Lucid Dreaming Tips

So you can practice lucid dreams too

My aunt held my three-year-old body up to the night sky. “That one. That’s the one!” I squealed.

“Okay. See you there. Now turn out the light and go to sleep.”

We had an understanding, she and I. We knew we weren’t our bodies. We could lift right out of them and explore the cosmos.

The separation of the spirit from my physical self was a no-brainer. After all, who, or what, dreamed about soaring out of the Earth’s atmosphere and entering space?

It wasn’t my body. It was me, the actual me without form. My body stayed behind and, by morning, could usually be found on the floor beside my bed.

“Do you ever dream?” My best friend asked when I was eleven. “Of course, don’t you?”

When Jen told me she had the occasional dream in black and white over which she had no control, I raised my eyebrows. You never know you do things differently until someone tells you otherwise.

I asked more people too. “Can you do whatever you want in your dreams?”

Most people replied with an emphatic “no.” They could not control their nighttime imaginings and rarely recalled dreams at all.

Later I was to discover a name for my experience of the awareness of self in dreams, lucid dreaming, and that some people were like me. Expert lucid dreamers, those in control of their dreams almost every night, are rare.

So have I got mystical abilities? Am I special? No. I’m just like you. The difference is I practiced lucid dreaming as far back as my memories stretch and thought it was normal.

Most would-be lucid dreamers believe they must perform rituals before they can master awareness of dreaming and direct their dreams. You can take online courses to teach you such practices and have tips delivered to your inbox.

Even I’ve given people tips about potential ways to enhance the chances of encountering lucid dreams.

Lay on your back, don’t overeat before bedtime, listen for a faint roar like a distant train in your head, and follow the noise…

Other people recommend dream journaling, broadening your REM dream cycle with supplements, taking melatonin, and frequent reality checks. Do these methods work?

If you believe in them, perhaps. Belief is a helpful ingredient. Focus on your dreams and carry out routines you think will aid success, and you might start lucid dreaming.

•My advice? Know with utter conviction you can and will; be aware and take the reins when you dream, and you will do so.

•Develop your beliefs with subliminal affirmations, and when you’re sleepy, tell yourself you will have a lucid dream.

•Learn to meditate, too. Once you can shift into deep states of relaxation with full awareness, you’re almost there.

Is it worth the effort? Surely lucid dreaming is fun, isn’t it? It can’t change your life?

Actually, if you become the master of your dream world, you can do what I do. You can command your mind to explore fears hidden in your psyche and overcome them.

You can find out how it feels to fly, swim to the depths of the ocean, and visit far-flung worlds.

As you wield more control, you can instruct your mind to produce dreams in which you discover other people’s perspectives and live their lives for the night.

I often rummage through a pile of shoes in my dreams and choose a pair to wear — a metaphor my brain enjoys.

You will see an average-looking woman if you spot me in the street. You’ll have no idea I spent the night traversing the mindset of a terrorist’s wife, an early settler in Australia, or a politician on the brink of a breakdown.

In your sleep, you might also visit a dream doctor or pharmacy and awaken with knowledge about how to cure ailments or use further dreams to manage difficult emotions.

There’s no end to what you can do in your dreams.

Bonus Tips

Since initially writing this article, I’ve learned even more about lucid dreaming and how to, as it were, get off the ground!

# Lie on your back. Get into deep relaxation. Breathe deep, at first, and then settle into calm breaths. Now focus on your body’s outline (as imagined with your inner eye).

# Imagine you can feel your outline. Focus on it for a while to extend consciousness.

# Now imagine your soul (or energy) moving from side to side within the outline.

# Feel your soul energy lifting out of your body.

Take time with the exercise, practicing often. Unless you are in a state of deep relaxation, it likely won’t work. You might feel yourself lift ever so slightly at first and then sink back down, but keep practicing.