As noted above, 50% of success with indirect techniques is immediate due to the fact that the first seconds after waking up are the most useful for entering lucid dreaming. The less time that has elapsed after awakening, the better. Conversely, if one lies down expecting something to happen, chances quickly dissipate.

Thus, upon awakening, preferably without first moving, a practitioner should immediately try various separation techniques, like rolling out, getting up, or levitation. If a technique has suddenly started to yield results for approximately for 3-5 seconds, then separation from the body should be attempted up to full separation. Sometimes inertia, difficulty, or a barrier will arise during a separation attempt. No attention should be given to these problems. Instead, resolve to separate – decidedly and aggressively climb out of the body.

Keep in mind that trying to immediately separate upon awakening is a skill of the utmost importance; one that is worth honing from the very beginning, never forgotten.

Interesting Fact!

For some practitioners having trouble reaching lucid dreaming, one motivation for separating without using any techniques is an unwillingness to “bang their heads against techniques” any further. This forces them to catch the right moment of awakening much earlier on and push themselves much harder during it. The result is that they are practically always able to achieve lucid dreaming upon that first step.

Everyone has dreams. Regardless of whether they ever come true in reality, their realization may at least be enjoyed in lucid dreaming. Some dream of a visit to Las Vegas, some to drive a Ferrari, some visit Outer Space, others would like to bathe in a pile of money, and some desire sexual experiences without limits. All of these may finally be experienced in lucid dreaming. 

I got up at 7 am, made coffee then I went back to bed around 7:30 am. I started relaxing and putting myself in a meditative state and doing the breathing techniques (from Michael Raduga’s book) to induce myself into falling asleep. Suddenly I felt a jolt, right there and then I knew that it was the moment I have been waiting for to be aware of the phenomenon. I continue to relax, inhaling and exhaling. Suddenly, I got up from my bed, looked around, and proceeded to scan my bedroom. I then started to do the deepening technique that I had learned and was starting to apply: touching the walls, textures, rubbing the palms of my hands, looking at my arms, and saying to myself, “is this a dream, or am I out of my body?” (M.R.: wrong logic)

The texture of the fabric of the thermo I was wearing was real, I touched the wall and it was solid (M.R.: no plan of action). I knew from hearing it that you can go through walls, but this didn’t happen. I looked again around my room and suddenly everything turned green, like a forest-green color, even my thermo shirt. It was a very intense emerald-green color. Peaceful and yet so intense, I was fully aware of what was going on, and at the same time very excited.

I remembered that I needed to be very aggressive in my deepening technique, and so I continued touching everything in my surroundings and continued to rub my hands, touching my arms and trying to look at myself. I knew it was me. It was so real, it was awesome! I don’t understand why, but I was thinking of my brother and out of nowhere, he appeared in my room. I didn’t panic, I then proceeded to open the door in my bedroom and everything was so different. I was going downstairs and everything was still green around the house. It looked like an old 1920s house.

I continued going to the next level and saw 3 black dogs and their hair was luminating like neon blue lights, it was incredible. I was thinking to myself, “okay, this is enough (M.R.: wrong logic) of the experience for right now,” and went back to my body. When I woke up, I started to write down everything as I didn’t want to forget anything, since I was told to document my experience and progress.

Due to Carlos Castaneda’s desire to follow the spiritual practice of the Warrior’s Path, which entails erasing one’s personal history, the details of his biography are unclear. As far as Castaneda’s early years are concerned, it can only be stated that he was born outside of the United States sometime between 1925 and 1935. He enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 1960s, where he received a Ph.D. in anthropology on the basis of his books.

Castaneda’s entire life path was devoted to studying the teachings of a certain Juan Matus or Don Juan Cachora. It is more than likely that his persona is a composite-image of an Indian Shaman, a sorcerer, and an heir of the culture of the ancient “Toltecs”.

Castaneda wrote a dozen books; however, the book The Art of Dreaming (1993) has the most to do with lucid dreaming state. It contains several effective techniques for entering lucid dreaming through dream consciousness. His subject matter is soaked in a large amount of mysticism and virtually devoid of any pragmatism.

Despite the fact that the main orientation of Castaneda’s work did not touch upon lucid dreaming state, he nevertheless became one of the founding fathers of this field, as his general popularity reached massive proportions worldwide.

Carlos Castaneda passed away in 1998.

A practitioner experiencing sleep paralysis should try moving a finger or a toe. At first this won’t work, but the practitioner has to concentrate precise thought and effort on the action. After a little while, the physical finger will begin to move. The problem with this technique is that the practitioner may accidentally start making phantom motions instead of physical movements, which is why an understanding of the difference between the two sensations is necessary, since it is often not very obvious.