u/Altruistic_Clerk6643

Note :

While this guide focuses heavily on incubation, the goal is to use imagined environments, objects, elements and identities as a more fun trigger for lucidity, rather than relying on reality checks.

INTRODUCTION :

For many months, through my observations about my dreams and possibility to get lucid, I kept wondering same questions.

How to increase likelihood that I dream of what I wish ?

How to increase frequency of such dreams and lucid state ?

Tiring part was reality checks, which I used to do in high quantity daily, until it felt like a chore and not funny anymore, so I tried to find better ways, to not be dependant on them anymore.

I don't consider myself as an expert at lucid dreaming, despite I had many lucid or non lucid dreams that I incubated.

I'm still learning through this amazing journey.

This guide doesn't guarantee success, our lucid dreaming journey is highly personal and we're all different.

But paradoxically, despite our differences, our brains are all similar, share same architecture and biological processes, so I think those techniques have decent chances to work for anyone.

It appears I have found what works for me, each ways presented below can be used separately or mixed eachother, using more than one offer a great synergy which maximize chances of getting lucid dreams.

All techniques here use examples, such as liminal spaces, sword, wings, fictional character, animal... 

But remember, everything used as example here is optional, you can customize the techniques with anything you want.

SUMMARY :

- Fun above all 

- The Dreams RNG 

- Brain and dreams 

- Images collection 

- Sensory marking 

- Altered proprioception 

- Mental roleplay 

- Spatial memory focus 

- Script 

- Imagination 

- Night's immersion

- End

FUN ABOVE ALL 

Before we dive into techniques, it's very important to understand that each of them must be realized in a fun state.

If at any point, for some reason, you start to feel pressured, tired or bored with a technique, don't force yourself.

Rest, try something else or set the repetition and time to a comfortable level.

Having fun maintain nice emotions, those latter are like fuel to keep your brain interested, which ultimately increase your chances of success.

THE DREAMS RNG

Dreams seem to be naturally random, they're illogic, weird, sometimes horrific or mysterious.

That randomness is usually a hindrance to our endeavors, it can be frustrating.

I like to view this characteristic of dreams as a RNG, you can never be absolutely certain that a specific dream will occur tonight, you can only try to put chances in your favor.

It's annoying but that's part of the game, it become a little less annoying once we accept this.

BRAIN AND DREAMS

First, we must think about how brain create dreams, not in chemical scale but overall, what it use to make them.

For sure, it's something we already know, with all dreams we had so far, we already have a good idea of what content dreams display : memories, events, experiences, thoughts, emotions, feelings...

You ever watched a movie then dream about it few hours or days later ?

Or dreamed about your workplace ?

To create dreams, the brain feeds into content we been exposed to in reality.

But not only in reality, even our imagination can play a role.

A famous notion is called "The Continuity Hypothesis of dreaming", it suggest dreams are continuation of our waking life.

Here, we'll use this hypothesis at our advantage, in order to influence our dreams.

IMAGES COLLECTION 

Now that we know our brains use content we get when we're awake, we can try to help it render our dreams toward a certain aesthetic or ambience.

Let's use liminal spaces as an example.

Open your browser and type "liminal spaces".

You see all those images ?

Those are like assets, valuable elements that your eyes can see and your brain will process.

Now that you saw them, there's a slight chance that those spaces appear in your dream tonight.

Now look at those images every few hours, for 1 minute at once.

Everytime you do it, your brain receives this information, it notices the repetition, which creates an accumulation of sensory inputs.

Accumulation itself increases the chances that your next dream will be inspired by those images.

I used images for this technique because they're easily available and faster to consume, but you can use videos, music or sounds as well.

SENSORY MARKING 

When you associate something with a sense, brain will attach lot of importance to it.

An image can seem "cold and distant" in comparison, but a sensory event will make things twice more efficient, even if this event is imagined.

Close your eyes, think about a sword.

Don't imagine it, no visual, just think about it.

Now sniff the air around you, but not by searching a random scent, no, you're searching the scent of that sword.

Of course, there's high chances you won't smell a thing about the sword, but just act of trying is enough.

Your brain received that message.

It's been said sense of smell is closest one to the emotional parts of brain or that its information pass quickly before being interupted by logic related parts, it's a massive advantage.

Because there's no real sword in front of you but you keep doing this, your brain might start to slowly shift to your focus.

That's mean there's a possibility that you actually end by detecting an odor that you usually don't smell or never before.

In dreams, your brain will manifest that sword in order to align with your attention.

ALTERED PROPRIOCEPTION 

Proprioception is the perception of your body, the position of its parts and  movement of them.

And like the title of this part suggest, it's can be modified.

But now, you're probably asking why someone would want to modify this ?

