The technique of lucid dreaming with an overview of alternative techniques. How to become lucid in a dream? Simple exercise Mechanisms of self-awareness in a dream

“I’m going to teach you right here the first step to strength,” he said, as if dictating a letter to me. - I want to teach you how to set up dreams. You should start by doing something very simple, today in your dreams you should look at your hands.Carlos Castaneda The most complex skills are often described in the simplest terms. Here, let’s say “look at your hands in a dream” - what a simple formulation! It would seem that there is no magic here: you don’t need to fly, teleport, or read someone’s thoughts. Just look at your hands. However, as practice shows, in a dream it is much easier to fly, teleport and read the thoughts of everyone in a row than to wait to look at your own hands. In order to get used to being lucid every night, get comfortable with dreams and learn to manage them, you will have to solve this simple problem first.

FOR WHAT?

Let's figure out why it is so important to learn to see your own hands. There are several reasons for this.

First of all, this shows that you really realized in your dream. After all, if you remembered in a dream that you need to look at your hands, it means you have already realized that you are dreaming, thereby taking the first step into the magical world.

But to feel like you're in a dream - this is just the beginning. It's like an entrance exam, which, despite all its complexity, only slightly opens the door that hides new experience from us. In gaining and consolidating this experience, we will again be helped by the exercise of searching and looking at our hands.

Very often, having become lucid in a dream, a person is lost, not knowing what to do next. So much effort has been spent on achieving this awareness, but after the first delight from the result, boredom sets in: it seems that returning to the dream and finishing it is much more interesting than maintaining clarity of mind. At this moment you need to occupy yourself with some task- not difficult, but requiring concentration. If you find yourself in this situation, start looking at your hands. Carefully, detail by detail: every mole, every scratch, every line on the palm.

Finally, after examining your hands and maintaining a sense of awareness, move on to the next step: dream control. There is no need to set too serious goals, start with simple things: put gloves on your hands or decorate them with a diamond ring, change the color of your nails, get an even and beautiful tan. Remember: this is your dream, it obeys you. Control what happens within the simplest task: control what happens with your hands.

WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT?

Once you start experimenting with searching for hands in your sleep, you quickly discover that it is very difficult to remember the task at hand and concentrate on it.

Until the moment of realization, no desire to look at your hands arises. The brain does not have such a task, and it does not solve it.

And after realization, the thought most often arises: “I have already realized - why do I need my hands? I’ll do something more interesting in my sleep.”

Any training is based on training: on repeating what is not very interesting, but important, on practicing skills within the framework of simple, model tasks. Controlled dream training is no exception. And here the model exercise is to work with your hands. It is very difficult to keep our attention on this task, because in our dreams we like to relax and have fun, rather than work.

WHAT TO DO?

If you want to achieve serious results- you will have to gather your will into a fist.

However, gathering your will into a fist in a dream is much more difficult than in reality, since the brain is tuned to rest and relaxation. A good solution would be to make exercise a daily habit. If periodic examination of your hands becomes a constant ritual for you in reality, then your brain will definitely add this ritual to your sleep.

I present to your attention simple exercise, which will help you start experimenting with lucid dreaming. Try the following.

1. Examine your hands - right now.

2. Repeat the hand inspection several times throughout the day.. You can even put a reminder in your phone to look at your hands, for example, once every two hours.

3. Every time you look at your hands, ask yourself the question: am I dreaming? Think about the answer, even if it seems obvious to you.

After some time, your subconscious will come to terms with this habit, and you will certainly look at your hands in a dream, and asking yourself the question: “Am I dreaming,” you will be surprised to give a positive answer to it.

MAIN

Remember: as with any workout, here diligence and consistency are important. Don't expect instant results. Most likely, if you diligently repeat this exercise, you will be able to become aware in about a week, but the exact time frame depends on the person’s receptivity. The main thing is don't give up and your efforts will be rewarded.

Lucid dreams (LDs) are a certain altered state of consciousness when a sleeping person is aware of himself in a dream. Thanks to this, the events that take place become manageable, and the plots of the dream become changeable.

This type of pastime is quite fun, but it is not always completely safe, as some practitioners claim.

However, from such an experience you can get not only pleasure, but also very specific results. You will be able to play out various life scenarios without harm to yourself and find a way out of them, get away from your fears and worries. Athletes can train in such virtual reality, artists and writers can look for inspiration for their works. Thus, unique unique paintings, fantasy novels and fairy tales are born.

