Lucid Dreaming  FAQs Continued

This post is the third in a three-part series on lucid dreaming. To read the rest, start here.

Q: I’ve tried to get lucid in my dreams but it just doesn’t work for me. Now what?

A: First, stop struggling, and take a wider view. The classic definition of lucid dreaming is to know you are dreaming while you are dreaming. But from a mindfulness perspective, the most important feature of lucid dreaming is the clarity, presence, and awareness that also define this state. From that perspective, there are many degrees of lucidity—both awake and dreaming. So, until you’re able to get lucid in your dreams, focus on getting lucid while you’re awake:

• Get conscious. Simply by being aware that you dream several times each night and by practicing dream recall, you are becoming more a present and conscious–and therefore more lucid dreamer.
• Write your way to lucidity. As in dream lucidity, when we write stories and poems, we dip into the subconscious dreamy imagination. At the same time we engage the executive function of the brain as well. This hybrid state of consciousness has a lot in common with lucid dreaming. (Check out my Dreaming on the Page courses to learn more about the synergy between dreaming and writing).
• Be lucid all day. The big selling point about lucid dreaming for most people is the fact that you can control some aspects of the dream. But I think what really distinguishes lucidity is the jolt of energy and awareness that we experience. We realize we’re in a rare and ephemeral state of being that can only be sustained with focused awareness. The good news is that even if you haven’t managed to get lucid in a dream, you can enter this state of aliveness when you are awake, too! In a lucid dream the aha! moment is when we realize we are dreaming while we are dreaming.  Awake we can declare, “I am living!” and tune in to the present moment, as well.

Lucid dreaming offers an opportunity to become more aware of our lives both awake and dreaming, and for that reason, it can be nurtured as part of a mindful lifestyle imbued with deeper meaning and joy.

For more in this series on Lucid Dreaming Basics also see these posts: 

• What Do You Mean I Can Wake Up in My Dreams?
• So, You Have Questions About Lucid Dreaming. You’re Not Alone.

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Featured image by Engin Akyurt, Pixabay

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