With film releases such as Waking life, Inception and even the anime, Paprika; Lucid dreaming has entered the contemporary zeitgeist. You could argue that it’s no longer an occult topic. If you aren’t aware, however, a Lucid dream is essentially a dream you are in control of. No longer a passive observer, you can control everything within the dream environment. It’s this property which allows the oneironaut (dreamer) to turn a Lucid Dream into an astral projection experience.
The Lucid Dream Method for Astral Projection
Before attempting the Lucid Dream method
Quite an advanced technique, the real difficulty here is becoming familiar with Lucid dreaming if you aren’t already. Much like Astral Projection, lucid dreaming is a skill that you can learn. It takes time, dedication and practice. Sometimes they can happen spontaneously. It’s likely that at some point in your life, you will experience a lucid dream. Different to the other methods, however, learning lucid dreaming can take some time to achieve.
Step One
Record your dreams.
One of the best ways to start in lucid dreaming is to keep a dream diary. A dream diary reminds you to put time into remembering your dreams. Put some time aside each morning to think about your dreams and write them down.
Step Two
Do reality checks in real life
A reality check is a test you will perform on reality, to make sure you aren’t dreaming. There is a simple rule to this; each time you think about it, perform it. There are a lot of reality checks documented, check out the reality check page. A simple reality check is to write the letter ‘A’ on your palm (A for ‘Awake’). Each time you think about it, you look at your hand. If it is an A, then you are awake. If it is anything else, then congratulations, you have just performed a reality check in a dream. Upon realising this, you should instantly go lucid.
It takes some time for this to occur, but so long as you do it in real life often enough, you will also perform reality checks in dreams. Failing a reality check in a dream will often make you go lucid. This make take weeks or months. remember, this is a lifelong practice, and when you have your first lucid dream, it’s like something has unlocked in your brain, an you will have them easier in the future.
Step Three
Become lucid within a dream
Once the reality checks have been established in reality, you simply wait to experience one in a dream. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t have a lucid dream within the first week or month of performing reality checks.
Step Four
Within the dream, visit your bedroom
Now this seems like a very abstract step, especially if you haven’t had a lucid dream before, but it’s as simple as thinking about it. Visit your bedroom, or place of sleep where you currently are, physically. Observe your body, and your room. Find an object, or examine your body closely. Look for any details you can verify when you wake up.
Review
It’s entirely possible that these two experiences are the same. Astral Projection may very well be a very very realistic lucid dream. Certainly, some experiences people claim to be astral projection, even some by Robert Monroe, sound like lucid dreams. Still, the experience can be magical and even life changing. Congratulations, you can use your sleeping time to good use!
Further recommended reading
