# Lucid Dreaming > DV Academy > Current Courses > Intro Class >  >  oneiroer's workbook

## oneiroer

*Reality Checks:*
-Look in a mirror.
-Try to push my hand through an object.
-Read a sentence twice when I'm reading.

*Dream Signs:*
-Friends
-My girlfriend
-Places I've never been to before.

*Short-Term Goals:
*Back to the basics...
-Remember to ask myself what I was dreaming about each time I wake up.
-Record my dreams

*Long-Term Goals:*
-I wish to use my dreams as a gateway to writing storys/novels
-I'm still interested in having OOBEs. (I recently got a book called Mastering Astral Projection
  by Robert Bruce. It's a 90 day program and hope to see some good results from it.
  I started day 1 today...  :smiley:  )
- Ask a dream character who they are and have a conversation with them.
*
Lucid/Dream Recall History:*
-only 1 to a few dreams per week

*Current Technique:*
-DILD

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## oneiroer

I have a pretty random sleep schedule so I'm going to start a schedule of going to sleep at 10pm and wake up at 5am.

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## OpheliaBlue

Your WBTB of 5am sounds good like a great start.

Personally, I go to bed at about 12midnight and wake up at about 7am if I want to have a lucid dream. So it's pretty much the same time frame. You've had 3 lucids before, so I'm curious for starters, is that schedule how you were able to DILD originally? Or what did you do special to attain lucidity? And wow that you had all three in such a short span, well done!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

> Your WBTB of 5am sounds good like a great start.
> 
> Personally, I go to bed at about 12midnight and wake up at about 7am if I want to have a lucid dream. So it's pretty much the same time frame. You've had 3 lucids before, so I'm curious for starters, is that schedule how you were able to DILD originally? Or what did you do special to attain lucidity? And wow that you had all three in such a short span, well done!



I've actually had more LDs before but those 3 are the ones I had since I started keeping track. I usually have lucids when I take a nap usually never during the night so I thought I'd do that part of the homework by saying my new sleep schedule. Usually naps help my lucidity and I do a DILD by accident.  :smiley:

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## OpheliaBlue

Oh yeah, naps are great for attaining DILDs. I used to do that all the time when my son was a baby and I was sleep deprived. Some would say that a nap is really just a delayed WBTB, depending how tired you are. So something I do when I'm off and can afford to sleep in, is I wake up at about 6:45am to get my son to school, and then I stay up for anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour, then go back to sleep. I've achieved alot of DILDs that way, and even some WILDs. And it's really nothing more or less than a nap after I've been up for 30-60min after first waking up  :tongue2: 

Just something to think about.

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## oneiroer

Cool thanks for the info about WBTB. I'll try that when I get up at 5am.  :smiley:  I'll still occasionally take naps here and there too for LDs.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I've just started practicing All Day Awareness and I kinda feel as though I just woke up. I'm liking it.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I've updated my LD goals if anyone cares to read them.  :smiley:

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## OpheliaBlue

> I've updated my LD goals if anyone cares to read them.



Was recovering parts of your soul part of you lucid goals before? I can't remember. That sounds morbid and cool :p

So how is the ADA going?

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## oneiroer

It wasn't really but I kinda want to confront a nightmare I had when I was a kid and see what happens.  :smiley: 

Like the tutorial said its kinda overwhelming to do it all day but I remember to do it when I think of it.  :smiley: 

I'm reading a book by Robert Moss about soul recovery. What do you think of the possibility of it?

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## oneiroer

I think stress is the culprit of my bad dream recall lately. I'm going to try meditating during the day and/or before sleep. Plus when I wake up I'm going to do as one of the tutorials on here says to do about laying in bed with eyes closed and I'll ask myself what I dreamed about which usually works for me.

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## oneiroer

Yes! I had a LD by a DILD by a nap but I don't remember what got me lucid. The dream seemed long but I realize I have to work on my recall. My dreams seem to want to keep me in them as when I get lucid I guess I don't want to leave and have to try really hard to wake up because I think my dream is reality kinda until I turn lucid. I guess that means dream as long as I can!  :smiley:  . 2 things I remember happening is I asked if I could see my guide and I saw pictures coming up of animals. They were like black and white pictures but the rest of the dream was in color. I tried seeing if a person was my guide from before who I met in a dream through the pictures but nothing came up. If I stayed dreaming maybe I could have done a bunch of stuff! Someone was with me and I think I talked to him but I don't remember what we talked about but I remembered trying to break a glass window but it wasn't working. Then I guess I tried to change the dream and I guess I decided to wake up because nothing was working. Maybe my guide was with me the whole time! I'm not sure.

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## Xanous

Congrats on the LD oneiroer! Your dream is really interesting. Have you been wanting a dream guide or was that something you just though of?

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## oneiroer

> Congrats on the LD oneiroer! Your dream is really interesting. Have you been wanting a dream guide or was that something you just though of?



Thanks for your reply and interest Xanous.  And to answer your question yes I've been interested in having a dream guide for a while now.  :smiley: 

I've had a few dreams where I felt a guide was by my side but am not really sure if they are my guide(s).

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## oneiroer

I'm checking out some lucid dreaming podcasts specifically the dreamviews podcast on itunes and Mind Power Hour on itunes.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

So I've been sleeping on my floor because my bed went flat... I need to get a real bed. Anyway I seem to be getting more lucid dreams that way. Would sleeping on the floor help achieve lucidity? Or did I just answer my own question?  :smiley:

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## Xanous

Before you edited I totally thought you said pooped instead of popped  :Big laugh: 

I think sleeping in an unfamiliar or slightly uncomfortable position raises your awareness a bit. The Tibetan Dream Yogas move to a more upright position during the night for this purpose. Coincidentally, I have had may LDs while sleeping in my recliner.

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## oneiroer

> Before you edited I totally thought you said pooped instead of popped 
> 
> I think sleeping in an unfamiliar or slightly uncomfortable position raises your awareness a bit. The Tibetan Dream Yogas move to a more upright position during the night for this purpose. Coincidentally, I have had may LDs while sleeping in my recliner.



lol. Cool Xanous. Thanks for the info. I think I've had only one dream while I was in a recliner type chair. I was watching TV and The Cosby Show was on... Anyway I fell asleep in the chair and I dreamed I was sitting at a table with Bill Cosby.  ::D:

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## oneiroer

One last thing before I start on the homework again I've been working on ADA a little here and there and I'm kinda astonished at how I've taken a lot of things for granted. Like the movement of trees blowing in the wind, lights like street lights(I can actually see the lights kinda differently now), and even the smallest movement of a leaf.

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## Xanous

That is what makes ADA so enjoyable. It's lucid living!

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## oneiroer

I'm going to try Evolventity's Dream Incubation tutorial tonight. I'm going with the art and writing part. I'll let you guys know how this goes. Since I'm a beginner poet not sure if this is poetry but oh well here's what I wrote:

Tonight I will fly. I will wake up during the dream in a room I don't recognize and 
fly straight up out of the room and practice flying.
Here's the poem...

A room that
I've never been to
Before

I have intent within the dream
I have intent before the dream

I rise up.
I'm out of the room
I'm in the air above the room

I practice flying 
Where to I do not know

I practice flying for as long as I can
I do not wake from being too excited

I keep calm

I'm flying to an unknown destination

When I've reached my unknown destination
I wake up and record my experience

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## oneiroer

A dream idea. I drew this in paint. Not very good but ok I guess...

dreamidea.jpg

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## CanisLucidus

Oneiroer (I am terrified that I am going to misspell your name, LOL), I love the way that you're integrating art into your lucid dreaming practice.

Bringing in art and poetry like this should help you establish a tangible, emotional connection between your waking life and your dream life.  Transforming your desires into concrete works of art seems like a very powerful way to focus intent.  And intent is so important to lucid dreaming practice.

I think that this combination of daily awareness practice and focusing your intent by creating artwork is awesome.  Keep up the great work!   ::goodjob::

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## oneiroer

Thank you very much CanisLucidus!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I have some more art in the works. I keep messing up but I'll post it when I'm done. It's going to read DREAM and I'm probably going to hang it up by my bed and look at it before going to sleep so hopefully that will help with my recall a bit. Not only is it going to read DREAM but it's gonna be tribal style if not all the way tribal tribal-ish.

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## oneiroer

I changed my idea on the picture. Instead: The picture is suppose to be a hidden D for dreams instead of North. There's a compass in the middle with clouds around it and 4 suns at the corners of the drawing.

dreamward.jpg

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## oneiroer

One more I just drew.  :smiley: 

dream.jpg

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## oneiroer

Just got up from a nap and had another pretty long dream. I dreamed I was being held captive by 2 of my friends. They seemed mean. Well I got out of the dark room I was in somehow and I practiced fighting. I was in the air like I might have been floating and it took a little bit of practice to make my hand go forward. After the dream I woke up in sleep paralysis, or my body was still asleep.  :smiley:  Do you guys want me to continue posting my dreams here or should I just put them in my journal here?

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## CanisLucidus

Hey oneiroer!  It's your workbook, so you're welcome to handle it however you like.  The Dream Journal system is great for organized, extended discussion (since you can tie a thread of comment/conversation to a particular dream), but your DJ/workbook, your rules.   :smiley: 

Whatever you choose, please keep that artwork coming.  That is very cool stuff.





> After the dream I woke up in sleep paralysis, or my body was still asleep.



Oh wow!  What was the sensation like?  Were you able to do much of anything?  Did you experience any hypnagogic imagery?

I know that you're primarily a DILD guy (as am I), but this could be a great time to attempt a WILD or some sort of "out-of-body experience" style of exit to experience a lucid dream.  Unfortunately, I have only experienced fake "sleep paralysis" in-dream, so I can't give you a go-to set of tricks for this particular situation.  Could be something for you to think about, though, especially if this is something which happens to you consistently.

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## oneiroer

Ok thank you CanisLucidus. 

I didn't think of doing anything when my body was still asleep and I didn't see any HI. I just got up. I'll have to try what you said as I'm interested in having OBEs. This is the second time I've had a lucid dream and my body was still asleep when I woke up.

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## Kraom

Just thought I'd say that an easy way to start an OBE while in sleep paralysis is to pretend or visualize yourself tugging on a rope to exit your body.. Or so I'v heard never actually done this, but uhh seems logical..

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## oneiroer

Something I wrote tonight.

I'm Aware
________

I relax my body
I'm tired
I fall asleep

I'm aware
All of a sudden
I'm again somewhere unknown
I've created a place in my own mind

What am I going to do now that 
I'm aware

I rise
I go somewhere else
Its hard for me to move

But it takes a few attempts
And I'm airborne

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## oneiroer

A new piece of art.

dream.jpg

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## oneiroer

This one is called Third Eye.

thirdeye.jpg

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## paigeyemps

These are great works! Gah now I'm a bit more motivated to write up some poems or do some artwork about my dreams. Not that i'm good at it but meh x3

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## oneiroer

Thank you very much paigeyemps!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

> These are great works! Gah now I'm a bit more motivated to write up some poems or do some artwork about my dreams. Not that i'm good at it but meh x3



Who cares if your art isn't the best, I encourage you to post some art and/or poetry!  :smiley: 
I don't think my art is really good but I still do it anyway because I love to sketch.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

3 more sketches hope you guys enjoy.  :smiley: 

Nightmare: What started out as a heart turned out to be kinda a psychotic nightmare...  ::D: 
nightmare.jpg

Dreaming Tree
dreamingtree.jpg

Time To Lucid Dream
timetoluciddream.jpg

I'll color the non color ones if you guys want me to. I'm kinda lazy otherwise...  :smiley:

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## Xanous

Those are really cool.  :Shades wink:  I've got some sketches I've been meaning to do myself.

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## oneiroer

> Those are really cool.  I've got some sketches I've been meaning to do myself.



Thank you Xanous! I'd like to see yours, and if paigeyemps decides to share her art I'd like to see both of yours.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I'm also on deviantart.com if any of you would like to see some of my older stuff.  :smiley:  crid on deviantART is my profile page.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

One more dream related art  :smiley: 
dream.jpg

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## oneiroer

I have a pretty strong desire to be a tattoo artist... So I'm going to concentrate on my 'Get inspiration for my art and music' goal. Maybe I can incubate a lucid dream where I'm painting, or sketching.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Another poem I just wrote. Hope it's not too weird and hope you enjoy  :wink2: 

Ghosts
All around me
I'm not in a nightmare

They called me
I'm here
I wonder what they want

I see my physical body
Laying
I'm outside my body!

I talk to the dead
They give advise for my new ability
To journey beyond
The physical

I fly in delight
Anywhere I want to go

The journey begins

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## paigeyemps

Nice, i was actually gonna recommend posting some of your poems on the Artists' Corner, but I see you've been doing that already!  ::D:

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## oneiroer

> Nice, i was actually gonna recommend posting some of your poems on the Artists' Corner, but I see you've been doing that already!



Thanks paigeyemps maybe I'll post my dream related poetry there.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Another poem I'm working on. I might be done what do you think?

Lust... Destroys my heart...
Temptation... Visions impure...
Greed... A seeming never ending war..
For my soul.
My soul breaks free...
My passions rise like a pheonix....
In the heart of the war...
For my soul...
A kingdom long forgotten...
Burns from the pheonix' fire.
I'm well above the war.
For my soul...

The kingdom part is related to a dream I had sometime ago where I was above a burning city of some sort... Should I keep working on this...?

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## CanisLucidus

> Another poem I'm working on. I might be done what do you think?
> ...
> The kingdom part is related to a dream I had sometime ago where I was above a burning city of some sort... Should I keep working on this...?



It's great that you are producing so much actual dream-inspired art.  This is one of those long-term lucid goals that still eludes me.

This poem stands on its own very well as a finished work, but if you find yourself inspired to continue on, go for it!  If a dream comes along that inspires you to add stanzas, follow it wherever it leads you.  That's something that's cool about dreams -- they'll push you in directions your conscious mind may have never taken you.

How has dream recall been for you lately?

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## oneiroer

> It's great that you are producing so much actual dream-inspired art.  This is one of those long-term lucid goals that still eludes me.
> 
> This poem stands on its own very well as a finished work, but if you find yourself inspired to continue on, go for it!  If a dream comes along that inspires you to add stanzas, follow it wherever it leads you.  That's something that's cool about dreams -- they'll push you in directions your conscious mind may have never taken you.
> 
> How has dream recall been for you lately?



Thanks! My dream recall hasn't been very good lately, but when I remember to ask myself what I dreamed about I usually remember. I think I'll start telling myself that when I wake up I will remember to ask myself what I dreamed.  :smiley:  Any suggestions besides using a dream journal to remember my dreams? I already use my dream journal, but sadly I'm not having much success in writing in it.

