This is a guide for beginning training in controlling and bringing on lucid dreams.
This article was written by Evologist and I have gotten his permission to post this article.
This article was written by Evologist and I have gotten his permission to post this article.
Lucid Dreaming
_1 - What is Lucid Dreaming?
Lucid Dreaming is a particular type of dream-state, in which you control the dream. To the general person, dreams are in black and white (our memories colour them in when we wake up). Lucid Dreams are ALWAYS in full colour from the moment they begin. This is the easiest and fastest way to identify a Lucid state.
In a Lucid Dream state, you can "swim" through the layers of dream awareness, moving from location to location, scene to scene. You can manipulate and control the dreaming world. Ask questions that receive solid definable answers. It takes many years to have strong control of a Lucid state, so don't expect the secrets of the universe on your first try.
2 - How do I do it?
There are three key elements to prepare for, and experience, a Lucid Dream state. These will be explained below, in detail. Years of experience have taught me that although there are numerous additional methods you can use to accelerate the process, these are the three most essential (and the minimal required effort) to achieve the Dream.
a) Create a Foci.
A Foci is an item of power, or an image of some significance to you. It is a very personal thing, and not something I can suggest for you. A Foci is required to create a Lucid Dream state, as it will be your "trigger" to begin a Lucid event.
During a regular dream, our minds use repeated imagery to achieve familiar dreams. Flight. Swimming underwater. Falling. Spiders and bats also feature heavily in normal sleeping patterns. The trick to initiating a Lucid Dream, is to 'insert' your Foci into your dream. When you see the Foci, it triggers you into recognizing the dream for what it is. Essentially, this 'wakes you up' inside your own dream.
A practiced Lucid Dreamer will be able to go one step further. They can remove the Foci, and simply trigger a lucid event by inserting colour into their dreams. A flash of red (strangely, red is the easiest colour to insert into a dream) will trigger a Lucid State.
b) Meditation.
Meditating is an essential tool for Lucid Dreaming. The act of meditation allows you to focus your thoughts on a particular task or item (your foci) and lets you 'recall' that item during a sleep phase.
Meditation should always be done before a Lucid Dream attempt. Allow your meditation to put you to sleep, the transition is usually far more effective than meditating, then stopping, then sleeping. This way, your Foci is still an active thought as you enter a sleep phase.
c) Visualisation.
Once you have entered sleep and identified your Foci, the first few moments of Lucid Dreaming can be so visually and sensorally overwhelming, it actually wakes you up. Don't be discouraged by this, it means you succeeded. The trick to Lucid Dreams is to visualize what you want inside the dream.
When you notice your Foci, the first (and easiest) thing to do, is to visualize yourself underwater. This underwater area is your 'regular' dream state. Then, slowly surface from the water onto land. This 'land' is your Lucid state. Do this as slow (or fast) as you like, remembering that in a Lucid State, your brain switches on - so external influences CAN wake you up. Your ears can hear conversations in the real world. Your nose can smell again. Most importantly, your body can move. So be alone in the bed, because you can accidentally lash out and punch your partner.
3 - Why should I do it?
Lucid Dreaming is an extremely useful method of directly communicating with your own subconscious mind. It allows for an ongoing dialogue within the dream, and can lead to rapid healing of mental instabilities. For example:
Three years ago, I lost an object extremely dear to me. It wasn't lost to the point of being taken away, it was misplaced. I worked myself into a fit trying to find where I had put the item. That evening I forced a Lucid Dream state, and asked myself where I put it. Next morning, I woke up, went straight to the spot, and found my missing item.
Might not seem like much when you look at it in text form, but that's one HECK of a powerful tool. Being able to directly ask your subconscious mind questions that would otherwise only be answered in cryptic, hard-to-understand dream imagery.
Gurus and esoteric teachers also speak of "Controlled dreams" as a method of uncovering external truths. Google some key phrases: "Akashic Recall", "Past-Life Regressive Therapy" and "Ascending Consciousness" are three I can think of right off the bat, that use Lucid Dreaming and Controlled Dreaming to achieve their goals.
