How to Experience a Lucid Dream  
by David Slone
posted on 5/27/06

Lucid dreaming means dreaming while you know that you are dreaming. The
term was coined by Frederik van Eeden who used the word "lucid" in the
sense of mental clarity. With practice nearly anyone can experience
lucid dreams.

Lucidity is not the same as dream control. It is possible to be lucid
and have little control over the dream. However, becoming lucid in a
dream is likely to increase your ability to deliberately influence the
events within the dream. With practice you may extend the amount of
control that you have over dream events. Many lucid dreamers choose to
do something permitted only by the extraordinary freedom of the dream
state, such as flying.
Some people have objections to lucid dreams. They say that it is
un-natural and could be harmful to the psyche. In my opinion this is not
true at all. Perhaps if all of our dreams were lucid and controlled
there may be some harm, but with our lucid dreams spread out among many
"normal" dreams we have plenty of time for non-lucid dreaming.
While we are in a dream our mind accepts what we see and feel as
reality. We often find ourselves in very unusual circumstances when
compared to our waking life. You could be living in a different house or
driving a different car. The sky could be green and the river yellow. In
most cases we accept these things as being true. Why doesn't the mind
"think" 'Hey! I don't have this vehicle' or 'This isn't where I live!'
or even 'Hey! I know the sky isn't supposed to be that color!'

This is what I call incongruities. Things in our dreams that are not
"normal". We must wonder, and many have, why our mind so readily accepts
anything we experience within our dreams as being real. We know there
are no monsters. We know the proper colors for things. We know our home
and our daily life. While we are dreaming we often forget these things
and we believe what we see in the dream.
Just knowing this and thinking about it can actually help you on your
way to a lucid dream experience. An incongruity is one of the triggers
to lucid dreaming. A trigger is that which inspires or begins lucidity.

Here is an example of this from one of my own lucid dreams:
I was driving a blue Ford Bronco down a dirt road. I think it was a late
70's model. There was a young boy in the passenger seat. I was giving
him a ride because his motorcycle had run out of gas. The bike was in
the back. Suddenly I realized it. I did not own a blue Bronco! In the
dream I slammed on the breaks and held my hands up. "I don't own a Ford
bronco!" I said, "I am dreaming!" from that point on I was lucid.

A recurring dream or nightmare can also be used as a trigger. If you
have a recurring dream make a conscious effort to realize that you are
dreaming the next time you are in that situation. If the dream involves
a certain person or place try to think as you go to sleep, "The next
time I see that house I will know that I am dreaming". Since the dream
is recurring it wont be long before you see that house, person, etc.
This may take several attempts. Don't be discouraged if it doesn't work
the very first time.
Another technique that works for a lot of people is asking yourself "Am
I dreaming?" and leaving notes for yourself. Several times a day ask
yourself the question aloud. Also write the question on a note and put
it on the refrigerator. Put the same message in other places where you
will see them throughout the day. Many people will find them self asking
that question or seeing the question written on a note while they are
actually dreaming. This will trigger a lucid dream.

My first lucid dream, that is the first one I had when I was trying to
achieve lucidity, was triggered by a flying dream.
Try to go to sleep in the same place and around the same time as much as
possible. It is best to sleep with silence as music or other sounds can
affect your dreaming. If you do choose to listen to music while you are
going to sleep choose soft and soothing music, preferably without
vocals. Use the same music each time. Before you go to sleep concentrate
on a trigger. My first time I said, "tonight I will fly", aloud several
times and I concentrated on it. The second night I had a flying dream
but I did not become lucid. On the fourth night I had another flying
dream and at that time I became lucid. I was then able to fly to
wherever I wanted to!
The trigger or combination of triggers that you use will depend upon
you. If you have a common dream theme this is a great trigger. Just
concentrate on the next time that you see or experience that you will be
dreaming. Think of it as often as you can while you are awake.
Lucid dreamers often comment to themselves in dreams. You may say aloud,
"This is a dream! I know that I am dreaming."
Make a list of questions that you have about dreams. Read the list often
and look over it several times and concentrate on it before you go to
bed.

