My name is E. S. Fein. I'm a "Lucid Dreaming Expert." I have helped thousands of individuals around the world start and stop lucid dreaming. After the previous Lucid Dreaming AMA let-down, I would love to offer you all an actual FREE guide to Luci...

What are some of the most reliable reality checks that you can suggest?

And what would you advise to someone who really wants to lucid dream but struggles to do so?

Best reality checks imo:

-- Look at hands
-- Try breathing with mouth and nose closed
-- Try reading text (it will look weird in a dream)
-- Flip a light switch. Usually something weird will happen, like it makes a sound.
-- Try pushing your hand through something solid
-- (if you're advanced, you can even get a tattoo to help you, as it will be here permanently. Head to my Insta link to see mine)

If you are struggling, the most important thing you can do is remain confident that it will happen in time. The more discouraged you get, the harder it will be. I was NOT a natural. It took me 4 months of intense practice to get my first lucid dream. Others claim to just have them naturally without trying. If you haven't, keep a dream journal in a notebook or via voice recorder and record in it immediately upon waking. Listen back to your journal to remind your brain what a remembered dream is like, and to encourage your subconscious to recall more, increasing likelihood of lucidity over time.

I've never quite understood how someone could keep a dream journal. I tried it a couple times but after turning on a light and writing down what I could remember, I would struggle with going back to sleep.

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EDIT: I do understand the option of a voice recorder. I was more generally curious about those who do actually write in a journal and are able to go back to sleep. What tips/tricks they use.

As I said in another comment, try using a voice recorder instead.

I usually fall asleep telling myself "stories" or imagining myself in different scenarios; would this interfere with lucid dreaming? Specifically, with the affirmation and the relaxation techniques? Could I do the affirmations first, and then still fall asleep my normal way by imagining things?

Absolutely, you can use your normal routine to your advantage! Part of the MILD technique, one of the most well known and widely practiced techniques, involves visualizing yourself or imagining yourself in specific locations doing specific activities. This level of specificity helps you stay one-pointed and focused on the task at hand -- staying or becoming lucid.

Ideally, you would practice allowing the affirmations to fill the background of your mind while the foreground focuses on your visual imagination. This would actually represent a very advanced version of MILD technique and is something advanced lucid dreamers utilize to achieve lucidity nearly every single night (though I prefer a mix between WBTB and WILD, I exclusively practiced MILD for the first few years of getting into this practice).

So, you are in a great position already! Don't get discouraged! The truth is that there is no single best way to achieve lucidity; you might be discovering a very specific method that works for you and might even help others in the future as well!

Wasn't I just thinking about this exact AMA before I fell asleep?

Quick! Reality check now!! Do 3 just in case!!!

Very intriguing topic! Thank you for making this post and getting it back up. I hope you excuse my blunt question but I'm not sure how else I should phrase it, Have you ever killed someone in a lucid dream? or done something else that is extremely morally compromising? I'm very curious as to how something like that would play out, emotionally and morally, after the fact. Can you even bring yourself to do something like that in a dream...?

Not anymore, but when I was a young boy. I'll just be real honest: as a young boy, filled with depression and anger and just general confusion about reality, pretty much all I did in my lucid dreams was fly, fuck, and kill. As I look at forums, this seems to be the case for many young minds. To be honest, I don't see a problem with this, as long as it is being used as a way to vent these emotions and not stoke them into something worse. Now that I am older, I literally would not even be able to bring myself to touch someone without permission lol, even though it's just a dream. If I am ever in an angry mood and feel like having a fight, I will form a fair match in the dream, like a boxing tournament, and then celebrate with whoever my enemy was afterward. I want healing and peace now, not anger. As a kid, I probably would have tortured the person in my dreams.

How has it affected my mind in the long term? I think it allowed me to explore avenues of reality in a safe way that I simply otherwise wouldn't be able to. I have killed. I have committed genocide. I have done horrible, horrible things. But it was all just in my head. And now I know beyond any doubt that to do anything even remotely similar in real life is wrong on its face, not wrong for a particular reason. It's just wrong. I've been there. I know this in my bones. I honestly think this partly influenced my entire worldview as I am extremely antiwar and staunchly in favor of policies that help those in poverty and who are suffering first and foremost, even if it means less for me. To put it simply, those experiences gave me an incredible depth of empathy that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to access outside of hearing other peoples' stories through books or documentaries or talking, etc.

I've been a lucid dreamer since I was a kid (started to combat nightmares). Never really looked too much into it, is there any downsides to doing every night? Also why would anyone want to stop it it's so much fun..?

I have met many people that find it disruptive and annoying. They WANT normal dreams and don't want to be lucid. I agree with you; I'm downright jealous of how seemingly easy it is for those people. However, everyone is dealing with something different in their life. Sometimes people want to stop because sleep is an escape from a rough life. Others want to stop because they don't feel entirely rested after a lucid dream (there is a difference between being biologically and psychologically well rested and maintained). I'm sure the reasons are multitudinous, and though it is surprising to me as well, there are a large number of people looking to turn their lucidity off.

How less-rested do those folks feel vs. a non-lucid night's dreaming, and what fraction of total lucid dreamers in your experience have that reaction? I'd be willing to sacrifice quite a lot of that well-rested feeling to have my own private holodeck inside of my brain.

From what I've seen, it's about 50/50, even for the same person. Sometimes my lucid dreams drain me, other times I feel even more rested for them, and this often seems irrespective of the content of the dream. There might be legitimate research on this, but in my own experience, it's very random. However, some people I've met claim to never get tired, while others, as I said, say that their lucid dreams always drain them.

