CHAPTER V
Alternative Useful Methods
Food & Drink
There are various foods and drinks that you can consume which seem to have some effect on sleeping and dreaming. Note that for most of these there is no explanation or scientific study of how they work, and some might just be a placebo.
Don't go overboard with the consumption of any of these, as overdosing could have nasty effects (well, milk should be safe (not for allergics).
Don't experiment without accumulating enough knowledge first. The authors in no way encourage the use of legal or illegal drugs.
Plants:
The following can be used to create a (more or less) lucid
dream-like state:
Gadgets
There are various gadgets you can use to become lucid easily. They generally detect when you are in the REM state and then provide a light and/or sound signal. This signal is supposed to be adjusted so that it doesn't wake you up but does enter your dream. The signal is then recognized as showing that you're dreaming, and you become lucid.
Dream Stabilization
Once you are able to lucidly dream, you may find that it is difficult to stay in the dream; for example, you may wake instantly or the dream may start “fading” which is characterized by loss or degradation of any of the senses, especially visuals.
If you wake immediately after becoming lucid (make sure you do a reality check to be sure you're not still dreaming!), you simply need to continue practicing all your techniques. If you find that you are lucidly dreaming often, it will be less of a shock when you become lucid, and you'll be less likely to wake up.
If your dreams fade out (or “black out”), you should try these methods before your dream starts fading:
Hand rubbing
Rub your hands together and concentrate on the rubbing. You should feel the friction and the heat of your hands. If you can concentrate on the feelings that this action generates, your dream is likely to stabilize and cause the dream to become more vivid and detailed, along with some other effects. You can also keep one hand on your arm while exploring the dream for a constant sense of stimulation. This technique is most effective when used in conjunction with the “Slowing it down” technique, by staring at your hands while rubbing them together.
Spinning
You spin around in your dream much as you would if you suddenly want to feel dizzy in real life. The sensation of movement is the key here to stabilizing the dream. Although many people report success with this, this technique is likely to have some side-effects on the dream, such as finding yourself in a totally different scene. For this reason, this technique is also effective in changing the dream scene. If the dream scene disappears (e.g., becomes black), it is necessary to visualize the dreamscape to return to the dream. Slowing It Down Some people like to stabilize the dream by “stopping to smell the roses” and slowly stare at a dream object until it becomes clear. The dreamer would then look around elsewhere, noticing how detailed everything is, thereby stimulating the visual portion of the dream.
False Awakening
A couple of the users on the ld4all.com forums have had success with creating a false awakening to stabilize a dream. If the above techniques are failing and you find your dream still fading, and you really want to continue your lucid dream, do the following:
You will either have a false awakening, reality check, and then end up with an even more vivid lucid dream, or will really wake up, perform a reality check, and realize that you just woke up (unfortunately).
The most important part of this is the reality check. This is what will continue your lucid dream. You should be performing reality checks when you wake up. If you plan to induce false awakenings in order to stabilize a dream, the reality check that you perform as you wake up is as important as the one that got you lucid, if not more.
Perform every check in the book until you are positively, absolutely, and completely sure that you aren't dreaming. A series of 10 reality checks are more likely to produce dream results in a dream, especially if you are expecting dream results. Again, this technique is for those who are desperate!
If you have had a good experience with this technique, please go to the talk page and post your experiences, as there have not been many anecdotes of it working yet. If you didn't do any of these, your best option is probably to try to wake up. That way, you will remember more of the dream.
The general rule of dream-stabilization is to stimulate the senses. If you listen for sounds, feel around with your hands, and pay attention to what you see and smell, you will stimulate your senses. The idea here is to load your senses with stimulation from the dream so that your senses cannot shift to the real world. If you close your eyes, you are removing a great deal of sensory information and might wake up. If you hear something loud in real life and are hearing nothing in the dream, your senses may shift to the real world, causing you to wake up.
Recovering From Lost Visuals
There are a few things you can try to do if you lose your visuals. Most of these are less likely to help prolong your dream than the above techniques.
