23. Lucid Dream Backup
The training exercises given in this book, especially the energetic
development work, will heighten your dream, lucid dream, and
spontaneous OBE activity considerably. It is a shame to waste all
this energy on uncontrolled dreams, so I suggest that you use a
lucid dream technique as a backup and secondary goal.
provide some out-of-body experience by way of lucid dreaming and
will help keep interest high until you succeed at having an OBE.
A lucid dream is a genuine type of OBE, although the dimensional
gate traveled through to achieve it is best thought of as being
internal. And while it doesn't work for everyone, a lucid dream can
often be converted into a real-time OBE by feeling for the physical
body and returning to it, or near to it. It is also sometimes
possible to project from a lucid dream into the astral planes by
imagining and targeting an astral destination.
Everyone dreams when asleep and most people remember some dreams, if
only the occasional fragment. Some people claim they never dream,
but they really mean they just don't remember their dreams. Dreaming
is commonplace, but there is much more to dreaming than meets the
eye. For most people, dreams are their only connection with the
greater universe and their spiritual roots.
I think of dreaming as a natural internal energetic process of the
mind. Free of the constraints of normal waking consciousness, the
subconscious mind takes over, reflecting thoughts and fantasies and
creative energies into the mind's eye of the sleeping but never
totally dormant mind. The dreaming process can be thought of as
something like an energetically generated personal dream space,
infinite in size and scope, inside me human mind. The brow center is
energized during sleep, creating and hosting the dream environment,
a personal dream space that also connects the human incarnation with
its original animating spirit mind, the higher self. The mind's eye
can be thought of as a personal link to other dimensions, a doorway
to the great beyond.
As the physical body and mind fall asleep, a copy of consciousness
is reflected into the etheric body, and from there into the
projectable double as it is generated, and later into the astral and
higher subtle bodies. While this is happening, the physical/etheric
copy of the mind begins sliding toward another type of projection,
an internal projection into the dream environment.
At the start of the process, while falling asleep, the physical/etheric
mind begins losing the strength of will to form coherent and logical
thought patterns. It slowly loses itself among wandering fragments
of thought and subconscious impressions. It loses touch with reality
and begins to experience dreams, some of which appear to be
generated by the subconscious mind. This is part of a fairly
well-known natural process whereby the mind works at solving
problems and internal conflicts. It plays out dream scenarios and
situations, and lives these internally within the safety of the
dream environment. This helps the mind find peace and balance in a
I think dream environments are simply other dimensions, dream
dimensions that are reached via an internal mental gateway. All the
action therein is played out in the mind's eye of the dreamer, or is
reflected into it. Dream dimensions can be every bit as real and
infinite in size and scope as any other dimension or parallel
universe. Just as you cannot point to the astral dimension, so you
cannot point to a dream dimension.
I consider all nonphysical
dimensions to be subtly related alternative gateways into related
and possibly even interconnected dimensions.
With a normal lucid dream, full waking consciousness returns to you
at some point during the course of a dream. You suddenly become
aware you are dreaming, effectively waking up inside the dream
environment. You can then take some measure of control over the
dream scenario and over the course of events.
Lucid dreams differ from OBEs in that they often seem much more
substantial and realistic. A powerful lucid dream can be
indistinguishable from reality, even if entered from the full waking
state. A lucid dreamer is much more aware than a real-time or astral
projector of having something like a physical body. Lucid dreamers
often experience physical sensations like gravity, texture,
temperature, taste, pleasure and pain. These sensations are
generated by the subconscious mind from similar remembered
experiences. The more powerful the lucid dream, the more real these
Lucid dreaming, real-time projections, and astral projections share
a fair bit of common ground. The dreamer's center of conscious
awareness often flicks back and forth many times between these
states during a single experience. Often, more than one type of
experience is perceived or remembered as happening simultaneously.
This is caused by different aspects of the mind-split intruding on
each other during the eventual shadow memory download at the end of
This causes a confusing set of mixed memories, being
part dream, part lucid dream, part real-time OBE, and part astral
To become lucid, you need to program your mind with a trigger to
make you realize you are dreaming, so that you can take control. The
best way is by forming the habit of frequent reality checks.
(Reality checking also works with spontaneous OBE.)
It takes time
and perseverance to make reality checking a habitual action, and it
will not work until it becomes habitual. But once it does, lucid
dreams or spontaneous OBEs can be experienced just about every
night, even many times each night. Because of this, reality checking
is well worth the effort.
