Lucid Dreaming for Beginners

"Why are people interested in learning to be conscious in their dreams? According to my own experience, and the testimony of thousands of other lucid dreamers, lucid dreams can be extraordinarily vivid, intense, pleasurable, and exhilarating. People frequently consider their lucid dreams as among the most wonderful experiences of their lives." - Stephen LaBerge

For those of you that are interested in learning how to have lucid dreams I have written a beginner's guide to lucid dreaming. If you are truly serious about lucid dreaming then I would recommend that you read our complete lucid dreaming guide but if you are just a beginner then this is a great place to start.

Imagine going to sleep tonight and being in complete control of your dreams. No longer going through your dreams like a zombie accepting it for reality but being completely aware and in control of everything that happens. This may seem like a strange concept to many but for those that have mastered lucid dreaming, it's a reality. If you are ready to stop wasting a third of your life and start experiencing a world that you never knew existed, then it's time for you to learn how to lucid dream.

What is Lucid Dreaming?

A lucid dream is when a person becomes consciously aware that they are dreaming while the dream is still taking place. When you have a lucid dream it changes the dream from nothing more than a distant fuzzy memory to an intense and incredible experience. Imagine being in a world that is as real as the one you are in right now, completely controlled by your thoughts and mind, where you can fulfill all your fantasies and wishes with no consequences or limitations. You are exploring the deepest thoughts of your very own subconscious and using one of the best tools for self reflection and self discovery. Lucid dreaming cannot be described or explained with words but only when someone experiences a lucid dream will they truly understand it.

Why Have Lucid Dreams?

Now the obvious reason to lucid dream is for adventure and excitement but there are so many more benefits to lucid dreaming then just those. You are experiencing your own subconscious at the highest and most profound level there is. Some of the benefits of having a lucid dream are:

- Stopping Nightmares
- Improving creativity
- Personal and spiritual growth
- Problem solving
- Facing your fears
- Healing
- Self awareness
- Improving confidence
- Removing false limitations
- Astral projection

The possibilities and benefits of lucid dreaming are endless.

Lucid Dreaming FAQ

Can Anyone Have a Lucid Dream?

Of course! Everyone dreams whether they remember them or not and lucid dreaming is no different. Now for some people it might be easier than others, but everyone is capable of lucid dreaming no matter what.

Is Lucid Dreaming Fake?

Due to the nature and the relatively new knowledge of it, it's easy to think that lucid dreaming is just some made up concept. Lucid dreaming has been researched and scientifically proven during the last century. It also continues to be studied at many universities and institutions across the globe.

How Long Does Lucid Dreaming Take to Learn?

If you are serious and dedicated to having lucid dreams then you can learn how to master them in less then a few weeks. For the average person though it takes about a month before you will have your first lucid dream.

Is Lucid Dreaming Dangerous?

Absolutely not! Lucid dreaming is no more or less dangerous then having a regular dream. It's probably just about the safest thing you can do.

How to Lucid Dream

Remember Your Dreams

So now that you have learned all about lucid dreaming it's time to learn how to have them. The first step and the most critical is to develop great dream recall. What's the point of trying to have a lucid dream if your not even going to remember it in the morning. Not only does developing great dream recall allow you to remember your dreams much more clear and vivid, it allows you to become much more accustomed and used to the dream world so that you will be able to recognize when you are dreaming much easier.

The easiest way to start remembering your dreams is to start a dream journal and write down all of your dreams each morning. When you wake up in the morning don't think about anything or move around. Just lay there and try to think about what you were dreaming about and as soon as you remember your dream you have to write it down. Dreams are stored in a different part of the brain and they are easily forgotten no matter how real they are at the time. Remembering your dreams is a skill that is much easier as you practice it more and more. Once mastered, you will be able to remember around four of your dreams each night with great detail and ease. Only after you have mastered remembering your dreams will you be able to go on to the next step.

Intention

Setting the intention that you will have a lucid dream is the first step. Constantly thinking and studying lucid dreams will trigger your subconscious to think about it and most likely you will think about it in your dreams causing you to realize that you are dreaming. Just like remembering your dreams, you should also tell yourself the night before that you will have a lucid dream over and over.

Self Awareness

In a world that is so bizarre and strange with nothing rational happening, we go through it accepting that we are awake and that its reality. This is the repercussions of how we go through and accept waking reality. Were so busy running around that our subconscious has taken over and controls most of our thoughts. Push this button, push that button, do you want fries with that? Most people can't remember what they had for dinner last night or even driving home because their thoughts are so distant from reality. If we would start to become more aware in the world around us then we will do the same in our dreams and realize that the dream world is not real and become lucid.

Perform Reality Checks

Performing reality checks is a great way to induce lucid dreams. Reality checks are tests that you perform while you are awake to make sure that you are not dreaming. It may seem stupid when you are doing these tests but by constantly doing this you will automatically carry this on into the dream world. When you perform one of the tests in the dream world they will fail and you will instantly realize that you are dreaming.

Some good reality checks to do are:

1. Lights - Check and make sure that the lights are working correctly. When you are in a dream the light switches and lamps will not work right.

2. Time - Another great technique to perform is to double check the time. Every time you look at a clock or your cell phone for the time turn away and look back to make sure that it still reads the same time as before.

3. Memory - When you are in a dream chances are that basic waking life memories are forgotten. The date or day of the week, your birthday, address, and even your name. You should stop and constantly ask yourself these questions to make sure you know the answer to them.

4. Breath - Cover your nose and your mouth and make sure that you still can't breath.

5. Hands - Count your fingers and make sure they are all there and then recount them. Another thing that you can do is see if you can push your finger through your hand.

6. Where am I? - Another thing that you can do is always ask yourself where you are at and how you got there. Do you remember where you were started before you were at this place?

7. Vision - Look around and make sure that everything is where and how it is supposed to be. Does the sky look normal today?

As you do each of these checks you should always make sure and ask yourself if this is just a dream and be ready to find out what the answer is. Make sure that every check that you do you are fully aware and not just performing them like a habit or unconscious action. When you perform these reality checks already thinking that your awake and expecting them to pass then chances are you will do the same thing in your dreams and they will not work.

Binaural Beats

A simple and quick way to induce lucid dreaming is the use of binaural beats. Binaural beats are sound waves that influence and alter the brain's frequencies to acquire a desired effect, like becoming conscious in a dream. Binaural beats will dramatically improve your lucid dreaming results and is a must have for anyone wanting to learn how to lucid dream quickly. For the best results you can combine binaural beats with the other various techniques.

Wake Back to Bed Method (WBTB)

This technique does not have to be done every day and can be done whenever you want to try and have a lucid dream. The first step is to set your alarm and wake up after 6 hours of sleeping. When you wake up you want to get out of bed and do something that keeps your brain thinking. You can check your emails, read a book, or just write in your dream journal. Anything as long as your thought process is active. I would recommend that you don't watch TV or perform any actions that a robot could do. After you have been awake for about 30 minutes you will want to go back to bed for at least another hour. This will cause you to enter REM sleep after being in a fully conscious state making you more aware and alert while dreaming.

There are so many more lucid dream induction techniques but these are the fundamental basics. If you are serious about lucid dreaming then study and try different lucid dreaming techniques to find out which one works best for you. After you learn how to have lucid dreams the next step is to learn about the levels of lucidity so that you can reach higher levels of awareness. Then you must learn how to control your lucid dreams to have the best experience.