Lesson 1: Stabilization
Congratulations on reaching the first lesson of this class :)
The real meaning of lucidity
To be lucid is often referred to as being aware during a dream. This is repeated all over the internet but it is actually to an extent false. Lucid dreaming is composed of multiple factors.
- Do you know that you are dreaming?
- Are you aware of the consequences of your actions?
- Do you know what it means to be dreaming?
- Do you have a memory of waking life?
- Do you know that the dream world is entirely safe?
The best way to describe these factors is through an example, take the following made up scenario.
A dreamer is walking through a street in a dream, he sees a rabbit and realizes he is dreaming. He decides that he wants to catch the rabbit and starts to run after it. He remembers that he had just gotten his driver license in real life so he gets into a car to hunt the rabbit. He sees the cars around him and decides not to drive since he might damage one of the surrounding cars. An angry villager grabs him out of the car and tries to hit him and he flinches and wakes up.
As idiotic as this dream may sound these type of situations happen to all of us. In this particular case the dreamer was lucid, but lacked many of the factors which could have granted him a perfect lucid dream. Let us analyze his situation by checking whether each factor was present or not.
- He knew that he was dreaming.
- He was not aware of the consequences of his actions. He chose not to drive since he feared damaging the surrounding cars, while these cars had no actual value.
- He did not know what it meant to be dreaming, chasing after the rabbit is not a very effective way of catching it. He had the possibility to catch the rabbit by any means yet he stuck to everyday actions.
- He showed a memory of waking life which is a good sign.
- He did not know that the dream world was entirely safe since he was intimidated by the angry villager.
At first glance the dream may have seemed quite lucid, but after analization we can see that he only fulfilled 2/5 of the necessary factors for a good lucid dream.
Whenever we mention lucidity in these lessons we are always referring to more than just the awareness of dreams. Lucidity ranges from just about aware of the dreamworld to a complete understanding of every aspect of the dreamworld.
Why this is relevant.
If you are reading this tutorial you are most likely having trouble staying in the dream, or retaining your consciousness. The reason for this is that you do not satisfy all the factors of lucid dreaming.
The foundation to dream control is understanding the dream. Once you are capable of recognizing each factor of lucid dreaming and are able to actively remember them in a dream you will have reached a state were you will have the time to practice dream control without the constant worry of the dream ending.
The next four exercises will deal with trying to learn how to recognize each of these factors in a lucid dream. Over the course of four weeks or more participants will try to become proficient at recognizing ever aspect of a lucid dream. These exercises will iron out any irrationalities you have in the dream world and will help you to feel more comfortable and connected to the dream world.
Week 1:
The first factor we will deal with is, Do you know that the dream world is entirely safe?. To learn this you are required to do is get to trust the dream, you must become fearless, so that you future tasks can proceed fluidly. This task will involve doing one of the following.
- Passing through a wall.
- Falling backwards and not knowing whats behind you, but trusting that it will be safe.
- Conversing with a monster or demon.
These tasks are ranged from easiest to hardest, I advise you to try the hardest but if you feel the need you can do any of them. These tasks are good practice since they will get you involved in the dream scene, repeating these tasks even just once or twice can give you the confidence in the dream world necessary for creating a stable dream. I cannot say much more than try them and try as hard as possible to do them without feeling fear.
Week 2:
The second factor we will deal with is, Are you aware of the consequences of your actions?. This is an extremely important factor in your dreams because it can determine whether you are mindlessly wandering through your lucid or making informed and enjoyable decisions. The following tasks are designed to be fun and while they may seem counterproductive I can assure you they are not.
- Breaking a really expensive vase.
- Burning down one of your prized possessions.
- Drive recklessly through a city crashing into everything without feeling guilt.
What I am trying to show you through these exercises is that you should not feel ashamed or scared of your actions in a lucid. Nothing you do will harm you or haunt you, sure someone might stop you doing it in a dream, but after finishing these classes you will have learned how to deal with that. Right now just have fun and try to feel as little sympathy as possible. In the fourth week we will work on finding out why we can just do whatever we want.
Week 3:
The third factor we will deal with is, Do you have a memory of waking life?. This is one isn't really important in terms of stabilization but it helps with remembering your goals in dream.
- Remember what you usually do every day.
- Remember you favourite food.
- Remember an event in the future.
Not much I can say on this one other than practice them, get good at merging real life and dream life.
Week 4:
This is by far the most important thing you will learn out of anything in these classes, Do you know what it means to be dreaming? To be truly in control of the dream you have to know exactly what it means to be dreaming. We have to get past the notion that we are restricted, that actions take "energy" etc.
I want everyone participating to think about this for a second. Really a dream is only the firing of a few electrons, an entire world inside your brain probably ways less than a grain of sand, in terms of the weight of all those electrons floating around. Whenever you do anything in a dream, be it lifting a glass or destroying the universe, it takes almost the exact same amount of energy. Once you get this concept into your head dreaming will certainly change for you.
- Lift an object from far away, not by using telekinesis but by imagining the glass raising itself through the dream.
- Lift your self of the floor, again just by thinking of it.
- Completely vaporize a huge object like a mountain.
If you have any trouble doing any of these, just try to remember this, everything you do only takes a few impulses in your brain. Tell yourself "I am in full control" "Everything I do takes almost no energy, there are no limitations to my power". Keep trying to do something and if it isn't working don't make an excuse for yourself, tell yourself honestly that it is because you are still following rules, take a breath and try again.
Congratulations, you just read the entire first lesson. Remember that each of these tasks are designed to practice your abilities in the dream world, if you are dedicated and are willing to try each of the tasks you will succeed in becoming proficient at mastering the dream world. If you have completed a task try it again, keep trying and trying and pushing yourself :).
