A lucid dream is a dream where you know you’re dreaming and have full control over the dream. Lucid dreaming is a natural phenomenon, a science, and an art. As a natural phenomenon lucid dreaming has surely existed as long as dreams have. As an art it has been practiced for thousands of years, and across many cultures. Lucid dreaming was first described as a practice in the Upanishads, various Yoga Sutras, and in many Tibetan Buddhist texts.

As a scientific practice lucid dreaming has existed since 1898, when Frederik van Eeden first coined the term “lucid dreaming” in his report, The Study of Dreams. Nowadays, due in large part to scientists such as Stephen LaBerge, lucid dreaming institutes are hard at work providing the study of lucid dreaming with unprecedented discoveries and evidence.

Lucid dreaming has been verified as a state of consciousness with “definable and measurable differences” from waking life and REM sleep. It has been physiologically verified as a legitimate occurrence using EEG scans, polygraphs, the intentional use of planned signals while a person is lucid dreaming, and more.

In a 2008 report, scientists from universities in Japan and Germany analyzed five different studies from five different countries focusing on the prevalence of lucid dreaming. They found that the prevalence between countries varied greatly. 47% of the Japanese participants reported having had at least one lucid dream in their lifetime. About 70-80% of US, German, and Dutch citizens reported at least one. And a whopping 92% of Chinese people reported at least one lucid dream.

According to the above statistics, it’s entirely possible that you’ve experienced an unintentional lucid dream before. Lucid dreams involve varying degrees of vividness, control, and awareness, so likely your unintentional lucid dream was fuzzy, and lasted only moments. Regardless, the experience itself was surely unmistakable.

Or maybe you’ve never had a lucid dream, but still smile at the idea of becoming fully aware in your own dreamscape. There are proven effective methods for becoming lucid and gaining control over your dreams.

Lucid dreaming takes a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be flying through your favorite cities, using super powers, drinking light, and creating planets like a pro. Or, you can use lucid dreaming to benefit your waking life by practicing public speaking, learning languages, or delving deeper into your subconscious mind by having philosophical conversations with different aspects of yourself.

In a lucid dream, whatever you imagine comes true. You are the god of your own universe. Stick to the guide below, and you’ll be a master oneironaut (dream traveler) in no time.

A Step by Step Guide to Lucid Dreaming

Step 1: Don’t Get Discouraged

According to Stephen LaBerge, founder of the Lucidity Institute, as well as the man credited with being the “Father of Lucid Dreaming,”

Although we are not usually explicitly aware of the fact that we are dreaming while we are dreaming, at times a remarkable exception occurs, and we become conscious enough to realize that we are dreaming. “Lucid” dreamers (the term derives from van Eeden, 1913) report being able to freely remember the circumstances of waking life, to think clearly, and to act deliberately upon reflection, all while experiencing a dream world that seems vividly real (Green, 1968; LaBerge, 1985; Gackenbach & LaBerge, 1988). This is all in contrast to the usual past characterization of dreams as typically lacking any reflective awareness or true volition (Rechtschaffen, 1978).

That all sounds fantastic, but here’s the truth: Unless you are a natural (you wouldn’t be reading this guide if you were), lucid dreaming will take a great deal of time and effort.

There is no participation trophy. The vividness and control you have in a dream is entirely dependent on how often you practice and follow this guide.  It will take time to have a lucid dream, sometimes more time than you’d like, so for that reason step 1 is NEVER GET DISCOURAGED. The more impatient and discouraged you get, the harder lucid dreaming becomes.  Stay relaxed, and you WILL be lucid dreaming in no time.

Some people I have spoken to claim that it only takes them a few days to become lucid for the first time. It personally took me four months to have my first lucid dream, and another month to teach myself to use basic super powers like flying and telekinesis.

Everyone has their own pace. Be patient, and stay diligent.

Step 2: Research Lucid Dreaming

As a 20 year veteran lucid dreamer I assure you that this guide is good. Stick to it and you’ll be lucid dreaming within weeks. However, the key to becoming truly great at something is to never stop learning.

Scroll down to the bottom of this article and read through some of the studies and articles I used as sources. Better yet, speak to some lucid dreamers directly at LD4All.com. LD4All is one of the most wonderful communities I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of. I and other lucid dreamers like me want to help you start lucid dreaming, so you may as well take advantage of us.

Step 3: Keep a Dream Journal

Keep a journal or a tape recorder by your bed. Every time you wake up, whether it be to use the bathroom, drink some water, or begin the day, just stop. Don’t move. The moment you move the dream will become harder and harder to remember.

Begin recalling your dreams. Focus on details, colors, emotions, words, locations, people; anything!

Once the dream is rolling around your mind like a pop radio song, write it down (or record your voice). Write anything and everything. If you can only remember a faint memory of the color blue, write that down. No detail is unimportant. The more serious you take your dream journal, the more likely you are to become a lucid dreamer.

