The issue of time is not important with indirect techniques since the major prerequisite is that they are performed immediately after awakening occurs. In the case of direct techniques, the issue of timing is much more critical.

Naturally, the best method for finding the right time to perform direct techniques is the same as indirect techniques – the deferred method. However, there are some serious differences here. First of all, one may interrupt one’s sleep at practically anytime of the night or early morning. Second, after having woken up (5-15 min.), one should not fall back asleep, but should immediately proceed to the techniques.

Direct techniques are many times more effective with the deferred method than at any other time. This is due to the fact that with the deferred method, the mind does not have time to become 100% alert, and it is easy to fall into the altered state of consciousness that will allow results.

When it comes to specific steps, one should awaken in the middle of the night either on one’s own or with the help of an alarm clock. Then, one should get up and do something for 3 to 10 minutes, and then lie down again in bed and perform the techniques. If it is probable that the practitioner will wake up in too alert a state, and thus not even be sleepy, then the interval between awakening and performing the direct technique should be shortened, and fewer things should be done during that period of time. It should be noted that with this setup, a free-floating state of mind plays a far lesser role that with other procedures.

The second most effective window of time is before falling asleep at night, when the practitioner goes to bed. During this period of time, the brain needs to shut down the body and mind in order to renew its strength, which has been expended over the course of the day. This natural process can be taken advantage of by introducing certain adjustments to it.

Attempts at performing direct techniques during the day are less effective. However, if fatigue has already had a chance to build up by this time, this can be taken advantage of because the body will try to fall into sleep. This is especially suited for those who are accustomed to napping during the day.

Generally, other windows of time produce a substantially worse result, which is why one should start with performing direct techniques in the middle of the night, or before a night’s sleep. Only after such techniques have been mastered will it be possible to experiment with daytime attempts.

Under normal circumstances, deliberate exit from lucid dreaming is not the norm. Deliberate exit is commonly caused by certain fears and prejudices. If a practitioner is not able to activate the body using other emergency return techniques, a careful consideration of the possibilities offered by lucid dreaming is recommended. There are many interesting and useful things that can be experienced in lucid dreaming. Why ruin the possibility of great opportunity because of a baseless fear?

To be fair, it must be noted that emergency exit techniques do not always work. As a rule, after a long period of sleep deprivation, or at the beginning of or in the middle of a night’s sleep, the urge to sleep is so great that it is difficult to resist the sleep paralysis phenomenon. In this respect, reevaluating the situation is highly recommended so that a practitioner is able to take advantage of the situation versus suffering by it. Sleep paralysis is easily transmuted into a lucid dream state by means of indirect techniques.

By the way, knowing how to exit paralysis is important not only for practitioners of lucid dreaming, since such paralysis occurs even without lucid dreaming for approximately one-third of the human population at least once in a lifetime. It usually happens before or after sleep.

To perform this method of obtaining information, the practitioner, in a full deep lucid dreaming, must locate a person by techniques for finding objects and procure the necessary information from that person through the use of simple questions. If the required information is linked to a certain person, then that person should be located in lucid dreaming. If the information is not related to anyone in particular, then it is possible to create a universal information source, which must be associated with wisdom and knowledge. For example, this could be a wise recluse, a well-known philosopher, or a guru.

The advantage of this technique is that it is easy to pose additional questions and it is also easier to verify whatever information is obtained. A drawback of this technique is that, for many, it is difficult to communicate with living objects in lucid dreaming because of an object’s unresponsiveness or a practitioner’s problems with maintaining lucid dreaming while talking with objects.

Out-of-body experience (OBE), lucid dreaming (LD), astral projection – a number of terms united by lucid dreaming that refer to the state in which a person, while being fully conscious, realizes consciousness outside the normal range of physical perception.

Indirect techniques – entry into lucid dreaming within five minutes of awakening from sleep of any duration – provided there has been minimal physical movement.

Direct techniques – entry into lucid dreaming without any prior sleep, after excessive physical movement upon awakening, or having been awake for at least five minutes.

Dream consciousness – entry into lucid dreaming through becoming consciously aware while a dream episode is happening.

Cycles of indirect techniques – the easiest way to enter lucid dreaming, employed by rapidly alternating certain techniques upon awakening from sleep until one of them works.

Dissociation – separation; in this case, a scientific term describing experiences in lucid dreaming.

Sleep paralysis – a stupor; the complete immobilization that often occurs when falling asleep, awakening, and entering or exiting lucid dreaming.

Stencil – the real physical body that is no longer perceived while in lucid dreaming.

Deepening lucid dreaming – methods for making lucid dreaming as realistic as possible by stabilizing the surrounding space.

Maintaining lucid dreaming – methods for maintaining lucid dreaming state by preventing a lapse into sleep, a return to reality, or an imagined return to reality.

REM – rapid eye movement sleep (REM lucid dreaming); a sleep lucid dreaming characterized by increased brain activity that is accompanied by rapid eye movement and dreaming.

SOBT – School of Our-of-Body Travel.

Foul – an inadvertent termination of lucid dreaming through a spontaneous return to everyday reality.

FFA – forced falling asleep.

I woke up (M.R.: no separation) and immediately applied phantom wiggling on my left arm for five seconds, and my arm began moving freely (M.R.: no separation). I could at this point have had an OBE, but I wanted a lucid dream (M.R.: wrong logic). After five seconds of phantom wiggling I switched to five seconds of listening in (M.R.: wrong action). After about two seconds of listening in to the high pitched natural sound inside my head, it started to increase in volume (M.R.: no separation). After five seconds I still hadn’t entered a dream, and so I switched to five seconds of observing Images. I didn’t see anything, so I switched to straining the brain. Immediately the high pitched sound in my head became very loud, and so I immediately switched to listening in again (M.R.: no separation). I saw a purple pool of water and felt that its clarity was very good. Then, I found myself fully immersed in a lucid dream.

I was in a deep, beautiful valley with lambs frolicking about. I looked around and marveled at the ability to be able to have a lucid dream in a matter of seconds (M.R.: no deepening). I enjoyed my lucid dream…