Edit: And when I do remember sometimes my dreams are kind of hard to describe especially when I just wake up... Like I had a dream where I was being guided around by the girl from the Adam's family or she kinda looked like her...in this forest like place. There were trees and a house I think.

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## CanisLucidus

For dream recall, the first step is to commit to always writing down everything you can, even if nothing more than a fragment or a fleeting emotional residue.  It's okay if it doesn't make sense right away!  Just patiently write down everything you can remember.  Try to rewind time forward and backward from the moments you can remember.

If you keep at this, _you will improve at it_.  Recalling dreams is in large part a skill, one that you will build via lots and lots of practice and strong intent.

*Journaling Tips*
I gave PennyRoyal a few tips on journaling recently that I think may help you:

"For journaling, a good practice is to make a commitment that you must produce something for your DJ every night. As soon as you wake up, just relax and hold as still as you can. A collection of spectral thoughts will try to flee in every direction. Any image, memory, or sensation that you can recall is good. When you latch onto any lingering feeling or scene, however dim or abstract, focus on it. Try to remember what you were doing when you saw this/felt this way/did this. Go gently backward in time until you can go no further. Then go gently forward in time from the memory. Just slowly reeeel it in like a fish. It's there! You're just building your skill at landing these things as they fight and struggle with you. If in the end all you get is a feeling of "confusion" or "infinity" or "wealth", write that down. Refuse to leave that page blank. Fight for every scrap and your mind will follow your example."

*Daytime Practices*
Another area you can pay attention to is your daytime recall.  Building up your ability to recall your daytime life will help you recall your dream life.  Here are some thoughts I had on that, and a description of what has worked for me:

"The final area is daytime practices. When my recall is a little low, I work on my daytime recall. I do this by stopping throughout the day and mentally rewinding my experiences thus far in the day. I replay everything at super speed as a daydream until I go at least as far as the last time that I performed this exercise. Your mind works fast, so this should only take seconds. I recommend doing this every couple of hours. This means that by the end of the day, you should be able to recall just about the entirety of your day. This practice gets the mind used to paying attention to the world around you and automatically filing the details away. After all, you've been quizzing it the entire day!   This is a fun little practice (IMO) and in total takes no more than 1-2 minutes total out of your day.

If this isn't strong enough medicine, you can start a daytime journal where you write down everything you did that day. (This is an idea that Mastermind describes here: http://www.dreamviews.com/dream-sign...reams-try.html This is a really burdensome practice, but it works. When I used to get really down in the dumps on recall, a day or two of this would always work. It's labor intensive though!"

I hope that helps!  Let me know if you have any questions.

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## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I'm proud to announce that I have an actual dream written in my dream journal. I think I did a wake back to bed because I got up really early this morning stayed up for a while and went back to sleep. Then I woke up from a pretty cool dream. In it I seemed to be watching a fantasy movie kinda like a cartoon... In the movie something was going wrong and then all of a sudden a lady with long hair was putting on a lot of make up (she looked like she was cartoon) then I was all of a sudden in a movie theater and my girlfriend was next to me and I kissed my girlfriend. I'm pretty happy I finally had a dream. It's been a while since I've had one. I woke up after the kiss.

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## CanisLucidus

::goodjob::   Very nice, oneiroer!  As a bonus, it sounds like a rather nice dream, too.  Sitting with your girlfriend and watching an animated movie created entirely by your dreaming mind -- sounds like a great way to spend a morning of dreaming.   :smiley: 

Pat yourself on the back and keep building on this success!  You are having dreams like this every single night and morning (mostly morning!)  Now it's just a matter of practicing your skill at recalling them and bringing them back to you.  Just keep up your practices, keep up your journaling, and keep working hard, and you _will_ improve even more.  I was a zero recaller once, so I know how much improvement is possible!

Congratulations!   :Party:

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## oneiroer

Remembered another dream this morning. I imagine with a lot of practice, I could probably remember a lot of dreams and LDs!...  :smiley: 

Edit: Thanks CanisLucidus!  :smiley: 

Edit again...: I'm not liking being woken up sometimes when I'm trying to remember a dream. I get kinda mad at the people who wake me up who are near me wherever.

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## CanisLucidus

> Remembered another dream this morning. I imagine with a lot of practice, I could probably remember a lot of dreams and LDs!...



Yes, you _definitely_ can!  It's just like any other skill -- you learn best by doing and performing focused, diligent practice.  Nice work!





> Edit again...: I'm not liking being woken up sometimes when I'm trying to remember a dream. I get kinda mad at the people who wake me up who are near me wherever.



Oh no!!  What's your living situation like that you wind up getting awoken prematurely?  Is there anything practical you can do to avoid these interruptions?

I sympathize.  When I wake up to one of the kids crying in the middle of the night or one of the dogs going nuts, I usually lose some dreams unless they were very vivid and firmly in hand.

Until you can change the situation in some way, just do your best not to get frustrated.  The additional frustration will distract you even more from recall, so just do the best you can there.  I offer this advice even though I get super annoyed if the dogs start going nuts in the middle of the night for no reason.   ::lol::   But I know how I _should_ be trying to handle it, I guess, heh heh...

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## oneiroer

> Yes, you _definitely_ can!  It's just like any other skill -- you learn best by doing and performing focused, diligent practice.  Nice work!
> 
> 
> 
> Oh no!!  What's your living situation like that you wind up getting awoken prematurely?  Is there anything practical you can do to avoid these interruptions?
> 
> I sympathize.  When I wake up to one of the kids crying in the middle of the night or one of the dogs going nuts, I usually lose some dreams unless they were very vivid and firmly in hand.
> 
> Until you can change the situation in some way, just do your best not to get frustrated.  The additional frustration will distract you even more from recall, so just do the best you can there.  I offer this advice even though I get super annoyed if the dogs start going nuts in the middle of the night for no reason.    But I know how I _should_ be trying to handle it, I guess, heh heh...



Cool! Thanks!  :smiley: 
I live in an apartment but sometimes my girlfriend stays the night and I got distracted. She wanted attention but I was waking up from a dream I think I guess I shouldn't get mad at her and shouldn't try to remember dreams when she is over unless the dream memory is strong. I also stay the night at a friend's and my friends woke me up in the middle of the night. Usually I don't get woken up at friend's places but it happened recently.
Thanks for the advice!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I just got up from a nap and had an exciting lucid dream to me at least. In the dream I was on the freeway laying down in a car but kinda like I was driving it. Then I looked out the window at the sky and saw large city buildings in the sky, like the top of the buildings were facing me. Then I decided to try taking off like the car was an airplane. But then I woke up. I was amazed at the sight. I wonder how long I can lucid dream when I do it. Probably an hour at most I think I've read? I'm going to post this dream in my dream journal here. I think it was stormy weather too in the dream.

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## CanisLucidus

> Cool! Thanks! 
> I live in an apartment but sometimes my girlfriend stays the night and I got distracted. She wanted attention but I was waking up from a dream I think I guess I shouldn't get mad at her and shouldn't try to remember dreams when she is over unless the dream memory is strong. I also stay the night at a friend's and my friends woke me up in the middle of the night. Usually I don't get woken up at friend's places but it happened recently.
> Thanks for the advice!



Ahh!  Well, if the waking is in the middle of the night, try to think of it as an opportunity for a "Wake Back to Bed" (WBTB).  Just wake up for a bit, try to stay relaxed, enjoy the company of your friends or girlfriend, and think about lucid dreaming as much as you can.  I get my best recall after a WBTB and _by far_ my best chances for lucidity after one.  So just make the most that you can out of the situation dream-wise!





> I just got up from a nap and had an exciting lucid dream to me at least. In the dream I was on the freeway laying down in a car but kinda like I was driving it. Then I looked out the window at the sky and saw large city buildings in the sky, like the top of the buildings were facing me. Then I decided to try taking off like the car was an airplane. But then I woke up. I was amazed at the sight. I wonder how long I can lucid dream when I do it. Probably an hour at most I think I've read? I'm going to post this dream in my dream journal here. I think it was stormy weather too in the dream.



Awesome!!  Congratulations on the LD!  Sounds like a great one.  I will be sure to check it out in your DJ.   :Rock out: 

As for how long a lucid dream can last, what probably matters most is how long they can _seem_ to last.  I don't have a great answer for you on the upper limit, but in my highest level LD ever, I had a moment toward the end of the dream where I tried to assess how long I had been dreaming.  At the time, my best guess was that the experience _felt_ like it had lasted about 90 minutes at that point.  Others have reported experiences that feel much, much longer.

The best way to find your personal limits is to have lots and lots of LDs.  Looks like you're on your way!   ::goodjob2::

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## oneiroer

I seem to dream about zombies quite a bit. I recently dreamed about zombies and this was the second time since joining I dreamed about them. Should this be a reality check, like every time I mention zombies or someone else mentions them should I say 'am I dreaming?' to myself?

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## oneiroer

I just got up from a lucid dream. I went to bed early tonight so I'm hoping for more tonight. In the dream I was in a house and was trying to escape. I think my mom might have been there and I think she called my grandma... Kinda weird lucid but I'm glad I had another one during the night. What I did differently tonight was listened to Erick Brown's Instant Relaxation Hypnosis ocean track. It got me tired. This is the second time using a hypnosis track that got me lucid (edit: or at least helped).  :smiley:  I'm gonna try a WBTB next.

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## Alucinor XIII

Hell yeah! Keep the LD's rolling!

As far as the Zombie Reality check goes...Its kinda tough. An ideal reality check is something prominent in both dreaming AND waking life. Zombies aren't something you regularly encounter out and about in the world. 

However, if you watch a lot of zombie movies, or its also brought up in conversations, then definitely use it as a dream sign. Practice by watching some zombie movies every now and then, and trying to be aware of it, do a few RCs throughout the movie.

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## oneiroer

Thanks a lot Alucinor XIII!  :smiley: 
I'll try what you said about watching some zombie movies and doing a few RCs.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I'm starting to read Stephan LaBerge's Exploring the world of lucid dreaming again. I'm trying his method of going to bed at midnight, getting up at 4am then going back to sleep at 6am until 8am. I'm at the waken up stage at 4am waiting to go back to bed. That's a WBTB right? Anyway, I remembered a dream when I woke up. It took a little while for me to remember a scene though. I'm happy I'm remembering dreams more now.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I've updated and switched around my goals.

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## CanisLucidus

Cool.  LaBerge's book is still one of the very best.

And yes!  What you're describing is indeed a WBTB.  It's actually a very long one.  Paigeyemps and OpheliaBlue have great success with this style of very long WBTB.  If my schedule allowed for it, I would certainly give this approach a try as well.

How have you liked it so far?  Has it been a pretty easy pattern to settle into?  And when you return to sleep at the end of your WBTB, are you employing an induction technique like MILD?

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## oneiroer

> How have you liked it so far?  Has it been a pretty easy pattern to settle into?  And when you return to sleep at the end of your WBTB, are you employing an induction technique like MILD?



I don't like the staying up for 2 hours very much but I guess I'm going to have to if I want to WILD someday huh.  :smiley:

----------


## CanisLucidus

> I don't like the staying up for 2 hours very much but I guess I'm going to have to if I want to WILD someday huh.



You never know!  Some people have success with a very short WBTB of only a few minutes.  I find that about 30 minutes is perfect for me.  And although I primarily MILD, I perform WILDs with the same 30-minute or so WBTB.

The moral of the story, I think, is that you'll want to experiment with as many lengths as you're comfortable trying.  My main recommendation is to keep good records of your attempts!  That'll really help you judge what the right interval is for you.  IMO Nothing beats good record-keeping when it comes to making this decision!

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## oneiroer

Ok thank you CanisLucidus!  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

I've been remembering dreams more and more but they have been pretty boring lately. I think I'm going to start telling myself to remember or have interesting dreams like it suggests to do in exploring the world of lucid dreaming...Like the most recent dream I had this morning I think I was in high school again and I was sitting at a table outside and a friend of mine gave another friend of mine some pizza... ok...  :smiley:

----------


## OpheliaBlue

Yeah, telling yourself what you want to dream can have a really profound effect. I've been annoyed lately that I hadn't tried another TOTM since 2 weeks ago or so. So last night as I was going to sleep, I made myself imagine the basic task ii (asking a DC if they want 1 wish granted) and it worked. I think I also told myself after my first alarm as well. So that's another time you could tell yourself to have more interesting dreams, during your WBTB if you do them. My guess is that your brain is more susceptible to ideas in those in-between stages.

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## oneiroer

Cool! Thanks very much OpheliaBlue!  :smiley: 
Edit: I'll try that tonight in my WBTB attempt. I don't do them too often as I don't like the staying up part but I'll give it a shot.  :smiley:

----------


## OpheliaBlue

> Cool! Thanks very much OpheliaBlue! 
> Edit: I'll try that tonight in my WBTB attempt. I don't do them too often as I don't like the staying up part but I'll give it a shot.



I'll be honest with you, I don't always stay up that much when I WBTB. Because all I want is my pillow. I find though that my lucid successes more than double if I AT LEAST wake up, go to the bathroom, get a quick drink of water, go back to bed, and quickly run through my goals. So good luck, I hope this helps!  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

That sounds like a good idea. Thanks again!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Can dream memories be real memories? I had a conversation with my mom about a dream I had where my grandma was mad at me and she was really mad at me in the past.

Edit: I guess I was dreaming about when my grandma was mad at me. But her anger seemed intensified.

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## CanisLucidus

> Can dream memories be real memories? I had a conversation with my mom about a dream I had where my grandma was mad at me and she was really mad at me in the past.
> 
> Edit: I guess I was dreaming about when my grandma was mad at me. But her anger seemed intensified.



Yeah, I think that dreams borrow from anything that we experience in waking life from any period of time.  These things are often changed, remixed, intensified, toned down, or otherwise modified, but sometimes memories come out relatively unchanged.

Having said that, some dreams feel like very real versions of past events, but often are not.  Several months ago, I had a dream of my grandfather that was very much _like_ how he would have acted and included an idealized version of an experience I _wish_ I'd have had before he passed away, but none of it had actually happened.

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## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus. Sorry to hear about your granfather. Both of mine are dead  :Sad:  but my grandmas are still alive  :smiley: . I'm about to take a nap....Hopefully it will be a lucid one!  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

> Thanks CanisLucidus. Sorry to hear about your granfather. Both of mine are dead  but my grandmas are still alive . I'm about to take a nap....Hopefully it will be a lucid one!



I appreciate that, my friend, and I'm sorry as well.  We all go through it, but it's never an easy thing.  For me it's been many years since he passed.

