Why Can’t I Lucid Dream?

• Knowledge Vault


• 15 Mar 2015

Failure to achieve lucidity in spite of repeated attempts might leave you wondering, “why can’t I lucid dream?” Nevertheless, don’t lose heart. Rather, stay steady in your approach and remember “patience is a virtue.”

Reasons as to why you are not succeeding in lucid dreaming:

• Lack of motivation: It has been observed that people face difficulties in inducing lucidity when they do not have a strong intent on having this experience. For instance, you could be really interested in this subject but unknowingly, you might be apprehensive of actually trying out the phenomenon.Tip for dealing with this hurdle- Try to analyze why you want to lucid dream. Plus, read the experiences of others and study the benefits of lucid dreaming to boost your morale and eliminate hidden fears.Here’s an informative video about lucid dreaming (excerpt from Discovery Channel).
• Not maintaining a dream diary: Even if you have a good dream recall still, it is important to record your dreams with as many details as you can extract immediately on waking up.It helps a great deal in understanding the patterns of your dreams. Besides, dream journaling serves as a valuable tool for dream interpretation.Tip- Relish the state of half-dreaming and half-awake (would be easier when you are in a pleasant dream!) and retain the dream emotions to help you record the dream in detail. In addition, use the snooze function in your alarm to awake you gently and gradually.
• Trying too hard: Self-awareness while dreaming comes more easily when you remain calm and relaxed. So, don’t force yourself to take control of a dream, or else you will end up awake on the bed thinking, “why can’t I lucid dream?” Just go with the flow of your dream and wait for a suitable time to improvise smoothly.
• Poor choice of lucid dreaming technique: Although there are a number of methods for inducing lucidity, whether proven or not, the secret to success lies in using a technique that suits you the best.For example, while following the Wake-Initiation of Lucid Dreams (WILD) technique you will have to get accustomed to go through the effects of sleep paralysis instead of getting scared of it.Moreover, methods like autosuggestion and MILD work best on people who are highly susceptible to hypnosis and those who have a good prospective memory. This sort of memory helps one remember to do things at an appropriate time or time interval.
• Defects in visualization: If you are unable to lucid dream in spite of putting in much effort then consider evaluating your technique of visualization. An effective way of visualization is to practice witnessing your visualization through your own eyes instead of seeing the scene from a distance.In addition, make use of proper visualization to escape to a dreamscape of your choice while spinning your dream body around on a spot (dream spinning).
• Insufficient sleep: An exhausted mind will find it hard to stay lucid in a dream for longer. Therefore, it is suggested to take plenty of sleep to give rest to your mind and body.Plus, you are more likely to find it difficult to lucid dream at night if you exercise during the evening because it tends to boost the metabolism for hours afterwards, thereby creating problems in falling asleep soon.

Besides, some individuals are naturally more proficient at conscious dreaming as compared to others. However, instead of getting demoralized and frustrated by negative thoughts, like “I can’t lucid dream” or “Why Can’t I Lucid Dream,” feed positive inputs in your mind.