I’m a Lucid Dreamer, and I teach people how to control their dreams every night. AMA!

Does weed affect the ability to lucid dream?

Yes, marijuana is known to block lucid dreams.

So how do you start a lucid dream for e.g) when you've just entered REM sleep?

Edit: To be more clear - how do you make yourself REALISE you're dreaming?

There are techniques you can use like MILD, WBTB and FILD, and other things you can do like reality checks and writing your dreams down in the morning. This will all lead towards increased chances of you becoming aware in the dream from a reality check or the technique you used. It’s hard to describe what becoming aware in the dream feels like until you’ve experienced it at least once, but doing the things above will cause it to happen.

Can you easily wake up while you are lucid dreaming or you find it difficult? Also can you make yourself wake up earlier and can you make yourself dream longer?

Many beginners accidentally wake themselves up when they first become lucid because they’re too excited. There are many techniques you can use to stabilize lucid dreams, like rubbing your hands and taking time to observe your surroundings before jumping into anything. When you’re lucid, you can wake up at any time quite easily if you really want to.

If the dream starts to fade, there are ways to prevent that and stay in the dream longer (unless it’s the end of your REM period of sleep, then you will be forced to wake up).

I'm quite interested, but sometimes I dont always sleep well. Could lucid dreaming help?

Yes. When you learn to lucid dream, one of the things you work on is cleaning up your habits and controlling your thoughts. It might take longer for you to have lucid dreams but if you start practicing you’ll start seeing improvements in your sleep.

Is it possible to alter your dream environment if you know you're dreaming?

Yes. You can spawn in people/objects, change the weather and scenery, and if you don’t like your surroundings, teleport to a new place entirely.

One of the best methods I use to alter things in a dream is to imagine the thing I want in full detail, and pretend that it’s right behind me. Then I turn around and it’s there. If you want to teleport, just create a door and imagine the place you want to be behind it. Then, open it and walk through and you’ll be there.

Wow I don't know this feels like not real at all. I just can't imagine that you can have a dream and do whatever you want with great details, I just can't believe it. If there is such an imaginary world where you can do whatever you want with no consequences whatsoever in the real world, why don't we live in our dreams and that's it ?

It’s hard to believe at first but studies have proven that lucid dreaming does exist. We can’t live in our dreams because they’re short and unpredictable, whereas in real life you’re waking up to the same thing every morning and continuing where you left off. Lucid dreaming is kind of like the matrix... it’s awesome but it’s not real.

When I was younger I discovered how to reach lucid dreaming by focusing on the color patterns on the back of my eyelids while clearing my mind of thoughts. After some practice I could identify the moment when my body went from awake to asleep by the way my eyes felt. Is this a methodology that is currently used?

Yes, that’s known as WILD (wake induced lucid dreaming). I actually made a video on it yesterday. Feel free to check it out and tell me if that’s similar to what you do :)

Why are certain people saying that you use bots to become so big?

People who don’t know how the YouTube algorithm works will gravitate towards that explanation. I’ve laid out my analytics and have tried to explain to them that my growth is real but at the end of the day they will believe what they want to believe :P

What about for people who never dream, or at least aren't aware of having dreamed. Are there any techniques for developing some kind of memory of dreams, never mind control?

Yes. The first thing I tell people to do if they want to start lucid dreaming is to write down their dreams every morning when they wake up. This will work on your dream recall and with time, you’ll start remembering dreams in higher detail and they will be more vivid.

At the start it can be difficult because you won’t remember much, but after a few nights you’ll start seeing results.

I'm not sure you understand. I've had people wake me up and tell me that I spouted gibberish seconds earlier, and I've had no awareness of it. I don't even have much memory of whatever I was listening to before I went to sleep (one podcast tends to last me three nights). In thirty-something years, I can recall two dreams and maybe three weird mundane waking dreams (eg. getting up and having a shower, then slowly realising I've been staring at my bedroom ceiling the whole time). Every other night of my life, sleep has just been lost time.

Are there any particular sleep habits or types of alarms which can get me to the point where there's... anything to write down?

