What Others are Saying about The Two Week Lucid Dreamer
“I am proud to report my first lucid experience :) after 7 days of following your course!”
-Eve M.
“I hadn't had lucid dreams for several years, and decided to give this course a try. I was very pleased, and experienced results within the first week of using The Two Week Lucid Dreamer. Thank you!”
-Jared M.
“I have read some books about Lucid Dreaming and Astral Projection before. They are all very wordy and I had to go through a lot of "bla bla bla" before I got to the point that really matters. I found The Two Week Lucid Dreamer very straight to the point and very easy to read and understand.”
-Henrique G.
Lucid Dreaming Starter Handbook
By Derek Ralston
Copyright 2012 Derek Ralston
Smashwords Edition License Notes:
Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Lucid Dreaming 101
Why Have a Lucid Dream?
The #1 Habit to Acquire to Have Lucid Dreams
The Top Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by Lucid Dreaming Beginners
The Two Week Lucid Dreamer
Also by Derek Ralston
Introduction
So you want to learn to have lucid dreams? You are reading the right eBook. Lucid dreams can be used for fun, to help you solve your problems creatively, and as a source of self knowledge and personal growth.
I have been researching and experimenting with lucid dreaming for the last decade. But I was no natural lucid dreamer. For most of those years, I was only able to have lucid dreams sporadically. It wasn't until this past year that I really started to perfect my own techniques for consistent lucid dreaming. I read countless books/eBooks on lucid dreaming, dream interpretation, and sleep. I tested many induction techniques and over a dozen dream supplements as well.
What did I find out? Lucid dreaming isn't rocket science. There are proven techniques out there that anyone can put to use. I use these techniques to have lucid dreams whenever I want, almost every night. This has significantly improved my waking life.
There are people out there who believe they can jump right in and start having lucid dreams the first night they try. They might read one article on the Internet, and assume that if they follow a certain technique they will start having lucid dreams whenever they want. They are wrong. Now I’m not saying it’s impossible for people to have a lucid dream the first night they try. There is a very small percentage of people that are able to have a lucid dream the first time they hear about them. They are typically either extremely talented or have beginner’s luck.
Learning to have lucid dreams is not difficult, but it does take time, motivation, concentration, and persistence. While I cannot offer you advice on how to have a lucid dream tonight, I am giving you the first step to dreaming consciously with this free starter handbook.
After finishing this handbook, you will be ready for The Two Week Lucid Dreamer.
This is my detailed two week program for consciously controlling your dreams. It includes a step-by-step instructional eBook, exclusive lucid dream induction techniques, supplemental lucid dreaming MP3 (isochronic pulses), lucid dreaming cheat sheet, and advanced techniques. The program is based on my own personal experience, along with the newest techniques in dream research. If you follow techniques from The Two Week Lucid Dreamer persistently, you will:
1. Have your first lucid dream. This is an important first step in learning to have lucid dreams on a consistent basis. You will likely be filled with excitement for several days after this, and want to have more lucid dreams.
2. Begin having lucid dreams more frequently. People usually report having lucid dreams 10-15 times per month at this stage.
3. Be able to have a lucid dream whenever you want. At this stage, you will be able to tell yourself the night before that you would like to have a lucid dream. And you will have a lucid dream that night, consistently.
Let’s get started, so you can have your first lucid dream as soon as possible.
Lucid Dreaming 101
To understand lucid dreaming, you must first understand the basics of sleep and sleep time spent dreaming.
The Stages of Sleep
You spend more than two hours dreaming each night. You dream about once every 90 minutes of sleep. The time you spend in dreams becomes longer throughout the night, from about 10 minutes to around 45 minutes or slightly longer.
Your sleep moves in cycles, starting with wakefulness, moving to deep sleep, then back to wakefulness. You move through four to six of these cycles per night. Each cycle is comprised of five stages of sleep.
Within the five stages of sleep: four stages of NREM (Non-REM) sleep, and one stage of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. Sleep specialists consider NREM sleep “an idling brain in a movable body”, and REM sleep “an active brain in a paralyzed body.” The most vivid dreams, and therefore the ones you remember the most, occur during REM sleep (though you dream in other stages too).
Stage 1 (NREM): The first stage is a transition state between wakefulness and sleep. This is the stage that hypnagogic imagery occurs in. The body temperature drops, muscles become relaxed, and you can easily be jarred into wakefulness during this stage. It usually passes into stage 2 within five minutes.
Stage 2 (NREM): During stage 2, the body gradually shuts down, and brain waves become larger. It is a transition between other stages, and roughly half of your night is spent in this stage. The first time you enter this stage, it lasts 10-25 minutes.
