What do you think?
Rate this book
Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide to Awakening in Your Dreams and in Your Life
The average person spends nearly 25 years of their life sleeping. But you can get a lot more from sleeping than just a healthy night’s rest. With the art of lucid dreaming—or becoming fully conscious in the dream state—you can find creative inspirations, promote emotional healing, gain rich insights into your waking reality, and much more.
Now, with Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide to Awakening in Your Dreams and in Your Life, Stephen LaBerge invites you on a guided journey to learn to use conscious dreaming in your life. Distilled from his more than 20 years of pioneering research at Stanford University and the Lucidity Institute—including many new and updated techniques and discoveries—here is the most effective and easy-to-learn tool available for you to begin your own fascinating nightly exploration into Lucid Dreaming.
Guided dream practices on CD (or download) include:
Two trance inductions into the lucid-dream state
Two daytime exercises designed to trigger lucid dreams at night
LaBerge’s breakthrough MILD technique for increasing lucid-dream probability fivefold or more
A Tibetan-yoga dream practice
90 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2009
138 people are currently reading
539 people want to read
About the author
Stephen LaBerge
26 books145 followersStephen LaBerge (1947–) is a psychophysiologist and a leader in the scientific study of lucid dreaming. He began researching lucid dreaming for his Ph.D. in Psychophysiology at Stanford University, which he received in 1980. In 1987, he founded The Lucidity Institute, an organization that promotes research into lucid dreaming, as well as running courses for the general public on how to achieve a lucid dream.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 15, 2019
Summary: A better book if you are a lucid dreamer. If you're researching I would add it to the mix.
I am writing from the point of view of someone who is a lucid dreamer. If you are not yet a lucid dreamer, you might feel differently.
I enjoyed this book more than some and less than others. I think that it provides a bit of practical advice for those that are trying to augment their abilities and think about what might be the next steps on your lucid dream journey. Even though I thought the acronymns were corny, they do suggest that there are different types of lucidity and what you ought to be striving for. I find that very helpful. Usually many are just talking in terms of dream interpretation, but your feelings about the whole situation aren't where it stops. The actions and decisions you take can also help you get the most out of your sleeping experience in a way that carries into your waking experience.
In that context, I found the idea of control in dreams very interesting. Specifically, what it implies vs. when you do not have that control and what it means to face those negative emotions of fear or what-ever. Very interesting.
I also like that he acknowledges that it's hard - once you become lucid in your dream to maintain the dream. Many other books do not do that. I'm not sure that it happens for me like he describes, but it is a real thing. Also, I don't think I'm quite a novice lucid dreamer as I have been doing it since I was a small child. I still do find it a bit hard to stay asleep in certain circumstances of lucidity. If that's your deal, I wouldn't be concerned.
I do however, like the message that many will awaken themselves to avoid the negativity in their dream. I have def done that, but I don't always think facing what is happening is what you want to do either. That said, I would take no stars off for that, b/c it's def something to consider depending on the dream. I mean, if you know it's a stress dream and what the dream is on about, you don't to address it in the dream state, you can likely just take care of it in the awake state.
Anyway, a good book on the topic. Worth throwing in the mix.
I am writing from the point of view of someone who is a lucid dreamer. If you are not yet a lucid dreamer, you might feel differently.
I enjoyed this book more than some and less than others. I think that it provides a bit of practical advice for those that are trying to augment their abilities and think about what might be the next steps on your lucid dream journey. Even though I thought the acronymns were corny, they do suggest that there are different types of lucidity and what you ought to be striving for. I find that very helpful. Usually many are just talking in terms of dream interpretation, but your feelings about the whole situation aren't where it stops. The actions and decisions you take can also help you get the most out of your sleeping experience in a way that carries into your waking experience.
In that context, I found the idea of control in dreams very interesting. Specifically, what it implies vs. when you do not have that control and what it means to face those negative emotions of fear or what-ever. Very interesting.