Enjoy the time with your grandmas!  Grandparents are a real treasure.   ::content:: 

Awesome, I hope you had good luck on that lucid nap!  Lucid naps are something that I really need to get better.  Gab is the queen of those.  She gets these crazy long DEILD chains when she naps!

----------


## oneiroer

I didn't have luck with the nap but I had a pretty intense dreamis morning. I was focusing on my desire to have an obe but a ld was a result. I think  desire is key for me to have a luciddeam. In the dream I saw a friend I know. I saw his teeth and they looked nasty. Then I had an intense desire to be with my gf. Then i had a good sensation on my back like i was growing wings. Then I thought I heard a loud rumble of noise. It was a pretty intense dream.  :smiley:

----------


## CanisLucidus

> I didn't have luck with the nap but I had a pretty intense dreamis morning. I was focusing on my desire to have an obe but a ld was a result. I think  desire is key for me to have a luciddeam. In the dream I saw a friend I know. I saw his teeth and they looked nasty. Then I had an intense desire to be with my gf. Then i had a good sensation on my back like i was growing wings. Then I thought I heard a loud rumble of noise. It was a pretty intense dream.



Ah great!  That's just as good.  It doesn't when you get lucid -- all that matters is making it happen.   ::goodjob2:: 

I completely agree that desire is key.  Awareness matters a lot, but I'm coming to believe that intent is every bit as important.  _Wanting_ it to happen and _believing_ that it will happen to the point that your mind remembers to _make_ it happen at the critical moment... this is a huge piece of the puzzle.  Great work.

I also like that you had wings growing from your back like that.  This may be something you want to repeat some time!  I don't recall whether you've had much experience with flying, but growing your own set of wings would be an incredibly cool way to explore this.  I've wanted to grow wings for flight at some point but just never gotten around to doing it.

I like it!  Keep up the good work.

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## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus. As a side note I think from that dream my body was still asleep when I woke up again. I think I also might have slept on my arms too. Is that sleep paralysis when my body is still asleep? Can I do anything with that? Like a WILD or something? I'll try but I don't remember how got to the point where I felt the good sensations on my back. It just happened.  :smiley:  Maybe it was the desire to be with my gf. Edit: Oh yea I forgot I've had a little experience flying but I'm not too good at it yet.  :smiley:  It's something I want to improve.

----------


## CanisLucidus

> Thanks CanisLucidus. As a side note I think from that dream my body was still asleep when I woke up again. I think I also might have slept on my arms too. Is that sleep paralysis when my body is still asleep? Can I do anything with that? Like a WILD or something?



That's interesting.  I have never experienced sleep paralysis (defining "sleep paralysis" as being awake during REM atonia.)  I have _dreamed_ that I had sleep paralysis, though.  But never the real thing.

My best suggestion is to treat it as an opportunity for an OBE-style lucid dream.  Try to will yourself to get out of bed or roll out of bed without using your muscles.  Imagine that you are already getting up, that your feet are moving to the floor, and that you are rising out of bed.  Floating out of the body is another popular choice.

One thing that I tried (with some success, but the dream evaporated) was to imagine growing a new head, torso, arms, etc. and having them emerge from this other, paralyzed dream body.  That could be another thing to try.

The experience of this dreamed paralysis state isn't something that repeats often for me -- only had it happen twice!  So it may be a while for you as well.  You just never know!

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## oneiroer

Ok Thanks again CanisLucidus I'll try those.  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

I just got up from a dream where a edit: female dream character told me I just wanted sex...Makes me wonder if dream characters can give me knowledge if I talk to them. I felt uncomfortable saying that but I don't remember if that was my intention or not. I'm going to try talking to dream characters when I meet them. I also went on a little journey by dreaming in levels like I've read before in a book. I got to level 2 I think and at one point I felt like my body was being pushed/taken somewhere. I remember a freeway and looking down from it. I wanted to go to the future and realized I could go anywhere in time but I was lost on how to do it.  I also wanted to see myself in the future and see if my gf and I were doing ok. Pretty interesting dream, I thought. Edit: there was also an obe sort of class going on and i didn't think my gf would be into that sort of thing but she showed up and said yeah I would, or something similar. A lot seemed to happened in that dream or dreams. Edit: Sometimes my dreams make me confused... like this one had a bunch of ideas and when I woke up I thought I might still be dreaming, but I was awake...

----------


## OpheliaBlue

> Sometimes my dreams make me confused... like this one had a bunch of ideas and when I woke up I thought I might still be dreaming, but I was awake...



Hah that IS weird. Like the opposite of a false awakening  :tongue2: 

As far as the freeway dream, I wonder if you could have used it, or a car let's say, to act as a time machine. I like to use whatever objects are around me to do my bidding in a lucid dream. Like for example, I wanted to go to a prehistoric ocean, and all I had summoned was a present day lake. So I found an inflatable raft that was already on the lake, and got inside, and imagined it was a tiny submarine. I pushed imaginary buttons on the side with a made up combination, all the while thinking of going to a prehistoric ocean and it worked.

There are simpler versions of this technique of course, but I find it's handy to just use objects already around me to get what I want. Some dreamers can do everything they want in a lucid by just thinking it, but I'm not quite there yet!

----------


## CanisLucidus

> I just got up from a dream where a edit: female dream character told me I just wanted sex...Makes me wonder if dream characters can give me knowledge if I talk to them. I felt uncomfortable saying that but I don't remember if that was my intention or not. I'm going to try talking to dream characters when I meet them.



At the very least, it's great fun asking DCs questions.  I can honestly say that I've rarely failed to get an interesting reply, particularly if I pick the right DC.  When you're lucid, you will run into certain dream characters that seem really, really fleshed out and just sort of _there_.  Like they're highly intelligent inhabitants of the dream space rather than simple automatons.

Robert Waggoner recommends trying to ask the dream itself a question.  When I tried this, I failed to get a response.  I did have good luck finding an interesting DC and asking her to "tell me something important".  It was a really cool experience, actually.  Here's how it went down for me: The Dinosaur Petting Zoo - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

Oh, and as for the DC that accused you of just wanting That Thing?  Don't worry about this.  During dreams (especially non-lucid dreams), much of your prefrontal cortex is inactive.  This leaves your inhibitions and judgment severely impaired.  





> there was also an obe sort of class going on and i didn't think my gf would be into that sort of thing but she showed up and said yeah I would, or something similar. A lot seemed to happened in that dream or dreams. Edit: Sometimes my dreams make me confused... like this one had a bunch of ideas and when I woke up I thought I might still be dreaming, but I was awake...



Sounds like a really cool night of dreaming!  I especially like that OBE class.   ::D:   Maybe your girlfriend will take an interest in dreaming after all.  I've had no luck at all with my wife.  But to my great surprise my 3-year-old son has taken a tremendous interest in dreams and has (as best I can tell) even had a handful of lucids!  So you just never know with this stuff.

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## oneiroer

Thanks for your resposes OpheliaBlue and CanisLucidus!  :smiley: 

@OpheliaBlue: I think next time I'm on a freeway if I'm not in a car already I'll try to summon one and try to time travel. I guess it would be like Back to the future!  ::D: 
@CanisLucidus: Thanks for the info!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Gonna try a WBTB now. Just got up from REM I think but I barley remember anything from the dream. I think I need to work on my dream recall again.  :Sad:

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## CanisLucidus

> Gonna try a WBTB now. Just got up from REM I think but I barley remember anything from the dream. I think I need to work on my dream recall again.



Do you mean that you woke up for WBTB and don't remember before then?  Don't feel bad -- there are often mornings where I wake up for WBTB and haven't gotten any dreams yet.  When you're heading into a WBTB, your best dreaming is usually still ahead of you.

How did everything end up going?

----------


## oneiroer

> Do you mean that you woke up for WBTB and don't remember before then?  Don't feel bad -- there are often mornings where I wake up for WBTB and haven't gotten any dreams yet.  When you're heading into a WBTB, your best dreaming is usually still ahead of you.
> 
> How did everything end up going?



Yes. I didn't remember before then. Ok, cool!  :smiley: I didn't have a lucid dream that time but I'll keep practicing and I want to do WILDS eventually. May I ask how you personally do your WILDS? I was looking at some of your posts on my profile and you said something like you've been doing them. I'd like to achieve WILDS myself!  :smiley:

----------


## Xanous

Hi oneiroer. How are you? I can't speak for CL but I like using a variation of LaBerges Twin Bodies Technique. I don't know if you have a copy but here it is.





> THE TWIN BODIES TECHNIQUE
> 1. Relax completely
> After awakening from a dream, lie on your back or right side with your eyes gently closed.
> Tighten and then relax your face and head, neck, back, arms, and legs. Completely let go of all
> muscular and mental tension, and breathe slowly and calmly. Enjoy the feeling of relaxation
> and affirm your intention to consciously enter the dream state; let go of all other thoughts,
> worries, and concerns.
> 2. Focus on your body
> Now focus your attention on your physical body. Use the 61-point relaxation exercise (page 54)
> ...



There's also One body and no body, but I think you get the picture.

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## oneiroer

> Hi oneiroer. How are you? I can't speak for CL but I like using a variation of LaBerges Twin Bodies Technique. I don't know if you have a copy but here it is.
> 
> 
> 
> There's also One body and no body, but I think you get the picture.



Hey Xanous! I'm good. You? Cool! Thank you. I'll give it a go and I actually have a copy of the book. I just haven't read that far because I'm trying to get at least 12 dreams logged in my dream journal like it says to do before I can work on my dream signs. I guess I'm trying to fly before I learn to walk in the dreamworld but I'm already experiencing lucid dreams every once in a while just not as many as I want. I get spontaneous LDs once in a while. Edit: Oops sorry for repeating myself...  ::D:

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## Xanous

Cool NP. I'm good. There's nothing wrong with taking it slow. Just move on as you feel comfortable. Good luck.

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## CanisLucidus

> Yes. I didn't remember before then. Ok, cool! I didn't have a lucid dream that time but I'll keep practicing and I want to do WILDS eventually. May I ask how you personally do your WILDS? I was looking at some of your posts on my profile and you said something like you've been doing them. I'd like to achieve WILDS myself!



I'm really glad that Xanous chimed in because it helps illustrate how differently people approach WILD.  Xanous is a very seasoned WILDer and his approach often leads to OBE-style WILDs that take place in the room you fall asleep in.

I do WILD a little differently.  If I can get into a mood where I am quietly aware, I'll sometimes find myself observing a lot of interesting hypnagogic imagery.  These are the shapes, colors, and even half-dreams you sometimes see while falling asleep.

When I am in just the right frame of mind, I can keep my mind conscious and just calmly observe as these images take shape.  It's a delicate balance between staying mindful and self-aware on one hand... and on the other hand letting this process unfold without interfering.  Eventually the scenes will become more and more focused, convincing, and coherent.

At this point, I'll generally try to "will" myself to physically interact with the environment.  I am careful to never attempt to move my body or my muscles.  I just _know_ that I'm touching the ground or waving my arms, or that I'm just physically there.  If all of this goes well, I'll find myself in a dream scene!

One tip I can give is to try starting with DEILD (the dream exit induced lucid dream) technique.  This is when you attempt to immediately perform a WILD after having a micro-awakening from another dream.  This is the simplest possible version of WILD to perform.  Even though the technique takes practice, I think of it as a "WILD on easy mode".  It's a great way to learn the feel of a WILD in the most forgiving environment possible.

If you've got any interest in DEILD, here are a couple of great guides:
http://www.dreamviews.com/induction-...me-ld-god.html
http://www.dreamviews.com/induction-...me-ld-god.html

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## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus! I'm interested and I'll check those out later.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Gonna attempt a WILD early today using a fan and WBTB. I'm listening to the WILD and DEILD dreamviews podcast...  :smiley:  Almost ready for sleep...  :tongue2:

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## CanisLucidus

> Gonna attempt a WILD early today using a fan and WBTB. I'm listening to the WILD and DEILD dreamviews podcast...  Almost ready for sleep...



Yes, those podcasts are great for inspiration!  I like to have old episodes on in the background if I'm lifting before bed and want to try to really raise my chances of having an LD.  They're filled with good info and really help get lucid dreaming on the brain.

Good luck!!

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## oneiroer

One more poem then back to the homework in this class. That's enough goofing off for me...  ::D:  I need to get back into remembering my dreams!  :smiley: 

I forgot my dreams.
A dreamer's block,
if you will.

My desire returns.

I focus.
I meditate.

Will I dream tonight? Today?

I do believe!
I will see, hear, smell, taste, feel,
the dream world once more.

I will experience it again and again.
No more will I neglect it.

It's here.
Waiting to be explored.

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## CanisLucidus

> One more poem then back to the homework in this class. That's enough goofing off for me...  I need to get back into remembering my dreams!



Nice, man!  That's how you get that inspiration back!  Do you ever read any of these poems or recite them in your head during your WBTB time?  The thoughts you express in here are precisely the sort of things you'd want to have going through your head when you're preparing to LD.

Maybe leave off the first 3 lines just in case your subconscious gets confused.  LOL.  Seriously, though, it's great that you're focusing your desire for an LD into art like this.  I don't do much besides drone in my own head about how badly I want to LD.  This is a much more interesting form of expression.

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## Xanous

> I forgot my dreams.
> A dreamer's block,
> if you will.
> 
> My desire returns.
> 
> I focus.
> I meditate.
> 
> ...



Ah! I really like this!

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## oneiroer

> Nice, man!  That's how you get that inspiration back!  Do you ever read any of these poems or recite them in your head during your WBTB time?  The thoughts you express in here are precisely the sort of things you'd want to have going through your head when you're preparing to LD.
> 
> Maybe leave off the first 3 lines just in case your subconscious gets confused.  LOL.  Seriously, though, it's great that you're focusing your desire for an LD into art like this.  I don't do much besides drone in my own head about how badly I want to LD.  This is a much more interesting form of expression.



Thanks! No but I think I'll start tonight!  :smiley:  Ok, thanks again!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Glad you do Xanous! Thanks!

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## oneiroer

I had a couple of lucid dreams recently where I was at least aware I was dreaming.

Dream one my girlfriend was there I was talking to her about someone. I also saw my pastor in this dream. There seemed to be quite a few people I knew from ordinary life in this dream. 
Dream 2 my friend and I were going to another friend's place and realized he didn't live there anymore so we had to go find him. In real life this person really did move before I had this dream.