Stages 3 and *4 (NREM): Combined, these stages are called “Deep Sleep.” Breathing slows and becomes more regular, blood pressure and pulse fall 20-30% below waking rates, and the brain is less responsive to external stimuli. This is the time for your body to renew and repair itself. It is during this stage that sleepwalking usually occurs. This stage lasts approximately 30 minutes.
*In 2008, the sleep profession in the US eliminated the use of stage 4. Stages 3 and 4 are now considered stage 3.
REM: During REM sleep, the brain races as eyes dart back and forth rapidly behind closed lids. Some parts of the brain are nearly as active as while awake. Your body is paralyzed, to prevent you from acting out your dreams. The body temperature rises, penis or clitoris becomes erect, blood pressure increases, and heart rate and breathing speed up to daytime levels. This stage lasts from 10 minutes to 45 minutes, getting progressively longer through each sleep cycle.
After the REM state, you sometimes wake briefly. This is usually forgotten by the time you wake up in the morning. If you don't wake up, you go to stage 2. You enter REM 3-5 times per night, every 90 minutes.
Current sleep research shows that Deep Sleep (Stages 3 and 4) restores the body, while Dreaming Sleep (REM) restores the mind. Research has also shown that REM sleep facilitates learning and memory. If deprived of REM one night, you will enter it earlier and longer the next night. This is called REM Rebound.
Dreams and Autopilot Mode
When you wake up, you take a shower, brush your teeth, and get dressed, all without consciously thinking about it. This is a repetitive task, so your mind goes into autopilot mode. A growing body of research suggests as much as 95 percent of what we do in waking life occurs in autopilot mode.
In your dreams, your mind is usually in autopilot mode, and you are not consciously aware of your ability to control the events within the dream. You are the creator of your dream world, but you do not realize it. Becoming lucid in a dream means your mind breaks free from autopilot mode.
As the autopilot mode analogy suggests, lucid dreaming is being aware you are dreaming while dreaming. For first-time lucid dreamers, this usually happens due to a strange occurrence in the dream, such as flying or seeing a strange creature appear. Some first-time lucid dreamers are able to stay in this dream for a while, but many become disturbed and wake up from the dream.
If you are in a lucid dream, you will usually have some power over your dream- anything from being able to fly or making an object or room appear behind a door or inside a pocket, right up to being able to change into animals and manipulate your dream world. It is like being a director of your own movie. Through dream research, lucid dreams have been scientifically proven to exist.
This History of Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming is not a new discovery. A letter written by St. Augustine of Hippo in 415 AD refers to lucid dreaming. In the 8th century, Tibetan Buddhists practiced dream yoga to maintain full waking consciousness while in the state of dreaming. In 1867, Marquis d'Hervey de Saint-Denys published his book Les Reves et les moyens de les diriger; observations pratiques ("Dreams and How to Guide them; Practical Observations"), in which he documented over twenty years of his own research into dreams.
Even though lucid dreaming has significant cultural history, the scientific community did not recognize it until 1978. It was during this year that scientific proof was documented of lucid dreaming, by capturing eye movements during sleep. British parapsychologist Keith Hearne and lucid dreaming volunteer Alan Worsley used eye movement to signal the onset of lucidity, which were recorded by a polysomnograph machine.
Questions and Answers
I never remember my dreams- what if I don’t have dreams? Everyone has dreams. You just don’t remember them. But we’re going to change that, keep reading.
How long does it take to have lucid dreams? This completely depends on the person and circumstances. Some people have a lucid dream just a few nights after finding out about it (usually by accident), while some people can take months. If you don't get enough sleep or feel too stressed after work to try techniques, then it may take longer, especially if you expect it to. It will also depend on how much effort you put in. However, everyone has the ability to dream lucidly.
Are there any dangers to lucid dreaming? There is no current evidence of lucid dreaming being abnormal or unhealthy in any way. However, there are a few things you should be aware of that could occur as a result of practicing lucid dreaming techniques:
Alienation: Although it has become more popular over time, many people have never even heard of lucid dreaming. Some people are also less than open-minded and receptive to new ideas. Don’t be surprised if someone considers this whole phenomenon “weird” or “crazy” (which it is not). Don’t preach, either; it’s not your job to absolutely convince everyone.
Addiction: Lucid dreaming can be used for different purposes. Some may want to try it just for fun, using it as a "safe drug", or a personal virtual reality machine. Having fun is a fully valid application of lucid dreaming. However, be careful not to be addicted to this way of escaping your waking life. If you find that you are spending more time asleep than actually needed, or that you are thinking more about lucid dreams than your real waking life, take a break.