My dad let me watch freddy krueger and chucky back in the early 90s when I was like 6 and I had vivid nightmares until I was like 12, I'd get killed, wake up, figure out how I could do it differently, go back to sleep and change what happened. Is that what you're talking about? (I've never actually heard of "lucid dreaming" before. )

Oh yeah! I've gone back and conquered all my classic nightmares. I was terrified of the wicked witch of the west and had this frequent dream that she was boiling me in her pot. I also had a frequent dream that Dracula was invading my house to suck me dry. I went back and conquered both nightmares. In both cases, the witch and Dracula, they apologized, and they frequently show up in my dreams now as positive, happy characters. How cool lol.

So... you're saying Dracula is still sucking you dry?

I walked right into that, didn't I? Lol.

What's your favorite thing to do while lucid dreaming?

When I was a young boy it was all about powers and sex, of course. But even to this day, 19 years of practicing later, I LOVE to fly. I love creating whole new planets with alien and unexpected life, then flying through these environments. I also particularly enjoy seeking out intelligent dream characters (most dream characters act like NPC robots, just repeating the same thing or talking nonsensically, but some of them seem SO incredibly real and some even express being perfectly aware they are a dream character inside your head) and asking them about their philosophies and ideas. Ultimately, you are just talking and discovering more about your own mind.

Also, I'm really, really fond of the roulette experience of walking through a mirror. It still makes me a bit scared to this day when I'm in the moment. You walk through the mirror, and see where you end up. Could be amazing, could be terrifying, could be nothing, could be surprising. Your own mind becomes a total surprise, for better or worse.

How is it?

A mix between liberating and terrifying at first, but over time, entirely liberating.

Would getting good at this make real life seem less worth it or something? Is reality disappointing now?

Not in the slightest. Reality still carries with it the endless enigma of unknowing. When I dream, I know I'm in dream. I know it is just a simulation created by my mind. But reality? I have no idea what reality -- waking life -- actually is. I have nothing to compare it to except for dreams, which stem from waking life. I love my reality, but I have also worked hard to build a reality I am very fond of. I have travelled all over the world. I have accomplished every dream I ever set for myself. There is nothing I feel like I missed out on. Plus, reality contains all my favorite people. All dreams can do is offer me simulacrums of those people.

No, reality is not disappointing. If anything, the dreams are. Reality is a constant mystery, but lucid dreams are whatever I want them to be. Over time, that can definitely become boring, to a degree.

I have a fear of being lucid and unable to wake myself, stuck in a dream state until I starve to death or my cats eat me. Is this a realistic fear?

Any fear is realistic, but a dream is a dream. You must accept that this is simply not possible and is just your active imagination.

Is it possible to study or work in your dreams? I don’t know how you would take a textbook or even access the internet in that setting but is it possible to study and work in dreams?

YES! BIG YES! I know many, many people that practice sports in their dreams and swear it helps them in waking life. I personally used dreams to study for quizzes and tests if I had a big one coming up as a kid (I took school ultra seriously). Currently, I use my lucid dreams to help me come up with ideas as an author.

I rarely remember my dreams and I might not dream at all most of the time. Any way to start lucid dreaming if regular dreams are so infrequent?

You definitely dream every single night, but you are right that it can be hard to remember them. WBTB method is for you! Your dreams will be most vivid directly after returning to sleep after waking up suddenly in the night. Set an alarm to wake you up part way through the night (ideally in the middle of REM sleep if you ever try timing your sleep cycle), stay awake for a couple minutes max, then lay back down and go to sleep. When you wake up write down ANYTHING you remember, even just a general emotion or color or anything. You just need a single night with even the remotest memory of your dream to get it written down and begin increasing recall significantly.

In some other replies I’ve seen you mention creating more vivid dreams was a skill you had to work hard at. Do you feel like any of that has been like a brain exercise and helped when you are awake? Maybe feeling more creative or more imaginative. Or even just able to visualize things more easily?

100% yes! As an author, my technique for writing is to try my hardest to let go and allow the characters to act out the scenes on their own -- like playing a movie in my head. Without a doubt the meditation and visualization techniques to become lucid helped with that, and the experiences while lucid solidified this ability. At some point, every experienced lucid dreamer reaches the point where they say, "okay, now what? How can I push the boundary further??" You are literally asking, "how can I expand the horizons of my own mind and its imaginative capabilities?" The other cool part of this is being able to get even better autonomic responses from your dreams. For example, you can say to the dream, "Play me a song," and it will come up with something you've never heard before. This is an aspect of how I perform my writing, to be honest, and I've read of many artists doing the same thing. You are tapping into yourself, through yourself.

I lucid dream all the time, but as of recently, I'm slowly pulled out of sleep after a few minutes. I know it's coming and try to fight it, but it always happens. Everything begins to fade and feel distant, and then I'm awake. Any way to remain inside the matrix longer?

This might be the single most common question I get via email. Here is what helped me and others I know the most:

-- Scream "Increase lucidity!" Keep screaming it over and over again if you have to.
-- Rotate on your axis. Like, imagine there is a pole going down the center of your head to the floor, and rotate your body around that pole without physically trying to spin it. I have no idea why this works, but it works for a ton of people, including myself.
-- Visualize yourself in a new environment. This seems to exact a level of control that convinces your mind to stay in it. Keep flitting through environments if you have to.
-- Ask a dream character to help you. Sometimes they just go, "okay, you're more lucid now," and that alone works. Other times they hit you or something, or of course, many just ignore you lol.
-- My personal technique when I was young was to have a radio hovering next to me playing music with my own voice, repeatedly saying, "increase lucidity!" against the beat so it would be more jarring. It's annoying at first, but over time, you'll be able to exact control with greater ease.

Do you have any advice for someone who is afraid of lucid dreaming? I actually want to do it, but whenever I realize I am lucid dreaming at night, I make myself wake up, because the feeling is strangely scary, and I become afraid.

