Lucid dreaming is beneficial for anyone who wants to get in touch with their spiritual side and other realms of existence. This technique allows you to become conscious in your dreams and therefore find pertinent spiritual information and aid your own spells in manifestation. In this article, we teach how to lucid dream for beginners.

First, What Are Dreams, Exactly?

The dictionary defines a dream as “a series of thoughts, images and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep.” If you’re here on this website, you’re likely already a practicing witch or pagan. Or at the very least, a spiritual person. And, while science defines a dream as such, we know dreams can be much more than just flashes of images in a person’s mind. As a witch, one of the first experiences that drew me to the path of witchcraft was dreaming. In particular, lucid dreaming which started when I was young. These dreams felt otherworldly to me. Dreams in which I flew, visited other “worlds”, and talked to fairies, ghosts, and wolves.

In many instances, I know upon waking if my dream was just a jumble of images from the previous day. OR if I’ve gone elsewhere in my sleep. I believe dreaming is much more complex than science perceives. I believe we sometimes leave our bodies with our astral bodies and travel to other planes of existence. And that dreams have the ability to show us the future and give us deep insights into the past. Dreams are a powerful tool in the witch’s toolbox, but also for anyone who wants to get to know themselves better and experience wild things.

What is Lucid (Conscious) Dreaming?

To most people, dreaming is nothing but a nightly, collective stream of garbled thoughts and images. But there are those that view and use their dreams as a pathway to enlightenment and adventure. Is this you? Then lucid dreaming is right for you! What is lucid (also called conscious) dreaming? It’s when you’re in a dream and actually realize it. When you become lucid, it’s an exhilarating and eye-opening moment. Not only does it allow you to travel the astral plane, and therefore other realms, but also to speak with otherworldly beings. You may meet your guides, ancestors, friends who have passed away, elementals, angels, gods and more. It’s even possible to walk into another person’s dreams.

How I Learned How to Lucid Dream

I started my dream-journey when I was little, at the age of 6. My first lucid dream went something like this – I was in my grandparent’s garage, being taught by a little boy how to fly. He told me I could use this technique in my dreams to fly away from enemies and explore other worlds. Following this conscious dream, there were many more to come. The dreams ceased for a time. But when in my twenties, my dream-journey started again. I have been lucid dreaming ever since. My conscious dreams come more sporadically now, but if I follow the steps I’m about to teach you, I’m able to be conscious in my dreams and remember up to four or five in a night.

How YOU Can Learn How to Lucid Dream: Techniques & Tips

Some of these techniques I have learned from books such as Conscious Dreaming by Robert Moss and Lucid Dreaming by Steven Laberge. Others I’ve learned from personal experience. We sleep about one third of our lives, so if you live to be seventy-five that means you slept twenty-five years of your life! I don’t know about you, but I want to remember some of those 25 years!

1. Start a Dream Journal

The first thing you MUST do when learning how to lucid dream is start a dream journal. Even if you don’t remember your dreams the next morning, it’s essential that you write down whatever your feelings or thoughts are upon waking. This triggers dream recall. And if during the day you remember pieces of dreams, jot those down too! The more you write, the more dreams you’ll recall and the more conscious you’ll become in your dreams. I am not sure why this works…it just works!

2. Positive Thoughts and Dreaming Goals

Go to bed thinking positive thoughts – anger and anxiety won’t help you become lucid. Also, conscious dreaming authors claim if you go to bed with a dream goal in mind, it will come true after some practice. Well, I’ll be honest. I’ve tried this many times with not much luck. If you can accomplish your goal in your dreams, share your secret with me! My most spiritual lucid dreams came on nights when I went to bed in a positive state of mind and being open to whatever happened. Robert Moss emphasizes this in his book, Conscious Dreaming, which I highly recommend as a first lucid dreaming guide for beginners.

3. Try This Lucid Dreaming Recall Meditation

The last technique to do when learning how to lucid dream is to try a guided meditation. Go to a private, quiet room where you won’t be disturbed. Give yourself at least thirty minutes to do this. Sit in a comfortable chair and think back to any dreams you had as a child. Next, remember how you felt in those dreams. Think about how you knew these were dreams and not reality. Move on to recalling dreams from your teen years. Even if you can only remember bits and pieces…they’re worth remembering. Finally, think about your recent dreams and think about how they differ from your past dreams.

Record Your Thoughts and Experiences

When you’re done, record all of the dreams you remembered from the past and any thoughts you had during the process. Try to think about this meditation throughout your day and for the rest of the week. Piece together possible meanings and ways to teach yourself how to remember you’re dreaming, while you’re dreaming. Lucid dreams can take you anywhere you want to go! You can talk to anyone and accomplish anything in your dreams.

4. Create Your Own Dream Encyclopedia

After you’ve recorded your dreams over a long period of time, go back through your dream journal. You’ll start to notice certain dream symbols recurring. Maybe you dream of snakes often. Maybe you dream you’re back in high school and you can’t find your classroom. Take note of repetitive dreams and analyze what these dreams might have meant to you. Record these dream symbols and your personal interpretation. This will serve as your dream encyclopedia and aids in learning how to lucid dream.

5. Read About Lucid Dreaming

This might sound ridiculous, but just reading about lucid dreaming can trigger the ability. The more I read books about lucid dreaming and the more I listen to people talk about it, the more I actually am able to lucid dream. A few of my favorite books on the topic include Conscious Dreaming by Robert Moss and Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen Laberge.

6. Listen to Binaural Beats and Audiobooks

Before going to sleep, try listening to binaural beats. Something about the sounds stimulates me into dreaming consciously. Try audiobooks about lucid dreaming. I believe Stephen Laberge’s books all come in audio form too.

7. The MILD and WBTB Methods

According to the Sleep Foundation, there are two effective methods to induce a lucid dream. The first is called MILD, which stands for Mnemonic induction of lucid dreams. This technique involves waking up five hours after sleeping and repeating to yourself, “next time I’m asleep, I’ll remember I’m dreaming.” Then returning to sleep. I can attest that this method has worked for me on numerous occasions.

And the WBTB method, which is similar, but a bit different. WBTB stands for Wake Back to Bed method and involves the individual waking up in the middle of the night, then returning to sleep after 30-120 minutes. The Sleep Foundation claims when both methods are used together, the chance of going lucid in your dreams increases.

Read More About Dreaming:

• Astral Doubles: Doppelgangers, Flying Witches and Werewolves
• 10 Crystals and Herbs for Dreams and Astral Projection
• Soul Mate Dreams: Can You Dream of Someone You’ve Never Met?