I also like that he acknowledges that it's hard - once you become lucid in your dream to maintain the dream. Many other books do not do that. I'm not sure that it happens for me like he describes, but it is a real thing. Also, I don't think I'm quite a novice lucid dreamer as I have been doing it since I was a small child. I still do find it a bit hard to stay asleep in certain circumstances of lucidity. If that's your deal, I wouldn't be concerned.
I do however, like the message that many will awaken themselves to avoid the negativity in their dream. I have def done that, but I don't always think facing what is happening is what you want to do either. That said, I would take no stars off for that, b/c it's def something to consider depending on the dream. I mean, if you know it's a stress dream and what the dream is on about, you don't to address it in the dream state, you can likely just take care of it in the awake state.
Anyway, a good book on the topic. Worth throwing in the mix.
November 26, 2014
A short (80-page), helpful practical guide on lucid dreaming with a heavy focus on sometimes controversial eastern spirituality.
The first chapter with several reports of the exhilarating experience of being in a lucid dream starts the book as a great teaser. It instantly lifted my mood and made me hopeful about the potential for new experiences and adventure.
Very quickly afterwards, one is introduced to techniques to increase the likelihood of lucid dreaming, among which is developing better dream recall, making a habit of asking yourself whether you dream, and perseverantly setting the intention to dream lucidly and remember. These are very precise and technical as a great practical guide to learning to dream lucidly.
More and more then, the book drifts to a promotion of often controversial eastern spiritual ideas like recognizing yourself, embracing your shadow personality and "awakening" in life. Many of these are interesting, some are often given less credit than they deserve (awareness, blindness to one's own personal weaknesses).
Some of these ideas and musings however are borderline mystical and naive, especially for an otherwise scientifically written book. When the question of the "ultimate nature of reality" is asked or a 10-line story is suppposed to contain in its interpretations "all knowledge", the skeptical alarm bell should go off. I wonder if with a basic background in philosophy and some philosophical analysis the author would pertain to many of these ideas.
This does not keep the book from giving excellent advice on ludic dreaming with good scientific insight. If you, like me, would rather be spared much of the mystical, spiritual musings, the older and more expansive "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" might be a better fit, which was recommended to me. But at least this one is short at 80 pages and the first few chapters on lucid dreaming techniques are very concise, scientific and helpful.
In any case, i've dreamed lucidly before reading this book, but i'm ever more excited to repeat that and experiment with it!
The first chapter with several reports of the exhilarating experience of being in a lucid dream starts the book as a great teaser. It instantly lifted my mood and made me hopeful about the potential for new experiences and adventure.
Very quickly afterwards, one is introduced to techniques to increase the likelihood of lucid dreaming, among which is developing better dream recall, making a habit of asking yourself whether you dream, and perseverantly setting the intention to dream lucidly and remember. These are very precise and technical as a great practical guide to learning to dream lucidly.
More and more then, the book drifts to a promotion of often controversial eastern spiritual ideas like recognizing yourself, embracing your shadow personality and "awakening" in life. Many of these are interesting, some are often given less credit than they deserve (awareness, blindness to one's own personal weaknesses).
Some of these ideas and musings however are borderline mystical and naive, especially for an otherwise scientifically written book. When the question of the "ultimate nature of reality" is asked or a 10-line story is suppposed to contain in its interpretations "all knowledge", the skeptical alarm bell should go off. I wonder if with a basic background in philosophy and some philosophical analysis the author would pertain to many of these ideas.
This does not keep the book from giving excellent advice on ludic dreaming with good scientific insight. If you, like me, would rather be spared much of the mystical, spiritual musings, the older and more expansive "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" might be a better fit, which was recommended to me. But at least this one is short at 80 pages and the first few chapters on lucid dreaming techniques are very concise, scientific and helpful.
In any case, i've dreamed lucidly before reading this book, but i'm ever more excited to repeat that and experiment with it!
June 18, 2016
"Masakatsu agatsu." (True victory is mastery of self.)
