A "Wake Initiated Lucid Dream" (or WILD) occurs when the dreamer enters a lucid dream directly from the waking state, aware of the transition to the dream. Most of the lucid dreams recorded are "dreams initiated while awake", which originate from ordinary dreams. Research has shown that, compared to having a "Dream Induced Lucid Dream" (or DILD from English "Dream Induced Lucid Dream"), having a lucid dream started while awake increases the chances of experiencing the feeling of being out of one's mind. body, floating or flying in the surrounding environment. Also, a WILD tends to provide more vivid sensations than a DILD. Learning to have a lucid dream that starts when you are awake takes a lot of practice and patience. For those who have developed their meditative or DILD skills, the path may be simpler.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Practicing to Have a Lucid Dreaming Started While Awake
Step 1. Make an effort to remember your dreams
Encourage yourself to remember as many details as possible by writing them down. Keep a diary on the bedside table for the exclusive use of your dreams. You can start by writing them down immediately after waking up or decide to stop and think for a moment to remember them in their entirety before taking note. Experiment with both strategies to find out which one lets you jot down the most details.
- Reread the pages of your diary frequently.
- Look for potential repeating signs, objects, or themes.
- Memorize the places, objects, characters and situations that arise multiple times in your dreams.
- Write down your lucid dreams! If you manage to have a lucid dream, either of the WILD or DILD type, it is critically important to write it down in your journal.
Step 2. Perform reality checks
Every hour or so during the day, ask yourself if you are awake or dreaming. Even when you're sure you're awake, take a test. Try checking your clock, resting your hand against a wall, or looking in the mirror. Pinch yourself! Look for the characteristic elements of your dreams.
Acquiring this habit will provide you with a useful tool to notice the times you are dreaming
Step 3. Use affirmations
When you go to sleep, silently repeat a phrase about your ability to remember dreams or have a lucid dream. You might say "When I have a dream, I can remember it", "I'm about to start dreaming" or "Tonight I'll have a lucid dream." Focus exclusively on your mantra as you repeat it in your head.
Step 4. Create your dreams
After reciting the mantra in your head, recall a dream you recently had or visualize one you wish to have while you feel you are falling asleep. Imagine being the protagonist and being able to do something you really want, for example flying. Go in search of a clue that shows that you are dreaming. Being able to enter a dream following this technique means being able to have a lucid dream that started while awake.
- Try going in and out of the dream repeatedly, switching between visualizing and reciting the mantra several times.
- Be prepared to repeat this exercise for many nights without getting any tangible results. Your initial goal must simply be to be able to remember your dreams.
- Learning to have a lucid dream can take months or even years for those who cannot normally remember their dreams.
Part 2 of 4: Dreaming After Taking a Short Nap
Step 1. Get up early
Set your alarm one to one and a half hours earlier than normal. Go to sleep at the usual time. If you're not in the habit of waking up at the same time every day, try to calculate how many hours you sleep normally. When you go to sleep, set your alarm to sound an hour or an hour and a half before your usual sleep time is up.
Step 2. Stay up for the designated hour or hour and a half
Get out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off. During these 60-90 minutes you are free to do whatever you want, but there are some activities that can help you have a lucid dream. Dedicating yourself to reading your journal or a book about lucid dreaming can be helpful. Some people find that reading, writing or practicing any form of meditation is very effective, while others prefer to engage in more ordinary morning activities, such as having breakfast.
Step 3. Lie down and relax
You can lie down on the bed or anywhere else you want to start dreaming. Try to stay still on your back or whatever you find most comfortable, then take ten slow, deep breaths. Remember that the goal is to smoothly enter the dreaming phase while remaining aware that you are falling asleep.
Step 4. Spend ten minutes thinking about your dream
After staying awake for at least an hour, go back to bed or to the place where you want to try to have a lucid dream. If you want, you can try to repeat a mantra such as "I will have a lucid dream" or "I am about to enter my dream again". Recall a dream you recently had or gradually create one of your choice using your imagination. Bring the details to life, layer by layer, starting with the contours and then moving on to the details.
- Alternatively, try counting to help transition into sleep. Repeat mentally "One, I'm dreaming, two, I'm dreaming, three …"
- Another method is to relax the different parts of the body one after the other. Start with one foot or one hand, then work your way up until every single muscle is relaxed.
Step 5. Promote hypnagogic hallucinations
As you enter the sleep phase, you may see flashes of light and colors. Observe them only in passing, without particular attention, so as not to risk waking up. Keep your eyes closed effortlessly. You may see some images forming, just let them flow.
Step 6. Feel the body falling asleep
As you doze off, your goal is to remain aware of the transition from waking to sleeping. Pay attention to the auditory and physical phenomena taking place. You may feel vibrations, which indicates that your limbs are falling asleep. Additionally, you may hear a hum.
Keep your eyes closed, but don't squeeze them tightly. Keep paying attention to the sights and sounds you hear inside your mind
Step 7. Enter the dream
As the scenario comes to life, try to add more details or physically interact with the elements you are viewing. Imagine taking some action, such as riding a bicycle, climbing stairs, or swimming. Involving your other senses in the dream will help you move from your physical to the dream body.
Step 8. Proof that you are dreaming
Test the reality of the world around you, for example by trying to turn the lights on or off, looking at the clock or gently pressing your fingers against an object that should be solid. If the face of the clock is impossible to read or gives a discordant result, you cannot adjust the lighting, but you can easily cross a wall with your fingertips, it means that you are having a lucid dream.
