You can enter the dream directly from waking without losing your consciousness (falling unconsciously asleep first). To witness entering the dream from the waking state is quite a spectacular event. The following method uses a precise scientific method that will work with your sleeping cycle and body chemistry to put your body to sleep while keeping your mind awake. You might think that this might be too difficult to do because you're so used to putting your mind and body to sleep simultaneously. That's why this method needs to be practiced in the early morning, when your mind already had some deep sleep so it is easier to keep it awake. With the technique described below your mind will be mostly hovering above the border between being awake and being asleep and sometimes you will gently dip in and out of sleep as you're practicing, not going too deep to loose consciousness for a long time as you'd have if you were practicing in the evening.
When you experience the borderline between being awake and being asleep, you may start hearing strange and even loud noises. I often hear micro-laud noises resembling dropping pot lids on the kitchen floor. If I don't move my body at this point, the noise turns into profound vibrations of my whole body and I know I am transitioning into the sleep land.
To best practice this method, you will have to wake up in the early morning after several hours of sleep, then stay up for about an hour and go back to bed. By breaking your sleep, you will need more overall undisturbed 'sleep' time for this so it is good to practice at weekends when you don't have to get up too early to leave for work. Even though this induction is the more challenging from the two main methods, direct induction is the most reliable step by step technique to learn how to lucid dream. It is also commonly regarded as Wake Back To Bed (WBTB) technique or WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dream).
Aid to induce sensory deprivation: earplugs and eye mask.
Going to bed – Go to bed as usual and set up your alarm to wake up after 6 hours. (or after 4.5 hours if your overall sleep time is usually 7hours or less). You can go over your Dream Action Plan and come out with some intention for your lucid dream that really excites you. If you are a beginner, just the expectation of entering a lucid dream should be exciting enough.
Breaking your sleep – Wake up with the alarm and make sure you get out of the bed. If you stay lying in your bed thinking 'I will meditate from here', you're likely to just doze off instead and the same pattern will happen in your dream – you will slip unconscious, far from becoming lucid. Engage in activities that are not too boring or too exciting. Also, try to avoid bright lights or a computer screen if you can. The best activities to do now are working on your Master Dream Action Plan, reading about lucid dreaming methods and it is the best time to do a meditation for about 30 minutes. Stay awake anywhere between 30 to 90 minutes before you go back to bed. Ideally, your body will feel sleepy again at this point but your mind excited and alert.
Returning back to bed – Once lying in bed again, assume your lucid dreaming position. Some research points out that the best position for lucid dreaming is on your right sight. Being too comfortable will make you lose your consciousness quickly and being uncomfortable will make you restless or unable to fall asleep. Try to be comfortable enough, perhaps positioning your body into some geometric shape which is a little different from your ordinary sleeping position.
Mind Awake Body Asleep – this is the crucial part of the induction. Follow these steps carefully so your body can fall asleep while your mind stays awake. Relax your body completely. Become aware of any tensions you have anywhere in your body and let go. Your skin receptors adapt rapidly to the stable environment. Your muscle receptors stop discharging once you relax your body and your pressure receptors stop after a while as you distribute the pressure evenly by lying on a soft mattress. <strong">Lie still without moving. Especially on the brink of sleeping/waking, your mind will send you a signal to see if you are still awake. Your body will interpret the signal as an urge to move, change position or stretch. DO NOT MOVE! Lie there as a corpse. Engage your mind in an activity that keeps you alert while relaxed. This can be compared to the quality of a cat waiting in front of a mouse hole. The cat is relaxed but ready and alert, waiting graciously for the mouse to appear. The point is to maintain the state of 'quiet readiness' – an alert state unlike the one you typically experience just before drifting off to sleep. Repeat your intention 'I'll be dreaming soon and I am still aware'. All lucid dreaming methods rely on a repetition of your intention. Of course your mind will wonder and you'll find yourself thinking of other things. Just bring your mind back to your visualisation and intention repetition. The more times you can remember to bring your mind back, the more likely you are to become aware just at the right point of the transition. So, rather than straining to keep a vehement continuity for 5 minutes, it is better to drift of and remember to come back 3 times. The 'remembering' is crucial here.