As I have always been interested in dreams and believe them to have influence on the "waking state" (or what we take to be the waking state according to Stephen LaBerge and many philosophers), I consider lucid dreaming to be a fascinating topic.
"You have not met yourself yet. The only advantage of meeting others in the meantime is that one of them may present you to yourself." Sufi master TariquaviI like to face my dreams in this way.
Stephen LaBerge very convincingly describes the benefits of practicing lucid dreaming such as becoming more aware, improving the quality and depth of your life.
Some of his advices I reckon to be fun and I will definitely try them myself (besides reviving my dream journal), for example to imagine that your surroundings are a dream while you are not dreaming (this is characterized as one method to get to know your "dreamsigns").
Want to read
November 13, 2008I have never had a lucid dream. I have never had a dream where I have flown... In all honesty, I have never had a dream that pushed the limits of reality... a dream where fantastical things can happen. Most of my dreams are so reality based that it's almost nice to awaken from them. I just want to have one dream where I can fly.
September 8, 2009
I read this book after reading a lot about lucid dreaming online. I have to say that I did get more from this book then I did just searching around online. It gave not only instructions on how to develop the skill of lucid dreaming but also a lot of insight and theory behind it. The included CD was helpful as well. I would recommend it for anyone with a new interest in the topic.
April 5, 2018
Read as research for a story I'm working on.
June 23, 2021
When I first noticed that I had different types of dreams, I was trying to explain it to an artist I had met at a festival. Her jewelry had a dream motif. She was really into dreams and she recognized what I was describing as a lucid dream. She recommended this book and I devoured it. I have since re-read it several times, and while I have read other books on the subject, I believe this is the ultimate and defining book on the subject. I recommend it all the time.
October 24, 2022
Another great entry in the topic of lucid dreaming. There is a CD included, with exercises, which I left in the CD player when I returned the book to the library—leading to a second trip...you know, before they call. Lol... and I'm off!
April 6, 2025
I didn't know
I've been lucid dreaming for awhile..in a rudimentary way...only to realize that it was, in fact, A Thing!! My friends dismissed it, because they had never experienced it...Now I Know I can perfect the experience! Thank You for the validation.
I've been lucid dreaming for awhile..in a rudimentary way...only to realize that it was, in fact, A Thing!! My friends dismissed it, because they had never experienced it...Now I Know I can perfect the experience! Thank You for the validation.
February 14, 2021
It is concise. A good primer. Want to read the seminal text next.
July 18, 2021
Very concise and a good introduction to lucid dreaming methods.
December 30, 2021
It did not meet my expectations as I had expected more experiences to be shared.
June 6, 2022
Concise, as title says. Easy to read, fascinating topic.
October 6, 2024
Useful techniques but not written in a logical way (mixture of science, philosophy, poetry, spiritual...)
November 6, 2025
Not really a guide, more so explanation on what it is, like an overview.
February 5, 2014
If you search `Lucid Dreaming` on Google, within fifteen seconds Stephen`s name will undoubtedly come up. He’s a major player in the lucid dreaming world, not only as an author but as a scientist and researcher. Because of the work he (and a few others) performed, lucid dreaming was proven real, and not just a trick of the mind. It was a cool experiment – someone would go into REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, get lucid in the dream, and send a signal to their physical body. The signal was a distinct back-and-forth movement of the eyes, so the observer would know the dreamer was lucid. It worked, and the rest is history.
This book is solid. It contains a wealth of information for anyone who wants to learn how to lucid dream, from the basics (writing down your dreams), to the practical, to recognizing dreamsigns (incongruities within the dream that cue you in to the fact that you’re dreaming), as well as some ideas for what to do when you have a lucid dream, and how to maintain it.