Can you read text in a dream? Can you add numbers in a dream? These were
some questions I had on my list at one time. I had read in a dream book
that it was not possible to read text or to calculate numbers in a
dream, but I didn't believe it. I eventually found myself lucid in an
office. I walked over to a calendar on the wall and I read the text
describing a New England farm house. I turned to another man there and
said, "You see? You can read text in a dream!" I turned back to the
calendar to read again and found that the words had completely changed.
That amazed me and I commented to the other man about it. Next I walked
over to a desk and found a calculator. I added and subtracted numbers
and came up with correct answers. Yes, you can read text and perform
mathematics in a dream. I proved it to myself beyond any doubt and with
more confidence than I ever could have by reading anything about dreams.

Keep a Dream Journal
Keeping a dream journal is one of the most effective tools to achieving
lucid dreams. Try to write down your dreams as soon after you wake up as
you can. Don't just write a narrative of what took place in the dream.
Record your thoughts and emotions felt. This will help you later on as
you develop your dreaming research. Be sure to note all major elements,
such as people, places, animals, etc.
Keeping a dream journal will also help you a great deal in understanding
your non-lucid dreams. As you continue to write in your journal and
re-read your previous entries you will begin to see parallels with your
dreams and your life. Gradually you will be able to recognize what the
symbols in your dreams are really saying to you.

Once lucid in a dream, people can often choose their actions and exert
some deliberate control over the dream content. This ability has been
utilized in the laboratory to study lucid dreaming and dream
psychophysiology. For example, proof that lucid dreams occur in REM
sleep was achieved by having subjects give a prearranged distinct signal
with deliberate eye movements to mark the points in time when they
realized they were dreaming. The dreamers' reports of the eye movements
they had made in the dreams corresponded exactly to their physical eye
movements as recorded by means of electro-oculograms on a polygraph
record.

Reports from experiments conducted using eye movement signaling in lucid
dreams can be found in the literature (Dane, 1984; Fenwick et al., 1984;
Hearne, 1978; LaBerge, Nagel, Dement & Zarcone, 1981; Ogilvie, Hunt,
Kushniruk, & Newman, 1983).
What Are The Benefits of Lucid Dreaming?
The scientific study of dreaming and REM sleep
A variety of psychological and recreational applications.
Lucid dreaming can be a powerful tool for overcoming nightmares
In therapy, lucid dreams appear to be promising for providing personal
insight, assisting with integration, and as a safe environment for
experimentation with new behaviors (LaBerge & Rheingold, 1990).

Many lay people are attracted to lucid dreaming because it offers an
outlet for fantasy, an opportunity for adventure unfettered by the laws
of physics or society, and free of risk. As such, lucid dreaming is for
many a source of creative and inspiring recreation. Anecdotes indicate
that lucid dreams are helpful for artistic creativity, problem-solving,
and practicing skills for waking life (LaBerge & Rheingold, 1990).
Dreams hold the most vivid mental images attainable by most people.
Lucid dreaming is probably the best method for achieving the benefits
such as enhancing physical performance, learning, remembering and
facilitating healing.

REFERENCES
Dane, J. (1984). An empirical evaluation of two techniques for lucid
dream induction. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Georgia State Univ.

Fenwick, P., Schatzman, M., Worsley, A., Adams, J., Stone, S., & Baker,
A. (1984). Lucid dreaming: Correspondence between dreamed and actual
events in one subject during REM sleep. Biological Psychol, 18, 243-252.

Hearne, K. M. T. (1978). Lucid dreams: An electrophysiological and
psychological study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, U of Liverpool.

LaBerge, S., Nagel, L., Dement, W., & Zarcone, V. (1981). Lucid dreaming
verified by volitional communication during REM sleep. Perceptual &
Motor Skills, 52, 727-732.

Ogilvie, R., Hunt, H., Kushniruk, A. & Newman, J. (1983). Lucid dreams
and the arousal continuum. Sleep Research, 12, 182.

LaBerge, S. & Rheingold, H. (1990). Exploring the world of lucid
dreaming. New York: Ballantine.

About the Author
For more articles about dreams, death, ghosts, and the nature of the
soul in the afterlife visit http://www.honestinformation.com/ghosts/
Ghosts & Hauntings and http://www.honestinformation.com/why-do-we-dream/
Why Do We Dream?