Dissociation: As a general rule, you should be able to distinguish between waking reality and constructions of your imagination if you are attempting lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming may weaken the borders between waking and dreaming, the conscious and subconscious mind, reality and fantasy. This could potentially lead to problems- the most common form of dissociation involves having trouble distinguishing your waking memories from dream memories. Everyone who recalls at least one dream will have to sort out their dreams from reality in the morning. This can really be confusing for those who have previously had zero recall and, due to lucid dreaming, have had a major uptick in recall. Now, suddenly, they have all these excess, illogical memories to sort out. This is unlikely to be a major problem, but may be a temporary annoyance.
Why Have a Lucid Dream?
Why are people so interested in becoming conscious in their dreams? Lucid dreams are frequently described as vivid, beautiful and stimulating. The morning after awaking from a lucid dream, people often describe a carryover of positive emotions into their waking life, sometimes lasting several days. And with the help of lucid dreaming, many people have figured out how to improve their waking life for the long-term.
There are many reasons to have a lucid dream:
Life is too short: You spend more than a quarter of your life asleep. You could be spending part of that time having fun adventures and learning valuable lessons to apply to your waking life.
Fun: Fly through the air, break the laws of physics. Go wherever you want to. Have dream sex. Transform into an animal. Become invisible. These are a few of the unlimited number of things you can do in your dream world. Lucid dreams are generally far more intense and vivid than non-lucid dreams.
Freedom: The entire dream world is your own creation. There is nothing external, no laws, and no physics. You can do anything you want.
Creativity and problem solving: Do you have a very complex problem to solve? Lucid dreaming can allow you to delve into your subconscious mind for an answer. You can visualize the answer to your problem, or ask dream characters for help. There have been stories of individuals awaking from a dream with an answer to their problem.
Treatment for nightmares: If you are aware you are in a dream, and no harm can come to you, there is no need to be afraid in your nightmares. Studies have shown that lucid dreaming treatment is successful in reducing nightmare frequency.
Self knowledge and personal growth: When you are in your dream world, you get a pretty good look at what is going on in your mind. This includes your deepest fears and memories from the past. You are able to delve into these in order to better understand them, and ultimately overcome them. Lucid dreamers are often more in touch with their emotions, desires, and fears than non-lucid dreamers
Rehearsal: Practice in your dream for an event in waking life. Public speaking. Musical performance. Sports performance. Any of these can be improved by rehearsal in your dream world. Research has shown that mental rehearsal during dreams impacts the brain in the waking life.
Face an action you are avoiding in your waking life: Do you have a difficult conversation you have been procrastinating on? Have the conversation in your dream, and see how your dream character reacts. This is good practice, and will make you less anxious during your waking life conversation.
Visit a deceased loved one: If there is a conflict or something unresolved with a deceased friend or relative, you can use lucid dreaming to say what you want to say. Several lucid dreamers have noted that this has provided them reassurance and comfort to say a final good-bye.
Questions and Answers
Is the quality of sleep during lucid dreaming as good as normal dreaming? Yes. Lucid dreaming provides the same quality of sleep as non-lucid. In both cases (lucid and non-lucid), a good dream can make you feel blissful and provide positive energy throughout your day, and a bad dream can make you feel tired and negative.
If I have sex in a lucid dream, and orgasm, how will my physical body react to this? During dream studies, both males and females have reported having vividly realistic orgasms. When females reported an orgasm, higher vaginal muscle activity, vaginal pulse amplitude, and respiration rates were recorded. When males orgasm, respiration increases were recorded, but no actual ejaculation occurred.
What if I get extremely good at lucid dreaming, and all my dreams become lucid? Luckily, this is not a problem. Lucid dreaming takes effort. If you do not have the deliberate intention to have a lucid dream, you will not have one. Lucid dreaming is within your control.
What if I manipulate and control characters in my dream world, and somehow my subconscious desires to continue this behavior in the waking world? Will I become a control freak? When faced with challenging situations in your dreams, you will be able to choose to control the dream characters and environment, or use self-control. Luckily, controlling your dream characters and environment does not always work. The most useful approach is to control yourself in challenging dream situations, versus controlling the dream. This will give you the most benefit in your waking life.
The #1 Habit to Acquire to Have Lucid Dreams
You must keep a daily dream journal in preparation for having lucid dreams. In fact, you should be recording at least one dream per night before you start pursuing techniques to have a lucid dream. There are two reasons for this:
* Dream Recall / To remember your lucid dreams: If you aren't remembering your non-lucid dreams right now, do you think you would remember lucid dreams if you started having them? Unless you wake yourself up during the dream and write it down, probably not.
* To recognize you are in a dream and become lucid: When you start tracking your dreams in a dream journal, you will start noticing recurring dream themes. By noticing these themes, you will be able to more-easily recognize you are in a dream when you have one.
To get started, find or buy a nice journal which you will devote solely to capturing your dreams. You will also want a book light which you can clip on to this journal, and a pen.