These 2 dreams happened after I hung out with some friends where I actually had a dream which I forget but I was sleeping on the floor there and laying on my back and when I got up my body was still asleep. I guess that's the third time now that my body was still asleep after waking up.  :smiley:  I really should probably do something with that paralysis huh.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Another poem... Hope you guys like it.  :smiley: 

Let me be your guide
Take you by the hand
In your dream
And through mine
We share this moment
In our dreams
Two souls
En route at great verocitys
"Is this real?" you ask
"Yes" I answer
Our souls soar through this city
As we`re drawing closer to our journey`s end
Our destiny starts to unfold
Then I see you no more
You have woken up
I wake up 
And my heart is broken

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## oneiroer

It's time to get serious about lucid dreaming again for me. Here's my progress on lesson 1's homework.

1 Check
2 Check
3 Record the times that you naturally go to bed and wake-up, and list it in your workbook.
4 Do reality checks whenever you experience something weird throughout the day, and list it in your workbook.
5 Check
6 Nighttime routine 
   -Meditate (gonna start out with simple meditating with my breath...), then go to sleep on my back (I'm going to start all this tomorrow night)
7 check
8 Start posting snippets from your dreams in the Dream Snippets Edit: check
  Thread to get feedback on your dreams!
  -Going to do this very soon
9 Start practicing awareness from Lesson III
  -I've done this a little bit gotta work on it more soon
10 Working on this very soon

Thought I'd post what I'd like to do in my next lucid dream. I want to at least start a conversation with a dream character and say hello and hopefully get a response.

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## CanisLucidus

Great update, oneiroer!  Congratulations on those lucid dreams!   ::banana:: 

I highly encourage the goal of talking to a dream character.  Depending on the DC you choose, they'll often have some clever/interesting/funny/absurd things to say to you.  Let us know how it goes!

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## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus! Appreciate it. I will! I'm a little annoyed but I'm over it now. I think I was beginning to be lucid this morning. I stayed over at a friends place and woke up to kids being loud. Oh well, they're kids.  :smiley: 

Edit: I wonder what a dream character that I know in waking life would say if I talked to them.  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

It's a nap kinda day for me. I became lucid but got excited and didn't get to do what I wanted to do which was say hello. I was somewhere I didn't recognize but I was behind someone in a wheelchair and they had no foot. I should have said hello... Any tips for staying calm, and not getting too excited when I become lucid? Edit: I also had another dream where I might have been a ghost. The feeling sucked.

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## Xanous

Hmmm. I think over time you will get used to having lucid dreams and the excitement will level out. But for now... have you tried meditation? It seems to help me be more focused and keep my emotions in check.

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## oneiroer

Thanks Xanous. I've tried it a little bit. I meditated a little last night but I will meditate more. Thanks again Xanous!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I looked at all my dreams in my dream journal on here and found three dream signs. I updated my first post but I will say what they are here too.
-Friends
-My girlfriend
-Places I've never been to before.

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## oneiroer

Updated my reality checks I will perform starting immediately. They are:
-Look in a mirror.
-Look at the the time.
-Read a sentence twice when I'm reading.

Edit: Instead of looking at the time I will try to push my hand through an object.

----------


## OpheliaBlue

I like your idea of looking into mirrors for a reality check, as well as rereading sentences. The reason why is because, even in my most lucid moments, mirror reflections and text can appear odd on first (and even more so on second) glance.

So can the time. I can understand why you would rather test the hand-through-object. It's a nice combination to have reality checks that involve many senses: something you see, something you feel, etc. The more senses you incorporate into your daily reality checks, the more you increase your daily awareness into something that can be transferred to your dreams. Don't forget your dream signs in these practices.

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## oneiroer

Thanks OpheliaBlue! Glad you like my reality checks. But I have a question. What do you mean by this?





> Don't forget your dream signs in these practices.

----------


## paigeyemps

> Thanks OpheliaBlue! Glad you like my reality checks. But I have a question. What do you mean by this?



I think she means that you should remember to do these reality checks when you encounter a dream sign  ::D:  like do rc's when you're around your gf and friends, or if you're in a place unfamiliar to you, etc. good luck!

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## CanisLucidus

> It's a nap kinda day for me. I became lucid but got excited and didn't get to do what I wanted to do which was say hello. I was somewhere I didn't recognize but I was behind someone in a wheelchair and they had no foot. I should have said hello... Any tips for staying calm, and not getting too excited when I become lucid? Edit: I also had another dream where I might have been a ghost. The feeling sucked.



As Xanous said, calmness will in large part come with practice.  We all deal with excitement, though, so don't feel bad!  I still hit "micro-lucids" like this where I become lucid, can't believe it, and instantly wake up.  Don't stress too much about it.  Instead, if you can, try to use it as an opportunity to DEILD.

When you become lucid, try to cultivate a mindset of quiet, happy confidence.  One thing that I find helps me is to calmly talk myself through things in the dream once it begins.  In a calm voice, I like to repeat things like, "I am having a really stable lucid dream" or "This is my lucid dream." or simply, "I'm having a lucid dream."

Then, calmly interact with your environment.  Study its detail, marvel at its realism, and feel free to do things like rub your hands together and gently probe your dream body.  Try to calmly bring yourself into the scene.

Oh!!  I totally forgot to say... congratulations on the lucid dream!   ::goodjob::

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## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus and paigeyemps! I don't know if anyone cares about this but today I purchased a rock-like thing and on it it has a cross at the top and it says Dream at the bottom. I'm going to look at it regularly to think about dreaming more or something like that...  :smiley:  I also purchased some vitamin b 6 today. Hopefully both of those will help me remember my dreams.  :smiley:  I'm also seriously writing in my journal a lot. I think it's helping me with my thoughts and maybe it will help clear my mind to help me sleep better. Sometimes I have insomnia where I'm thinking like crazy and can't get to sleep. I also meditated a little bit but I'm going to work on it more.  :smiley:

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## paigeyemps

Oh that's awesome! The more inspiration the better. And i agree, journalling wholeheartedly really helps out with putting you in the right mindset. Happy dreaming ~

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## CanisLucidus

> Thanks CanisLucidus and paigeyemps! I don't know if anyone cares about this but today I purchased a rock-like thing and on it it has a cross at the top and it says Dream at the bottom. I'm going to look at it regularly to think about dreaming more or something like that...  I also purchased some vitamin b 6 today. Hopefully both of those will help me remember my dreams.  I'm also seriously writing in my journal a lot. I think it's helping me with my thoughts and maybe it will help clear my mind to help me sleep better. Sometimes I have insomnia where I'm thinking like crazy and can't get to sleep. I also meditated a little bit but I'm going to work on it more.



Nice, oneiroer!  Your cross sounds like it'll make an excellent symbol to remind you of dreaming.

B6 is good stuff, at least for me!  I'd recommend spacing it out and keeping dosages modest -- a little bit goes a long way and some people seem to grow a bit tolerant when they supplement with B6 too frequently.  Personally, I like to combine it with apple juice pre-bed.  (Just be sure to brush those teeth if you drink juice!   ::bigteeth:: )  FWIW, my longest, most vivid dream of all time came after I took some pre-bed B6.

The journal sounds perfect for you.  As you mentioned, clearing the mind is very important.  And the habits you are building by forcing your mind to recall your day should help train your dream recall.

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## oneiroer

> Nice, oneiroer!  Your cross sounds like it'll make an excellent symbol to remind you of dreaming.
> 
> B6 is good stuff, at least for me!  I'd recommend spacing it out and keeping dosages modest -- a little bit goes a long way and some people seem to grow a bit tolerant when they supplement with B6 too frequently.  Personally, I like to combine it with apple juice pre-bed.  (Just be sure to brush those teeth if you drink juice!  )  FWIW, my longest, most vivid dream of all time came after I took some pre-bed B6.
> 
> The journal sounds perfect for you.  As you mentioned, clearing the mind is very important.  And the habits you are building by forcing your mind to recall your day should help train your dream recall.



Thanks CanisLucidus! And thanks for reminding me to brush my teeth, I need to do that more often...  ::D:

----------


## CanisLucidus

> Thanks CanisLucidus! And thanks for reminding me to brush my teeth, I need to do that more often...



LOL.  You're welcome.  I feel like a big nag even mentioning that but I'd feel really bad if an oneironaut gets cavities from not properly managing their pre-bed apple juice.   ::chuckle::

----------


## oneiroer

I had a very short lucid dream recently where I thought I was having an out of body sort of experience. I was somewhere what could have been my apartment, and I started flying down through my or the room's floor but as soon as I started to transition through the floor I decided to stop and wake up...

----------


## CanisLucidus

Awesome, oneiroer!!   ::goodjob::   What made you decide to halt your phase through the floor?  Were you worried that you'd forget the dream?  Or did the whole sensation make you feel uncomfortable?

If you get in this situation again, give the phase a try!  The floor's not really there, after all, so nothing is there to stop you from going right through.

Good luck, man!  Glad to see you getting lucid!   ::goodjob2::

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus! I did feel uncomfortable. Alright, next time I'll give it a try.  :smiley:

----------


## CanisLucidus

> Thanks CanisLucidus! I did feel uncomfortable. Alright, next time I'll give it a try.



No problem.  I get what you mean.  It's weird the first time you try anything new in an LD that you hadn't preplanned.  But now that you've experienced it once and had more time to think about it, your mind will be that little bit more prepared.

The main thing to remember that everything you see is under your control.  If you decide something doesn't exist at all, then it doesn't.  It's your world -- you're the king.   :Nod yes: 

Good luck!

----------


## oneiroer

I had a couple of dreams the other night. One was a weird Back to the Future type dream. Don't really remember what happened but at the time it was interesting...

Also had a dream that felt really weird. It was like bam I'm in a dream all of a sudden, but I didn't like the last one too much because I didn't feel like I was in control at all...

It seems like when I don't try to have a dream lately I just have lucid dreams... I think I was putting too much effort into trying to have lucid dreams.  :smiley:

----------


## CanisLucidus

> It seems like when I don't try to have a dream lately I just have lucid dreams... I think I was putting too much effort into trying to have lucid dreams.



Hey, that's great!  If a lighter touch is doing the trick for you, roll with that.  _For me_, what matters more than raw effort is just expecting that I will have a lucid dream, then happily thinking about it and imagining it (via MILD) as much as possible pre-bed and during WBTB.  Are you doing that or just putting it out of your mind entirely?

That Back to the Future dream sounds interesting.   :smiley:   It's 2013, so we're only a couple of years away from the future depicted in Back to the Future II.  Flying cars, here we come!!

Anyway, in the end, it's all just about finding the formula that works for you and then riding it for all it's worth.  I'm happy for you!  Keep it up and let us know how you do.

----------


## Xanous

> It seems like when I don't try to have a dream lately I just have lucid dreams... I think I was putting too much effort into trying to have lucid dreams.



When I try too hard I don't get lucid as often also. I think some people just have to find that sweet spot and go for it. However, my understanding of MILD seems to be the opposite. From what I've read, pushing hard on this technique seems to be ok. They say the longer it takes you to fall back to sleep with it the better. There seems to be some truth to that IMO. Anyway, that's great you're finding that right amount of effort.

----------


## oneiroer

I just got up from a nap and had a fun lucid dream. I was in a room I didn't recognize again and ran out a door. The door had some kind of sign on it and I couldn't fully read what it said but I tried, but I was wanting to explore the environment. Anyway I didn't want to run so I kind of flew like superman out a small window near the floor after I opened the door. Then I was outside wherever I was and I kind of flew again up and there was a lady talking on a phone. I didn't want to bother her so I just looked around. I noticed how vivid the scenery was. 

When I was done with the dream I tried to wake myself up but it was hard to. I had to realize this wasn't my reality and I focused on my apartment and woke up... I'm a little concerned about not being able to wake up from my dreaming but it always works when I really want to wake up.

@ CanisLucidus: I guess I kind of MILD a little bit.  :smiley:

----------


## CanisLucidus

Congratulations on the LD, oneiroer!  Just getting out there and _exploring_ can be so much fun.  I'm glad that you thought to get outside and fly around.  I'm telling you, that just never gets old for me.

To your continued success!

----------


## paigeyemps

Congrats!

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus and paigeyemps!  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Got up from another nap and was having a lucid dream I think but hardly remember anything and the memory just vanished... I am starting to wonder why I seem to only remember dreams from naps and not from the night before. Maybe because my sleep schedule is so random? I remember reading in a lesson that proficient amount of sleep is required or something like that.  :smiley:  I'm thinking I should go to sleep around 9pm...  :smiley:

----------


## paigeyemps

Hey! Hmm you have a good point. Another possibility is that naps just give you more vivid dreams to remember? Im not entirely sure why, but from experience, as well as other people's.... I've learned that naps in general tend to be the ones with more outlandish dreams or the memorable vivid ones. Just a thought  ::D:

----------


## CanisLucidus

> Got up from another nap and was having a lucid dream I think but hardly remember anything and the memory just vanished... I am starting to wonder why I seem to only remember dreams from naps and not from the night before. Maybe because my sleep schedule is so random? I remember reading in a lesson that proficient amount of sleep is required or something like that.  I'm thinking I should go to sleep around 9pm...



Great thought, oneiroer.  I am a big fan of having a regular sleep schedule.  I find that if I go to bed unusually late, I'll often wake up the next morning before I've had my full measure of sleep.  That's sure to rob me of some precious REM time.  In general, the more messed up my sleep schedule, the worse my dream recall and overall rate of lucidity.  Get a nice, early night and see how that goes for you!

Is a more regular sleep schedule something you think could be possible for you long-term or is your life structured in such a way that this is difficult?

And almost forgot... congratulations on the lucid dream, remembered or not!  There will be more.  (Many more.)   :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

> Great thought, oneiroer.  I am a big fan of having a regular sleep schedule.  I find that if I go to bed unusually late, I'll often wake up the next morning before I've had my full measure of sleep.  That's sure to rob me of some precious REM time.  In general, the more messed up my sleep schedule, the worse my dream recall and overall rate of lucidity.  Get a nice, early night and see how that goes for you!
> 
> Is a more regular sleep schedule something you think could be possible for you long-term or is your life structured in such a way that this is difficult?
> 
> And almost forgot... congratulations on the lucid dream, remembered or not!  There will be more.  (Many more.)



I am pretty sure I can make a regular sleep schedule happen most of the time. Thanks CanisLucidus!  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

I wonder if at night before bed if I could trick myself into thinking I'm taking a nap...  :smiley:

----------


## CanisLucidus

> I wonder if at night before bed if I could trick myself into thinking I'm taking a nap...



Heh... I guess that it depends on just what it is about naps that helps you remember your dreams so much better.  Perhaps the sleep's a bit lighter?  That could make you more likely to wake up from your dream and remember it better.  Perhaps you spend a greater portion of this time in REM?

Are you currently practicing any form of WBTB?  That may the best way to get a "nap-like" effect with your nightly sleep.  The great majority of my lucid dreams have come by way of WBTB and it also seems to provide a nice boost in recall as well.

