hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're going to learn about how to lucid dream tonight
for beginners now let's begin even if this is your first time lucid dreaming there are plenty
of easy tricks you can use to bring your dreams to life but first let's do a quick review what is
a lucid dream lucid dreams are unconscious dream states where you become aware that you're dreaming
normally while you're in a dream your conscious mind is completely asleep you can't remember much
or control anything because your consciousness is out of the loop your subconscious on the other
hand is wide awake that's why your dreams end up looking like a confusing mess of random mental
images but during a lucid dream your consciousness wakes up your mind realizes that you're dreaming
while your body stays asleep suddenly you can pay attention form memories and observe
the crazy fantastical world unfolding all around you with a bit of practice you can even learn how
to control the stories of your dreams yeah sounds pretty incredible doesn't it well the good news is
lucid dreams are right at your fingertips all you have to do is follow these simple steps number one
daytime self-talk your prep work doesn't start just a few minutes before you fall asleep it
starts right now from this moment until the end of the day lucid dreaming should be the first thing
on your mind you should read articles about lucid dreaming you can tell your friends how excited
you are to consciously experience your dreams you might imagine what it'll feel like to walk inside
an active dreamscape but this isn't just for fun daytime self-talk plays an important role in the
lucid dreaming process you're essentially tricking yourself into having a lucid dream
it works a lot like in affirmation by telling yourself that you're confident and capable your
brain rises to the occasion in other words if you frame something as the truth it's more likely to
happen so keep your eye on the prize throughout the day if you spend hours talking and thinking
about lucid dreaming then your subconscious will be much more willing to cooperate number
to validate reality while you're discussing and doing your research there's another important
step you need to take just like self-talk you should start this one as soon as possible the
hardest part of lucid dreaming is realizing that you're asleep that's because when you're dreaming
your subconscious doesn't notice anything wrong you might see a train floating through the sky
but your subconscious won't think twice about it it doesn't have the cognitive skills to make
sense of your dreams attention and logic are all conscious responsibilities so you need some way
to trick your subconscious into waking up your conscious mind a habitual behavior is the perfect
way to make this happen at first any new behavior starts out as something you consciously do but
over time it starts to feel automatic that habit will eventually fade out of your conscious and
into your subconscious just think about brushing your teeth or something as simple as breathing
now you don't have to think through every breath you take your body just does it for you to lucid
dream you're going to create your own automatic behavior but this isn't anything like brushing
your teeth it's designed for one important purpose every time you perform this habit you'll know with
a hundred percent certainty whether or not you're dreaming these habits are called reality checks
because that's exactly what they do they validate your reality they tell you if you're awake or in a
lucid dream so what does a reality check look like well everyone does them a little differently some
people like physical reality checks that means you're using some kind of physical action to
differentiate dreams from reality a good example is trying to stick your finger through your hand
in real life your hand is a solid object your finger is going to hit your skin and stop but
in dream states most surfaces are permeable in other words your finger will go right through
the palm of your hand once you see that you'll know instantly that you're in a dream and you'll
become lucid another popular reality check is called the inhalation test just plug your nose
and close your mouth now breathe in through your nose well of course you can't write your fingers
are in the way in a dream you'll be able to breathe normally because the air will pass right
through your fingers if physical reality checks don't work for you you can also try something
non-physical reading written text works for many lucid dreamers normally written text is stationary
so it's easy to follow but dream sentences have a hard time staying still they vibrate
they curve and they fold in on themselves if it feels impossible to keep track of a single line
of text then you've stepped in to a lucid dream it really doesn't matter which reality check you
choose you're going to train yourself the same way keep repeating your reality check throughout
the day at least once an hour if you can the more habitual it feels then the more likely you are to
try it during a dream and when your reality check fails your consciousness will wake right up number
3 powered down now let's jump ahead it's about an hour before you plan on going to sleep how do you
set the proper stage for a lucid dream the goal is to ease your brain into a vivid dream state right
well to make that happen your brain needs to feel calm and relaxed you'd think that watching a movie
or playing a game before bed would help you wind down but it does exactly the opposite the lights
from your computer screen actually suppresses the production of melatonin that's a hormone
that makes you feel drowsy without melatonin it will take significantly longer for your brain
to enter a deep sleep that means you're delaying your REM cycle and reducing your chances of having
a lucid dream luckily there's an easy fix minimize screen time as much as possible before bed an hour
is usually a pretty healthy buffer that gives your brain plenty of time to produce enough melatonin
but putting away your screens isn't the only way to facilitate lucid dreams relaxation exercises
like yoga and deep breathing help reduce stress and slow your heart rate they also improve your
mood ensuring that you feel good before diving into a lucid dream meditation can also work
wonders on your sleep quality as little as 15 minutes will gently guide you into the perfect
state of mind for lucid dreaming it provides sort of clean slates which makes this next step a whole
lot easier number 4 immerse your conscious mind as you're falling asleep there's one more thing you
need to do try to visualize your lucid dream while you're still awake hey don't worry about guessing
what you're going to dream about it doesn't matter if you're right or wrong the point is to inspire
your mind to think freely and creatively it's like getting the engine running on a car or stretching
before a football game you need to give your brain the chance to warm up so it can perform better
when you're actually unconscious visualizing isn't nearly as challenging as it sounds even if you're
not the most creative person you can still use this trick to induce amazing lucid dreams just
start by imagining an environment it could be a beach or the mountains maybe you see yourself
standing in the middle of a dense rainforest you can pick anywhere as long as it's some place you
can recreate in detail if you're having a hard time choose a location that you've been before
think back to your favorite vacations or your childhood home now once you've created your
environment start focusing on the details if you're at the beach how big are the waves if
you're in the rainforest what do the trees look like keep developing this dream world until you
fall asleep ideally you'll be able to transition your daydream into an actual dream if you can it
almost guarantees that you'll become lucid since you've already created your dreamscape you know
exactly what it looks like so you're much more likely to wake up inside of it number five sleep
paralysis this last step actually starts earlier in the day if you want to wake up at nine o'clock
the next morning set an alarm for 7:00 assuming you're getting a full eight hours that puts you
at exactly six hours of sleep that benchmark sits right at the beginning of your final REM cycle at
7:00 a.m. you'll wake up feeling exhausted and groggy but you need to resist the urge
to go back to sleep instead you're going to let your body drift back to bed while your conscious
mind stays awake this puts you in a strange state called sleep paralysis which creates the perfect
opportunity for a lucid dream your subconscious will start dreaming like it normally does without
realizing that your mind is still awake and aware you'll begin experiencing a loosely shaped version
of a dreamscape it's almost like an out-of-body experience you'll feel your mind drifting off into
empty space as your subconscious slowly begins to piece together a lucid dream but don't get
too excited a lot of people ruin their first lucid dream because they can't control their
enthusiasm as you feel your mind drifting away just stay calm don't rush it give your brain
time to construct a complete dream environment then slowly start looking around if you can keep
your cool you'll fall deeper and deeper into a fully formed lucid dream hey thank you for
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