Is there a way to stably enter and maintain a lucid dream?

[trojin]

Is there a technique that lets me lucid dream every night if I want to?

 

[Morell]

No.

Certainly no if you are looking for easy solution. Simple maybe, but easy... nope. If you want to lucid dream, fid a tutorial, and most of all, practice. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it won't. With practice you will become more capable with getting lucid dreams. I suggest starting with dream journaling and meditation.

 

[RobCorvid]

I initially got good results using Hemi Sync but even then it was hit or miss as to whether or not it worked.

 

[Tryp]

What Morell said, also unless you are are one of the relatively rare natural lucid dreamers (and I guess you are not, since you asked this) who dream lucidly nearly by default, aiming to have lucid dreams every night does not sound too reasonable either. With enough training, practice and/or working methods, people can aim to have several lucid sessions a month or even a week, but you are likely to need nights to rest.

You could start reading this: [Tutorial] - Basics of Lucid Dreaming

 

[j4if86m6ifk39y]

Lots of good suggestions in this thread already. Learning to do it on your own is obviously preferable, but i just want to mention galantamine as a quick and dirty way to do it as well. You will have to do your own due diligence wrt side effects, especially if you are going to take it regularly.

 

[RobCorvid]

I've been wanting to try galantamine but didn't want to spend that much and it not work. I've experimented with mugwort, Mexican dream herb, as well as blue lotus but no luck with those. Oddly enough blue lotus keeps me awake, sucks because I actually enjoy it infused in wine.

 

[Tryp]

Lots of good suggestions in this thread already. Learning to do it on your own is obviously preferable, but i just want to mention galantamine as a quick and dirty way to do it as well. You will have to do your own due diligence wrt side effects, especially if you are going to take it regularly.

Galantamine was the push that helped me break through to lucidity years ago, and yes it is quite effective, but as you imply it is not something to use often. Interactions need to be considered (especially for people using beta-blockers or other neuromuscular blocking drugs, and as usual, some psychiatric medications). It's an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, which increases the amount of available acetylcholine, and cholinergic activity has direct correlation with REM sleep, dream vividness and awareness, and dream recall.

It can work especially in wake-back-to-bed techniques. I was rather the hard head, and combination of some reality check training, taking principally tryptophan (5-HTP) an hour before sleep, and waking up around four hours into the cycle to stretch, taking galantamine and doing some meditation back to sleep worked like a charm.

And imo the good thing about such methods is that, while one should absolutely aim to train lucidity skills without using plants or supplements, once you manage to produce a first clear experience it becomes much easier to reproduce it with other techniques. Like breaking a dam.

I've been wanting to try galantamine but didn't want to spend that much and it not work. I've experimented with mugwort, Mexican dream herb, as well as blue lotus but no luck with those. Oddly enough blue lotus keeps me awake, sucks because I actually enjoy it infused in wine.

If you read up a bit about the sleep cycle and its neurophysiology, and time things well, galantamine (or similar compounds, like huperzine A) will most likely work. Mugwort can also work well, but herbs are very complex, variable in composition, and more impredictable. Taking an infusion instead of a tincture or taking it too early, or using herb that is too old, or has been harvested before time, can completely change the result.

Blue lotus can work for some people (mostly women as far as I've seen; cannot explain why yet) but in my opinion it's mentioned too often as a dream aid considering its efficiency. I would not rely much on it as a dream aid. Also, there may be some confusion currently with what is often sold as blue lotus and its identification with the plant used in ancient Egypt, which may not be the same.

Calea works but the tea tastes nasty (very) so people smoke extracts, and that can be hit and miss.

If you like trying herbs for dreaming, consider also Artemisia annua aside of A. vulgaris (mugwort). Artemisinin is an efficient AChE inhibitor, and these work well, like many people who used medication for malaria can attest to.

Kava-kava is also interesting. It works differently, on GABA receptors, but there's often reports of vivid dreams. And if it doesn't work, it's a very enjoyable herb anyway.

 

[RobCorvid]

I do enjoy kava but have not had any dream effects from it. Not exactly tasty but enjoyable.

 

[Hasuna]

I suggest buying the Dream Herb (Calea Zacatechichi) or Mugwort plant. I have a tincture of the Dream Herb. What I do is wake up after 4-5 hours of sleeping with alarm. Take the necessary dosage of the Dream Herb or Mugwort (tea or tincture or whatever), move to the couch for 15-30 minutes . Go back to bed and do the SSILD technique. That's what I do when I want to enter a lucid dream and I have success every time..