If you can’t keep yourself awake long enough to write in a dream journal, sit up on one elbow to make yourself slightly uncomfortable. Also, make sure to keep your dream journal separate from other journals you may have.

A dream journal is the cornerstone of successful lucid dreaming. Keeping a dream journal will increase dream recall, as well as the vividness and detail of your dreams. Most importantly, a dream journal is the single most important factor in increasing your chances of having a lucid dream. Whatever you do, don’t slack on step 3.

It is common to witness a profound improvement in dream recall along with dream vividness after the very first entry in your dream journal. If it has been over a week and you still can’t remember any dreams at all, scroll down to the “Lucid Dreaming Troubleshoot” section of this guide.

Step 4: Wake Back to Bed Method (WBTB)

This is usually taught later on, but it is so effective that I want you to know about it immediately. WBTB is the secret weapon lucid dreamers use to make lucid dreaming significantly and consistently easier. It has the added bonus of improving the likelihood that you will remember your dreams. If you are having trouble having any dreams at all, then this method is your best friend.

1. Set your alarm to wake you up 5 hours after you fall asleep. (I know you can’t get it to be exact, just do your best). The reason the alarm needs to be set 5 hours ahead is due to our natural sleep cycle.  On average, after 5 hours of sleep, a person is at the very tail end of REM sleep, and easily woken. This is also the very end of a dream, and just before the beginning of another descent into deep sleep. In truth, everyone’s sleep cycle is slightly different.  In step 8 you will master your REM cycle. For now, just stick to around 5 hours. 

2. Wake up, then go back to sleep. It’s as simple as that. While WBTB works even if you only stay awake for a few seconds, for maximum effect, stay up for 10 minutes to 1 hour.

3. During the time you are awake, focus only on lucid dreaming-related material. Read your dream journal, tell yourself you will have a lucid dream, read about lucid dreaming online. It’s up to you. The more you focus, the more likely you will be lucid dreaming when you lay back down.  

4. WBTB can be used in conjunction with all other lucid dreaming techniques. 

Step 5: Do Reality Checks

At this point you’re confident, well researched, and have been sticking to your journal at least semi-regularly. Welcome to step 4.  If you have ever seen the movie Inception you are familiar with the totems that each character uses to know if he or she awake or dreaming. The same applies to lucid dreaming in real life. Every lucid dreamer does reality checks throughout the day, but it has less to do with staying sane, and more to do with creating patterns in your subconscious mind.

Let’s say your reality check is looking at your hands. In a dream, your hands rarely if ever look normal. They usually have more or less fingers, or look alien and bizarre. Upon seeing a strange hand in a normal dream you wouldn’t even give it a second thought.

“Tentacle fingers? Makes sense.”

But in the mind of a person who has been constantly doing reality checks, those tentacle fingers are the answer to the question, “Am I dreaming?” Lucid dreaming time!

Simply put; the more often you do a reality check, the more likely it is that you will do the same reality check in any given dream. The key to reality checks is to do them mindfully and frequently. Ask yourself, “Am I dreaming?  Am I awake?” Or some other variation of the same question.

If you are not asking yourself the question in waking life, then you won’t ask yourself the question in the dream. It is the question, not the action itself, that will make lucid dreaming successful.

There are an infinite number of reality checks to choose from or create. Some of the most well known and effective reality checks include:

*Note: Always remember to ask yourself if you are awake or dreaming whenever you do a reality check.

Hands: As mentioned above, glance at your hands. In waking life they look like your normal hands. But inn a dream, hands are as variable as thought itself.

Light-switch: Flip a light-switch and see what happens. In a dream a light-switch rarely has anything to do with light. It might transport you to a new location, bark at you, or spray the room with confetti. Flip and find out.

Breath: Pinch your nose and try to breathe through it. In a dream you can breathe through your forehead or your hip bone. It makes no difference. 

Text: Just about the only font used in the lucid dreaming world is a strange mix between hieroglyphics and wingdings font. It just doesn’t make sense. Sure, there will be a few letters that look familiar to you, but the odds of seeing more than a few written words in a dream that make any sense are slim to none.  I have created text in dreams, but never have I stumbled upon a piece of text that makes much sense.

Clock: Check the time. Both digital and mechanical watches look strange in a dream. Watching the hour hand move backward and the minute hand move forward is always a fun time.

Mirror: Look in a mirror. In a dream your reflection could be anything from blurry, to horrifying, or even non-existent. If it turns out you’re dreaming, take a leap of faith and walk through the mirror. You never know where you might end up. 

Jump: Simply jump. In a dream you will often move in slow motion, float above the ground, or even start flying. Some of the greatest dreams of my life have been just flying through different lands, on different planets, through fictional universes, and through various mediums. It is very liberating. 

