Lucid dreaming holds a real allure for most people once they learn about it. But what do you do when you really want to lucid dream but can’t?
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I Can’t Lucid Dream – Here’s Why
A question I often get asked is “why can’t I lucid dream?” Let’s explore the answer to that.
When you find that you can’t have lucid dreams, even if you have had the ability in the past, it is almost always due to either a lack of training or a lack of persistence.
Consistent use of lucid dreaming induction techniques, along with regular reality checks, when done the right way will allow anyone to lucid dream eventually.
You may also be trying to hard. There is an axiom in psychology that states: you get more of what you focus on.
If you are trying desperately hard to experience lucid dreams, have tried every technique and yet you still fail to become lucid while dreaming, it may be time to take a break.
Lucid dreaming offers a great many benefits the most well-known of which is fantasy-fulfilment. But the benefits of learning to lucid dream go way beyond simple fun.
Lucid dreaming feels as real as real life and has advantages that go way beyond mere fantasy fulfilment (though that is pretty awesome in and of itself).
Becoming lucid in your dreams can allow you to study better, become smarter and can even allow you to affect reality in some very neat ways.
Learning to lucid dream is a smart move but unfortunately some people find it almost impossible to do?
Why are lucid dreams seemingly elusive for so many people?
To answer that question we need to look at the three different types of dreamers who can’t enter that state of lucidity, where they have full control over their dream worlds and everything in them.
The 3 types of dreamers who can’t become lucid
Although in most cases the solution to lacking lucidity in your dreams can be the same, identifying which of the 3 types you are can hold the key to fixing the problem. So, we will first look at these 3 types so you can identify which group you fall into.
There are usually 3 types of people who find it difficult to lucid dream. They are:
- Those who can’t lucid dream no matter what they try.
- Those who could once lucid dream but can’t do it anymore.
- Those who realise that they are dreaming but can’t gain control over the dream.
Let’s look at these types of dreamers more closely to determine why they are finding it difficult to lucid dream.
If you fall into one of the above categories you can simply go straight to that section for the solution.
Though, having said that, you may be better reading through the entire article as sometimes challenges that are faced by dreamers in a different group may resonate with you and help you find a unique way of fixing the problem.
What To Do When You Can’t Lucid Dream No Matter What You Try
If you are a person who has never had a lucid dream, even though you have tried different techniques and approaches, then you fall into the group of people who simply cannot lucid dream.
Why are you the type of person who can’t lucid dream while others can do so easily?
It’s because for most lucid dreamers their ability to control their dreams had to be acquired through effort.
Lucid dreaming is a skill and it must be learned. Unfortunately, many people want fast results and so rely on supplements, pills or products, such as lucid dreaming masks, to make them lucid.
As I have stated many times on this website, learning how to lucid dream requires real desire, effort and persistence.
For the vast majority of people it won’t happen the first time they try.
You may not want to hear this but, if you are like most of the people in this group who try to lucid dream but failed then, you probably simply didn’t put in the required effort that is necessary to succeed.
Now don’t get me wrong, although most lucid dreaming masks are completely useless, there are some lucid dreaming aids that are very helpful.
Herbs that promote lucid dreaming and some lucid dreaming pills can be very effective for helping you to create the correct dream environment for becoming lucid but these things only work with you, they don’t work for you!
You still have to perform specific induction techniques to lucid dream.
This is where the problem lies for many people who try to lucid dream but fail.
With many different induction techniques available it can be time-consuming finding the one that will work consistently for you.
This usually means trying each technique diligently over a period of at least 7 days.
Therefore, this may mean having to spend one week trying one lucid dreaming induction technique only to find it won’t work for you.
Then you must take another 7 days to try a different one with a possibility of the same results.
It can take several weeks or even months of concerted effort before you are able to have fully controlled lucid dreams.
So, to be successful you must be willing to go through each technique until you find the one that works for you consistently.
You can’t try one technique one night and then swap to a different one the next night. Nor can you try one technique for a few days, then take a break and go back to it several days later.
You must be consistent.
Likewise, if you do not perform reality checks regularly and consistently throughout your waking day you are unlikely to ever experience consistent lucid dreaming.
The failsafe solution to not being able to have lucid dreams
If you have only given half-hearted attempts to learn lucid dreaming it’s time to fully commit. Instead of just dipping your toe in the water, jump in a get wet.