Program yourself to stop what you are doing for a moment, in real
life, and check the reality of your current situation. This is very
quick and simple to do, but must be done regularly, many times each
day, for it to become a habitual action. The reality-checking habit
must become a habitual response to a frequent real-life event.
time you do a reality check, look around and ask yourself
Is this situation normal?
Do my surroundings look normal?
Do my hands look normal?
Can I float, levitate, or fly?
The key to effective reality checking is a simple trigger. This
trigger must be a frequent action or event that can be used several
times each day. The idea is to isolate a simple action and program
yourself to habitually react to this event by doing a reality check
every time it happens. For example, every time you have a drink
during the day, do a reality check.
A few ideas for reality-check
Hands: Every time you notice or wash your hands
Drink: Every time you have a drink
Toilet: Every time you go to the toilet
Time: Every time you check the time or time is mentioned
Food: Every time you eat something
Whichever primary trigger you choose, it is a good idea to in-dude
drinking and going to the toilet as fixed reality-check situations.
These both involve urges in the physical body and both of these
urges can be felt quite strongly from within the dream or projected
state. Most people get at least one of these urges during sleep
every night. These urges often lead to false awakenings, where
dreamers or projectors wander off to get a drink or go to the
toilet, or both, not knowing they are actually out of body. They
often go through the motions of drinking or of starting to empty
their bladder, with their physical body still asleep in bed.
So, every time you go to the toilet, turn the light switch on and
off twice, to check that it is working normally. If you are
projecting in real time (a false awakening), the light switch may
sound as if it clicks, but the light will not go on and off and the
switch will not actually move. Try passing your hand through the
wall or some other solid object. Check your hands to see if they
look normal, or if they melt.
If you find yourself outside using a tree or a bush, which often
happens when the urge to urinate is felt within a dream or OBE,
check the reality of the situation before continuing. If the
physical body needs to urinate and this wakes you up inside a dream
or OBE, you can fight this urge and continue the experience for
several minutes or so, before being pulled back into your physical
Alternatively, feel for your body and project back into it, then get
up and go to the toilet while holding on to as much of your deeply
relaxed state as possible. Jot down a quick outline of your
experience, just a few keywords before returning to bed. When you
get back into bed, you will often be able to slip straight back into
the dream or OBE state to continue where you left off.
morning, use your notes to help reclaim shadow memories of further
Hunger and Thirst
It is possible to use the hunger and thirst urges to cause lucidity
during dreams. It is also possible to use this to wake yourself up
during an OBE, or even to cause a false awakening. A false awakening
is a short real-time OBE, in which the projectors believe they are
awake instead of projecting. The thirst and hunger urges are quite
strongly felt from within all these states, and will often make the
dream or projected double go for a drink or a snack.
The first step is to program yourself to do a habitual reality check
whenever you have a drink. Note if the fluid you are drinking is
actually moistening your throat and slaking your thirst. If you are
dreaming or projecting, no amount of fluid will do this and you will
find yourself drinking a ridiculous quantity of fluid in an attempt
to do so. The next step is to deny yourself fluids, and/or food, for
a few hours before going to bed.
Place a large glass of water and
some food on a tray in your room. Put these well out of reach on the
far side of the room. Behind this food and drink, place a large
piece of white paper on which is printed clearly, "You are having an OBE!" or "Do a reality check NOW!" Make sure you only put this sign
up before retiring or you will get so used to it being there, you
will not pay any attention to it during an OBE.
If you try to consume this food and drink during a dream, you'll
find yourself eating and drinking dream copies of the originals.
These will look and feel and taste the same but will not slake
thirst nor satisfy hunger. This discrepancy can be used as a
trigger. Normally, if you try to consume these during an OBE or
false awakening, your hands will pass through it. The sign will
alert you to the fact that you are having an OBE. When this happens,
it is a good idea to reenter your physical body and write down what
happened. Then return to sleep and try to repeat the OBE or false
Sometimes, though, a projector's subconscious creative ability will
automatically mask many aspects of the out-of-body environment.
Unaware real-time projectors may inadvertently create copies of food
and drink. As with dreaming, these will not satisfy hunger or
This discrepancy, again, can be used to trigger realization
that an OBE is in progress.
Affirmations are repeated sayings used to program the subconscious
mind. These are most effective if said just before falling asleep.
Before you go to sleep each night say, "I will remember to do my
reality check!" replacing the words "do my reality check" with
whatever your primary reality check really is - for example, "I will
remember to look at my hands!" Do this twenty times or more before
falling sleep. Concentrate on the content and meaning of what you
are saying; do not just rattle it off parrot fashion. The whole idea
behind this affirmation is to convince your subconscious to remind
you to do your reality check during a lucid dream or OBE.
