Awareness and Lucid Dreaming

Hello, i am relatively new to lucid dreaming, but I've been trying to become more aware during the day and trying to ask questions like "Am I Dreaming?" "What was doing 5 minutes ago? What will I be doing 15 mins from now? I've been also been trying to do RC's like plugging my nose and trying to breath through it. It just doesn't seem to be working at the moment. I guess it takes time though. I've also heard about meditation and how it's the key to self-awareness. Can someone point me in the right direction to meditation. Thanks so much.

It depends how familiar you are with Meditation. I only consider myself to be a beginner, and when meditating (for lucid dreaming or any other purpose, I generally apply the following technique.)

Phase 1: Get relaxed. Also use the bathroom, even if you don't really have to, and try to be on a comfortable stomach. (Don't be starving, and don't just have eaten five pieces of pizza.) Try not to do something that has to do with looking at a screen. Go for a walk, read a book, listen to some calming music. If you want to do something such as come on Dreamviews or play a relaxing video game that is OK but not recommended. You can skip this step entirely if you desire.

Phase 2: Clearing your mind. Now its time for the actual meditation to start. Sit down on the floor. If you begin to get a backache (I have a bad back) lean against a wall or some furniture, or lay down on the floor. Try to take slow deep breaths and on each breath count down starting from 100. When you get to zero, start over again from 30. As your counting you want to try to flush all of the thoughts out of your mind. Try to only focus on counting. If you find your mind wandering off, catch it and return to counting. (But do not penalize yourself by adding more to your counting. I used to do that to myself and would get stuck in a loop for far longer than was necessary)

Phase 3: Now phase three is where you actually conduct your meditation. If you are lying down, sit up, and get into the proper lotus position. There are a couple of ways you can take it from here depending upon the experience you want to have. Though the most basic is to simply focus on what you want. So if what you want is to have a lucid dream, then focus on your intent to have a lucid dream. Think about the reasons you want to lucid dream. Visualize yourself becoming lucid. Or you can even visualize writing about the lucid dream you had in your dream journal.

Doing this inside or outside is a matter of personal preference and the weather. I generally find that inside works better. Experiment and see what works for you.

It is important to do meditations consistently. Do them everyday, Ideally around the same time. (I do not, because I am lazy. I probably meditate about twice a week at random and should probably just quit entirely or get on a proper schedule.) The time of day does not matter either, experiment with what works for you. I personally prefer to do my meditations before bed, as that is when I will lucid dream.

Hope this helps.

I have been meditating for three years now and would strongly suggest the course though Aro at Aro - Learn Buddhist meditation. It is free and they email you weekly lessons. It far surpasses any of the books you can grab off the shelf from chain book stores and helps you pace your progress in a helpful way.

Lucid dreaming can take time. Think about some of the exciting things you would like to do in your dreams that you cannot do in waking life. If you start seeing some of those elements in your dreams, I would argue that your will is starting to make its way in.

Mindfulness of Breathing | Wildmind Buddhist Meditation