Let's say you want to get a specific characteristic in a dream, but you want to remain sure this element have high chances to activate as soon you think about it.

We start with an example, today, you feel curious and want to know what it feel like to have wings.

Of course, you don't have wings.

And it's not an issue... All you have to do is keep this tiny little thought in your mind saying "I have wings on my back".

More than a thought, it's a focus.

Just right now, while you read this sentence, think about one of your ear.

You can keep your eyes on the words here and still feel your ear, right ?

Well, it's the same thing with your back and the wings now, maintain a focus about your back and the idea or possibility that it have wings, as if it's was real.

I'm not asking you to believe or truly think you have wings on your back, I'm asking you to just think about it.

No visual needed, no autosuggestion, just this thought passing by in your mind while you focus on that part of your body.

You don't have to maintain this thought too long, just few minutes every few hours if you want.

By doing this, you sent a clear message to your brain, it won't believes "wings are supposed to be there" because of course, it's impossible in reality.

But because you had such thought and focus, it make a difference, an absence of harmony that brain can't miss.

When creating your dream, you brain will make those wings able to be felt and used very easily, as if you always had them.

MENTAL ROLEPLAY 

Have you ever been someone else in a dream ?

A fictional or real person ?

Sometimes, we can dream without experiencing our real identity.

In dreams, the brain seems to be able to easily switch between identities and personalities, this is what we'll harness now.

But first, we must understand why it's important.

Is there anything, a skill, a wish, a super-power that you tried to get in dreams, but it either doesn't work or you struggle ?

We tend to say it's because our expectations play with the dreams, it's true.

However there's another thing we can do to change our expectations faster, such as mental roleplay.

This skill you can't have ?

This wish you can't fulfill ?

This super-power you can't get ?

Forget about them for a moment, just think about a person, real or fictional, better if it's someone you like.

Does this person have skills that you don't have in reality ?

Or things that you wish to express but that they have in a higher intensity in their behavior ?

Are those things intuitive, intellectual, wise ?

Or it is fantastic, powerful, spectacular ?

Now, you're that person.

Yes, just now, for the time being while you're reading this section, let yourself think that you're someone else.

Let this thought occupy your brain, just a tiny space where it wander.

Now let's use a mage as an example.

When I see word "mage", I think about magic, spells, mastery, fantasy, tales, epic, fictions.

More than a word, it also embody several fictional characters, either in books, movies, series, animes...

Let's take for example a famous one, Frieren.

You're Frieren now.

Of course, it's impossible, we know well you aren't and Frieren is a fictional character from a manga.

This technique is similar to altered proprioception, point isn't to believe something, it's to keep a slight thought in your brain, long and often enough until your brain catch it and say "Oh, alright we're Frieren now".

Your brain can't decide in reality that you're Frieren, because it know it's impossible, you have a deep and real identity.

But because it create an absence of harmony with your real identity, brain will have no choice but to correct this in your dreams.

And after a while of repeating this, once you will dream, you might feel like you're not yourself anymore, but a mage named "Frieren" instead.

Now you're maybe wondering why I choose Frieren ?

Well, you remember that skill you can't have, that wish you can't fulfill and that super-power you can't get ?

If you're Frieren in your dream, there's high chances that you will finally succeed to get your skill, wish and super-power.

Before all this, maybe you had to train and force yourself to believe in order to make certain things work in dream, but now that your brain added a new identity it will make your skills and abilities aligned to such identity.

Basically it's like your brain downloaded all the character's personality, skills and abilities for you.

The more you know the character you want to be in dreams, the better this technique will work.

You can even invent your own role.

SPATIAL MEMORY FOCUS

This technique is like altered proprioception and mental roleplay but with an emphasis on keeping memory of elements around you.

It's very simple, look at one thing just in front of you, whatever it is, table, television, bed, wall, window...

Now direct your eyes elsewhere.

Then close your eyes.

Despite your eyes were looking elsewhere and then were closed, you still know the thing was present in front of you, that's spatial memory.

Now think that a fox is around you.

There's no fox, but continue to keep this thought.

During your daytime, while doing your tasks, let this thought inside your brain.

As if the fox is following you wherever you go.

Everytime you do this, your brain activates same parts it would have done for a real animal.

When you will dream, you're now more likely to be followed by a fox.

And if you do this very often, that fox have chances to be recurring in your dreams, i.e. it will start to be persistent.

SCRIPT

Do you like to write ?

Maybe you don't, and it's okay.

Writting is a creative activity, and if you write about things you wish to do, your brain will definitely like it, especially if those things are about dreams.

Today you have an epic idea for a dream plot.

You want to fight a dragon with a magic sword.

