Genuine practice of lucid dreaming entrance is best begun with the easiest, most accessible methods: indirect techniques, which are conscious actions performed upon awakening from sleep. Some critics incorrectly assume that indirect techniques are not ideal, and prefer to start with direct techniques. However, doing so provides no guarantee of success and results in a large amount of wasted time and effort. Starting practice with indirect techniques guarantees entrance into lucid dreaming.

A specific universal technique that suits every practitioner is a myth since individuals differ widely in personality, psychology, and learning speed. However, there is a relatively easy universal algorithm, or procedure, that accounts for the characteristics of each person and allows for the most rational, effective way to attain the initial lucid dreaming entrances. This algorithm encompasses cyclic practicing of the indirect techniques covered in this chapter. Without exception, these techniques – despite their varying degrees of difficulty – are suitable for every practitioner who wishes to experience lucid dreaming.

Results can be expected immediately following the first few attempts; however, to achieve measurable results, an average of five conscious attempts must be made. Making more than five attempts even over the course of a single day is fine, too. There is nothing difficult to understand about performing the techniques since they are clearly laid out and based on real internal processes. Remarkably, due to correctly practiced indirect techniques, more than half of students at the live school attain lucid dreaming entrance after only two days.

Interesting Fact!

Many experienced practitioners prefer to bypass the effort associated with direct techniques and hone their skills through the sole use of indirect techniques.

In order to ensure that one’s efforts are most fruitful and productive, we are going to individually examine each step and principle behind the actions in great detail. Let us start from a description of the techniques themselves, which will actually apply practically just as much to direct techniques as to indirect techniques; as they only differ in character and length of application.

There are plenty of techniques, so after practicing all of the indirect techniques presented in this chapter, a practitioner should be able to choose three or four of the most straightforward, individually effective methods.

Separation techniques will be examined later. They are completely different from usual techniques, which only bring one into lucid dreaming, but do not necessarily themselves lead to separation from the body. It is often also necessary to know how to stop perceiving one’s physical body after employing these techniques.

It is necessary to understand when to employ these techniques, and the importance of waking from sleep without opening the eyes or moving the body. Attempting to enter lucid dreaming immediately upon awakening must be learned and practiced to mastery since it constitutes the main barrier to successful practice.

After examining the peripheral information surrounding indirect techniques, the cycles of indirect techniques will be examined, including what they are, how they work, and how they are best used. Successful lucid dreaming entrance is the direct result of performing these cycles. However, there are exceptions, and it is not completely necessary to proceed with these cycles if one’s own mind somehow hints what exactly one should start from, which we will also examine separately.

All deepening techniques should be practiced with a high level of aggression, and with no pauses, only continuous, deliberate action. If techniques are practiced in a calm, relaxed manner, then deepening attempts will most often result in falling asleep or returning to the body.

Any deepening technique should be performed quite intensely. The entire process should be somewhat hurried and aggressive. There should be no pause, but only active, fluid, and concentrated effort, preferably coupled with constant maneuver and movement around the space one is in.

In addition, it should be kept in mind that no deepening technique should be performed "as a chore", but with the intense desire and intention of deepening. If this is done, the techniques will be start to be performed in an ideal way. lucid dreamingr must try no matter what to merge into lucid dreaming world with all of his senses – it will become all the more realistic.

Interesting Fact!

There are known cases of certain swear words being used as a deepening technique to help express out one’s intention to deepen. Such an approach may be used during lucid dreaming entrance in order to maintain and control lucid dreaming space.

If a novice begins his practice from the direct techniques, then he does so at his own risk and peril, having shunned recommendations based on work with thousands of people. When unsuccessful, practitioner himself would be solely to blame for the wasted time and effort. It should always be remembered that many even quite-accomplished practitioners try to avoid using the direct method to enter lucid dreaming.

Direct techniques seldom produce quick and clear results, unlike entering lucid dreaming via becoming conscious while dreaming or through the use of indirect techniques. At first, direct techniques produce sporadic results, which is why the path of practice should not begin with direct techniques hoping for fast reward. It is better to systematically practice a technique, working toward mastery on a consistent basis.