The technique offered in this book is called MILD (mnemonic induced lucid dream), which is where you wake up in the night, toward morning, and as you fall back asleep, tell yourself that you will become lucid, envision yourself becoming lucid, and have it be the last thing on your mind before you drift into dreamland. He also talks about inducing a WILD (waking induced lucid dream), where you go straight from waking into dreaming by choosing something to focus your attention on, something that will keep your mind awake while you fall asleep. During this process it`s helpful to frequently ask yourself, “am I dreaming?”.
Like many other lucid dream experts, Stephen suggests using lucid dreaming as a tool for personal growth by confronting fearful and negative dreams – he talks about his experiences with anxiety in dreams, and how the frequency in which he experienced nightmares decreased dramatically once he started working with them. For anyone who often has bad dreams, this is essential information.
But perhaps my favorite part of the book is the last chapter, where he contemplates the philosophical idea of life as a dream. It really gave me some food for thought, and I love this quote, “Solve for X: as ordinary dreaming is to lucid dreaming, so is the ordinary waking state to X”.
Pros:
-The technique in this book really does work
-Accessible to most people – there’s a distinct lack of woo-woo here (it helps that he has a PhD from Stanford)
-Written by a guy who has done a lot to advance our understanding and knowledge of lucid dreaming, and continues to do so
Cons:
-It only focuses on one technique (with variations), which might be problematic if someone has issues with it and wants to try something else.
I experienced my very first (very short) deliberate lucid dream because of this book and the WILD technique mentioned above, so I consider it to be very useful, and essential to anyone wanting to foray into the world of lucid dreaming.
This book is solid. It contains a wealth of information for anyone who wants to learn how to lucid dream, from the basics (writing down your dreams), to the practical, to recognizing dreamsigns (incongruities within the dream that cue you in to the fact that you’re dreaming), as well as some ideas for what to do when you have a lucid dream, and how to maintain it.
The technique offered in this book is called MILD (mnemonic induced lucid dream), which is where you wake up in the night, toward morning, and as you fall back asleep, tell yourself that you will become lucid, envision yourself becoming lucid, and have it be the last thing on your mind before you drift into dreamland. He also talks about inducing a WILD (waking induced lucid dream), where you go straight from waking into dreaming by choosing something to focus your attention on, something that will keep your mind awake while you fall asleep. During this process it`s helpful to frequently ask yourself, “am I dreaming?”.
Like many other lucid dream experts, Stephen suggests using lucid dreaming as a tool for personal growth by confronting fearful and negative dreams – he talks about his experiences with anxiety in dreams, and how the frequency in which he experienced nightmares decreased dramatically once he started working with them. For anyone who often has bad dreams, this is essential information.
But perhaps my favorite part of the book is the last chapter, where he contemplates the philosophical idea of life as a dream. It really gave me some food for thought, and I love this quote, “Solve for X: as ordinary dreaming is to lucid dreaming, so is the ordinary waking state to X”.
Pros:
-The technique in this book really does work
-Accessible to most people – there’s a distinct lack of woo-woo here (it helps that he has a PhD from Stanford)
-Written by a guy who has done a lot to advance our understanding and knowledge of lucid dreaming, and continues to do so
Cons:
-It only focuses on one technique (with variations), which might be problematic if someone has issues with it and wants to try something else.
I experienced my very first (very short) deliberate lucid dream because of this book and the WILD technique mentioned above, so I consider it to be very useful, and essential to anyone wanting to foray into the world of lucid dreaming.
May 26, 2011
One of the unfortunate things about being interested in lucid dreaming is the lack of literature on the topic. Actually, the lack of intelligent, thought out, and well written literature. On a whole, lucid dreaming books have too much of the author's own opinion and not enough research, in addition to mediocre writing. What I want is a well researched, well written, and scholarly book that doesn't read like the author's dream journal.
This book almost fulfills my wish. It is well written. The author is scholarly and has spent years researching the subject. There are more examples of other people's dreams than the author's. I read it all the way through.
