A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming by Dylan Tuccillo, Jared Zeizel, Thomas Peisel Read Free Book Online Page A

treat it like a game, what could go wrong?
    How to Set an Intention
    You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an inner exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world.
    —Sheila Graham,
    gossip columnist during Hollywood’s “Golden Age,”
    never got over F. Scott Fitzgerald
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    A strong intention is filled with passion, what dream author
    Robert Moss calls “juice.” It should be soaked in electricity,
    powered by excitement. An intention is a bird in your stomach,
    fanning your flame with each flap of its wings. Stop for a moment
    and realize the profound nature of lucid dreaming. Imagine how
    incredible it would be to wake up in a dream, head into your own
    inner universe, to walk around and explore.
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    With complete self-reflection and conscious freedom, you can
    do anything you want. Excited yet? Follow these steps to set an
    effective intention—but remember that an intention isn’t a math-
    ematical equation, it’s a heartfelt desire.
    1.  Wording  is  key. To be most effective, an intention should be highly specific. Create short, powerful statements that focus your
    desire. These are commonly known as affirmations. Your affirma-
    tion should be clear and direct. If you say, for example, “I would
    like to someday learn the piano,” well then, someday you might. A
    specific version of that idea is, “On Tuesday I will start piano les-
    sons and learn scales before June.” Try phrasing your intention in
    the present tense as if it has already occurred. For example, before
    bed say to yourself, “I am lucid and aware in my dream.” Thinking
    in the present tense eliminates any doubt that your wish will come
    true.
    2. Feel it, see it. All you Harry Potter nerds out there know this spellbinding lesson: words are meaningless unless you actually feel
    them. “I will become lucid in my dreams tonight.” When you state
    your intention, picture your desire coming to fruition—actually
    imagine yourself in a dream realizing that it’s a dream. It might be
    helpful to think of a recurring dream that you have and pretend
    that you’re back in that very situation. Visualize the inner world
    that surrounds you. Feel what that sensation is like, that exciting
    “a-ha” moment: I’m lucid!
    Engage all five senses—imagine breathing dream air, flying,
    looking around. The more clearly you can imagine, the better.
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    When you were a kid, you played “make believe.” You probably
    imagined yourself battling dragons. By seeing the dragon in front
    of you, by feeling the excitement of the battle, by allowing yourself
    to be lost in that moment, it was real.
    3. Expectation. An advanced lucid dreamer doesn’t just go to sleep hoping that a spontaneous lucid dream will happen. Instead he
    goes to bed looking for a lucid dream. In other words, he expects
    to wake up in his dream that night. You sleep every night, and
    dream for about two hours. Multiply that digit by days and weeks
    and suddenly you’ve got a lot of practice time on your hands.
    4. Make it your dominant thought. Throughout this guide, we’ll
    often ask you to use an intention before bed. It’s important that
    these thoughts, feelings, and affirmations be the last things on
    your mind as you go to sleep. If you find yourself thinking about
    something else, simply let those thoughts go and gently bring your
    mind back to your focused intention. “I am lucid and aware in
    my dream.” Concentrate on your intention until sleep pulls you
    under. This way your desire will carry over into the dream world
    and produce the exact result you were hoping for.
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    GRATITUDE
    How  can  we  expect  something  will  happen  if  it  hasn’t  happened  already? 
    One word: gratitude. Feeling thankful before something happens is a very