----------


## oneiroer

> Heh... I guess that it depends on just what it is about naps that helps you remember your dreams so much better.  Perhaps the sleep's a bit lighter?  That could make you more likely to wake up from your dream and remember it better.  Perhaps you spend a greater portion of this time in REM?
> 
> Are you currently practicing any form of WBTB?  That may the best way to get a "nap-like" effect with your nightly sleep.  The great majority of my lucid dreams have come by way of WBTB and it also seems to provide a nice boost in recall as well.



I'm not currently. But I will read up on it soon and try it tonight! Thanks!  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Just woke up from a lucid dream but it was very short cause I had to get up for work. I went in to what I think was a bookstore but I didn't get a chance to look around too much. There was a lady with grey hair behind a pretty big counter and I said hello and I think she replied the same but my alarm clock went off after that and it woke me up.

----------


## CanisLucidus

> Just woke up from a lucid dream but it was very short cause I had to get up for work. I went in to what I think was a bookstore but I didn't get a chance to look around too much. There was a lady with grey hair behind a pretty big counter and I said hello and I think she replied the same but my alarm clock went off after that and it woke me up.



Very good!  Congratulations on the LD, man!  Too bad about that alarm clock, but you'll make it up on the next one.  I think we've all been screwed out of a good LD before by the alarm clock, so you have my sympathy.   :smiley: 

Keep it up!

----------


## paigeyemps

Congrats on the lucid!  :Party:

----------


## oneiroer

Had a ld for the first time at night in a while.
I was somewhere I didn't recognize again
and I summoned a cat and it walked to me.
Then this lady who was a lot older than she
seemed was going to teach me something
important but i woke up cause i got interrupted 
by a phone call. I was dissapointed but not mad.

----------


## paigeyemps

Hey good job on the lucid and the summoning! Did you do anything special before bed or was it a completely random DILD?

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks! It was completely random  :smiley:

----------


## paigeyemps

Ah nice, either way, lucid is lucid so great job!

----------


## CanisLucidus

> Had a ld for the first time at night in a while.
> I was somewhere I didn't recognize again
> and I summoned a cat and it walked to me.
> Then this lady who was a lot older than she
> seemed was going to teach me something
> important but i woke up cause i got interrupted 
> by a phone call. I was dissapointed but not mad.



Congratulations, oneiroer, on that lucid and all of that great dream control.  The only pity is that you can't control waking life as well as you can the dream or you could have put that phone call off for an hour.  :tongue2: 

No matter -- you'll have many more.  Good work!   ::goodjob::

----------


## oneiroer

> Congratulations, oneiroer, on that lucid and all of that great dream control.  The only pity is that you can't control waking life as well as you can the dream or you could have put that phone call off for an hour. 
> 
> No matter -- you'll have many more.  Good work!



Lol you're right! Thanks!  :smiley:  

Although I just got a book called Dreaming While Awake, Techniques for 24-hour Lucid Dreaming by Arnold Mindell. So I wonder...  :wink2: 

It may sound strange but its really interesting so far. Check it out online if you'd like. I'd recommend it so far.

Edit: usually I keep my phone on silence during the night but had to keep it on for a call in the morning...

----------


## oneiroer

A lot of stuff happened in my latest dream. I guess it was lucid but mainly what I remember was I was on some kind of platform and I was able to look around. Somebody was with me on the platform and this being was in a cloaked outfit so I couldn't see it's face. I'm kinda freaked out because I saw an open casket and I wonder if the cloaked being was death and I was talking to death. Edit: the platform was floating low to the ground.

----------


## CanisLucidus

> A lot of stuff happened in my latest dream. I guess it was lucid but mainly what I remember was I was on some kind of platform and I was able to look around. Somebody was with me on the platform and this being was in a cloaked outfit so I couldn't see it's face. I'm kinda freaked out because I saw an open casket and I wonder if the cloaked being was death and I was talking to death. Edit: the platform was floating low to the ground.



Wow, very freaky dream!  I know that even when you're lucid, that strong imagery can really grab your attention and steer the dream in directions you may not want.  Do the best you can to remember that it's all still coming from inside you, and that everything that you see belongs to you and is a part of your imagination.

You may find that it helps to repeat this out loud.  That's something that I often do at the beginning of the dream and it's also useful in situations where lucidity itself might be at risk.  (For me, paranoia often sets in and I can lose lucidity that way.)

I know how hard this can be.   :smiley:   In the end, you got lucid, and that's pretty awesome all by itself.  Congratulations!!   ::D:

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus! I will.  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

I just got up from a nap and I remember not much from the dream. But I think I may have saw one of my best friends who
passed away this year. I'm not sure if I actually saw him but its like I really felt his presence. But then he had to leave
which was sad but it felt good to be in his presence again.

----------


## paigeyemps

Hey! That's a nice dream. Regardless if it was just a random dream or if you believe it had some spiritual side to it, it is always good to feel better from a dream. Even when we dream, they are still real emotions so it's nice when we see loved ones or people we never really get to see anymore. :3

----------


## oneiroer

Had another ld this morning. Sorry I don't remember much but I remember mainly talking to someone I don't remember who. 
I had a feeling I could wake up for a second and then get right back to the dream. Is that kinda like dream chaining 
but with the same dream...?

----------


## paigeyemps

Hey congrats on the lucid! If you woke up for a bit then slept again and got lucid, yes that was dream-chaining. It is very common to have the previous dream return, since it is the freshest memory on your mind once you start sleeping again. You may also choose to visualize your own preferred dream scene while falling back asleep in those few seconds, but it would be easier to have the previous dream laid out for you, isn't it? Hehe

Anyway, great job!

----------


## oneiroer

Thank you paigeyemps!  :smiley:

----------


## CanisLucidus

> Had another ld this morning. Sorry I don't remember much but I remember mainly talking to someone I don't remember who. 
> I had a feeling I could wake up for a second and then get right back to the dream. Is that kinda like dream chaining 
> but with the same dream...?



Congratulations on the LD, oneiroer!  Yeah, I agree with Paigey -- definitely dream-chaining.  I don't know whether it's related, but sometimes when dream-chaining, early dreams in the sequence can be more difficult to recall than the final dream.  Did you wake up from the final LD and immediately file it in your brain and/or write it down?  That's the best shot at hanging on to them for the long term.

Nice job!  Keep cranking out those LDs.   ::goodjob::

----------


## oneiroer

Actually, I've been neglecting my dream journal lately I guess because I've not had as many dreams as I want. I guess 
I've got to have a goal of so many dreams in a week I want to have and focus on that goal and write them down.

Thanks CanisLucidus!  :smiley: 

I think I'll have a goal of remembering at least one dream each night/day.

----------


## paigeyemps

Oh also, when you cant recall anything, write down something like 'none recalled' and perhaps a little note of what you may have been doing before bed, if you slept very late or had some food, etc. this helps you evaluate your attempts and figure oit if there's a common factor affecting them.

Oh yea and when you cant remember anything, try to go over your known dream signs and try to think if they were in your dream. It might help since dream signs are recurring and might have been in your dream that night. That is, if you know your dream signs now or before  ::D:  good luck!

----------


## CanisLucidus

> Actually, I've been neglecting my dream journal lately I guess because I've not had as many dreams as I want. I guess 
> I've got to have a goal of so many dreams in a week I want to have and focus on that goal and write them down.
> 
> Thanks CanisLucidus! 
> 
> I think I'll have a goal of remembering at least one dream each night/day.



Good luck!  This is a great goal.  I agree with Paigey that the best approach is to always write _something_ down in your dream journal.  Make it something that you expect of yourself upon waking every morning.

Even if all that you write down is a fleeting emotion, there's value in that.  You are training yourself to pay attention and grasp onto the dreams that you experienced and be able to reel them back into your waking memory.  This takes practice, but those lingering emotional fragments are usually residue from dreams.  They _are_ a very basic form of dream recall, so try to get anything down that you can.

And ultimately if you're a complete blank slate, write that down.  But I think you'll find that there's usually something left if you hunt for it.

Recall is *very* trainable!  Before I started working on LD, I didn't recall dreams often at all... maybe a couple per month.  But just working hard on dream journaling, good practices in the morning, more sleep, and WBTB raised this skill tremendously.  You'll be able to do the same thing.

Let us know how you do!

----------


## oneiroer

I wrote down no recall this morning and that I had been
listening to music before sleep. Does music before bed
affect dream recall? Also, when I wrote down no recall
I began to remember something about a truck... I'm going to
keep trying your suggestions guys!  :smiley:

----------


## CanisLucidus

I'm not sure about music before bed!  Can't say I've heard of it making much difference one way or the other.

"Truck"!  Perfect.  Write that down.  There's often something like that.  When you hit flashes like that, try to turn them over in your mind.  Was this truck going anywhere?  Was I in it?  What else do I remember immediately before or after this truck showing up?  That sort of thing.

And if you don't hit anything else besides "truck", that's okay too!  What matters is training our minds to hold onto dreams by demonstrating that they're important to us and making the effort to recall them.

Sounds like you're doing it right.  Keep at it!

----------


## oneiroer

I went back to sleep this morning and remembered a little bit from a dream.
I was in some kind of room and someone said thank you I think to 
someone for a bunch of small white tickets. I think they were
planning on going somewhere.

----------


## CanisLucidus

> I went back to sleep this morning and remembered a little bit from a dream.
> I was in some kind of room and someone said thank you I think to 
> someone for a bunch of small white tickets. I think they were
> planning on going somewhere.



This is perfect.  Keep reeling in everything you can from your dream time.  Even if it at the moment it doesn't seem like much, keep reaching until you're sure there's nothing else you can grab.  Try not to move until you're all the way through this process.

Once you've done that, write it down.  And never give up on this practice.  Give it a solid try every day, and always get plenty of sleep!

It is _definitely_ something that you can improve with practice.

----------


## oneiroer

Will do!  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

I checked out Sageous's WILD class and started practicing his self awareness practice. I'm
going to try it out this week.

----------


## CanisLucidus

> I checked out Sageous's WILD class and started practicing his self awareness practice. I'm
> going to try it out this week.



You know, this self-awareness practice that he recommends is great whether you're interested in WILD *or* DILD.  It's just a great all-around practice, and IMO much more accessible than true "all-day awareness", which is something that to this day still intimidates me.

Sageous has some great class material!

----------


## oneiroer

I had what seemed like a long ld this morning. I remember 3 people playing guitar in a row, a monster 
looking guy talking, and maybe my dad somewhere in the dream. The dream was bizarre.
If only I didn't have to work maybe I could have dreamed for hours!  ::D:

----------


## CanisLucidus

> I had what seemed like a long ld this morning. I remember 3 people playing guitar in a row, a monster 
> looking guy talking, and maybe my dad somewhere in the dream. The dream was bizarre.
> If only I didn't have to work maybe I could have dreamed for hours!



Nice, oneiroer, congratulations!  It does sound _a little_ bizarre, I'll admit.   ::chuckle::   Very cool though!  This sort of thing makes dreams fun.

I know what you  mean about how nice it'd be to just sleeeeep in.  I've got small children so the only real solution that I've found for this is to go to bed earlier.  Easier said than done, though, ha ha...

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks for the advice CanisLucidus!  :smiley:  I'll have to try that. I can agree easier said than done....  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Had a couple of long lucids today. I think Saturday is going to be my favorite ld day cause I get to 
sleep in. Anyway don't remember much from the first long lucid, but in the second one I was watching
and even performing in what seemed like a metal band's video. But it also seemed like some sort of ritual
after I sang... A guy started to pat his hands on the front stage and also from where I was looking it looked 
like a couple of people were bringing part of a rat somewhere... The room was like medium sized but it was also dark
and lit up with candles I'm pretty sure. Then I looked up at the end of the dream and saw a couple of people 
bringing down something from where they were far atop whatever they were standing on. I want to say they were 
on a scaffold but I'm not sure what they were on. Then I woke up, but I could have been dreaming this dream longer,
I guess I just got bored of the story or something...  :smiley: 

Edit now that I try to remember the first ld: I was trying to wake up from it but it seemed like I couldn't...
Anyone ever feel this way in a dream?

----------


## oneiroer

I guess that was a bit too strange of a ld... I guess now I've got to concentrate on nicer dreams...  :smiley: 

It's weird how my dreams have been really dark lately. :/

----------


## CanisLucidus

Congratulations on the LDs!  I totally agree about sleeping in.  That is such a great time to pull down a lucid.  A little extra sleep gives you so much great REM, more awareness, and just more chances to catch yourself dreaming.  This is particularly true if you wake up at your normal time then go back to sleep for a while.





> Then I woke up, but I could have been dreaming this dream longer,
> I guess I just got bored of the story or something..



This may just be an opportunity to focus more on controlling the dream and taking it in a direction that _you_ want it to go.  If you're bored or upset with what you're seeing, that's a good time to move things toward accomplishing your own lucid goals.

Do you have a couple of major lucid goals that you keep in mind all the time?  This is IMO a good thing to do since it makes it much easier to galvanize yourself and take action to change the dream.  (It's motivating too.)





> Edit now that I try to remember the first ld: I was trying to wake up from it but it seemed like I couldn't...
> Anyone ever feel this way in a dream?



The only time that I've intentionally tried to wake up is when I've just accomplished something important and want to immediately wake up to write it down.  I've never had any trouble so far.  If I want to wake up, it usually happens very quickly.  You may want to try just thinking about nothing but your physical body lying in bed.  That's usually a mistake that I make which causes me to wake up too soon.   :smiley: 

Do you remember why you wanted to wake up?

----------


## oneiroer

> Congratulations on the LDs!  I totally agree about sleeping in.  That is such a great time to pull down a lucid.  A little extra sleep gives you so much great REM, more awareness, and just more chances to catch yourself dreaming.  This is particularly true if you wake up at your normal time then go back to sleep for a while.
> 
> 
> 
> This may just be an opportunity to focus more on controlling the dream and taking it in a direction that _you_ want it to go.  If you're bored or upset with what you're seeing, that's a good time to move things toward accomplishing your own lucid goals.
> 
> Do you have a couple of major lucid goals that you keep in mind all the time?  This is IMO a good thing to do since it makes it much easier to galvanize yourself and take action to change the dream.  (It's motivating too.)
> 
> 
> ...



I don't have any current goals. I'm going to think of them and work on my dream recall again. I started reading up on some 
Stephan Laberge and I think I'm at square 1 again... I don't remember why I woke up. The dream situation was probably 
uncomfortable... Speaking of motivation, I thought I'd try something out. I thought I'd accumulate over time a bunch
of songs related to lucid dreams and/or oobe's and listen to them for motivation! Good idea maybe? Sorry I took so
long to answer you back CanisLucidus. And thanks!  :smiley:  I like metal music and found a couple of songs a while back
Asttronomicon and Astral Body...

