A lucid dream is one in which you
become conscious that you are dreaming without waking up, and therefore gain the ability to control elements of the dream
which you wouldn’t normally be able to.
Aside from being an exciting
and enjoyable experience in itself, it can also be a powerful tool for self-knowledge and self-mastery. In certain schools
of Hindu and Tibetan Yoga lucid dreaming is an important step on the path to enlightenment. (see: The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep
)
For anyone wishing to begin learning
this art I would recommend Keeping a Dream Diary as an important first step, but assuming that you are already doing this here are some techniques that you can use
as triggers to induce the experience:
Using Cues: This involves using everyday
objects, events, or actions as ‘cues’ that automatically set off a chain off thought which will induce the lucid
dream. This is done by associating the chosen object or action with that particular thought process while you are awake. Let’s
say I choose ‘my car’, and ‘walking through a doorway’ as my cues. They are both things that I see
or do often, and which are therefore likely to crop up on a fairly regular basis
in my dreams too, so they make good choices to use as cues. The process is then
simple: every time I see my car or walk through a doorway I ask myself - “am
I awake or asleep?” It feels a bit stupid when you know that you are awake, but try using tests as well, like trying
to change the shape or size of things around you, or to transport yourself to a different place.
If you keep this up for long enough
then the association between the object / action and the question will start to become automatic, and will then start to happen
every time you see that object or perform that action in your dreams, thus triggering the realization that you are in fact
still asleep. For many people a few days of doing this will be long enough, but it varies greatly from one person to the next.
The key is to remember to ask the question every single time that you see or perform
your cue.