I was VERY afraid at first, especially due to the scary, "demonic" sounds I heard during hypnagogic stages. My advice is to practice with your own fear. A very common fear we all have is being alone in pitch black basement. That was certainly a huge fear of mine as a young boy. To combat fear, I would sit alone in the darkness, and watch as my mind conjured horrifying ideas and paranormal thoughts and even sensations. And I also watched as none of those things came to fruition. This was like a therapy in dealing with fear, and certainly helped with lucid dreaming too.

I've been sleeping in a pitch black room for more than 3 years now, but I still got scared of this weird feeling when I first tried lucid dreaming, I couldn't breathe and all I could hear was my heart pounding

Very likely you awoke during sleep paralysis. This is common and natural, and it is important to stay relaxed during this state.

Demonic sounds? Ive never had those unless im in a dream with actual demons.

Very, very common during hypnogogia. I still hear, like, "demon people" ( I don't actually believe in demons, just using it as a descriptor) saying my name in whispers very often when I pass through the hypnogogic phase. More funny than anything now, though. Like, brain...why do you do this to us??

How do you take a trigger in a dream and make myself know it's a dream and take control of it? Sometimes I'll experience something specific (for me, it's losing teeth -- which I hate!!), and my brain goes "this is happening, so it must be a dream, but since it feels so real, it must be real" and I can't take over.

Edit: just wanted to add that I've naturally lucid dreamed before (and enjoy flying and breathing underwater quite a lot!), but it's been a while since the last time.

So, just to confirm, you are saying you become aware of the dream, but you can't take control. Is that right? We have a name for that: half-lucid. To guarantee that you will gain full control during a period of awareness is, to my knowledge, impossible, BUT, you can increase the odds by doing reality checks throughout the day and creating patterns of asking the question "am I awake?" or "am I dreaming?" or both.

Now, many people just stop there. They crate this pattern of becoming aware, and then they just go about their day. You are preparing yourself to just go back to the dream if this were a dream. Instead, after you do the reality check or become aware that you are awake, imagine what you would do in the dream first, you can even act it out if it's not too embarrassing or if you are alone lol. For example, I would do my reality checks, then right away afterward I would put my hands up in the air and imagine I was flying into the sky. Once I start flying, my odds and ability to stay lucid is WAY higher.

For some people, certain triggers are like an anti-full lucidity rather than being an easy route to half-lucidity. It could be that that particular trigger is inevitably going to lead back to sleep until you become lucid by some other means and conquer that trigger, rewriting the neural expectation of falling back asleep after it takes place.

Are there any legal or illegal substances that increase dreaming/dream recall? Obviously we wouldn't want to suggest to do anything unlawful or harmful... but... are there?

I have used both nicotine patches (not recommended for health reasons) as well as Calea zacatechichi to increase dream recall and dream vividness. The Calea Z works so well it is almost eerie. You drink it as a tea or smoke it, and it is wildly bitter (I think it translates to the bitter plant of god or something like that). It has no effect on your waking life, but when you go to sleep. HOLY SHIT! It is like a psychedelic experience but in dream form, and the vividness is increased to the maximum! I still wouldn't recommend it due to a lack of long term studies, but it is certainly 100% legal. I'm sure there are more substances, but those are the two I've used to great effect. REM deprivation works very well to increase vividness and recall as well, but again, not recommended due to health reasons.

Though I've never gone deep into lucid dreaming, I'm interested if you're aware of the blue lotus plant. I used to smoke the leaves or make tea with it, and I'd have some rather unique dreams afterwards. It sounds similar in purpose to the plant you are describing.

I've done blue lotus many times. It is very similar in dream-effect, but was nowhere near as effective as Calea Z in my experience. Blue lotus also had some waking life effects.

I remember trying this dream herb years ago, but it was so bitter that I could not stomach it no matter what. Do you have any tips on how to consume it?

No. It sucks lol. You are right. It is very hard to stomach even to this day, but it is so damn effective.

Yeah... Does alcohol impair dreams? Does weed confuse your understanding of reality in dreams?

In my experience (as a chronic consumer of cannabis and infrequent drinker), both alcohol and cannabis make dreams harder to recall and less vivid.

Idk if there is any truth behind it, but several years ago I read that apple juice helped with both recall and lucidity.

Like I said in another comment, I personally haven't found this to be true. But studies show it is legit that b-vitamins help, and that is definitely something I agree to help as well.

I'm glad to see something like this because my dream life is out of this world and I almost don't know anyone who can relate. I can get into lucid dreams easily because I have a disorder known as "sleep paralysis". It used to scare the shit out of me, but now when it happens I just close my eyes and imagine myself walking until a dream world forms around me.

My biggest question would be, why do I keep finding myself in the same dream spaces? There's about 10 or so places I've kept ending up in since childhood (more familiar by feeling than geography) and I'm not sure why. It sometimes seems like another life is taking place, and upon entering a dream I'm just going from my save point and continuing the narrative.

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Other questions would be: Why do I sometimes have full control, and other times almost none?

and Why do I get sudden dejavu flashbacks from these dreams in waking life? Like I'll be going about my day and then suddenly have a flashback to a dream I had when I was 15 years old.

Thanks for sharing your experience! The questions you asked are super subjective, and you're going to have to explore those answers for yourself. I'll do my best to answer them from my own experience, though:

1. Consider what the common elements are between these repeated dreamscapes. Maybe this common element has something to do with something you are focusing on in your waking life that you are either fully aware or only partially aware of.

2. This is a natural variation to the dreams. Sometimes you're on it, sometimes you're not. It's like going to the gym. You have good days and bad days.

3. For the same reason you would get dejavu flashbacks to thoughts from your actual waking life. As a lucid or even vivid dreamer, dreams can seem perfectly real and important to us, and your subconscious mind is far more aware of this importance than the waking self can ever be.

