Starting Off on the Right Foot

Back so soon?  Hopefully there is still someone out there who is interested in learning my lucid dreaming techniques.  As promised, I plan to cover several techniques I learned to lucid dream with.  But first, you may be wondering, how did I first hear of lucid dreaming?

Strangely enough, I had my very first experience by accident around the age of ten.  The morning after, I can recall asking friends at school if they had ever experienced anything like it.  I received several responses telling me it was impossible or uninteresting.  Naturally, my ten-year-old self did not give up so easily.  As soon as I arrived home from school in the afternoon, I googled my question: can someone become conscious while they are still asleep?  Suddenly, the words "lucid dreaming" were scattered all across the screen.  As I began to read about a brand new culture, I realized that I had accomplished something tons of people can only dream to do.

For the relative future, I forgot about the practice and carried on with life normally.  It wasn't until my junior year of high school that I became interested again.  After reading reports that lucid dreaming could increase how well rested someone felt, the idea became intriguing again.  After all, a junior year course load of AP and dual enrollment classes was already consuming plenty of sleep.  If I could just grasp the equivalent of a few more hours of rest, I would be golden...

Now, down to business.  The following two techniques were the first two I practiced with to achieve a lucid dreaming state:

Technique Number 1: Constant Reality Checks

This technique is based off the theory that, over time, a consciously repeated action can ripple into the unconscious mind.  Simply put, if you do something in real life enough, you may begin to dream about it.  To utilize this method, simply ask yourself during the day "Am I dreaming?"  Make sure to say it out loud.  Soon enough, you may find yourself saying it in your dreams, even if you do not comprehend its meaning.  The more this occurs, the higher chance you may realize you are dreaming.

Technique Number 2: The Double Take

Perhaps a little less noticeable in public, this method is a repetitive action you can rehearse during the day.  As you go about your business, every time you check the time, wait a few seconds and check it one more time.  In a dream, time rarely remains constant, as the short term ability of the brain is muddled.  Once again, repeat this enough during the day and you may notice that a massive time shift takes place at night during a dream.  This surprising outcome may startle you enough to realize you are dreaming. 


So, what now?  Now you officially have a few tools to start learning how to lucid dream.  Go and try them out this week!  Remember, do not get frustrated if you fail the entire week.  It took me years to master what limited consistency I have.  If you are still not convinced to start practicing lucid dreaming, then just wait until next week; I plan to cover what makes lucid dreaming so valuable. 

Image Credits (in order of appearance):
Image provided by Hades2k

Image provided by Kim Carpenter