# Lucid Dreaming > DV Academy > Current Courses > Intro Class >  >  Henna's Workbook [Intro Class]

## Henna

I've never really posted much about my dream-life anywhere before. I  used to be super-shy, so I kept to myself for a long time. I'm quite a  bit less sensitive to what others think of me now, so I think it's time  to give something new a try!

_Welcome to my crazy brain._ Road maps are complimentary at the door, as are rescue whistles and discount coupons for therapy.
*
Short-Term Goals:*
- Start lucid dreaming at night, and not just in the morning.
- Increase frequency of lucid dreaming.

*Long-Term Goals:*
- develop the ability to pick up a dream where I left off the night before.
- stable use of the WILD method.

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## NyxCC

Hey Henna, welcome to DV and intro class!  :smiley: 

So, you've been having lds for quite a while now, that's so cool. I see you already have done a lot of things in your lds too. Perhaps you will be interested in our monthly and yearly tasks for more things to in dreams. You can also make suggestions for future months which can be later voted on. 

Tasks of the Month & Year

Hope you have a great time. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.  :smiley:

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## Henna

Thanks, Nyx! I'd love to try tasks of the month/year at some point!

Anyway, a few notes I've been collecting...

A couple of givens I've noticed over the years:
- If I'm dehydrated, I won't sleep.
- Rain (and by extension, thunderstorms) relax me and help me get to sleep very easily.*
- I have a history of becoming lucid or having a very vivid dream during a nap later in the day. (The opportunities I usually have to sleep during the afternoon are rare, though.)

Recent observations:
- I've noticed over the past few nights that I seem to sleep better when my window is open -- I'm curious if this is because of the fresh air, or just the natural 'white-noise'.*
- Over the last few weeks, I've been waking up between 4:00-4:30 naturally. I usually have about a 5-10 minutes awake here before I go back to sleep. I think this would be my most opportune time to do WBTB or possibly a WILD.
- I've started RC-ing a lot more to build up the habit. I haven't actually done the nose/breathing test while I'm asleep yet, it probably hasn't become routine enough yet.

* This is actually something I've been experimenting with periodically over the course of a few years -- instead of binaural/isochronic tones, I've found out that certain background 'white noise' tends to give me more restful sleep -- and it can also help me incubate a certain type of dream. 

For example, I've used a long one on repeat (over a small portable speaker by my bed, not headphones) that was daytime birdsong -- that night I dreamed a very vivid daylight forest scene, complete with birds. I had one of the ocean playing a few weeks ago -- it was the first time I've ever dreamed about the ocean.

I also use this 'white noise' method when sleeping somewhere I'm not familiar with. (friend's house, hotel, etc.) Although, at these times I do use headphones. Since I've been experimenting with this method, I've amassed quite a collection of 'white noise' tracks.

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## Henna

Started taking a B-complex vitamin about four days ago -- so far I've noticed better dream recall, and things are a little more vivid.

Also managed to DILD once during a short nap this morning -- it only lasted a few minutes, but it happened after I did a breathing/nose RC. (Which, as it happens, works better than anything I've tried yet!) This means it's become enough of a habit to manifest in my unconscious self in only three days -- that's a new record. Normally it takes a week or two for something like that to show up. 

...

Told a random DC that I was dreaming and she just looked at me and laughed. "Yeah, I know."

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## NyxCC

That's really nice! Congrats on the ld!  :smiley:

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## Henna

Work's been pushing my shift earlier and earlier... I'm going to have to start shifting my sleep pattern so that I go to bed earlier. It's hard to get solid LDs when you only get around four or five hours of sleep.

Anyway -- over the years I've noticed that my DCs come in two categories, sentient and non-sentient. Non-sentient is -- when lucid -- I can basically control what their next action will be. I ultimately have control over them, but it becomes very boring for me when everyone does exactly what I imagine. I like learning things from dreams, so this gets a little irritating.

Now, I have a few that are 'sentient' -- and by this I mean I don't (and ultimately can't) control them at all. They act on their own, say what they want (often with more clarity and sensibility than the rest of the dreamscape) and tend to be recurring characters that I see anywhere from every month to every other night. These characters are also dreamed in continuity -- each dream with them in it is related to the last. This strikes me as being more like dream guides than 'characters'.

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## NyxCC

Hope you have more opportunities to get more sleep and fix your schedule, Henna.

I hear you on the different types of DCs. I have noticed something similar. We usually refer to the second type as smart DCs. For me, these are more difficult to come by, but from what I read in others' journals, it seems there really is some sort of persistency in their appearance. I was actually thinking recently that it is quite difficult for me to remember the facial features of any uknown (from rl) DC in the long run. So, it may be that the same DC has appeared more often in my dreams, but unless they indicated this, I may not recognize them.  :Thinking:

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## Henna

So I'm not completely insane then... Smart DCs? That's curious...