Part 3 of 4: Converting Sleep Paralysis to Dream
Step 1. Notice the onset of "sleep paralysis"
Sleep paralysis (also known as "hypnagogic paralysis") occurs when the body is falling asleep, resulting in the temporary inability to move even though you are still awake. Noticing the first signs that this stillness is approaching can help you not feel too scared when you lose control of your body. Sleep paralysis is an unpleasant disorder for most people; in fact, however, if used correctly, it is an excellent springboard towards lucid dreams.
- Pay attention to your sensations, such as hearing a buzz or feeling numb, heavy, or on the verge of falling. A feeling of heaviness or numbness spreading through the body may indicate that you are about to enter a state of sleep paralysis.
- Be aware of any unpleasant or repetitive sounds, such as a hissing or buzzing sound. Ringing in the ears could be an auditory hallucination that indicates that you are falling asleep.
- You may also hear words, such as your name, as being spoken in your head or very close to you. Don't let this fact upset you.
Step 2. Let yourself go
Welcome sleep paralysis by considering it a gateway to lucid dreaming. Notice each stage of the transition to sleep, accepting it fearlessly. If you feel scared, remind yourself that this is simply sleep paralysis, as you are falling asleep. During this phase, many people feel a presence, often of an oppressive or threatening kind.
- Remind yourself that you are dreaming, nothing can harm you, you are dictating the rules.
- If you continue to feel scared, unable to enter your dream, try moving your fingers or toes slightly.
Step 3. Float out of the body
Go from paralysis to lucid dreaming by moving lightly in the direction you want: up or down or by assuming a sitting position. Instead of trying to move your physical limbs, which you perceive as paralyzed, try floating in the air above, sinking through the mattress, or going from lying down to sitting by taking your torso out of your physical body. Alternatively, order your surroundings to change, for example by saying "I'm moving to the beach now" or to a place that is the frequent scenario of your dreams.
- If you feel a presence in the room, tell her that you are dreaming and that you want to be led into your dream.
- Believe that he agrees to take you where you want to go and he will take you there.
Part 4 of 4: Solutions to the Most Common Difficulties
Step 1. Defeat your fears
The fact that you feel frightened by one of the hallucinations that characterize the transition to your lucid dreams or that your dreams are often nightmares, could prevent you from being able to take control during the dream, prompting you to wake up. As you train yourself to have a lucid dream, exercise your confidence as well. Say positive affirmations, such as "In my dreams I am always safe" or "I choose my dreams." As you perform reality checks, remind yourself that you are perfectly safe, whether you discover that you are awake or dreaming.
- If you come across something scary, while falling asleep or inside your dream, remind yourself that you are an experienced dreamer.
- If you wish, wake up! If you're having a nightmare where you feel like you're out of control and the techniques you've learned don't seem to work, wake up. Likewise, if you feel overly terrified during the sleep paralysis stage, wake up. Gently move your fingers or toes, try coughing, blinking, or making small movements.
Step 2. Ignore the hallucinations
The visual and auditory hallucinations that occur when one remains conscious while falling asleep can be fascinating, but also annoying or terrifying. By paying too much attention to glare, colors, sounds or imaginary presences, you may risk waking up. Practice remaining indifferent to such manifestations as you fall asleep. When you see or hear something, while you are not yet fully asleep, give your head a mental nod, then relax to facilitate your entry into lucid dreaming.
Step 3. Try to be almost completely still
During a lucid dream, you may wake up involuntarily due to an itchy sensation, a twitching nerve, or a buildup of saliva in your mouth. When trying to enter a WILD, do what you can to stay put. Lie down in the position you want to fall asleep in: on your back, on your side or as usual. If saliva accumulates in your mouth, you swallow, when you are awake you do it involuntarily.
- If you feel itchy during your initial meditation, scrub gently. As you go into falling asleep, try not to make any movements that might wake you up.
- Ignore the itchy sensation to avoid having to scratch. Imagine it is something else, for example visualizing a plant rubbing against your skin.
- Don't open your eyes. You may be tempted to check your progress by looking at your watch or taking a look at your surroundings. Keep your eyes closed; in your lucid dream you can open your "dream eyes".
Step 4. Experiment with different methods
If you've been practicing for months and haven't managed to have a lucid dream that started when you are awake, try changing your approach. Get up and go to sleep at different times, try not to use the alarm on holidays. If you have experimented with numerous methods, night and day, try focusing on one methodology, or none at all, for a few nights. Maybe you made too much effort.
Step 5. Stay lucid
During lucid dreams it is easy to get carried away by enthusiasm, ending up waking up or being sucked into the dream reality losing lucidity. Once you have entered the lucid dream, stay focused: let yourself be physically involved in the surrounding environment, pick up, touch or move objects, perform physical actions, look around. Frequently remind yourself that you are having a lucid dream.
- If you start to feel doubtful, if you feel like you have lost control or are about to wake up, focus on the dream.
- The more you can get involved in the world you are in, the more likely you are to be able to prolong the dream.
Advice
- Rubbing your hands is an effective way to give your dream stability and instantly make it more realistic right after you enter it.
- Once you are lucid, turning on yourself will help you increase your level of awareness, while also improving your balance.
- Reminding yourself of your intention to have a lucid dream before bed will increase your chances of success.
- When entering a lucid dream, it may be helpful to wait a few moments before trying to take control of the environment, allowing the brain to enter the dream.