By maintaining your consciousness during sleep, you can do whatever you want. Just imagine the possibilities for your imagination! You can fly, travel the world, make your wildest dreams come true. Also, if you have nightmares, you can easily change the plot. However, in order not only to maintain consciousness during sleep, but also to change the scenario at your discretion, long-term practice of OS is necessary.

But where do events take place in a dream - in another reality, or in our brain? There is heated debate about this, but one way or another, such a state of consciousness is of great interest.
Many people have had the experience of lucid dreaming at least once in their lives. Some dreamers are able to induce such a state of consciousness at will. This is not always easy to do; sometimes it takes months and even years of practice to learn how to consciously enter the dream world. The most difficult thing is to learn to maintain awareness during the transition to sleep itself. Sometimes it’s easier to just remember in a dream that you are dreaming. There are many special techniques and methods for this.

1. Try to remember your dreams. To do this, when you wake up, remember your intention, because after a minute you can easily forget what you just dreamed about. Also, keep a diary where you write down your dreams. Memorizing them is important, because if you have a lucid dream and forget everything in the morning, your efforts will be wasted.

2. During the day, think as often as possible about whether you are sleeping. Do this, not just remembering it, but really cheer yourself up, look around, listen to yourself. You can try to pinch yourself, try to read the text in a book, even jump, trying to fly. If you repeat a similar exercise several times a day for a long time, then it is quite possible that in a dream you will have a similar thought - are you dreaming?

3. Make a wish for yourself in the evening before going to bed so that you don’t forget to look at your hands at night. This simple method often produces amazing results.

4. Learn to stop the internal dialogue (the mix of words that constantly spins in our heads). This will be a useful skill not only for learning to see the OS.

5. While falling asleep, try to visualize various geometric shapes. Move them away from you and bring them closer, gradually you will fall asleep. The main thing is not to let your guard down.

6. When you wake up in the morning, do not immediately jump out of bed. It often happens that when we wake up, we still seem to be dreaming, but we also begin to realize that we are almost awake. Keep your attention on moments from the dream; it is quite possible that you will slip into the dream again, but in a waking state. You can also set your alarm a couple of hours before the time you usually wake up. By falling asleep a second time, you will have a greater chance of seeing OS.

7. Physical fatigue helps very well in this case. In practice, it has been noted that when your body is very tired, it is much easier to slip into sleep (perhaps in this case the body falls asleep faster than the brain).

8. Sometimes the simplest method helps. You just need to really want to realize yourself in a dream and go to bed with this thought. Thanks to this method, I saw the OS for the first time. So the main thing in this matter is your intention.

Sometimes, when beginning to become aware of a dream, the dreamer does not always realize that this is not reality. Several methods have been invented to check your condition.

Try to fly.
- Pinch yourself.
- Open the book, read the poster - in a dream the text will blur, or the letters will “jump”.
- Try to get something out of the closet that is not actually there.
- Look at yourself in the mirror - in a dream you will not see a reflection, or it will constantly change.
- Look at your arms or legs for a long time - in your sleep they will begin to change.

Before you start practicing lucidity, think about what you will do when you become aware of your dream. After all, it often happens that when you find yourself in a lucid dream, you cannot decide what to do next, and such a wonderful opportunity is wasted.

OS practice will help you in your development. Also, lucid dreams can become a launching pad for the practice of astral travel.

At the same time, you need to feel the world around you as if in a dream. Create a mental flash inside yourself: “Bah! It’s all a dream!” Look back as if you were seeing this world for the first time. Even look at familiar things with surprise and delight. Then you consciously “dive” into the abyss of your affairs with the intention of remembering to look at your hands again in 15-30 minutes.

When falling asleep

When the relaxation meditation is finished, I turn on my side and give myself the setting to remember in a dream that I am dreaming. Or realize yourself in a drowsy state. I visualize it in my head. Then I “let go” of myself and fall asleep.

Keeping a Dream Diary

Keep a notebook to record your dreams. To achieve lucidity in a dream, an important condition is to remember all your dreams well. I was surprised to learn that some people don't remember their dreams. Or they have some vague memories. This happens to me very rarely and in moments of general fatigue. I usually remember all my dreams in a night. Well, maybe not literally everything (there is a version that dreams occur even during the deep phase), but at least in each REM phase I remember all my dreams. And often quite clearly.

Sometimes I wake up with the feeling that I clearly remembered the dream and participated in it, but when I try to write it down, it turns out that I cannot remember many moments. :)

So, to increase Attention to your dreams, get a notebook - from now on you will write down your dreams. Whether you wake up in the middle of the night or in the morning, take a minute to briefly write down what you just dreamed.