Be committed. Take the homebased 30 day lucid dreaming bootcamp challenge and follow the instructions until you see results.
If, on the other hand, you are a person who really has been consistent in your attempts to lucid dream (be honest now … have you?) then your problem may lie in the way you are approaching things and how you are preparing your mind for lucid dreaming.
You may need to follow a more methodical plan and perhaps attain access to other experienced lucid dreamers in order to succeed.
My advice to anyone, who has tried to lucid dream and failed, is to get a really good course and follow the instructions in it to the letter.
This excellent lucid dreaming course is one of the best available and also has a private community of lucid dreamers who are more than willing to share their experience with you to help you to achieve your goal.
It offers not only training but also valuable resources to help you gain the skill of lucid dreaming, and it’s cheaper than most of the alternatives.
What To Do If You Could Once Lucid Dream But You Can’t Do It Anymore
The second group of people who find that they can’t lucid dream are those who could once do it but now find that they can’t do it any longer.
If you fall into this group don’t lose heart because you are the type of person who can learn how to create consistent and regular lucid dreams the easiest. Because you have experienced lucid dreams before you have no doubt about their existence and your brain is already wired to have them.
I am going to make an educated guess and say that you were once a spontaneous lucid dreamer who had lucid dreams naturally but have found that as you got older they stopped.
This is actually a fairly common occurrence. It seems that many children have natural lucid dreams a lot more often than adults do. In fact lucid dreaming is much more common than people think.
Unfortunately though, many natural lucid dreamers lose the ability over time and find that they no longer have these night time experiences. So, what can you do about it?
Well the simple fact is that the lucid dreams you used to have were not fully under your control.
Even of you went to bed thinking that you would like to have a lucid dream and it happened, in most cases the results would have been hit or miss.
But, it is easy for you to rekindle this ability and to actually gain complete control over it.
How to regain your ability to lucid dream
To reacquire the ability to become lucid in your dreams you need to retrain your brain to become conscious during your R.E.M. sleep and the best way to do this is through lucid dreaming induction techniques and reality checks.
As you already know the awesome power of lucid dreaming and what it offers, I would suggest that you join a lucid dreaming community like the one connected to the course I mentioned above.
Alternatively, you can take a one-off lucid dreaming bootcamp course in order to develop the skills you need to intentionally induce a lucid dream on demand.
By following the plan offered in either course you will learn the skills you need to consistently enter the state of dream lucidity and will soon be back to lucid dreaming.
This time though, you will be able to do it when you want and will have much more control over your dreamworld.
What To Do When You Know You’re In A Dream But Can’t Control It
I had this very problem with my first 2 lucid dreams. In each one I became conscious in the dream after becoming aware that I was dreaming but could not control what was happening.
In my very first lucid dream I found myself in a friend’s house sitting on a chair with a beer in my hand.
As I looked around the room I realized that it was night outside but, what felt like just minutes before, it was the middle of a summer’s day and I had just went for nap.
This realization that I was obviously dreaming was enough to make me become fully conscious.
However, the moment I tried to get up out of the chair I feel back into it and realized that, in the dreamworld, I was drunk.
Now I didn’t feel drunk mentally, because I had enter a state of lucidity, but my dream body was drunk.
Unfortunately, because I felt that I was unable to move about freely (and soberly) having very little control over my own body I started to think about my sleeping body in own real, physical, room and this was enough to wake me up.
The second time I realized that I was dreaming I was in a “nightmare” type dream where I was stuck in a room with a closed door that had a filing cabinet blocking it.
This dream had the feel of a computer game.
Even though I could hear, what I felt were my “teammates” being mauled by a monster outside the room, and see that the door was being hammered and was rocking on its hinges,
I knew nothing could get in until I found what I needed in the room – in true computer game style.
Understanding that I was safe in such a situation because there were “computer game rules” to follow was enough to make me realise that I was in a dream and that, in turn, allowed me to become fully conscious.
Unfortunately though, I soon discovered that I could not control anything in the dream except myself and my own movements. So, in an effort to combat this lack of dream control I consciously and deliberately started to consider my options.
At this point I was in a slightly surreal situation where I was in a strange scenario that I knew was a dream but feeling as conscious as I am right now as I write these words on this website page.
So, I knew that I was in a lucid dream yet I was unable to control anything in it except my own physical movements.
