Lucid Dreams In 30 Days.pdf

LUCID DREAMS

IN 30 DAYS

The Creative Sleep Program

KEITH HARARY, PH~D. AND PAMELA W[INTRAUB

PRAISE FOR LUCID DREAMS IN 30 DAYS

"This fascinating, practical guide to lucid dreaming is based on the breakthrough techniques

developed by psychologists and dream researchers around the world. Anyone looking for the latest

word in lucid dreaming cannot do better than to follow Harary and Weintraub's easy-to-follow and

stunningly effective step-by-step approach."

-GAYLE DELANEY PH.D., AUTHOR OF ALL ABOUT DREAMS AND FOUNDING

PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF DREAMS

"Excellent, I'm so glad to see Dr. Keith Harary and Pamela Weintraub giving us practical ways of

experiencing an amazing altered state of consciousness."-DR. RAYMOND MOODY, AUTHOR OF

LIFE AFTER LIFE

"The thirty-day structure of this book renders the idea and practice of lucid dreaming readily

available to a wide range of readers. Using Lucid Dreams in 30 Days as your guide, you will be able

to incorporate lucid dreaming into your life, and by so doing achieve a better under-standing of

yourself and your self's best friend-the subconscious

mind."-RALPH BLUM, AUTHOR OF THE NEW BOOK OF RUNES

Cover design by Mirhael Storrings

Cover photograph © Philip Kaake/Photonica

Would you like to fly like Superman, traversing the globe to visit the Pyramids or a remote Tahitian

beach? Do you crave a role in the I Spielberg blockbuster, complete with a million-dollar salary an

Academy Award? Would you like to talk cosmology with Step Hawking, live aboard the Space

Station, or visit future cities Mars? Whatever the fantasy, you can, with proper training and practice,

learn to fulfill it in your dreams.

Most of the time, of course, you probably don't reason you've been dreaming until after you wake

up. By then the dream has already come to an end. Some people, however, are conscious that they're

dreaming while the dream is in progress. And, reveal now reveals, these lucid dreamers can direct

their dreams, much of a film director directs a film. They can create or destroy character fly to

distant locales, change their actions and the actions of 0th even alter dream weather, scenery, or

props.

To the uninitiated, such mental acrobatics may sound' difficult, to say the least. But over the past two

decades, research have documented the reality of lucid dreams and developed a set of simple lucid-

dream exercises and techniques. These straight ward methods, presented step by step in the course of

the Creative Sleep Program, should help make you the master of your dreams.

We think you'll find this special skill a commodity at turn of the millennium, in our pragmatic,

technologically challenging, and often-alienating world. These days we barely blink at notion of

relationships nurtured in cyberspace, and take for granted the cultural shift from psychotherapy to

psychopharmacology treatment of choice. With less time to sleep, let alone dream, people spend

endless hours in pursuit of material wealth; and then for excitement, seek out prefabricated

experiences that mimic real adventures of the past. The Explorers Club has never had more

members, many of them seeking to retrace the routes of trailblazers who forged new territory a

century back. The trend is no surprise. The pressures of twenty-first-century life have left us little

time to journey inward. Yet the sophistication of our era has made it impossible to embrace the

simplistic totems of inner exploration acceptable just a decade before. Few would resist the

conclusion that the New Age movement, with its pyramid power, healing crystals, and mystical

cults, seems hokey and quaint from the heights of 2000 A.D. With all we know of brain science, it's

hard to buy into the notion that we can close our eyes and channel our ancestors, let alone the gods.

Yet millennial science has enabled a unique, over-the-edge, and authentic journey inward through

the experience of the lucid dream. Thanks to breakthrough research into the techniques of lucid

dreaming, you can explore your deepest inner realm without ever turning on a computer or venturing

from home. While the Yogis of Tibet have reported lucid dream states for thousands of years,

modern science began its intensive study of the field only in the 1970s. The work has paid off.

Today, laboratory researchers at Stanford University and elsewhere have charted the

psychophysiology of this unique state of consciousness, providing a road map for those who would

like to experience it for themselves. Physiological measurements, for instance, show that dreams of

singing, counting, and even making love affect the dreamer's brain, and to a lesser extent, the body,

much as these same experiences do in real life. Researchers know that specific techniques, including

whirling or rubbing hands together during a dream, can prolong the experience-though the studies

show whirling is best if you'd like to change venues, while rubbing is most effective for keeping the

backdrop the same. Laboratory science has even developed a means of communicating with lucid

dreamers during the dream.

Thanks to such research, you'll find the exercises presented in this book especially effective. In fact,

by the end of our four-week program you should be able to induce and sustain lucid dreams, fly to

distant dream locales, take part in crafted, extraordinary dream adventures, explore your most

private sexual fantasies with a variety of dream lovers, investigate creative solutions to personal and

professional problems, and even boost your immune system to enhance your health. You may also

find yourself transcending ordinary perceptions of reality as you come to terms with your innermost

thoughts and feelings about death, existentialism, and God. As a bonus, Creative Sleep participants

will learn our own method for inducing an especially intense form of the lucid-dream experience-an

altered state we call high lucidity, based on principles originally put forth centuries ago by Yogis in

Tibet.

