Lucid dreaming

Have you ever been in the middle of a dream and suddenly known it was a dream?

That moment has a name. It is called lucid dreaming.

You are asleep, you are dreaming, and you know it.

And once you know it, everything changes. You can fly. You can walk through a wall. You can turn around and ask the thing that has been chasing you what it actually wants.

I first wrote about this back in 2020, and the questions have never really stopped, so today I want to give it a proper look.

Lucid dreaming is a skill.

Anybody can learn it, the same way anybody can learn to meditate. It takes practice, and a bit of patience with yourself.

There are two methods I have seen work again and again.

1. Reality testing.

Get into the habit, during the day, of asking yourself one question.

Am I dreaming?

Ask it properly, and then check.

Look at a clock, look away, and look back. In a dream the time jumps around.

Look at yourself in a mirror. In a dream your reflection is often a little off.

Push a finger into the palm of your other hand. In a dream it can go straight through.

Pinch your nose closed and try to breathe. If you can still breathe, you are dreaming.

And notice what you are doing. If you are flying, there is a good chance you are dreaming. Or you are about to become very famous.

Do this a dozen times a day and the habit follows you into sleep.

One night you will ask the question inside a dream, check the clock, and watch the numbers swim.

That is the moment you wake up inside the dream.

1. Wake back to bed.

Set an alarm for about five hours after you go to sleep.

When it goes off, get up for twenty or thirty minutes and do something quiet. Read a few pages. No phone.

Then go back to bed, and as you drift off, tell yourself, I will know when I am dreaming.

The longest stretches of dreaming come in the second half of the night, so you are going back to sleep straight into them, with your mind still half awake.

Of the two, reality testing works best for most people. Do both and you double your chances.

A few things to know before you start.

The first few times, the excitement usually wakes you up. That is normal. Rub your hands together in the dream, or look down at the ground, and it steadies you.

Keep a notebook by the bed and write your dreams down the moment you wake, before you even sit up. Dreams fade in minutes. The more you remember, the more often you will catch yourself in one.

And go gently.

A dream is a place your soul goes to work things out, and a lucid dream is a visit there with the lights on. Treat it with respect.

Has anyone here had a lucid dream? What did you do once you knew?

There is more teaching like this in The Library, and every daily post is in Daily Posts. If you would like guidance on your own path, see Readings.