Brian Tracy is a success-coach, one of those self-help/motivational-speakers. And he's one of the better ones, in my opinion. I'm a fan of these types of authors and speakers – Tony Robbins, Les Brown, Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn – because I find that by seeking out virtual mentors I receive real help. Help with finding my motivation. Assistance in structuring my plans. Tracy is alright with me because he gives a healthy dose of actionable recommendations. He gives you not only access to your own energy by making your goals seem obtainable, but also clear steps to follow for your pursuit of happiness.
Brian Tracy puts together strategies for goal attainment. For the most part, this advice is geared towards sales-people. Entrepreneurs. Real Estate agents. But some of his recommendations are basic enough that they can be applied to all sorts of endeavors. What I've done here is borrowed Tracy's 7-Steps to Success formula and applied it to structuring your own lucid dream blueprint. Give it a try: |
1. Be specific with what you want.
I urge beginners to have a clear idea of what they want to do when they have their first extended lucid dreams. The more specific we are with goals, the better able is our mind to work on bridging the gaps between where we are and where we want to get to. One physical way to look at this has been by descibing the Reticular Activation System (RAS). Seeking out solutions to our desires and intents, the RAS – mostly sub-liminal, beyond conscious awareness – scans the world and notifies us if something useful comes up. The brain circuits which make up the RAS are least active during non-REM sleep, most active when we are highly aroused or attentive. So, the clearer our goals, the better our brains are at bringing us to them. By being specific, we can anticipate what we need to do to get somewhere, and what to do once we get there. (Remember, if your goal is nothing, you're likely to get it.) Example: "I want to realize I'm in a dream the next time I am at my old job still working. I will state-test and stabilize right away. Then, I will open a door and step through into my favorite movie, and then…" |
2. Write the goal down clearly, with specifics, and Yes - on paper
For many people, the act of writing goals onto paper has a way of solidifying their seriousness to your sub-liminal mind. Words are magical. Your own words, on paper, are gold. Writing creates a sort of contract. You've made yourself a deal now to achieve lucidity, and to break this is not an option. Maybe you could go so far as to write this out like a simple contract and sign in. Example: I, Skittles McGillacutty, will realize I am lucid dreaming by December 21st, and I will do whatever I need to do to achieve this. I will practice my stabilization techniques daily and I will keep a dream journal and I will review my planned activity. I will become familiar with my dreams and I will…" |
3. Set a deadline
Just like writing down a goal makes its importance more luminous to the subconscious brain, setting a deadline sets in motion an urgency for figuring out "how?" When you are serious enough, when you have a big enough "why?," a way can almost always be found. When I was in the pretend world of college, I realized that it didn't really matter how much time I had to complete assignments. As long as I was clear on when something was due, I got a good feel for how much time was needed to create quality work. Having more time doesn't usually help. Actually, I got so used to doing work last minute that having extra time became increasingly dangerous; I'd push back projects further and further because I kept learning I could. The point – if it's important to you, do it now, or plan to have it accomplished relatively soon. Don't be unrealistic, but create some pressure. If you don't make a note of achieving this lucid dream thing soon, your mind may decide that the week after the year after the day after tomorrow will do. But it won't. Will it? Example: "On April 32nd I will have a lucid dream, on that very Saturday Morning. I have no pressing issues that morning, I can sleep-in and use the Wake-Back-To-Bed method. I can take a lucid dream supplement that morning, and sleep in the spare bedroom to not be disturbed, and…" |
4. Make a list of everything you can think of that you'll have to do
This is a rough list. Get as much on the paper as you can, refining comes after. Based on what you know, from what you've read and heard and experienced, what techniques and practices seem likely to lead to success at lucid dreaming? Which ones can you do, and how might you combine them for a synergistic action? You may have to disrupt sleep. You might have to devote your most sincere efforts to the weekends. Will you be using an alarm on your phone? There are core, basic lucid dream induction techniques that greatly increase your odds of success. Learn them, combine them, reap the rewards. Example: "a. Keep a dream journal by my bedside and write in it after every dream, even if I have to disrupt sleep five times a night for two weeks; b. Read dream entries before bed every night and become familiar with my dream themes and content/characters; c. Stop taking any drugs that inhibit REM-Sleep [obviously, this example should not supersede your doctor's advice]…" |
5. Organize your plan into a list – this is your blueprint
Once the brainstorming is complete, take your goals and "To-Do's" and combine them together into an order of operations. Work backwards from your lucid dream objective and re-trace how future-you did the do. Before becoming familiar with your dreams, you should have recorded a few dozen down. But won't that take weeks? – Nope. Although it can be a pain, and I don't recommend it for the long-term, the average person can train themselves to wake up after each REM-cycle. This can provide you with up to five or more dreams per night. It is not easy to sit up and grab your pad and pen. And for me anyway, voice recording of dreams instead of writing are very disruptive to falling back asleep (still, they may be for you). But if you want the fast-track to lucid dream induction, this one step is on the top of my list. Part of your plan may be to only attempt induction on certain days of the week, such as when you can sleep later. You might want to include special foods and meal timing, like spicy food right before bed on an induction-attempt night (again, individual approaches will vary). |
6. Take action on your plan
The best plan will get you nowhere if it remains only a plan. At first, new behaviors and patterns are difficult to implement. Initial excitement can get us going on a path, but following through to completion can require some deep digging into our will. What will motivate you? Have you chosen lucid dream activities that are really pulling you towards them? You want to be looking forward to your lucid dream like how a child anticipates Christmas morning or their birthday (I don't think Chanukah elicits the same response). |
7. Do something every day to get you closer to your goal
Sometimes it’s the little things, building over time, that deliver us to glory. Consistency. Compound interest. Herculean efforts aren't always the best approach. Do what others have done to reach the results you want. If you had a bad day yesterday, maybe skipping your plan, get back on it today. Don't keep falling back. Look forward. Keep stepping. Didn't write down any dreams this morning, all forgot now? – read over your other dreams and look for clues and themes; go for a walk and look for dream-signs in the real world and imagine what you would do if you were dreaming right here. |
Extra – realize what you will have to pay for success
Alright, so that's a Brian Tracy-esque success plan, directed into a lucid dream induction outline. One additional piece of my mind is this: In order to become a new you, to experience a Noo Day with a Noo Brain (blatant advertising for the nootropic supplement stacks I use), the old you will have to give up some identity and take on some new characteristics. Right? Who you were got you to where you are, and if you are having trouble getting to where you want to be, who you are – your beliefs and behaviors and expectations – have to adjust accordingly. Change – stretching into a new shape with new abilities – can be uncomfortable. But that's just one way of looking at it. Change, growth, is exciting and exhilarating. Becoming more. Expanding. Maybe becoming less of some things, shedding some of your attributes. Fractating into You – The Updated Version. |