The scheme is this: wake up, take a pen, find a more or less illuminated place (I had to write in the dark too! :) and start writing down. Don't think about whether you remember the dream or not. Just write. Write everything that comes to mind about the sensations that just passed. You can make brief sketches of the general atmosphere of the dream. You can sketch something. In general, leave such notes in pen so that when you wake up in the morning, you could recreate, if not the complete plot of the dream, then at least the Feeling from it, the atmosphere.

Woke up again a couple of hours later? Amazing. Get up and write down your dreams. Well, you can go to the toilet first. :)

Public diary

Unique trick: keeping a public diary. With the spread of Internet technologies, an opportunity has arisen to increase the frequency of operating systems. You set up your own home page on the Internet with a description of your experience of “outputs”, realizations, etc. Knowing that you need to periodically update the page as visitors read it will force you to get those experiences, the “outputs.” You may not immediately post it online. Save it in a file, and after, for example, a month, post it on the Internet.

Meditation

Meditation before bed is relaxation plus special attention to something outside the usual sensations. For example, the experience of entering a dream when falling asleep, immediately from a waking position, without falling asleep first, is considered especially valuable. I must say that I have never done this before. Although I have been trying to do this every evening for several years.

The very fact of trying to “leave the body” before going to bed can cause awareness at night or in the morning. I am very persistent, so I don’t stop trying like this even if I fail.

Awareness of oneself in a drowsy state

This is what worked for me most often. The drowsy state is a state when consciousness has already woken up, but the body has not yet had time to turn on all the channels of perception of physical reality and therefore does not interfere with the shift of consciousness. I find myself in this state most often in the morning - when I have to sleep for a long time, or at night. Being in such a “transitional” state can be accompanied by various effects:

Rumble in my head
-vibrations in the body
-numbness in the body
-both together

When I feel this “hum”, I know that I am in a drowsy state and begin to take advantage of this favorable moment. First, I increase the buzz in my head for a while. Sometimes its sensation reaches such an extent that it turns straight into a roar, and it seems that the eardrums in the ears will burst. Then I try to get out of my body. Holding this hum, I climb sideways out of my head. Either back or up. Sometimes such pressure exerted in one direction increases the unpleasant sensations in the head (it seems as if blood vessels will burst), then I change the vector of force in the other direction.

You can imagine how I climb an imaginary rope up to the ceiling. You can roll out sideways onto the floor. I found this to be the most effective remedy: you just need to imagine that you are ALREADY outside the body. As if you are ALREADY standing in the middle of your room. In general, there is a large field for experimentation here. If it doesn't work out that way, come up with other tricks.

Sometimes in a dream you realize that you are dreaming. Usually the plot and characters of the dream disappear immediately. The clarity of the picture increases sharply. Sometimes you can see the smallest blades of grass under your feet. There is a feeling of unusualness, of some alien atmosphere. You understand: “This is it, this is IT!” You look around with admiration and slowly move forward. Each seemingly ordinary blade of grass evokes sincere joy. After all, this is not a dream or the physical world. This is something different. Same reality!

) For the first time I realized myself in a dream three years ago. It was bright, unusual, emotions went off scale and I was quickly “thrown out” into reality. But I liked it so much that I tried to come back again and again... but again and again it didn’t work. Soon I gave up my fruitless attempts. The opportunity to again touch this amazing experience - awareness of oneself in a dream - presented itself quite recently. A series of seminars on dreams was held at the “Whole World” practice center, led by Marina Strekalova, candidate of psychological sciences. Marina has been studying the world of dreams for more than 15 years and was happy to share her unique knowledge with us. After the second seminar, I had a lucid dream - vivid, long and very deep. After which I realized: the world that is “out there” constantly communicates with us, and we can either ignore it, or finally hear and understand these messages. In a lucid dream, understanding comes faster - after all, there all feelings and sensations are heightened to the limit.

A few rules that will help you become aware of yourself in a dream

For some, the ability to lucid dream (they are also called lucid dreams) is developed by nature, so it is not difficult for such people to become aware of themselves in a dream and begin to do something there at their own discretion. By the way, I’ll immediately make a reservation that there are two types of OSes: in the first, you realize that you are dreaming, but follow the dream scenario, and in the second, you change the dream at your own discretion (this is already a controlled dream - really aerobatics). But, unfortunately, this ability was lost by many in childhood. Often, parents, without knowing it themselves, rejected some of our “superpowers,” forcing us to fit into the accepted social framework, that is, in essence, “to be like everyone else.” Any experience that did not meet these standards was classified as a child's fantasy, and therefore was not given due attention. However, it is possible to develop the ability to lucid dream. For this, there are a number of practices, as well as rules, following which you will be able to become aware of yourself in a dream much faster.

