| Most lucid dreams occur between 5AM and 8 AM, | | | | could be a dreamsign. If your boss comes into |
| times that are most likely to be longer REM | | | | work wearing a tutu, when this is completely |
| periods. LaBerge's work at Stanford confirmed | | | | out of character for that person, this can |
| this occurrence. The first step is to develop | | | | also be a sign that the dreamer is dreaming. |
| good dream recall. If one cannot remember | | | | Almost every dream has dreamsigns, some |
| dreams at all or has difficulty remembering | | | | defiance of physical laws, social laws, or |
| dreams, then lucid dreaming is nearly | | | | out-of-the-ordinary interactions of objects, |
| impossible. Awareness must be developed in | | | | people and things. By training yourself to |
| the area of dreaming. First of all plenty of | | | | recognize dreamsigns, you can wake up in any |
| sleep is necessary, and the longer one | | | | dream you like. Train the waking |
| sleeps, the more dreams are possible. As the | | | | consciousness to look for out-of-place |
| night progresses, dream periods get longer | | | | objects, situations or people in waking life. |
| and closer together until near wake up time, | | | | Noticing that one's boss is wearing an orange |
| the dreams are forty-five to sixty minutes | | | | hat with a feather in it when it is |
| long and only a half hour apart. The first | | | | completely out of character for him or her, |
| dream of the night is the shortest, perhaps | | | | this could be considered a dreamsign. A |
| only five to ten minutes in length. | | | | dreamsign is something that is unordinary, |
| | | | like purple kittens, and this would be a |
| Dream recall happens when the dreamer awakens | | | | signal to the dreamer that he or she is |
| directly from the dream, which happens after | | | | dreaming. Impossible situations and objects |
| almost every dream a person has. We fall back | | | | are possible only in a dream. |
| to sleep and forget the dream because we are | | | | |
| in the habit of it. One way around this would | | | | Another discipline is looking for dreamsigns |
| be to set an alarm clock to wake you up at a | | | | during waking hours and then this mental |
| time when you are likely to be dreaming. You | | | | attention will be carried into the dream |
| could set your alarm for ninety minutes after | | | | world. Simply recognize the out of the |
| bedtime, or other various intervals of ninety | | | | ordinary experiences all around every day, |
| minutes from bedtime. If you are aiming for a | | | | confirm that it is a dream, and as the |
| period of time that would be richer with | | | | dreamworld presents unusual events, the mind |
| dream time, try setting the alarm(s) for six | | | | will respond similarly in the dream state as |
| or seven hours after you go to sleep. Dreams | | | | it did in the waking state by confirming that |
| are thickest and most likely during the late | | | | it is a dream. |
| morning hours of sleep, right after or before | | | | |
| dawn, depending on when you like to wake up. | | | | An ancient Tibetan Buddhist technique is to |
| The probability of a lucid dream during this | | | | maintain wakeful consciousness as one drifts |
| time is also double than in the earlier part | | | | off to sleep. Stephen LaBerge and Howard |
| of the sleep period. | | | | Rheingold say in their book Exploring The |
| | | | World Of Lucid Dreaming (1990), that |
| Remind yourself of your intention to remember | | | | Rinpoche, a Tibetan teacher who was visiting |
| your dreams before you go to bed. Motivation | | | | America, taught people to "think of all our |
| is a big factor in the success or failure of | | | | experiences as dreams and to try to maintain |
| dream recall. It will help to keep records of | | | | unbroken continuity of consciousness between |
| the dreams you recall, for this will inspire | | | | the two states of sleep and waking." One |
| more dreams to be remembered. | | | | could most easily do this when going back to |
| | | | sleep after just having awakened from a |
| As soon as you awaken in the morning ask | | | | dream. It is more difficult if the first REM |
| yourself immediately what you were dreaming, | | | | state hasn't been reached yet. |
| for you were just dreaming before you woke | | | | |
| up, if you woke up naturally. If you cannot | | | | Another is called "Mnemonic Induction of |
| remember to ask yourself this, try putting a | | | | Lucid Dreams," or MILD, the phrase coined by |
| note next to your bed reminding yourself to | | | | Stephen LaBerge. Mnemonic means "something |
| ask this question. Don't move when you wake | | | | that aids the memory." It is difficult for |
| up. Stay still. Don't think about anything | | | | most of us to even remember that we are |
| either. If you can't remember what you were | | | | trying to awaken in a dream, let alone do so. |
| dreaming, ask yourself what feelings or | | | | Stephen LaBerge's MILD technique can assist |
| thoughts are present. This will give you | | | | with this. This is a close cousin to the |
| clues to what you were just experiencing and | | | | technique of looking for dreamsigns, but |
| might jog your memory. This may bring back | | | | differs because you are the one who picks |
| the entire dream. At first, only fragments of | | | | something to look for, rather than just |
| the dream will be remembered by the person | | | | waiting for something out of the ordinary to |
| who does not have good dream recall, but with | | | | happen. For instance, one could program |
| practice, more will be revealed without as | | | | oneself to wake up in a dream every time he |
| much effort. | | | | or she opens a door. This is done by |
| | | | remembering in waking life to check whether |
| Many techniques are available to train | | | | or not one is dreaming every time a door is |
| oneself to dream lucidly. One common | | | | opened in waking life. Then, in the dreaming |
| technique taught by many, including the Don | | | | life, this will automatically happen again, |
| Juan character in Carlos Castenada's books, | | | | the question will be posed and the dreamer |
| is to look for the hands in the dream. Once | | | | will then awaken in the dream. |
| the hands are seen, one can realize one is | | | | |
| dreaming because the signal was recognized, | | | | A second version of this method, MILD, is to |
| and then one is lucid in the dream. If the | | | | recall the dream just awakened from. While |
| hands begin to change, one must look away or | | | | returning to sleep, imagine returning to that |
| lucidity might be lost. | | | | dream and waking up inside it. Before falling |
| | | | back to sleep, pick something you want to do |
| A very potent technique for inducing lucid | | | | as soon as you see yourself awakening in the |
| dreams is to train the waking life | | | | dream, like flying or something like that. |
| consciousness to always be asking itself if | | | | Often, the dream one was having is returned |
| it is dreaming. Every 90 minutes, one could | | | | to and one and might remember that one had |
| ask oneself if he or she is awake or | | | | seen oneself waking up in this particular |
| dreaming, and always answer, "Yes, I am | | | | dream. |
| dreaming. This is a "conditioned response" | | | | |
| that will show up in the dream world. | | | | Another method for inducing lucid dreams is |
| | | | called "sleep redistribution." A normal eight |
| Bizarre occurrences are dreamsigns, triggers | | | | hour period of sleep might be between |
| which become doors to lucidity. A single out | | | | midnight and 8 AM. With this method, the |
| of place object, character or circumstance | | | | eight hour sleep period is cut short by |
| can be a dreamsign. These are clues to show | | | | sleeping only until 6 AM. One goes about his |
| you that you are dreaming. For instance, a | | | | or her business for two hours and then goes |
| streetlight is flashing blue, rather than the | | | | back to bed from 8 AM to 10 AM. During these |
| familiar red, green or yellow. This would be | | | | two hours, one will have more dreams than was |
| a dreamsign for the dreamer, and the dreamer | | | | possible from 6 AM to 8 AM in normal sleep. |
| could then realize that this is a dream, | | | | It is a fact that within only a few moments |
| rather than physical reality. Then lucidity | | | | of falling back to sleep, especially during |
| is achieved. If a tree in a familiar | | | | the morning period, REM can be re-entered |
| courtyard were pink instead of green, this | | | | quite quickly. |