With mine, each has a distinct personality, quirks, and usually some definite physical features that always gives them away as being 'them'. Sometimes they even come seeking _me_ instead of the other way around! And they've all taught me how to do things while LDing.

Here's an interesting story -- two of them started from an outside influence. An old videogame involving the Dreamworld.

One of them, R, is an interesting character. Serious, sarcastic, and a bit dark. Always calculating and sly, but not above a bit of fun. Tends to strike other characters as mean and cruel, but I discovered after befriending him that he was protective, caring, and good at solving problems when you needed to look at them from a different angle. He also taught me a little bit about manipulation of my environment. R was originally a nightmare, and he retains a lot of this nature even though we're friendly -- he'll still throw nightmares my way to keep me on my toes.

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## NyxCC

That is pretty cool! I'm afraid my gaming knowledge is rather limited, I tend to play one game for like 4-5 years and miss out on all the other games that have come out in between.  :tongue2:  So not really sure which game you are referring to.

I really like the idea of different personalities. You might want to check one of our member's journals who also often meets reoccuring characters.

Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views - Hyu's Adventures - Dream Journals

The second guy, Ree, when he sends you nightmares, is he also present at the time of the nightmare or does he show up after you have recognized the situation?

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## Henna

I'm the same way with a lot of games. And, well, it's also a pretty _old_ game, called NiGHTS into Dreams. But both characters have changed tremendously, and they don't really resemble their game counterparts at all anymore... 

That journal you recommended is excellent! Not only are the dreams in continuity, and the DCs evolve on their own -- there are also recurring worlds, which happens to me as well!

As for your question, R's usually directly involved in the nightmare when he sends one my way. He's usually the main antagonist, especially if it's something like a chase or attack nightmare. If things really start to go poorly on my end, he'll usually change tactics -- but that hasn't happened in a really long time. In the last one he sent me, I turned the tables on him very quickly.

If it's something more like a malfunction-type nightmare, he's often nearby waiting for me to go lucid. He knows it irritates me. Of course, not every time I meet up with him is through a nightmare, either -- there are some dreams where we just run into each other and talk. And there was at least one time I got myself into more trouble than I could handle alone, and he came to help me.

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## Henna

On a different note -- I wound up doing a WILD this morning. (Luckily today was my day off, so I could sleep in.)

As I was drifting off, I noticed that my brain felt like it was starting to vibrate. And I started to hear a super low-pitch hum. (Like a binaural.) It's a pleasant feeling, and a pleasant deep tone. I used that as my cue, and I imagined a scene (a wood and iron park bench in the middle of a sunny spring meadow) and sort of fell/walked directly into it. 

I really love WILDs, and this is the second one I've had in about three weeks... and about four other short LDs in-between. That's the closest together they've ever been since I first started LDs -- I hope this is a trend starting!

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## NyxCC

That looks like a really cool game. If I had found it when it was released, I'd probably be dreaming of it too. I still sometimes get dreams of games I played a while ago, especially with my consistent sticking to particular games.  :tongue2: 

Your dream character encounters sound really cool. Looking forward to reading more about them when you have the time to journal some of your dreams. 

Congrats on the wild and the recent streak of lds! Wish you many more!  :smiley:

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## Henna

Work is being it's infuriating self again. I'm not going to comment on the situation in detail, but I will say that it's the most awful place I've ever been employed at. It's an ugly situation.

The only dreams I've had over the past four days are of me quitting in highly dramatic (and sometimes hilarious) fashions, and I'm honestly ready to try one of them. Just have to keep telling myself, deep breaths. I'm a patient and friendly person, but even I have limits.

Which is funny, when I think about it... a few years ago a recurring dream character told me that one day I would reach the abrupt end of my patience. He said that it wouldn't be explosive, emotional, or burning. It would be cold and extremely sharp. I think I'm starting to understand what he meant.

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## NyxCC

Sorry to hear about this. Have you considered finding another place in the meantime? Also, it would be interesting to see what your DCs think about this - not just about the end of patience but about what type of place would be a harmonious fit. 

I wish you that positive opportunities find their way to you!

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## Henna

Interesting non-lucid dream this morning -- I found a strange futuristic camera attached to my ear/jaw that had memories stored to disk.

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## NyxCC

That's pretty cool! Have you seen the movie Code 46? The main character there had this memory frame/album to which she uploaded her memories after an event and then she could play them again.

