'Lucid Dreaming' - FAQ 2

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How can I have a Lucid Dream?
Does Reality Testing (RT) work?
How does the Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD) technique work?
How does the Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream (WILD) technique work?
How does the Nap Induced Lucid Dream (NILD) technique work?
Do Lucid Dreaming induction devices work?
Can Drugs and Herbs induce lucidity?
How can I prevent premature awakening?
How can I change Lucid Dream scenery?
Different types of Lucid Dreams
How can I have Shared Lucid Dreams?
How can I have Precognitive Lucid Dreams?
How can I use Dreams to affect physical matter?
How can I have Shared Precognitive Lucid Dreams?
How can I stop real time in my Lucid Dreams?
How can I leave my body from a Lucid Dream?

How can I have a Lucid Dream?

Dreams are mostly a reflection of your thoughts throughout your day. Therefore, thinking of Dreams during the day, asking yourself if you are Dreaming and wanting to have Lucid Dreams when you are awake might be helpful. The wishes might reflect themselves in your dreams. Remaining conscious until you start dreaming is one way. And seeing cues in your dream that reminds you that it is a dream is also helpful. There are also drugs and herbs that cause you to be more consciously aware, and therefore also increase the possibility for a Lucid Dream.

Does Reality Testing (RT) work?

Yes. Reality testing is simply asking yourself if you are dreaming. Finding that out isn't always easy in a dream. But usually is it quite obvious if you are dreaming or not. You may find yourself on an unfamiliar place or doing/seeing something that will not likely happen in reality. But sometimes can you find yourself in your bed, and everything looks as it is suppose to be. You can try to read something, look away, and see if the same text is there the second time you read it. You can try changing colors on something or try to fly. If you have a digital clock you can try looking at it, looking away and looking at it again. If something unusual is happening are you probably dreaming. But every reality test may fail; if that happens, don't try jumping out the window or something else that might harm you. Reality tests should be done every hour throughout the day, or more frequently. And especially before going to sleep and if you wake up in the middle of the night. Waking up after 5-6 hours, do some reality tests and go to sleep again may help.

How does the Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD) technique work?

It works by setting your intention to remember to recognize you are dreaming. Stephen LaBerge from the Lucidity Institute developed it while he was trying to increase his Lucid Dreams frequency. A good approach is waking up after 5-6 hours, remember a dream and tell yourself: "Next time I'm dreaming, I will remember I'm dreaming." You need to really mean it. Concentrate on this thought only, if you find yourself thinking on something else, just let the thought go and return to your intention. Also try to imagine that you are back in the dream, but this time you recognize that you are dreaming. Look for unusual things that suggest you are dreaming and tell yourself: "I must be dreaming!" Do this with all the unusual things you see from the dream you remember. Continue with this until you fall asleep.

How does the Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream (WILD) technique work?

It works by remaining conscious until you start dreaming. The Lucidity Institute also first presented this technique, but it is not easy if you don't have a clue what to do. But it is quite easy and effective if you do it right. Again, you need to sleep 5-6 hours before trying this. This is because you don't dream much the first 5 hours, it is mostly non-REM sleep. You enter REM a lot faster after 5-6 hours with sleep, and you don't go down to stage 3 and 4 as you do when you first go to bed.

The problem is remaining conscious until your dream start. Many strange things may happen when you remain conscious until the REM-period starts. The first thing you see may be Hypnagogic Imagery. It is a pattern, like the one you see when you press your fingers against your closed eyelids. Remember that this is hypnotic, and getting too involved with them will induce unconsciousness. Just let it flow, don't get too involved and don't suppress them either. The next thing you may experience is Hypnagogic Sounds. It may be as real as the sounds you hear in waking reality, but they are nothing to be afraid of. It is a good indicator that the REM-period is right around the corner. Just don't let these sounds scare you. If you start to experience Abstract Thoughts, the logical part of your brain is falling asleep and you are not far from losing consciousness. You might be lying in bed thinking about a friend and the hypnagogic imagery starts and you see your friend's face. You have also worked a stressful day so you start to remember stocking the shelves at work. Soon you are thinking that you are putting cans of food on the shelves with pictures of your friend on them.

