A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming (5 page)

This realization can happen spontaneously in any number of ways

and can be induced with the help of some simple techniques.

You don’t need anything to become lucid in your dreams. You

don’t need drugs or any special equipment to begin your pioneer-

ing journey—you already have all the necessary requirements: a

decently intelligent brain, a spot of patience, and a few slivers of

free time. This book will simply show you how to unlock a dor-

mant potential.

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Benefits to Lucid Dreaming

Never had I felt so absolutely well, so clear-brained, so divinely powerful,
so inexpressibly free! The sensation was exquisite beyond words;

but it lasted only a few moments, and I awoke.

—Oliver Fox,

writer, dream explorer of the early 20th century

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Lucid dreaming is an experience beyond words. Attempts to

describe it often fail, a pungent wedge of Gouda flattened

down into a slice of American cheese. There are the exhilarat-

ing adventures of flying and superpowers. Then, after a few lucid

dreams, many people experience a drastic alteration in their per-

spectives—they realize that there is much more to reality than what

they currently understand. Some are no longer afraid of death!

Many say that lucid dreams are the best experiences they’ve had in

their lives.

1. adventure and Fantasy

Indiana Jones, eat your heart out. Many people begin lucid dream-

ing because of the desire for adventure and the allure of doing the

impossible. Flying and having sex seem to be the first activities of

the novice lucid dreamer. Film director Michel Gondry told
The

Guardian
that when he becomes lucid, “I generally end up having

sex with the first girl I can find.” Since physical laws and social

boundaries don’t exist in the dream world like they do here, lucid-

ity provides the perfect playground for your fantasies to run free.

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Leap up a giant mountain, run into some magical creatures, chat

with a dead celebrity, shrink down a few sizes and see the world

from an ant’s perspective, or picnic on top of a locomotive steam

train. Why not?

2. Facing Nightmares

For some people, nightmares are a real problem. Ambushed at

night by their fears, many people avoid their nightmares by forget-

ting their dreams altogether, a kind of safety mechanism. But if

you become lucid in a nightmare, you not only have the power to

change the plot of the scary story of your subconscious, you have

the power to heal and find the source of what’s plaguing you. So

seize this opportunity: face your monsters and defuse your night-

mares, rather than running away from them.

3. creativity and Inspiration

Dreams are a creative person’s wonderland. By becoming consciously

aware in dreams, you’ll be able to tap into incredible amounts of

knowledge and inspiration. If you’re writing a book, talk face-to-

face with one of the main characters. Get Einstein to explain to

you the theory of relativity, compose music, write a speech. If you

believe that the dream world is created by your subconscious mind,

then it is the ideal location to let your creativity run wild. Free of

limitations, you can create pretty much anything you want.

4. creative Problem Solving

Lucid dreams can be used as a testing ground, a way to try out

new skills. Imagine giving that quarterly presentation to a room of

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people in your dreams first, where you feel in control and relaxed.

If you play sports, imagine winning that upcoming race, scoring

that goal, beating that record, before any of it happens in the phys-

ical world. Got a problem that needs solving? Look to your dream

for advice. Asking dreams for guidance is an ancient practice and

a great way to find insights into everyday problems.

5. healing

Physical ailments can sometimes result from an emotional or spir-

itual imbalance. Dream healing has been around for millennia,

beginning with the ancient Egyptians. Got an illness, a broken

Before going to bed I wanted to dream about boxing. I dreamed

I was going to a boxing tournament in the projects, and when I

got there they said there was no one for me to fight in my

weight class. as I started to leave, I realized this was the dream

that I had been wanting to have and it made me go lucid. I told

someone to go find me a competitor and they came back with

a guy I could fight. So we started boxing in the ring and it felt

exactly like the real thing. I felt my lungs breathing, my heart

rate up, my muscles when I punched, and it hurt when I took

shots. I was also able to control the skill level of the guy I was

fighting so he wasn’t a pushover. It felt like I was training in real

life. The only difference was that I wasn’t actually sustaining a

bloody nose, it just felt like it. —Kyle O.

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bone, depression, a broken

heart? In a lucid dream, you

I was amazed at how realistic everything

can heal many aspects of

felt when I first learned how to become

lucid in my dreams. Some of my first lucid

yourself. You can become

dreams were spent just walking around

happier and more whole.

feeling dream objects. I was blown away

by the visceral feeling and tactile sensa-

6. Self-knowledge

tions. Things felt just like they did in the

Dreams often act like mir-

waking world! When I walked, I could

rors, presenting you with a

feel the weight of my body, the brush

“reflection” of yourself. By

of my clothes against my skin. When I

touched something, I could feel its weight

becoming conscious in your

and texture, I could smell the aroma of

subconscious, you’re able to

a flower, or the heat of the sun. how

explore and deepen the con-

could my mind be creating all of this?

nection to your own inner

—ThOMaS P.

world. Who are you? What

do you want? Lucid dream-

ing can be a practical tool for soul-searching, a way of getting in

touch with your deeper self.

The Road Ahead

Regarded as a mystical event during ancient times, lucid

dreaming has left the occult circles and entered into the mod-

ern world. A 2007
New York Times
article noted that “the esoteric

practice, which has been acknowledged in the West since at least

1867, seems on the verge of becoming much better known.” Lucid

dreaming has been recognized by mainstream science and is pop-

ping up in films and TV shows, a real ability that anyone can learn

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and thousands already practice. For you, this means one thing: it

has never been easier to learn how to lucid dream.

You may become aware in your dreams tonight. The experience

might happen spontaneously or it might happen with the help of

some techniques described in the chapters to come. It might take

a day, a week, or perhaps a month. Regardless, by the end of this

book, you’ll know what it’s like to be completely conscious inside

your dreams. With a little help, you’ll be blazing the trails of your

dream’s landscape, mastering the skills of creation, flight, incuba-

tion, and numerous other abilities.

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