How do I know I'm not dreaming all the time?

Technically, you don't. This is why we have reality checks. I personally have a tattoo on my forearm that says "Awake?" so I am constantly asking myself that same question, which creates a defined pattern in my brain, making it very likely I will see the tattoo in my dreams and/or ask the question.

As a beginner at lucid dreaming, you won't have much difficulty telling the difference. But as you increase the vividness of your dreams through this practice, it can certainly become difficult to differentiate dreams from reality. It is always recommended to do two reality checks, just in case. Some of my favorites are:

--Look at your hands. They are usually weird in dreams. --Look at any text (like my tattoo). It is usually weird alien hieroglyphics in dreams. --Try breathing while holding your breath --Flip a light switch --Try to push your hand through a solid surface

There are probably infinite options. The idea is to test reality just to make sure.

I've been interested in lucid dreaming for a while but have not ever been successful. I looked through your guide and this passage stood out to me:

"You’ve had a notebook sitting by your head for 3 weeks and you still can’t recall a single dream."

3 weeks doesn't begin to cover it. I can't remember having a dream in 30 years! I have tried the notebook thing. I've tried repeating mantras to remember as I go to sleep. I've tried hypnosis. Nothing works. My unconscious mind is a black hole. Any advice?

Have you tried using WBTB (wake back to bed method)? I cover it in the guide. This is the ONLY way that some people can remember their dreams. But you've even tried hypnosis?? Wow! I wish I had an easy remedy for you, but here is what has worked for others, and myself, in the past:

-- WBTB method for sure!
-- REM deprivation (not recommended for health reasons, but I know of many that have used this with success)
-- b-vitamins
-- Calea Z
-- extreme amounts of exercise throughout the day
-- sleeping in a whole new environment in a strange position
-- setting an alarm to play a very soft sound that slowly increases in intensity (there are apps for this). Set it to wake you up midway through the night. For some reason that gradual noise helps you become conscious of the dream as you notice the noise in your dream consequently the dream itself.
-- Pranayam breathing exercises before bed
-- Intense Hatha yoga before bed (just similar to the exercise advise. I just know guys that cardio didn't work but the hatha yoga did)
-- Mantra, for sure, but you said that didn't help you

I hope one of those methods, or a mix, will be of service to you!

I loved lucid dreaming when I could do it. It became difficult after a while because my brain kept learning how my reality check should normally respond. Additionally, it felt like my brain wanted to keep the dream going and when I would get too close to realizing I was dreaming it would reset the dream(ie. Make me wake up in another dream). Do you have to constantly be changing your reality check if your brain figures out how to fake it?

Yes. This is why many lucid dreamers, including myself, do MANY reality checks, of all different types, throughout the day. Lucid dreaming is more like a lifestyle than a single practice. Whenever something strange happens in my waking life, like anything remotely out of the ordinary, mundane robot movements, my first reaction is usually to look at my "Awake?" tattoo on my forearm, then look at my hands, then try breathing without actually breathing, then blinking to change the scene. Everything normal? Okay, we can move on.

I have an issue within lucid dreaming wherein I cannot change anything in the dream. I can be aware I'm dreaming, and the more I try to change things, the closer I get to waking up. When I try to "concentrate" I am usually engaging the tensor tympani muscle which gives a loud warbling sound. I'm sure there's something I'm messing up on it, but not sure what.

Are there any tricks to help manipulate the dreams? Even if I end up fully awake in the dream, I usually cannot change anything except for some very minor effects.

For tricks on manipulating the dream, anchor yourself with believable artifacts from reality. As another person said, use a phone to call people to you rather than just trying to make them appear. When I first learned to fly, I tried super-manning my arms up, but nothing. So, I climbed a building, and jumped off. And it didn't work at first, but after a few attempts at flapping my arms and imagining the air was more like water, I started sinking, and then from there, the sinking became more of a floating. Even to this day I have to flap my arms every so often during a superman flight through the cosmos; my mind just falls back into the mentality of real life rules.

If you want to make fire, use a lighter, then try manipulating the fire that's already there first. If you want to create a new scene, ask a dream character if they will act as foreman on a new project, and have them build the environment. All of this sounds reasonable to the mind, and with practice, you can bend the normal reality rules more and more as you begin to accept that it is just your mind, no matter how real it seems.

I’ve never engaged with this stuff before, so I have a couple questions after reading your guide. 1. Is this meant to be an every night practice?

2.Does drinking/drug input affect lucid dreaming? So if I have a night drinking with my friends, should I still go through the process?

1. I tend to read every night before bed, basically until I fall asleep. Does that impact the process at all, or can I start doing the deep breathing and muscle tension after reading?

2. How important is the WBTB technique? I have roommates and don’t want to wake them up with an alarm at 5 in the morning. Thanks!

1. Ideally, yes! As often as possible.
2. Alcohol severely disrupts lucid dreaming in my and others' experience. If you are really screwed up, I wouldn't bother. But, if you are just tipsy, I would still go through with the practice just to keep the neural pattern enforced.
3. I'm an author and avid reader. Just do your practice after reading (as long as you don't fall asleep with the book open, which happens to me all the time lol).
4. If you have a roommate, it's a no go, unless you use vibration or something. To be honest, WBTB is like a cheat (in that it is just so effective) and makes it way easier. But it isn't a requirement.

I’m a lifelong lucid dreamer. I’ve never been able to actually stop my lucid cyclical nightmares (diagnosed PTSD), and recently started taking a medication to treat them (Prazosin/Minipress). I have to say it works, but mostly it just blocks my memory of the night: it doesn’t do anything for the underlying cause, in my case. What is your opinion on the use of medication for the treatment of lucid dreaming/nightmares, and do you have any tips for me?

