To become aware that we are dreaming, it is useful to understand the mechanism that perpetuates a dream. Essentially, there needs to be a purpose for the dream experience, otherwise it would have no reason to continue, and we would just wake up.
Here are four of the most common components that perpetuate dreams:
Examples:
"There is an important appointment that I need to get to, but I can't seem to ever get there"
“They are chasing after me, no-matter where I go, I can’t seem to get away”
"I need an item to complete this task, I am looking in all the usual places, but I just can’t find it”
"There is an event that is scheduled to start soon, I wait and wait, but it never seems to happen"
Sounds familiar?
That's your own higher mind working hard to keep the dream going. This is a very valuable method that is able to mask any obvious inconsistencies, like the surroundings looking different than normal, or not knowing how you actually got to where you are.
Being aware of this mechanism can help you realise that you are dreaming within the dream. This begins the lucid dream experience.
Here is the caveat:
From this point on, you would need to take on the role of maintaining the dream mechanism yourself.
What would you like to do?
Where would you like to go?
What would you like to create?
It is a good idea to be clear about what you wish to achieve with the state of expanded awareness before you enter it. A powerful method is to set a focused intention for an experience before going to sleep, and to simply have a sense of knowing that your intentions are being realised.
Here are four of the most common components that perpetuate dreams:
- A need to chase after something
- A need to run away from something
- A need to stay and search for something
- A need to stay and wait for something
Examples:
"There is an important appointment that I need to get to, but I can't seem to ever get there"
“They are chasing after me, no-matter where I go, I can’t seem to get away”
"I need an item to complete this task, I am looking in all the usual places, but I just can’t find it”
"There is an event that is scheduled to start soon, I wait and wait, but it never seems to happen"
Sounds familiar?
That's your own higher mind working hard to keep the dream going. This is a very valuable method that is able to mask any obvious inconsistencies, like the surroundings looking different than normal, or not knowing how you actually got to where you are.
Being aware of this mechanism can help you realise that you are dreaming within the dream. This begins the lucid dream experience.
Here is the caveat:
From this point on, you would need to take on the role of maintaining the dream mechanism yourself.
What would you like to do?
Where would you like to go?
What would you like to create?
It is a good idea to be clear about what you wish to achieve with the state of expanded awareness before you enter it. A powerful method is to set a focused intention for an experience before going to sleep, and to simply have a sense of knowing that your intentions are being realised.