams.
I hope your going to be lucid dreaming by tonight.

Please comment if any of this is useful to you (or not).
thanks.

DILD via Dream Signs

2009-01-28T03:15:00.000-08:00

I'm now going to give an example of the using Dream Signs you have collected to help you have you first Lucid Dream.
First things first; You should have at least a weeks worth of dreams and the more the better.
Okay get out your Dream Journal and go through every dream entry looking for obscure or strange things that could only happen in your dreams (or for the most part).

For example; I have a dream where I am in a field and I have a metal baseball bat and there are cinder blocks on pikes all around me and I know I'm supposed to smash them and well, usually, I do.
I seem very angry and want to destroy them very much.

And another one I have I'm in a house that is haunted or something and cooking things float around in the kitchen allot. I'm frightened and excited.
My last dream is very vague as it's new and not lucid (as well) as I been having non-lucid dreams as to try to go through the whole process to get a good beginners view.

These are not the best examples for dream signs but they will work.
So some of my dream signs could be to:

Do a Reality check every time I feel angry or feel destructive.
Anytime I see a baseball bat or cinder block (even in buildings walls, be creative if possible) I do a Reality check.
Anytime I'm in a field, forest or open area I would do a Reality check.

Anytime I feel afraid or excited
Anytime I enter or leave a kitchen.
Anytime I hear or think about hunting's or ghosts, or see something related to that I would do a Reality check.

Next up the WBTB (wake back to bed) technique if you haven't had a Lucid dream yet then this could be the best way to get you lucid tonight. (coming tomorrow night ;)

Interlude

2009-01-27T08:31:00.000-08:00

One of the topics of Lucid Dreaming that interests me most is the limits of Lucid Dreams and how our minds can 'Fill in the gaps' and take us to places or times and even surprise us beyond belief giving us insight and information we thought unimaginable or unattainable.

The some what universal 'constraints' that have been noticed amongst Lucid Dreamers also interest me quite a bit, Reality checks test the stability of your reality; the fact that Dreams are unstable is amazingly thought provoking.

More to come...

Dream Induced Lucid Dream

2009-01-26T22:54:00.000-08:00

A DILD is what I have been building up to, and its simply making use of your Reality Checks.
The way to get this to work for you is to practice your Reality Checks DAILY as often as possible, and do this until it becomes habit. Once a habit is formed it could (and should) carry over into your dreams. So the idea is that at some point you will do a Reality Check (while dreaming) and you will (hopefully) have the Reality Check fail, Meaning that YOU ARE DREAMING.

If it does fail and YOU ARE DREAMING then you have complete freedom to do, well, most anything...

Dream Diary / Journal (Online Resources)

2009-01-25T20:31:00.001-08:00

Here are two Dream Diaries; one I have tryed out, and the other I have heard good things about..

Lucidipedia.com has a great website, resources and chat community aswell as all of that they have an amazing Dream Journal check it out at
http://www.lucidipedia.com/logbook/
it has so many features it even monitors your Lucid Dreaming skill level by analizing your diary and helps to encourage you to have more and progress (good for thouse who aren't good at "sticking to it"), Has a Genre rating and search for topics such as: Fun, Drama, Ecstacy, Sci-Fi, Horror etc...
really worth checking out if you are looking for a good Diary/Journal.

The other one I have never tryed personaly, as I use my hardcopy and I'm trying to switch over to Lucidipedia if anything as I have some entrys already there and could start importing all my hard copy journals by hand. If you want an alternative here is one:
http://www.abatons.org
it is less geared towards lucid dreaming but seems very nice none-the-less.

I hope this is helpful to someone, more to come either way.

Dream Diary / Journal

2009-01-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

A Dream Journal/Diary is simply a notebook (or digital counter-part) that you keep a recording of all your dreams and Dream Signs, I myself use a standard school notebook (composition book) with 152 pages (I have many filled now) and I write all my dreams on the RIGHT hand side of the page; on the LEFT side of the page I leave blank for more information that might come to me later (you know when you remember a dream half-way through the day) or for drawing images or dream signs or other things I need to draw out or remember in detail.
there are many online dream journals that serve this purpose and I will list a few of the ones I find useful in the next post, but I usually use a hardcopy, not a digital one.
I layout my Dream Journal roughly like the mock-up I made below:

Date: Always put the date on the page so you can keep track of when you had a dream.
Zzz: is the short hand I use for The time I lie down to go to sleep this doesn't have to be exact, just a rough guess.
Alarm: If I set an alarm I write that time there if not I put none.
Below that on the right I put my dream.
On the left I draw images (badly) and write out dream signs, and anything else I notice or remember after I have written down my initial dream thought/feelings/memorys.

More to come...

