"Power in the Skies" by kelsey_lovefusionphoto

The first thing many dreamers do upon experiencing their first lucid dream is to fly. I know flying was the first thing on my agenda once I learned to lucid dream. In this article I’ll describe what dream flying feels like and go through a few techniques on how to efficiently fly in your dreams.

What does it feel like to fly in your dreams?

It is difficult to say exactly what flying feels like to each person. Since none of us have actually flown in waking life (unless someone here has used a jet pack before) it is impossible to pin the sensation down. However, I can describe what flying has felt like to me in comparison to things I have experienced in waking life (such as parachuting, diving from high distances, being in cars at high speeds with the windows open, etc.).

Flying in dreams feels as close to the true experience of speed. I feel wind on my face, the sensation of speed in my gut, as well as seeing the ground below move at what I’d imagine to be a realistic pace in comparison to the velocity at which my dream self is moving. It feels absolutely amazing (which is probably why it’s the first thing people try in a lucid dream).

Learning how to fly

Lucid dream activities have a learning curve just as waking life activities. You aren’t going to be a master at anything at your first attempt—practice makes perfect. However, you should never perceive anything as impossible in a lucid dream otherwise you’ll create a self-fulfilling prophecy (by thinking it’s impossible you will make it impossible).

Start small. Try hopping and floating for short periods of time. With each hop try to prolong your airtime. Do not be afraid of going to high—hitting the ground will not hurt (unless you think it will!).

After hopping, try to levitate without needing to touch the ground. Once you master this, combine it with what you learned practicing the hop technique. You should now be able to take off and keep yourself in the air as long as you like!

Next you can try to increase your speed. Think of Superman or Neo from The Matrix. Think of yourself as a rocket that can shoot through the air faster than the speed of sound. Just thinking about increasing my speed causes the speed to increase. I find this to be extremely fun and a great way to navigate dream world terrain.

The best advice I have to you is to truly believe you can fly. Think of Peter Pan first trying to learn to fly. If you have any doubts in your abilities, those doubts may manifest themselves and hinder your efforts. Remember, in dreams there are no limits.

“Vivid dreams” – this is the most common response I receive when asking cannabis smokers about the withdrawal symptoms they’ve experienced.

Does marijuana affect the ability to dream? If so, in what ways?

I did a bit of online research into the matter but I couldn’t find much more than a few posts on dream forums. I decided to dig a bit deeper into the matter as this question has piqued my interest for quite some time.

Yes, smoking marijuana does affect your quality of sleep, namely it hinders your body’s ability to produce REM sleep (the stage where intense dreams usually occur). Smoking before sleep will alter your sleeping patterns, thus altering your dreams.

In 1975, Feinberg, et al. did a study on the effects of THC on REM sleep patterns in human subjects. They had this to report:

Electroencephalographic readings and eye movement were recorded in experienced marijuana users under placebo and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Four subjects were studied for 3 baseline nights, 3 nights under initial dosage of 70 mg/day, the last 3 nights of a 2-wk period of 210 mg/day, and the first 3 nights of withdrawal. Three other subjects were studied only during the latter 2 conditions. Administration of THC significantly reduced eye movement activity during sleep with rapid eye movements (REM) and, to a lesser extent, the duration of REM itself. Withdrawal led to increases above baseline in both measures but the “rebound” effect was greater for eye movement. Stage 4 sleep tended to increase on drug, but this effect was not statistically significant. On withdrawal, stage 4 sleep decreased significantly; this change was marked only on the first withdrawal night. The functional or biological significance of these changes is unclear. Nevertheless, these are the most marked effects of THC on brain electrical activity demonstrated thus far.

As someone who has smoked cannabis before, I can attest to the findings of this study. When I sleep after smoking, I tend to have less nightmares (or at least I don’t recall them). This makes sense since many vivid dreams or nightmares occur during REM sleep.

Another thing to consider is why smokers tend to sleep longer on average. I believe that our bodies require a certain amount of REM sleep in order to feel refreshed and healthy. If you smoke before going to bed, you will probably sleep for a longer duration of time since your body could not achieve the same quality REM sleep while high. I can’t yet prove this theory but it seems plausible.

Since smoking marijuana reduces the ability to achieve REM sleep, it must also affect the ability to lucid dream.

I have had almost zero lucid dreams after smoking marijuana. I have had a couple but they’ve only been after long hours awake and lack of sleep from the previous night.

Smoking marijuana may alter short-term memory. Short-term memory is integral to recalling your dreams as your wake up. Even if you can pull of a lucid dream while stoned, you may not remember it the next day.

So as a tip, if you are trying to achieve lucid dreams then you should not smoke marijuana. At the very least, do not smoke at night.

And in no way am I condemning the smoking of marijuana. Smoke if you desire, just remember that it can screw with your ability to dream, or at least recall your dreams.

Sources: Feinberg, I., Jones, R, Walker JM, Cavness, C, March, J. (1975). Effects of high dosage delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on sleep patterns in man. Clin Parmacol Ther. 1975; 17(4):458-66.

Dream Initiation of Lucid Dreams (DILD)

Well, by definition DILD is a method of attaining lucidity while dreaming. Unlike the other methods laid out here, the DILD method relies on the dreamer going into the dream with no intention of becoming lucid and somehow becoming lucid while asleep. This happens fairly often to me but it is not very predictable when I will have a lucid dream if no active steps are taken before going to sleep.

A good example of a DILD that happened to me was one in which I was walking through a park having a conversation with an old man. I was not lucid at the time but the man asked me how it felt to be dreaming, at which point I became lucid and instantly had some control over the situation and replied “I know I am dreaming but how do you feel knowing you don’t exist?” This stumped the old man but then he smiled and replied “I feel fine. The same way you will feel when you are awake. How do you know you truly exist?” This indeed was an interesting lucid dream and one that caught me by surprise.

