We’ve all watched Chris Nolan’s masterpiece and got enthralled in the world of creating worlds with dreams and go, “Fuck, that’s cool.”. Recently, I’ve discovered a way to do just that. For real.
Lucid dreaming, is the ability to be aware while you’re in your dreams. I’m sure all of us have had dreams where we go like, “That couldn’t have been more real.” and then we wake up again for real in disbelief. Like the movie, it’s awfully scary not knowing which is real and which is just a figment of your imagination. Yet, terribly exciting.
Of course, lucid dreaming doesn’t happen by plugging a couple of wires into your brain, it requires some mind training and a certain amount of discipline. While there are many guides out there teaching you how to induce lucid dreams, the best one had me going in a single night.
Step One – The Totem
The Totem in the movie was used to test if oneself is in one’s own reality (dream or non-dream) and not in another person’s dream. Our totem has somewhat a similar usage. Your totem can be anything, as long it’s something that you will notice throughout the day. The guide suggests that you draw a little dot on the palm of your hand. And because it’s something a little out of the ordinary, you will notice it a lot more.
Step Two – Reality Check
Throughout your day, everytime you see the dot or as often as you can, ask yourself if you are in a dream. Make sure you are throughout with yourself as if you’re Leonardo DiCaprio, and a mistake could cost your life. Check your surroundings, read numbers or texts, look away and look back again, in order to make sure that you are not dreaming. What you are doing is training your mind to create a habit of essentially asking yourself if you are in a dream or not, a habit which will be brought forward to your dreams. Once that habit is formed, you will subconsciously do the reality check, within your dreams. And this is what induces lucidity.
Bonus – Dream Journal
How many times have you had an awesome dream and wake up not remembering a single thing from it? Makes you go FFFFUUUU, right? If you are going to embark on such a trippy journey, you don’t want to forget it. Have a notebook (or use an online service) next to your bed and write down the contents of your dream the moment you wake up. This helps improve your dream recall and allows you to remember your dreams very easily.
I have only tried it for a couple nights, and still haven’t fully discovered the possibilities. While there are rare cases of psychological side effects of lucid dreaming, the adventure and positive experiences of many far outweighs any concerns. I just wouldn’t watch any Freddy Kruger movies if I were you.