I'm so sorry you are enduring that. Please stay strong and know that you ARE SO strong for getting this far already. You are amazing!

As for my opinion on medication: if it is helping you, then it is helping you. There is nothing inherently wrong with using chemicals to correct a chemical or even psychological (ultimately chemical) imbalance.

A couple weeks ago I responded to u/circumspektor who asked how I advised to stop lucid dreaming. This is probably the best advice I have for you:

"The most honest and straightforward answer is the ingestion of cannabis. This obviously isn't ideal nor legal for all people, however, it is an extremely safe substance biologically and that is the honest answer. It works extremely well to dull the vividness of dreams and keep you sedated, and it also allows you to more easily fall back into the normal dream flow when you don't want lucidity after it arises.

If that easy and straightforward method is not an option for any reason, anothrr option is to be in an even more relaxed state or combine the two. The easiest way to become extremely relaxed in the mind is to become extremely relaxed in the body. And the easiest way to become relaxed in the body is to first stress it. Ideally in boat pose or while you're laying down, tense up your muscles starting with your toes, to your feet, to your legs, and all the way up to your eyebrows, and then your whole body. When you let go, you will be filled with relaxation and numerous neurotransmitters which will help with relaxation. Continue this tensing process three or four times; this will put you into a significantly more relaxed state.

Another option is to mentally flutter your mind rather than focusing single pointedly. By fluttering or changing channels, this allows the mind to fall into a passive state of observation rather than willed or unwilled self awareness (lucidity).

I'm sure there are more options, but those are the three that I have utilized with great effect."

Ok so one time I fell asleep, and then when I was asleep I fell asleep in my dream, and then was dreaming inside of my dream, and I kept trying to wake up, but I could only wake up from the second dream inside of the first dream, if that makes sense. This went on for like 2 hours and was terrifying, any explanation?

It's called a false awakening. It can be terrifying. I once had a chain of something like 10 false awakenings. I started to break down, to be honest. I thought it would never end. But it always does. Because it's a dream! Explanation? Both of our brains like to torment themselves lol. The mind is capable of entertaining any possibility: the false awakening and its many derivations (awakening from the dream within the dream within the dream, ad infinitum) is just one of the mind's many ponderings of self within self.

What do you think of astral projection? I'm sure you've heard of it. Do you believe it is some kind of parallel universe while lucid dreaming stays inside our brains? Where do you draw the line between the two and what are the differences?

Also, is attempting to lucid dream "before" going to sleep any less effective for beginners? WBTB seems like it might disrupt my sleep a little bit

Thanks for the AMA

Another person asked about my opinion on astral projection. Here is what I answered:

"I don't personally BELIEVE in astral projection for the same reason I don't outright believe in anything that I can't personally experience or that cannot be shown to me empirically.

I have studied astral projection at length, and I have also attempted to astrally project throughout my life. I have had OBE (out of body experiences) in my lucid dreams and normal dreams, but this can be easily explained as a very real simulation of what my imagination considers astral projection might be like. I have also experienced ego-death several times through the use of smoked DMT and very high doses of LSD, and the OBE experiences I had in my dreams as a young boy were very similar to those egoless states on those substances consumed as a young adult.

In waking life, the "closest" I ever got to actually astral projecting was getting the buzzing, bubbling feeling in my skin described by many books and "experts" on the subject. During a few sessions, it felt like I might burst out of my body, so to speak, but again, this could just be an imagined experience-- like a self-willed hallucination. Or not. Maybe I was close. I really don't know.

Astral projection requires that reality and the self be composed of "layers," ie. the physical, the astral, and the causal. This implies that the self is not just a transient illusion created by the dance of the universe itself -- that the self is individual and separate, ie. the existence of a soul. I find this idea doubtful based on my experience, but I could certainly be wrong.

There are numerous guides for astral projection. The one I used when I was younger was Astral Dynamics, by Robert Bruce. But again, this is all conjecture. I've never astral projected during waking life."

To be blunt to your second question, WBTB is definitely more effective and to the point than the other methods. However, it is just one of many methods and is not a requirement by any means.

When i tried to lucid dream, i had this problem with my dream journal where as time would go on i would remember more and more of my dreams, and even though this sounds good, i would sometimes be like 10 minutes writing 2 a4 size pages with the dreams of only one night. It was pretty tiring and i wasn't seeing the results i wanted (i was only getting 1 lucid dream every 2 weeks or so and it would last like 5 dream minutes. I wanted to have them at least three times a week) so i got discouraged and dropped it 2 times in different years. I would love to explore the world of lucid dreaming but i feel that even though I did everything i was supposed to be doing all the hard effort wasn't paying off. What can i do?

I went through the exact same thing. Are you a natural writer lol? My solution was to stop using the dream journal (even though it engages more of your brain through the use of your hand) and just use a voice recorder instead. I didn't have a phone as a kid, so I used a legit tape recorder, but now you can just use your phone. Just make sure to play the recording back to yourself to really ingrain it into your head. It's SO much easier to be able to lay there and talk rather than get up and write. As you talk, really visualize on what was happening in the dream.

Outside of that, try as many different methods as possible! Even try WBTB at different times throughout the night. To be blunt, I know some people, not many, but some people that say, "dude, it's been YEARS, and still nothing." I mean zero lucid dreams. So the fact that you even got as many as you did is above the curve, it seems.

2 questions:

1. How common is it for someone start lucid dreaming unintentionally? I've cut back on some habits in the last few months, and my dreams have become really vivid and I've noticed I can gain a great deal of control over their contents, but am still in the early stages of "wait and see what happens." I've actively tried lucid dreaming in the past, with some success, but lately...it's been a whole other world.
2. Have you ever struggled with confusion surrounding what happens in your dreams vs. what happens in reality? The dreams I've been having have mostly mundane settings, with people I know populating them, and sometimes I wonder "did I do that/say that/see that for real...no, it was just a dream."

