Having trouble with attaining lucidity

[Shaun]

Hi everyone, i just need some advise on attaining lucidity and need to know if i understand the concept completely From what I've read so far is that lucidity is when you are "awake" in your dream, that you can control your actions completely. I also want to know how real the dreams have to be? like does the dream have to be as real as you see things in person? I have had maybe 2 dreams when i was in about grade 2 that everything looked as real as it can get and i did have control in my dreams but i haven't had anything like that for years.. I have been trying to gain control of my dreams for about 4 days now but as soon as i realize i am dreaming the dream immediately becomes vivid and ends. I've started keeping a journal of all my dreams because I've read it improves your memory, i haven't been doing reality checks cause i am still not sure exactly what i'm supposed to do and i don't understand how reality checks can help cause if you are in a dream doesn't everything just feel the same and all of that? but i do notice i'm dreaming. So what do all of you think could be the best thing for me to do??

[KingYoshi]

Hello there! Lucidity is when you realize you are dreaming, while you are in said dream. You can have zero control over the dream and still be lucid. Also, you can have god-like dream control, but not be lucid. The level of control you have doesn't factor into whether you are lucid or not. The only requirement to being lucid is knowing you are dreaming while you are in the dream. That is it. Like I'm sure you read, you can do pretty much anything during a lucid dream, using dream control. Dreams vary widely and some of the more vivid lucid dreams can be mind blowing-ly realistic. Its very good that you are keeping a dream journal, so bravo there! This can help you build up your dream recall. I strongly suggest you keep doing this. Reality checks are brief activities that can help you realize you are dreaming. My favorite RC is the "nose pinch RC." You pinch off the air passage to your nose (aka, hold your nose), but attempt to breathe through your nose anyway. Obviously, you aren't going to be able to do this in waking life. If you are in a dream, however, you aren't actually pinching your real nose. You are just pinching our dream-self's nose, so you will still be able to breathe through your nose even though its completely closed off. Another popular RC is taking your finger on one hand and pushing it through your palm on the other hand. Again, in waking life, your finger isn't going to go through your palm. In a dream, however, your dream body is not the same and pushing your finger completely through your palm is easily done. The idea behind RCing is, you want to perform these regularly during waking life, so they carry over into the dream state. Also, when you are performing RCs, make sure to look around at your environment and ask yourself, "Could I be dreaming right now? Could this all just be a dream?" Then perform your RC. Even if you know, 100% in your mind, that you are awake, ask yourself these questions anyway. I suggest you start by dream journaling as much as you possibly can and read up on some DILD tutorials. This will be the method you want to start out with. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask!

[RavenOfShadow]

Ok! First thing; Lucid dreaming is exactly what you described from your Grade 2 experience. The dream world snaps into sudden clarity (I get an electric feeling throughout my body), and you suddenly have control. So yes, that is lucid dreaming! You can do anything, be anyone, and control everything! Secondly, reality checks and daily awareness are absolutely essential to lucid dreaming. Without these things, any time you become lucid will be almost pure luck. ADA (All Day Awareness) and Reality Checks (you can find tons more info on both topics on this site) are in my opinion the most important part of lucid dreaming; along with the pure desire to want to lucid dream. Basically, reality checks are done periodically throughout the day, and at unique occurances (sex, getting very mad at someone, seeing a car crash, or anything that seems to stick out from your daily routine). All day awareness is pretty much constantly taking note of how the "Real World" feels. How the leaves move, how smells waft, how the sun feels on your face. Up until you are lucid, dreams are bizarre and non-sensical; and you will eventually be able to realize this very easily with ADA and Reality Check practice. The idea of reality checks is that you will see something unusual in your dream, and out of habit your dream self will do a reality check, which will almost always fail in a dream, as its not reality! Dream journals are also an essential part of lucid dreams. They let your dreams become more and more vivid, and you can recall more and more cool stuff. I now look forward to dreaming, even if it isn't lucid, because my dreams are always entertaining, and now I can remember and make sense of them. But keeping a journal also lets you pick up on dream signs - unique things that occur often in your dreams, that you can train yourself to look for and become lucid when you see them in dreaming. When you are lucid you will KNOW. An amazing energy fills your body, and your dream is suddenly crisp and life-like. There are still weird things, like twisted hallways and strange landscapes, but its like Alice in Wonderland; you are really THERE. You can feel, touch, taste, smell... Its incredible. So stick with it, learn more on awareness, meditation, and reality checks, and keep on recording those dreams! ~Raven

[RavenOfShadow]

Yoshi beat me to it, damn!

[KingYoshi]

Like Raven said, I suggest you take a look at my DILD guide. It can be found here, http://www.dreamviews.com/induction-...kingyoshi.html . It will tell you everything you need to know about starting to lucid dream, reality checks, and all the basics. If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask. Yoshi beat me to it, damn! Its all good! For beginners like the OP, its always good for them to get a second, third, fourth or even fifth opinion.

[Shaun]

Thanks guys I'm surprised at how fast you all answered! Another thing i need to know is what how is it possible to meditate to help with lucid dreaming? like how does it help and how do you do it?? i couldn't find any completely clear description on it. I'm really keen on this! dreaming has always been the best part of my day so this is just gonna enhance it so much more one of the things I've already noticed over these past few days is that i can already remember a lot about my dreams and i am getting a whole lot more of them, ive also noticed that im having alot of dreams about my school so that could be one of my dream signs

[Bobblehat]

Regarding meditation and lucid dreaming Shaun,I'm finding this guy's blog pretty though provoking. And he does cover meditation and awareness in various posts on the blog. Have Multiple Lucid Dreams Per Week: Introducing The Lucid Trance

[jamiealexander]

Hey Bobblehat, Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you're enjoying some of the posts.

[KingYoshi]

Thanks guys I'm surprised at how fast you all answered! Another thing i need to know is what how is it possible to meditate to help with lucid dreaming? like how does it help and how do you do it?? i couldn't find any completely clear description on it. I'm really keen on this! dreaming has always been the best part of my day so this is just gonna enhance it so much more one of the things I've already noticed over these past few days is that i can already remember a lot about my dreams and i am getting a whole lot more of them, ive also noticed that im having alot of dreams about my school so that could be one of my dream signs Well, in a nutshell, meditation helps increase your awareness and can relax/calm the mind. Learning to stay calm and relaxed, at will, can help you in a wide variety of lucid dreaming activities. Of course, awareness is one of the most important aspects of lucid dreaming in general. Meditation and lucid dreaming can often go hand in hand because they both involve taking over your own mind. That is the basics behind it. There are a lot more who could go further in-depth with the meditation side of things, I'm sure. My ADA technique is much like a form of "walking meditation."