Pros: Great way to become lucid.
Cons: No way to practice. Unreliable.
Best for: Those not trying to LD.

Despite DILD being a common method of attaining lucidity, there aren’t any reliable techniques to achieve lucid dreams using this method. Spend your time practicing other methods but hope for a DILD when those fail.

Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD)

The MILD technique, developed by Stephen LaBerge, involves setting an intention to carry out while dreaming in order to recognize one is dreaming or to notice a dream sign. The MILD method requires the dreamer to make a habit of doing something during waking life in order to carry the same habit into the dream state. The goal is to realize something is askew while in the dream and come to the conclusion that you must be dreaming.

A classic and proven MILD technique is to count yours and other people’s fingers while awake. If you do this often you will get into the habit of reaching the same number each time as well as have a good idea of what normal fingers look like. Once dreaming you may attempt to do the same thing but run into an issue (e.g. missing or too many digits, odd looking hands, hands that change after you look away), then you’ll realize you are asleep.

Another MILD technique involves paying close detail to common objects (such as a watch or clock) while awake. Make sure you look twice at these objects each time you observe them. Once in a dream, you may do the same but realize that the object seems distorted or changes once you look away (time rapidly changing) and hopefully conclude that you must be dreaming.

One technique I use often is to repeat the following phrase in my head “I will recognize I am asleep and remember my dream.” I repeat this mentally a few times during the day and repeatedly before I go to bed. I find that it helps me attain lucidity when practiced. A variation of this technique is laid out in Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming byStephen LaBerge.

Pros: Simple. Easy for beginners.
Cons: Can be a bit boring.
Best for: People with good prospective memory.

Using the MILD method can have very positive results. I find that the MILD method is the easiest for beginners since you can practice it all the time in waking life and hopefully attain a lucid dream within a few weeks or even days of starting.

Wake Initiation of Lucid Dreams (WILD)

The WILD method is my personal favorite method of initiating lucid dreams. The WILD method is when you fall asleep while keeping your consciousness and go straight into a dream. This is often achieved by using relaxation and meditation techniques to relax your body and seamlessly transition into a sleep state while keeping your mind focused on entering the dream world.

For WILDs to occur, you are going to want to keep your body as relaxed as possible. Now tense and relax your body, starting from your shoulders and working downwards, then back up to your face. Doing this (or a similar relaxation, meditation, or trance technique) should make your body feel slightly heavy and relaxed.

There are many different ways to induce WILDs, but they all involve simultaneously attempting to keep the mind aware while attempting to have the body fall asleep.

I find that WILDs are easiest to achieve right before an afternoon nap or after waking up earlier than expected. This has to do with sleep cycles, as REM periods can continue immediately when falling asleep if a REM period was missed or stopped abruptly the night before.

The WILD method tends to give me the most vivid lucid dreams, nearly as real as waking life. Some of the WILDs have even seemed realer than real life (if that makes any sense), since I’ve been able to control nearly every element of the dream.

However, there are some risks involved with attempting to use the WILD method.

Sleep Paralysis (SP) is the most common issue I have had to deal with when using this method. SP occurs when your body is asleep but your mind is awake. SP is when you feel completely paralyzed (you literally cannot move) but your consciousness is fully intact. But wait, doesn’t that happen every night? Indeed it does, but we normally are not aware of it when it happens. SP can last anywhere from a few seconds to minutes (I’ve had what seemed like a 15 minute episode) and can be the most frightening experience of your life. I usually hallucinate when in SP, sometimes about demons standing beside my bed and attacking me or I feel like I’m falling into an infinitely deep pit. Despite having some bad experiences with SP, I’ve learned to focus my energy on positive thoughts and use SP to launch straight to a lucid dream. I actually enjoy SP now as it is a full-proof method to enter a LD or an astral projection episode (arguably the same as lucid dreaming but I’ll discuss that further in another article).

Pros: Vivid lucid dreams, induced at will.
Cons: Difficult to master. Sleep Paralysis and other scary things can happen.
Best for: Experienced dreamers.

Despite the scary stuff that may happen, this is the most effective method of attaining lucid dreams. If you really practice the WILD method you will be able to enter a lucid dream whenever you desire.

So there you have it. These 3 methods are the most common ways people experience lucid dreaming. These, of course, are not the only methods available but I find them to be the fairly easy to pull off (well not DILD) and proven to work. If you choose to try the WILD method, whatever you do don’t let Sleep Paralysis scare you! Only think positive thoughts and don’t let your fears come out of else you will have a bad experience. Maybe a few scary SP experiences are necessary for you to learn how to control your mind, but I digress.

A lucid dream is defined as any dream in which the dreamer realizes he or she is dreaming. Once the dreamer becomes lucid, it is possible to control and manipulate virtually every aspect of the dream world. Dreamers often report lucid dreams as being highly vivid and realistic. Lucid dreaming, however, is not synonymous with dream control.

There are three ways a lucid can can commence. A dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD) begins as a regular dream but while asleep the dreamer concludes that he or she is dreaming, while a wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD) occurs when the dreamer goes from a normal waking state directly into a dream state with no apparent lapse in consciousness. A mnemonic-initiated lucid dream (MILD) can happen when the dreamer intentionally affirms to himself or herself that he or she will become lucid during the upcoming sleep. Reaching lucidity can sometimes occur due to dream-signs or spontaneously upon remembrance.

Despite lucid dreaming being a very complex phenomenon, much research has been done to progress its understanding and application. Scientists such as Allan Hobson, with his neurophysiological approach to dream research, and researcher Stephen LaBerge, with his in-depth studies and guides regarding the topic,  have helped to push lucid dreaming away from just speculation and more towards science.