Lucid Dreaming - A Complete Guide

When most of us were younger, we called it "controlling our dreams". Now, most of us know it for it's true name: Lucid Dreaming.
Lucid Dreaming means to become aware that you are dreaming during a dream, and control that dream.
To some, they can become aware of and control nearly every dream. To others, it is hit and miss. And still to some, they just can't.
This guide will combine numerous sources to explain to you what Lucid Dreaming is, how you can achieve it, and what you can do with it.

Buckle up, we're in for a wild ride!



Part 1 - What is Lucid Dreaming?

Wikipedia defines a lucid dream as the following:

A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper is aware that he or she is dreaming. When the dreamer is lucid, he or she can actively participate in and often manipulate the imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can seem extremely real and vivid depending on a person's level of self-awareness during the lucid dream.

LD4all defines a lucid dream as the following:

A lucid - or conscious dream is a dream where you know you are dreaming. You are aware of the fact that everything around you is a dream and made up by your own mind.

By these two sources we can deduce the following about Lucid Dreams:
*it invovles one being self-aware of the dream
*after one becomes self-aware, they can sometimes control the dream/parts of the dream.

But how do you begin to have Lucid Dreams? The next part of the guide will explain this to you.




Part 2 - How to Lucid Dream
As I mentioned earlier, it can be very difficult for some people to have lucid dreams, while it can be very easy for others. It all depends on the individual.
Nevertheless, I will provide you with information that works for everyone if they put enough effort into it. They will be given in "steps"; each "step" can work on it's own, and do not need the combination of other "steps", although it is highly recommended that you try as many as possible; even at the same time.

STEP 1: Mnemonic Induced Lucid Dream (MILD)
MILD is one way to induce a Lucid Dream. Follow these steps to achieve lucidity:
a.) Wake up from a dream.
b.) Once awake, try to remember as many details from the dream as possible.
c.) Set your intent on becoming lucid in your next dream that night.
d.) As you drift back to sleep, try to imagine yourself becoming aware in your previous dream (if you can't remember your previous dream, focus on one you CAN remember).
d.)2.) if your mind starts to wander, gently bring it back to the previous dream.
If all works according to plan, you should enter a lucid dream!
For more information, read this about MILD.


STEP 2: Wake Induced Lucid Dream (WILD)
WILD is one of my favorite techniques. WILD, in essence, is stepping from being awake directly into being in a dream. It occurs during the hypnagogic state of sleep, the barrier between sleeping and being awake. It can be observed as anything from colored dots to flashes of color or complete images. As you go deeper into this state, the images you see will become more vivid. You may even hear noises too. Follow these steps to make it work:
a.) Relax. Think calming thoughts. One nifty trick is to follow the rhythm of your breathing (breathe in, breathe out. breathe in, breathe out.)
b.) If you can keep these images from the Hypnagogic State clear, you can began to feel like you can literally step into a dream. With this feeling, you can grab an object before, or look closely at an object before you.
c.) This will pull you into a dream.
For more about this, read this about WILD.


STEP 3: Wake-Back-to-Bed Method (WBTB)
This one has worked favorably for me as well. It invovles waking up and actually leaving your bed in the middle of the night. Once you do this, focus on something entirely lucid dream related. Follow these steps to use this method:
a.) Set your alarm clock to wake you up a few hours early (I know this is hard for some people, but try it).
b.) Get out of bed and read something/do something lucid dream related. Read a book about lucid dreams, go on www.ld4all.com and read/add to people's posting. Do whatever you like.
c.) When you think that lucid dreams is ALL you can think of, return to bed.
d.) If you perform these properly, this should pull you into a lucid dream.
For more information, read this about WBTB.

STEP 4: Reality Checks (RC)
This method is the most widely used method to achieve lucidity. Basically, it involves checking yourself throughout the day to see if you're either dreaming, or awake. If you prolong this enough, it will become a habit and will likely carry on into your dreams. Here's how to do it:
a.) Look at a clock. Read the time. Look away for a few seconds, and look back to ensure it is the same time. In a dream, the time either will have changed, or it won't even be numbers anymore.
b.) Read a sign. Look away. Read it again. Ensure that the letters are the same.
c.) Pinch yourself; feel the pain.
d.) Everytime you do these, ask yourself if you are dreaming.
e.) With any luck, you'll end up doing one of these in your dreams and becoming self aware.
Reality Check: Read this twice!
For more information, read this about RC.

Those are all of the basic methods of achieving lucidity. Next, I will talk about what to do once you have achieved it.














[edit on 25-8-2009 by gatorboi117]

continued from Original Post

Part 3 - the Possibilities with Lucid Dreaming

Now that you have unlocked the secret of Lucid Dreaming, it is time to utilize this.

