How to Stop Time

Stopping time in dreams is an interesting technique that can allow for you to experience more time in a dream than you’re experiencing in real life. Stopping time – or slowing it down – can be a difficult technique for some to learn, but it’s certainly not impossible, since nothing is impossible in your dreams.

There are a few solid techniques out there for stopping time in your dreams, and there are a few others that lucid dreamers are constantly creating even as we speak. You might come up with your own ideas for slowing or stopping time in your dreams.

Theories of Time in Dreams

This isn’t super-important, but I think it’s interesting, so I’ll throw it out there. Scientists think that for the most part, time passes a little more quickly in dreams than it does in the “real world.” So unless you learn to control your dreams, you’ll actually spend less time in your dreams than those same actions would take when you’re awake.

Luckily, with lucid dreaming, you can learn to control time in your dreams. This means you can experience more time within your dreams than is passing in the real world. Those with extreme control of their dream world have said that they can experience months or even years of a dream life in a single night!

Time Stopping Techniques

There are several time stopping techniques that many people like using. Again, remember that this is a somewhat difficult technique to master. However, it can certainly be done, even by new lucid dreamers. Here are a few techniques you can start trying tonight.

1. Just say time is stopping. Making assertive statements in your dream is one great way to make things happen in your dream. One popular time stopping technique is to say “Stop Real Time Now” in your dream. This will make it seem like time stops outside your dream, but within your dream, time just keeps going. Thus, you can experience a lot of time within your dream before you can experience time outside of it. It may sound crazy at first, but this technique has actually worked for me on many occasions.
2. Slow down the clock. This is another popular option. You can start small, by just slowing time, and then you can build up to actually stopping time altogether. Look at an analog watch or clock with hands, and envision that the hands are moving more slowly. Eventually, you can make them stop altogether. This technique is also great for speeding up time if you want to time travel or change the scenery from one season to the next.
3. Create a dream timer. Some people like building up techniques to use in their dreams. For instance, you might create a timer that tells you when your dream is over and it’s time to wake up. For some, this looks like a clock with a D for dreaming and an A for awake. You start out at D, and when you get to A, your dream is over. By getting used to using this timer, you may be able to slow it down so that you spend more time in your dreams, at least in your mind. It can take you from little dream scenes to full-on dream movies where you experience a lot more in the same amount of time.

Stopping time in your dreams can be interesting, and it might take you some practice to get the hang of it. It’s still a technique I have to mess with sometimes. Try different types of techniques to see which works best for you, as different people prefer different techniques in this as in all other dream control topics.