All you need to know about Dream Guides

First of all, let me get one thing out of the way. When I talk about Dream Guides, I am talking about the beings that we encounter in our dreams, not the users on this website with green names.

Anyways, I was looking around the web and found that there wasn't much good information on dream guides, and what was out there was either scattered or not very clear and complete. So my goal with this article is to hopefully help you, the reader, better understand what a dream guide is. I compiled the experiences of numerous lucid dreamers, and my own rich history with my dream guide. I have decided to organize this like a FAQ board.

Also, keep in mind that when push comes to shove, in lucid dreaming, everyone is going to have their own experience and some of this information may not hold true for you.

Part 1: Dream Guides for Dummies

So, what is a dream guide?

A dream guide is a dream character that will, in one form or another, aid, guide or teach you as a lucid dreamer. Depending on your beliefs they may be representations of your subconscious mind or spiritual beings that inhabit your dreams and are here to provide spiritual guidance. I am aware that there are those who have strong views on both sides of this argument, and I will do my best to not to bias myself one way or another.

Keep in mind that you may have more than one dream guide, and that if you encounter multiple guides they will often fill multiple roles or teach you about different aspects of yourself, and attempt to help you with other aspects of your life such as your mental health and spiritual development. Although these can be seen as guides in a general sense, Your dream guide is a guide that is there specifically, or at least mainly focused on teaching you how to induce and control your lucid dreams.
Sometimes you might even have multiple guides focused solely on teaching you to lucid dream.

How do I meet my dream guide?

For the most part, Dream guides are cooperative and kind beings. When attempting to manifest them in a dream, you should be able to meet them with relative ease. Sometimes, dream guides will refuse to appear as they do not believe that the dreamer is ready, or simply due to poor manifestation attempts. You might also consider autosuggestion or visualization while awake if you are having difficulties.

Everyone has a dream guide, like it or not you probably have at least one.

How might a dream guide appear?

Oftentimes, Dream guides hold a consistent appearance, looking the same across most or all of the dreams that they appear in. You may also notice that their appearance is exceptionally vivid, and that you can see them more clearly than other dream characters. Although their appearance may be anything from a dragon to an animal, there is a trend for dream guides to appear as a human of the opposite gender of the person they are guiding (or the gender that the person finds most sexually attractive).
Why this is as such is for a number of reasons. (See Section 3) Some may also find that the 'wise mentor' dream guide manifests itself. Sort of like the 'Master Yoda' or the sensei in a Kung-Fu movie, only they will teach you about your dreams.

Regardless of how a dream guide looks, it is unlikely that you will be able to change how they appear. This is because the way your dream guide appears is, in and of itself something that they are teaching you about yourself, your dreams and your expectations.

How might your dream guide act?

How your dream guide acts follows many of the same rules as their appearance. Just as guides should appear more vivid than regular dream characters, they should also be much more intelligent, and their personality will likely stay roughly the same from dream to dream. And, just as how your dream guide looks is a lesson, their personality is also something that they will have primarily to teach your more about yourself.

But above all, a happy and healthy dream guide will be like a teacher. Even if they aren't clear cut "Here is the best way to stabilize your dreams: , Here is the best way to fly for you:" you should find that having them around furthers your knowledge of dreaming and yourself.

Keep in mind that your dream guide is like another person. So treat them with common courtesy, kindness. If your dream guide acts like a teacher, treat them like a respected teacher. If your dream guide acts like your best friend, treat them like your best friend. Bottom line: follow the golden rule.

Why are dream guides helpful?
Your dream guide is among the most reputable source of information for you as a lucid dreamer, and this is what makes dream guides so awesome. Say you're really struggling with WILD. You've read a dozen wikis and been trying for two months, but aren't making any progress. Ask your dream guide why you are struggling, and they will give you advice to your situation. This is because, just like everyone has a different experience with their dream guide, everyone's mind is different and everyone has a different experience.
Of course, you may find that your guide will sometimes initiate lessons on their own terms, or straight up tell you what you are doing right or wrong before you ask.

Part 2: How to Train your Dream Guide (Troubleshooting and unique cases.)

My dream guide is not present/I can't manifest them/I don't have a dream guide.

Everybody has a dream guide, like it or not. Try different approaches. Autosuggestion. Visualization. Meditation. Keep in mind that some dream guides may wait until you have reached a certain skill level in lucid dreaming. At the very least they should appear and tell you that you are not yet ready for their guidance.

I would be very surprised to learn that somebody spent more than a month and still failed to find their dream guide.

My dream guide is evil/rude/attacks me.

I've seen this only a handful of times. Keep in mind that the character attacking you might not be a dream guide, but rather something known as a 'Dream Nemesis'. These are essentially evil dream characters who share some traits of dream guides, but are often repulsive, violent or can be counterproductive to your lucid dreaming attempts.

This is often an indication there is a major issue. Try to find the root of the problem (usually it's quite obvious what they represent) and either remove the character or befriend them. If they are a dream guide, then this behavior is an indicator that you need to make a major shift in your attitude, goals or motivations.

My dream guide is nice, but doesn't teach me anything.

