How to Lucid Dream

[Smashcapitalists]

How do I Lucid Dream and control my dreams?

[Black_Rose]

My god,

this reminds me of Jared Lee Loughner.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

There were various methods you could find by googling this but when I was interested in this subject I remember reading that by controlling your excitement when you are in a dream,when you realize you are dreaming,you can then move on to control your dream.The trick is realizing you are dreaming then not becoming so excited that you instantly wake up.

[Lenina Rosenweg]

I think lucid dreaming can have some legitimacy to it. Its not a crackpot concept at all and has nothing to do w/a psychopath like Loughner. Whatever happens with this widely reported phenomena, it certainly won't hurt and it sounds like fun.

There are forums where lucid dreaming techniques are discussed. This is probably the most popular one.

http://www.dreamviews.com/forum.php

http://www.luciddreaming.com/forums/index.php

http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/forum/


Lynne Levitan and Stephen LaBerge are the most famous researchers on this and they've put out several "how to do it" books.

http://lucidity.com/

There is a ton of info on LD online which can be found with a bit of googling. I've been trying this for a while, haven't gotten anywhere.

[ColonelCossack]

I heard that if, in waking life, you pinch yourself every hour so it hurts, so much that it becomes second nature to you, when you pinch yourself in the dream, it won't hurt, you'll know your dreaming, and you'll have a lucid dream.

is this BS or not?

[Lenina Rosenweg]

I do not know about this. One technique that is thought to be effective is to say to yourself thoughout the day "Am I awake or am I dreaming?" Say this over and over until it becomes second nature. Eventually it will be incorporated into your dreams and it can serve as a trigger to wake up while still in the dream state.

There are sleeping postures-MILD and WILD which are thought to be effective LD triggers.

There are CDS and downloadable tracks which can put one in an LD inducing frame of mind. There are youtube videos which are (literally) very trippy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra1iWqQBcp4

[Tim Cornelis]

I heard that if, in waking life, you pinch yourself every hour so it hurts, so much that it becomes second nature to you, when you pinch yourself in the dream, it won't hurt, you'll know your dreaming, and you'll have a lucid dream.

is this BS or not?

I read spmething similar in a scientific magazine:

you need to look at your hands regularly and ask yourself "am I dreaming or not?" so it becomes 'second nature', so you will do it in your dream and realize you're dreaming.

I have realized a few times that I was dreaming myself, but I always woke up shortly after--indeed, exactly because I was overly "excited".

[Rafiq]

When I lucid dream (Very frequently at that) it usually has something to do with a change in how I breath, my eyes feel different and I start to realize I'm dreaming. I do what I want in the dream (though not fully capable of imagining anything I want) until I'm awakened some ten minutes later by my 6am alarm for school.

[Le Rouge]

Q. How to Lucid Dream?
A. Try LSD.

[RedAnarchist]

I often have dreams similar to lucid dreams in the hours before waking up. A couple of the more memorable ones (which happened when I was half-asleep) -

* My bedroom ceiling was about to collapse, so I want downstairs quickly and unlocked the front door, before I realised I was just dreaming.
* Another one was one where I heard a crash, then a voice that sounded like one of my brothers shouted that the world had just ended, and I pictured my room floating through darkness.

Usually, though, I stay asleep and in bed whilst I have such dreams.

[Philosophis Pony]

I have lucid dreams all the time, there is a difference though as how lucid dreams (or at least mine) tend to be.
1. You realize within your dream you are dreaming and have complete control

2. You have complete control over what you say and do but you do not realize you are in a dream either because it is so realistic or for some other reason.

3. You realize you are dreaming but have no control over what is happening.
One thing to know though is that one of the worst possible dreams is a lucid nightmare especially when you know you are dreaming but are unable to get out of the dream. This is a very good example of lucid dreaming.

[Firebrand]

I find that once I know i'm dreaming I am in control. It happens on a fairly regular basis, I don't know why but it's pretty cool, the only trouble is I often don't want to wake up, so I end up missing my alarm.