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## Henna

Something similar was used in Final Fantasy - Spirits Within -- the main character could actually record her dreams like that and play them back later. 

Boy that would be handy.  :Cheeky:

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## Henna

No, I'm not dead -- just tired.

So I decided to keep my job a little while longer, at least until I have better chances of finding a new one... but the early-morning shifts they stick me on lately has been killing my lucid dreaming streak, as I have to wake up and get ready for work in the same point in time as where I get my best chances for LD.

I've been sleeping a stable 7 hours each night at the same time each night -- I feel fully rested after 7, but extra tired after 8 hours. 7 hours must hit the cycle at the right point when I wake up. I''ll be trying to shift my sleeping schedule back by an hour to see if it helps with LD.

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## NyxCC

Nice to hear from you.  :smiley:  The early shifts and the new schedule must be be difficult for the body to adjust to, and especially our sleeping mind and dreams. It may take some time to get used to. I think trying to go to bed early to gain an extra hour or so might be a good idea. Looking forward to one of your awesome DCs appearing in a dream and helping with lucidity!

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## Henna

Two dreams in two days? Even a little lucidity this morning -- I think shifting my sleep schedule earlier is working!

I dreamed I won a contest involving climbing a mountain. The prize was one-on-one training with one or more of six elemental heroes, of whom I hope could teach me to control things better in my dreams...

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## NyxCC

Ohhh, that was a really cool dream! Congrats on getting lucid too! I liked the idea of trying to lucidly continue with the scenario and also having Procyon help you overcome your limits Looking forward to the contiuation, especially if you manage to get the heroes to teach you some extra element bending.  :smiley:

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## Henna

I've met those six heroes before, too... Back when I was about ten or eleven. This was one of the only dreams I wrote down before I started keeping Dream Journals -- there are only two or three that truly stuck out at me to write down back then.

The six DC's original forms were from a comic book -- but, like my other DCs, they evolved into their own unique forms over time. Most of my Smart DCs gain new names when this happens, and I'm eager to learn what their new names are. I haven't seen these six in over ten years -- it feels almost like a high-school reunion of recurring DCs lately.  :Cheeky:

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## NyxCC

That's so interesting, so the heroes have a backstory too! Ohh, looking forward to the sequel!  :smiley:

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## Henna

Sorry for being absent -- between work and home life, I've been busy enough that I haven't dreamed much of anything...

I did have a dream about attending a British boarding school/college type thing this morning, though -- it was a stressful kind of dream, and everyone in it was arguing about room arrangements, dress code, and school rules like no cellphones except on weekends.  ::chuckle::

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## Henna

Well something new and pleasant to report -- I did a successful WBTB, and as soon as I went back to sleep I attempted to see how high I could fly, remembering my recently discovered limitation. I hit the 'ceiling' again, then reasoned out that perhaps I couldn't fly upwards and forward at the same time. 

So I tried only moving upward. This worked very well; it wasn't really 'flying' upward, but more like floating very quickly like a released balloon. The experience was very pleasant, and I didn't have to struggle with it at all. By the time the dream ended, I had flown high enough to see the curve of the earth again -- so I think I've broken past my limitation.  :Cheeky:

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## NyxCC

Cool! Congrats on the lds and on going beyond those limits. And you did it all by yourself too!  ::goodjob::

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## Henna

Absent again, sorry. I've been ill with some kind of summer cold, though they're normally not this persistent... 

Whenever I'm sick, my dreams tend to be very abstract and disconnected. I'm more likely to have situations that would cause a need for RCs -- I also have a lot of false awakenings. The problem is, I'm usually so tired from waking up every half hour (via coughing or something similar) that I don't often get to do much with it. 

I do remember that after my bout last year, I had some vivid lucid dreams almost as soon as I started feeling better. Crossing my fingers for that.

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## NyxCC

No worries. 

Hope you feel better soon and have good dreams in the meantime and after.  :smiley:

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## Henna

So on the upside, I did recover from my cold. On the downside, my workplace has decided to be ridiculous in other ways. Got to love drama.  ::whyohwhy:: 

I'm betting my dream life will be reflecting this for some time...

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## NyxCC

Oh, no! That's not nice at all  :Sad: . Well, as you said at least this is a good opportunity to send some letters and fingers crossed about finding something better! 

As far as lding and teas go, here are links to my favorite two threads where we did quite a few experiments a while ago. My personal favorite is about a third to half a can of latte actually, has been pretty effective but some tea might also do the trick. Methol from tea or capsules may also have a vividness enhancing effects.

http://www.dreamviews.com/research/1...e-trigger.html

http://www.dreamviews.com/research/1...-enhancer.html

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## Henna

Okay, so I did have a few dreams this week -- none lucid and most were recurring dreams that I've had a few times before, but overall very pleasant. A lot of it was exploration-type dreams in a forest, but a few of the dreams were also just really stress-relieving conversations with P. No venting about work, just chatting about things we both like.