All this might seems perfectly normal. But it's not logical. What you need to do is try thinking logical, do some math or start over again. Tactile Sensations can feel like you are paralyzed and high-voltage painless electricity is jolting through your body. You may experience these vibrations and find yourself leaving your body or having a Lucid Dream. But remember that all this is nothing to fear, it happens every night, whether you are consciously aware of it or not. Now that you know what you might experience when trying to consciously enter the REM-period there is another problem we need to conquer. And that is losing consciousness, a very common problem that is rather easy to overcome. A good solution is Caffeine and Theobromine. Caffeine is found in Coffee, Tea, Coke, Chocolate and Pills. Theobromine is found in Chocolate. The problem is finding out how much Caffeine works for you. A lot of experimenting has to be conducted.

A good place to start is with 0.5 liter Coke, a cup of Coffee or Tea, half a pill or a chocolate bar. If you take too much you will not start to dream at all, if you take too little you may lose consciousness. But drinking 0.5 liter Coke is not very wise, it has a very disturbing side effect. You should also stay up for about 30-60 minutes after waking up after 5-6 hours with sleep. This because it takes about 45 minutes before the Caffeine reaches its full effect. You might experience a DILD if you go to sleep right after some caffeine intake. Another way for keeping the mind active and to bring on the hypnagogic images is to imagine doing something that involves imagery, audible and tactile sensations. Like driving a car, imagine the car and the road, hear the engine-/radio and feel the steering wheel. Remain focused on what you are doing and avoid thinking about anything else than driving that car. Or you might include smell and taste, by imagine a good meal. This works best in combination with NILD, it takes far more time when done as you go to sleep for the first time. But done with NILD can you find yourself in a dream in as little as 5-10 minutes. Or you can try lying on a 30 degree incline mattress (can be done by stuffing pillows under it). And keep the room as dark as possible. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing, the slower the better. Breath with your stomach, making an "Ahhh" sound at the end of the exhalation, that will help your mind to stay awake while your body fall asleep.

With time may you notice mild vibrations and that your body becomes paralyzed. At that point will you notice that you no longer have any problem concentrating, everything becomes clear. In this state stop concentrating on your breathing and just be aware of your surroundings. If you begin to loose consciousness, start paying attention to any light in your vision or any internal sound. Some time later will you begin to experience the second vibrations. It will quickly rush throughout your body, sometimes accompanied by various sounds and then end. This is your astral body being released. Dream images will start to form. You can go with these images and enter a Lucid Dream, or you might just sit up and walk away from your physical body.

How does the Nap Induced Lucid Dream (NILD) technique work?

It works by staying up for an hour or two after waking up before going to bed again. This has proven to be a very effective technique, maybe the most effective around. Sleep for about 5-6 hours, then stay awake for about 1-2 hours and go back to sleep. Maybe doing some MILD a few minutes before falling asleep. Or try staying conscious (WILD) until the dream starts. This will in many cases cause you to have Lucid Dreams. Also a good way to have vivid dreams, or will at least make dream recall easier. Staying awake for 90 minutes seems to work better than 60 minutes, though 60 minutes seems to be effective enough in most cases. And sleeping for 6 hours seems to be better than 5 hours, though it might be harder to fall asleep again. The time spent awake should be used thinking or reading about dream related issues.

Do Lucid Dreaming induction devices work?

Yes. Your senses never rest. So what your senses pick up are usually incorporated into your dream, unless it wakes you up. You dream most vividly in the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage. A device can detect these eye movements and give you cues. Cues mostly used are flashing lights and sound. The problem with these cues is that they don't tell you that you are dreaming. They usually appear in the dream as something else, like carlights. You have to train yourself to recognize these cues as dreamsigns that are trying to tell you that you are dreaming. But these devices are good at causing false awakening, you will think that the device woke you up and try to get to sleep again. But you should do a reality test if this happen, because false awakening is quite normal. Once your reality test fails, you can continue doing whatever you want in the dream. An even more effective approach are verbal cues. Like hearing "This is a Dream" or "You are dreaming" in your dream is a good cue to make you do a reality test. The only problem is that such a solution is very expensive if you want to buy a device like this.

If you are a deep sleeper that don't see cues, then try getting some caffeine into your system before going to bed or after 5-6 hours. If you are a light sleeper, so that the cues wake you up, then cut every use of caffeine and chocolate containing products. And try to increase your uptake of the amino acid Tryptophan.

Can Drugs and Herbs induce lucidity?

Yes. You will find most herbs, vitamins, amino acids, minerals and drugs that help you dream more and recall your dreams better. They might even cause you to have a Lucid Dream.