I'm super fascinated with this topic. Thank you!

1. Super common! Not in my case. But I've spoken to many, many people that claim to have lucid dreams on a regular or semi-regular basis. This is especially true when you change a habit that involves your self-chemistry (which is technically all habits, but some are more intense than others).

2. Yes. Immense confusion. At 19 I decided to get a tattoo on my forearm that says, "Awake?" I use it as an anchor. It has served as a lifesaver for my sanity more than once.

If I want to try lucid dreaming, is this made more difficult given I am sleeping next to someone, or is there potential disruption I could cause them (outside of say, perhaps, a middle-of-the-night alarm clock)?

As long as you don't sleep walk/ sleep move (sleep paralysis failing) or anything, there shouldn't be a problem coming from your end. On the other hand, if your partner moves a lot in their sleep or snores loudly, this could of course be an impediment for you if you are practicing techniques like MILD or WILD where you want to be really focused and not disrupted (in which case even a small itch becomes a huge nuisance in my experience).

Have you tried smoking a bunch of weed for a while and then stopping for a couple weeks?

This always makes me have insanely lucid dreams. I’ve achieved some control occasionally, flying or doing reality bending stuff.

Usually it is just weird dreams that are almost normal, but my deceased father is there. He never really speaks though.

Or spiders. Spiders are the reason I don’t like lucid dreaming.

Oh yeah. I consume cannabis on a 24/7 basis. I started when I was about 18, and from 18-21 it was non-stop. My partner and I taught English in Korea, so I had to quit cold turkey, and OMG it was so intense. I was still lucid dreaming during that period, but going cold turkey from cannabis was like instant, every day lucid dreams. After we taught in Korea for a year (no cannabis), we backpacked through Asia and Oz and NZ for a year. It was in Laos that I was able to smoke some weed again (you can just order a huge bag of it from the restaurant menu, shrooms and opium as well). I picked up something like an ounce for 40 bucks, and the three weeks we were there I was high 24/7 again. When we left, same thing! INTENSE dreams and lucid dreams. So yes, going cold turkey from cannabis, in my experience, definitely leads to intense vividness, dream call, and lucidity. This is why i recommend to potheads like myself to do T-checks every so often and use those periods as catapults for intense lucid dreaming practice.

I lucid dream quite often, but I have strong limitations on what I can do, which is strange. I'm in control, I should be able to do ANYTHING - but I can't...

For example I wanted to walk on Mars, I thought I was there - but then it turned out to be just a Mars-like landscape on Earth.

I want to materialise simple things, like a cup of tea, and I can't.

Even when I finally manage to meet someone I miss, they fade to non-existence quickly.

It's like my own rationality is getting in the way.

Anything you can suggest doing to get more control?

Ultra common! It takes time and lots of practice to get the really cool powers. You are exactly right: your rational mind is getting in the way. Practicing visualizing the powers during waking life helps a lot. You can also try to trick your mind by first accessing powers via realistic means. For example, if you want to walk on mars, first construct or have dream characters construct a spacecraft, and launch there. This is more realistic to your mind than just appearing there. Or you can use a specific map or a specific YouTube video, for example of mars, to anchor your mind to go to the right spot. But yes, this is very frustrating for all beginners, and was very annoying for me as well. You know you should be able to do anything, but you just can't. Just keep at it! That really is the brutally honest answer. And use ways to trick your brain to accept the logic of what you want. When you finally go to Mars, for example, the next time you dream you should be able to go there without having to invent the spacecraft again.

If you were going to lucid dream yourself a burrito to eat, what kind of burrito would you dream?

Solid question. Sampling impossible delicacies is something I find very fun in dreams, like tasting light or tasting sound.

But onto the question of the burrito. Mine would be:

Mushrooms sautéed in moonlight oil, black and brown beans in a tangy, thai-reminiscent sauce, good ol' avocado, tiny shreds of as many cheeses that I can remember in the moment, some purple kale, all of it wrapped with warm air so there's not even a tortilla to chew through, just straight to the good stuff. Dang now I'm hungry. Thanks for the question.

In your own words, what is astral projection? And do we actually leave our bodies? And do you have a practical, step by step TO-DO list to achieve it 100%?

Interesting question.

I don't personally BELIEVE in astral projection for the same reason I don't outright believe in anything that I can't personally experience or that cannot be shown to me empirically.

I have studied astral projection at length, and I have also attempted to astrally project throughout my life. I have had OBE (out of body experiences) in my lucid dreams and normal dreams, but this can be easily explained as a very real simulation of what my imagination considers astral projection might be like. I have also experienced ego-death several times through the use of smoked DMT and very high doses of LSD, and the OBE experiences I had in my dreams as a young boy were very similar to those egoless states on those substances consumed as a young adult.

In waking life, the "closest" I ever got to actually astral projecting was getting the buzzing, bubbling feeling in my skin described by many books and "experts" on the subject. During a few sessions, it felt like I might burst out of my body, so to speak, but again, this could just be an imagined experience-- like a self-willed hallucination. Or not. Maybe I was close. I really don't know.

Astral projection requires that reality and the self be composed of "layers," ie. the physical, the astral, and the causal. This implies that the self is not just a transient illusion created by the dance of the universe itself -- that the self is individual and separate, ie. the existence of a soul. I find this idea doubtful based on my experience, but I could certainly be wrong.

There are numerous guides for astral projection. The one I used when I was younger was Astral Dynamics, by Robert Bruce. But again, this is all conjecture. I've never astral projected during waking life.

You sir are the most honest and straightforward dream pioneer I have spoken to, and I thank you for your well written response.

Where do I sign up for your program, you have convinced me that I need to read more of your stuff.

