How to Fly in a Dream

Learn to enter a dream directly. If you've practiced lucid dreaming, can easily remember your dreams, and are skilled at reality checks, you may achieve a rarer form of lucid dreaming called Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming (WILD). This dream occurs when you fall asleep with the intention of directly entering a lucid dream. As you enter a WILD, try to relax and focus enough to be aware of the process of falling asleep.

• Flying experiences often occur in lucid dreams and are more frequent during WILD dreams, which are often compared to physical experiences.

Wake up early and then take a brief nap. Set your alarm 90 minutes earlier than your usual wake-up time. Go to bed at your regular time and get up when the alarm rings. If you just had a dream, make sure to write it down. Stay awake for another 90 minutes, then go back to sleep. During this time, you can read your dream journal or read articles about lucid dreaming if you prefer.

• Lie comfortably on your bed and relax, breathing deeply and slowly.
• Repeat your goal, such as 'I will enter a dream directly,' or something similar.
• Visualize the dream you just had. If you woke up from a dream, try to re-enter it.
• Short morning naps like this are a key trigger for wake-initiated lucid dreams.

Feel yourself drifting into sleep. Pay attention to each phase of the sleep process, but don’t rush or try to control it. Let your eyes stay half-closed. Look for images that might appear and play with them if possible. Feel your limbs growing heavier and your heartbeat slowing down.

Fly out from the sleep paralysis state. Sleep paralysis occurs when your body starts to fall asleep, leaving you feeling awake but unable to move while lying in bed. While sleep paralysis can be uncomfortable, it can be highly beneficial for entering lucid dreams, if used correctly.

• In the paralyzed state, you might see a shadowy figure entering the room. Remind yourself that you're dreaming and dismiss it.
• If you wish to escape the sleep paralysis, persistently move your fingers and toes.
• Float out of your body. If you enter a WILD dream while paralyzed, you might find yourself floating around the room.

Fly right away. You can enter a WILD dream just by observing images passing across your eyelids. While lying there and visualizing scenes in your mind, start to explore the details. If you see a landscape, place yourself within it. Begin flying or walking, touching objects, and reminding yourself that you’re dreaming.

• If you start to wake up, just remind yourself that you can continue flying. It's just a dream.

Recognize that you're dreaming. Take a quick look around to spot any oddities that indicate you're in a dream. Perform a reality check, such as looking at a clock or trying to float. Are you dreaming? If the reality check fails, remind yourself that you're dreaming. Don't get too excited, or you might wake up.

• Initially, you may quickly wake up as soon as you enter the lucid dream. Stay in the dream by focusing on activities like swimming, or, of course, flying!

Anchor yourself in the dream reality. Pay attention to where you are and try to move through the surroundings. You can increase your lucidity in the dream by actively engaging, as this will help you notice physical sensations. Try interacting with your environment: bike, jump, smell, touch, or move something.

Practice floating. Jump into the air to see if you float. You may be able to leap off an object and fly away. Once you're floating, try turning left, right, and assume different postures. The key is to wait for it to happen. In your first lucid dreams, you may not easily trust your "ability" to fly.

• You might even float a bit and then sink. This loss of confidence is common when you're not fully lucid in the dream.
• Remind yourself that this is a dream, and you can fly because it’s happening in a dream.
• Don't be discouraged if your efforts to experience lucid dreaming wake you up. Your first lucid dream is a great sign of the flying adventures ahead.

Fly. Once you’ve fully entered a lucid dream (knowing you’re dreaming, interacting with the environment, and believing you can fly), you can fly in any way you wish. Leap into the sky or start running. If you're inside, fly around the room and out through the window. Explore the space outside if you're feeling adventurous.

• Occasionally, you may encounter obstacles like trees or power lines. Each time, practice floating around them or simply passing through them.
• If you feel yourself starting to fall, remind yourself that you can fly in the dream.
• Remember, you can wake up, but you won’t be harmed, because it’s just a dream.

Stay in the dream. To maintain lucidity, focus on the experience of flying and the surroundings around you. If you can let your mind wander, you can also do the same with the dream. Look down at the ground, the sea below, or the stars around you. Challenge yourself to sense everything you can experience while flying: what does it feel like, the temperature, the colors of the landscape, and how do you feel flying through the clouds?

Set a goal. After practicing visualization, recalling dreams, and performing reality checks, you can begin to focus on a specific type of flying. If you’ve flown in a dream before, you may want to try to replicate that flying style. Have you soared like an eagle? Floated like a bubble? Swam through the air? Imagine yourself flying in various ways and in different locations.

• Don’t set a deadline for your goal. Your first lucid dream may take any amount of time, from a few days to several months. As you begin your attempts, stay calm and try each method gradually.

Set your intention before sleep. If your goal is to float, glide, or soar in your sleep, repeat these intentions while lying in bed. Say to yourself, “I will fly in my dream,” or “When I dream, I will be aware; when I’m aware, I will fly.” Repeat this intention in your mind, calmly and firmly. You can also substitute this with a visualization method.

Visualize the dream you desire. Picture yourself drifting into sleep and having a dream. Imagine that you’re dreaming, possibly by performing a reality check or noticing something odd in your surroundings. Visualize yourself flying, and paint vivid details of what you see.

• Try switching between imagining yourself flying in a lucid dream and mentally repeating your goal.
• If you fall asleep during this process, your chances of having a lucid dream will be higher.

Imagine soaring through the skies. Dive into the experience of flight. Watch films featuring different styles of flight: superhero flying, bird flying, and human flight with equipment. Visualize the world from above, imagining yourself gliding over breathtaking landscapes. Explore images of space and picture yourself zooming through the vast expanse.

• Close your eyes and try to imagine yourself flying above the scenery below.
• Take a few minutes every day to envision the sensation of flying. Picture yourself performing flips on a trampoline, racing up on a rollercoaster, or jumping high on a diving board at a pool.
• Play video games where you take on the role of a flying character. These games can spark lucid dreams, and even if you don't succeed, they can still inspire flight imagery in your dreams.

Record your dreams in a journal. Keeping track of your dreams will help you increase awareness and control over them. As soon as you wake up from a dream, take a few moments to recall it and jot it down in your dream journal. Review your journal daily and make note of any recurring themes.

• Try imagining yourself flying through the scenes that you often dream about.
• Start in a familiar location from your dreams and picture yourself floating or soaring upwards into the sky.

Test if you're dreaming. Throughout the day, whenever the thought crosses your mind, check if you're truly awake. You may feel certain you're awake, but practicing this test while awake will help you recognize when you're dreaming. Lucid dreams only occur when you're aware that you're dreaming. To test, try floating or flying.

• Another test could be to look at a clock twice within a minute. Time in dreams rarely repeats in this way.
• If you haven't succeeded in flying, try seeing if you can move, like pressing your finger into your pillow.