So you want to have a lucid dream.
Why?
This isn't just an idle question. Motivation can be one of the most important factors in the ability to consistently attain lucidity. Starting out with "why" makes sense. Here are a few common reasons:
- FUN!
- Adventure
- Spiritual exploration
- Fantasy fulfillment
- Practicing activities and discipline in a virtual environment
Whatever your reason is, keep it in mind as you move forward. Lucid Dreaming is a discipline; like any other discipline, it is going to require work and effort to achieve, and then more work and discipline to master. Keeping your purpose in mind is a great way to maintain the energy required to keep at it.
Once you decide you want to achieve lucidity in your dreams and understand why, you are ready to begin.
There is one critical prerequisite to effective lucid dreaming; dream recall. If you can recall a couple dreams each night, you are all set. Dream recall is an obvious necessity; what good is getting lucid and having the most amazing experiences in the universe, only to forget it ever happened?
Dream recall can be affected by many factors. Stress levels and many other factors can often have a big influence, sometimes resulting in long periods without any dream recall at all. This is not a permanent condition. We all dream, and we are all capable of recall.
It is helpful to try recalling dreams immediately upon waking. Before you even move, think about where you just were and what you were doing. Then take some notes about ANYTHING you can recall - places, activities, even feelings. Writing dreams out in present tense rather than past tense can often help you to re-live the experiences and recall detail that otherwise would be lost.
You will want to keep a dream journal of some kind. It will start out as a tool to help with dream recall, but what you record will also become useful as a tool in attaining lucidity as well as a precious record of your explorations into Lucid Dreaming.
Once you have these basics down and are recalling and recording a couple dreams each night, you are ready to learn a technique or two and begin your efforts toward attaining lucidity. You may have even already achieved lucidity just from the effort and novelty of thinking so much about your dreams!
If these short tutorials have been helpful to you, please consider registering here at Mortal Mist and reporting your successes in the "Lucid Dreaming Experiences" forum. You might even consider starting your own Dream Journal (DJ) here so others can enjoy and benefit from your experiences.