There is no cause for worry if results are not achieved after a month of attempts. A continual effort to analyze practice and improve should be the primary focus because failures are always caused by distinguishable mistakes.

Although difficulties may arise with direct techniques, one should never abandon what worked until then (i.e. indirect techniques), as this could temporarily deprive one of the experience that one has enjoyed so far.

A combination of direct and indirect techniques should never be used during the course of a single day since this would be detrimental to practical focus and enthusiasm. It is better to separately perform each type of technique on different days.

I suddenly became aware that I was in a dream. I felt joy and satisfaction. The positive emotions were so plentiful that, having become aware of my presence in a world outside of reality, I tried to share my emotions with passersby. I didn’t even care that there was no point in doing this. It should be noted that I did not have to return to my body in order to deepen the state and separate once again, as is normally to be done, as there was an immediate and atypical realism to my surroundings. It was that very realism that had led me to become aware that I was dreaming in the first place.

I was in a very interesting place: there was no sky – instead of it there was a low, large blue dome, which distributed a strange light across the entire space; the scenery all about recalled a corner of paradise: there were a lot of fountains, streams, and numerous architectural curiosities of unknown purpose. There were flora and fauna everywhere: all the streams were teeming with myriad types of fish, all the trees were alive with the chirping of flocks of exotic birds (from simple green parrots to those of fantastic appearance). There was so much to take in all around. Wherever one looked, there were beautiful flowers and trees of all different shapes; many people milled about on all kinds of business, paying not the slightest degree of attention to me, and there were many objects with unfamiliar objects around.

All was distinguished by a rich display of life in all its manifestations. Everywhere was crowded, peopled, and there was practically no free place to stand. Everything literally teemed. However, there was room enough to move about. I was seized by intense emotion arising from such an uncommon, and, most importantly, realistic and vivid landscape. Everything could be taken in visually, and in minute detail. There was a lot of everything around to observe, I did so with relish. In other words, I performed the technique of concentration, I didn’t even have to think about procedures for maintaining. I didn’t feel at all like carrying out my previously planned tasks. I didn’t need anything else but to enjoy the simple pleasure of observing this little corner of paradise. I felt like a stranger in a strange world, and was very happy to have landed in such a place, and been able to experience it firsthand. For this, I was sincerely grateful for lucid dreaming. Something like this would never have happened in real life. The thought occasionally came to me that this was not simply my inner world, but actually some real one. However, the laws according to which it operated went against this. The only thing that could have startled me was the realness of the situation. My inner world could not accept such things, as I had already grown accustomed to thinking about reality in a different way over the course of my life.

My presence in this paradise was threatened by the possibility of my conscious awareness checking out, and me subsequently falling asleep. I started to become quite worried about this, and so had to perform some active exercises in order to keep my awareness from submerging. Without thinking twice, I decided to start talking with people there, because this was always one of the most interesting things to do. Unfortunately, everyone present there was unfamiliar with me from reality. But that did not bother me too much, because an interesting scene started to develop before my eyes.

The two men started singing some songs, before that they had been quietly sitting on a bench and enjoying some unknown liquid from wineskins. From the tone of their voice and their appearance, one could easily guess at the alcoholic inspiration for their vocal concert. After singing the refrains of some well-known songs, they graduated to obscene limericks and jokes. That’s when it got really interesting. I expected them to recite only things that I already knew, but to my total surprise, this was not to be the case. I stood there and listened very carefully to everything. Even though the limericks were funny, I was more shocked than amused, as I had never heard any of them before. This meant that at that moment, my brain was literally composing quite high quality stuff on the fly, without any intervention in the process on my part. Perhaps I had once been unwittingly exposed to everything that I heard in that world, and simply not paid attention to it, and now it was coming back to me in this form.

Then, I suddenly got the idea that I should enjoy myself in a more active and unusual way. After all, one ought live in the moment…

Since the techniques for testing the realness of the end of lucid dreaming are a little awkward and demand additional attention to actions, they should only be used in those cases when they are indeed required. Until then, one should simply bear them in mind and use them only in moments of doubt. The same methods may be used to safely determine whether or not the practitioner is in lucid dreaming when using techniques for entering it.