Rule one : Keep a dream diary and write down your dreams Why is this necessary? Firstly, in this way you learn to communicate with the world of dreams not only when you sleep. It is important to maintain contact with the world of dreams even after waking up. Remembering a dream, it’s as if you are laying a “bridge” from this world to the next. Well, secondly, how will you know that you had a lucid dream if you don’t remember it? By writing down your dreams, you learn to remember them. This means that you will most likely not miss the OS if you have it. You can read about how to keep a dream diary and record dreams correctly

Rule two : learn to relax and maintain attention without straining Why is this necessary? The mistake most beginner dreamers make is too strong a desire to become aware of themselves in a dream. Because of this, tension arises, which either prevents you from entering a lucid dream at all or quickly “throws you out” of it. Attention is the key to OS. After all, in fact, it depends on him how long you can stay in a lucid dream and what you can do there. By learning to maintain attention, you will be able to move from the waking state directly to the OS, bypassing periods of no sleep and normal sleep. Or you will make your OSes last longer.

Rule three : learn to be aware of yourself in everyday life How consciously do you live your life? Do you do everything “automatically” or do you try to feel every moment? Are you dreaming? Learning to “wake up” in everyday life will help you wake up in your sleep. To do this, for several days, while performing normal household or work duties, when you are walking or driving somewhere, stop and ask yourself the question: “Is this a dream? Am I awake? And give a completely informed answer. At this point, it is important to take your time, look around and really realize that you are not dreaming. For these purposes, so-called “alarm clocks” are sometimes used. For example, you may ask yourself the question, “Am I dreaming?” every time you walk through the door. Or look at the clock. Or you buy something in a store. It doesn’t matter which “alarm clock” you choose, the main thing is that when you come into contact with it, you become aware of yourself in this reality. Then it is quite possible that when in a dream you “collide” with your “alarm clock” and ask yourself the same question, the answer will be different: “Yes, I’m dreaming!” And this is the first step towards realizing yourself in a dream.

Rule four: develop your energy body Our energy body dreams, which can be developed both through special practices (for example, yoga, meditation, qigong, etc.) and through synergy. Synergy is when you see sounds, hear sensations, feel objects with your body. For example, when you inhale a smell, will you feel where in the body it is located? Try to intensify these sensations. At first it will seem to you that you are not succeeding, but later you will develop such an unusual feeling - this, by the way, will help you not only in dreams, but also in real life.

Techniques for entering a lucid dream when falling asleep

There are a great many practitioners of entering the OS. They are described in the works of Castaneda, Laberge, Patricia Garfield, so there is no point in listing them all here. I note that different practices work for different people - so you should choose the method you like best and practice it for at least 3-4 days. If you don’t like it, switch to another one. Under no circumstances should you try several methods at the same time - otherwise, you may not achieve results, and even disrupt your sleep.

Preparatory stage: Any practice should begin in a state of total deep relaxation. It is better to start relaxation from the head. The most difficult things to relax are the eyes, the back of the head, the back of the neck and shoulders - it’s worth walking your attention over them several times. When you relax your eyes, it’s as if you “screw” your attention into the center of your head, going inward. Those who practice yoga may remember this state from Savasana.

Technique of entry through images There is a possibility that in this state of relaxation, images will begin to appear. You can choose one of them and either bring it closer to you, or move closer to it yourself - and immerse yourself in it. Here it is important to let go of yourself, your daytime consciousness - it is quite possible that at some point something will click and you will realize that you are already in a dream.

Technique of entry through sensations Some people find it easier to work with body sensations. Concentrate your attention on the feet, at the level of the genital organs, on the stomach, on the chest, on the throat (in essence, you are passing through the main energy centers or chakras in this way) and begin to intensify the sensations that will come. For example, you can, as it were, expand your throat. At the same time, drown in the sensation, dissolve in it. You can diversify your technique and begin to expand your body to the size of a room, house, city, etc. – while continuing to concentrate on the sensations. Remember one of the rules: you need to do this without straining.