Remembering a Lucid Dream
After a successful reality check during a dream or OBE, you will
suddenly realize you are lucid dreaming or having an OBE. Stay calm!
Strong emotions like excitement can ruin an experience by waking you
up in your physical body. Once you become aware, you can take
control of the situation and continue from there.
Once lucid, it is important to begin affirming to yourself that you
are going to remember everything. This greatly improves your chances
of remembering the experience. Tell yourself repeatedly, "I will
remember everything!" Another excellent way of strengthening this
memory is to give a constant running commentary throughout the
Speak aloud to yourself, describing everything you see
and do at all times, but still regularly affirm you will remember
Exit Symptoms within Dreams
It is quite common for a dreamer to experience the energetic
sensations associated with a projection exit (vibrations, rapid
heartbeat, falling sensation, etc.) from within the dream state.
These sensations will often trigger the lucid dream state, making
you suddenly aware of your situation. But the transfer from one
out-of-body level to another, say from real-time to the astral
planes, is not accompanied by the same energetic sensations as a
normal conscious-exit projection.
You may perceive yourself to be
having a spontaneous OBE exit, and feel all the normal sensations,
especially if you have been trying to cause a real OBE exit earlier.
You may even be dreaming that you are in the process of attempting a
conscious-exit OBE, which is not uncommon.
If you become
aware of projection-related symptoms during a dream or lucid
dream, keep calm and do not fight them. You will experience
something very much like a conscious-exit projection, but it will
be your dream body experiencing it. Projection sensations felt
within a dream, while they can be quite strong, are always much less
alarming than they might be in the physical body. Most people will
feel only vibrations, partial paralysis, and a floating sensation,
as if they are levitating within their dream.
They may not, however,
realize they are dreaming at this time; more usually they will not.
Position Effects on Lucid Dreaming and OBE
The resting position of the physical body can have quite an effect
on whether an OBE or lucid dream is achieved. I find that I cannot
make a conscious exit while lying on my side. I must be either
sitting, reclining, or lying flat on my back. If I lie on my left
side, I tend to project directly into a lucid dream. Lying on my
right side does not encourage me to sleep or anything else, and if I
do manage to fall asleep, it is usually dreamless.
While the resting
positions given above may not affect everyone in exactly the same
way, I suggest that their potential effects be explored.
Lucid Dream Projection
One of the most powerful experiences I know of results from
deliberately projecting into a lucid dream environment from the full
waking state, with no break in consciousness. I call this
mind-blowing experience lucid dream projection, although others have
also called it WILD (wake induced lucid dream). Although this is
technically a lucid dream, it can aptly be called the ultimate
out-of-body experience as it has many similarities with a
A lucid dream projection is essentially no different from a
conscious-exit projection. Both cause the same clarity of
perception, that of operating remotely from the true physical body.
The only difference of note is that lucid dream projections are far
more realistic and true to life than are projections or normal lucid
dreams. Sensations like gravity, the weight and feel of the physical
body, its ability to taste and smell and feel pleasure and pain, the
limitations of solid matter, the feeling of temperature, etc., are
all indistinguishable from true-life perceptions.
Lucid dream projection is particularly useful when OBE attempts
continually fail on the verge of the exit. All that is required is
to make a normal projection attempt. If this fails, or if you get
apprehensive and do not want to go through with the full exit,
simply stop what you are doing and try for a lucid dream projection
instead. All the deep physical relaxation and energetic preparation
for the projection attempt can be used to power a lucid dream
After almost triggering the projection reflex, simply snuggle down
into your most comfortable, sleep-inducing position. Relax into
yourself as if in the process of falling asleep. If your first
position does not provide the desired results, try other positions
during future attempts. Stay tranced and mentally focused while
allowing yourself to drift right up to the edge of sleep. Gently
observe yourself mentally while imagining a target dream
Hold this target firmly in mind and allow yourself to
drift off into yourself, as if drifting off to sleep.
If all goes well, you will slip directly into your target scenario.
You will find yourself suddenly standing there fully conscious.
There will be a definite continuance of waking consciousness, with
no break in it at all, just as occurs with a normal conscious-exit
projection. You will not just fall asleep and wake up there, you
will project there directly from the waking state. The transition is
sudden and breathtaking. You will feel as if you have suddenly
slipped through a curtain into the dream environment while fully
Your target dream scenario can be anything you like, but I strongly
recommend a large department store or shopping mall scene that you
know personally. For some reason, this scenario makes lucid dream
projection much easier to achieve. I have no idea why this works
but, what works... works.
