An obvious question is, “Can I learn to have lucid dreams?” The answer is quite simple: yes. Lucid dreaming is like any other skill—some are born with the ability, while most must practice and work at it. Some time ago I got into a discussion with my sister regarding lucid dreaming. I was surprised to discover that she had the ability to lucid dream at will, and always had, as far as she could remember. In fact, she thought it was quite normal—she had no idea that most of us couldn’t automatically have them.
How do I start?
The main prerequisite for having lucid dreams is above average dream recall. Although it may at first not seem like it, developing dream recall is fairly easy. For the most part it takes only practice and motivation. These two necessities to developing dream recall are rather self-explanatory: if you want to get better at a skill you must practice; if you’re not motivated, you won’t practice. Diving right in and attempting to have lucid dreams without having the ability to recall your dreams is senseless because you’ll likely not remember your lucid dreams upon waking. Also, learning dream recall will aid in both your attempts to induce lucidity and to control your dreams because you will have developed the diligence and patience necessary to do so. Once you have improved your dream recall to a couple dreams per night you can move on to attempting to induce lucid dreaming. Again, practice and motivation will become key components to your success at lucid dreaming.
How long does it take?
The length of time required to have steady lucid dreams varies, depending on the person. Keep in mind since we are all individuals it may also simply not be possible for you to become steady with your lucid dreaming: it is very likely you’ll only be able to have a couple a month, if even that many. As stated previously dream recall, practice, and motivation are all critical components to successful lucid dreaming. Obviously one who begins with excellent dream recall will require less time and effort than one who only occasionally remembers his or her dreams. Some will be more ardent than others and will find it easier to stay motivated and to practice. Also, there are always those who seem to have a natural predisposition for various skills, thus will be able to proceed at an accelerated pace regardless of their previous level of experience. I should note that lucid dreams are not necessarily only attained by vigorous practice and diligence—it is quite possible you have already experienced lucid dreaming, although you may not already know it. In fact, after reading this site on lucid dreaming you may very well have a lucid dream tonight—simply reading about and constantly thinking about lucid dreaming is often enough to induce a lucid dream. Attaining the ability to lucid dream at will, however, requires effort on your part.
For further information on learning lucid dreaming you can read through our Attaining Lucidity forum on the message board. From here we’ll move on to the stages of sleep which you should know about so that you can learn when you have the most vivid dreams during the night, which will aid in developing recall and inducing lucid dreams.
