While lucid, the dreamer may have control over the environment, the narrative, and the characters of the dream. A lucid dream is a sandbox of endless possibilities. Anything you can imagine that you cannot do in waking life, you can experience in a lucid dream, such as flying, meeting celebrities, shapeshifting and so much more. One of the best things about dreams is that the rules and laws of everyday life do not apply to them. We are able to defy the laws of physics and have amazing, freeing, and inspiring experiences. It is important to remember that because dreams can be very unpredictable, sometimes things you attempt may not work or may react differently than expected. If this happens, just roll with it and do not let yourself get frustrated. Simply try again another way or try something else.
Flying is one of the most popular things to do in a lucid dream. It’s a superpower people have been obsessed with throughout our history. In a dream there are so many ways to fly; you can fly like superman, jump into the sky vertically, or even grow a pair of wings. Flying is safe and easily achievable in a lucid dream. You might have to struggle a bit at first, but assuming you’ve already achieved the ability to lucid dream, learning to fly in a dream setting will be much simpler. To have more control over your flight, try to have confidence in yourself and relax while lucid in the dream.
Shapeshifting is a great way to experiment with lucid dream control. Many lucid dreamers have experienced themselves as different animals, plants, objects or people. It’s quite something to feel your human shape transform into something else, and it can be startlingly realistic on a sensory and kinaesthetic level. On rare occasions, we can even find ourselves inhabiting two different dream bodies simultaneously. There are many ways to your appearance in a dream. You can get creative and try anything like spinning around, imagining what you want to transform into, or even commanding it out loud. You can get creative with how to do this, and make up your own method. If there are doors or mirrors around you, try using that and knowing in your mind that when you walk through them, you'll be transformed.
Many find it helpful to create a reason for the change, like pulling a pill out of your pocket to take or finding a machine that changes your form. Because there are no solid rules, you can do this in many ways, what’s important is your confidence in your ability to successfully shapeshift or any dream activity you want to try.
Slowing down or speeding up the passage of time is also possible while lucid. You could even travel back in time to experience your past, communicate with ancient civilizations, or travel into the future. This can be a healing experience for anyone with trauma, or needing closure from a situation they are still ruminating over.
Lucid dreaming can be used to practice skills and actually improve performance! Sensory-motor skills which have already been mastered in their rough outlines can be refined by using lucid dreaming. Many athletes have used lucid dreaming to practice in a safe environment, and studies have shown the brain still forms neural pathways to remember the movements and improve their performance. It has also been theorized that new sensory-motor skills can be learned using lucid dreaming. In a lucid dream, you can have any talent you choose. Ever wanted to learn to play the guitar? Want to do magic tricks? There’s really no limit to your abilities in a conscious dream – explore being an acrobat, a pilot, a musician, a samurai or anything else you want!
If you are lucid in a nightmare, you can talk to any monsters and ask them why they are chasing you. You can even ask the dream to show you your biggest fear. The environment of a lucid dream also allows you to practice situations from everyday life that usually stress you. If you are scared of public speaking, practice giving an amazing speech in front of a crowd! Knowing the people are just dream characters will ease your nerves while giving you a realistic, fully immersive simulation of public speaking.
If you want a unique and unpredictable experience while lucid, try to talk to dream characters. They can provide you with a lot of insight into yourself. Yung believed it was a way to talk to your unconscious mind. Although they are inside your dream, it is important to still be compassionate and patient towards dream characters. Bothering them or treating them badly will only affect your own psyche and can change the tone of your dream. You may want to ask dream characters for live advice, or for guidance on a problem. Dream characters have been known to give people business ideas, and creative inspiration.
During a lucid dream, you can consciously seek out someone you want to speak to, even if they have already passed. Studies have shown that people sometimes have spontaneous dreams of the recently deceased. A Canadian study suggested that two-thirds of those who had such dreams considered them as ‘visitation’ dreams and it increased their belief in an afterlife. Almost 70% felt a greater connection to the deceased after having such a dream. Some visitation dreams can prove evidential when the person you meet while dreaming gives you information that you did not know, but can confirm afterward. Consciously seeking out someone you want to see again in your lucid dream can bring feelings of healing and closure when needed.
Lucid dreaming allows you to explore places you have never been. You can use portals and doors to change the dreamscape to anywhere you want to go. See the pyramids, and fly to the moon. It also helps that you can breathe underwater in a lucid dream, so you can explore the depths of the ocean and dive as deep and for as long as you want. You can visit any fantasy universe such as Hogwarts from Harry Potter and become a wizard.
While lucid, you can create an amazing art piece or compose a song, and then try to memorize it to bring it into your waking life later. You can visit an art gallery, or even ask a dream character to help you make a painting. You could also ask the dream to show you a best-selling song that does not exist yet. In fact, many legendary songs and paintings were created this way. Salvador Dali would take short naps throughout the day with the intention of accessing this dream space for creative inspiration. This is where his imagination started to produce the vivid imagery that appears in his legendary paintings.
Try sitting down with your legs crossed and practice mindful breathing meditation while lucid. Just see what happens! Experiences with meditating inside a lucid dream vary significantly. Many people report experiencing an interesting shift in energy or in the dreamscape. Tibetan monks have been practicing lucid dreaming to meditate for centuries. When you are confronted with some sort of strong emotion in a dream, try taking a moment of stillness to meditate.