It is possible for a dream character to appear consistently and exhibit the traits of a dream guide without being an outright dream guide. This is more of a persistent dream character. To some extent, these characters are guides, as they teach you things, but not as directly as an outright dream guide.

These dream characters don't occur in everyone, but these persistent dream characters may be present in your dreams. But everyone should have one outright dream guide.

My dream guide is testing/challenging me.

Good! This is a sign of a happy and healthy dream guide.

This is actually a fairly rare case though, and seems to happen in more advanced dreamers, or dreamers that have contact with their guides frequently. It happened to me once, and I've only heard of it in two other instances. If your dream guide tests or challenges you, just play along and try to complete their challenge to the best of your ability.

Does my dream guide have a name?

It's a good idea to get to know your dream guide. If you can, find out their name. Knowing their name can help you when you're writing in your dream journal, and can help you to be more clear who you are trying to manifest when you find yourself lucid and wanting manifest a particular dream guide. (Especially when you have more than one guide)

Manei (me), Kiro (Dawneye11), Mike (Kristanicole07), Vi (Spellbee2) are among some of the guides who I am familiar.

Part 3: The Dream Guide Complex

The Dream Guide Complex is a rule that has held true for a vast majority of the limited number of cases of dream guide relationships that I have observed. The rule is simply that dream guides will appear as the sex that a dreamer finds most attractive, though they may not embody the exact qualities that they find attractive. The dream guide will assert themselves as a potential romantic partner.

From both a scientific and a spiritual standpoint it makes sense why this might occur. Scientifically, it is the subconscious to blame, because the subconscious always wants someone that could be a potential partner. Spiritually it is important because it allows for a very close bond between dreamer and guide to be created.

How exactly you react to a guide that follows in this rule depends upon personal choice. I personally encourage dreamers to pursue this relationship to their benefit. This is because I believe that I (and many other dreamers) have or had the anticipation that you would have a traditional student-master relationship with their dream guide. However, dreams are governed more by emotions and thoughts than facts and teaching, therefore the paradigm of the student-master relationship is not ideal, and that is why the DGC is so common. By being in a partnership with the guide allows them to help you emotionally and spiritually, as well as factually.

Some people may be hesitant about the idea of falling in love with a dream character, and yes, it is kind of a weird idea. But it is not a traditional romantic relationship (even if sex is involved, and sometimes dream guide complex guides involve some of that... ;-) ) and you shouldn't think of it as one. If you're afraid of the judgement of people in waking life, just don't tell them. It is different both in the way that you would love a romantic partner in waking life and different from the way you would love a family member in waking life. These are dreams after all, and the rules are different than they are in waking life. It is a new, unexplored kind of relationship that up until now, nobody even knew could exist.

Though if you find yourself with a guide with the complex and don't want to do it, I don't think anyone will blame you for it. Its personal choice.

Part 4: Dream Enemies, Dream Guardians and Constructs

This last section will look at other oddities that I have found occurring in lucid dreamers. Dream guides are an obscure game as it is, and these are even more unusual, and I'm not as versed in them.

Dream Enemies

Dream Enemies, Dream Demons, Recurring Nightmares, etc. Whatever you want to call them. Like dream guides these character persist in behavior and appearance, however, they are evil. Representing qualities of demons or nightmares. These beings can be difficult to defeat even for a lucid dreamer, and they will repeatedly, scare or attack the dreamer.

I can't offer too much in the way of advice with these characters. With each dreamer, the resolution of how the character was removed varied greatly. Though I generally offer this advice when dealing with any nightmare. Most nightmares exist because they represent something; some fear, etc. You must recognize and accept that fear or issue. Once that fear has been recognized, the nightmare should turn to something good, leave your dream world, or disappear. If a nightmare does not have a reason to exist, it has no foundation or fear to live off of and should be easy to defeat.

There is also the possibility that you could manifest a Dreamcatcher within a dream and use it to protect yourself or banish the being.

Dream Guardian

This is sort of a subclass of a dream guide. Dream guardians tend to be martial characters who are more focused around protecting the dreamer from nightmares, including their dream nemesis if applicable. It is possible (quite common actually) for a guide-guardian hybrid to occur.

Construct

A construct is a term that I use for an artificially created persistent dream character. This includes artificially created guides and guardians. Characters that are created as a conscious choice by the dreamer for whatever benefit.

I advise against creating artificial guides or guardians instead of just allowing them to 'happen' on their own. Remember how dream guides' appearance and behavior is an important part of what they teach you and how they help you? While a construct guide may be of some use (particularly if you are waiting around for your real dream guide), they are really no substitute for the original. (Not only that but your real guide might not be too happy if you try to replace them with a cheap impostor...)

TL;DR: If you make your own dream guide, It wont hurt you, but it won't help you as much as the original.

Construct Guardians may follow that same sort of principle. The appearance of the Guardian may represent what you think is protecting you, or what makes you feel safe, and therefore offer insight. Though I don't think this is goes to the same extent as a Dream Guides.

I guess you could make a construct nemesis if you really want to. I'm not really sure why anyone would want to do that, though...

There are other constructs you can make. If you're a writer or have ever created fictional characters, you can bring them into the dream world as a supporting cast. You can make fictional characters from books, movies or TV shows into constructs. Go nuts!