[jjthomson]

Hey guys, any experienced lucid dreamers willing to share some tips/advice, or sources for good reading about lucid dreaming? Books or websites will do.

I was interested in it before and have downloaded some ebooks but haven't really read them. I was able to lucid dream two times and ended up flying but still didn't have complete control of the surroundings. I knew I was in a dream and I was able to fly but everything else was like any other dream-out of my control.

Also, has anyone ever used a mask to help lucid dream such as the NovaDreamer or REM-dreamer pro?

[Oros Ull]

There have been lots of threads on this subject. Here is some of my excerpts from them. But if you search “lucid” you will get 20 pages on it.

Originally Posted by Oros Ull To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Growing up I had a lot of lucid dreams. I thought everyone had them regularly though so I never thought anything about it. But being an introvert and they having peaked my interest I spent a lot of time finding ways to increase my lucidity. I would pick up on something every now and then and remember it for next time. Eventually I became rather good at it. But to do it really well takes a bit of preparation. A couple of years ago I spent about 4 months doing noting but preparing myself in real life to have the most lucid dreams I could. What I did was isolate myself for about a week or two at first. Didn’t allow myself any real influence on my thoughts, didn’t talk to anyone, watch TV, read, listen to music or anything. It was just me and my imagination. This allowed me to shed any distractions that were in the forefront of my mind. Basically all I could do was relax and exercise in solitude. All of this was primarily just to clear my mind as much as possible. Then after a while I would start creating constructs in my mind. Landscapes and what have you, pretty much just create an idea of a dreamscape while still conscious. I found drawing would help me to concrete the idea in my head a little. After a while of doing that you try to put all the pieces together and create as big a picture as you can. Then with that in mind sort of just drift to sleep. When you’re like that and you fall asleep, your subconscious kicks in and your external senses turn off while your internal ones turn on. But you remain conscious during the transition. Well if you can consider it consciousness. Being in that state of mind although you are awake it’s more like being in a coherent trance. But anyway you fall asleep but you remain as lucid and in control of your thoughts as you were during meditation, the only difference is that you now perceive internally rather then externally. So you basically just find yourself in a very vivid version of your premeditated dreamscape. And from there you can do pretty much anything. It helps to go with the flow of things and not make anything to technical or complicated. It’s a dream so things don’t have to make coherent sense. But once inside you can do just about anything. Although there was a few times when I would snap out of it because some personal demon would come to light and stress me out to much to remain stable. But even then if you can keep calm when literally face to face with your deepest demons then it makes dealing with them a lot easier. I have created all kinds of bizarre places and things in my head doing this. And it really is a very fun and liberating experience as well as helpful in understanding yourself. But other then that not a very practical skill… Also it helps to stick to foods and stuff that stimulate your mind. And no drugs are needed; just a clear mind is all you need. It’s been a long time since I had the freedom to do all that though. ---------- Post added 01-15-2012 at 07:40 AM ---------- Everyone is different though so I don’t know how well it will work for you. But it worked great for me.

Originally Posted by Oros Ull To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I’ve been lucid dreaming for as long as I can remember. Very few of my dreams are not lucid although the frequency depends on what I’m doing IRL. Seems Lucid dreams are my default though. There were a few periods where I focused all my efforts towards being able to maintain and create more vivid lucid dreams for myself. I did a bunch of mediation and remained in solitude for a few months until it got to the point where I could close my eyes and be in my own reality. It was very fun. But after a while you get tired of talking yourself, even with the powers of a god… But I’ve created all kinds of dreamscapes and stuff and none of them are even vaguely realistic. Usually I’m made of fire. And the worlds I’ve made look like places out of hardcore sci-fi/fantasy surrealist art projects. For years as a kid my fabricated reality was more real to me than actual reality, and I spent what felt like eons inside them. ( Show Spoiler ) I find it’s easiest to do when you have 0 external influences for a long time. The clearer your mind the easier it is to make things in it. Or else you will have all kinds of images, memories, music and what have you distracting your thoughts. Also stabilizing your metabolism for a while helps tremendously. Eat the same healthy foods and get enough exercise every day to get your body into a nonabrasive cycle that can be easily tuned out. Also I recommend avoiding any drugs or drinking for at least a week before even bothering, substances like that can make things very abrasive if not completely disabling your ability to maintain your thoughts. Meditation works great as well as far as sorting your thoughts previously goes. If you expect to preserve a lucid dream you need to be able to maintain your emotions while in your mind. Don’t let the illusions effect your emotions. You need a very calm, précises and gentle stroke to not destabilize yourself. It helps a lot to train yourself to recognize when you are in a dream. I find the best way to induce a lucid dream after having accomplished the above is to get very comfortable and then day dream a bit. Create an Idea of the dreamscape you intend to visit, almost like a mental rough draft. Familiarize yourself with the details of your world and keep yourself emotionally stable the whole time. Don’t fall into the trap though of designing it the way you would IRL like imagining how you would make it on a computer. You need a clear cut approach to it so try imagining being in the place as you construct it out of your thoughts. Then once you have done that relax a bit more and let everything go so you can fall asleep. You will find having the Idea of the dreamscape fresh in your mind will allow you to hang on to your consciousness as you are sort of dropped into the middle of it. It almost feels like you’re gently and slowly going under water as you switch from awake to asleep while remaining coherent. After that it’s just a matter of seeing how far you can go with your imagination without feeling anything strong enough to destabilize. It’s tough at first but with practice it eventually starts to come naturally. It works for me usually but everyone is different so make of it what you will.