Well thank you! :)

By all means, you can follow me by following my instagram or checking my site:

https://www.instagram.com/authoresfein/

https://officialesfein.com/

My most recent novel is called Points of Origin:

https://www.amazon.com/Points-Origin-S-Fein-ebook/dp/B07CXV6VW6

I'm currently almost done with my second novel, which is all about lucid dreaming an insanity.

That was odd. Your thread disappeared... Is this a dream?

Haha!

I'll answer with a sneak peek quote from my second novel I am currently writing, which is all about lucid dreaming and insanity!

"The atomic structure of reality is itself mostly free space, and that free space is made up of other subtle energies and fields, and none of it has any real, objective solidity outside of what our brain convinces us is true. But our brains are made of the same stuff. We don’t really know what’s going on in reality. Science just categorizes and observes. It can never derive meaning, because there is no meaning. So what we call reality might as well be a dream."

Is it possible to use lucid dreaming to solve complex problems in real life, or to visualize concepts or ideas such as special relativity?

Not only is it possible, MANY people claim to do it, and I myself utilize lucid dreaming to help me plan out my stories (I'm a sci fi author). When I was young, I used it to get over my fear of public speaking, and I would also use it to study for tests based on memorization.

As far as helping you visualize concepts like space-time compression? I've tried, to no avail I can create black holes, for example, but it's very limited to what physicists have offered as presupposed theories, sometimes with exotic twists. I would say, if you are already well versed and well practiced in those fields, ie. if you already speak that level of math as if it is a language, than I see no reason why your imagination can't extrapolate it into visualized form. Keep in mind though that certain quantum objects/fields don't have a direct visual corollary and will always be an approximation relative to your own limited human and three dimensional perception.

I've only had one or two strong lucid dreams in my life that I can recall, but I recall them very clearly because in both someone told me that I was dreaming and that the very existence of the world I had constructed in my dreams depended on me to continue dreaming. And this revelation was terrifying as I just couldn't deal with the immense responsibility. Have you ever heard of anyone else who associated this sort of existential stress with lucid dreaming?

Yes. This is something I experience as well, and it is actually one of the techniques I refer to for remaining lucid in the dream: depend on the dream characters. They can be used as an anchor to convince your inner mind to stay lucid and not fall back to the sweetness of the sleep state. I have even experienced dream characters begging me not to wake up, like, full on begging me with total dread. It is quite alarming. But the mind is capable of creating any experience. This is likely a reflection of how you and I feel about reality and waking life itself: a part of us fears its ending, which is a pretty fair thing to fear haha. Just my own reasoning for that, though.

I don't really remember by dreams and they are usually feelings rather then visuals. Any suggestions on how I can improve so i can become lucid?

A minority of people describe this, but I've met many. Describe those feelings in as nuanced of a way as possible in your dream journal/recorder. As you describe the feelings, what other parts of your life do they remind you of? Describe those too. You want to give your neural networks an opportunity to associate known visual experiences with those distinct emotions/feelings you are retaining from your dreams. Definitely check out the guide though; I cover how to improve dream recall in many different ways, but the best and safest way is to always stick to the dream journal and utilize WBTB (wake back to bed method).

So I just looked up the definition, and realized that I am a lucid dreamer (never given it too much thought, I thought it was normal to be aware that you're dreaming and navigate your dreams).

Sometimes it's fun because I can "control" how things go and what I want to do, but every now and then I get "stuck" in between awake and asleep, and I do everything in my power to try wake or scream as loud as I can to my partner, but I can't move or make a noise even though I'm fully aware. These moments are truly terrifying and honestly just feel like a bad trip.

Are lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis related? I don't mind the lucid dreams so much but do you have any advice on how to not get "stuck"?

The more you practice lucid dreaming, the more likely you are to stay conscious while sleep paralysis is still engaged. It can for sure be a scary experience.

As for advice on how to not get stuck in a lucid dream, I have some recommendations for you:

To wake oneself from a lucid dream as quickly as possible:

For a beginner, this is simply very hard. It will take practice. Here are some methods I used as a beginner:

1.Shout as loud as you can, like, intensely, and sometimes that jarrs you right out.

2.Jump into water or splash yourself.

3.Repeat "wake up" as a mantra getting louder and louder inside yourself and the world.

As you get more experienced:

1.Find a way to die in a sudden and believable way

1. Experience a rush of sensation, like falling out of the sky, or being catapulted into space

2. Talk to a version of yourself responsible for wakefulness and request that they handle it

3. Do something incredibly drastic and mind bending that really makes you scared, like falling into a black hole, or transforming into a prokaryote amidst the infinite microcosm, or being chased by some vicious creature.

Again, not recommended, but the shock works well if you are seeking to immediately wake up for whatever reason.

Do apple juice and/or blue stilton cheese really affect lucid dreaming, or is it more of a "wives tale"?

Also

Does taking a vitamin B supplement before bed do anything?

Apple juice, blue cheese, bananas, apple cider vinegar -- there are a ton of diet suggestions to aid in dream recall and vividness. To be honest, I've tried many, and I didn't really see a difference. Though, that could just be me.

On the other hand, B-vitamins DEFINTIELY help, specifically B-6. I think there are even studies confirming this now. I have found the a B vitamin supplement increased dream vividness and recall greatly.

