Being able to become fully conscious in a dream and take control over is an exciting prospect. Having the ability to experience anything you want makes the skill of lucid dreaming very attractive to everyone who hears about it. But it can take days, week or even months to have your first lucid dream so it’s no wonder many lucid dreaming aids have been created to make this skill-acquisition easier and quicker.
One such aid is the lucid dreaming video. But with so many other fake lucid dreaming products available we are wise to ask, “do lucid dreaming videos work”?
In general lucid dreaming videos do not work. To become lucid in a dream you must train yourself to not only realize that you are dreaming but you also need to learn dream-control techniques in order to be able to manipulate the dreamworld and everything in it. Lucid dreaming videos do not teach you these things.
Before I delve deeper into the subject of lucid dreaming videos to show you what they can and cannot do for you I would like to first touch on the subject of lucid dreaming and what exactly it is.
You see why it is important we do this now, later in the article.
Contents
Is lucid dreaming legit?
I promise that I will show you the effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, of lucid dreaming videos but I must first address the elephant in the room.
Is it even possible to lucid dream or is the whole thing, at worst just made-up nonsense or, at best just over-hyped normal dreaming … is lucid dreaming legit?
Lucid dreaming is completely legit. It exists and is a real phenomenon.
There are 2 types of lucid dream: uncontrolled lucid dreams and controlled lucid dreams.
Both are vivid and in both types the dreamer finds themselves consciously aware, in the same way they are aware while they are awake.
Though both types are similar in structure they differ greatly in experience.
Before I move on to talk about lucid dreaming videos I will quickly cover the two types of lucid dreams as it is directly connected to how the aforementioned videos fall short when it comes to having lucid dreams.
So don’t skip this section it’s important.
The two types of lucid dreams:
- Uncontrolled lucid dreams.
- Controlled lucid dreams.
Both these types of lucid dreams are similar in structure and origin. In these dreams the sleeper “wakes up” consciously and begins to experience the dream in the same state of consciousness that they experience while they are awake i.e. you feel like you are awake and in a real world.
Because the lucid dreamer is mentally awake within the dream, the dream feels very real.
Lucid dreams tend to feel very real because you are awake in them and this level of conscious awareness also make the dreams extremely clear and vivid.
However, although we experience the two types of lucid dreams similarly we interact with those dreams in very different ways.
When you understand the different mechanisms involved in your experience with each type of lucid dream you will better understand why lucid dreaming videos could never work effectively.
Uncontrolled Lucid Dreams
Uncontrolled lucid dreams are those dreams in which you become mentally awake but have very little control.
You literally become lucid within the dream and experience it in a similar way to how you experience normal life while you are awake.
In an uncontrolled lucid dream you will find yourself viewing everything from first person point of view.
You can touch things, smell things and interact with the dreamworld in the the same way you do in the real world.
You can also control your own actions in the dream in the same way you do while you are awake.
You can direct how you move, where you go, what you say and what you think etc. You are in charge of your own dream body.
However, you can’t control anything else.
Strange things may be happening in the lucid dream. Certain dream characters and objects may be defying that laws of physics. However, sometimes you can only control your own actions and are subject to the same laws of physics as you would be if the events were happening in the real world.
These uncontrolled lucid dreams can be very enjoyable and even fun.
Although they sometimes tend to be a bit frustrating as you do not have the type of omnipotent power you hear about when people discuss lucid dreams.
The only time an uncontrolled lucid dream experience will suck is when you find yourself in a lucid nightmare that is also an uncontrolled lucid dream.
Luckily, you can be trained to deal with such situations via a professional lucid dreaming training course so don’t worry about that for now.
However, before we go on I should state clearly that lucid dreams do not give you nightmares and they never will.
There is a misconception among some people that by learning to lucid dream you open yourself up to experiencing vivid scary dreams. This could not be further from the truth.
Not only do lucid dreams not cause nightmares but, in fact, lucid dreaming can be used very effectively to stop nightmares.
Controlled Lucid Dreams
Controlled lucid dreams are the ones that are talked about most often.
These dreams are the same as uncontrolled lucid dreams in structure and they originate in the same way; you become lucidly aware within a normal dream.
However, the experience of a controlled lucid dream is entirely different from an uncontrolled one.
In a controlled lucid dream the sleeper has complete control over the dreamworld and everything it.
Where the dreamer can only control their own actions and reactions within an uncontrolled lucid dream, in a controlled lucid dream they can do anything they want.
In an uncontrolled lucid dream you must be content staying in the dream environment in which you became lucid.
You can only investigate the dreamworld as it is and you are subject to all the same laws of the world that you are while you are awake and in the real world.
Whereas in a controlled lucid dream you can go anywhere you want and visit anyone you chose and you are not subject to any law at all.
Want to fly under your own power like superman. No problem! Want to meet up with your favorite rock star or have lunch with Ghandi. Easy!
You can even take to the stars in the Millenium Falcon with Charlize Theron (though I was a perfect gentleman … honestly).
In a controlled lucid dream you are only limited by the poverty of your own imagination.
On the flip side, you are very restrained in an uncontrolled lucid dream.
