Hello Everyone,
I'm Daniel Love, The Lucid Guide.
Today we're going to explore 6 easy lucid dreaming tips that everyone should know.
These are the absolute basics for lucid dreaming and the foundations for all well-developed
practices.
This is only a starting point for those new to the subject, but even these basic techniques
will greatly enhance your chances of experiencing a lucid dream; They'll put you in the best
possible position for future exploration.
So let's jump in:
6 - Keeping a Dream Journal
Without question, the most important thing any aspiring dream adventurer should do is
to keep a regular record of their dreams.
I know, it's hard work and even experienced lucid dreamers can find it a chore.
But, you have to think of it this way, if you want to understand, explore and become
familiar with your dreams, then a dream journal is the equivalent of creating a map of the
territory.
Ideally, you should write as many dreams as possible immediately after you wake up in
the morning.
If you don't have the time to write, then use a voice recorder and then transfer your
dreams to your journal later in the day.
If you don't remember any dreams, even after considerable effort, write down any important
details of your sleep, such as your emotions, your thoughts, the time you woke and, essentially,
any important details that you can recall.
If you do remember your dreams, try to write them as honestly and with as much detail as
possible, editing out any embarrassing aspects of the dream is a really bad idea - so keep
things honest.
Also, include as much extra information about your sleeping process as possible.
The time you went to bed, the time you woke, your current health, your mood, your
diet from the day before, and anything else.
A dream journal is a powerhouse of information, it's a map of the universe of your mind and
it expands beyond just your dreams.
By keeping a journal, you'll develop a relationship with your dreams that simply cannot develop
in any other way.
So, return to your journal often, reread old dreams, look for patterns and get to know
who you are when you dream.
5 - Dream Recall
Of course, being able to remember your dreams is absolutely vital if you wish to explore
and master them.
Most people will find that the act of keeping a dream journal will naturally improve their
dream recall.
However, if you struggle, there are a few tips to help improve your ability.
Firstly, before you retire to bed, set the intention to remember your dreams when you
wake up.
Often this simple act of willpower can be enough to enhance your memory.
Secondly, when you do wake up, minimise your distractions.
You'll want to spend a few moments lying still in bed, with your eyes closed.
Take this time to to pull back any fragments of memory that remain.
Slowly work backwards from whatever you can remember, even if it's just an emotion or
feeling.
By regularly practising this, your dream recall will improve greatly.
Importantly, don't just jump out of bed as the distractions of the waking world
will quickly erase your fragile dream memories.
Also, try to avoid using an alarm clock if possible, but if it is absolutely necessary, use one
that slowly builds in volume, so you wake smoothly, rather than with a jolt.
A musical alarm without lyrics is the best for this.
If none of these practices help, then you may find it useful to change the time that
you wake up.
Try experimenting with different wake times, as often those who can't remember their dreams
are inadvertently waking from a deep, dreamless stage of sleep.
Finally, you may find that improving your diet can also aid in dream recall.
Foods high in choline, such as eggs, are useful for supplying your brain with the building
blocks needed for a memory friendly brain chemistry.
4 - Question Reality
Lucid dreaming isn't magic, it's not some mysterious spiritual state.
At its core is a basic principle - A lucid dreamer is an individual who doesn't assume
that every experience is waking life.
They've learnt to continuously question reality and to understand that occasionally they can
be mistaken about what is happening to them and where they are.
It's a form of humility about the limitations of our own knowledge.
A lucid dream is simply the realisation that what you assumed was waking world is,
in fact, a dream - and all this happens whilst you're dreaming.
In fact, about 10% of your conscious experience is a dream, so questioning reality really
isn't at all unreasonable, in fact, it's really very sensible.
So, if you want to realise that you are dreaming while you are dreaming, you're first going
to have to question reality while you're awake.
If you never do this when awake, then why would you ever do it when dreaming?
This is why we build the habit during our waking hours so that it will become part of
who you are, and will then eventually transfer into your dream life.
Also, as you'll be keeping a regular dream journal, you'll become increasingly familiar
with the content and nature of your dreams and this will help you question reality, during
the daytime, at moments that are similar to your dreams.
This will fine tune your entire approach.
3 REALITY TESTS
If questioning your reality is a philosophical shift in your approach to life, then reality
tests are the practical tool for testing the nature of your reality.
Reality tests, which are also known as reality checks, are a simple experiment to confirm
which reality you are currently experiencing.
A good reality test is always based upon an inherent difference between the laws of the
physical world and the dream world.
For example, a popular and effective reality test is the "nose pinch test".
This is where you tightly pinch your nose and attempt to breathe through it.
When you are awake, you'll obviously be pinching your physical nose, which is the true source
of your air supply.
So, blocking it will clearly stop your ability to breathe.
However, when you are dreaming the same actions will not cause the same results.
When you pinch your nose in the dream world you are pinching a dream nose with a dream
hand.
And, as your dream nose is simply a mental projection, pinching it will have no effect
on the true source of your air.
As your physical nose will remain un-pinched and free to breathe as you lie asleep in bed.
So, when dreaming you'll discover that you'll have the very peculiar experience of being
able to breathe through what appears to be a pinched nose.
So in short, if you can breathe through a pinched nose you're dreaming if you can't
breathe you're awake.
There are many other reality tests that can be performed, and we'll explore those in future
videos.
The important point to remember is that during your daily practice whenever you question
your reality you will also perform a reality test.
Again, you are aiming to build a habit that will eventually transfer into your dream life.
2 - Develop your mental abilities
The human mind is both incredibly flexible and hugely capable, our capacity to improve
our abilities is remarkable.
With this in mind, it's important for any budding lucid dreamer to spend as much time
as possible developing their general mental abilities.
So, during your waking hours, spend time working on developing your skills of memory, attention,
focus, relaxation and more.
Two vital aspects to focus upon are the development of your memory and your ability to think critically.
Lucid dreaming itself is a process of critical thinking, you're learning to be less easily
taken in, to be a little more sceptical.
After all, we become lucid in a dream when we start to become sceptical about our current
reality.
So learn and practice as many mental exercises as possible.
The more you understand your mind, and the stronger and more in control you become, the
closer you'll be to mastering your dreams.
We'll be exploring all manner of mental exercises in upcoming videos, so be sure
to subscribe if you've not done so already.
1 - Experimentation
For lucid dreamers, sleep is not a passive activity.
Each night is an adventure, with huge potential for new knowledge and exploration.
So, with this in mind, you'll want to experiment with as many areas of your sleeping life as
possible.
Experiment with waking at different times, waking and returning to sleep, the position
in which you sleep, your diet, how you behave upon waking, and also try all manner of lucid
dreaming techniques.
It is incredibly important to record your successes and failures honestly.
Sleep will become a playground and a laboratory, where, through trial and experimentation,
you'll become familiar with entirely new aspects of your existence.
By combining your nightly experiments, with the detailed record keeping of your dream
journal and then applying your developing skills in critical thinking, logic and memory,
you'll become a scientist of sleep, a detective of dreams and an explorer of inner worlds.
Over time these basic practices will blossom into your own newly developed techniques,
uniquely tailored to your own individual mind.
And this is just the start of your journey!
So that's 6 basic tips for lucid dreaming, if you're new to the subject these are a great
foundation.
And, there are plenty more videos coming, for both beginners and experienced lucid dreamers
alike.
So, do you have any personal tips for lucid dreaming?
If so then drop them in the comments below and help out your fellow explorers.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear them, so share them in the
comments section and I'll do my best to respond as quickly as possible.
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I'm Daniel Love: The Lucid Guide, and until next time, sweet dreams!