Maybe you're thinking "Wait, isn't that's too short for a plot ?".

Well yes, but actually it's better if we start to write simple things before diving into more elaborate plots.

Don't forget that your brain is learning too, it's a gradual process.

So, take a notebook or open your app notes, and write "I fight a powerful dragon with a magic sword".

Now read this sentence, just one time, daily.

Reading it alone is a "cold process", i.e. to make it more important to your brain, additionally to writing and reading, you must at least use one of techniques presented in this guide.

But just because you wrote it, it already created an idea in your brain, a desire, a wish.

And now there's a chance that your next dream involve a situation where you fight a dragon.

Oh, now you want something more complete ?

Okay, you want to get the real deal, alright.

But beware, longer it is, lower will be chances that brain display everything you wanted, there's likely some limitations, but it's worth the try.

Here's an example of what you can write.

Synopsis :

You're a famous knight of great country, traveling with your magic cat and accomplishing quests given by the King.

However during your adventure, you discover a mysterious withered flower field, figuring out it has been done deliberately, your investigations lead you to an evil organization funded by an enemy country.

Your mission is to uncover secrets of the organization, defeat its members and prevent an upcoming war between the two nations.

Equipment :

Magic sword

Bag of wisdom (3 slots inventory)

Strength spell 

Your super-powers :

Telepathy

Fire breath

Teleportation

It's way more than a single sentence, right ?

But because there's more information, it's more likely that some information won't be added in the dream.

Not because your brain didn't record them but simply because it's not a perfect system, it might filter out and only show what's enough to keep immersion.

IMAGINATION 

Our ability to imagine is a great advantage, and everything we daydream about is done and recorded by the brain.

Which mean even imagination can influence our dreams.

Close your eyes.

Imagine that you're in a beautiful landscape, maybe flying over a city, or fighting a giant chicken.

If you can't see anything but just eigengrau, despite really trying, you might have aphantasia, a condition in which one is unable to visualize mental images.

For those who have this condition, it's better if you try another technique of this guide.

For those who can see something with their mind's eye, keep your eyes closed.

Let's say you want a dream where you fight a giant chicken.

Visualize the fight, attacks, dodges, explosions, destruction...

But stay alert !

In your brain, keep the following thought : you're in a dream, what you see is not real.

Let this thought remain constant during all duration of your visualization, nevermind how action packed it is or how amazed you feel, you must keep this thought.

Your imagination is not so different from your dreams, you have more control, agency, but less vividness.

If you have a high vividness, so Hyperphantasia, then this technique is perfect for you.

So let's get back on this chicken fight.

What you do here is a training, preparing yourself for the upcoming dream.

Any moves you do, any attacks, any actions you imagine is more likely to occur in your dream.

Because you train yourself to maintain a state of lucidity in your imagination, that state will also be present in the dream.

NIGHT'S IMMERSION 

Finally, we're here.

Last technique, it's likely easiest one to add in your schedule because it's only done at night.

Tonight, you want to have a dream where you're walking in a moonbase.

Lie down comfortably on your bed, close your eyes, you can imagine if you want but most of this technique is about thinking.

Here's the following thought : 

You are not in bed.

You're standing, in a corridor.

Waiting calmly the start of your mission in the base.

Obviously, you know it's not true, you're really on your bed, not in the moon.

But due to you keeping this thought, your brain now have two contradictory information to deal with, "We're on the bed" and "We're on the moon".

Brain doesn't like contradictions, and will do everything possible to correct this.

As you fall asleep with this thought, there's two possibilities, you don't dream about the moon or you actually dream of it.

Of course it's not a chance of 50 %, but thought alone created this possibility now, regardless of how low that chance might be.

If you repeat this night after night, chances increase, brain will see a repetition and align with your thought.

And because this event happened at night, it's one of last things your brain recorded before you sleep, which make your thought closer to get in your dream and shape it.

END

Since the brain often keeps us in a non lucid state, there's a possibility that after trying one or several techniques, you get the dream you wanted but without lucidity.

Such dream might be very satisfying but if your goal is lucidity, then I recommend to add "x thing makes me lucid" in your thoughts, regardless of which technique used, or especially to train this state with "imagination" part.

That's all, if you read all of this, thank you for your attention.

I hope one of those techniques interested you and that your journey will be filled with success.

TL;DR :

Guide for lucid dreams and incubation, you can choose any techniques or mix them eachother.

This text rely on brain ability to adapt to our thoughts and repeated actions, until those iterations influence the dreams.

Yeah, I did it.

Okay, you're probably wondering why I tried this, I'll give context.

Beware, it's a very long dream report.

As a disclaimer, I never took this substance in real life, so I thought dreaming can be an opportunity to see how my mind view its effects.