Yes. Try waking yourself during REM sleep (around 4-5 hours after you fall asleep normally) and writing down your dreams then. Have you ever tried keeping a dream journal? Just the act of putting it beside your bed and setting the intention will greatly increase the chances of you recalling something.

You can also repeat to yourself “I will remember my dreams” as you’re drifting off to sleep. If you wake up and don’t remember anything, you can use techniques to recall dreams. There’s a lot of things you can do and I explain most of them in this video.

Hope this helps!

How can I stop dreaming about someone who traumatized me?

You can tell yourself throughout the day that the next time you see that person, you are dreaming. Then, when you dream about them, you’ll know it’s not real and won’t be afraid.

Do you find that lucid dreaming makes you feel either more or less 'rested' when you wake up?

If I use a technique that involves waking up in the middle of the night, I’ll feel less rested but only if I do it too often. The actual experience of lucid dreaming doesn’t seem to make me tired, in fact I feel amazing when I wake up and it puts me in a good mood. I still like to take a break once a week to let my mind rest, though. Everyone is different so you should take it at your own pace :)

How do you take a break?

If you accidentally become lucid and you don’t want to be, just don’t think about anything and you’ll naturally drift back into a non-lucid dream. You can also refrain from using techniques and thinking about it when falling asleep.

Does lucid dreaming not affect the quality of your sleep because your’e ‘awake’?

Your body is asleep so you won’t be physically tired. Some people report feeling mentally tired but it’s probably because they’re using techniques that involve waking up in the middle of the night too often. For me, lucid dreaming actually improves my sleep quality and I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day :)

Everyone is different and once you start lucid dreaming you’ll get a feel for how it affects you.

How do you know you're actually lucid and not just dreaming you're lucid?

When you’re actually lucid you’ll definitely know because everything will be extremely clear and you’ll become conscious. If you dream about lucid dreaming but it doesn’t actually happen, you’ll know when you wake up because it’ll feel like any other dream.

Is it true that if you die in your dreams, you die in real life?

No!

Does your brain still process memories and all that during lucid dreaming? Like, do you wake up feeling rested and ready for the day? Or if you had a big exam the next morning, would you avoid lucid dreaming to ensure your brain is rested and ready?

After lucid dreams I feel rested and in a really good mood, so I don’t think it affects your actual sleep. That being said, everyone is different and some people might get tired so it’s good to know your limits :)

Natural Lucid Dreamer here. I've been able to do it since I was a kid and have gotten better at controlling them over the years.

I've summoned ex's, talked to movie stars, created my own action packed fantasies.

Do you believe there is a way to obtain knowledge or learn something while inside the dream?

Of course. You can practice skills and conquer fears; I’ve used lucid dreaming to become more confident in parkour and also overcome my fear of heights. But most importantly, you can talk to your subconscious mind and learn more about yourself.

Lucid dreaming also improves your creative skills and has several health benefits so you’re always gaining something valuable from it :)

Are there any papers or journal sources you would be able to point me towards?

I linked some studies in the original post but here’s some articles on the benefits of lucid dreaming:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201212/lucid-dreaming-and-self-realization?amp https://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/12-amazing-benefits-of-lucid-dreaming.html https://blog.mindvalley.com/benefits-of-lucid-dreaming/amp/

Is sex weird when you lucid dream too? I've had regular sex dreams that are good, but when I'm aware that I'm dreaming there's always some sort of really weird sensation

It’s extremely realistic and many people say it’s just like the real thing. If you’ve never had it before, your brain will fill in the gaps and make it feel as real as possible. However, you can easily wake up unless you know the proper way to ‘set up’ the experience.

Do you always control your dreams? I mean, what tends to happen if you are conscious, but don't deliberately control things?

If you’re conscious, you’ll still remember the dream in extremely high detail when you wake up, but it’ll be more like a movie than a video game. You’ll be an observer, instead of actively changing the dream’s outcome, but it’s still really cool.

You don’t need to control the dream for it to be classified as a “lucid dream”, and many beginners don’t get into controlling things right away.

