If you're a beginner wanting to learn how to lucid dream,
one of the biggest dangers is finding a teacher you can trust.
There are hundreds of people claiming they can teach you how to lucid dream,
but how do you spot the real deal from the fakes?
In this video, we will explore some easy tips
on how to avoid fake lucid dreaming teachers.
After all, you probably want a lucid dreaming teacher
who can actually lucid dream.
With the tips and tricks in this video,
you might be surprised just how easy it is to spot them.
Let's get started.
It can be a minefield trying to find genuine lucid dreaming advice.
When you pop onto Google or YouTube and search for "lucid dreaming",
you will get thousands of results.
Sadly, search engines are run by mindless algorithms,
and algorithms can be easily manipulated.
Just because something is the first search result or the most popular channel,
that really isn't a sign that it's good.
Generally, it just means it's clickbaity.
And that's tip number one:
excessive hype and clickbait are the very first sign in spotting that your
lucid dreaming teacher is probably a fake -- or at least untrustworthy.
If you see "How to lucid dream tonight", or other hype, and exaggerations
such as words like "fast" or "instantly", you should be on guard.
It's not always a guaranteed sign,
as many teachers are forced to use clickbait to compete on these platforms,
but if you see it a lot -- especially if the same unrealistic claims continue in the article or video --
consider it a red flag, and be extra cautious.
However, anyone who makes continuous claims
that they can teach you to lucid dream tonight is a guaranteed fake.
If you want to learn lucid dreaming, you need to apply the same rules you would apply to learning
anything else. For example, if you wanted to learn Spanish, you would probably want to be certain
that the person teaching you can actually speak the language.
Even better, if they visited the country, or have qualifications and experience in teaching.
You wouldn't want a teacher that had never spoken Spanish, and instead could only
read other people's online articles, or who thought that using Google Translate
counts as meaningful understanding.
The same applies for lucid dreaming.
Sadly, there are no official qualifications for lucid dreaming -- but there are
some established basics that anyone who knows what they're talking about should get right.
One of the most common signs of an inexperienced, fake or untrustworthy teacher
is that they get basic concepts and terminology wrong.
At the very least, it means their ability to do their research is terrible --
which is not a trait you want in a teacher,
as you would never be able to trust anything they say.
For example, you would not want a Spanish teacher who thought that Paris was the capital of Spain.
There are two terms that are essential to lucid dream practice.
They are the absolute basics -- and anyone who understands lucid dreaming will know them.
These are known as WILD and DILD.
These are the two types of lucid dreams, and their names were coined
by lucid dreaming researcher Stephen LaBerge.
Consider these the "capital cities" of lucid dreaming.
Any trustworthy lucid dreamer should know what they are, what they're called, and what they mean.
If someone gets these wrong, it means they don't know what they're talking about.
The most common mistake that fake lucid dreaming teachers make --
mostly because they're just getting their knowledge from websites and haven't fact checked --
is to call a WILD a "Wake Induced Lucid Dream",
and a DILD a "Dream Induced Lucid Dream".
In reality, WILD is short for "Wake Initiated Lucid Dream",
meaning a lucid dream which is initiated, or starts, from waking;
and DILD is short for "Dream Initiated Lucid Dream",
a lucid dream that is initiated during a dream.
The word "induced" means "to cause" or "to produce" --
and while it may seem like a simple semantic difference, it's an important one,
which completely changes the meaning of the term. It's as wrong as a geography teacher
thinking London is the capital of America -- and if you see someone get these terms wrong,
they are incompetent, or at the very least incapable of the kind of fact checking you'd expect in a teacher.
If you're following someone who gets these absolute basics wrong,
I'd highly recommending ignoring their advice on anything related to lucid dreaming.
The third sign of a fake lucid dreaming teacher
is attempting to appear credible by borrowing a name.
They will also avoid using their own name prominently,
mainly because nobody would recognise it, and because it doesn't hold any weight.
Instead, they will use a phrase or a term from an established, real teacher as their brand name.
For example, many untrustworthy teachers have copied the title of respected lucid dream researcher
Stephen LaBerge's book "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming".
They will use variations of that name as their username,
in the hope that people will mistake them for being affiliated.
For example, teachers or companies whose entire brand name are something like
"World of Lucid Dreaming" or "Exploring Lucid Dreaming",
and without any clear reference to their own name to differentiate themselves
from the original are hoping to lure people in who are looking for the original, respected book.
It's a bait and switch tactic -- not the sign of a trustworthy source.
Another test for a credible lucid dreaming teacher is peer review.
The majority of trustworthy lucid dreaming teachers have a huge respect for each other,
and are keen to suggest other good teachers and sources.
If the majority of lucid dreaming sites and teachers are being critical of any particular teacher or site,
that's a sign that something is wrong. Often, the fake teachers will claim that the established members
of the community are jealous, or that they don't like the competition --
but this is a smokescreen, and can be easily proven to be wrong.
Almost all quality lucid dreaming teachers regularly collaborate
and promote each other's work. Criticism from other names in the field
is generally a sign that the person being criticised is doing something
that is bringing the whole field into disrepute.
If a teacher is not recognised or accepted by other established lucid dreamers,
take that as a red flag. Equally, teachers who avoid collaborations
or the promotion of their peers generally have something to hide.
We live in a world where it is easy for charlatans, or enthusiastic but inexperienced individuals,
to easily promote themselves as some kind of authority -- and often, Google or YouTube
will happily oblige in sharing their misinformation in return for clicks and advertising space.
Be careful when choosing your lucid dreaming sources.
One of the best things you can do to avoid fakes is to learn to become a fact checker yourself.
Indeed, critical thinking and fact checking are skills that are vital for lucid dreaming itself!
So, the more vigilant you are in your waking life, the higher your chances of being lucid in your dreams.
Don't fill your mind with half-truths or forgive blatant mistakes because something is catchy.
Remember: when someone chooses to become a teacher,
they are taking on an important responsibilty -- and, as such, should be held personally accountable
to put in the hard work to get it right.
Otherwise, what's the point of them? They're doing more harm than good.
What are your thoughts on fake and misleading lucid dreaming resources?
Have you had your time wasted by misleading information or face products?
Drop your experiences in the comments below,
and help other lucid dreamers avoid making the same mistakes.
Lucid dreaming is a wonderful pastime.
It's important to remember that the word "lucid" actually means "clear and rational" --
and one of the best ways to achieve lucidity in both your dreams and waking life
is to be more clear-minded and more rational in your approach to the world.
That means taking the time to call out misinformation.
Think of it this way: if a dream character were to tell you that you weren't dreaming,
a rational approach would be to question that, and to fact check -- and then, you would become lucid.
So a good place to start is right now, here in the real world, and be a little more lucid
in your day-to-day life. Build a habit of caring about evidence, checking facts,
and not taking things on face value. Then, the habit will transfer into the world of dreams.
As always, guys, hit the "Like" button, share this video, and subscribe.
By the way, if you are subscribed, make sure you click on the bell button
and choose "All notifications", because a lot of you have been telling me
that you're not getting a notification for every new video -- and that should help fix that.
So that's all for today.
I'm Daniel Love, The Lucid Guide.
And, until next time, stay lucid!