This was frustrating to say the least!
I contemplated my options and thought maybe I should close my eyes and intend the surrounding to change. I thought if I did this when I reopened my eyes the changes would have occurred.
This was a huge mistake.
The moment I closed my eyes I thought “oh no” this could break the lucid dream and draw me back to my sleeping body, which it can’t, but the thought I had about my sleeping body was enough to bring me back to it and I therefore woke up.
In the above two lucid dreams we can clearly see a major rookie mistake.
In the first and second dreams as soon as I thought about the real world and my sleeping body, this refocusing of my consciousness woke me up.
Remember anything you intend or even just think about in a lucid dream can happen. So thinking of your physical body asleep can snap your consciousness back to it and thus awke you from teh dream.
I covered more on this topic in the article why can’t I control my dreams and reading it may give you additional insight into your problem and possible solutions.
How to take control of a dream when you know you are dreaming
Now you may have had similar experiences to mine or may find that you do not wake up and actually remain in the dream but that you are unable to exert any control over it.
Either way, the fix is the same.
If you find yourself in a dream and realise that you are dreaming but can’t control it then you simply do not have the correct training in lucid dreaming control.
There are actually numerous things you can do in such a situation to take full control over your dreamworld.
In the two instances of conscious dreaming that happened to me, which I mentioned above, I took the wrong actions in the dream in an attempt to take control over it and ended up waking up in the real world.
This happened because I did not have the experience that I have now nor the knowledge that I have since gained.
I was totally untrained in any lucid dreaming techniques and actually had those two lucid dreams as a direct result of listening to a subliminal cassette tape (I know I’m showing my age – luckily there is a lucid dreaming subliminal MP3 these days though).
This is a perfect example of why you can’t rely on products only to gain access to the fully controlled lucid dream world.
If I had followed a proven lucid dreaming plan or enrolled in a good lucid dreaming course as well as using the subliminal then I would have been able to take control over both those dreams easily.
Unfortunately, the two instances set my lucid dreaming back a long time as afterwards I found it difficult to enter a state of lucidity.
It wasn’t until I took proper training that I once again had a lucid dream … and this time I had full control because I knew what to do to exert it.
I therefore strongly recommend you follow the advice in a good lucid dreaming course.
However, should you find yourself lucid in a dream but unable to control it before you have taken a home study course in lucid dreaming then follow the advice below.
This advice is not a substitute for the type of professional training. Training can teach you advanced ways of manipulating every aspect of your dreamworld.
The first thing to do is to stabilize the dream. The more real, concrete and lifelike your dream is, the easier it is for you to control it.
Although your dream may seem real it is always a good idea to call out aloud within the dream, “dream become more vivid and lifelike now”.
This will make everything around you seem just that little bit more real and this gives you a great foundation for taking full control over everything else.
Next thing to do is to stop “trying” to take control. Remember lucid dreams reflect your thoughts. When you “try” to do something you will remain in the state of trying.
Relax and instead of trying to make something happen simply think of something you would like to happen.
Start small. Look to the side and tell yourself, or openly tell the dream, that when you look back there will be a cup and saucer of tea nearby.
Next, conjure up something bigger. Like a computer, TV or stereo system. Then go bigger again manifesting a car, airplane or boat.
If you need to change environment to the outdoors simply command that to happen at the same time.
Then move on to manifesting people. Keep it simple at first by just manifesting human beings. Once you have mastered that you can start to manifest specific people.
Do this a few times and in a few different dreams. Soon you will find that you automatically have control as soon as you become lucid without the need to “do” anything.
There is also a simple step you can take while awake to help you gain control over your dreams. Visualize it!
Throughout the day, in quiet moments, imagine that you are dreaming and controlling that dream.
This may seem simple but it is a very effective way of sending a powerful message to your brain that you want to gain control in your dreams.
If you think visualization is hocus-focus and that mind power is nonsense, think again.
Although I cannot attest to the magic power of visualization to attract things to you (though I am open minded about it), I do know for sure that it can definitely help you to program your mind. And NASA agrees!
So, visualizing yourself as a lucid dreamer can really help to train your brain to give you control when you dream. Just be sure to use it with induction techniques.
If the above simple steps do not work for you and you still find that you are conscious in your dreams but can’t control them then you really do need to enroll in a good lucid dreaming course.