Are you able to study information while lucid dreaming, or practice skills?

You can practice skills for sure. Studying is a bit strange and I wouldn’t trust it because text is known to change a lot in lucid dreams.

Are you awake right now or are you dreaming?

Not sure.

Hi, many years ago I was able to fully control my lucid dreams. They were difficult to control and the details were packing but I loved out several fantasies. I'd like to get back into them, so two things: how to increase detail and where would I find many creative ideas to try out? I have a handful I can think of wanting to experience, but would be nice to have a lot of creative plots to help the brainstorm. Or is it better to repeat lucid dreams for any reason?

You can increase detail by taking time to observe your surroundings when you become lucid. Focus on your senses and everything you’re experiencing (sound, sight, touch, etc) before jumping into anything.

What I like to do is take a piece of paper and write everything I want to do on it. Then I tell myself that it’s possible inside a lucid dream. You can find inspiration on the internet and if you think of something cool throughout the day, remind yourself to write that down and do it in a lucid dream. Movies are also a great source of inspiration for me. You can also read through your dream journal and repeat previous dreams you’ve enjoyed. I’ve done it before and it’s still great :)

Do you have some advice for beginners? Where to start, what to be careful about, stuff like that

Get started on the foundations, like dream journaling, reality checks, and learning new techniques. Then when you get more advanced, learn ways to stay in the dream longer and control them. There aren’t really any dangers to lucid dreaming but it’s good to have a plan going in so you don’t get sidetracked. I actually made a video that covers all these things which should help :)

Do you dream every night? Or do you only dream on some days or another?

You dream multiple times every night; it’s just that you’re not remembering them. A good thing to do is start writing down your dreams every morning to improve your dream recall ;)

One more, is there a possibility of being "trapped" In a dream?

No, it’s impossible. Sometimes people have dreams where they feel stuck but it can never happen.

What's the best technique that doesn't require you to wake up in the middle of the night?

I would say MILD.

Has lucid dreaming given you a better understanding of who you are? Also how do you make sure you don’t get carried away with?

Yes, it’s allowed me to gain insight on my deepest feelings; lucid dreaming gives you direct access to your subconscious.

You can make a lucid dreaming plan before you fall asleep so that you don’t go off track in the dream and do things you didn’t want to do. It’s hard to become ‘addicted’ to lucid dreaming as there is no chemical component involved... it’s only bad if you’re spending half your day trying to fall asleep and lucid dream.

Does taking sleep aids affect lucid dreaming?

As long as they don’t block REM sleep (and I don’t think any sleep aids do), you can still lucid dream. If they make you fall asleep quicker it’ll actually make it easier to succeed.

Can you change a nightmare to a lucid dream ? I usually have a lot of nightmares, I'm an anxious person and I wanted to know if in the middle of a nightmare can I started erasing those bad thoughts and like delete them So I can have a proper dream ?

Yes, lucid dreaming is known to cure nightmares and you can transform them into awesome experiences. If you have a reoccurring nightmare, just tell yourself throughout the day that the next time you see that thing, you are dreaming. It will carry over into the dream world, causing you to become lucid.

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There are many techniques you can use to stabilize your lucid dreams, but the general rule is don’t rush into anything until you’re ready :)

Are you using the reality check method, and if so what reality check do you use?

I do reality checks alongside other things, like dream journaling and techniques. My favourite is pushing my finger through my palm, and my backup is to plug my nose and see if I can breathe.

Some methods such as asking myself "if I'm awake" throught the day have been proven to be unsuccessful for me. What should i do?

Are you combining that with other things? If you want the highest chances of lucid dreaming, you should be writing your dreams down every morning, doing reality checks, creating good habits before going to bed, and using a lucid dreaming technique like MILD or WBTB when it’s time to go to sleep.

If you’re doing all that and are still not achieving lucid dreams, the best advice I can give you is to keep trying. As long as you’re doing everything right it’s only a matter of time before you lucid dream. The start is always the hardest but if you can get past that, it’s worth it.