The only real challenge an advanced practitioner faces is prolonging the lucid dreaming experience. Although this struggle could be considered relative and driven by the desire for perfection, those who have learned how to lucid dream longer understand that advanced dreamers differ from beginners because the time they spend in a lucid dream is usually enough to accomplish all the tasks they want to accomplish. Since they have the ability to re-enter the dream state multiple times a day, their goals are always completed quickly, and once all the tasks are done, there’s no reason for them to be dissatisfied with the amount of time they’ve spent in a lucid dream.
The first thing that sets advanced practitioners apart is that they always have an action plan for their lucid dreams—they have something genuinely interesting and useful that they want to do, and they know how to do it. They always want to get into a lucid dream because they have a lot to achieve in the dream world, even if some of it might be pointless in the physical world. Moreover, many advanced practitioners conduct their own research related to the phase, which further stimulates their practice and growth. Understanding how to make a lucid dream last longer or discovering how to make lucid dreams last longer keeps them motivated.
The main problem beginners face in maintaining a lucid dream is the fear of an unintentional return to the body. This fear leads to the incorrect use of prolongation procedures as well as a near-complete lack of intention to stay in the dream and confidence in their abilities. But it is precisely these factors that are required to master lucid dreaming. Beginners employ prolongation techniques to avoid being pulled back into their body or simply falling asleep, whereas an experienced practitioner uses them to remain in the lucid state, having long since learned how to stay in a lucid dream longer and likewise how to stay in lucid dreams longer in a more natural way.
As a result, the beginner is frequently and consistently yanked out of their lucid dreams, while the experienced dreamer’s sessions are many times longer and more stable. Even thinking about your body during a lucid dream is dangerous because it can cause you to return to it. This makes it even riskier to focus on techniques overtly directed at the awareness of possibly returning to the body. Still, those who know how to stay in a lucid dream state skillfully maintain control.
Throughout the experience of being in a lucid dream and executing prolongation techniques, the practitioner must maintain the utmost confidence that they will remain in the lucid state for exactly as long as needed. This factor alone is enough to significantly extend the average duration of a lucid dream.
However, when it comes to prolongation, advanced practitioners encounter the sharpest point of resistance between the human mind and the body: false fouls. The vast majority of returns to the body from a lucid dream are false. Depending on the practitioner’s personal characteristics and skill level, the rate of false fouls can range from 50–90% of all perceived returns, hence a mandatory rule: always attempt to re-exit the body upon “returning” to it. Even when this rule is followed, the experience still frequently ends in a false awakening, as becomes clear after some time.
The problem is partially solved simply by understanding that returning to the body from a lucid dream doesn’t mean anything. If this happens, consider it a minor detail of the experience that is not worth paying any attention to. If you’ve just been in a lucid dream, it couldn’t have ended so easily and quickly. An experienced practitioner must always (always!) confidently attempt to re-enter the lucid dream. If re-entry fails on one of these attempts, it’s absolutely necessary to perform at least two reality checks (e.g., hyper-concentration, exhaling through a pinched nose, searching for inconsistencies) because there’s a very good chance that the lucid dream is still ongoing. This final step of reality-checking alone can prolong the overall experience by up to 20%. Whenever a lucid dream occurs, experienced practitioners always try to re-exit the body if it seems they’ve returned—and if that doesn’t work, they always perform reality checks.
The General Principle of Prolongation
Prolongation consists of techniques that help maximize the time you spend in a lucid dream. In the worst case, a lucid dream might last only a few seconds. Beginners often worry about how to return safely from a lucid dream without getting stuck in it. But in practice, this concern isn’t relevant since lucid dreaming is an unnatural state for the body.
Prolongation can be divided into three main types: countering a return to wakefulness (the foul), avoiding drifting off into ordinary sleep, and handling false exits from a lucid dream. As you gain experience, the issue of false fouls grows more pertinent.
Counteracting a return to the body is usually straightforward, but few people know what it means to counteract falling asleep. Nearly half of all phase experiences end in simple dozing off. The person loses alertness, their awareness dissolves, and everything around them loses its clarity, reverting to an ordinary dream.
Countering false awakenings is even more surprising and dramatic. In some cases, a lucid dreamer will feel the exit from a lucid dream approaching, but no deepening techniques help, and they find themselves in their body. They’re fully aware they were just in a lucid dream, and now they’re supposedly in reality. Then they stand up, walk a few steps, and drift off again because they never truly woke up. Often, this drifting happens in bed. The problem is that the difference between the phase and reality can be so small that it’s nearly impossible to distinguish them. That’s why you need to know which actions to take if a lucid dream seems to have ended.
With these three problems in mind, there are specific techniques (to be discussed separately) and general rules that you can apply to any lucid dream experience. Studying these rules is very important, as they can prolong your lucid dreams many times over.
Although prolongation techniques aren’t crucial in some cases, knowledge of prolongation is usually important. Perhaps someone only needs to counter fouls, and someone else only needs to counter falling asleep. All this is determined by practice.
On average, you can count on being in a lucid dream for 2–4 minutes, even if you know all the prolongation techniques. But don’t think that’s too short to do anything. The peculiarity of lucid dreams is that achieving goals and moving around requires minimal time. Therefore, you can accomplish a lot in three minutes of lucid dreaming, which is why having a list of tasks is necessary to avoid wasting time.
