You have experienced lucidity. You have awoken to the dream while in the dream. It is exciting and fresh and it feels as though a whole new world has opened itself up to you. The neophyte lucid dreamer, however, quickly realizes that getting lucid is only the beginning of the lucid dream journey. There are plenty of potential perils and pitfalls ahead. This guide is designed to identify common issues that might arise and provide some techniques for how to troubleshoot them.



Act like you’ve been here-

The emotional peak of excitement that you may experience when first discovering that you are in a dream can often wake you up, thus leaving you with only a moment of lucid dream time. You can avoid this unfortunate occurrence by staying centered and remaining calm. Know that you are supposed to be lucid in your dreams, this is all quite normal.

Don’t let the dream slip away-

Sometimes we find ourselves in a fading dream. Perhaps the visuals are getting blurry, or you find yourself stuck, or you are becoming overly aware of your physical body. There are a few techniques to combat the fade and re-animate your dream:

1. “Clarity Now”. When the dream becomes blurry, just voice this command with power and intention. You may need to say it a few times. It works!

2. Rub your hands together. This reactivates the dream body within the dream. This is an especially useful trick for maintaining lucidity through an entire dream.

3. Spin around 360 degrees. This re-contextualizes the dreamer within a fully animated dream world. Great for bringing back a dream that has begun to fade, or for getting unstuck.

Losing Lucidity-

There is always the potential for us to become re-enchanted by the dream… to forget that we are in the dream and thus get caught up and re-entangled in the plot with all its emotional turbulence and silly dream logic. Continual reality checks and hand rubbing will help with this. Also, consider yourself an anthropologist of the dream world and practice Participant Observation. This is an ethnographic technique in which you maintain a continuous awareness of yourself as both active participant and passive observer. For that matter, any practice that helps foster multidimensional awareness will prove to be extraordinarily helpful for lucid dreamers.

Experiment and try new things-

This is the fun stuff! With the realization that you are infinite possibility, try playing with the lucid dream world. Know that the laws and rules that govern this realm are only as solid as your beliefs about them. If you find yourself having a hard time flying it means that there is some form of doubt hiding inside. Resist the urge to become frustrated by this and just try doing something else. This is where the practice of “front loading” your mind with the things you want to do when you become lucid is very powerful.

Safety Valve-

If the dreamworld becomes too much and you want to wake yourself up there are a number of techniques for doing so. My father taught me, “Stop, Drop, and Roll”. You will often roll yourself awake. Other activities with the intention of moving your physical body may work too, like kicking, or swinging your arms. You may also close your eyes in your dream and intend that your awareness returns to your physical body. Do a reality test upon awakening!

Posted in Lucid Dreams

Tags: Lucid Dream, participant observation, technique