This guide WILL be expanded, I just wanted to get the basics down first.
Cam/Evo
Lucid Dreaming is a particular type of dream-state, in which you control the dream. To the general person, dreams are in black and white (our memories colour them in when we wake up). Lucid Dreams are ALWAYS in full colour from the moment they begin. This is the easiest and fastest way to identify a Lucid state.
In a Lucid Dream state, you can "swim" through the layers of dream awareness, moving from location to location, scene to scene. You can manipulate and control the dreaming world. Ask questions that receive solid definable answers. It takes many years to have strong control of a Lucid state, so don't expect the secrets of the universe on your first try.
2 - How do I do it?
There are three key elements to prepare for, and experience, a Lucid Dream state. These will be explained below, in detail. Years of experience have taught me that although there are numerous additional methods you can use to accelerate the process, these are the three most essential (and the minimal required effort) to achieve the Dream.
a) Create a Foci.
A Foci is an item of power, or an image of some significance to you. It is a very personal thing, and not something I can suggest for you. A Foci is required to create a Lucid Dream state, as it will be your "trigger" to begin a Lucid event.
During a regular dream, our minds use repeated imagery to achieve familiar dreams. Flight. Swimming underwater. Falling. Spiders and bats also feature heavily in normal sleeping patterns. The trick to initiating a Lucid Dream, is to 'insert' your Foci into your dream. When you see the Foci, it triggers you into recognizing the dream for what it is. Essentially, this 'wakes you up' inside your own dream.
A practiced Lucid Dreamer will be able to go one step further. They can remove the Foci, and simply trigger a lucid event by inserting colour into their dreams. A flash of red (strangely, red is the easiest colour to insert into a dream) will trigger a Lucid State.
b) Meditation.
Meditating is an essential tool for Lucid Dreaming. The act of meditation allows you to focus your thoughts on a particular task or item (your foci) and lets you 'recall' that item during a sleep phase.
Meditation should always be done before a Lucid Dream attempt. Allow your meditation to put you to sleep, the transition is usually far more effective than meditating, then stopping, then sleeping. This way, your Foci is still an active thought as you enter a sleep phase.
c) Visualisation.
Once you have entered sleep and identified your Foci, the first few moments of Lucid Dreaming can be so visually and sensorally overwhelming, it actually wakes you up. Don't be discouraged by this, it means you succeeded. The trick to Lucid Dreams is to visualize what you want inside the dream.
When you notice your Foci, the first (and easiest) thing to do, is to visualize yourself underwater. This underwater area is your 'regular' dream state. Then, slowly surface from the water onto land. This 'land' is your Lucid state. Do this as slow (or fast) as you like, remembering that in a Lucid State, your brain switches on - so external influences CAN wake you up. Your ears can hear conversations in the real world. Your nose can smell again. Most importantly, your body can move. So be alone in the bed, because you can accidentally lash out and punch your partner.
3 - Why should I do it?
Lucid Dreaming is an extremely useful method of directly communicating with your own subconscious mind. It allows for an ongoing dialogue within the dream, and can lead to rapid healing of mental instabilities. For example:
Three years ago, I lost an object extremely dear to me. It wasn't lost to the point of being taken away, it was misplaced. I worked myself into a fit trying to find where I had put the item. That evening I forced a Lucid Dream state, and asked myself where I put it. Next morning, I woke up, went straight to the spot, and found my missing item.
Might not seem like much when you look at it in text form, but that's one HECK of a powerful tool. Being able to directly ask your subconscious mind questions that would otherwise only be answered in cryptic, hard-to-understand dream imagery.
Gurus and esoteric teachers also speak of "Controlled dreams" as a method of uncovering external truths. Google some key phrases: "Akashic Recall", "Past-Life Regressive Therapy" and "Ascending Consciousness" are three I can think of right off the bat, that use Lucid Dreaming and Controlled Dreaming to achieve their goals.
This guide WILL be expanded, I just wanted to get the basics down first.
Cam/Evo