Remembering Dreams

2009-01-25T16:57:00.000-08:00

Remembering dreams comes easy to some and some insist that they never dream at all.
We all dream, every night around 5 or so times; but the problem with some of us is
that we can't remember our dreams, so much so that we don't even think they happen... but they do, every night.
The trick is to remember them (obviously) and the best way to do this is to write your dreams down as soon as you wake up, now if you can't remember them at all; well there are techniques to help with that as well

Close your eyes as soon as you wake up and open them. keep them shut and relaxed and try not to wake up too much.
DO NOT MOVE keep your body in the same position as it was in when you woke up, if you have shifted, well, shift back into the same position you were in when you first woke up.
Ask your self "What was I just dreaming?", "What was the last thing I remember?", "How do I feel? and why?" these questions might help you to remember your dreams or feelings about what you were just dreaming about
Do all of the above for a few minutes or until you remember a dream; or a feeling or something you can scribble down in some kind of words, It doesn't have to be a whole dream it can be a fragment or a thought or assumption, anything just as long as you can write it.

You don't need to remember a dream in it's entirety, even a feeling about a dream will get your brain in the habbit of remembering your dreams, start small if you can't remember anything and work your way up.
Do your best to remember what you can and assuring you don't fall back to sleep, and write it down on a pad of paper or in a notebook or anywhere just aslong as you can go back through it, you will want a Dream Journal/Diary at some point and that's what I will go on to next.

Dream Signs

2009-01-25T01:44:00.000-08:00

Dreams signs are what I preluded to in the last post, dream signs are basically strange things that you remember from your dreams and then make note of and associate them with dreaming. By doing this you will have your very own personalized Reality Check (RC) checklist after time; this may become more of a running commentary for some, and for others it might be a short list... or a huge list of somewhat constant Dream Signs.
Below is a short list of Dream Signs (DS) but remember they are mostly different for everyone so only use these as example:

Your in school again, even though you graduated or changed schools.
Spending time with your deceased *insert relative/friend*.
Flying (with out technology, not just comfortably via commercial airline)
Being in another time (past usually).
Being at the airport, train-station, North Pole, Mars, Atlantis, etc.
Being somewhere you have never been (and aren't currently "out of town").
Breathing underwater.
Falling.
Waking up.

There are millions more, but the ones that matter are the ones you have.
If you have any re-occurring dreams or dream elements turn them into
Dream Signs.
The best way to do this is to record ALL your dreams so you can find out
all of your dreams and dream themes in order for you to learn your Dream Signs,
and if you have trouble remembering your dreams then this is the tool...

-werole

Daily Reality Checks

2009-01-24T23:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a simple list of Reality Checks (no where complete)
these are the reality checks I use throughout the day (and sometimes in dreams)
to check to see if I'm dreaming, I use the most discrete RC's I know of as I don't want to draw too much attention (in reality or in my dreams). Doing this alone could allow you to enter a Lucid Dream tonight.

Ask yourself "Am I Dreaming" and actually think about it; ask yourself if you remember how you got here and if anything is strange (spending time with friends or relatives that died, two moons in the sky etc..) ask yourself; are you in bed still? what were you doing before this?
Look at your hands; (do this and the first example at the same time) do you have the correct amount of fingers and thumbs? are they your hands? anything strange?
Look at a printed page or digital display and read it; (maybe a few words of a page) then look away and re-read it. print tends to change in a dream or the pages might be blank.
Read your watch; same as above read it memorize it and look away, if the hands move or the display changes then chances are good that you are dreaming.

Through out my day I look at my hands (and ask am I dreaming) everytime I; go through a doorway, go to the bathroom, think somethings strange or notice strange things and anytime I realize I was just daydreaming.

Now Daydreaming is very aptly named. as you are in roughly the same state during both dreaming and daydreaming, take advantage of this by Reality Checking every time you realize you just "zoned out" and I assure you that your Lucidity in general will go up.

These reality checks are great and they could make you well on your way to Lucid Dreams but soon you will realize your best reality checks are the ones YOU make.

More to come...

DILD and Reality Checks intro

2009-01-24T22:51:00.000-08:00

Lucid Dreaming is a dream in which you are aware that you are in a dream.

There are many ways to have a Lucid Dream, but the most common is the Dream Induced Lucid Dream (DILD); It is said that almost everyone will have one Lucid Dream at some point in there lifetime.
DILD's usually happen from doing a Reality Check (RC), a Reality Check is used because dreams
are not as stable as reality and by doing some pre-determined actions in a dream state can mostly alert you as to whether or not you are dreaming.

Reality Checks:
In my next post I will list a few Reality Checks that I have found work best for me.

-werole

Quick rundown

2009-01-24T22:21:00.000-08:00

Hello,

Welcome to Lucid Dream Tips.
I have been Lucid Dreaming for a few years now and I have come
across quite a few tips and tricks; as well a quite a few interesting
information obtained by others and myself from actual lucid dreams.

I will be posting information as often as I can so please check back often.
Topis will include: Lucid Dreams, Dream Induction Techniques, Dream Initiated Lucid Dreams (DILD), Reality Checks, Dream Recall, Wake Initiated Lucid Dreams (WILD), Dream Journals / Diary, Dream Signs, and lots more...

-werole