I remember early in my lucid dream experiments when I was trying to learn the skill on my own, I “awoke” in an uncontrolled lucid dream and found myself in a locked room.
There was nothing I could do. I remained stuck there for the entire dream.
As you can immediately tell, it is the controlled lucid dreams that offer us the most potential for fun. In fact, they even offer us ways to affect reality in some super cool ways.
Uncontrolled lucid dreams are cool but controlled lucid dreams are spectacular.
But, why is it important to understand the two different types of lucid dreams when it comes to using lucid dreaming videos?
Why most lucid dreaming videos don’t work
Lucid dreaming videos are designed to bring you slowly down into a state of sleep where they are suppose to induce lucidity.
But this is not how you become conscious in your dreams.
Lucid dreaming videos, especially those online, are working on a false premise: that you can learn while you sleep.
Sleep learning has been proven to be ineffective. At least in the sense that would be valuable for inducing a lucid dream.
“But”, you might say, “I have had dreams where I dreamt about things that were directly related to what was happening in the real environment my sleeping body was in” – like dreaming of being in an ocean swell when someone is spraying water on your sleeping body.
Surely such experiences prove that you can be affected by hearing the soundtrack on a lucid dreaming video while you are asleep?! Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
Lucid dreaming videos don’t work because they work on a flawed approach.
Although your dreams can be influenced by the physical environment around you while you sleep, you need to train your brain to recognize those influences if you want to use them to help you become lucid.
Let me explain how that works.
Things like lucid dreaming masks are designed to take advantage of the fact that we often incorporate real world events, that are happening in real time, into our dreams. But they don’t cause lucid dreams themselves.
You still need to be trained to look for and recognize the dream signs that the masks create in order to use them to become lucid.
An example is the flashing lights from a lucid dreaming mask. When you are dreaming and the mask flashes its lights your brain incorporates that physical signal into your dream.
You will likely see these lights in a dream as flashing car lights, or brake lights or car blinkers etc.
But only by training yourself to do reality checks, or to recognize that flashing lights probably means you are dreaming, will this be on any use to you for lucid dreaming (it is the recognition that you are dreaming that leads to lucidity).
If you have not trained yourself to recognize that these flashing lights are indications that you’re dreaming then you will simply ignore them and remain unconscious in the dream.
So, unless you do specific things while awake, which will help you recognize that what you are hearing in a lucid dreaming video indicates that you are asleep, the lucid dreaming video cues just won’t work.
And, even if you did so that, there are much better and easier ways to recognize that you are dreaming.
Even current lucid dreaming hypnosis videos and audios fall short because they use the same approach by trying to induce a lucid dream while we are asleep instead of just giving you post-hypnotic suggestions (which would work).
Even effective lucid dreaming videos won’t give you the dream control you want
But, what if you found a really good lucid dreaming video that promises to wake you in your dreams and make you lucid?
Let’s say for sake of argument that this video worked, everything would be great then …right?
Wrong!
Even if a lucid dreaming video were able to make you lucid in a dream, being lucid is only half the story.
Remember what I said about uncontrolled lucid dreams?
Lucid dreams are not as rare as you may think, they are actually very common.
About 55% of the population will have at least one lucid dream and up to 37% of the population will lucid dream at least once per month.
However, the vast majority of the 55% of people who experience a lucid dream will only experience an uncontrolled lucid dream because it takes training to learn how to control a lucid dream.
Even if you found a lucid dreaming video that worked it would only induce an uncontrolled lucid dream, not the type of controlled lucid dream that you want.
The flaw in the approach of lucid dreaming videos dooms them to failure.
For the most part lucid dreaming videos won’t induce lucidity in dreams but even if they did they won’t help you to gain control over the dream.
Only training can do that.
It is only through learning both effective induction techniques and dream-control techniques that you can you become and efficient and effective lucid dreamer.
This takes a real commitment on your part. There is no magic bullet for inducing a lucid dream.
You must put in the effort yourself … but trust me … it is so worth that effort.
This is why I always advise my readers to make the investment it takes to get a really good lucid dreaming course, like this one.
Proper training will not only teach you how to induce lucidity but will also give you the tools you need to take full and complete control over your lucid dreams once you are in them.
Do lucid dreaming sounds work?
So, we’ve seen that almost all lucid dreaming videos are pretty much a waste of time but what about lucid dreaming audios? Do lucid dreaming sounds work?
In general, lucid dreaming sounds don’t work. Although things like binaural beats can alter your brainwaves they won’t induce a lucid dream.
You must train your mind to recognize that you are dreaming to become lucid and you must also be trained in dream-control techniques in order to control the dream.
Lucid dreaming sounds will only help you to lucid dream if they are used in combination with proven lucid dreaming techniques.
The only way you can guarantee that you will experience controlled lucid dreams is to use proven induction techniques for inducing lucid dreams and then you must employ dream-control techniques once you are in a lucid dream.
There is no audio or video that can replace proper training when it comes to lucid dreaming.
So, what are you waiting for? Learn this amazing night skill now and start to have amazing experiences while you sleep.
