The Ultimate Lucid Dreaming Lens

The Feeling of a Lucid Dream

'Lucid' means 'aware', so basically Lucid Dreaming is a dream where you're aware that you're dreaming. Most Lucid Dreams begin from within a normal dream. Sometimes you may just suddenly 'know' that you're dreaming. But more often something unusual or 'impossible' happens which triggers you to question your reality. There are also a number of cues you can set up yourself to remind you that you might be dreaming.

Once you are lucid, the whole feeling and experience of the dream world changes. The feeling of a becoming lucid in a dream is nothing short of exhilarating! The colours become bright and vivid, and the sounds become crisp and clear. Your mind and body buzz with excitement, and the dream world has amazing detail and clarity! Everything is as real or more real than waking life. The transformation is beautiful and instantaneous!

Of course, what I've just described is a fully lucid dream. The quality of lucidity can vary, especially for beginners. It seems to depend on how significant the realization that you're dreaming is to you. With brief, low-level lucidity you may just realize casually "oh so I'm dreaming", then forget about it and non-chalantly continue with the dream. Fortunately, once you learn a little about Lucid Dreaming, this is far less likely to occur.

At medium levels of lucidity, you tend to have far greater choice and influence on the dream world, but are still somewhat under the influence of your subconscious projections into the dream environment. At higher levels, a lucid dreamer is fully aware that they are asleep and continually creating their own dream environment, and thus change the dream or take action as they desire.

Lucid Dreaming, OOBEs, Etheric and Astral Projection...

The subject of Lucid Dreaming also has very interesting overlaps with Out of Body Experiences, Etheric and Astral Projection. If you want to learn more about all these topics and their inter-relation in a clear and concise way, I recommend you get this great FREE eBook...

The Truth About Lucid Dreaming and Astral Projection

It's an insightful look at lucid dreaming, astral projection, OBEs, NDEs, sleep and dreams; astral benefits, planes, meetings, safety, responsibility; and the role of desire, the psyche, beliefs and much more, including the 'Dream Solution' technique!

Lucid Dreaming Skills

There's really three basic Lucid Dreaming skills:
Dream Induced Lucid Dreaming or DILD: to recognize that you're dreaming, thus becoming 'lucid'
Dreaming Attention: to maintain this awareness for lengthier periods and stabilize your dreaming focus
Dream Control: to control and create your dream experience as you desire

More advanced lucid dreamers also develop further skills like:
Multiple Lucidity: re-entering 'faded' lucid dreams, allowing for several lucids in succession
Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming or WILD: entering dreams or visualizations from the waking state
Mutual Dreaming: seeking out other lucid dreamers for shared dream experiences
Etheric Projection: inducing an Out Of Body from the dream state
Astral Projection: exploring different dimensions by shifting focus

All these skills are explored in detail in the Ultimate Astral Experience Course.

Excited? Ready to Learn?

If not, you better check your pulse! Lucid Dreaming is one of the most exhilarating experiences humanly possible. A Virtual Reality all to yourself! The positive emotional effect of a Lucid Dream would be worth it by itself, even if you didn't do anything else. It can last for days or weeks! Consider how stress-free and content you'll be when you know you can fulfill any of your desires, and wake up already satisfied before you even start your day!

Having your first Lucid Dream or two is not too hard, though it varies with each individual. You may have success in the first week or even on the first night. With practice, you can have several lucid dreams every night, and with more advanced techniques you can enter directly into a Lucid Dream from the waking state at will!

But... (you knew it was coming) you will have to put a little practice in. It's like learning to ride a bike. A little tricky at first, but once you know how, it's as easy and natural as walking. Of course, it really helps if you learn from someone who already knows how to ride a bike! When it comes to Lucid Dreaming, a little of the right knowledge goes a long way.

Whatever you do, don't give up. The experience is *more* than worth the effort! You really get back more than what you put in. It's not just me saying so - there are whole online communities of lucid dreamers that continue to confirm and affirm this. Success is a matter of knowledge put into practice.

So let's get to it!