To summarize; herbs like Valerian, Mugwort, Mullein, Kava Kava, Dittany of Crete, St. Johns Wort, Calea Zacatechichi, Salvia Divinorum, Scutellaria Indica, Licorice Root, Vervain, Jasmine, Honeysuckle, Datura, Bee Pollen, Catnip, Hops, Scullcap, Mimosa, Lavender, Damiana, Withania Somnifera, Passionflower, Chamomile, Cardamom, Gotu Kola, Ginkgo Biloba, Ibogaine, Verbena, Rose, Cinnamon, Marigold, Nutmeg, Peppermint, Holly, Yarrow and Anise may help you dream more, recall more or even have a Lucid Dream.

Make sure you know more about these herbs before you use them: some are to be used in pillows, some are to be smoked, some are to be used in tea, etc. Many B-vitamins may help you have more vivid dreams and even Lucid Dreams. Sedative drugs like Melatonin may help, and drugs like caffeine may help you with WILD and also make it easier to recall dreams. And finally, we have psychedelic drugs like DXM that may induce Lucid Dreams. Some of the drugs and herbs can be addictive, and be poisonous if taken in too large doses.

How can I prevent premature awakening?

A common problem for beginners is remaining in the dream after becoming Lucid. They become so excited once they realize that they are dreaming that they wake up right away. There are many reasons for being excited, but it will only work against your goal. You need to suppress that feeling. If your dream show signs of ending, maybe loss of detail or your dream just go black, then spinning may help bringing the dream back. Before you feel your physical body you should spin your dream body. That is going round and round. Also remind yourself that the next scene will be a dream. To ensure that it is a dream should you do a RT. Just moving, running or jumping can prolong your Lucid Dream, you might also want to try spinning out in the gravity-free universe. When you open your eyes you may be surprised to find yourself in the most beautiful environment with stars, galaxies and planets. Another technique is saying out loud: "Clarity now!". Just stating out loud your desire and intention may do incredible things to your dream. You might want to try other commands like: "Increase lucidity now!", "Create visuals now!" and "Stay calm!". Theta training may make it easier for you to stay in the Dream, it will also make it easier to induce WILD and recall Dreams.

How can I change Lucid Dream scenery?

This can be done in many ways, but the most common technique is spinning. If you want something to appear, then expecting it around the corner or behind you is quite effective. You can find a big TV and a remote, and start changing the channels to a scene you like, then just jump in the TV. If you want a special scene can you expect that to appear when you change the channels. You might also try finding a bridge, were you see a lot of scenes flowing by. If you find you like, just jump. You might try asking a dream character where you might find what you are seeking. You can try finding a door and imagine a person/place on the other side. And you can give slow morphing a try. You can also try closing your eyes and imagine the scene forming around you. But the key is to expect things to happen.

What is DILD (Dream-Initiated Lucid Dream)?

This is a name for every Lucid Dream where you become aware that it is a dream in the dream. Meaning that you are unconscious before you become Lucid. Most Lucid Dreams are DILDs.

What is CILD (Chakra Induced Lucid Dream)?

This technique works by focusing on your Third Eye Chakra that is located slightly above and between your eyebrows. Set your alarm clock so that you will wake up after 6 hours. Look up and at the center of your Third Eye before closing your eyes. Keep your eyes in this position as you close them. Give yourself appropriate affirmations until you fall asleep and visualize yourself having a lucid dream or leaving your body. If you haven't fallen asleep within 3 minutes, move your eyes back to normal position and try to fall asleep. When the alarm clock wake you up, go to the bathroom and fresh up. For the next hour read some material on Lucid Dreaming or Out of Body Experiences. After reading for an hour go back to bed; roll your eyes back to your Third Eye. State your intentions for 3 minutes or until you fall asleep. One of three things will most likely happen. You will have a Lucid Dream, have a false awakening or wake up paralyzed that you might use to leave your body. At the very least should you experience vivid dreams.

What is PILD (Punishment Induced Lucid Dream)?

This technique works by punishing yourself every time you fail to realize that you were dreaming. While going to sleep, tell yourself that you MUST become Lucid this night OR you will be punished in the morning. Various types of punishment may be a cold shower or maybe an electric shock. A 9 volt battery against your tongue maybe. This technique should be used in combination with MILD. The point is to increase your intention, and it works.

What is RILD (Reward Induced Lucid Dream)?

This technique works by rewarding yourself every time you succeed in having a Lucid Dream. Various types of rewards may be eating a chocolate bar, or anything else that you like doing/eating. Have the things you want to reward yourself by your bed, or ready to use. It will increase your intention. This technique should also be used in combination with MILD.