----------


## CanisLucidus

Even though going back to basics _feels_ like starting from square one, it really isn't.  Whenever I'm trying to fix something in my lucid dreaming practice, I always return to the basics.

You're doing exactly the right thing.  Everyone who gets really good at a skill always knows the basics _cold_.  The fundamentals are what really matter.

Cool idea about the music!  I had no idea that there were lucid dream and/or OBE-related songs of any kind!  I don't know much about metal so I had no idea that kind of stuff existed.  Very cool!  I'll have to look these up some time and check out the lyrics...

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks again CanisLucidus. My favorite song out of the 2 is Astronomicon. My fav lyric part is "This is a dream and yet it's not" and "Deep inside every mind a universe resides"...  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

I attempted a WBTB. I set my alarm 4 and 
a half hours aftter I fell asleep.
Good news is I remembered a dream once
again bad news I think I'm just going to stay
up cause I'm going to be busy in a few hours.

----------


## CanisLucidus

> I attempted a WBTB. I set my alarm 4 and 
> a half hours aftter I fell asleep.
> Good news is I remembered a dream once
> again bad news I think I'm just going to stay
> up cause I'm going to be busy in a few hours.



So did you have trouble falling back asleep?  One piece of advice I can give there is to not allow yourself to think of any waking life concerns whatsoever while falling asleep or during WBTB.  Those tend to bring on insomnia for a lot of people.

I prefer to either spend the time incubating reading a book, meditating quietly, playing a low-key computer or phone game like _Myst_, incubating the next dream, enjoying hypnagogic imagery, etc.  That keeps things nice and relaxing.

Good luck on your next attempt!

----------


## oneiroer

actually i decided to stay up. this night i had a lucid
dream but i dont remember it. i think what 
triggered it was 2 cups of coffee before bed and
writing no recall in my journal for yesterday. i had
trouble getting to sleep and went to bed around
1am and i woke up from the dream at about 3am. 
i thought that was strange but cool. im going
to see if i can have and hopefully remember 
any more dreams tonight.  :smiley:

----------


## paigeyemps

Good luck. Are you going to take some coffee before bed again? Or what approach are you planning?

----------


## oneiroer

thanks paigeyemps. im out of coffee at the
moment but im planning on a wake
back to bed. i cant do it tonight but i will
try it soon.  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Just a quick update I have coffee again. I'm
going to have 2 cups again tonight, try a
wake back to bed and I also got a book 
light for my journal.

----------


## oneiroer

Sorry I haven't been on very much lately. I really need a new computer. My computer screen is cracked very badly...
I'll try to update my progress soon. Haven't had much luck remembering dreams lately. But 
tonight I'm definitely trying a WBTB!  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Yes! I had some success with the WBTB. I was lucid for a little bit and remember just a little.
I remember being somewhere I don't recognize, which seems to be every dream I get lucid...
I remember thinking about my mom. Then I was on a street and it was dark outside.
Then this person with long hair came walking down the street. This scene was kinda 
funny cause I kept on trying to talk to the person but they wouldn't talk to me. Then I said
you're boring and I woke up... Finally a WBTB that worked at least for a little bit!  :smiley: 

Edit I wonder, is it possible to have multiple
wake back to beds? would that kinda be like
dream chaining?

----------


## CanisLucidus

Congratulations on the lucid dream!  It sounds to me like being in unfamiliar places could be a good dreamsign for you, one you are perhaps already taking advantage of quite well (considering how often this is where your LDs end up.)

If you can remember the details of the WBTB timing and how long you stayed up, note them all down!  This'll help you zero in on what works best for you.





> Edit I wonder, is it possible to have multiple
> wake back to beds? would that kinda be like
> dream chaining?



While this is too much for me personally, I know that some people LD by waking up several times throughout the night, sometimes using multiple alarms to DEILD like crazy.  I usually have a main WBTB and if I wake from a dream that was very memorable (especially a lucid) I usually get up long enough to write it down, then go back to bed.  So in that sense I will sort of do multiples.  It can be demanding to do several of them, but it's worth it to write down lucid dreams as soon as possible.

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus! I'm trying another WBTB as I write this.
I woke up from a dream and I woke up earlier than expected...
My question for you is, if I want to dream about say flying, how
would I incubate that before I fall asleep again? Would I just think
about that until I fall asleep?

----------


## CanisLucidus

> Thanks CanisLucidus! I'm trying another WBTB as I write this.
> I woke up from a dream and I woke up earlier than expected...
> My question for you is, if I want to dream about say flying, how
> would I incubate that before I fall asleep again? Would I just think
> about that until I fall asleep?



Good, hope the WBTB paid off!

I'm only a so-so dream incubator myself, so I'd say that you have the right idea.  I would say that the best approach I've found is like the one NewArtemis uses... basically just visualize a continuous, relaxing scene that contains what you want to dream about.  Make it something peaceful and relaxing and try to lose yourself in it.

FWIW, dream incubation has always been hit or miss for me so don't set beat yourself up if it takes several tries for something to stick.  It can be a bit elusive!  Good luck!

----------


## oneiroer

Just had a pretty cool lucid from a nap. I saw a bunch of wild animals like lions and black panthers.
I think I made them jump off a cliff but then I was an observer watching them fight. I mainly remember the black panther for some reason.

Edit: I forgot to mention I was looking up at the animals from below somewhere
and they were really high up.

Also, before this dream I became lucid a couple of times but I had trouble moving.
I thought that was kinda scary.

----------


## paigeyemps

Hey congratulations! As for the moving problem, you can try other dream control approaches such as pressing a magic button, or snapping your hands imagining that would fix it, you may also 'wait it out' for a few seconds imagining it will wear off right away.

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks paigeyemps!  :smiley:  I'll try those next time I'm stuck. I think it also might have been because I was sleeping on my arm and it felt numb when I woke up. Maybe I'll try sleeping on my back when I go to sleep from now on.  :smiley:

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## paigeyemps

Great, it's a huge deal to sleep in a comfortable position. Pillows everywhere is nice  ::D:

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## CanisLucidus

> Just had a pretty cool lucid from a nap. I saw a bunch of wild animals like lions and black panthers.
> I think I made them jump off a cliff but then I was an observer watching them fight. I mainly remember the black panther for some reason.
> 
> Edit: I forgot to mention I was looking up at the animals from below somewhere
> and they were really high up.
> 
> Also, before this dream I became lucid a couple of times but I had trouble moving.
> I thought that was kinda scary.



Nice, man, congratulations on the lucid!   ::goodjob::   The animals sound cool.  So it was almost like you were observing from the bottom of the cliff, huh, and they were jumping down to your observation point?

The trouble moving thing has happened to me very, very occasionally.  Twice that I can think of in all of my LDs.  I wouldn't worry about it too much since it may not reoccur any time soon.

Paige's suggestions are good.  Another fundamental one that I would recommend is to simply ignore the problem entirely and imagine that you're moving exactly how you want.  Just ignore the problem.  Forget about it.  Pretend you're already moving.  You'd be surprised how well denial can work here.   :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I feel i havnt had much sucess lately. But a night
or two ago I felt I was dreaming a lot. I'm 
going to change my goals with lucid dreaming
when i get to a computer... My main goal will
be using my lds as a gateway to writing 
fiction storys. I'm trying to learn to write from books
and I've got an idea for a horror story from one
of my lds.

----------


## CanisLucidus

That's great, oneiroer!  I love the idea of using lucid dreaming for creativity.  I think this is a great thing to try.

Research has shown that when creative people (musicians in the experiments I'm familiar with), the portion of their brain responsible for inhibition is much less active than in its typical mode of operation.  The same is true in dreams.  So you are in an ideal frame of mind for creative work when you're dreaming!

I'm looking forward to hearing how this goes for you!

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus. 

I have updated my goals whoever cares to read them again...  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

Goals look good!  You just can't go wrong focusing on improving recall.  Recall is the bedrock of any dream work and bringing that up is bound to help in so many ways.

Let us know how the OBE training goes!

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks again CanisLucidus. I will.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

My dream recall has increased from the training so far. In the book it has me 
doing affirmations as part of it. One of the affirmations is Each morning I 
faithfully write dream keywords in my notebook. I repeated that plus a 
couple more last night before sleep and I actually woke up a a couple of times
and remembered dreams. At first I barely remembered them, but in
one I saw my ex girlfriend. and I think I partially got lucid. I wrote about 6
keywords.  :smiley:

----------


## CanisLucidus

Good stuff, oneiroer!  Congratulations on the improved recall.  It sounds like the affirmations are already getting you in the perfect frame of mind.  It's great to see you getting good results so quickly!

My dream recall came back last night, too, so yay us.   :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Great CanisLucidus! Thanks.

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## oneiroer

I couldn't sleep very much last night but when I did I was bombarded (maybe not the best word...  ::D: ) with partial
lucids. The two that stood out were I felt as if someone was with me perhaps a guide or something...
and in one lucid I was thinking telekinesis but what I remember doing was guiding a cup of water along my
arms back and forth.  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

Cool, man, sounds like you had some good dreams last night!  Did you feel like they were partial lucids in the sense that your level of lucidity was low or just that they were very short?

Either way, every incidence of lucidity is a great thing.   ::content::  

Congratulations!  I liked that you got in a little TK practice.   :smiley:   I wonder who the guide was in that first dream...

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## oneiroer

That they were very short.

I woke up from maybe another partial lucid but I think I was just observing the dream. 
Anyway, I heard someone play a metal riff on an electric guitar. It was a pretty
simple riff but it was pretty cool to hear music in a dream. There was a little more
story to the dream but I don't remember...

----------


## oneiroer

I'm still interested in having lucid dreams and obes but I'm lacking in the motivation area...  :Sad: 
Any tips if any for that? I guess I'll start the homework for the class again and think more about what
I want to do in my dreams.  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

Yeah, my best advice for motivation is to get down to a short list of a couple of really exciting or profound things that you'd like to achieve in a lucid dream and then just completely focus on those.  Daydream about them, plan how you'll achieve them, and every night set your intent to accomplish them.

Literally anything you can imagine is possible in an LD.  Latch onto something you'd really love to experience, and then just work toward making it happen!  Whatever it is, you really can do it.  It's so amazing to think about what's possible.   ::content:: 

Good luck!

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks CanisLucidus. I've came up with two things I'd like to achieve. First grow wings and fly. I think I mentioned a dream like that here already but I'd like to do that again. Second I'd like to play electric guitar in a metal band and play in a concert in front of people. Those are my goals for lucid dreaming now. I'll let you guys know if I achieve them.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I remembered a dream last night after some effort of remembering to remember. I remember the number 1409 for some reason. Someone I knew was there and there was darkness. Strange part is I went to sleep about 1230am and woke up from the dream about 1:30am. I had a couple of cups of coffee before sleep too.

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## oneiroer

I slept on the floor last night and anyway remembered something. I think I might have had a healing type dream even though I don't remember it. I think I was crying and I haven't been able to cry in a long while... I feel better because of the dream...  :smiley:  Edit: some more dream memories are starting to pop up but they're tough to capture... What I did last night was think of a dream I had in the past especially the one about the black panther. I was thinking of honoring the drea by making my avatar here one. But I can't seem to do that on a tablet... I wonder if i sorta found a way to connect back with my dreams by just thinking about that animal...?  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

Sounds great, oneiroer, congratulations!  Emotions tend to just flow in dreams in a way they really don't in waking life, so it makes sense that you were able to cry in the dream when it's just not something that happens to you much in waking life.

My dream recall hasn't been quite as good the past few days so maybe I need to try sleeping on the floor!   ::D:

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## oneiroer

I think it works pretty well.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I`m going to try a wbtb  tonight and start working on reality checks tomorrow! ...  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

No success with wbtb yet or reality checks... but I've been reading the book A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming and tried a suggestion. I first tried to meditate a little (it's tough for me) but then thought to myself "I expect to have a lucid dream." and woke up around 4:19 am last night and remembered some scenes!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Started practicing self awareness yesterday. And remembered a dream last night. I'm gonna start putting more effort into becoming a lucid dreamer!  :smiley:  I'm also reading a book yet still want to complete this course. I'm trying to remember my dreams again.

----------


## oneiroer

Times I naturally go to sleep and wake up:

I'll edit this post. I'll try this for a week and enter the times to show I'm serious about dreams.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

A new goal I have is to explore memories I have forgotten. Maybe weird, but I had a dream a while back where I was sitting with either my aunt or my mom when I was a kid. I also might ask family if they remember something from a dream.

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## NyxCC

Hey that's a great goal. I am actually trying to do something similar in the medium to long run - access past memories. Let us know how it goes. Good luck and lots of lds to you!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

> Hey that's a great goal. I am actually trying to do something similar in the medium to long run - access past memories. Let us know how it goes. Good luck and lots of lds to you!



Cool and thank you NyxCC. I will.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

May have found a dream sign while on vacation this week. I dreamt the same friends who have been mean to me in a past dream were mean to me again...

----------


## CanisLucidus

Good dreamsign, oneiroer!  This is one you can channel in a very positive way with some basic dream yoga.

Any time you feel slighted or mistreated by someone, catch the emotional reaction and examine it.  Note how dreamlike it is and how it's something only _you_ can produce inside yourself -- it's not a "real" external thing.  Insist that you prove to yourself that you're not dreaming.

This will not only help you catch real dreams, but will also give you a moment to _choose_ how you react to a given situation.  Rather than let negative emotions sweep you up, you'll have first crack at deciding what kind of experience you'll have.

Good luck, and keep up the good work, man!

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## oneiroer

Gonna try a wake back to bed tonight. Reading the book Exploring the world of lucid dreaming again.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Been remembering more dreams lately. A new goal I have is to become more aware of what's going on in a dream...  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Just a small update. Seems I had about 2 lucid dreams last night but can't remember them. I also had a nightmare but don't remember that either...  :Sad:  looks like I gotta practice remembering them in the morning...  :smiley:    (if my text is large sorry I'm typing from my phone and don't quite know how to fix that..)

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## oneiroer

Thought I would post a picture. I took a picture of some clouds and edited them on my phone.  :smiley:  
[img=http://s22.postimg.org/59v0dmh59/1402417640887_1.jpg]

Edit: trying to figure out how to show the thumbnail on my tablet...

