So you have heard of lucid dreaming and now you want to know how to get lucid dreams. If you have been working at inducing lucid dreams for a while (remembering your dreams, keeping the dream journal, performing regular reality checks), you are probably ready to learn the different techniques for inducing lucid dreams. This means that you will be making the lucid dreams happen, not just hoping to catch on to one while it is happening.
Here are the different techniques for inducing lucid dreams for the people who want to know how to get lucid dreams:
MILD
MILD stands for mnemonic induction of lucid dreams. It works like this: While you are falling asleep, tell yourself that you are going to remember to recognize that you are dreaming that you are going to look for dream signs while you are dreaming and that you are going to remember your dream. Focusing on these intentions as you fall asleep should help you have a lucid dream. This is the easiest technique.
WBTB
WBTB stands for wake back to bed and it is only slightly harder than the MILD technique. With WBTB, you go to sleep and then wake up five or six hours later. Stay up for an hour to an hour and a half and then go back to sleep. Your body will automatically drop into a REM cycle, which is when lucid dreams happen. Your lucid dream might even be longer than if you had just stayed asleep all the way through the night.
CAT
CAT stands for cycle adjustment technique. This means that, periodically you will wake up ninety minutes or so before the time you usually wake up. If you do this on a regular basis and intermittently between regular sleep times, eventually your body will think that it needs to be alert while you are letting it sleep. This has one of the higher rates of success.
WILD
WILD stands for Wake Initiation of Lucid Dreams and it is the most complicated method of inducing lucid dreams. To use this technique you must be able to recognize the hypnotic state that exists between being awake and being asleep. If you can manage to stay awake during this stage, you will be able to fully consciously enter a dream state, and know that it is a dream. It is hard to do this at night after being awake all day and is best used for an afternoon nap. There are many techniques involved in this induction from chanting, to mentally climbing stairs, to counting breaths to keep the thoughts focused, etc. When you transition into the dream state often you experience sleep paralysis which can involve rapid vibrations, loud sounds and even a feeling of moving into another state of awareness. This is also when that feeling of falling suddenly occurs. This is the most popular technique for people who want to know how to get lucid dreams because it means that they can basically have any kind of dream that they want.
Lucid Dreaming Tip #1
Lucid Dreams can be very addictive. Once you realize you are dreaming, especially if you have developed the ability to control the actions taking place in your dreams, you are going to want to have more dreams just like that. There is a lot of information that will tell you how to induce lucid dreams and how to make them a regular part of your sleep cycle.
Lucid Dreaming Tip #2
Nobody is sure exactly how dreams happen. Scientists know that during REM sleep the brain's activity is almost like the activity of a brain of a person who is awake, but nobody is sure why this is or how it happens. Scientists don't know if the brain generates dreams or if the body forces the brain to be active during REM sleep.
Lucid Dreaming Tip #3
Analyzing dreams is one of the most popular areas of psychology. There are lots of resources for people who are trying to figure out the symbolism of their dreams. There are online dream dictionaries and dream encyclopedias for sale at bookstores. Analyzing the individual symbols of a person's dream can help that person deal with areas of their waking life and this is why it is such a popular subject.
