Chasing Lucidity: Two-Year Quest to Control My Dreams
4 min read | If lucid dreaming can give you a new opportunity or save some time, would you be willing to try it?
Summary:
Journey into Lucid Dreaming
Embarked on a 21-day lucid dreaming class with hopes of consciously navigating and controlling dreams, aiming to rehearse real-life situations, confront fears, and experience fantastical abilities.
Challenges and Techniques
Despite various techniques like dream journaling, reality checks, and visualization, achieving lucidity remained elusive. Some methods, like waking up in the middle of the night, were dismissed to maintain natural sleep.
Finding Value Beyond Lucidity
Derived insights from dream analysis, often with the help of AI chatbots. Acting on dream symbols led to real-life opportunities, emphasizing the wisdom our subconscious offers during sleep.
Have you tried lucid dreaming? I wanted to learn a new personal growth activity, so I picked lucid dreaming from my long list of habits to try. I took a 21-day lucid dream class two years ago, and I was hopeful that I could start lucid dreaming by the end of the class. Two years later, I still have not had a proper lucid dream, but it has opened me to the world of interpreting my dream and figuring out what is unfolding in my subconscious.
Lucid dreaming is realizing you are dreaming while still in the dream. Many people use lucid dreaming to solve math problems, face their emotions, or heal their trauma. I planned to use it to try things I couldn’t do in real life. First, I wanted to rehearse situations I haven't tried yet, like becoming a mom or living in a different country. Then, I wanted to explore fears like bungee jumping or parachuting, which I'm too afraid to do when awake. And, if possible, I would love to experience abilities like flying, teleportation, or time travel that are impossible in the physical world. I was hoping that lucid dreaming could help me explore my parallel lives.
When I first started learning about lucid dreaming, I kept a dream journal to record any dreams I remembered. At first, my memory was quite fragmented—I could only remember pieces of people or places. Sometimes, I would fail and forget the dream entirely. However, after a few weeks of dream journaling, I could slowly remember more concrete events and details. Even if the narrative was disjointed, writing down any small fragments helped strengthen my dream recall over time. Bit by bit, I was collecting the breadcrumbs that would lead me to my lucid dreaming.
The harder part was learning how to actually become lucid in the dream state, which did not come naturally to me. Some teachers recommend asking yourself the question “Am I dreaming?” multiple times throughout the day. The goal is to build the habit of questioning your reality so you'll be prompted to do a reality check during your dreams. This practice made logical sense, but I often forgot to ask myself that question in waking life.
I’ve tried other tips to prompt my lucid dreams. For example, I tried setting an intention before going to bed and repeating several times, “Tonight, I dream of X. When I dream of X, I know I am dreaming.” But I struggled to remember the exact mantra as I fell asleep. What worked better for me was visualizing a specific scene, focusing on it fully, and carrying it into sleep. Sometimes, this resulted in dreams related to that scene. On other nights, I’d get too excited about a particular scene and struggle to fall asleep.
I've also seen folks try briefly waking up in the middle of the night. They would set an alarm to wake themselves after 5-6 hours of sleep. When it goes off, they turn on lights, write dream journal entries, repeat affirmations like “I know I am dreaming,” and then return to sleep. This method is supposed to make the mind more alert and conscious during later dream cycles. But for me, part of the appeal of lucid dreaming is doing it naturally. I didn’t want to interrupt my sleep schedule and mess up my energy level.
Since I couldn’t frequently experience lucid dreams, I created a different routine that works for me. I now use my dream journal to analyze my psyche and get new inspirations for waking life. I started by manually reviewing my journal's weird, symbolic, or recurring themes. Then, I ask myself how these patterns may connect to my waking life. Is my subconscious trying to send me a message? Now that AI chatbots exist, I began asking them to analyze my dream journal like a Jungian therapist. The chatbot would point out subtle connections I overlooked and create an insightful narrative. The ritual of journaling with AI provides me with valuable self-reflection. Even without achieving lucid dreams, I'm gaining creative insights into myself along the way.
Though I still can't fully understand why certain signs and symbols appear in my dreams, I've chosen to trust and lean into them. For example, when I dream of an old friend, I reach out the next day. The serendipity has led to the reconnecting of beautiful relationships. Alternatively, if I dream up a bold idea, I'll test it at work right away instead of waiting. Acting on these dream signs has led me to new opportunities and adventures. As I lean more into the magical moments dreamed up by my subconscious, I also build up the courage to manifest them in my waking life.
I look forward to the day when I can wander through my dreamscapes with eyes wide open and a fully conscious mind that is unconstrained by reality. Until then, I will continue to mine my dream journal for inspiration and growth. Our sleeping minds have much wisdom to share, if we learn how to listen.
Want to explore the potential of your dreams? Tired of passive dreaming? Take an active role in your dream world with this exercise.