The other day, I had a really long, deep and heartfelt conversation with my dog, I flew all over the world with my long wings, I had this sunflower telling me that I look really beautiful and I ate candies sitting on the cloud.

You’re probably ridiculed and you will shun me away by telling me that I was dreaming.

11 Interesting Techniques On How To  Lucid Dream

Yes! I was dreaming, but guess what? I actually wanted to do all those things, I wanted to talk to my dog, I wanted to fly! You’re again ridiculed and you’re asking me that if I was dreaming, how could I do things that I want consciously? Well, because I wasn’t just dreaming, I was lucid dreaming! 

If you have seen the movie Interstellar, the artisan was not only able to control his own dreams but also of others. However, how amusing it would be if in real life if you could at least control your own dreams? You could be the master of your own dream, you could lucid dream!

A lucid dream essentially is a dream during which the dreamer is aware that he is dreaming.

Herein, the dreamer has some amount of control over his dreams, characters, environment, and the narrative. You must have come across the phase  “ You are in control of all good dreams.” Well, here, it literally is the case!

The concept of the Lucid Dream sounds so exciting and intriguing! But, you might be wondering why aren’t you able to do it? According to research conducted in 2019, 77% of people have experienced only one lucid dream in their entire life.

But there are 23% of extraordinary ones who Lucid dreams once every month. So lucky!, but hey, what if I show you how to lucid dream? Take a look. 

Reality Testing

 This technique allows you to undergo intensive mental training. Also called Reality Checking, it allows your brain to undergo metacognition and increase your awareness and consciousness. According to Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, an individual’s life of metacognition is equivalent to waking and dreaming states.

As a result, higher metacognition, while you are awake, leads to higher metacognition while you are dreaming. To enhance your metacognition, you can do reality tests for example – 

• Ask yourself “Am I dreaming? 
• Constantly check your environment whether you are dreaming or not. 
• Keep your own consciousness in check and notice how you interact with your environment and surroundings. 

The above tests can be simply done in real life by

1. Mirror: Simply use it to check your reflection 
2. Alarm: Set an alarm for 2-3 hours to remind yourself to do a reality check. 
3. Things: Use a wall to see if your hand goes through it. 
4. Hands: Look at your hands, are they normal? 
5. Breathing: This includes pinching your nose to see whether you’re still dreaming or not. If you still are, you are dreaming. 
6. Time: If you’re dreaming, the time on a clock will constantly change. But if you’re awake, the time will barely change.

Ideally, pick either of these simple reality checks to do multiple times in a day. This will constantly make your mind do reality checks which will further induce lucid dreaming. 

Wake Back To Bed (WBTB) 

This requires going to REM sleep even though you are still awake. Consider these for lucid dreaming – 

•  Set an alarm before bedtime at least for 5 hours. 
• Go to sleep normally 
• When the alarm goes off, wake up. Read a book, watch something. 
• Fall back asleep. 

Research suggests that when you are about to sleep, you’re more prone to lucid dreaming. But once you’re awake you need to undertake any activity that requires you to concentrate and be alert. 

Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreaming (MILD) 

This is the first method to be used to lucid dream propounded LaBerge in 1980.  It revolves around the concept of prospective memory, which entails an intention by an individual to do something later. Here, you make the intention that you are dreaming. To use MILD- 

• When it is bedtime, think of a recent dream. 
• Identify a feature of that dream that will actually able to differentiate that dream from the rest. For example – Talking to your dog. 
• Think about returning back to the dream. Here you will see that those features only appear when you dream. 
• Think to yourself “The next time I dream, I want to remember that dream.” Recite it to yourself 

Keeping a dream journal. 

The usual case scenario is that those who can easily recall their dreams have a higher ability to lucid dream. When you write down your dreams, you are consciously reminded of what happened in your dreams.

It helps you to be conscious and be aware of your dream and it’s characteristics. You should write down your dreams as soon as you wake up. You should also read your dream journal often.  

Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming (WILD) 

This happens when you directly enter a dream from waking life. This means that WILD helps your mind stay conscious while your body goes to sleep.

You will need to lay down and relax until you experience a hypnagogic hallucination i.e, a hallucination that occurs when you’re just about to fall asleep. WILD is simple, but it’s difficult to learn. Practicing the other lucid dreaming induction techniques will increase your chances of WILD.

Get more REM sleep

This could help you get away from a few taunts about how much you sleep! As we discussed earlier, lucid dreaming only takes place during REM sleep, so the more you REM sleep, the more you will be able to lucid dream.

This can be extended by getting more sleep in general. When you have healthy sleep habits, your body can have a good sleep cycle in all the four stages of your sleep. 

Turn off All screens. 

We all love phones, don’t we? We literally keep our phones just moments until we go off to sleep. But that is totally unhealthy. If you want to lucid dream, at least one hour before bed, turn off all electronic devices that have lit screens, for example- TV, phones etc.

Make your room as dark as possible to make you sleep better. It is also to make sure that your body produces enough Melatonin, the hormone that helps you sleep. Since light interrupts Melatonin production, it’s important to keep your environment dark.

Meditation and mindfulness 

“Eh, mediation is boring!” Well, consider its perks. It helps you differentiate between the mind and the body. Consider Buddhist monks who meditate for hours without any breaks, no toilet breaks and in fact no movement at all.

Yet, they experience reality in a whole different way! How? They are able to separate between their body and their minds. It is very similar to Lucid dreaming. 

Be the master of your own world, meditate.

Listen to Binaural Beats

Music has always done wonders, right? You may have tuned in to binaural beats to enable you to study, concentrate, and even sleep, however they can likewise help with lucid dreaming, as well.

The two frequencies being played simultaneously enter ears exclusively and are handled by your mind as a solitary recurrence that combines the two. You can discover binaural beat tracks on YouTube, or you can buy an application for a few bucks.

The secret to making these work for lucid dreaming is to coordinate the Hz (recurrence) to the fitting brainwaves to energize the movement. For this, you need Theta waves, which are somewhere in the range of 4Hz and 8Hz.

Play Video Games 

Next time if someone taunts you for playing video games, do tell them you’re into them because you want to lucid dream! When you play computer games, you drench yourself in a totally different world.

On the off chance that you’ve played dashing games, you’ve most likely pondered where you would go in the event that you veered out of control, and perhaps you’ve attempted it.

In case you’re in a roleplaying game,you may have wandered off your way to perceive what lies past. Drive yourself to investigate new  scenarios while you’re in play mode, and you’ll be more prepared to do it while you’re sleeping. 

All of these are very simple yet effective and can be done at the comfort of your home. Moreover, there are various advantages of lucid dreaming! How exciting is it to be in control of your dreams but also come out with a few advantages?

Well for starters, it increases your creativity and motor skills in general, reduces chances of nightmares and anxiety. It helps you reunite with your loved ones, remove fears, communicate with your subconscious, draw inspiration, improve overall skills and helps you to sleep better and longer.

So what are you waiting for? Go control your imaginative experiences and create a new reality as per your desires, just follow these steps!