What Should I Do When I Become Lucid in My Dreams?

Lucid dreaming is an exciting skill that many people spend a lot of time and effort trying to learn. From consistent dream journaling to practicing lucid dreaming techniques, a lot goes into training your mind to recognize when you're dreaming. But once you finally become lucid, then what?

Achieving lucidity is only the first step and it is common to feel unsure about what to do next. The dream world offers endless possibilities and figuring out where to start can be overwhelming. Lucid dreams can be a playground for your imagination and a unique opportunity for self-discovery, healing, and personal growth. Knowing how to focus while in a dream will help you get the most out of it.

In this article, we’ll guide you through what you should do when you become lucid in your dreams. We’ll talk about initial steps to help you stabilize the dream as well as fun activities and ideas for deep inner exploration.

What to Do in the First Moments of Lucidity

When you first realize you are dreaming, you need to stay in control and prevent the dream from slipping away.

Stabilizing the Dream

One of the biggest challenges many lucid dreaming students face is that their lucidity doesn’t last. They wake up almost as soon as they realize they are dreaming and this can be frustrating. If this keeps happening, you won’t even have time to interact with your dream.

A common reason for this is that lucid dreaming students get too excited and wake themselves up.

The next time you have a lucid dream, be calm and observe the dream before you try anything. Pick one object in the dreamscape and focus on it, noting every detail. You could also focus on the senses in your dream body–touching objects, listening to sounds, etc. In general, we advise a calm curiosity.

Performing Reality Checks

Reality checks are a simple but powerful way to confirm that you’re dreaming and to stay aware in the first moments of lucidity. They help ground you in the dream, making it feel more real and less likely to slip away. It can be tricky to know if you’re actually dreaming or just imagining it, especially as a beginner. Reality checks are like quick tests that prove you are really in a dream.

A few recommended reality checks to try to fly or levitate, try to willfully change some feature of the environment, or reading a word on a sign and looking away then reading it again to see if it changes. Each one works because normal rules don’t apply in dreams, so the results will be different than in waking life. Doing a reality check right when you become lucid can help stabilize the dream.

Things to Do in a Lucid Dream

Once you have mastered the art of becoming lucid and staying lucid in a dream, you can start trying out different things.

Embrace Creativity

If you are an artist, writer, or creator of any kind you can use lucid dreams as a creative playground. Imagine experimenting with colors, shapes, or scenes as if you were inside a living canvas, or developing storylines with dream characters that feel fully real.

Practicing your craft in a dream lets you explore without pressure, experimenting in a way that feels fun and freeing. You connect with ideas and inspiration that you may have overlooked while awake. Aphex Twin, a successful music artist, said that he created music in his lucid dreams, inspiring his work in real life.

Confront Fears

Lucid dreaming can help you confront and overcome fears in a safe, controlled environment. When you know you’re dreaming, you can face situations that would typically cause anxiety without the real-world consequences. Indeed, in dreams, there is most commonly no fear at all.

For instance, if social interactions make you uneasy, practice approaching and talking to strangers in a crowded setting in your lucid dream. Observe your reactions and experiment with different ways to handle the situation, all while knowing you’re in a secure, dream-created space.

Starting small can make a big difference. Begin with mild fears and gradually work up to more intense ones. For instance, if you are afraid of heights, you might first try standing on a tall building in your dream, simply observing the view. Eventually, you could work up to flying or interacting with dream characters and scenarios that represent more deeply rooted fears. Approaching your anxieties this way can help you feel more empowered and better equipped to face them in real life.

Solve Difficult Problems

Dreams can provide fresh perspectives on waking life challenges. There are many life-changing discoveries that originated from dreams. When you are lucid dreaming, your mind is free to explore ideas and solutions without the usual limitations of reality, making it easier to think creatively. Whether you’re tackling a work project, developing a personal goal, or simply brainstorming new ideas, lucid dreaming lets you approach these tasks from new angles.

For example, if you’re struggling with a difficult project at work, you can visualize the project details in a lucid dream and experiment with different strategies. Some people even get to work on their dream computers to come up with solutions for their challenges.

Connect with Your Subconscious Mind

While lucid dreaming, you can connect with parts of the mind that you normally do not have access to. The entirety of the dream is a reflection of your mind, so every character or event you encounter is a component of your conscious or subconscious mind. These characters and events often represent parts of yourself or your emotions. Engaging with them can reveal things you might not reach in your waking life. For instance, you might ask a dream character about an issue you are having trouble with, like career direction. This could give you a new perspective and sense of direction. Many lucid dreamers find that these interactions feel surprisingly real and can bring clarity or comfort.

Exploring your inner world this way can lead to fruitful self-reflection and personal growth. Some dreamers use lucid dreams to confront unresolved feelings by directly addressing them within the dream. This allows you to uncover and process emotions in a safer environment.

Cool Things to Do in a Lucid Dream

Lucid dreaming can help you deal with real-life issues and solve problems in your waking life. But it also offers a way for you to have fun in the dream world, where anything is possible. It is the perfect opportunity to live out your wildest fantasies.

Interact with Celebrities or Fictional Characters

Meeting celebrities or fictional characters in a lucid dream can be an exciting experience. You can have a conversation with a top musician, share ideas with a historical figure, or team up with your favorite superhero on an adventure.

Travel to Any Destination

Since there are no limits in the dream world, you can travel anywhere you want–take a walk in Paris, climb Mount Everest, or travel to a remote island. You can even teleport to a fantasy world with weird landscapes and creatures. For those who love space, lucid dreams make it possible to visit other planets or wander through galaxies.

Become an Animal or Mythical Creature

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to move and perceive the world from a completely new perspective? You can experience it for yourself in a lucid dream. Feel free to soar through the sky as an eagle, dive deep into the ocean as a dolphin, or roam the jungle as a mighty lion. You might also choose to become a dragon or unicorn, embracing the magic of a mythical form.

Try Flying

This is one of the most popular dream activities among lucid dreamers. Float through the clouds, fly over cities, or glide over the ocean. The feeling of flying is both exciting and freeing. It is unlike anything in waking life and it lets you explore your dream world from a whole new perspective.

Live Out All Your Imaginations

In a lucid dream, the only limit is your imagination. There are no rules holding you back, so you are free to create and experience anything you want or have ever imagined. Relive a happy memory, build your own world, explore the deep sea, build towering castles, or have a conversation with someone you can’t speak to in real life.

Wrapping Up

Lucid dreaming offers a world of endless possibilities and playful creativity. If you are a lucid dreaming beginner, start by stabilizing your dream so you don’t wake up. Stay calm and find a dream object to focus on. Do two or three reality checks to confirm that you are in a lucid dream. Once the dream is clear and stable, the exploration begins. You can examine your deepest desires, confront fears, and follow your best imagination.

In the dream world, you can connect with your subconscious, engage with different characters, and experience adventures you might not be able to experience in real life. Fly, travel to any destination, meet a celebrity, or become a mythical creature. There is no limit to what you can do.