Also, consider your perception of time. Usually, a beginner perceives one real minute in a lucid dream as 5–10 minutes. This is related to psychological factors, the brain’s unusual state, and certain experiences.
To understand how long a lucid dream actually lasted, don’t bother timing it in reality. It’s better to count how many actions occurred and estimate the time each might have taken. The result will differ dramatically from what you initially assumed.
The maximum possible duration of a lucid dream depends on the practitioner’s individual traits, their skill in applying prolongation techniques, and possibly even the time of day. For some, overcoming the two-minute barrier is tough, while others can remain in a lucid dream for 10 minutes or more without difficulty. Still, it’s unlikely the body would allow a person to stay in this state indefinitely. It’s doubtful it would permit a person to stay there for even 20 minutes of real time.
There are theories—not yet confirmed or disproven—suggesting that time in a lucid dream can either compress or stretch in relation to real time. If that’s the case, one real minute spent in a lucid dream could be perceived as a significantly longer period.
General Rules for Maintaining a Lucid Dream
Entering the phase is one thing, deepening it is another, and remaining in it is a third and equally important task. The problem is that once you’re in the phase, you can’t stay there for a long time doing practical tasks without thinking about maintaining the state.
I don’t think anyone can avoid this problem. The duration of a phase state depends directly on the practitioner’s diligence in using prolongation techniques, without which the phase almost always ends in a few seconds. Therefore, to successfully master the phase state, you must thoroughly understand the reasons for unintended exits and ways to prevent them.
Prolongation techniques are primarily aimed at countering the processes that lead a person out of the phase. So, before trying to understand them, you need to know the causes of unintended exits. There are many, but they can be classified into a few main groups, each of which can be managed by different techniques. Readers of this book are lucky: they’ll learn a lot right away and won’t have to figure it all out through trial and error. I needed a lot of time to even partially grasp the reasons I was exiting the phase. In my first phases, I could only use prolongation techniques unconsciously, out of necessity. For example, by struggling against paralysis, I automatically deepened and maintained the state, as activity is one of the key actions for preserving the phase. Gradually, as my fear faded, I stopped being active in the phase and would often stay in it for only a few seconds. But over time, by analyzing long and short stays, I found ways to counteract this problem.
It turned out that the main factor leading me out of the phase was a reduction in my thoughts and actions, which triggered a chain of unwanted events. It’s not too hard to fight against this if you know how. However, it’s impossible to remember everything every time, so despite the use of techniques, some future “out-of-body” journeys can be attributed to passivity for various reasons.
The rules described below for maintaining a lucid dream help counter most of the problems that could end lucid dreams prematurely. Some can multiply your time in the lucid state and must be applied.
Don’t look into the distance
If you stare at distant objects for too long, a foul or movement toward those objects may occur. To avoid this, observe elements of prolongation, such as periodically looking at your hands, rubbing them together, and maintaining strong vibrations.
Maintain constant activity
In a lucid dream, it’s important to be active and avoid passivity. The more actions you take, the longer the lucid dream lasts. Pausing to think or perform monotonous actions can end the dream. Therefore, the actions you perform should be both active and varied.
Have an action plan
You need a clear two- or three-step plan to carry out in the lucid dream. This helps avoid rumination and unintended pauses that often lead to fouls. Meaningful, pre-planned actions support forward movement and prevent the senseless use of the phase. Having a plan also creates motivation and an additional incentive to enter a lucid dream.
A curious fact!
Since early 2011, the effectiveness of the school’s three-day seminars—achieving stable results (60–70%)—has been assessed not only by the fact of entering a lucid dream but also by completing the group’s shared action plan. This approach doubled the duration and quality of beginners’ first experiences.
Stopping internal dialogue
The less internal chatter and thinking in the lucid dream, the longer it lasts. All thinking should relate only to your current actions and sensations, while talking to yourself should be avoided. Moreover, thoughts about your body can return you to it, and prolonged thinking can lead to relaxation and a foul.
Intention
Lucid dream prolongation techniques must be accompanied by a strong intention to remain in the state as long as possible. Sometimes, this intention alone is enough for the lucid dream to last a long time, even without any special prolongation procedures.
Re-entry
A typical phase experience usually consists of multiple entries and exits, not just one. With this in mind, after returning to the body, you must immediately apply separation techniques or create the phase again to re-enter the lucid dream. You can try this multiple times in the same attempt.
FAQ
Why do beginners struggle to maintain lucid dreams?
Because they fear unintentionally waking up, which causes them to misuse prolongation techniques. It also means they lack the confidence and intention needed to stay in the lucid state.
How does having an action plan help prolong a lucid dream?
A plan prevents unnecessary pauses and decisions, keeping the dreamer engaged and active, thus reducing the likelihood of a foul.
What are false fouls, and why are they a problem?
False fouls occur when the dreamer mistakenly believes they’ve woken up. They’re problematic because they can shorten the dream unless the dreamer attempts re-entry and performs reality checks.
How can analyzing one’s perceptions help one understand the true length of a lucid dream?
By counting the actions performed and estimating their duration, the dreamer can distinguish between the perceived and actual length of a dream, thus avoiding the misleading sense of extended dream time.
Why is constant activity in the lucid dream state so important?
Continuous, varied activity sustains the dream environment and helps prevent it from fading or degenerating into a regular dream, thereby extending the dream’s overall duration.