Tip: You will be using your dream journal every day, so it is to your benefit if you like it. I started out with an ugly journal, and ended up replacing it with a nice one. This made me want to track my dreams more frequently.
Place your dream journal, pen, and book light close to your bed or under your pillow. Tell yourself that when you wake up the next morning, you will remember your dreams. Now do what you do every night- go to sleep.
When you wake up: It is generally accepted by dream researchers that dreams are not remembered unless the dreamer awakens during a dream. Even after awaking during the dream, it is usually not remembered for long. Therefore, every time you wake up in the night, and the next morning, ask yourself, "What was I just dreaming?", and capture it in your dream journal. Capture as much detail as possible. Try to estimate the time and length of the dream (in waking life time). If you are too groggy when you awake, just jot down a summary, and try to fill in the gaps the next morning.
* Tip: Stay in the same position and think your dreams over before jumping out of bed. After you have remembered your dream, move to a different position (with your eyes still closed) that you normally sleep in, and try and remember other dreams. The position that you are in may help your brain remember what dream you had while sleeping in that position.
* Tip: Your dream recall will improve with time. Before I started capturing my dreams in a dream journal, I rarely remembered them. After using a dream journal for several weeks, I was remembering at least one dream per night, often 3-4.
* Tip: Keep your Dream Journal or a notepad with you throughout your day. It is likely your daily activities may remind you of something in your dream. As you remember these details, write them down immediately.
The Top Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by Lucid Dreaming Beginners
1) Trying to induce lucid dreams at bedtime, during N-REM stages of sleep (Non-REM sleep)
Many lucid dreaming beginners attempt lucid dreaming techniques while going to sleep. But research has shown that dreams (both lucid and non-lucid) are much more common during your REM cycle, which first occurs 1-2 hours into your sleep. Dream-initiated and wake-initiated lucid dreams are much more common in the early morning, during your longer REM stages. During the early morning sleep cycles, the REM stage gets progressively longer (up to 45 minutes).
2) Trying to have lucid dreams before mastering dream recall
You should be remembering at least one dream per night, and capturing it in your dream journal, before you attempt lucid dreaming induction techniques.
3) Trying too hard to have lucid dreams
Being relaxed, patient and persistent are critical to mastering lucid dreaming. If you try to hard at the beginning, you will only lose sleep and become frustrated early on. Learn relaxation techniques and practice them before bedtime to increase chances of lucid dream induction.
4) Using your bed for non-sleep / non-sex activities
If you commonly use your bed for reading, watching television, or other non-sleep / non-sex activities, this habit should be eliminated. It can reduce sleep quality and aggravate insomnia. If you are performing an activity unrelated to sleep and sex in your bed, it should be eliminated.
5) Using a buzzing alarm clock for waking
An annoying, buzzing alarm clock is good for waking you up, but it may distract you from remembering the dream you just awoke from. Instead, replace your buzzing alarm clock with music or white noise.
6) Watching your favorite television series
At least an hour before bedtime, turn off your TV.
7) Drinking liquids within one hour before going to sleep
This may interrupt your normal sleep cycle.
8) Drinking caffeine after noon
Taken too close to bedtime, caffeine can delay sleep onsite, shorten overall sleep time, and reduce deep sleep.
9) Overeating before bedtime
Do not overeat before bedtime, as your body’s digestive processes can cause sleep disturbances.
10) Drinking too much alcohol before bedtime
One to two drinks is okay, but more than that will usually have a negative impact on your dream recall. Alcohol will suppress your REM sleep. As an interesting side effect, it may cause “REM rebound”, in which you will experience intense, long REM periods after the alcohol has worn off.
Bonus Mistake: Allowing noise and distractions to interfere with sleep
To minimize being woken up by the neighbors or a car honking in the night, use a consistent sound source. Either white noise or a loud fan should do the trick.
The Two Week Lucid Dreamer
You’ve finished reading the starter handbook, and are now ready for The Two Week Lucid Dreamer. This is my detailed two week program for consciously controlling your dreams. It includes a step-by-step instructional eBook, exclusive lucid dream induction techniques, supplemental lucid dreaming MP3 (isochronic pulses), lucid dreaming cheat sheet, and advanced techniques. The program is based my own personal experience, along with the newest techniques in dream research. If you follow techniques from The Two Week Lucid Dreamer persistently, you will:
1. Have your first lucid dream. This is an important first step in learning to have lucid dreams on a consistent basis. You will likely be filled with excitement for several days after this, and want to have more lucid dreams.
2. Begin having lucid dreams more frequently. People usually report having lucid dreams 10-15 times per month at this stage.
3. Be able to have a lucid dream whenever you want. At this stage, you will be able to tell yourself the night before that you would like to have a lucid dream. And you will have a lucid dream that night, consistently.
Learn more about The Two Week Lucid Dreamer
Also by Derek Ralston
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