How To Induce Lucid Dreams That Heal

A lot has been written about the different methods for inducing lucid dreams. While some seem to be able to slip into lucidity hands-free, most dreamers have their own tried-and-true “triggers.”

So if none of the following methods work for you: don’t panic. With lucid dreaming, consistency is key. The more you practice, the more likely it is that you will find yourself in a lucid dream one night. And while one technique might not suit you, there’s bound to be a trick that vibes with your subconscious out there. I firmly believe that everyone is capable of lucid dreaming.

The numbers game

I’ll admit: I’m biased. I think this is the easiest method because it was the one that launched my first intentional lucid dream. I use it to this day. Essentially, the parts of your brain that are activated during deep REM sleep cannot process numbers (or text) the same way you do when awake.

In my experience, counting is almost impossible in a dreamscape. If you hold your dream-hand up in front of your face and attempt to count your fingers, there will not be five clear digits. The number will change from six to three to 12, or the fingers will look strange and distorted, like sea cucumbers or melting clocks straight out of a Dalí painting. Trippy, right?

Essentially, this “glitch” in the matrix is supposed to “wake” you up to the fact that you are in a dream. It can apply to any form of counting when you already know the number is assured — a hand has five fingers, a clock has 12 hours, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have four members. I just find counting your fingers to be the simplest because 1) they belong to you so 2) you should be more familiar with your own body than any other object.

But how do you even get to the point where you are counting your fingers in a not-yet-lucid dream?

Reality checks

A form of mental training, performing daily reality checks in your waking life will increase your metacognition. Having greater metacognition during the day will correlate with greater metacognition at night during your dreams.

Several times a day (I like to do it every time I take breaks from work or go on walks), study your hands. Count your fingers. Five digits on each hand? Great, you’re awake. What might seem like a silly, redundant exercise will train your mind to repeat reality checks even when you are dreaming. It worked for me. My non-lucid dream-self went to automatically count my fingers, and voila — upon noticing that I had many more fingers than what was natural, the lucid dream was induced.

Reality checks in the form of self-affirmations

If you take anything away from this article, let it be that reality checks are fundamental. On top of being a solid method of cluing you into a lucid dream, it’s just a good, mindful habit to cultivate. Checking in on yourself, taking a moment to breathe and feel the solid table beneath your fingertips, appreciating the things that make you whole and human.

A non-physical reality check that I use from time to time takes the form of a question. I ask myself, “Am I dreaming?”

Then, I look around at my environment, think back on how I woke up that morning, and focus on my breathing. In just a few seconds, I can confirm whether or not I am dreaming.

Another self-affirmation that has had success for me is saying to myself, “I am lucid. I am awake. I am lucid.”

Like with the numbers game, this is only successful if it is done repeatedly during the waking day. Try setting a reminder on your phone to check in on yourself every three hours. It will allow you to break from the stresses of your day and reflect on what matters (that you are living, breathing, lucid). Then, in your dreams, you might find yourself asking those same questions.

Wake-initiated lucid dreaming

Now, stick with me on this one. Wake-initiated lucid dreaming (WILD) is the process by which a person attempts to remain conscious while transitioning from the waking state to the dream state.

While drifting to sleep, have you ever experienced a falling sensation that causes you to jerk awake? That’s a hypnagogic hallucination, and it’s a feature of the state of consciousness that occurs during the onset of sleep. These hallucinations can be visual, auditory, or tactile and, though bizarre, are completely normal.

The trick with WILD is to not lose consciousness before the hypnagogic hallucination, as is typical in most people’s sleep patterns. Essentially: you need to keep your mind awake while your body falls asleep.

This one isn’t easy. I’ve only had success with WILD a handful of times, and it requires that you are totally relaxed (read: un-caffeinated, de-sugared, and cozy as can be) and lying still on your back. I imagine that I am melting into my mattress and pay careful attention as each finger, toe, and limb loses sensation. I try to keep my inner thoughts as quiet as possible and focus on my now “paralyzed” body.

If I make it that far without losing consciousness, I listen for hypnagogic sounds (for me, these are usually echoes of music or footsteps). I take them in, accept that they are hallucinations, and remind myself that I am lucid. In this half-dream state, there may be visual anomalies like colors or forms vaguely shaped like recognizable people, buildings, objects. I focus on the hypnagogia and allow them to, in effect, “hypnotize” me.

Eventually, if all goes well, the hypnagogia will coalesce into a more solidified dreamscape. The most difficult part of WILD is “stepping into” this dreamscape without losing control. It can be a slow process that takes a lot of concentration. But the end result is spectacular lucidity without ever having to enter the “darkness” before the dream.

Write down your dreams

Cue groans and eye rolls from those who remember the days of middle school English teachers assigning a “dream journal” to keep by your bedside. But cast those preconceptions aside. Writing down your dreams as soon as you wake up has many benefits besides the oft-ridiculed “dream interpretation” intent. It can increase your likelihood of having lucid dreams.

When I started jotting down a few notes about my dreams in the morning, I noticed that I was remembering longer portions of my dreams in more vivid detail. As I felt like my memory was improving, I realized that I was more easily able to recognize the signs of being in a dream. Being able to cue into the subtle and strange differences in sensation between dream and reality made it easier to induce lucidity.

Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to write paragraphs every morning (unless that’s your thing). I keep a small journal within reach of my bed. Before I even peel off the covers, I jot down a few bullet points. It could be sensory details, a brief synopsis of the dream “plot,” or lingering emotions. After writing, I like to read over some old dreams and see how clearly I can remember them. Shouldn’t take more than five minutes, and then it’s off to coffee.