Poke: Poke yourself. In a dream your silky smooth skin might feel like any number of different textures. Mossy arms and prickly legs aren’t impossible in a dream world. 

*Note: Always use at least two reality checks.  Once in a while you will glance at your hand in a dream and it will look completely normal. That’s where the second reality check comes into play. I have never personally heard of two reality checks failing.

As you continue to do reality checks the question of whether or not you are dreaming will become a habit of thought, especially in your dreamworld. You’ll be holding a boa constrictor, falling through the sky completely naked, and suddenly ask yourself, “wait, am I dreaming?” Of course you are. You hate it when snakes interrupt your nude skydiving sessions. Boom! Now you’re lucid, and you will record your lucid dream in your dream journal when you wake up. Right? (Stop slacking on Step 3! :D)

The other benefit of doing frequent reality checks throughout the day is that it ensures that you are constantly thinking about lucid dreaming. The more you focus on something, the more likely it is to occur, especially in the case of lucid dreaming.

With practice your dreams will become extremely vivid and detailed, so much so that they will seem as real as waking life. Luckily reality checks always turn out the same in waking life, but rarely the same in dreams.

Step 6. Mnemonic Induced Lucid Dreaming (MILD)

There are a ton of techniques for becoming lucid, but I suggest you start with MILD. This technique was personally created by Stephen LaBerge and is ideal for beginners. This lucid dreaming technique can be split into five general parts. They are:

1. Dream Recall
2. Reality Checks
3. Relaxation
4. Affirmation
5. Visualization

Lucky for you, you’ve already been working on parts 1 and 2. Let’s start with part 3, relaxation.

3. Relaxation

Any relaxation technique will suffice, but there are some tried and true methods that lucid dreamers, including myself, have found work best. Start by finding a comfortable position in bed. This is ideally a position you won’t move from.

Next, take 5-10 deep breaths, keeping in mind that you are preparing for a night of lucid dreaming. Remember that truly effective deep-breathing involves movement of the belly, chest, and shoulders.

Inhale using your diaphragm so that your belly pushes outward. When your belly is out, continue inhaling so that the chest expands. Don’t stop there! Continue inhaling so that your shoulders and collar bone rises. Hold this breath for 2-5 seconds, and release.

Your release should move opposite to your inhale, and be just as controlled. Begin with the lowering of your shoulders, the sinking of your chest, and finally the deflation of your belly. This entire sequence is called a yogic breath, and is a very powerful relaxation tool.

After you finish with your deep breathing, you are ready to begin muscle clenching. Start from the bottom up, clenching your toes, followed by your feet, legs, and so on. By the time you reach your forehead your entire body should be clenched tight. Release, and you will feel a powerful calm wash over you. Repeat muscle clenching at least two more times, or until you are in a completely relaxed state.

4. Affirmation

In this part of MILD you affirm to yourself that you will in fact have a lucid dream. Part 4 creates a solidified intention. It is like a manual override of the brain.

As you lay in bed fully relaxed, begin repeating in your head over and over again:

“I will become lucid,” “I will have a lucid dream,” or “I am dreaming, this is a dream, I am lucid dreaming…”

The words don’t matter as much as the intention. You WILL become lucid. Convincing yourself of that is the whole point of part 4.

If it’s been three weeks and you still haven’t had a lucid dream, it will be extremely hard to totally convince yourself that the next night will be different. Remember step 1: don’t get discouraged.

As your mind begins to wander, (it inevitably will), just gently bring it back to focus on the task at hand. “I will become lucid tonight.” Remember, just like with the reality checks, the words and movements don’t matter as much as your feelings and intentions. Believe yourself when you say that you will be come lucid, no matter how long it’s been.

5. Visualization

Lucid dreaming is easiest when you have a clearly defined goal. What do you want to do in your first lucid dream? If you just stand around, amazed that you are actually awake inside your own dream, you will lose lucidity, guaranteed. Part 5 gives you a better chance at becoming lucid, and remaining lucid.

While you are affirming to yourself that you will have a lucid dream, visualize in your mind what you will do in your dream. If you want to fly, visualize yourself flying in your preferred location.  It also helps to visualize yourself writing in your dream journal about the lucid dream due to the mental associations you’ve made regarding the dream journal.

MILD Quick Overview:

1. Stick to the dream journal.
2. Keep doing reality checks throughout the day.
3. Find a comfortable position to fall asleep in, and begin relaxing yourself using deep breathing and full- body muscle clenching.
4. Use positive affirmation to tell yourself that you will become lucid. Know it to be true.
5. Visualize yourself in the lucid dream. Have a clearly defined goal, and focus on that goal during your visualizations, and in your dream.

*Note: Remember that WBTB can be used in conjunction with MILD to maximize your chances of lucidity.