The First Key to Lucid Dreaming

The *MOST* important skill you need to have a Lucid Dream is dream recall. Why? Simple. Lucidity means awareness, and dream recall *directly* improves your dream awareness. So if you want a head start on having Lucid Dreams, the first thing you should do - and keep doing - is start remembering and writing down your dreams as soon as possible.

It's not really about training to remember Lucid Dreams - honesty, most are pretty unforgettable! - it's about using your memory to build a bridge between your waking and dreaming selves. You also aquaint yourself far better with the dream dimension, allowing yourself to more readily recognise when you're dreaming.

Here are some great dream recall tips:
get a dream diary and always keep it handy so you can use it whenever you need it (a small torch or book light is helpful too)
always get enough sleep - mental tiredness will certainly not help your recall
before sleeping, tell yourself "I will remember my dreams." (This is very effective!) "I will write them down when I wake up." And optionally "I will have vivid exciting dreams" (hence more memorable as well.)
don't move too much when you wake up, remember as much detail as you can about the dream you just had first
give your dream a title or keywords
once you've remembered as much as you can, write down the important elements as soon as you open your eyes, don't wait even a minute
elaborate on your notes later, as the writing process will trigger more detailed recall

After a few days of this, your recall will vastly improve. But don't stop!!! It's like muscle building. You don't just want to exercise your memory, you want to start stretching it and build its capacity. See how many dreams you can remember in one night and try to best it. (My record is seven - two of which were lucid - no guesses why!)

Well, that's Key Number One: *MEMORY*. Simple, but EXTREMELY important.

But What Do Those Dreams Mean?

After recording a few dreams in your diary, you may start wondering what the hell they're all about anyway. For that matter, you may have always wondered what dreams really mean, where they come from, what their purpose is, etc. If you believe science, you may be content with believing they are some kind of mind defragmentation, a replay of daily events, or just a random chaotic mess. Yet none of these answers really explains the depth of content and meaning found in dreams.

So here's answer that actually makes sense... Dreams are communications between different levels of the psyche. And dream symbols are simply the language that is used. Vast amounts of information can be translated and conveyed from the deeper levels of the self in this way, living information we get to interact with in the dream state.

If we continue to ignore our dreams, we're really missing out on a large portion of our own mind's internal wisdom. By learning to interpret this information more consciously, we truly stand to get *a lot* of insight about ourselves. But for beginners, dream interpretation may seem like a daunting and confusing task. Fortunately there is help available...

I recommend you download a copy of the Dream Meanings Kit. This is software designed to give you an instant interpretation of the key elements of your dreams, providing a thorough report in seconds. No, it's not 100% accurate, because you always need to consider the *personal significance* of certain dream symbols to you. But it will give you a *very good idea* of a dream's core meaning, which is more than three-quarters of the job. And with a just a little practice, dream symbols will become far easier to understand. (Personally I've become really good at it!)



The Dream Analyzer and the
Amazing Dream Meanings Kit!

The Second Key to Lucid Dreaming

There is an important underlying factor that makes all Lucid Dreaming techniques work. Whatever you do to induce a Lucid Dream confirms to your
mind that you are serious about having one. The effectiveness of any technique comes down to this: how strongly are you confirming your intent to have a Lucid Dream with it?

Perhaps the simplest technique is to tell yourself as you are going to sleep, "I will wake up in my dreams tonight."
And yet, depending on the emotion you put behind this statement, your subconscious might not take you all that seriously... Other techniques that require more effort have greater success rate because they send the message far more strongly and/or consistently.

What this means is; it is the *intent*, rather than the techniques themselves, that will trigger a Lucid Dream. Of course, this doesn't mean you can abandon these practices and hope for the best, on the contrary, it simply means you are proving your intent by keeping them up. The best results will thus be achieved if you use a combination of practices on a regular basis, showing your unwavering intent.

Initial Lucid Dream experiences can happen when you're not expecting them, often because your mind has got the message already and has been busy in the background tweaking the conditions that will allow for lucidity. To put it another way, there may be a few psychological factors that need to be rearranged by the mind through normal dreams first, and this process is put in motion by your intent.