However, it doesn't break free of my stereotype of lucid dreaming books. While its the best I've encountered in its class, it is still in that class. It is not scholarly, nor is it well researched, even though the author himself is those things. It is more like a conversation with a smart and knowledgable person on the subject, rather than a treatise.
Wikipedia shares more information on the subject in a more concise fashion. If you're interested in the facts and history of lucid dreaming, go there. However, if you're interested in the opinions and impressions of an intelligent, well-read, and experienced lucid dreamer, then read this book.
This book almost fulfills my wish. It is well written. The author is scholarly and has spent years researching the subject. There are more examples of other people's dreams than the author's. I read it all the way through.
However, it doesn't break free of my stereotype of lucid dreaming books. While its the best I've encountered in its class, it is still in that class. It is not scholarly, nor is it well researched, even though the author himself is those things. It is more like a conversation with a smart and knowledgable person on the subject, rather than a treatise.
Wikipedia shares more information on the subject in a more concise fashion. If you're interested in the facts and history of lucid dreaming, go there. However, if you're interested in the opinions and impressions of an intelligent, well-read, and experienced lucid dreamer, then read this book.
November 1, 2018
LaBerge is considered the guru of lucid dreaming. The premises is simple- with training you can learn to realise you are in a dream and control it. LaBerge has some reasonable qualifications, and did complete a PHd on the subject. His book and ideas overlap with Buddhist and more mystical traditions. Skeptics will call it pseudoscience. If it interests you, watch "Inception". Fun,easy reading book. Comes with a CD meant to help you enter lucid dreams. Have not listened to it yet. Does it work. So far, well no.....but it has only been a few days, besides...but I am a DiCaprio fan,... I'll keep trying.
May 11, 2016
I read this book a long time ago, and afterwards actually had a lucid dreaming experience. Having reread it, it's a good introduction. I'm going to read LaBerge's other books to get more insight into developing this skill. If you're really interested and want to know that lucid dreaming is, this is a decent start; if you really want to try it, you will want to read more.
Want to read
March 2, 2010I want to learn how to lucid dream perfectly and every night I want. I have done it, but I don't know if I've done it on purpose. I want to learn everything about it. I want to make it a priority in my life. I will try as hard as I can until I get it. I like the idea of doing anything you want. I will use it to find answers.
March 8, 2019
I had heard such great things about Laberge's books, but I wasn't super impressed by this one. The last chapter was the most interesting, as it touches on the idea whether we are ever really awake, how we know and how elusive the distinction is between being awake and dreaming (interesting too that there doesn't seem to be a word equivilant to "dreaming" for being awake).
Read
November 19, 2008I found this short book quite inspirational, with many good insights on lucid dreaming. It has help and encouraged me in my exploration. I felt there should have been a little more to here, though sometimes less is more.
August 1, 2014
Read this in conjunction with other books that tickle the imagination. Read this with Stranger in a Strangeland when I was adventuring into Lucid dreaming. Provides the simple tools you need to start lucid dreaming. Just stay motivated and don't stop with the dream journal.
January 4, 2015
As the title of the book says: it's concise. It serves its purpose, but for the person who is seriously interested in lucid dreaming, you're better off with something more elaborate.
The last chapter rocked.
The last chapter rocked.
September 30, 2015
A good short book about lucid dreaming. The CD is helpful, I became lucid the first night since I began reading. My dream recollection is better although full lucidity seems a long way off. I'd say this book is a good entry level tome for budding psychonauts!
March 15, 2017
I liked this book, it got right to the heart of what I was looking for, simple techniques to get me ready to lucid dream. It is a quick, easy read, clearly written, and has an audio cd that may be useful.
April 17, 2007
Learn to heal and grow via your dreams. Laberge will give you the key to lucidity in an easy to read and concise way.
September 24, 2007
Great advice on how to go about lucid dreaming, if you've ever been interested, he's far more accesible than Castaneda (although not as compelling)
Currently reading
July 14, 2009Muito interessante, mas estou apenas começando, ainda não consegui na prática.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews