We’re sitting here and thinking, what if we would create actionable and easy to follow guide on how to lucid dream for beginners?
That’s exactly what we’re going to teach you today.
If you’re new to lucid dreaming and would like to know how to lucid dream, this is a guide for you!
So here’s how to lucid for beginners:
You can learn how to lucid dream right now, even if you’re a beginner. All you have to do is to follow an easy lucid dreaming techniques such as keeping a journal, doing reality tests, mnemonic induction and you’re good to go lucid dream today!
Let’s talk first about what is lucid dreaming like.
What is lucid dreaming like
If you’re new to the topic of lucid dreams, you first understand what is lucid dreaming like.
You must be able to recognize lucid dreams from regular dreams before you’ll be able to lucid dream.
So what is lucid dreaming like?
Lucid dreaming is a state of sleep, where you are fully aware that you’re dreaming. It happens at the moment when you thanks to a lucid dreaming technique realize that you are actually dreaming. Lucid dreaming is limitless and you can do anything you want.
Interesting stuff right? Now let’s talk about how does lucid dreaming work.
How does lucid dreaming works
You should know how does lucid dreaming works because it’s an essential information for you, especially if you’re new to the topic of dreams.
Lucid dreams are just like normal dreams happening during the REM sleep cylcle, except you realize that you’re dreaming and you become consciously aware of that. From there, anything can happen and you’re able to become in full control of your dream.
Some people are gifted and are able to have lucid dreams without any effort.
But what about the rest of us? How we can become aware of the dreams and do funny things there?
Well, we did some research and we came to the conclusion that we can use lucid dreaming techniques to evoke lucid dreaming.
We promised you that in this “how to lucid dream for beginners in X steps” we’ll teach you everything you need to know about lucid dreaming and we’ll keep that promise!
But First, let us talk a little bit about what causes lucid dreams for making things more clear.
What causes lucid dreams
So lucid dreaming is available for everyone, but most of us struggle with it. Why?
To understand that, we need to clarify what causes lucid dreams.
Lucid dreams are caused by internal and external triggers and stimulation that you can learn. During REM sleep, you can become aware of the dream, and that way you become conscious and fully aware. This process will ultimately cause a lucid dream.
But what are the external and internal triggers?
For example, an external trigger can be a sleep mask, that is able to produce light stimuli. You can get one here.
Internal triggers are usually caused by your hard work. That’s right.
If you’re not the type of person that remembers casual dreams and never had a lucid dream before, you’ll have to work on some lucid dreaming techniques.
Don’t worry, we’re not natural lucid dreamers as well! That’s a reason why we created this “how to lucid dream” guide for beginners in the first place.
So let’s jump straight on the lucid dreaming techniques!
Lucid dreaming techniques
There are a lot of lucid dreaming techniques, but we picked 7 most effective ones.
Here are lucid dreaming techniques we’re going to talk about:
- Reality Testing
- WBTB – Wake back to bed
- MILD – Mnemonic induction of lucid dreams
- Dream journaling
Before everything, let us tell you that not everything will work on you.
You’re unique and different from other people so you’ll find out that almost none of these techniques work for you, but in the end, the last one will.
So don’t get discouraged, try every one of them. Be patient and never give up.
We told you that we’re going to show you how to lucid dream for beginners, and we’re going to do that now!
Reality testing
Reality testing, or in other words reality checking is one of the most effective lucid dreaming techniques.
Our team at Positive Creators tried this one and we can say, it brought some really interesting results.
Tom, our chief editor successfully was able to become aware in a dream 2 times out of 7 days which is an amazing result for someone, who is definitely not a natural lucid dreamer (as he stated).
But here’s a catch. It took him 30 days to build up a habit of reality testing in a real-life, so he could transfer that into his dream.
When you build up a habit like this, you’re more likely to do reality tests in a dream and suddenly you’ll find out, that you’re in a dream!
Reality testing increases metacognition and it trains your mind to notice your own awareness.
But what are some reallity checks? Here are a few that works really well:
- Hands counting. Look on your hands and start counting, could you count till 10 and did they look normal?
- Time. In a dream time is constantly changing, it’s very unstable and you’ll notice.
- Mirrors. You’ll probably look weird in a mirror when dreaming.
- Objects. Try to touch or push against some solid objects. You can also try to push against your opposite palm.
- Nose pinching. Very popular reality check, pinch your nose and try to breathe. If you can still breathe through your nose, you’re probably dreaming.
So what to do now with this list?
We recommend you to pick one as Tom (he tried nose pinching) and repeat it throughout the whole day for at least a few days in a row.
Our goal is to create a habit, which can translate easily into dreams and from there it’s easy peasy!
Let’s take a look on WBTB now.
WBTB – Wake back to bed
So what is this lucid dreaming technique about?
Wake back to bed is about entering the REM sleep cycle while you’re still conscious.
How’s that possible?
It’s about waking up in the middle of your sleep, staying awake for 30 minutes doing a quiet activity, and then falling back asleep.
It’s confirmed by PloS One study that when you’ll fall back asleep, you’ll be in a more lucid state.
You should pick some activity that requires full alertness, such as reading.
Keep in mind, that while this lucid dreaming technique might be really effective, it’s not that healthy to do every single day.
You can easily wake up in the middle of your sleep cycle and you’ll feel tired in the morning.
Your health is more important than WBTB so maybe consider other techniques.
You can do WBTB, but don’t over do it.
MILD – Mnemonic induction of lucid dreams
Another lucid dreaming technique is called Mnemonic induction of lucid dreams.
It was created by LaBerge in 1980 and it was one of the very first methods that were backed by scientific research.
This lucid dreaming technique is about setting an intention to do something later.
For this situation, you’ll be setting an intention to remember that you’re dreaming.
When you’ll be falling asleep, try to think of some recent dream. When you have some dream in mind, you should identify it’s “dreamsign”. Then realize that the dreamsigns are happening only in dreams.
In the end, tell yourself “the next time I will dream, I want to remember that I’m dreaming”. Try to keep this thought in the mind as you repeat it.
It’s simple as that!
Dream journaling
This lucid dreaming technique is known to work and that is the reason why we added it in our guide on how to lucid dream for beginners.
Every time you wake up, try to recon your dreams and then write them down. You should aim for even the slightest details from the dream.
The more you do this, the more your brain will be used to remember the dreams.
Log the dream information as often as you’re able to and also, try to keep the journal close to you. Here is a really great journal Tom used.
Remember, consistency is the key!
Easy 7 steps to lucid dream tonight
Our how-to lucid dream for beginners guide wouldn’t be complete without actionable steps that will help you in your lucid dreaming journey.
First of all, let us just tell you that you maybe won’t see any results the first days, and that’s normal!
Some people are natural dreamers and will be able to have a lucid dream tonight.
If you’re like our editor Tom, it’ll take you around 2-3 weeks to have consistent lucid dreams.
And as Tom said, “it’s totally worth it!”.
Let’s dive straight into it.
Step 1: Spend a whole day learning about lucid dream
Even though this step is pretty much obvious, it’s really important.
Why? Well, if you wouldn’t be reading this guide, you might won’t get to know some really interesting lucid dreaming techniques, tips, and tricks.
So spend a day reading some sources such as this guide on how to lucid dream for beginners and you’ll be more prepared.
Step 2: Do a lot of reality checks
This is our recommendation. You could see this lucid dreaming technique above in the section where we showed you how to apply this.
Try to be consistent and do them every single day. Sooner or later, you’ll catch yourself doing this automatically which is exactly what we want.
When you build a habit of reality testing, you’re more likely to do reality tests in a dream and that’s when you recognize it’s a dream.
Step 3: Journal about dreams
As you’re reading this guide on how to lucid dream for beginners, we guess it’ll be hard for you to remember all your dreams.
That’s why we use journaling technique.
You can get yourself thins journal and you can start login information about your latest dreams.
This way you’ll be able to remember most of your dreams and your lucid dream experiences.
Step 4: Use affirmations before falling asleep
If you’re not sure what are affirmations, check our ultimate guide on positive affirmations (it’s a little bit different topic, but you’ll be able to find out what are affirmations).
When lying in the bad, repeat yourself a phrase like: “today I’m going to be dreaming and I’ll be aware of that”.
When you repeat it enough times, there’s a possibility that it’ll get into your subconscious mind.
When you’ll be dreaming, it can pop up and you’ll realize you are dreaming.
Step 5: Try every lucid dreaming technique
The thing is that not what works for everyone else will work for you.
You have to find technique that works for you and then put 100% into that.
Step 6: Be patient
This step is very crucial.
As we already said, there’s an option that you won’t be able to remember any dream first days whatsoever.
That’s a time when patience comes into a play.
Stay patient, work hard and you’ll see results!
Step 7: You’re lucid dreaming!
If you followed everything we adviced, you should be able to lucid dream without any problems.
Once you get into lucid dream, don’t get too excited as it can wake you up too fast.
Try to stay calm and enjoy your lucid dreaming experience! You can do literally anything you want there.
Last words from Positive Creators
We hope you enjoyed this guide on how to lucid dream for beginners.
Lucid dreaming is a real fun way to get to know yourself better.
You’ll be able to spend your night time with your desires and we believe that you’ll have tons of fun doing that.
We also wrote about the Dangers Of The Lucid Dreaming You Should Know About.
If you’re having any crazy lucid dreaming story, feel free to share it with us and we might consider to publish it on our blog.
Safe lucid dreaming!