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Oh wow, powers come that easily to you? You are a natural in that respect! I would recommend using basic techniques to increase lucidity. In your case, I would specifically say, "Stay!" or "Keep me in the dream!" or something along those lines. You need to get used to seeing your mind as almost a friend, something to communicate with rather than just command and beckon. Other than that, some advice I gave to other users for staying lucid:

-- Scream "Increase lucidity!" Keep screaming it over and over again if you have to.
-- Rotate on your axis. Like, imagine there is a pole going down the center of your head to the floor, and rotate your body around that pole without physically trying to spin it. I have no idea why this works, but it works for a ton of people, including myself.
-- Visualize yourself in a new environment. This seems to exact a level of control that convinces your mind to stay in it. Keep flitting through environments if you have to.
-- Ask a dream character to help you. Sometimes they just go, "okay, you're more lucid now," and that alone works. Other times they hit you or something, or of course, many just ignore you lol.
-- My personal technique when I was young was to have a radio hovering next to me playing music with my own voice, repeatedly saying, "increase lucidity!" against the beat so it would be more jarring. It's annoying at first, but over time, you'll be able to exact control with greater ease.

I have severe sleep apnea and aphantasia- do you have any suggestions on how to build up to having memorable dreams / any dreams? I only have any recollection of two or three dreams I’ve ever had and would be interested in having that be a more prevalent part of my sleep

I'm going to be very honest with you. Those two disorders are like the anti-lucid dreaming disorders. Specifically aphantasia...that severely cripples my advice because so much of my advice depends on visualization.

However, let's consider this. You said that you do have recollection of the dreams. So what did you remember from those dreams as an individual with aphantasia? Was it more emotion based? Before I move forward with advice, would you be able to elaborate more on what content you remember from those dreams?
Thank you!

Is sleep paralysis something that concerns you? I have read lucid dreamers are more likely to experience it and it terrifies me.

Also, is 36 too old to start?

Sleep paralysis is natural. People that sleep move or sleep walk are having an issue where they aren't engaging sleep paralysis. Waking into sleep paralysis can be very scary, especially when it involves the old hag. But it is truly nothing to worry about. It is temporary, and the quicker you accept that and just sink into it, the quicker it fades.

There is no age limit to this whatsoever. I have met people who have started lucid dreaming well into their sixties and beyond. Age has nothing to do with it :)

Have you ever moved from awake to dreaming in a fluid instant? I was laying on my back in a meditative state and was pulled upright onto my feet(even felt the equilibrium change) and a a forest path appeared infront of me.

Yes, this is exactly the idea behind the WILD technique. This is the method of choice for most advanced lucid dreamers. It's quick, easy, dependable, and repeatable.

I'm not sure if you covered this topic but what about point of view when dreaming... I've never had a first person experience in a dream always purely omnipotent without control, like I'm watching a movie starring me and what ever my mind comes up with, there are always different "camera angles"... is that normal? Does that suggest that I go about lucid dreaming differently? If so, could you suggest some tips?

Interesting question. I don't hear that often at all. The vast majority of my dreams are first person, and only very few are third person. I would think that utilizing verbal affirmation would help, since you would be able to hear your own voice in your head regardless of whether you are first or third person. You would still go through the same processes otherwise though. One you become aware, I suppose you can try to control your third person body as if you are a video game? But...who is the one controlling? I would imagine my perspective would shift to the controller, thereby entering first person state again. But this is coming form a person who is biased with most dreaming being in first person. This one might be too far outside of my own experience, but were I in that position, I would practice, after becoming aware, either entering into your body to attain first person, or recognizing the scene as a screen that an outside first person, you are watching. I just can't personally imagine going about a lucid dream in third person, but I'm sure there are others out there that have accomplished this. Very interesting question for sure! Thank you!

Why do people say not to go through doors when lucid dreaming?

It might throw you into an unintended dreamscape. It's similar to walking through a mirror, but sometimes they are also just normal doors/doorways.

(Ignore my username) I’ve found that reaching into my pocket and using my cellphone in a lucid dream is a great way to convince my brain that someone should come over. I’ve used this to also have conversations with (the image of) friends who have died. Have you found therapeutic applications of lucid dreaming?

I love it! It is a great idea to anchor your wills and exploits to real life knowledge. As a lucid dreamer, you probably know that using powers is actually quite hard when you first start. Your brain can't accept fully that it can do whatever it wants. Using a an artifact from the real world, such as a phone, is like a legit magic wand in the dream world. Great thinking!

Lucid dreams have been incredibly therapeutic in my life. When I was young, it was the sole method I used to get over my fear of public speaking. I would create audiences and give speeches in my dreams. It also allows me to speak to lost friends, lost relatives, or even aspects of myself. To give you a specific example, a few years ago I was falling into a bad habit again, and I was able to talk to an npc copy of myself in the dream that epitomized this habit taken to the extreme. It made me realize in full force that I did not want to end up as that version of myself. When I was young, lucid dreaming was also a key factor in helping me overcome massive insecurities and self-hate.

Did you discover lucid dreaming on your own or did you learn about it before trying it? What was your first lucid dream?

I was actually told about lucid dreaming by a close friend of mine when I was 13. I had never remotely heard of it. He brought it up because it sounded like something I might be in to. Boy was he right lol. I got my first lucid dream after about 4 months of trying. My very first lucid dream, I will never forget, like I can't forget any of my dreams: I woke up in my room, and it was softly glowing as if there was a campfire close by. I got really excited. Jumped out of bed and screamed "I did it!!" and immediately fell back to sleep. Lol.

What the hell is lucid dreaming and why does it matter?

In the spirit of your question: A lucid dream is god damn dream in which you know you are damn well dreaming and you have complete god damn control of the dream. It doesn't really matter, unless you like exploring an infinite universe whose boundaries and laws are limited only by your own DAMN imagination. Thanks for your question! :D

What if you do everything that allows you to get lucid in a dream, yet it works only once or twice then stops working?

Change up your environment is the single best solution I've found. Sleep somewhere else in the house or in your room or on a different surface. As always, WBTB (wake back to bed method) is very powerful and extremely effective.

Pancakes or waffles?

Pancakes. All day. Ideally with bananas and nuts. And real maple syrup. Now I'm hungry!

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I added a post from my Instagram account containing all the relevant information. Will that work?