Mankind have often wondered about dreams. Some believe that it is a portal to another world. Others belive that it is your subconscience working the day's problems out. Others believe it can be contact with God.
What do you believe you can do with your dreams?
People have conquered fears by facing them down in dreams.
People have escaped from a harsh life in their dreams, keeping them from losing it in real life.
People have sought insight and wisdom from their selves, from higher beings, and from what is commonly known as a "dream guide", (a charcacter that reappears in most of your lucid dreams, answering questions about who you are and what you will become).
People have simply tried what they cannot do in real life.
People have been known to be able to pick-up where they left-off in the previosu night's dream, and can create entire "dreamscapes", characters, and worlds.

Do you want to fly like a super hero? Save the world? Punch that guy at work in the face? Live out a sexual fantasy? Walk on a warm, sunny beach? All of these can be attained in lucid dreams.



Part 4 - Tips
Here are some tips to help you in your quest for lucidity:
1.) Keep a dream journal. This will help with your dream recall. Basically, as soon as you wake up, write/type down your dream. If you can't do that IMMEDIATLY, replay your dream over in your head before you even leave your bed.
2.) Watch for common dream themes. Every time the end of summer rolls around, I have dreams about school. If you've noticed a trend in your dreams, recognize it now so that you'll see it and remember in your dreams later.
3.) Chocolate. I know this sounds weird, but chocolate is reported to have chemicals in it that induce dreams. Trust me, it works for me. Simply have a bar of chocolate before bed, and hit the sack. You'll be surprised what happens.


I hope this guide inspires you to try to have lucid dreams. If at first you don't succeed, keep trying! I've had VERY few in my life simply because I stopped trying for a long period of time. Never give up! This website: www.ld4all.com... has helped my quest for lucidity very much. If you join, look up Dreaming Of You, that's my screen-name on there.
Keep trying and never give up the quest for lucidness! Once you can control your dreams, you can control at least one part of your life, and no one can ever take it away!

- Logan



[edit on 25-8-2009 by gatorboi117]

I find music can make a huge difference whether or not I have a lucid dream. I usually end up with sleep paralysis when I do this...

reply to post by gatorboi117


Thanks for this.

I shall try all the methods and see if I can get one to work.

Have only had a few lucid dreams in my life (without trying).

Know I know what to do..

reply to post by Anonymous Avatar


You're right, music CAN influence your dreams. If you focus on the music enough, you can use it to go into a dream. I wonder, though, if the dream fades when the music does...

Haha its pretty much a hit or miss for me but almost every dream i remember was lucid, its pretty sweet honestly. Once you know the possibilities of lucid dreaming and what you can do its quite fun, for example in one dream the feds stole my stash... =( it filled the whole room, but i recently found out that you can do whatever you want when you lucid dream so i turned around and sort of wished it to reappear. Sure enough it did, im sure you know how the rest of it went xD

Ceese works increadibly well tried it last night worked like a charm choclate + cheese = ? anyone wanna try this???

I had my first lucid dream about 2 years ago. I had never heard about it though, so when I woke up I thought it was a bit weird. But I really wanted to train myself because I liked it. Sadly, the same day I thought I was going crazy because I thought I could control my dreams so I let it go...

A couple of months after I saw a thread about lucid dreaming and was happy to learn it did exist. But I didn't have the motivation anymore to train myself.

From now on that will change. My motivation is back and I will take control of my dreams.

Thanks for posting this.

A trick for me is to look for signs within the dream. Usually its a clue or context that triggers me to set the thoughts in motion....one time i was dreaming i was hanging on the ledge of a wall, inching forward little by little with my hands. i then asked myself, I wonder if i'll have marks on my hands when i wake up...! oh wait im dreaming, thats right! and so the dream began to be mine for control. the more you can do this, the more you can apply it to more of your dreams. you start to be more conscious of choices you make. do i wanna enter that door or not? do i wanna talk to this person or not? should i change the way i run, because i dont seem to escape who's chasing me? its all about strengthening the brain with each dream. learn. it is your playground.

I will try this. I have only had one lucid dream in my life time. Usually im half awake when I dream but i still dont know im dreaming. I wake up everytime I toss to a different side and then enter the dream about 3 seconds later. But i will try this. i hope it works.

Reading numbers or letters works, because as said above, they do move around and shift when your dreaming. Another tip to try is looking down at your hands. They will morph or look odd as well. Once I looked down at my hands in a dream, and realized that all my fingers were the same length, including the thumb! Kinda freaky looking!

reply to post by State of Mind


That would be freaky

Although i wouldn't really think i was dreaming, id more or less think that i took shrooms, which is odd because i'd never touch the stuff.

Tried it last night- didn't work. :[

These are very good tips. I basically do a mishmash of all these each night. Wake back to bed method should be the easiest way to have your first lucid dream. But I think the MILD method can begin the moment you lie down to go to bed, it doesn't have to come after a dream. Though it is most likely you wont go lucid until the late hours of sleep, the early morning hours. This is because each REM cycle increases in duration as the night goes on.