What is TILD (Thirst Induced Lucid Dream)?

This technique works by cutting out everything called drinking for so long that you can really feel that you are thirsty. Go to bed as normal and sleep off that deep delta sleep, wake up after 5-6 hours and go to the bathroom. Fill a glass with tempting, fresh cold water. Try to think of water and doing a RT when you drink. To make the experiment more successful you should fill your mouth with salt so that you really feel like you need to drink something. Set the glass of water on your night table and while you fall asleep, think on drinking the water and at the same time doing a Reality Test. You will not drink anything in the real world, so if you find yourself drinking something, then it must be a dream. If you want to increase the feeling of thirst even more, you should try eating some pepper or chili before going to sleep again.

What is UILD (Urinate Induced Lucid Dream)?

This technique is a bit risky. It works by remembering to do a RT every time you go to the bathroom. So prior to going to bed should you drink A LOT of water. You will maybe dream of going to the bathroom, and hopefully will remember doing a RT. It's not the best and safest technique available. But it works.

What is SILD (Sexual Induced Lucid Dream)?

This technique works by remembering to do a RT whenever you think about sex, lovers, partners, love etc. So that whenever you think about your boyfriend/girlfriend or sex in a dream will you remember to do a RT. There is also a few approaches you can take to make the dream more sexual-related. The B3-vitamin Niacin increases your production of sexual hormones. Taking Melatonin, Serotonin and/or Tryptophan will also help. This is because the amino acid Tryptophan is metabolized into Serotonin and Niacin. (Serotonin is converted into Melatonin when you sleep). If you already have a lot of Melatonin/Serotonin in your system more Tryptophan will be converted into Niacin. And your sexual hormone production will increase. Chocolate contains Phenylalanine in large quantities, that are converted into Tyrosine that is again metabolized into the love hormone Dopamine. So Chocolate may also give more dreams with sexual content. Chocolate has also Choline that will help you dream more, Caffeine that will let you remember dreams easier and more.

What is LILD (Letter Induced Lucid Dream)?

This technique uses a letter or symbol to induce lucidity. Day-memories are often incorporated into the dream, especially memory from the evening. So it is quite likely that some of what you experience after waking up after 5-6 hours and stay up for about an hour is incorporated into the dream. This is how this technique work. You concentrate on a letter, A for Awareness during that hour. Visualize yourself many times seeing that A and suddenly remember to do a RT. Think about this for about an hour and remember to do a Reality Test whenever you see an A. This should also be done during the day, do a RT every time you notice an A. Writing a word or a letter in your hand, and frequently check it might help. Just hope that you will remember to do a RT if you see a big A in the middle of the road. The symbol in this technique can easily be changed to your dog, a friend, a place or an activity.

What is OILD (Orgone Induced Lucid Dream)?

This technique uses orgone energy to induce lucidity. Crystals and magnets have been found to send out orgone energy. But each type of crystal send out their own frequency, various orgone energy types that do various things to our body and mind. A few crystals that might induce Lucid Dreams, or increase dream recall, clarity and vividness: Herkimer Diamond, Apophyllite, Kyanite and Amethyst. The crystals should be used in correlation with your chakras, preferably your third eye (forehead). Magnets can work by other means than sending out orgone energy, the pineal gland also responds to magnetism. A steady state magnetic north pole field will stimulate the production of Melatonin as long as field strength in the vicinity of the pineal is in the 400 mgauss range. But more is not better. So be careful. Pulsating magnetic field will shut down the production of Melatonin, just as light will. If you have trouble sleeping might it be wise to check the magnetic field around your bed.

How can I have Shared Lucid Dreams?

Once you get experience in the field of Lucid Dreaming, have good control over your dream environment and can stay Lucid for a long time is it time to move on. Or if you are an experienced Lucid Dreamer that wants to try something new, then Shared Lucid Dreaming is an interesting approach. Intent is an important key for Sharing a Dream. When you lie in bed trying to fall asleep you need to program this intent to Share Dreams with those you desire, and then when you are in the Dream, you have to recall that intent and attempt to fulfill it. Give yourself appropriate affirmations while you are waiting for the hypnagogic imagery to start. A good way of finding those you desire is imagine them and let the hypnagogic imagery fill out the rest of the details. Once you are in the Dream, make sure you are fully conscious. Check all your senses and do some logical tests. Recall your intent and try a few other techniques if your friend isn't in your dream. You can phase to that person, or imagine a door and talk out loud your desire to meet that person, then open the door. You can also shout and yell for them until they come along.

