1. A highly active REM-state, and
2. Critical thinking for recognizing when a dream is likely occurring and for testing if this is so.

Many of the activities and practices that support lucid dream induction affect both of these necessary criteria.

• Dreams did not necessarily evolve to be remembered by the conscious mind. Motor memory is more useful for the rapid detection and appropriate reaction to life-threatening events in the environment. When children rehearse running away from the boogeyman in dreams, or the danger associated with being near cliffs, they do not have to remember these practices explicitly, it is sufficient – or even preferable – to form implicit memories of dreams. That we can recall dreams is another story and probably the result of having enormous brains and a capacity for conscious recall.
• Because dreams specialize in what I call the “F’s,” we can anticipate what type of events are likely to be dreams – even while we are in dreams. The F’s include falling, fighting, fleeing, failures, fortunes (usually mis-fortunes), fornicating, and sometimes feeding and even flying. In early childhood dreams, flying is often a means to escape. Food dreams are usually triggered by actual hunger. Fleeing is more common than fighting, depending on your personality, and failures and misfortunes are rampant in dreams.
• Certain waking situations are interpreted by the dream-system as particularly threatening and are likely to be accompanied by strong, disturbing dreams. These include: the participation in new activities with unknown consequences, sleeping in unusual places (even a room in your house you normally do not sleep in), challenging deadlines, interpersonal conflicts, and anything that reminds you of a past difficulty. Being sleep deprived is seen as a threat because in our ancient environment the only things that would have kept us up excessively would have been threats to our well-being.
• The dreaming brain needs to have the ability to experience realistic models of reality and it evolved as a simulation system that normally does not recognize it is in a simulation. In order for dreams to seem as if they are really happening, so that we can practice in a manner consistent with really fighting for our lives, certain critical thinking areas of the brain are normally “shut off” during dreaming. This lack of critical thinking in normal dreams is responsible for “change blindness” in dreams and our acceptance of all sorts of weirdness and incongruities that we would hopefully recognize if awake. The trick to lucid dreaming is to turn these critical faculties on while in dreams without waking up.

Here is a three-step process for hacking the dream-generation-system and realizing that you are dreaming without triggering an immediate waking-up…

• Lucidity requires a great deal of neural activation. The stronger the dream (i.e., the denser the REM-state) the more potential we have to attain lucidity. Powerful dreams can be expected during transitional times in life or when we are under a lot of pressure. We can predict when dreams will be more vivid and hence when it would be best to attempt induction.
• We can make use of our wake-sleep rhythms so as to practice induction at the most opportune times. When we can “sleep-in” is ideal (weekends for most people), especially if work or school has us sleep-deprived and we can catch-up on our REM-sleep. Of the five or so dreams we normally have each night, the final one is the longest and densest. If we wake up before this final dream by setting an alarm clock to go off 5- or 6-hours after first falling asleep, we can further increase REM-density by returning to bed…this is called the Wake-Back-To-Bed method , and it is one of the most powerful induction techniques there is.
• REM-density is increased during times of heavy use of a dream journal. Ideally, you would train yourself to wake-up after every REM-period and record your dreams for several weeks. This paying attention to your dream life is challenging to do and can be disruptive to your rest, but if done occasionally this activity can greatly increase both your REM-density and your ability to recognize dream-signs.
• When everything else has been practiced – dream journaling, stabilization techniques, having a pre-defined goal within the lucid dream (once achieved) – taking a lucidity nutritional supplement in conjunction with the Wake-Back-To-Bed method is the most consistent means for the average person to achieve lucidity. This is not to say that taking a supplement is necessary or a guarantee of success, but it can improve your odds tremendously.

• Because dreaming almost always involves the “F’s” – failures, misfortunes, fighting (both relational aggression and/or physical), fleeing, etc. – we can learn to expect that we are in a dream by performing a reality test every time we encounter these situations.
• Beyond a general understanding of what dreams are typically like, we should become familiar with our own, recent dreams. The most direct way to do this is by keeping a dream journal – and this is among the most important steps to achieving lucid dream induction.

• Activities which strengthen your “will-power” are also going to take you closer to the ability to lucid dream. This can involve being highly proactive in your waking life – setting goals and concrete plans to achieving these goals and actually working on them. Learn how to deal with stress in a positive way, turning dis-tress into what is called eustress. Our volition, or will, becomes enhanced when we practice overcoming temporary setbacks and we learn to act both from a place of strength and flexibility – keeping our goals in mind but allowing for adjustments to the means we use to reach our goals. This is a good practice whether or not you are working on lucidity induction, and I call this Lucid Living.

• The underlying “architecture” of the mind which can support lucid dreaming normally relies on a highly active REM-state. In fact, the utmost height of REM density occurs right before your final awaking in the morning. Besides this proximity to normal awakening, lucidity is also very exciting and the excitement that accompanies the enlightenment of lucidity further activates the REM-system and pushes it even closer to awakening. It is notoriously difficult to maintain lucidity once achieved – that is – without a plan. After confirming that you are indeed dreaming, you should immediately perform a stabilization technique ! This will help you stay in the dream without waking-up, while at the same time increasing the clarity of your thought and the vividness of the dream imagery. Most stabilization methods involve either deep breathing or some kind of movement or even a “mantra.”
• Beyond stabilization, having a plan of what to once you do become lucid can be very helpful. Having a plan gives your mind a reason to achieve this special state of awareness, and can also help anchor you once lucid so that you can remain proactive rather than fall back into regular dreaming or fall out of dreaming all-together into waking up.
• Click here for some ideas of what to once lucid.