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## oneiroer

An update... Took a vacation and have been remembering dreams for the past 4 nights or so! Glad I got my recall back.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Had a lucid this morning. One of my dream signs now is definitely not knowing where I am... Sorry I haven't been doing the homework. I'll try to start again.  :smiley:  I posted it in my journal here but if you don't feel like going to it and are interested I'll describe it here...

I went to bed, told myself I remember my dreams slept for about an hour and woke up in a bed in the dreamworld. I think I had a false awakening too. I only got about an hours sleep last night which I think is pretty cool that I got a lucid out of it...  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

Well done, oneiroer! Fantastic ld incubation! The early ones are always very impressive.  :smiley: 

Looks like a good time to return to lding. Wish you many more to come.

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## CanisLucidus

That's awesome, oneiroer!  Great work!   ::goodjob:: 

I agree with Nyx... the early LDs are really exciting because you don't even use the neurochemical advantage of WBTB.  I had only a very few of these a while back and I was incredibly proud of myself!   :Cheeky:   Great achievement!

Ride this momentum to some more lucids!  Looking forward to seeing your continued success!   ::goodjob2::

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## oneiroer

Thanks guys. I've decided to write down what I want to do in lucid dreams. I think that was one of the first homework assignments... Anyway now I know why motivation is important!  :smiley:  Desire and intention will most definitely bring on dreams/lucid dreams.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Arg...went to bed at 3am... woke up at around 5am because a dog was barking... I was having a lucid dream but I could only remember a person...

Edit: Can I get like earplugs or something else (would they work?) to block out sounds? 'cause there's a dog in my neighborhood who barks fairly often...  :Sad:

----------


## NyxCC

^^Oh yes, these definitely help!

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## oneiroer

Thank you NyxCC. Until I buy some earplugs I'm gonna try this app called Relax Melodies: Sleep & Yoga for android. Gonna try to MILD tonight.  :smiley:  Will really try WBTB when I have more time to sleep.

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## oneiroer

cant sleep yet but will try to be lucid in early morning... anyway I started thinking and writing about a dream I had. my writing is kinda christian...but I'm open pretty open minded... anyway wanted to share what I wrote about a dream I had a while back. not sure if I already did this but I think this poem/lyric thing is new...  :smiley: 

the lion I see
looks down at me
humility rages war with my pride
I'm distracted by the soldiers on either side
my humility takes a bite out of my pride
I'm well protected

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## NyxCC

Very profound, I like it. Also the other one about the unknown...

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## oneiroer

Thank you very much NyxCC. Glad you liked them!  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

seriously needing earplugs. i was beginning to have a good dream but got woken up. thankfully getting some this week.

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## oneiroer

was aware enough in my dream last night to be lucid. it was strange... people were in the air and i dont think they were flying, i think they were either floating or being thrown around like sling shots... and an update: the dog thats been waking me up hasnt woken me up in a while.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

thought of a few things to do in my lucid dreams for motivation...  :smiley: 

solve problems
create music
create stories (from my dreams)
explore the dream world

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## oneiroer

does writing down times to bed and wake help with remembering dreams? first night i tried this i think i had a lucid dream. but second night no recall... but last night i dont think i did that and remembered part of an end of the world dream... i think it does help but any of your thoughts about this?  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

I'm afraid that I just don't know, oneiroer, but sounds like a very worthy experiment!  At the very least it's a great way to do recordkeeping and see what a difference a good night's sleep makes.

I wish that I could give you an answer on it, but how about trying it consistently for 2 weeks and letting us know how it goes for you?  I'd love to learn a new trick like this!  It's not a habit I'm currently very good about.

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## oneiroer

thank you canislucidus i will. 

i am using today as my dream day i decided for now. i wanted to share a cool lucid dream i just had. i feel a lady was teaching me things like changing door sizes with hand motions and making doors appear. i even remember seeing a small door in someone's eye... strange but i seemed to be very lucid in this dream.  :smiley: 

edit did i chain two dreams? before the one i just described i had a dream of a relative that passed away. i dont think i saw her but felt her presence. after this dream i woke up then went back to sleep and had the dream i described.

----------


## NyxCC

Congrats on the ld! That's a super cool experience you had. A lot of us spend time wandering the dream world, looking for a DC willing to show us a few cool tricks. It's great you came across one.  ::goodjob2:: 

About the chaining, I am slightly confused about the use of terminology here...do you mean if it was a deild? Could be.

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## oneiroer

ill research dream chaining and explain...

i had a coincidence or not today. i have an opportunity to move and i remember dreaming a 4 digit number a while back. i think it was the address of the place i could be moving to!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

well with that precognition experience i thought i had i figure the dream was either warning me not to move there or just letting me know of the possibility. it looks like the move isnt gonna work out... anyway just makes me want to connect with my dreams even more!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

i have been remembering more dreams in the morning lately. i was having a lucid dream last night at about 1 in the morning but that dog i mentioned before woke me up from it...  :Sad:  the ear plugs i got dont seem to work... are there different kinds?

----------


## NyxCC

Congrats on the ld! Sorry to hear about the dog waking you up, does it bark all night long or it just hit the ld time? Some earplugs may work better than others. Also, be sure to clean yours and get a new pair every once in a while as to prevent ear infections.

----------


## oneiroer

it barks quite a lot but i think it just hit the ld time. ill have to do some searching for the right earplugs NyxCC. thank you.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I had a dream recently where I looked at a sign on a building and couldn't understand the sign... Any tips on remaining calm and staying in the dream? I could have become lucid then right? I have read that you can spin in the dream to stabilize... Maybe I'll try that next time.  :smiley:  Oh yea, I've been practicing reality checks. Mainly looking at my hand and looking at my nose with one eye closed sometimes. Back to the lessons!  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

Close call!  :smiley:  Have you been experiencing any excitement issues? If not, I'd advice just to continue as if nothing has happened (don't forget that you are dreaming though  :tongue2: ). Just because you have become lucid doesn't imply there will be instability. Simply proceed with any tasks you had in mind. Often doing these tasks is an act of stabilization in itself.

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## oneiroer

I have been experiencing excitement issues. But this morning I had a pretty long dream where I was in a bar and this guy was smoking a cigarette. I got bad vibes from the place and walked out. The scene was really vivid...  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

did a wake back to bed unintentionally last night. woke up about 4 or so remembered a dream then stayed up a bit got tired then fell asleep. couldnt remember the second dream at first but after a short while remembered the second dream. wasnt really lucid in either though...

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## oneiroer

Lately been remembering my dreams off and on... And apparently I talk in my sleep sometimes so my gf says. Just wondering what that is about. I think its when I'm having nightmares...

----------


## oneiroer

What a week of dream remembering! 3 nights in a row i had a peaceful lucid of a good friend that passed away a while back, then i had a dream symbol in the second dream where i saw a microwave half full of water in which i did some dream interpretation research online and found what that meant interesting. Then last night i had a nightmare in which something was inside my arm and i could push it around. Then i flew i think in search of something after the arm part. Hopefully i can keep remembering my dreams like this!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Slept in this morning and a bunch of stuff happened in my dream... i think my girlfriend was driving a car and we got in a wreck... and the strangest thing wass i think a dream character that i don't know told me something like maybe you should stop dreaming lucidly lol...

----------


## oneiroer

Sorry if wrong place to post this but im wondering if i have catathrenia since i make noises when i dream. Thats according to my girlfriend. I looked up making noises while dreaming on gooogle and thats what i found that i might have.

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## NyxCC

Well, I'm not familiar with the precise terminology. If I hadn't seen the word you posted, I would have said you probably sleep talk. Does that sound about right? Is it really serious or just happens from time to time? I sleep talk sometimes as well, usually when the dream contents gets very overwelming, like somebody pissing me off, I wake up while speaking at the same time expressing how annoyed I am.  ::listenup::

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## oneiroer

I think its noises but i dont make em all the time apparently just sometimes when i dream.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Woohoo! I told myself i remember my dreams last night before i went to sleep and remembered a dream this morning.  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Had a pretty crazy nightmare. I think i was at least partially lucid. I think it was cause I was sleeping on a couch.

----------


## NyxCC

Congrats! Hopefully next time the contents will be more pleasant!  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Thanks NyxCC. Yea hopefully.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Didnt put much effort into remembering my dreams before i slept last night but asked myself what i could remember this morning and i remembered a fragment about work. Yay...  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Thinking about creating a song dedicated to lucid dreaming. Im working on making a home music studio. I play a little bit of piano and have some melodies going on. Once I get it going Ill post it somewhere on here. I thought there was a topic called post music you make here or something like that. I would also not mind having a lucid dream where I am playing the piano and possibly try to create a song from that.  :smiley:

----------


## CanisLucidus

> Thinking about creating a song dedicated to lucid dreaming. Im working on making a home music studio. I play a little bit of piano and have some melodies going on. Once I get it going Ill post it somewhere on here. I thought there was a topic called post music you make here or something like that. I would also not mind having a lucid dream where I am playing the piano and possibly try to create a song from that.



Sounds great oneiroer!  I can't wait to hear what you come up with!   :smiley: 

Your idea for lucid piano-playing sounds like a really good (and potentially productive) lucid goal.  I highly encourage it!

That reminds me of one of my favorite cool "dream creativity" stories.  Did you know that the tune for "Yesterday" by the Beatles came to Paul McCartney in a dream?  I'd love to find out what'll come to you in your dream!   ::happy::

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## oneiroer

I didnt know the name of the song but i knew about a song by them that came about by a dream. Really appreciate the comment CanisLucidus!  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Wanting to perform a wild real soon and I think I get how to do it now. Hopefully this weekend I can achieve it. I'll report back my experience.  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Getting a cool electric guitar this week and gonna try to make that song dedicated to lucid dreaming soon with what knowledge of music I have so far. I made a new soundcloud site @soundcloud.com/Oneiroer. I'll upload it here when I'm finished with the song.  :smiley: 

edit: I wanted to do a wild last night but stayed up too late and didnt get much sleep...

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## NyxCC

Awesome! Let us know when it's ready!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

K I will NyxCC.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I told myself I remember my dreams last night. I told myself that I wanted to dream about playing music. I started to dream about a piano this morning but didn't actually play it. Going to try and try again until I succeed.  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Just wanted to share i had this strange short dream where i was like staring at this tongue like creature... wish i woulda asked it what and who it was. I think next time i run into a dream character im going to converse with it.  :smiley:

----------


## NyxCC

You make it sound really interesting, though I have to admit I'm a bit creeped out.  :paranoid:

----------


## oneiroer

Sorry for creeping you out NyxCC.

----------


## NyxCC

Lol, no worries oneiroer  :smiley: . I did mean the part with creature not the talking idea. Looking forward to reading your DC adventures.

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## oneiroer

Might sound strange but I'm thinking about actually dreaming of a nightmare or incubating a nightmare and face whatever 'demons' I might have. I'm going to really try to have a lucid dream tonight. Might sound crazy but I'm thinking of motivations so I can have many more dreams. I can't do a wake back to bed tonight because I don't want to wake my gf. I'm either gonna be lucid or its going to be a DILD.  :smiley:

----------


## NyxCC

Not a bad idea. Do you consider those demons to be scary creatures or more like problematic DCs? 

One thing I have been doing recently is when seeing a scary/action movie or playing an RPG type of game and facing adversaries, to repeat a mantra about realizing this is a dream and not being afraid. I do this because quite often I would get elements of the game come up in dreams, especially having to deal with all sorts of creatures. So, with repetition the mantra tends to produce a sense of calm that transfers to dreams, plus can help one get lucid too.  :smiley:

----------


## oneiroer

Cool NyxCC. Yes scary creatures. An example once I was in a neighborhood in a dream and this lady at least I thought it was a lady cause it had very long hair freaked me out. I ended up floating away from it and went into another scene. I Will have to try your mantra idea thanks!  :smiley:  oh the creature dream I just talked about happened a year or more ago...

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## oneiroer

Does this dream sound at least a little bit precognitive or at least trying to tell me something? I asked myself what I could remember this morning and I remembered kinda being at my friend's dad's house. Well today my friend wanted to hang out. I couldn't today though... Sometimes my dreams seem like I am on another planet too...



I tried remembering my dreams again i think i was lucid dreaming last night but forgot what it was about...

Edit for a third time felt like writing:
I've been asleep for far too long
Waking and dreaming life
Teach me all who teach
In my dreaming time
That's when I'll learn 
When I'm awake in dreaming
My reality goes far beyond my waking life
I've noticed coincidences or not occurring between worlds
There's something far beyond my mind I must explore
To fully know myself

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## NyxCC

About the dream - I think it's up to you to tell. From experience - there are moments where something happens in a dream and usually the same day something happens during the day. The events may be very similar or one may notice some sort of connection. When this happens, the recognition is as if something clicks, and you see the connection. Does that make sense?

I absolutely love the poem above! Thanks for sharing it!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Yes it does make sense thank you.  :smiley:  And thank you very much for liking my poem, was worried no one would like it...  :smiley:  Going to try wake back to bed tonight and tomorrow and possibly wilds. I think I will meditate with some relaxing music or something on youtube tonight.  :smiley:  NyxCC and or CanisLucidus, do you guys meditate at all? Just wondering and how you guys meditate.  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

> I've been asleep for far too long
> Waking and dreaming life



Very nice, oneiroer, thanks for sharing that poem!  The first two lines in particular resonate with me.

That's very much how I felt when I first discovered lucid dreaming (and that I could even reliably recall my dreams at all!)  I was stunned on how much I'd missed out on.

But fortunately for all of us, it's never too late to start.   ::content:: 





> NyxCC and or CanisLucidus, do you guys meditate at all? Just wondering and how you guys meditate.



I don't set aside particular time to meditate.  The closest I get is when I'm falling asleep at night or during WBTB.  I empty my mind and just enjoy the silence of the night and the pleasant anticipation of the dream adventures to come.   :smiley: 

It feels like a sort of quasi-meditation to me, and I really enjoy it.

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## oneiroer

Nice CanisLucidus. Thanks for liking my poem too!  :smiley:  Well, I did a wake back to bed last night. I went to bed at 11 something or 12. Set my alarm for 4 am. Not sure if I lucid dreamed but I remember pretty vividly I had a dream about my boss. She told me she loves me (I guess it was kinda a fantasy dream...  ::D: ) and she told me something like she would clean for me... I didn't get a chance to talk but it was as if my boss was really there...

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## NyxCC

> NyxCC and or CanisLucidus, do you guys meditate at all? Just wondering and how you guys meditate.