Remember a scene from a store or mall with which you are familiar.
Construct this scenario in your imagination until you have a clear
feel and imagined view of it in your mind's eye. It also helps if
you name your lucid dream's staging scene. Vocalize the target's
name in your mind as you imagine its image while attempting to
project there. Image this scene in your mind's eye and silently but
continually repeat its name, as you allow yourself to slide deeper
and deeper into yourself and toward the target environment.
Once you appear at the target, try not to get distracted. Plan to
move out of the store and into the mall, if you are not already
there. Keep moving. Walk through the mall and look for a door or an
elevator. Either of these should take you to another environment, if
you want to leave the mail. Avoid sexual thoughts at all times, as
this will severely affect the quality and duration of the whole
Before you open a door, imagine and expect to find the environment
you want, or a way leading to it, on the other side. Hold this image
and intention firmly in mind as you open each door. If this fails,
go back inside the mall and find an elevator. Ask a dream character
where the nearest one is if you cannot find one. Once inside the
elevator, press a button and imagine your chosen destination; hold
this and its name firmly in mind as the elevator moves. Expect to
find this destination or a way leading to it when the elevator stops
and the doors open. If this does not work, try other floors at
random. If this fails entirely or you get lost, find a door leading
out of the mall completely and follow your instincts from there on.
Once you know where the elevator is, or where a convenient door is,
you can return to it during future excursions. From there, you can
quickly navigate wherever you wish. If you cannot think of a
destination, either spend some time creating one in your imagination
before the lucid dream projection, or explore at random.
often you use the mall as a staging area, the easier and more
reliable lucid dream projection will become.
Lucid Dream Projection - Experience
The true differences between a lucid dream and an OBE only become
fully apparent if both are experienced very close together, which
allows a fair comparison. Studying case histories simply does not
provide enough data to allow this.
The following account of my first
lucid dream projection shows the effects of the resting position,
while also highlighting what are some fairly obvious differences
between lucid dream projections, OBEs, and normal lucid dreams.
I awoke at about two in the morning, lying on my back with my whole
body vibrating. I could feel myself about to spontaneously project.
My arms and legs were already starting to float out. However, I did
not want to project. I was tired and had a busy day ahead of me, and
just wanted to go back to sleep. I'd been having a very interesting
dream up until then and wanted to go back into it if I could.
heavy and sluggish but managed to roll onto my left side. The
vibrations stopped immediately and the heavy sinking feeling soon
left me. Happy now, I snuggled down and relaxed back into myself,
concentrating on the dreamscape I had just left and the name I had
given it: "Advantage". I hoped this would take me back into it, as
this trick often seemed to work.
After only a few seconds, I popped directly into the dream I'd left
earlier. The transition was breathtaking. There was a full
continuance of waking consciousness. I did not fall asleep and then
wake up within the dream, but projected directly into it from the
full waking state. I suddenly appeared in a busy, brightly lit
department store, just like the one I'd been dreaming of earlier.
In front of me, a dark-haired young woman was setting up a dining
room display. I saw people everywhere, shopping, serving, packing
shelves, etc. Everything looked and felt real, stable, and solid. It
was simply mind-blowing! I jumped up and down few times to feel the
weight of my body, then pinched myself, "Ouch!" This hurt just as it
would in real life, and my body weight felt normal. I was fully
dressed and could even feel the texture of my socks when I wiggled
my toes inside my shoes.
I glanced at my hands. They looked normal and did not melt. I tried
creating an apple in my hand, but nothing happened. The dreamscape I
was in did not waver in the slightest. Curious, I thought, in a
normal lucid dream the environment can be altered and anything can
be created by imagining it. Regardless, I was fully aware that I was
I walked over to the young woman and asked her what she was doing.
She told me they were getting ready for the big day, whatever that
was. I picked up a large vase of flowers from the table in the
middle of her furniture setting. The china felt like real china and
the flowers smelled like real flowers. I pulled a rose petal off and
ate it. It tasted dry, scented, and faintly bitter, just as a rose
petal should taste, but the taste did not linger in my mouth as it
normally would, I tipped the vase and splashed some of the water
into my hand. It felt cold and wet, just like real water.