[RadioRaheem84]

Drink a bunch of Valerian root tea. Trust me, your dreams will be lucid.

[Chambered Word]

I have realized a few times that I was dreaming myself, but I always woke up shortly after--indeed, exactly because I was overly "excited".

apparently if you spin around a bit you can stop yourself waking up, although iirc if you keep doing it for a while you will actually wake. I read this a while ago so I'm not sure if I'm correct.

[MotherCossack]

lucid dreams are cool.
its like settling down with a great book, with loads of hot crumpets. it's raining outside but you are cosy indoors and have plenty of time to settle down into the book (dream).

the plan is to control what happens, and it usually starts off fine.
but then my lucid dreams always end up doing what they want. like i am driving a car with dual steering. (For learning). at first i am allowed to choose the way etc, but slowly the car takes over.
this doesnt always happen, but usually. so the lucid dreams leave me frustrated and cheated.
still like them though.
i thought that some people had them and some didnt.
it is worth trying techniques to facilitate these dreams but i'd be surprized if they worked, to be honest.

[the Left™]

You have to wake yourself deep into REM sleep and then when you immediately fall back asleep is when you are most prone to be lucid. If you write something on your forearm and then look at it throughout the day and repeat to yourself that this is reality you are also more prone to become lucid. Ive done parkour in lucid dreams xD. Ive also read things about changing your diet and having certain drugs to help you. Can be dangerous though considering you are activating your pre-frontal cortex in sleep which is supposed to be shut off during it. :scared:

[MotherCossack]

blimey! maybe you can have a say in your dreams.
but how long does it take...
how many times do you have to do all this stuff before it infiltrates your dream?
i'd get bored...

[MarxSchmarx]

The way I've heard to start is when you wake up to write down immediately what you dreamed about and do this consistently for several weeks. It's pretty amazing how quickly we forget what we dreamed about, so it's important to do this as soon as you awake.

[Qayin]

If im sleep deprived I always lucid dream

If I fall asleep with Al jazeera blazing my dreams are usually centered around the news, then ill realize this and lucid dream

or SWIM can take drugs

[Conscript]

Daydream while you're tired and falling asleep. It's how I WILD, you end up distracted thinking about something and fall asleep consciously. You'll know its working if you suddenly get a falling feeling while thinking and your body snaps you out of it.


apparently if you spin around a bit you can stop yourself waking up, although iirc if you keep doing it for a while you will actually wake.Spinning yourself around does the opposite of what you want to do here, it detaches you from the dream and (hopefully) puts you in another. What you want to do is 'anchor' yourself into the dream by doing things like feeling walls and studying the texture. It keeps you focused, which is important. Also you can do it any time you want to 'strengthen' a dream, it's the first thing I do when I'm LD'ing, but it doesn't always work. Keep in mind sometimes when you're just constantly waking up and having lucid dreams go black and 'reset' it's because you're not in the REM window anymore.


One thing to know though is that one of the worst possible dreams is a lucid nightmare especially when you know you are dreaming but are unable to get out of the dream. This is a very good example of lucid dreaming.

Sometimes I've had nightmares that I couldn't get myself out of, but my body was partially awake enough to pry my eyes open. Anyone ever have this happen?

[Revolution starts with U]

I've been having many lucid dreams lately. I don't have any particular method, I just noticed that in my dreams I don't run. Instead, I kind of fly just a few inches off the ground taking a step every once in a while. So when I notice this in my dreams, it means I am not awake.

So a week ago I was talking to a friend about LDs and said "I wonder what would happen if you meditated in it." So, 2 days ago when I had my latest one, I took my own advice. I haven't been able to control them very well, so I started meditating (this was after helping to stop the army that was invading the school my friend and I were protecting... :lol:). When I came out of my meditative state I was floating above a mountain range; beautiful. I started flying but was having trouble keeping altitude. So I stopped trying so hard, and just flew! Next thing I knew I was doing barrel rolls and backflips.
There was much more, but I just wanted to throw that one in. Try to notice something you only do in your dreams. To have control you have to stop trying so hard. And try meditating.