Three Easy Lucid Dreaming Techniques

Three Easy Lucid Dreaming Techniques
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Hi. Here are a few easy techniques for programming lucid dreams that have worked for me:

#1: "Looking For Your Hands"
This one is from The Art of Dreaming by Carlos Castaneda. All you do is go to bed with a clear intent to look at your hands in the dream state. That's it. When it happens and you dream about looking at your hands, you will instantly remember that you must be dreaming, and you will then become lucid. The dream will suddenly become very vivid and solid-looking. (It took Carlos Castaneda, the author, a year of practicing this before it worked for him! For me, it happened a very short time after I began practicing it.)

#2: "Neptune's Trident"
I created this technique as a form of "dream magic," one could call it. Very easy! All you do is take a marker or pen and draw the astrological glyph for the planet Neptune (which represents dreams, spirituality, etc.) on your palm. The symbol is an upright trident, and if you aren't familiar with how it looks you can find it online. (I used to draw it on my left palm, since the left side of the body is controlled by the right brain hemisphere, which is associated with imagination and intuition. But either hand will work.) Do this before going to sleep, with a clear intent to have a lucid dream. With practice, this technique can work almost every time you use it; but of course, if you don't want to write on your hand, you can use any other way you choose as a way to program your subconscious for a lucid dream.

#3: "Am I dreaming right now? Is this a dream?"
Another no-brainer! Throughout the day, stop and ask yourself if you are dreaming, really making the question seem very important. This is also very, very effective, and is a classic technique that is often recommended to beginners. It also helps to do it standing before a mirror, or when you are about to flick off a light switch. (Many people have found that switching off lights while lucid dreaming doesn't work for them, but this is not a given, just a common experience for some.) I mention it here because it can be used with this technique, such as when you flick the light switch off and the light goes out you can then say, "Oh, I must not be dreaming." This is just a way to program the subconscious for an LD, but ANY method you create can work for you...

Best Wishes
Kar