I braced myself, hoping that I was truly inside a lucid dream as I
believed. I yanked the linen tablecloth from under the main table
setting in the display. It almost worked, but the vase and a couple
of plates smashed noisily on the floor. A few people looked, but no
one seemed to care about the breakage, not even the shop assistant
whose display I had just ruined. She went on unpacking and arranging
things as if nothing had happened, shaking out another linen
tablecloth as she busied herself resetting the table.
More confident now, I walked down an aisle and pushed over several
large pieces of cheap-looking pottery from the top shelf, one at a
time. I looked around to see if anyone noticed. These made very loud
smashing sounds and broken pieces flew in all directions. A few
people looked over, but no one seemed to care. Reassured by this, I
walked over to the checkouts and jumped up onto one of the benches.
A few people looked at me, but no one seemed to care and no one said
I slipped back into my body and rolled onto my back thinking, "Wow!
That was incredible ... so real!"
I fought to control my excitement
and settled back into myself again, trying to get back into the
dream. This was getting really interesting. I held the store and its
name in mind again and tried to sink back into it, but to no avail.
The vibrations started up again and I felt myself starting to
project. This time the projection reflex caught hold and buzzed me
out of my body. I came to rest at the foot of my bed. The house was
dim and quiet as I floated around my bedroom deciding what to do. I
took a quick look at my hands. They looked strangely elongated and
started melting away.
Not wanting to continue the OBE, I dove back into my body and opened
my eyes. I lay there for a moment, then closed my eyes and tried to
get back into the dream. The vibrations started up again and another
wave of falling, floating heaviness came over me as I started
projecting again. I fought it off and rolled over onto my right
side. The projection symptoms stopped, but I couldn't get back into
my dream. I rolled over onto my left side and settled back into
myself again. This position felt much better. Holding the image and
name of the dreamscape in mind again, I soon found myself back
I reappeared in the store where I had started during my last visit,
several minutes ago. The same shop assistant was busily setting up
the same dining display. The vase I'd broken earlier was whole again
and back on the table where it had been earlier. I walked through
the store, looking for signs of damage from my earlier visit.
Everything I had broken earlier was whole and back on the shelves
again. It was like nothing had ever happened. This was incredible!
No matter what I did, the scenario restored itself.
I slipped back into my body again and rolled over to my back, trying
to settle myself and get back into my dream. I think my excitement
had interrupted it. The vibrations started again, so I rolled over
to my left side again. I was getting the hang of this now, and
realized that projecting into the dream was much easier from my left
side. Settling back into myself and holding the store's image and
name in my mind again, I slipped back into the store.
normal and I was back where I had originally started from again,
with the same young lady busily setting up her dining display. She
looked up and smiled as I waved, then happily went about her work. I
decided to explore further afield before anything else happened, and
walked out past the service desk into the mall.
I walked for some time, exploring the huge mall. There were a fair
number of people around. Everyone seemed very busy shopping, or
preoccupied with whatever they were doing. Of note, all the children
I saw were very quiet and well behaved, walking like polite little
robots beside their mothers. There was some light background organ
music playing and the usual noise of people quietly bustling about.
A few people were talking on telephones here and there, but no one
seemed to be chatting or talking to each other. People answered when
questioned, but their replies were uninteresting and not very
helpful. It seemed impossible to start a conversation that did not
involve talking about the person's immediate task at hand.
Everyone seemed to lack personality, like background characters in a
movie. On the surface this dreamscape was incredibly real, maybe too
real, but beneath the surface it lacked something. This looked like
real life, but was definitely not the same type of real life I am
I had decided to look for a way out of the mall and do some further
exploring when I suddenly felt weak and heavy. The strength flowed
out of me and I felt like I was moving in slow motion. My legs
floated slowly upward as I fell ever so slowly to the floor,
settling there weak and paralyzed. People stepped over and around me
as I lay there, but no one paid any attention to me. I felt like a
child's balloon bobbing about on the floor. I was weak and heavy and
could no longer feel the normal weight of my body, nor could I feel
the floor beneath me.
I slipped back into my body again, coming wide awake this time. I
rolled over to my back and lay there pondering the significance of
these experiences. The vibrations did not start up this time,
probably because I was pretty much wide awake now. It was obvious to
me that my resting position had been affecting the different types
of experiences I'd been having. I was far too excited and wide awake
by now to do any kind of further exploration with this phenomenon,
so I gave up and went to get a drink and record this experience in
The type of paralysis that occurred at the end of the above
experience generally indicates the physical body and mind are either
too awake, too tense, or in the process of waking up.
Tension in the
physical body will disempower, and often paralyze, any subtle bodies
that are active at the time.