Monday, August 29, 2011

A Walkthrough to Lucid Dreaming Part 2

Image from the movie Inception

In my previous post “A Walkthrough to Lucid Dreaming Part 1”, I shared one of my best lucid dream experiences and how I started recognizing if I’m dreaming or not.

Recognizing that you are dreaming is very important in having a lucid dream. Because if you don’t know that you are just dreaming, you won’t have the chance to control it since you think that it is the reality.

I searched the internet to gather information on how I can start controlling my own dreams. There are dozens to look on to, but I checked them all one by one. There are lots of methods and techniques that I only remembered a few. I didn't learned how to lucid dream instantly right after reading a lot about it. I only keep one thing in mind. And that’s to recognize that I’m dreaming while my dream is in progress.


My first attempt to control my dream is a failure and very scary. I have this dream of walking in the middle of the street. It was dark and spooky. I was chilled by the cold wind. Suddenly I realize it was just a dream but I tried to relax. My dream keeps on going; it didn’t stop even though I know I was just dreaming. Maybe because I refuse to wake up unlike before that whenever I recognize I was dreaming, I tell myself to wake-up.
This time, I tried to control my dream by thinking that I’m going to fly. I felt that I’m floating slowly above the ground. I’m started to float in the thin air but after floating for just a second, my dream got distorted and I suddenly woke up. I get back to sleep and start thinking about the dream I just had. In just a moment, I was dreaming the same dream again. But this time, I didn’t recognize that it was a dream and it feels so real. It was a little bit scary because I saw black figures and silhouettes of unknown people along the street. I woke up and saw a black silhouette beside my bed. But thank God I woke up again. I did a reality check by pinching myself and it hurts, so I presume that I wake up already. My very first attempt to control my dream turns to be a nightmare.

Anyway, let alone my first experience about lucid dreaming and I’ll share you my experimental methods on how I became a constant lucid dreamer.

Remember your dreams 
Have a piece of paper or a journal beside you before going to sleep. Every time you got awaken because of your dreams, you can write it down immediately. Write every detail you remembered in your dream. It’s ok if you don’t remember them all, what’s important is that you have the idea of what you had just dream of. You can also write as soon as you wake up in the morning. The next time you go to bed, take a look on your list of dreams and start thinking them. There is a greater chance that you’ll dream of them again, and when you do, you might probably recognize that you are dreaming while your dream is on progress.

Have a relax state of mind & body 
I've noticed that every time I meditate before sleeping, I’m capable of remembering 3-4 of my dreams. Being physically and mentally relaxed is important in inducing WILD dreams. WILD stands for wake induced lucid dreams. This kind of dreams produced the most vivid kind of lucid dreams possible. It enables you to have conscious dreams whenever you want.
Before sleeping, meditate by either performing yoga exercise or relaxation techniques. If any of these meditation sounds unfamiliar to you, try listening to self-hypnosis that puts you to deeper relaxation. Try listening to Deep Relaxation.

Have a biphasic or polyphasic sleep
Biphasic sleep means having six hours major sleep episodes and a twenty-minute power nap. Polyphasic sleep refers to the practice of sleeping multiple times in a 24-hour period. These sleeping patterns can induce you to dream mode more often since there are a lots of REM (rapid eye movement) phases in each nap or sleep you have. REM can boost your dream recall and can induced and maintain lucidity.
   
Become Imaginative 
You can hone your imagination skills by either watching or reading fantasy stories. In my case, I became more imaginative by playing online games. Sometimes I dream of the places I saw on the game I’m playing and I started lucid dreaming. Floating islands and ancient ruins are some of the extraordinary places I’ve been to in my dream.

Visualize more often before sleeping
Visualization helps in performing a good lucid dream. It enhances our mind to develop creative scenery in our dreams. The more we visualize, the more vivid our dream becomes.
Before sleeping, visualize yourself lying down your bed. Visualize your room set-up. You can also visualize yourself getting off the bed and traveling outside your house.

Perform reality checks
This explains why I look at my index finger in my dream I just shared you in my previous post. Some reality checks could be:
  • Looking at hands if there is an extra or missing finger
  • Looking at the mirror if your reflection looks normal or turn upside down
  • Jumping to know if you’re going to float or not.
  • Pushing the wall- determining if you can push it or not, if you can then you’re dreaming
  • Covering your nose and mouth to check if you can still breathe after doing it
  • Performing mathematical computations-can you solve the math properly?
My reality check is counting the number of lines in my index finger. I always do this every time I woke up suddenly. I also made it a habit in broad daylight so that even in my dreams, I was still doing it. You can also combine two or more reality checks to determine if you are really dreaming. 

Control your dream
You may start controlling your dreams right after recognizing that you are dreaming while your dream is on progress (Right after performing a reality check). The most common thing for anyone to do is to try to fly. All you have to do is to think that you will fly and believe that you will. It’s ok if you fail in the first try, which happened to me too. Other beginner’s method is to change the scenery. This is why visualization is very important in lucid dreaming. Start altering the environment with your thoughts. Remember, THINK & BELIEVE.
By continues practice, you’ll become adept in having a lucid dream. You can also try different methods used by other lucid dreamers-it’s up to you which suits you best and where you find yourself comfortable. Knowing how to control your dream is a matter of believing in yourself. The more you believe in yourself the more you are able to control your dream and manifest your thought to something according to your will.

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9 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow sounds deep! But impressive... :D

Jael said...

Thanks jamie! =)

LauraLeia said...

Whoa, that's some research you did there! O_O Normally I just sleep, and seldom dream. But when I do, it's usually scary/creepy. >< Some I remember, some I forget straightaway after waking up. But for sure, I dream more when I'm having polyphasic sleep. XD

Jael said...

Having a polyphasic sleep can give you a lot of REM periods, which causes one to dream. I also practiced these sleeping pattern up until now, that's and it helps a lot not only in having a lucid dream but also to manage my time. Thanks LauraLeia for your very sensible comment. =)

Balqis DBJ said...

This is really interesting! One needs lots of practice to have a lucid dream. Thank you for all the tips. :)

Jael said...

@Balqis: You're welcome. I will surely post more of my lucid dreaming experience in the near future. So be sure to stay connected. =) Btw, Thanks for the comment. I appreciate it so much. :D

Charles Smith said...

how to lucid dream in awareness of the fact that you are dreaming. This awareness can range from very faint recognition of the fact (which is often too brief and nebulous to be considered truly lucid) to something as momentous as a broadening of awareness beyond what has ever been experienced even in waking life.

Obat Impotensi Lemah Syahwat said...

good posting about A Walkthrough to Lucid Dreaming Part 2

App Developers Gurgaon said...

I certainly agree to some points that you have discussed on this post. I appreciate that you have shared some reliable tips on this review.

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