Getting Places In Dreams

On a more basic level, to get the most out of lucidity, you need to know how to get around in the dream world. For many lucid dream applications, you may wish or need to find a particular place, person, or situation. One way to achieve this is by willing yourself to dream about your topic of choice. This is often called "dream incubation." It is a timeless procedure used throughout history in cultures that consider dreams valuable sources of wisdom. In ancient Greece, people would visit dream temples to sleep and find answers or cures.

Dream temples are probably not necessary for dream incubation--although they certainly would have helped sleepers to focus their minds on their purpose. This is the key: make sure you have your problem or wish firmly in mind before sleep. To do this, it is helpful to arrive at a simple, single phrase describing the topic of your intended dream. Since for the purposes in this book, you are trying to induce lucid dreams, you need to add to your focus the intention to become lucid in the dream. Then you put all of your mental energy into conceiving of yourself in a lucid dream about the topic. Your intention should be the last thing you think of before falling asleep. The following exercise leads you through this process.

Lucid Dream Incubation

1. Formulate your intention Before bed, come up with a single phrase or question encapsulating the topic you wish to dream about: "I want to visit San Francisco." Write the phrase down, and perhaps draw a picture illustrating the question. Memorize the phrase and the picture (if you have one). If you have a specific action you wish to carry out in your desired dream ("I want to tell my friend I love her."), be sure to carefully formulate it now. Beneath your target phrase, write another saying, "When I dream of [the phrase], I will remember that I am dreaming."

2. Go to bed. Without doing anything else, go immediately to bed and turn out the light.

3. Focus on your phrase and intention to become lucid Recall your phrase or the image you drew. Visualize yourself dreaming about the topic and becoming lucid in the dream. If there is something you want to try in the dream, also visualize doing it once you are lucid. Meditate on the phrase and your intention to become lucid in a dream about it until you fall asleep. Don't let any other thoughts come between thinking about your topic and falling asleep. If your thoughts stray, just return to thinking about your phrase and becoming lucid.

4. Pursue your intention in the lucid dream When in a lucid dream about your topic carry out your intention. Ask the question you wish to ask, seek ways to express yourself, try your new behaviour, or explore your situation. Be sure to notice your feelings and be observant of all details of the dream.

5. When you have achieved your goal, remember to awaken and recall the dream. When you obtain a satisfying answer in the dream, use one of the methods suggested earlier in this chapter to awaken yourself. Immediately write down at least the part of the dream that includes your solution. Even if you don't think the lucid dream has answered your question, once it begins to fade, awaken yourself and write down the dream. You may find on reflection that your answer was hidden in the dream and you did not see it at the time.

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