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Lucid Dreaming: An introduction

There are literally thousands of methods for inducing lucid dreams. Before we start though, it's a good idea to explain what Lucid Dreaming is.

Definition/Explanation

Lucid Dreams, according to Dictionary.com, are "a dream state in which one is conscious enough to recognize that one is in the dream state and which stays in one's memory." In this introduction, we will go over the pre-requisites and basic methods used to induce lucid dreams.

Pre-Requisites

Before you can start lucid dreaming, there are a couple of things you will need beforehand. Some of which can be obtained, others which you are usually born with. What you will need is:

What you need Why you need it
Dream journal This is something that either you have it, or you don't. If you want, you can start one now, but if you want to remember your lucid dreams well, you'll need to keep one for at least 3 months.
Good Dream Recall If you can't remember your dreams, then there's no reason to lucid dream. What's the point of doing whatever you want if you can't remember doing it. You can train this, but the better recall out there is something people are born with.
Alarm Clock An Alarm clock is something you MIGHT need if you plan on doing certain methods. Waking up in the middle of the night will become a must if you plan on mastering the art of lucid dreaming. Cell phone alarms are good too, and sometimes, better.
Knowledge of Reality Checks A Reality Check is a way for you to determine whether or not you're dreaming. This is accomplished by performing actions, usually mundane, that will verify if you're dreaming. There are a several of these, but the one people always seem to know is the "Pinch me" reality check. While this might work, it could also wake you up, so it's suggested that you use a simpler one. My personal favourite is the nose plug. Simply pinch your nose and try to inhale. If you don't inhale, you're awake. If you do inhale, you're asleep. Reality checks are supposed to be done everyday, at least a couple times a day, so that within your dreams, the habit transfers over.
Knowledge of sleep cycles To do certain methods, it's a good idea to know the sleep states and your own sleep cycles. The one talked about most is the REM cycle. The REM Cycle is where dreaming occurs, including lucid dreams. These occur every 90 minutes once asleep. To figure out how many REM cycles are in your sleep cycle, please go here
A Strong Will----Optional This isn't something you can just get. You have to be able to stay awake long enough to induce it, force yourself into it from within the dream, or have the commitment to wake up in the middle of the night for it. A strong will can help you, but isn't required as some methods are pretty straightforward or require little effort.

Now that you know what you need, let's get right into the methods.

Methods

As of now, there are 4 MAIN ways to induce a lucid dream, with thousands of sub categories and methods that branch off from the maain four. The main four are the DILD, the WILD, WBTB, and the DEILD. Let's talk about them all individually.

DILD: Dream Induced Lucid Dream

The DILD is the most common, and most simple, of the 4 methods. The DILD requires that you go to sleep, like normal, and within the dream, do a reality check to become lucid. That's all there is to it. Most derivatives of this method aren't true derivatives simply because they don't change the method, just what needs to be done before you sleep to better help you realize you're dreaming.

WILD: Wake Induced Lucid Dream

The WILD is the most commonly changed form of lucid dreaming. The WILD is a transition from the waking to the dreaming state, and this is where a strong will and an alarm clock are useful. There are several stages involved with performing a WILD. Those stages are:

  1. Laying down
  2. Falling asleep
  3. *The "feeling" (Explained Here
  4. Sleep Paralysis (Explained Here)
  5. Hypnagogia (Explained Here)
  6. Transition
  7. If everything was done right, you'll enter a lucid dream. If not, you might just end up in a dream from here

*The "feeling" mentioned above is scary to some, and just odd to others. It can be different for each person. For me, at first, it felt like a weight was being put on my body slowly starting from my feet, then eventually, to my head. Now, it just feels like a slight tingling after inducing it so much.

The normal WILD can be induced by trying to fall asleep, but without moving. By not moving, I mean it strictly. To do it well, you can't swallow, move your eyes, twitch, yawn, cough, sneeze, or anything at all. It's also suggested you don't let your mind wander too far. WILD's are best performed soon after waking up during the REM cycle. The best idea is to set an alarm for 3 hours after falling asleep. This way, you get the benefit of a REM cycle, while still waking up during the second one. Anyway, once you've laid down to go to sleep, you've kept still for a while, you'll start to get the feeling. This feeling won't fade, but you'll probably get used to it. At this point, you'll be in a state of Sleep Paralysis. From here, you'll start to see shit. This is called hypnagogia. To induce a lucid dream, you need to either focus on these hallucinations or imagine one yourself, and once you see it very clearly, you need to jump into it. Metaphorically of course. You honestly just have to think yourself into it. If you still have your concious thought and aren't being dragged along for the ride, you are now in a lucid dream.

WBTB: Waking Back to Bed

The WBTB is something of an oddity. To perform a WBTB, you need to get 6 hours of sleep, wake up, and keep yourself alert and focused for anywhere between a recommended 20-60 minutes. Once the time limit is up, go back to bed and relax. Try to visualize the dreamscape again, and if done correctly, you'll be lucid in a dream.

DEILD: Dream Exit Induced Lucid Dream

The DEILD is one of the harder techniques as it requires you to wake up WITHOUT an alarm, while not moving. Sounds a lot like WILD? To be honest, other than how the sleep paralysis is induced, it's pretty much the same method. Because DEILD has derivatives though, it's considered a different method entirely. It's simple to say, but much harder once you actually try it. It involves teaching yourself to wake up in the middle of the night without an alarm, not opening your eyes or moving, then transitioning into sleep paralysis while imagining a dream or the last dream you had. Most derivatives of DEILD are how you're supposed to think during the transition and how not to move.

Derivatives

Some are weird, some are intelligent, some are just plain stupid. Don't let that dissuade you though. The first lucid Dream I ever had was with one of the stupid methods. Called the Effective New Technique, this WBTB method involved persuading your subconscious to let you have a lucid dream by calling it a bitch. As profane as it is, I feel it enhances the impact it has. Many derivatives can be just as weird, but most can be extremely in-depth tutorials.