Dreaming 101: Lucid Dreaming Part Two

In Part One we learned about what lucid dreaming(LD’ing) is, and the different levels one can achieve. In part two we will talk about how to achieve this state, and maintain it.

The common method, developed by Stephen LaBerge, is to ask yourself throughout the day, “Am I dreaming?”. This is to get you in the habit of questioning your environment, so that in a sleeping state, you will do the same thing. The dreamer programs himself to ask this question, when certain repetitive symbols come up in his dream. Unfortunately, this method has a drawback.

Almost all lucid dreamers who use this method, initially have difficulties. Depending on the dreamer, the difficulties can persist. When they are in a dream, and they ask the question, “Am I dreaming?”, they will then go about doing reality checks. They will check to see what the time is on a clock, and then look again to see if the time remains consistent. They will try to turn the light switch on or off, or a variety of other basic tasks. This is to test the dream environ for stability.

The general idea is, things in a dream environ do not stay consistent; therefore, if conditions are odd, you must be dreaming. This brings one to awareness of being in the dream state, and makes it possible to come to consciousness. The subconscious is a funny thing though, and it will defend it’s self against your invasion. Dream scenes will mutate themselves to appear *normal*, and your every attempt to discover if you are dreaming, can often fail. The dreamer continues to believe he must be in a waking reality, and not a sleeping dream.

I am into a particular kind of LD’ing, which is called 24/7 lucid dreaming. I will not get into what in particular that is right now, but due to it, I learned the following method works best. I will only go over it to the degree it relates to basic LD’ing.

First, write down at least one dream a day in a notebook or journal. When you awaken, really think about the dreams you had the night before, and ponder them. Get into the experience of dreaming, and look forward to your nightly adventures. The first step to lucid dreaming is remembering your dreams.

Go over the dreams, and look for repeated keywords and concepts. For example, some of my keywords/concepts have in the past been: malls, bodies of water, leaking structures, flea markets, flying, wallets, old buildings, libraries, etc. Write your key words down, you will need them in the next step.

During the day, stop, and just take a moment to relax your focus. Feel the senses of your body, smell the scents around you, and listen to what is going on. Then say “I Am Dreaming”. Feel really grounded in that moment, and really see yourself, in a dream. Do this several times a day. It is best if you can find a moment to do this, that relates to one of your key words. For example, you are at a library, and you have been dreaming about libraries a lot lately.

The basic idea is that the next time you are in a dream, and there is a library, you will have already connected the events in your mind. You are more apt now in the dream to say “I Am Dreaming!!!”, and you will know it to be so! I have never once questioned in a dream whether or not I was dreaming, when I used this method.

Some people have asked me if that could not cause them reality issues, and possibly lead them to think they are really dreaming, while in a waking state. I have never had the issue myself, and I cannot imagine it being a problem for most people.

When you go to bed at night, say over and over “I Am Dreaming”. I have used this: “I am conscious and aware in my dreams that I am dreaming. I am lucid in my dreams. I am dreaming, I am dreaming…” etc., repeating this until I fell asleep.

Once you are aware that you are dreaming, your focus will increase, depending on the degree of consciousness you have attained in that moment. Try not to get over excited, as this can throw you out of the dream. If everything goes black on you, immediately see your dream hands rubbing together, or spin your dream body around in circles. This is odd sounding, but it seems to have a powerful effect for most LD’ers. It will quite often throw you back into the dream, and change the environ/situation.

If you are thrown out completely, you have one last chance to get back in. Do not move your physical body in any way, and relax back into the dream state. Repeat in your mind again, “I Am Dreaming”, until you fall back to sleep. Some times this method works, if your body isn’t ready to wake up for the day.

For most people, lucid dreaming takes a lot of focus and work. It is not an easy practice, but in the long run, it can be very rewarding. In the next section of this series, I will talk about what substances can aid, or defeat your lucid dreaming. I will also go over a variety of basic LD information. Be sure to not miss the next installation, and subscribe to my RSS feed found here.

[tags]dreams, lucid dreaming, 24/7 lucid dreaming, key words, dream journal, dream symbols, shadowmyth, lockergnome[/tags]

Technorati Tags: dreams, lucid dreaming, 24/7 lucid dreaming, key words, dream journal, dream symbols, shadowmyth, lockergnome

Powered by ScribeFire.