Step 7. Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming (WILD)

After you have mastered MILD you are ready to move on to the Holy Grail of lucid dreaming techniques, WILD. There is nothing wild or crazy about WILD. It is an extremely straightforward technique. Reading it over, it might even sound easier than MILD.  In truth though, WILD is an advanced lucid dreaming technique which transports your waking state awareness directly from waking life into your dream state. Stay with me here, because this is not science fiction. WILD is a tried and true method for lucid dreaming.

*Note: Use WBTB in conjunction with WILD. For experienced lucid dreamers, this is generally the quickest, most effective, and most relied upon method of lucid dreaming. 

1. Relax

Yup, same as MILD. This technique works best when you are in a totally relaxed state.  Set aside some time for stretching, deep breathing, and/or muscle clenching.

2. Observe the Hypnagogia

The hypnagogic state occurs at the onset of sleep, well before you being lucid dreaming.  It consists of a seemingly random roller coaster ride of visions, sounds, and sensations.  You may hear a phone ringing, followed by your name shouted by thirty different voice, followed by a leaf gliding acorss your skin, all while technicolor fractal geometries dance across your inner eye lids. The hypnagogic state can be fun, disorienting, or downright terrifying. Just remember that it’s all in your head, and go along for the ride. The hypnagogic state is actually the doorway to lucidity.

You must stay perfectly still during the hypnagogic state, or else you will wake up and have to start all over again. With practice you will be able to ignore itches, and reflexes, like the need to swallow.  It is also a good idea to experiment with different sleeping positions to find what is not only most comfortable for your mind, but your body as well.

In most cases, a person will experience a dominant type of hypnagogia. Visual and auditory hypnagogia are the most common, but it’s also possible to experience movement on or near your body in the hypnagogic state. Whatever you experience most, focus on it. Do not let your attention sway. If it does (it will) keep reminding yourself that you are dreaming. It is helpful to count, “1 I’m dreaming…2 I’m dreaming…3 I’m dreaming…”

As you stay aware during the hypnagogic state the hypnagogia will begin taking on distinct patterns and form. Begin to project your own visualizations onto the hypnagogia. Imagine the scene you want to begin your dream in. Imagine the hypnagogic imagery forming into your desired dream scene and it will do exactly that.

It is like focusing on something under a microscope. At first everything is blurry with many sounds and images all mixed together. But as you focus, or visualize a scene, the image becomes crystal clear. Layer upon layer, your dream scene is created.

Visualize yourself entering the dream scene you have created from a first person perspective. As long as you keep reminding yourself that you are dreaming, you will pop out of your sleeping body and into your new dream body.

3. Enter the Dream and Stabilize

Success! You’re lucid dreaming (do a reality check). Now that you’re in the dream the first thing you’ll want to do is stabilize.  Imagine a pilot suddenly entering an area with a wildly different air temperature.  Things are shaky. In your case, it’s your awareness that’s shaky. If you’re not careful, you’re going to lose lucidity and fall back asleep. This can be incredibly frustrating, but it happens to the best of us.

The first thing you should do is shout “Increase lucidity!”, “I am dreaming!”, or “I will stay aware!”  Something to that effect.  This will immediately increase the dream’s vividness as well as your awareness. You can also try spinning on your axis, or asking a dream character for help in staying lucid. Some dream characters respond like robots, while others are so complex and real that it fills you with awe.

At this point you are ready to start experimenting with what works best for you. Make sure to try out different ideas while you are dreaming and see what works best for you. Congratulations, you’re a lucid dreamer.

Step 8: Master your Sleep Cycle

This is not a necessary step, but mastering your sleep cycle will greatly increase the vividness and rate of lucid dreams you have.

As stated above, when doing WBTB, the reason you set your alarm clock to wake you up 5 hours after going to sleep has to do with the average person’s sleep cycle.  If you understand the basics of the sleep cycle and then master your own, I assure you, you will become a master lucid dreamer. So, here’s sleep in a nutshell:

Sleep architecture refers to the basic structural organization of normal sleep. There are two types of sleep, non-rapid eye-movement (NREM) sleep and rapid eye-movement (REM) sleep. NREM sleep is divided into stages 1, 2, 3, and 4, representing a continuum of relative depth. Each has unique characteristics including variations in brain wave patterns, eye movements, and muscle tone. Sleep cycles and stages were uncovered with the use of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings that trace the electrical patterns of brain activity.

The sleep cycle itself could be its own article, so let’s stick to what you need to know.

*Note: Sleep patterns change with age and gender.

• Dreams take place almost entirely during REM sleep.
  
• 80% of all dream recall is associated with waking up during REM sleep. That’s why WBTB is timed at 5 hours.
  
• Each sleep cycle lasts about 90 – 110 minutes. If you sleep for 8 hours, you are sleeping through about 5 cycles of sleep.