You can also try these if you have just woken up and are lying in your bed. You may be able to return to your dream.
Autosuggestion
You can repeat over and over a phrase similar to “I can see my dream,” or otherwise enforce in your mind that you can see a dreamscape. (See Autosuggestion)
Visualizing
You can visualize the scene as it would be if you could see it. You could take this as an opportunity to change the dreamscape by visualizing a different environment from the previous one in the dream. This can be made easier by spinning as you visualize.
Getting Objects Into Your Dream
Sometimes you would like something to eat or stab with in a lucid dream, or someone to talk with. There are many ways to generate any object you choose in a lucid dream, but each method takes practice and persistence, as well as a good deal of confidence and concentration. Remember, it's your dream, anything you want to happen will happen.
In the dream world, your expectations are as good as facts. You have probably noticed how everything you think about instantly takes form in the dream (classic example: “Uh oh, I hope there's not a monster behind that corner” and you instantly see the monster coming at you). Use this to your advantage, and “entice” your brain to create what you want.
Here are some methods to help you summon objects:
Remember to not doubt your control — as explained all over this ebook, your dreams are affected by the placebo effect. If you believe you can attempt extremely hard things in a dream, and have them occur and not wake up, you will have an easier time performing that action!
What You Can Do
This final section should see you off with a few ideas of what to do in a dream.
But first, a warning. You should have a clear purpose for your lucid dreams whenever you go to sleep. In other words, every night you consider what you want to do when you have a lucid dream, and select one thing, or perhaps two or three if you are skilled. Avoid this:
"What am I gonna do what am I gonna do? I wanna fly, walk through walls, eat until my stomach explodes, spy on my neighbors, drive in a car real fast, woooeeey I'm gonna..."
You will either end up doing none of these things in your dream or simply wake up from overexcitement.
Now that that's clear, here's a list of possible things you could do, ordered in difficulty. Remember that you might find some things unusually hard (or easy) compared to most lucid dreamers, this is perfectly normal!
This is a very rough guide — if you've managed something in the Easy section, don't be scared to try for something from the Medium section.
Easy
Most people enjoy flying around in dreams. There are different styles of flight that people use, each with a varied level of success for each individual. Methods such as “swimming through the air”, “Superman style” (one arm outstretched), “Neo style” (both arms at your side), and “Airplane style” (both arms out) are often used. There are a few methods of getting up into the air, such as simply jumping (you can jump really high in dreams if you believe it) or imagining a great force pushing you from your feet. Some people summon jet packs and slip them on to fly. Be creative and dream up your own methods.
Be warned, you are quite likely to forget you are dreaming when exploring! Doing reality checks often and muttering to yourself about how real everything seems can help to avoid this. You can also ask a dream character to tag along with you and remind you when you forget that you're dreaming.
You can pass through dream objects such as walls, glass, trees, and everything else. Confidence is really the key here. Some variations on going through stuff can be going in slowly, wiggling your finger in first, or running quickly into the object and telling yourself you would go through it. Some people particularly like to go through mirrors because of the unpredictable effects this action produces. However, if you tell yourself you will end up at a certain location before passing through a mirror, you can change the dream scene quickly. Be warned, some people experience nothing and wake up after passing through. You may want to hold your arm to keep yourself in the dream.
Some people consider killing people in dreams immoral, undermining the morals you uphold in real life. Alternatively, when considering people in dreams as aspects of oneself, killing them can be “rude to your subconscious”. However, nobody can tell you what you should and should not do in your dreams, and the choice remains up to you.
People often report amazing skies in lucid dreams. You can also shout colors at it and paint some sunrises.
(“Look everybody; I can go through this wall!”)
(trampolining, skiing, etc.)
Medium
Hard
Conclusion
With all the techniques in this part, you may feel overwhelmed and uncertain of what to do next. Don't worry — just choose a few techniques to “map your way to lucidity”, decide on a few things you will want to do from this page, and start! If you are still unsure of what to do, don't worry — you might happen to have a lucid dream tonight!
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