For my meditation sessions, I usually sit on the couch, although if I happen to be outside I might do an open air open eyed meditation. So, while sitting with eyes closed or open, I mostly focus on the feeling of relaxation of my body, which works really nice to take care of any bothersome thoughts. I might randomly choose any other focus points, like chakras or breath or just try to feel the contours of my body. Also, I like watching the darkness behind my eyelids or the lights that appear after a while. I could try to play a "what's on my mind" type of game - quiet the mind for a few seconds and see which thought comes first. Then reset to blank state and wait again, it's fun way to explore one's mind.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

never mind sorry...  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

^^ You forgot to remove the pic.  :tongue2: 

I like the idea of combining the different symbols together. Actually, I have a suggestion for you - why don't you try and dream of the pattern for the dream catcher and see what your subconscious mind comes up with. It can be both in an ld or a nld.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Good idea NyxCC  :smiley:  will try  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Kinda strange i guess but i think i have been dreaming about a group of indian people like from india or something... i have a vague recollection of dreams involving people from another culture anyway the last 2 nights...

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## NyxCC

^^ sounds interesting  :smiley: , any idea what the plot was?

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## oneiroer

Not too much we were somewhere I didn't recognize... (I think I was wanting a sandwich or something to eat though lol...  :smiley:  )If I remember something like that again I will try to remember more details.  :smiley: 

Hey guys, I uploaded a track to my www.soundcloud.com/Oneiroer site. I played it on my usb midi keyboard. Do you guys think I should use this as the basic structure of my song or should I get better at piano first? The song I would like you guys to check out I called Symphonic 2.  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

Thanks for sharing, oneiroer! It's a really beautiful song!  :smiley:  Very dreamy and it takes me away when I listen to it.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

You're welcome NyxCC! Very glad you like it!  :smiley:  I might add electric guitar to it when I get proper equipment to go with my guitar.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Been doing reality checks throughout the day today when my app tells me to... Also been practicing some awareness like where I was 5 minutes ago now and where I will be in 5 minutes. One time I was looking in a mirror when my alarm went off and reality checked. That would be cool if I see a mirror when I am dreaming.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Reread "At the same time wonder -- really wonder -- what effect you are having on the space and people around you, and what effect the space and people around you are having on you." from lesson three. I didn't read the second part where it says really wonder what effect people are having on me. Just doing the first part made me depressed cause sometimes I feel like I am not having an effect on people. Will definitely do both parts of awareness tomorrow. Was trying to be more mindful like doing reality checks and telling myself in a dream this would be possible.  :smiley:  Was that good on my part to be more mindful or is there something else I should be doing to be more mindful?

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## oneiroer

I did it this morning. I was dreaming i was somewhere i didnt recognize as usual. There was a plot of some sort going on but then all of a sudden i was lucid and drawing on paper on a painting in an art gallery i assume.... my drawing wasnt coming out that great as i didnt know what to draw but man did it really feel like i was drawing!  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

> I did it this morning. I was dreaming i was somewhere i didnt recognize as usual. There was a plot of some sort going on but then all of a sudden i was lucid and drawing on paper on a painting in an art gallery i assume.... my drawing wasnt coming out that great as i didnt know what to draw but man did it really feel like i was drawing!



Great job oneiroer!!  Congratulations on the lucid!   ::goodjob:: 

I'm glad that you got to have a little fun creating some lucid art work.   :smiley: 

Speaking of art work, great job with the song!  It's really nice and would make an excellent dream soundtrack.   :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Thank you CanisLucidus much apreciated. I remembered a dream this morning where i realized i was too late for work. Hopefully i can keep this up!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Really working n awareness today. I have the day off work and as I'm writing this I'm at a Chinese resturaunt. I'm listening to everything actually tasted my food I don't usually. This awareness stuff is cool!  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

> Reread "At the same time wonder -- really wonder -- what effect you are having on the space and people around you, and what effect the space and people around you are having on you." from lesson three. I didn't read the second part where it says really wonder what effect people are having on me. Just doing the first part made me depressed cause sometimes I feel like I am not having an effect on people. Will definitely do both parts of awareness tomorrow. Was trying to be more mindful like doing reality checks and telling myself in a dream this would be possible.  Was that good on my part to be more mindful or is there something else I should be doing to be more mindful?



Hey oneiroer! Your mindfulness practices are great! I especially liked the last one in the Chinese restaurant. Food is one of the good places to start with ADA like exercises. I think I saw a good post by Royaltramp on that actually, let me see if I can find it. 

http://www.dreamviews.com/induction-...ml#post2171744

If you should feel anything while having the "how do I affect others" thoughts, it should be endless amazement. You can think about it from a chemical perspective or even from a cosmic perspective. No matter what you do you are always affecting the world around you, even if you don't do anything. On the very basic level, your cells are in constant communication not just with each other but with those around you. When you interact with others all sorts of chemicals are released and received by cells. Imagine all that! By the way, if you haven't seen the movie "what the bleep do we know", I recommend watching it. It can convey much more clearly what I am trying to explain.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Thank you NyxCC! I'll check it out.

On a side note I think I found one thing I would like to do in a lucid dream. Orchestrate some music. Preferably have a band play in a concert and direct them. Perhaps even play an instrument or two with the band.  :smiley:  Still also want to work on lucid art work and hopefully be able to draw it out in waking reality.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Had a short lucid last night. I was feeling powerful in the dream and I or someone was out to get someone. I felt like an observer and saw someone going somewhere with like a knife or something. The cool part is this dream was at about 12 am just a couple of hours after I went to sleep!  :smiley:  but the atmosphere was like that of a nightmare so I awoke...

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## CanisLucidus

Congratulations on the lucid, oneiroer!   ::goodjob::   Great job on getting that LD so near the onset of sleep, too!  I'm always hoping to have one of those to start off my night, but it's been a while for me now!   :smiley: 

And your LD goal (conduct / compose original music with a full band or orchestra) sounds great!   ::tunes::

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## oneiroer

Thank you CanisLucidus!  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

Congrats on the early ld, oneiroer!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Thank you NyxCC! Edit: never mind about the mindfulness. Just gotta read up on it here and actually practice it.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Went to bed before midnight got up at around 6. I think this works good for me. Cause I remembered a dream in which I was talking to a friend and I was partially lucid. Don't remember what we talked about except I said something like I would leave a part of myself here... What was interesting about this dream is this is the same friend who someone I never knew about in a dream before led me to this person. In the past dream I didn't want to be where the person led me and tried leaving but I had things try to get me for leaving I think...

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## NyxCC

Semi-lucid sounds good! Interesting dream  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Thank you NyxCC. Been really taking in my senses and surroundings yesterday and today. Realizing I've been taking stuff for granted like life I guess for example. Also finding myself while I take everything in while I'm at it. Remembered vaguely a dream but not enough plot to say anything... Also it seems I have to focus to smell things but when I do smell things I can really smell them!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Had a pretty vivid experience sometime last night. Just remembered my dreams mainly, though might have been lucid at the time. I remember waiting for my dad to get somewhere. Someone being paid... And I think I even was in a recurring dream that I haven't been in for a long time... Also remember shortly interacting with a dream character and seeing like a vacuum on the ground. And remembered walking for a while and I possibly felt stuff...

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## oneiroer

Thinking about making a Tumblr blog entitled 'Oneiroer's Journeys into lucid dreaming and Awareness'. I'll link it in my Sig once I get it started.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

A poem for motivation I think that I just came up with. Hope you guys like this.  :smiley:  

I tried to fly before I walked.
No wonder I'm not getting anywhere in life. 
Sometimes I feel I don't exist. 
But this morning's dream encounter changed all that.
A better relationship with my dreams will take me places. To places of success. 
I feel more connected to the earth.

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## oneiroer

Hey guys I've been wanting to ask the lucid dream to show me something lately. So I thought about what I want to do in my next lucid dream! I want to either say show me what to write about or show me what to draw. Preferably the first show me will be a success. Hopefully tonight!  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

Sounds like a good task!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Downloaded what seems to be a very cool app for my phone called Conscious. There are daily tasks to become mindful or something. Today's is something like be mindful of creatures however big or small human or not. Notice the life pulsating in them or something. Doing this makes me think I am not alone when I am not near other humans... Like for instance plants and trees. And the philosopher in me asks the question "Is wind alive...?'  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

Yes, we are never alone and pretty much everything is alive.  :smiley:  Is this app for iOS or android?

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## oneiroer

I had downloaded it for android but they might have it for iOS. I ended up deleting the app but might try it again. An update on my awareness: Last night I was paying attention to just about every detail as I was walking with my girlfriend. Everything looked different... And smelling sensory seemed heightened. I felt like I was somewhere else even though I knew the area well...

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## oneiroer

Wahoo I got lucid this morning but got woken up. I was going to explore the lucid house I think but couldn't...

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## NyxCC

Nice! Congrats!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Thanks NyxCC! I think I have found what I really want to do in my next lucid dream. I'm going to tell the dream: Show me what I should play on guitar and show me what I should play on piano! Excited to try these out!  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

> Thanks NyxCC! I think I have found what I really want to do in my next lucid dream. I'm going to tell the dream: Show me what I should play on guitar and show me what I should play on piano! Excited to try these out!



Nice, oneiroer, I'm excited to hear about how this turns out for you!  Lucid music is just amazing!   ::tunes:: 

Even someone like me that really can't sing or play music of any kind in real life gets awesome tunes in a lucid dream.  You've got real musical ability, so I can only imagine how cool this is going to be!   ::happy:: 

Good luck with this goal, and definitely stick with it!  Let us know how it goes!   ::goodjob2::

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## oneiroer

Thank you CanisLucidus! Had a semi lucid recently. Here it is in my journal. Semi lucid - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

Came up with a technique and goals. Here they are.  :smiley: 

Before bed, remind myself: 

Tonight I allow myself to more easily remember my dreams.

When I notice I am dreaming:

Mentally tell myself to Calm down.

Shout to the dream More lucid awareness!

Establish my goal(s) which is to:

 1. summon a piano and play it.
 2. Summon an electric guitar and play it. Summon an audience and while playing the electric guitar see if the audience enjoys what I play.
 3. Find a dream catcher and examine the design in the dream then during waking reality draw it.

Experiment:
 1. Summon a piano and play it.
    When lucid, I will tell myself to close my eyes and when I open them a piano will be there. I will remind myself to calm down if I get excited and begin to play it.

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## oneiroer

Also read about the count down to lucidity technique which i want to try. Would you guys recommend doing this after a dream or before i first go to sleep?

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## oneiroer

I think i have found a dream sign. A friend/aquaintence of mine. I seem to have a problem getting to sleep. I got up about 4 times in the night having to go to the bathroom... I had the confidence that I was going to lucid dream last night but didn't. I think my problem sometimes is getting to excited that i am going to lucid dream and end up staying awake. This morning i asked myself what was i dreaming and remembered the friend in my dream. This is like the 3rd time he has been in my dream...

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## NyxCC

> Also read about the count down to lucidity technique which i want to try. Would you guys recommend doing this after a dream or before i first go to sleep?



I think after a natural wake would be more effective similar to other techniques, but you can also do it at bed time.

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## oneiroer

Thank you NyxCC. 

I think i am on facebook too much. This morning i woke up from a dream in which i was reading facebook posts and a family member said they adopted someone into their family...

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## oneiroer

Going to start taking lucid dreaming seriously. Reading a book and going to start over fresh. Havnt been remembering dreams lately and havnt been putting much effort into it. So I'm going to try the techniques for remembering my dreams seriously. And I smoke and in my book it says it effects dreaming negatively so I have half a pack left and decided I'm going to smoke one cig in the morning as motivation to get up... And eventually hopefully quit!  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

Yes, as it turns out smoking damages brain cells, shrinking the brain. So, it's no wonder it has negative effects on recall and dreaming. We need all the brain cells we can get.  ::?:

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## oneiroer

Thanks NyxCC. I remembered a dream this morning. I think I was semi lucid. I wrote it in my dream journal. Question. If I can't hear anything in my dreams would telling myself 'more sound now!' work to turn on sound?

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## oneiroer

Going to try imagining stepping down a staircase saying to my self 1 I'm dreaming 2 etc. If I become lucid because of this I'll report back tomorrow!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Wanting to get back into the homework again. So I will start soon. For motivation I want to lucid dream to better my waking days, and unleash my creative potential.

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## oneiroer

I went to bed around 10 something last night and I became lucid around 12 something but I forgot my dream. I imagined walking up a staircase instead of down and I think after each step I told myself I'm dreaming. Gotta work on remembering now.  :smiley:  I actually vaguely remember being lucid.  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

Awesome, congrats oneiroer!  :smiley:  This was an early cycle ld too!

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## oneiroer

Thanks NyxCC! I remembered a dream this morning I think and it was like I was in waking reality. I knew where I was  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Tried a different technique when I went to bed. No success at that but got up at 6 this morning and smoked then went to bed and had a lucid dream! Was a rather disturbing lucid dream but in part of it I remember trying to swim in the air. That technique doesn't work too well unless I need more practice. I also heard someone say to me'are you doing your homework?' I actually heard someone talk!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

I'm back in my land
Only now I am hunted
Even though I fear
I am back in my land
I feel I have been here before
I approach a tunnel 
I'm not flying through it now
Like I did before
I cannot pass through 
Even though I want to
I am stuck
So next time I visit my land
I'll explore it further 
And find what I was looking for

inspired to write from a recent dream!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Bought myself a dream journal and waking journal. So far remembered 2 dreams within this week. Im going to record my dreams for at least 2 weeks and do reality checks whenever something weird happens and at other times. will be seeing what my dream signs are after that time period. also still wanting to do a lucid dreaming song and i want it to sound pretty relaxing. ill update you guys when i start becomming lucid again!  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

Got semi lucid I think this morning. I saw two friends of mine lying on a sidewalk or cement with their eyes closed and they were a few feet away from eachother. I wondered what they were doing there. They used to be girlfriend/boyfriend but now they are not. Wish I would have stayed lucid longer. Any tips for calming down? Should I just tell myself the next time I am dreaming I will realize I am dreaming and be calm?

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## oneiroer

Remembered 3 dreams last night. The first one being at 1230am. Excited cause I remembered so many. I put just the right amount of effort into remembering my dreams. I might not post on this forum anymore cause I feel like I'm not getting that many responses...

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## NyxCC

Nice! Do you already have a plan for your next lucid or you would rather concentrate on improving recall at the moment?

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## oneiroer

Thanks! I would rather concentrate on improving dream recall at the moment. But I have some plans for when I improve my recall.

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## oneiroer

Getting serious about lucid dreaming again. Had a lucid last night. Hopefully getting a leather journal today which I will use strictly for my dreams. Reading a book I got a while back to inspire me to lucid dream. I think the book is what got me to lucid dream. I'm reading a book by Robert Moss. Some of the ideas are far out there but I enjoy reading his work.  :smiley:

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## oneiroer

edit - never mind...

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