I decided I'd try the caffeine experiment first -- I think I drink enough of it on a regular basis that it doesn't affect all that much, but I did notice that I slept more lightly than usual, and could wake up more easily. Ironically most of the teas I drink are herbal or green-tea based (lighter caffeine if memory serves) and usually put me into a very solid, comfortable sleep. Maybe it's the presence of a smaller amount that makes a difference?

I also mixed my own custom tea using spearmint, dill seed, and a pinch of fennel -- an anti-insomnia tea from an old book of mine -- along with a tiny pinch of poppy seed and a fresh bay leaf (poppy for deep sleep, bay for vivid/lucid dreaming), and sweetened with honey. The taste takes getting used to, but I can't deny results. The night I did this was the deepest and most satisfying sleep I've had in months -- and I had a very nice dream on top of that.

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## NyxCC

Good to hear about the stress relieving dreams with Procyon. Sometimes we need a little break from focusing on the issue at hand and dreams like these are an excellent gift to us in such situations. 





> Ironically most of the teas I drink are herbal or green-tea based (lighter caffeine if memory serves) and usually put me into a very solid, comfortable sleep. Maybe it's the presence of a smaller amount that makes a difference?



 Yes, in general the more caffeine the lighter the sleep or the other way around. Teas, especialy green teas have less caffeine and they also have l-theanine which is a relaxing agent, so they tune down any excesses to contribute to a more relaxed state.  

The spearmint dill tea sounds quite interesting. I recently saw they mixed something similar in a tv series I watch, so maybe it's time for me to give that a try too.

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## Henna

The tea recipe comes from a book called 'The Herb Book' by John Lust. It's actually an herbal identification guide and list of medicinal uses, and it also has information on natural dyes. The back has recipes for a few different kinds of medicinal teas, and this was one of six listed under 'insomnia'. It's actually a very old book, so I always cross-reference all of the information.

The entry for the tea reads:
Dill seed, Fennel seed, Spearmint. Mix in equal parts. Steep 1tsp in 1/2 cup water for two minutes. Sweeten with raw sugar or honey.

Since Dill seed is a little strong and I wanted a gentler action, I swapped it out for it's weaker form, dill weed. I went a little heavier on the spearmint for the menthol. I added a pinch of poppy, which is used for long-term mental and physical tiredness, and also to help induce the feeling of needing to sleep. (It makes sleep more restful, even light-sleep.) Bay laurel leaves can be used to deepen sleep, encourage vivid dreams, and alleviate stress. I tend to sweeten it with honey whenever possible because my body still seems to process it while I'm asleep.

Whenever I've used this tea blend, I find I get extremely restful sleep, and then in the morning if I do a WBTB, my chances are dramatically increased. (Probably because I had restful sleep in the cycle before.)

Which reminds me -- I had a lovely dream about wolves this morning! (I love wolves.) I think they thought I was one of the pack.  :Cheeky:

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## NyxCC

Thanks for the tea recipe and the book reference! That sounds like a very useful book. Might be time to expand my knowledge in the area.  :smiley:

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## NyxCC

Henna! I'm happy things made a turn for the better and that all the drama has subdued. I know how it feels to have to deal with so much stuff all at the same time - a bit like a meteor shower on your head. <Oh, I should check the Perseides shower tonight unless there's clouds >

Also, congrats on the new dream status.  :smiley:  How did that happen - did Procyon tell you about it, or you had some sort of memory about the event?

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## NyxCC

Awww, that sounds like a dream wedding.  :smiley:  I'm all for small types of such events too.  :tongue2: 

Hope you managed to catch a falling star or two - it was cloudy here.

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## Henna

It was mostly cloudy here, too -- but there was a break in the clouds for a few minutes, so I had a chance to see a handful.  ::D:

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## Henna

Nothing really big to report -- but I dreamed I was at work this morning and actually _recognized_ that it was a dream. Sort of a big personal achievement since I'm usually so caught up in the actual 'work' part to notice. Those reality checks are really starting to sink in everywhere now.  :Cheeky:

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## NyxCC

That's really great - I think this is one of the tough ones to catch. Good job!  ::goodjob2::

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## NyxCC

Good to hear things are going relatively well. 

I love the part with the ring! This world is truly a mysterious place.  :smiley:

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## kimberlycox301

Congrats with the beginning!) ::lol::  to be less sensitive about what the people think, it maybe one of the most useful habits!

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