This post is only about exploring how my subconscious can simulate altered states of mind.

Context :

First, let's rewind time, almost 2 weeks ago, in a different lucid dream, a character gave me 4 pills of LSD, after I exchanged them with bread, but I didn't had time to actually test them, dream ended shortly after this event.

Overtime, my idea changed to "Let's make a dream character give one LSD pill to me instead", I wanted safety, so I chose a recurring character that fit the best for this experiment, a scientist.

Spent half day saying "Scientist give me a LSD pill" after each reality check.

Only thing I forgot to do was to read Wikipedia page about it before going to sleep.

Dream

- Scene 1

Daytime, I'm at work, but realizing it's a dream after doing my reality check, I'm searching the scientist.

There's many people, I see a person with white lab coat, not sure if it's really her but person give me one pill.

Wasting no time, I eat it, hearing it crunch between my teeth, then I summon the 3 other pills and think "You know what ? Let's go all in !", I eat them too.

At this time, I'm still lucid, so I guess that's why I went all in like this, I thought it's would be funny to try.

- Scene 2 

It taste like sour candy, it's not exactly comfortable but not unbearable either.

Suddently, as I eat, my surroundings start to distort, colors change, they become brighter, and I'm losing proprioception.

I don't feel being myself anymore, as if I had no body but was just watching a scene in front of me.

It's a weird feeling, I have no body but I feel that I'm living the scene.

My sight start to spin, and despite I have no body anymore, I can feel warmth and nice, it's comfortable.

Feel like I'm everything and nothing at same time.

I stare at the sun, don't feel any issue with my eyes, and more I stare at it, more I merge with it, I see myself being the sun, yeah literally, I'm the sun, but not in a cosmic way, because I can still see the sky around me, it's amazing.

- Scene 3

It's nighttime now, I'm walking inside a train, I meet Makima and shoot her.

(For those who don't know, it's a character from Chainsaw Man manga)

But I decide to step back, and shoot her again, because I must be sure she's dead.

And I don't even use gun to shoot, no, I use my index finger.

Meanwhile passengers are screaming.

Still walking in train, I notice the Joker, he's looking at me while laughing.

Then we walk together is while he prepare a plan to make me escape from police, he want me to jump in another train while this one is still running.

Other train run beside our, it's an older one, looking like steam train, I jump in and scene change.

- Scene 4 

I'm outside, daytime, flying and looking at a train running below me.

Apparently train been hijacked, probably because Joker is having fun.

I fly as fast as possible, focus all my intention, direct my hands towards the train, using telekinesis and stop it just in time, avoiding trains crash.

For some reason, train transform into giant rings which fall on water, so I dive to get them back.

A helicopter get me with a rope while the news are talking about me, saying I saved the day, I see a crowd cheering.

- Scene 5

I'm inside my home, it's nighttime, I jump from a window and fly with my magic staff.

I see a level crossing, barriers come down as I hear a bell indicating that a train is approaching.

People are waiting to pass, I see a train coming and try to stop it with my telekinesis but train is way too fast, it doesn't stop in station and oddly, pass in a way outside barriers but doesn't harm anyone.

Now another strange thing occure, there's many cars passing by in the way trains are supposed to pass, in the train tracks, as if it's was a highway instead, and people are now impatient.

So I have to yell to them "no, it's not right time !", "stop !", "wait !", but they're so impatient and try to pass without listening to me, that I have no choice but use my magic staff.

Summoning spheres to catch and get people back safe, even make a grand rectangular barrier appear out of thin air to make them unable to force the way.

(I conditioned my magic staff's spells irl, but barrier wasn't planned, not first time this staff get new abilities)

It's getting kinda annoying so I have another idea, I focus intensively while looking at cars, at left and right, and suddently they stop and do weird metallic noises, as if their engine got an issue.

Yelling "Alright, now pass !", people start to move, while I notice there's seconds counter on each cars, displaying how many seconds since they're stuck, it look like a video game feature.

- Scene 6 

I run and observe my surroundings, some people are fighting eachother, there's criminals around.

My alarm clock radio is ringing, it's still nighttime in dream, I guess maybe it's already bright morning irl, but I ignored it and alarm stopped after few seconds. 

(Actually, there was not set alarm irl)

I'm now Batman, jumping on a high spot where the walls look like broccoli, I see some villains and defeat them swiftly.

Go to see statues, both depict my magic staff, one made of stone, and other in wood, finally, I wake up.

Well, that's was a very fun dream, glad I didn't got a bad trip, not sure if taking the substance modified the whole dream or only a single scene.

TL;DR : Got lucid, took LSD in dream, and felt trippy, it went well and continued with action packed scenes.