How To Become A Lucid Dreamer

You’ve heard about lucid dreaming and you’re sure that it is something you want to try.However, you are at a loss as to how one becomes a lucid dreamer.

It can be helpful to know why you would like to be a lucid dreamer. What do you have to gain from the process? In order to find the profit in lucid dreaming we should begin with the normal dream process.

When you go to sleep, you get into bed, close your eyes for a certain length of time, and either dream or just see black for a few hours and then wake up! It isn’t very interesting now is it?

This kind of sleep allows us to get the rest we need to go about our activities the following day. Have you ever wondered, though, what it would be like if you could actually take control of your dreams and dictate their events?

What if you could be an active instead of passive participant in your dreams? What if you could take control of your dream instead of being controlled by it? Someone who has managed to become a lucid dreamer can do all of this – they are not bound by anything except for their imagination.

So if you want to become a lucid dreamer how do you do it? There are actually two ways. The first way is having a dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD), which is where the dreamer is in a dream and then realizes that they are, restoring their sense of consciousness within the dream.

The second way is having a wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD); where the dreamer goes from being awake, to being asleep with no change in consciousness. In other words, the dreamer enters their dream as if it were a door, rather than just “waking up” in a dream.

So what are the actual methods used to induce these two types of lucid dream experiences?

Dream Recall

One of the best ways to begin learning to become a lucid dreamer is by practicing dream recall. This is simply the ability to remember your dreams. When you remember your dreams and learn more about the commonalities which can be observed in your dreams, it is easier to recognize a dream and start to take control over the direction of it.

The best way to remember your dreams is of course to write them down. Keep a pen and pad by the bed and immediately upon waking from a dream write it down. The reason you want to write it immediately upon waking is so you do not forget any part of the dream. Dreams tend to fade from our conscious mind rather quickly.

Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD)

Developed by renowned lucid dream researcher Dr. Stephen LaBerge, this technique works by telling yourself to recognize a certain object or situation when you see it in your dreams. When you see this object, it triggers the realization that you are in a dreaming, allowing you to begin lucid dreaming.

Wake-Back-to-Bed (WBTB)

This technique is fairly simple. You set your alarm for just a few hours after you go to bed. When you wake, don’t just go back to sleep. Instead, stay awake for about an hour, then return to sleep.

According to research, this technique has about a 60% success rate. What has happened is you were awakened during an intense time of REM sleep. Your brain will not be completely aware that you are awake. Many times since REM stages tend to be longer, the episodes of lucid dreaming will be as well.

Cycle Adjustment Technique

Developed by Daniel Love, in this technique you first acclimate yourself to waking 90 minutes earlier than usual. Then alternate waking early with waking at your usual time. When you wake up at the later (regular) time, your body will begin to stir 90 minutes earlier, giving you a much better chance at achieving a state of lucid dreaming, at least during this 90 minutes.

Wake-initiation of Lucid Dreams (WILD)

As described earlier wake initiated lucid dreams are matter of keeping your mind conscious as you fall asleep. This may be the most fun way to achieve lucid dream state.Imagine if you will that, your dreams are like a movie you are planning to watch. You get comfortable, turn on the television set, (sleep), first you have a dark screen (eyes closed) and now it is a matter of getting through the previews to the movie.

You can also use this technique with tactics like counting, chanting or imagining yourself climbing stairs as you go to sleep. This method of achieving lucid dreaming is best done in the afternoon or other times when you are not terribly tired.

Technologies like strobe lights and dreaming masks can also help you to become a lucid dreamer.

Listening to binaural beat frequencies through a head set is the simplest and most consistent way to create a lucid dream.

These work by synchronizing the two hemispheres of the brain and have the effect of almost instantaneously changing your brainwaves to the REM frequency needed for a lucid dream to occur.

Combined with the self hypnosis sessions and affirmations to prepare your subconscious mind beforehand, becoming a lucid dreamer is something that everyone can now experience!