Techniques for entering a lucid dream when waking up

The same techniques can be practiced when waking up, but then you most likely will not be able to get out of sleep for a long time. In this case, you can try other methods. First, choose a day when you don’t need to run somewhere. When you wake up, do not rush to jump up - run your attention over your body. This practice is useful for two reasons. Firstly, you will be able to remember the state of relaxation - it will help you when falling asleep or when you want, for example, to lie quietly and disconnect from stress. Secondly, experience shows that sensations in the body after normal sleep and after an acute sleep are significantly different. If you had a lucid dream at night, you may feel vibrations, burning in your palms, a hum, or something else. Even if you don’t remember the OS, your body will signal to you that it happened! You can finish this and go about your business. Or you can “stand up like a compass” from this state (naturally, your physical body will not be able to do this, but your energy body will quite cope with such a task). That is, rise up without squatting, immediately vertically. Some people use the inversion technique (turning their body 180 degrees) and then stand up. This will activate your energy body. In this position, feel the floor with your feet, go to the wall, touch it with your hand, explore it. And then boldly walk through it. Most often, a lucid dream awaits you behind the wall. And finally, another technique that worked very well for me. Wake up two hours earlier than your usual waking time in the morning. Go wash yourself (just wash your face - no need to shower) or drink some water. Go back to sleep. You can try one of the above listed techniques for falling asleep - I, in particular, just fell asleep without thinking about anything. And at some point I realized that I was dreaming. The peculiarity of this method is that the state when the body has already had time to rest, but in general can still sleep, is most successful for OS. A slight interruption of sleep turns on your awareness, however, you fall into prosleep - when you seem to have already gotten up, but are still still asleep. This borderline state activates lucid dreams - as they say, it has been verified by personal experience. And finally. Try to get enough sleep and get enough sleep. If you are too exhausted, you are unlikely to have a lucid dream because your body will only be restoring its strength. In addition, try to ensure that the practices do not disrupt your sleep, otherwise your interest in lucid dreams may disappear altogether - what kind of lucid dreams are there when you are tormented by insomnia! And don't stress too much. As in life, in a dream all the most amazing things happen easily and naturally.

Anna Mizhueva

The article was written based on the materials of the seminar

Lucid dreaming is a state of consciousness when you are fully aware that you are dreaming. The realism of this state can be amazing as your brain is under the illusion of being completely awake while your body is actually asleep.
Common activities during lucid dreaming include flying, exploring the dream world, interacting with dream characters, even questioning your inner self to make sense of your life. In fact, the only thing that limits your possibilities is your own logic.
There are two main approaches to achieving this state. The first method is used at the beginning, as the foundation of your practice in awareness - you need to keep a dream diary near your bed and, as soon as you wake up, write down in it all the dreams that you can remember. By doing this, you focus your mind on your dreams and may discover interesting dream themes and cues that can help your mind understand that it is dreaming.
Use reality tests, they are triggered during your dreams, allowing you to understand that this is a dream and not reality. The theory is that if you regularly check to see if it's a dream during your normal daytime life, then at night when you're sleeping you'll perform the same dream steps and this will trigger lucidity. The most popular tests include trying to fly, pushing a finger through the palm, and checking that electrical switches are working correctly (since in dreams they don't work properly).
The following methods are more direct, try them after you have been keeping a dream diary for some time and using reality tests. When you wake up, in the middle of the night or in the morning, instead of turning over and going back to sleep, tell yourself mentally: “When I return to sleep, I will realize that I am dreaming.” Try to remember the dream you just saw, the sensations you experienced in the dream, the sounds you heard. Imagine yourself being aware that you are dreaming as you re-enter the dream. You can even set your alarm for an hour before you usually wake up, stand up for a short time, and then try this technique.
Another technique is to directly enter a lucid dream from the waking state. The best time to try it is in the morning or in the first half of the day after eating. Sit comfortably in a bed or chair, close your eyes and relax. Gently focus on the colored images and shapes in your mind's eye. Allow yourself to almost fall asleep, keep your mind relaxed but aware of the images that are forming. This is a complex method, but if you choose the right balance point in this intermediate state, the images will suddenly become vivid and you will be able to step into a lucid dream in the world you see before you.
The awareness achieved can begin to diminish at any moment. To prolong the experience, try rubbing your palms together and focusing on the reality of your imaginary world. Or ask loudly to “increase your awareness” and then spin around with your arms outstretched.
The existence of lucid dreaming has been scientifically proven, but since time immemorial, reports of transcendental dreaming possibilities have included astral travel—a state where the spirit wanders freely throughout the universe and beyond—shared dreaming, encounters with spirit guides, and other extraordinary experiences. But no matter what happens to you in your dreams, nothing can harm you, and you will enjoy the world created by your brain, like millions of others around the globe.