A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming (15 page)

I was in my room standing near my bed. It was still dark out and

I thought to myself, “How did I get to be standing up? Did I get 

up to go to the bathroom?” Thinking that there’s no way I could 

be dreaming, I tested just to make sure by jumping. My hands 

passed right through the ceiling of my apartment! “Whoa, good 

thing I checked!” I remember thinking. Now fully aware that I’m 

dreaming, I passed the rest of my body through the ceiling and

began walking around in the apartment above me. Seeing noth-

ing of interest, I went outside and began exploring. —ThOMAS P.

2.
Perform a reality check
(choose one or two):

• Every time you answer your phone.

• Every time you walk through a doorway.

• Every time you see a dog.

• After every meal.

• Every time you change locations.

• When something strange happens.

• Every time you hear music.

• Every time you smell something delicious.

• When you’re in an emotionally engaging situation.

3. Use dream signs.
Remember those recurring symbols from your

dreams, the dream signs that popped up in your journal? Here’s

where they come in handy. Perform a reality check every time you

see a dream sign in waking life. If, for example, a dog appears

often in your dreams, when you see a dog at any point, stop for

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a moment and do a reality check. Am I dreaming? If you dream

about a friend or a sibling often, practice for the next three days

by doing a reality check every time you see or think of them. Since

these are the recurring symbols of your dreams, it’s very likely that

you’ll spot a dream sign while in the dream world, perform a real-

ity check, and become lucid.

Becoming Present

Like the “check engine” light on your car’s dashboard, reality

checks will alert you when something is out of the ordinary.

By asking the question during your waking hours, not only

will the practice carry over into your dreams, but it will also have

a powerful effect on your waking awareness. By taking a moment

and observing the world around you, you will be brought into

the moment, be more present, and increase your self-awareness.

Much of our days are filled with a constant jabbering going on in

our heads. A reality check is a great way to take us out of zombie

mode, allowing us to achieve an expanded awareness throughout

TOTEM

Keep a small item that is personal to you in your pocket, on your key chain,
or somewhere you’ll see it throughout your day. Whenever you see it, or feel
it in your pocket, perform a reality check. This will help you create the habit
of determining if you’re dreaming or not, which will then carry over into your
dreams.

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our daily lives. Use it as an opportunity to come back to the pres-

ent moment, look around, and see the nice things that surround

you. The waking world can be a real trip, too.

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�

Summary

You begin your dialogue with the dream world while you are

awake, with reality checks.

•   By asking yourself throughout your day “Am I dreaming?” you 

will soon ask the same question while in a dream. “Yes! I am 

dreaming this time!”

•   As you pose the question, perform a physical check as well. 

•   Perform a reality check five to ten times a day, at regular 

intervals. Use a consistent occurrence to remind yourself to

perform a reality check, such as “every time you see a dog.”

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P a r t t h r e e

ArrivAl

Now that you’ve packed your bags, it’s time to get going.

Your destination is not always the easiest place to

find, but we’ll guide you through your arrival. Pretty

soon you’ll look around and take in the strange but familiar

surroundings.

As we were learning how to lucid dream, we came to real-

ize that becoming lucid wasn’t an impossible skill, as some people

might think. After trying out various techniques, it seemed just as

accessible as any hobby or sport: we simply trained our bodies and

minds to form new habits.

Being disciplined was important, but we discovered that the

right frame of mind was even more essential. So be confident,

upbeat, and willing to fail in order to try again. The wrong state

of mind is like a Chinese finger trap: the more you force it, the

more frustration and pressure you exert, the less likely you’ll have a

lucid dream. If you stay focused and relaxed, the dream will simply

come to you.

Can you feel the excitement? We’re almost there! After this

section you’ll have all the knowledge you need to enter a world of

your own creation. Have fun. We’ll see you on the other side.

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9

Becoming Lucid

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In forming a bridge between body and mind, dreams may be used as a

springboard from which man can leap to new realms of experience lying

outside his normal state of consciousness.

—Ann Faraday,

dream writer, advocate for personal dream interpretation

On July 20, 1969, a machine with legs like a spider

detached from the command module and touched down

on the surface of the moon. If they had been able to

survive without their helmets on, the astronauts would have heard

the complete silence of outer space. Commander Neil Armstrong’s

foot reached the surface, but because of the constraint of the suit

he was wearing, he was not able to see the historic footprint that

he made. He described the surface as having a powdery feel. Buzz

Aldrin joined him, looking out at the empty landscape, finding

that double kangaroo jumps were the most effective way to get

around.

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Hundreds of thousands of miles away, the Earth listened to

the men speak. In an attempt to describe this strange place, Aldrin

used the phrase “magnificent desolation.”

If you’ve ever wanted to reach out into the mystery of outer

space yourself, lucid dreaming is not far off. In this chapter we’ll

finally arrive in our dreams, using the tools we’ve collected over the

last few chapters. Houston, we’re about to touch down.

The word
typical
is nowhere close to describing the profound

experience of being conscious in the dream state, but there is

a typical way to become lucid. In fact, an average 72 percent

of lucid dreamers tend to awaken in this way, with a technique

the lucid dreaming community calls a DILD or a “Dream Initiated

Lucid Dream.” A DILD is simply a dream where you become lucid

after the dream has already started.

The spontaneous lucidity of this technique usually stems from

some sort of trigger: an inconsistency, a dream sign, anything that

makes the dreamer stop and question “Am I dreaming?” while in

the dream. This chapter will focus on this method, as we’ve found

it to be the easiest way to experience lucidity.

If you’ve set an intention before bed, performed reality checks

throughout your day, or trained yourself to recognize dream signs,

perhaps you’ve become lucid already. These waking world tech-

niques will be helpful in this chapter, and we’ll crank it up a notch

by adding another killer technique to the mix. Just like Aldrin and

Armstrong, soon enough you’ll be taking your first steps onto a

strange terrain.

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The Problem