Lucid dreaming meditation is close cousin of lucid dreaming music, and of course can often be used in combination with music for great results. There is actually two ways that lucid dream meditation can be used, one involves using the meditative state with wake induced lucid dreaming techniques so that you enter the dream directly, while the other involves using the meditative state to plant suggestions that will help you achieve dream induced success. We go over both on this page.
Lucid Dreaming Meditation and WILD
Lucid dream meditation can simply be used to relax and prepare yourself for the use of wake-induced techniques. In these cases you learn how to meditate with the primary goal being to achieve a state of relaxation deep enough to allow you to drift off into your dream world. Since you are more aware than you would be otherwise you actually notice the transition to the dream state and you are able to take control of the dream as it unfolds. Meditation for lucid dreaming is most commonly associated with this method. Behind the instructions is played lucid dreams meditation music that is soft and relaxing.
Advantages and disadvantages of Lucid Dreaming Meditation and WILD
Of course the main advantage of using meditation to make your wake induced techniques more powerful is that this practice is tried and true when it comes to the combination of relaxation and focus. Of course these two goals are also quite central to most WILD techniques. Another advantage has to do with the fact that you can get better with practice in using lucid dream meditation techniques, and this may mean you also increase your chances at lucidity.
The disadvantages of lucid dream meditation with WILD techniques are mostly practical. It may take a little while to get into a meditative state, and some may be able to successfully use WILD techniques without having to wait that long.
Lucid Dreaming Meditation and DILD
Lucid dream meditation can also be used to make your dream induced lucid dreaming techniques more effective. In this case, however, the way you will be using your lucid dreaming meditation are quite different. You will still be meditating with the goal of achieving deep and relaxed sleep, but you will also be using the meditative state to practice for noticing dream signs. During your lucid dream meditation you will give yourself suggestions that you will notice dream signs and when you do you will immediately realize you are dreaming. You will visualize that process, and your success at becoming lucid. While meditation for lucid dreaming is not as commonly associated with DILD techniques, this method can not only directly help you notice your dream signs more easily, it also becomes yet another way to bring lucid dreaming into your waking day so that it might be incorporated into your dreams..
Advantages and disadvantages of Lucid Dreaming Meditation and DILD
Of course the main advantage of using meditation to make your dream induced techniques work better is that the suggestions you give yourself and the visualizations become a part of your routine and in themselves increase your chances of DILD success. In a secondary way 
the advantages include the fact that almost anything you do during the day that brings lucid dreaming into focus has a chance to carry over into your dreams – just like any other activity during the day can make an appearance in your dream state. As with WILD meditation you will get better and better at this type of lucid dream meditation.
The disadvantages of lucid dream meditation with DILD techniques are that the effect is once removed. As opposed to the WILD techniques described above, you are counting on the meditation having an effect many hours later.
Types of Lucid Dream Meditation
There are two basic types of lucid dream meditation: Breathing and Guided Imagery. Depending on your goals and whether you plan to focus on DILD or WILD techniques, one or the other may work best for you.
Lucid Dream Meditation: Breathing
The first type of lucid dreaming meditation we are going to cover involves controlling your breathing in a way that increases focus and helps you relax. Here are the basic steps in breathing meditation for lucid dreaming:
- Choose a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for as long as you will be meditating.
- Sitting is preferred, since we often associate lying down with sleeping and you will not want to fall asleep before you have accomplished the meditation.
- Close your eyes and begin to focus on your breathing, both in and out. Either breath in through your nostrils and out through your mouth, or in and out through your nostrils.
- Stay focused on your breath and try to ignore your thoughts. This will not be easy, especially at first, so just do the best you can and that is good enough.
- Continue to focus your mind on your breathing and away from your thoughts for at least 15 minutes.
Practice breathing meditation for lucid dreaming every day. This exercise will help you open yourself up to suggestions such as “I will have a lucid dream tonight” or “I will realize I am dreaming when I am asleep tonight”. It may also become a great way to use WILD techniques if you use this method to clear your mind before going to sleep.
Lucid Dream Meditation: Guided Imagery
- Repeat steps 1-4 above.
- Once you are feeling relaxed conjure up a scene that is relaxing. Perhaps you are walking through a garden, or down a quiet and secluded beach, or through a beautiful forest.
- See how many senses you can recognize. What do you see, smell, hear, and feel? Visualize relaxing phenomena such as birds singing, the smell of flowers, the feel of cool sand under your feet.
- Try to do some of this passively – do not consciously control the scene but instead see if your mind will create relaxing.
- Use imagery to deepen the experience. Maybe you are walking down a grassy hill and with each step you get more relaxed. Perhaps the scene is moving from day to evening to night and with each passage of time you get less stressed.
As with breathing meditation described above, this lucid dreaming meditation should open you up to suggestion and provide a pathway to the use of WILD techniques. In addition, you can directly use guided imagery to picture yourself entering your dreams and becoming conscious and aware.
You can find free lucid dream meditation music on YouTube and good background music for lucid dreaming meditation on ITunes.