There are a few other simple ways to amplify the strength of your 'intent signal'. The first is through associating significance. Think of the most important thing in your life, then think about Lucid Dreaming at the same time, emphasizing the sheer importance of both in your life. Next, think about something you desire more than anything else, and emphasize you yearn for Lucid Dreaming with equal strength.

Both of these will put more emotion into your intent, and emotion is energy in motion! The more emotion you are able to muster up, the greater you create a focussed mental energy state of pure intent, causing the desired result to manifest itself. A mindset of 'I will achieve my desire no matter what' is actively in motion.

One more optional way to amplify your message it to quiet your 'internal dialogue' while practicing any technique or the exercise above. Without other thoughts competing for attention, your mind can focus far more directly on your request. This is also the basis for hypnosis, where a specific thought or belief is given total attention, allowing it to take root without any competing thoughts.

One great thing about intent is that once you put it in motion it is self-reinforcing. Through intent you keep up with your practices, and practicing confirms your intent! The only tricky part is starting, and that's where *you* putting in as much emotional yearning and significance will really help get things going.

Now we have the Second Key to Lucid Dreaming: *INTENT*.

Why Have a Lucid Dream?

Lucid Dreams do sound like fun, don't they? Well, they are indeed some of the *most fun* you'll ever have! But it doesn't stop there... Imagine what you would you do if you could do anything you wanted? As I'm sure you can see, the possibilities of Lucid Dreaming are truly limitless. And you really need to start considering them.

Why? Because it's possible to WASTE a Lucid Dream. Yep. And it sucks. You're lucid, it feels great, you can do anything, but in that moment you just can't decide on something and the dream fades away. Damn! (It's possible to be overwhelmed with choices!) A missed opportunity! Don't let it happen to you...

Have a purpose! Have a plan! In fact, have *several* already lined up. If you're lucky, you may even get a chance to do them all, but if you don't have at least one thing in mind, you can really miss out. It's not even so much important what your purpose is, so much as having one in the first place. (or two, or three...) A purpose is focussed intent after all!

I suggest you read through the following ideas and pick one main idea and two backup ideas. Write them down, then memorize them *really really* well, because you'll want to be able to remember them once you're lucid, even if you can't remember who you are! (which does happen sometimes.)

Lucid Dreaming Ideas

There are so many opportunities to choose from in a Lucid Dream it would be impossible to list them all here. But let's look at some favourites to get your lucid inspiration flowing...

1. For Fun or Fantasy!

Flying (so many ways to fly!)
Sex (indescribable pleasure...)
Fantasy (live out your desires)
Adventure (star in your dream)

2. Self Growth

Overcome Fears or Nightmares
Rehearse for Waking Life
Improve a Skill or Talent
Solve a Personal or Business Problem

3. Creativity or Invention

Create Music, Art... or anything!
Create a Dream City or Dream World
Invent Something New

4. Knowledge or Wisdom

Read a dream book
Attend a dream class
Meet a personal dream teacher

5. Spiritual Purposes

Heal Yourself or Another
Seek Enlightenment through Spiritual Teachers
Communicate with your Subconscious, Deeper Self, Superconscious, Soul, God...

6. Mutual Dreaming

Dream with your Friends
Visit Communal Dreampools
Find other Lucid Dreamers

7. Out of Body

Enjoy the freedom from flesh
Explore your local environment
Travel to other places and times

8. Astral Exploration

Explore other dimensions
Visit other civilizations
Meet non-human entities

The Third Key to Lucid Dreaming

Remember how I said *anything* is possible in a Lucid Dream? Well, it is, but only if you *believe* that. What you believe in a Lucid Dream is very powerful, because your thoughts will create that reality virtually instantly. And this includes limiting beliefs too. As Henry Ford said: "Believe you can, believe you can't; either way you're right!" And don't forget: "the impossible is achieved by those who believe it possible."

For example, you might be merrily flying along and think, "but this is impossible" - only to find the next moment you are plummeting to the ground - because you just *made it* impossible! But wait, you rethink: "it was possible a moment ago, so it must be possible after all." Ah, now you're flying again! See what I mean?

This has more subtle implications when we start to attempt greater dream control. Initially we may need to use tricks like looking away and back again to convince ourselves that the change we desire is possible. With more practice however, we can focus the power of belief and *will* changes to happen as we're looking at them. It's more convenient and it's more fun to watch. Because I have to say, morphing dream objects, characters and environments looks *really cool!* (As does creating out of thin air.)

In your initial Lucid Dreaming experiences, you *may* have only limited control, but this is mostly due to unfamiliarity. We have become accustomed to the limitations of physical life. But as you try a few things and you start to find anything is possible, your confidence builds. And what is confidence if not a *belief* in your own ability?

It's important to be very careful what you believe about Lucid Dreaming, especially to begin with, as it will affect your experience. Don't take all the information that you read on the subject at face value if it implies a 'cannot' - you could just be blindly picking up someone elses limiting beliefs.

For example, can you say your own name in a Lucid Dream? Yes! But an early dream researcher and author wrote that you couldn't, and whoever believed him couldn't either! But dream researcher Stephen LaBerge put this superstition to the test without believing it and of course succeeded. Like Stevie Wonder said: "If you believe in things that you don't understand, then you suffer. Superstition ain't the way."

Another example I've seen online is "lucid dreamers do not have complete control over their dreams." This is truly a terrible thing to tell beginners, because they might believe it and not even try! No, while it's certainly true that not all lucid dreamers have complete control, I want to stress it is a *learnable skill*! I've had many Lucid Dreams where I've created the dream landscape *as* I'm walking through it, and countless others where I've changed *any* facet of the dream I like.

Finally, there is the role of belief in Lucid Dreaming techniques...

So that's the Third Key to Lucid Dreaming: *BELIEF*. Use it, don't be used by it.

Beliefs and Waking Reality

If you want to learn more about how beliefs and belief systems affect your *waking* life, I very very highly recommend you get a copy of:

The Nature of
Personal Reality
by Seth-Jane Roberts

Lucid Dreaming Course Reviews

I've already mentioned the Dream Meanings Kit is great for understanding your dreams. There are two more kits available online that I want to review here:

1. Lucid Dreaming Kit
Rating:

This has been around for a while now, claiming to give you your first Lucid Dream in 7 days. But honestly, while the course is okay, I was a little disappointed at the lack of depth. It is indeed a short course lasting 7 days, and if you follow it to the letter you will probably have a lucid or two. But what then? It doesn't really help if you want to take things further.

Later I realized it seems to be a pared-down rewrite of a great published book on Lucid Dreaming. And for the price, dream journal and screensaver software doesn't make up for the shortness of the course. Still, if you have money to burn and are looking for a quick lucid hit, you can get the Lucid Dreaming Kit for at a cost of ONLY $97, and wait for the CD to be delivered too. :-/

2. The Ultimate Astral Experience Course
Rating:

Now this is more like it! This is an extremely thorough course, covering everything you need to know about Lucid Dreaming and induction techniques. The insights are profound and original, and the information is all first-rate. It was written with the intention of being the best Lucid Dreaming guide available ANYWHERE, so it's really jam-packed from start to finish. This one will be a stayer folks!

And it's going to take you places. The Lucid Dreaming book is the third in the Ultimate Astral Experience series, and the author is busy working on follow-up book on Lucid Dreaming possibilities, Out of Body Experiences and Astral Projection. And I know they're going to be as good as the first three if not better. How do I know? Because the author is me! :-)

Okay, perhaps it's a little facecious reviewing my own books, but "it's a dirty job and someone's got to do it." LOL! Luckily I'm a person who means what I say and says what I mean. Things like: 'instant digital delivery' and 'pay for the first three books at the current discount price and receive the others free as they are released.'



So if you liked the original content on this page, you might want to check this out: you can get the first book FREE and find out all about the Ultimate Astral Experience Course here.