7 Easy Ways You Can Achieve Your First-Ever Lucid Dream

Lucid dreaming is the act of becoming aware of the dream state. Most people have experienced this at least once in their life. How many times have you been dreaming, and have suddenly become aware of the dream and immediately wake up? This is our body’s natural reaction to becoming aware in a dream state.

Lucid dreaming is very much real, and is even used by athletes to help practice their form while they’re asleep! With enough practice, and utilizing these tips, you’ll be able to control your dreams too.

1. Carry around a talisman with you.

Inception got one thing right. Keep a small, portable object with you at all times. Make sure it’s something unique to you that can fit in your pocket. Make it a habit of taking it out throughout the day and checking to see if you’re in a dream or not. It might seem silly at first, but after all, you’ll probably think a dream is normal at first too, no matter how many flying elephants or celebrities you see!

2. Make it a point to check the time.

Whether you’re in class, at work, or at home, be sure to check the time every now and then. Look once, look away, and then look back. This repetitive behavior will help you once you’re in a dream. This is called a “reality check” and it can be very beneficial in dream work. Clocks in dreams will rarely display the correct time. If you check the clock once and it’s 11:27, but the next second it’s 4:13, you’re probably in a dream! Or, you have a very broken clock.

3. Lucid dreaming is easiest in the morning.

…or after you’ve been asleep for awhile. It’s most likely to happen in one of your later REM cycles, and the easiest way to induce lucid dreaming is to wake up, and fall back asleep immediately. Set an alarm earlier than when you would actually need to wake up. Try falling back asleep and see just how easy it is to become aware in a dream.

4. Becoming aware might wake you up at first.

Like anything fun, lucid dreaming requires practice. You probably won’t get the hang of it the first time around. In fact, as soon as you become aware, you might wake up almost instantly. This can be frustrating but there are a few ways to help you stay grounded in the dream. As soon as the dream starts to fade and you’re becoming more aware, try spinning around in a circle until the fading stops. Falling straight on your back also helps. This will help you stay in the dream for bit longer.

5. Sleep with an amethyst under your pillow.

Amethysts, those pretty purple stones that you lucky February babies have as birthstones, are known to help facilitate lucid dreaming. Pick one up at a crystal or new age store for a few bucks and put it in your pillowcase at night. You’ll be amazed by how quickly you’ll begin to lucid dream at night.

6. Keep a dream journal.

It’s helpful to remember dreams in general, but for lucid dreaming, this can be essential. Not only can you journal about your experiences so that you always remember them, but dream journaling has been proven to help dream recall. And what’s the point of lucid dreaming if you don’t remember what happened?

7. Be safe and have fun.

Lucid dreaming is an amazing ability that anyone can harness. With it, you can do things that you could only dream (no pun intended) of doing in real life. If at any point you become overwhelmed with a dream, know that you can always wake yourself up and try again at another time.

Remember, lucid dreaming takes practice; it might not work at first, but that doesn’t mean you should give up. Lucid dreaming is a fun and safe way to live out your deepest fantasies, and who knows what you could discover about yourself?