Actions. The essence of this technique is to obtain useful information in lucid dreaming that can be applied to self-healing. The information obtained may pertain not only to actions to be implemented in real life, but also to actions to be performed directly while in lucid dreaming. It’s possible to learn how to help another person, or learn what that other person needs to do to in order to overcome his illness. For example, if the practitioner has some illness or other health-problem, he can learn in lucid dreaming which medicines would have the best effect in the physical world, or which actions taken in lucid dreaming could help him to recover from his illness or affliction.

Therapeutic indications. The therapeutic indications are endless. As the technique concerns obtaining information and knowledge, it can be used for any self-healing case, no matter what its gravity or variety, and no matter whether the intent is to heal in reality or while in lucid dreaming.

Example. For example, a practitioner has hurt his leg while at work. There’s a bad painful bruise, and it’s taking a long time to heal. And so the question arises as to how to get the bruise to start healing faster and become less painful. The practitioner enters lucid dreaming and employs the technique for obtaining information through animate objects, and to that end summons a surgeon. He briefly describes the problem and asks for advice. The surgeon recommends that the practitioner first go for a short run in lucid dreaming in order to get rid of the pain or simply stop feeling it, and then, before returning to reality, smear some cooling-agent onto the bruise and inject a large dose of novocaine into it. lucid dreaming surgeon might also advise him to apply a compress using ingredients that he had never even thought of, or take a specific medicine. The result is that all of the above is implemented both in lucid dreaming and in reality, achieving a result commensurate with the quality of those actions.

Effectiveness. Effectiveness (in this context: the accuracy of knowledge obtained through lucid dreaming) is highly dependent on one’s level of mastery – that is, on the ability of the practitioner himself to obtain information from lucid dreaming. For a novice, no more than 20 to 40 percent of advice obtained may be accurate, but with experience that number may reach 70 or even 100 percent. Considering this, it is vital to use the techniques for verifying obtained information.

Difficulties. The main difficulty with this type of healing using lucid dreaming lies in the fact that the practitioner must posses an additional skill: the ability to obtain correct information from lucid dreaming and, by corollary, the ability to verify that information. It’s usually necessary to simply enter lucid dreaming, deepen it, and then perform the actions one planned to do, all the while maintaining lucid dreaming. But in this case, everything is much more difficult.

The very accuracy of knowledge obtained is highly dependent on how impartial the practitioner is to the information he is receiving, and how confident he is that he will be able to obtain accurate information. He should not make the source of information feel pressured to say what he wants to hear. By doing so, the practitioner would choke off the flow of accurate information. It’s hard for the average person to “turn-off” habits like this without serious training, as everyone is accustomed to contemplating something in the back of one’s mind, or having some desired outcome for a conversation.

Accessibility. Of course, obtaining information in lucid dreaming for the purpose of healing is one of the most difficult processes of all, and so the novice is better off shying away from it if he doesn’t have a pressing need to go through with the process. Unlike many other methods for healing through lucid dreaming, it is necessary here to master the separate and difficult technique of obtaining information.

lucid dreaming is often accompanied by an unforgettably unusual sensation that may be used successfully to enter, deepen or maintain it. It is difficult to describe it better than the sensation of a heavy current passing through the entire body without causing any pain. It may also feel like the whole body is contracting, or a tingling sensation similar to numbness. Most often, the sensations are similar to high-frequency vibrations of the body, which explains the origin of the term “vibration”.

If the practitioner is not sure whether or not he experienced vibrations, then there is a good method to solve his problem: realize that if he really did, he will not have any doubts about it. In all other cases, when there are doubts and uncertainty, the practitioner is definitely not dealing with vibrations, or is dealing with another form thereof.

If you have experienced vibrations at least once, the recollection of these sensations helps greatly during the simultaneous application of indirect techniques. Vibrations are created, supported and strengthened by straining the brain or tensing the body without using the muscles. For vibrations to appear, it often suffices merely to think about them. During the first experience, one should experiment with them for a while by rolling them around the body and its parts, as well as strengthening and weakening them.

