Awareness Techniques

Today marks 21 days since I have started this project. I have recorded 20/21 days of dreams with a handful of lucid experiences. This is quite a progress for me considering the five months prior I recorded only 18 nights of dreams. It proves to me that the power of intent: a combination of intending to dream, intending to become lucid, and intending to remember my dreams, is probably the most important technique of them all.

One of the most common failures I am constantly hearing about from those beginning to practice lucid dreaming is "I can't open my eyes" or "I have no vision, everything is black". This is such a regular occurrence that is linked to your awareness abilities. Beginners will encounter obstacles that enable them from having anything but a very short lucid experience that usually fades into a blurry memory upon waking up.

So say you follow all of the initial techniques to having a lucid dream...
-Imagine yourself having plenty of dreams.
-See yourself waking up and recording your experience.
-Record your dreams every day. Even if you do not remember any, still write that you had no success!
- Practice Reality Checks and Affirmations.

...and success! Not only has your dream recall shot up but you start to become lucid! Now how do you overcome the common problems of losing vision and not being able to hold onto the experience for more than a moments time?

1. Intent: 

Prior to going to sleep, have a clearly defined intent or action of what you will do when lucidity hits. Imagine yourself following through with this task. Especially early on in your practice, it's important to make these simple and easy to remember. Intending to fly, travel to a specific place, etc. etc. In my personal experience, acting mischievously with your new found freedom will not aid you to progress but end up holding you back from having a meaningful or profound experience. 

2. Anchor:

You must keep your awareness from slipping away from the experience by drawing your attention to detail in your lucid dream. Pick objects up. Feel things...taste them! When I fall victim of losing vision I proclaim loudly "clarity now" or rub my hands together.

3. Keep It Short: 

I understand that for many beginners the length of their experience will be chosen for them. You will at first have a hard time keeping the experience rolling after becoming lucid. It's also important to remember the shorter your experience the more likely you remember it in detail. You might have to show some restraint in order for the memory to not fade. Wake up and write the experience down immediately. 

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Keep in mind that I am not expert, but I am not a beginner either. These our techniques that I have been using years prior that our handed down from many other night travelers. I continue to apply these to my own experiences and have had positive results.