Before you begin, we'd like you to think of dreaming in much the same way you think of driving a

car. Remember all the times you've driven along the highway seemingly not paying attention at all.

All of a sudden you've looked at the road and realized that someone has been exerting judgment and

control-and that someone you've recognized in a flash is you. Dreaming works in a similar way. You

usually aren't consciously aware of your ability to control the action; but of course, right down to the

exact words spoken by your dream characters, the very last brick in your dream house, and the

precise number of petals on a flower in your dream garden, you alone are the author and designer of

your dreams. Realizing this fact is much like suddenly realizing that you are driving the car. Waking

up in your dreams, in other words, requires a subtle shift in attention, so that you learn to be more

completely aware of what you're doing.

In Week One of the Creative Sleep Program this subtle shift of attention will begin. You will learn

basic techniques for recalling and recording your dreams. You will also learn to tune into the

difference between waking consciousness and dream sleep. Finally, Week One exercises should

bring you to the brink of dream consciousness, teaching you to predetermine dream subjects and

even seize a small amount of control while you dream.

Weeks Two and Three will teach you how to have and control full-blown lucid dreams. As you

practice the exercises within these chapters, you should become increasingly adept at dream flying,

which can enable you to navigate your dream terrain; dream whirling, which can help you sustain

your lucid dreams; and dream weaving, the art of manipulating the details in your dreams. As you

advance from ordinary lucid dreaming to the more acutely alert state of high lucidity, the intensity

and power of your lucid dream experiences should increase.

Finally, in Week Four, you will learn how to develop creative consciousness, in which you can use

your virtuoso skills to explore the farther reaches of your lucid-dream potential. After all, if lucid

dreaming merely enabled you to convert dream apples to oranges or experience flying to the Arctic,

it would be a limited skill. The most experienced lucid dreamers therefore use their abilities not so

much to change the dream landscapes as to explore it. In this way, one may conduct regular

expeditions into the outback of one's own subconscious without a psychotherapist or drugs.

Please remember, in the long run, lucid and high-lucid dreaming should be viewed as an opportunity

to get in touch with an expansive inner realm. Indeed, anyone who constantly directs dream

characters and alters dream props without trying to explore their deeper symbolic meaning may

ultimately suppress their sub-conscious needs rather than allowing them to find expression.

In an effort to offset such potential difficulties, we recommend that you balance controlled lucid

dreaming with free dreaming (dreaming that is not in any way consciously controlled). We include

two nights of free dreaming in the Creative Sleep Program, and we also recommend that you

integrate this sort of balanced approach into any long-term exploration of lucid dreaming you may

decide to pursue. The best way to master lucid dreaming is one step at a time. Give yourself time to

focus on each of the Creative Sleep exercises, and don't rush it. Although the program is designed to

be carried out in thirty days, don't feel constrained by this if you prefer to take longer.

We do not recommend completing the program in less than thirty days, however, or trying to

squeeze an entire week's worth of exercises into a single weekend. Although many of the Creative

Sleep exercises are conceptually quite simple, their combined impact could be profound. We

recommend that you allow your abilities to evolve gradually, giving you an opportunity to adjust.

Moreover, since dreams, be they ordinary dreams or lucid ones, reflect your current mood, a

balanced approach should increase the enjoyment and overall scope of your nocturnal adventures.

Indeed, the best way to approach lucid dreaming is by not pressuring yourself to have lucid dreams.

If you feel a sense of anxiety about having these dreams, they will be less likely to occur.

Remember, lucid dreams may emerge at any point in the Creative Sleep Program; lucid dreaming is

not, after all, a strictly linear process in which the goal is reached or not reached at the end of every

exercise. Rather, this program interacts in an ongoing fashion with each individual user, helping to

set the appropriate conditions for lucid and high-lucid dreams. But the exact timetable you'll follow

is really up to you and your personal predisposition. Lucid dreams may begin right away for some,

later on in the program for others, and after the program has been completed for others still.

We want to emphasize that it would be most unusual for anyone to report problems as a result of the

Creative Sleep Program, especially since the program does not attempt to replace psychotherapy in

any way, shape, or form. However, if you have a history of emotional or psychiatric problems, or if

you feel at all uncomfortable about any of the exercises, we suggest you check with your therapist or

psychiatrist before proceeding. In such a case, you might wish to carry out the Creative Sleep

Program only under his or her continued clinical guidance.

No matter who you are, the Creative Sleep Program has been designed for your enjoyment. As you

gain experience, your lucid dreams should become increasingly vivid and powerful. They should

also give you greater access to the hidden stores of energy, wisdom, and experience you've gained in

the course of your life.

