Thanks very much for such a brilliant and fascinating book on lucid dreaming.
For many years I have attempted to remember my dreams and reach a state of lucidity within them- for over half my life, but have not reached that stage only the occasional vivid dream. The main tequniques I’ve tried are dream recording and lucid dreaming meditations.
For all my life I assumed when told to visualise that it was metaphorical not literal but I find out I have Aphantasia, the inability to recall or create visuals, a blind minds eye. Only 50% of reported Aphantasia individuals dream in visuals, I’m quite thankful that I do have visual dreams- but if asked to recall images from dreams or to put myself back into my dream, I cannot picture anything within my mind, just blackness.
My question is are there any tequniques for achieving lucidity that would work well with Aphantasia individuals who have no minds eye?
Many Thanks, Emma
Hello Emma and thanks for reading my first book,
I did write a second book on lucid dream induction techniques, Lucid Dreaming Plain and Simple, (w/ co-author Caroline McCready), where I provide a number of techniques, show how to stabilize the lucid dream, explore it thoughtfully and provide other material to help in having lucid dreams.
As you note, some ‘visual’ or ‘minds eye’ approaches may not work easily for you.
As a technique, dream recording and lucid meditations seem (to me) as unlikely to result in a lucid dream. Sorry.
Have you tried this?
Find Your Hands – A Beginners Induction Technique
Carlos Castaneda in his 1974 book, Journey to Ixtlan had a shamanic teacher, Don Juan, who suggested, “Tonight in your dreams, you must look at your hands.” Don Juan said this practice was used to become consciously aware in the dream state.
There wasn’t a technique, so I created this one in 1975 — and used it to have my first consciously induced lucid dream:
Robert Waggoner’s Finding Your Hands technique
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Sit in your bed, and become mentally settled.
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Stare softly at the palm of your hands, and tell yourself in a caring manner that, “Tonight while I am dreaming, I will see my hands and realize that I am dreaming.”
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Continue to softly look at your hands and mentally repeat the affirmation, “Tonight while I am dreaming, I will see my hands and realize that I am dreaming.”
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Allow your eyes to cross, and unfocus; remain at peace and continue to repeat slowly.
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After about five minutes or once you feel too sleepy, quietly end the practice.
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When you wake up in the middle of the night, gently recall your intention to see your hands and realize that you are dreaming. Try to remember your last dream; did you see your hands?
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At some point in a dream, suddenly your hands will pop up in front of you and you will instantly make the connection, “This is a dream!”
In my two books, I suggest that this operates according the psychological principle of “Conditioned Response”. Like Ivan Pavlov who rang a bell, every time he fed his dogs — eventually he could ring a bell, and the dogs would ‘salivate’ (so he ‘conditioned’ their response to the sound of a bell). Here, you make “The Sight of Your Hands” as the stimulus — and your thought response “I AM Dreaming!”
So you do it before sleep as practice, and then in the dream, you may see your hands as you climb a ladder, and think, “Oh my hands! This is a dream!” or you may open a door and see your hands and think “Oh this is a dream!”
Because of your aphantasia — this gives you a Dream Sign to look at before sleep with your physical eyes. You simply need to connect the Stimulus (your hands) with the Response (this is a dream!).
Best wishes!