However, one should not think that the presence of vibrations is a necessary condition for being in lucid dreaming. Many novices often strive not for lucid dreaming but for vibrations, after which the former must supposedly follow. That should not be the case. There are indeed specific techniques that make it possible to get into lucid dreaming by creating vibrations, but in all other cases they are not necessary and some practitioners may never have them at all.

Of all non-autonomous assistance methods, cueing technologies yield the best results. The operating principle behind cueing technologies is quite simple: a device detects rapid eye movement (REM) and sends signals to a sleeping practitioner, prompting dream consciousness or an awakening that may be followed by indirect techniques. Cueing programs or devices may also send indicators over specific intervals of time; these are received during REM sleep and are meant to cause a sleeping practitioner to awaken and attempt indirect techniques.

More sophisticated REM-detecting technologies may be purchased at specialized stores or through online merchandisers. REM-detecting technologies work by virtue of special night mask equipped with a motion sensor that detects the frequency of specific eye movements that occur during REM sleep. When the eye movements reach REM quality, the device sends discreet signals to the practitioner through light, sound, vibrations, or a combination of these. In turn, the practitioner must discern the signal and react to it while sleeping with the goal of lucid dreaming entry through dream consciousness.

The effectiveness of REM-detecting devices is more plausible in theory than in practice. The mind quickly develops a tolerance for these types of external stimuli and stops reacting, and, as a result, such technologies are hardly used more than one or two nights per week. Secondly, a practitioner will detect only a small portion of the signals, and conscious reaction occurs in even fewer instances.

Cueing technologies are best used to send signals that allow a practitioner to awaken without moving during REM sleep, which facilitates a high probability of lucid dreaming entrance through indirect techniques.

Pricing of these “mind-machines” (the common moniker of any device that purports to produce altered consciousness) widely varies and is determined by quality of REM detection and signaling. Available models include: DreamStalker, DreamMaker (NovaDreamer), REM-Dreamer, Astral Catapult, among many others. Since the use of these devices does not guarantee increased success in practice, investing money in the technology is not recommended. If a practitioner is curious about cueing technologies, similar devices may be constructed at home using a special computer program and a run-of-the-mill optical mouse. Designs for a homegrown setup are easily located on the Internet.

Another do-it-yourself way of experimenting with cueing is through the use of a computer, a music player, or even the alarm clock function on a mobile phone. The practitioner saves short sounds or phrases, played as an alarm every 15 to 30 minutes while sleeping. These sounds will signal the practitioner to wake up and attempt indirect techniques.

If the practitioner decides to use cueing technology, several fundamental principles should be considered as results will be less likely if they are ignored. First, mind-machines should be used no more than twice a week. Otherwise, too high a tolerance will be built up, rendering the machines ineffective. Second, use cueing technology in combination with the deferred method, which was covered in the section on indirect techniques. It is better to sleep for six hours without distraction and then, after sleep has been interrupted, put on a sleep-mask or earpiece and continue sleeping. Sleep will be light for the remaining two to four hours as there will be more REM sleep, making it easier for the mind to detect cueing signals. Finally, master indirect techniques before making use of cueing technologies to attain dream consciousness and subsequent lucid dreaming entrance.

On a night before a free day when you won’t have to wake up early, go to bed at your usual time and set your alarm so that you’ll only sleep for about 6 hours. When the alarm goes off, you must get up to drink a glass of water, go to the bathroom, and read these instructions once again. Do not attempt any techniques before going to bed the night before, no matter what the case. You just need to lie down and get some sound sleep. The sounder you sleep over these 6 hours, the better your chances of getting results.

If there are any background sounds similar to those heard while entering lucid dreaming – rumbling, whistling, ringing, buzzing, or sizzling – these sounds may be used to prolong duration of lucid dreaming by aggressive attempts at listening in, hearing the entire range of internal sounds. The forced listening in technique may also be used for lucid dreaming maintenance.