Once you find them comes the big question. Are your friends Lucid? Ask a few simple questions, be friendly and patient. If you know their interest, create them. And try to make them understand that they are dreaming. Do things that normally don't happen in the physical world. When they understand or if they know that they are dreaming, make sure they are fully conscious and that all their senses are working. Once it is established that both of you are dreaming should you point out details in the dream, for later verification. You might also try to bring more people into the dream. When you wake up you should write down everything you could remember, especially the details that were pointed out. A phone call right after awakening may help on the recall.

How can I have Precognitive Lucid Dreams?

When you have some successful experience with Shared Lucid Dreaming you can give Precognitive Lucid Dreams a try. Intent is also an important key to have Precognitive Lucid Dreams. When you lie in bed trying to fall asleep you need to program this intent to have a Precognitive Dream, and when your Dream starts do you have to recall that intent. You should give yourself appropriate affirmations while you are waiting for the hypnagogic imagery to start. When the dream starts do you need to check your level of consciousness. Do all the tests and make sure your logical mind is working. The next thing you need to do is fully focus on your intent. Make it perfectly clear, shut your eyes, shut down all signals from the dream and let go. Move into the field by intuitively driving yourself with the desire to go there. Let go and fell yourself moving towards your desired source. Let time and space go, just flow with your intention. You may feel a melt down for a second until before you arrive there. Wherever you are in time or space will happen later in the physical world. Just observe whatever happen and enjoy it. Remember to write it down when you wake up, for later verification.

How can I use Dreams to affect physical matter?

This can be done in the Precognitive field. When you are in a Precognitive Lucid Dream, all you need to do is try to move objects around, or make various marks on other people. Not only do you have the ability to move matter, you can also create electricity, magnetic fields, light, heat, sound and matter. You can also form and dissolve matter. You can do this on the lowest plane, the physical plane in the precognitive field. Being in the physical plane is usually called OOBE (Out of Body Experience). But you don't need to be in the precognitive field to affect matter, being in the physical plane is enough.

How can I have Shared Precognitive Lucid Dreams?

When you feel that you have good control over Shared Lucid Dreams and Precognitive Lucid Dreams you can give Shared Precognitive Lucid Dreams a try. What you need to do is find the person you what to Share the Dream with. After all the usual tests are done and both of you are fully conscious, do you need to agree on the same intent. Agree on the time and space and do the same as you were trying to have a Precognitive Lucid Dream. Holding hands may make it easier for you to stay together. Since you are two or more will you most likely have more success affecting the physical world, since more energy is concentrated. As always, write down your experience for later verification.

How can I stop real time in my Lucid Dreams?

Stopping real time in your Lucid Dreams means making the Lucid Dream last far more than the time passed by in the physical world. Like having a dream that last a few minutes in real time, while you might experience it as a few days in the dream. By doing this can you enjoy the dream scape a lot more, since you can spend days in the dream while it really just last a few minutes. Robert Monroe even reported experiencing 100 years in a 2 hours OOBE. But to experience this might be difficult, little research have been done on this area. And those that experience it don't consciously try to have them. Still, there are a few techniques you might try. First of all, set your intention to stop real time. Have that intention in mind while having your Lucid Dream. Picture yourself being in the dream for days, maybe even weeks before you wake up. You might try to saying out loud: "Stop time now!" You can try looking at your clock in the dream, and imagine that the clock slow down and stop. You might try to expect the dream to last for days. You might try visualize two pyramids, connected at their bases counterrotating. And maybe visualize multiple pyramids rotating inside each other all rotating. This is something worth going for, as it may give you incredible long Lucid Dreams.

How can I leave my body from a Lucid Dream?

As you may have understood by now dreams take place outside your body. They are happening in the mental plane where you might meet other people or easily go down to the physical plane and travel in time and space. Being in a reality where you can do whatever you want is much more fun than being stuck in the physical plane. But exploring the physical world can also be fun, and many different and useful things can be done on the physical plane. One technique is imagine a door and talk out loud your desire to enter the physical location when you go through that door.

As you may have understood by now dreams take place outside your body. They are happening in the mental plane where you might meet other people or easily go down to the physical plane and travel in time and space. Being in a reality where you can do whatever you want is much more fun than being stuck in the physical plane. But exploring the physical world can also be fun, and many different and useful things can be done on the physical plane. One technique is imagine a door and talk out loud your desire to enter the physical location when you go through that door.