WEEK ONE WAKING UP TO YOUR DREAMS

Most of us think of the everyday world as fairly concrete and predictable. Dreams, on the other

hand, are considered fantasies, changeable mirages that can dissolve in a mist. Yet the waking world

is filled with unpredictable, bizarre, surrealistic images, including freakish crimes and stunning

works of art that seem the stuff of dreams. Dreams, on the other hand, contain the deepest truth

about our unconscious thoughts toward reality. If we could only grasp the meaning of our dreams,

we would understand our relationship with other people and the world around us with far more

precision and depth.

In fact, dream sleep and alert wakefulness are just two states along the continuum of consciousness

we experience every day. During most dreams we experience ourselves as awake, and sometimes

while awake we may wonder if we're really in a dream. It stands to reason, therefore, that if we are

ever to wake up in our dreams-to become lucid-we must learn to differentiate the dream state and the

waking state in a sure and powerful way.

Week One of the Creative Sleep Program helps you achieve this goal by teaching you to keenly

observe the nature of waking reality and the nature of dreams. In the first part of the week, you will

learn to recall your dreams and record them in a dream journal. You will also learn to immerse

yourself in the surrealistic images that haunt waking reality, often giving it many of the subjective

qualities of a dream.

Week One exercises also introduce some of the basic tenets of dream control. You will, for instance,

create a sleeping environment conducive to more conscious dreaming. You will learn how to

influence the general subject matter of your dreams through a process known as dream incubation.

And you will even learn an effective approach to problem solving; focus on an issue in your life

using the technique described in Week One, and a solution may well appear in your dreams.

Finally, by confronting the negative images that sometimes emerge in your dreams, you will learn

how to move through your discomfort to a state of semi-awareness. As you develop the ability to

interrogate your dream enemies, a veil will start to lift. You will start to wake up in your dreams.

One important note: though Week One techniques are intended to serve as a prelude to lucid

dreaming, they are valuable tools in and of themselves. Indeed, even if one never has a lucid dream,

keeping a dream journal can provide a basis for deep exploration of the inner self. Incubating dreams

on creative and romantic dilemmas can provide valuable avenues for professional and personal

insight and success. And examining or interrogating fearful dream images so you can come to better

understand them may help eliminate recurring dreams and even nightmares.

Please do not underestimate the importance of Week One techniques to the rest of the Creative Sleep

Program. They form the bedrock upon which the upcoming weeks of lucid dreaming are based.

DAYS I AND 2 DREAM RECALL

Before you can become conscious in your dreams, you must master some basic tenets of dream

control. A major requirement for successful dream control is the ability to remember, appreciate, and

record your dreams. On Days 1 and 2 of the Creative Sleep Program, therefore, you will learn

special focusing exercises to help you recall your dreams. You will also learn to record your dreams

in your private dream journal.

Because some preparation is required, read all the Instructions for Days I and 2 before you begin.

Part I: Setting Up Your Dream Journal. Your first task, to be carried out on Day 1, is preparation

of the dream journal you will use for the rest of the Creative Sleep Program. Your personal dream

journal should be a notebook that you can store under your pillow or carry around during the day.

We suggest Dreams and Waking Visions by Mary Michael and Barbara Andrews, or an easy-to-

carry spiral memo book. You should also select a special pen for your dream journal. We suggest a

free-flowing felt-tip pen that will enable you to write while lying down. The pen used for writing in

your dream journal should not be used for anything else. You may also find it helpful to clip a

penlight to your dream journal, in case you find yourself remembering a dream in the middle of the

night.

Take your new journal home and place it, along with the pen and penlight, under the pillow on your

bed. Say to yourself, This is where I'll be recording my remembered dreams. Then leave the

notebook under your pillow until you're ready to go to bed.

Part II: Remembering Your Dreams. The second part of the dream recall exercise can begin

anytime after you've set up your dream journal. It will begin on Day 1 and continue through the

morning of Day 2.

Begin by sitting alone in a public place during some quiet part of your day and observing yourself

and your surroundings. Observe the other people around you and repeat these words: Everybody

here has dreams. Consider the meaning of this phrase and try to imagine what the various people

around you might have dreamed last night. Consider your current surroundings and ask yourself

what they might dream tonight. What might you dream tonight?

Then, quietly say to yourself, From now on, I'll remember my dreams. As soon as you acknowledge

your willingness to remember your dreams, let go of the whole idea and forget about it for the rest of

the day, until you're lying in bed, drifting off to sleep.

If you feel particulately ambitious, you may suggest to yourself that you woke up throughout the

night Os you complete your dreams. With continued practice you may find yourself waking after

quite a number of successive dreams On a particular night and remembering each of them. While

you might not wish to practice such an intense exercise on a regular basis, it can occasionally lead to

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