One of the best things I did for myself was to stop trying so hard to go lucid outright, and wait until the late part of sleep (really what would be 2 hours or less before waking up for the day) to really make an effort towards lucidity. Your last REM cycle is where the best results will come.

Getting to the point of sleep paralysis, is the easiest way to go lucid, or astral project, they both seem very close as does normal dreams.
I 'm sure some of you that have been in a AP or full lucid have fallen into a dream or vice-versa.

With the sleep paralysis, the thing is not to fight it for those that don't know, people fight to get out of it, from fear, but if you relax into it, you should go in to the vibratory state next, that would be like the ocean waves crashing all around you, or electricty, the thing is to have no fear, from there you can go full lucid or have a AP.

One of the easy ways to cause the paralysis, is to conpletely relax your body, but is like work, you can do this with the tensing and relaxing your musles from head to toe, starting with toes and keep adding body parts to tense and relax, until your one final tense and relax with whole body including face.

Another thing is to have patence, sometimes I will not move for hours but am wide awake, I am trying to get to some of the deeper levels, or higher levels, such as the casual or mental planes, only because I was told to and am trying to understand them.
Not to brag but it is very easy for me to become lucid, sometimes control is question, and very strange things happen, sometimes I amost have scared myself but that is not allowed, I don't have Teacher on this world but seem to have them in the others.
It would be nice if could ask questions in this world, and it seems the more involved with this I seem to become more distant from this world.

I don't believe in some of the things people says, but there is much more to all of this than what most are aware.

It's easy to manipulate dream matter when full lucid, but in the physical plane it gets down to elbow grease, so it seems.

I myself try to stay away from that dream sex, but then I trying to retain my vital fluids also.

I do take all this very serious, and am praying all the time, don't want Creator to go old school on me.

I have been trying this forever it started when I was young I still remember the first dream it started with a real event and then I realized I am dreaming about this but that part didnt happen I am dreaming then a teradactle swooped in from the fog and took me away, I knew I was in control and ended up flying through the fog I can still get that feeling today,
another Lucid dream I can remember happened after I learned how to scuba dive at a young age I had endless dreams of breathing underwater or not needing to breath and just exploring.

Thanks for starting this thread it got me thinking about my control again and I am going to focus on this everyday!

oh yeah, the movie "Vanilla Sky" and the play "Abre los ojos" will blow your mind.

I still cant lucid dream! I have been trying for many nights now and it wont work. :[

Originally posted by LuckyMe777
I still cant lucid dream! I have been trying for many nights now and it wont work. :[

Hey Lucky

If you keep trying you will, but you need to think postive, not by saying it won't but that it will.

This is from another thread, but I'm copying it to this thread, if you do what this guy says, in these 8 you-tubes you will Have lucid dream, or AP, don't freak out, as the you- tube guy will tell you, don't worry.
Go to last post in Ricontrols thread, from yesterday 07/26/2010, watch the 8 you tube Videos


"If anyone is interested Ripcontrol did a really good thread on this as directly related subject matter.


www.abovetopsecret.com...
Here is link to Ripcontrol's thread
if you read this will take a while, but will really knock your socks off.
The last post Ripcontrol posted in his thread is very good and to the point, it's in 8 parts all 10 minutes each, the first part I got bored, but after that bam, I couldn't stop until I watched the whole 79 minutes.
This is the basic Astral Projection method, and is right on.

'Skip' Atwater

Born Frederick Holmes Atwater. Lt. Atwater was the first operations officer of the Ft. Meade operational remote viewing unit. He came to Ft. Meade in 1977 while still in his late twenties. While with the Systems Exploitation Detachment (SED), which was under control of the office of the assistant chief of staff for intelligence (ACSI), he suggested to the head of the SED, Col. Robert Keenan, that the Army develop a small, experimental group of psychics. (Schnabel, Jim, Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies, Dell, 1997, pg 11-3)


Captain Skip Atwater was the founder of the US Army's remote viewing unit. Starting in 1977 with the program's first code name, "Gondola Wish"

The Hemi Synch process--
This is the way to leave body for AP, follow his method and you will leave."


[edit on 27-7-2010 by googolplex]

Hey I got a question.

I'm currently doing the MILD Technique + I do loads of reality checks throughout the day. Most of the time I can remember 3-4 dreams every night. I'm not gonna do the WILD Technique because that involves sleep paralysis. But if I try the wake-back to bed technique, do I get sleep paralysis from that (SP while awake)? I know you get sleep paralysis every night but when you're doing WILD it's a terryfing experience. So do you get SP from wake-back to bed?

Hey I got a question.

I'm currently doing the MILD Technique + I do loads of reality checks throughout the day. Most of the time I can remember 3-4 dreams every night. I'm not gonna do the WILD Technique because that involves sleep paralysis. But if I try the wake-back to bed technique, do I get sleep paralysis from that (SP while awake)? I know you get sleep paralysis every night but when you're doing WILD it's a terryfing experience. So do you get SP from wake-back to bed?