# Lucid Dreaming > DV Academy > Current Courses > Intro Class >  >  Chimpertainment's WorkBook

## Chimpertainment

Your Homework For Lesson I is to:

*Start your own workbook thread in this subforum (here)* - Check
* Start a Dream Journal and record each dream.* -Check
* Record the times that you naturally go to bed and wake-up, and list it in your workbook.*
- Lately my sleep schedule has been totally off the wall. Im getting ready to move to a new place next week and once I get settled I should have a pretty consistent schedule. My sleeping will probably be from 11pm-7am 5 days a week and slightly different on weekends. _Will update when it becomes more solid._

*  Do reality checks whenever you experience something weird throughout the day, and list it in your workbook.*
I have been trying to do reality checks but I haven't found one that is really effective. I usually look at my hands, but its like im supposed to be looking for something. So yeah, im still working on RC. 

*  Write a list for why you want to lucid dream (for motivation), and plan out what you want to do in your next lucid dream*.
Why I want to Lucid Dream: 
-Explore
-Heal
-Have some fun 

In my next Lucid Dream, I want to:
-Perform a basic summon, probably a potion...
-Fly 

*Establish a night-time routine (Include reading your dream journal, making sure to leave your DJ open to a blank page for quicker dictations).*
-Read DJ
-Place it under a pillow on my bed with the right page marked..
-Perform 9 breaths of preparation
-Perform Recall Practice (Go back in my daily recall several days, and also my dreams as far back as I can remember)
-Incubate Dream Ideas/Images
-Mantra as I fall asleep

    Optional:
*Start posting snippets from your dreams in the Dream Snippets Thread to get feedback on your dreams!*
Will do

*Start practicing awareness from Lesson III*
okie dokie

* If you notice any recurring elements in your dream journal (aka dream signs), list it in your workbook.
*

I have a list of dream signs in my DJ as well. here they are:

Victorian Style House    Ranch Style House    Van    Mall    Church    River    Diverging Paths    Path Leading Over An Edge    Super Rage    Fear    Comradery and fellowship    Anxiety    Flying/floating/levitating/falling    Riding A bike    Taking a Shower    Riding the Ferry    Kitchen    Bathroom    Eating/Food


Looking forward to working hard on my lucidity. I have been having relatively consistent recall for about 2 months now. Within that time I have had 3 lucids. It has been pretty awesome and I have also realized there is a lot missing in my practice. I hope to change that here. 
The biggest thing for me right now is increasing my awareness and practicing reality checks on a regular basis. I really want to focus on building from the bottom up so I can have a consistent lucid practice. 

Cheers!  :smiley:

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## Chimpertainment

I have a little update before I go radio silent for a day or two. Ill be moving to a new place and I wont have internet for a little bit...

So, lately I have really been focusing on pre-sleep awareness. Over the years, I have developed a ton of bad habits. Its like I formed specific habits to block myself from dreaming. That has kept me pretty busy for the last two months and I am just starting to see results. 
I have had a few SP experiences recently which is completely out of the ordinary. Last night, it was like there were tons of cockroaches in my room then they all melted together to form an insect man that was bothering me during SP....weird shit man...wow...I was seeing visuals of these wonderful insects, but im pretty sure it was more connected with the vibrations. My mind was just filling in everything else as I was going through the rabbit hole..pretty freaky though...

Once I finish this move ill actually have a consistent sleep schedule and I will be dreaming again like a boss!!  :wink2: 

Btw...you guys are awesome. This site keeps me motivated, and focused. There are a lot of changes happening in my life right now and having this community of support is awesome. Its always nice to have people around that can handle my weirdness.  :smiley: 

Cheers!

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## paigeyemps

Hey Chimper  ::D: 

That sounds really creepy! Cockroachman  ::|:  

Lol. See ya when you return, and I hope everything goes well with the move and all. We'll be right here when you get back! Hope you get some good dreams as well.

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## Chimpertainment

Back from my moving/no internet break. Ironically, I had a lucid two nights in a row. Im gonna be working on my expectations and pre-sleep habits this week.

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## paigeyemps

Awesomesauce! Congrats on the lucids  ::D:

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## Chimpertainment

Here is a general synopsis of my dreaming so far...

*Sleeping Habits*
After moving to my new place, my sleep schedule is a consistent 8hrs from 10pm-6am pst. I typically wake up 4 hours after I go to sleep initially.

*Recall*
Since I re-started my dream journal in May, I have had relatively consistent recall at 2-3 dreams per night. Once I get paid, I am planning on investing in an audio recorder so I dont have to write in the middle of the night. Then I can record the dreams in the morning in my journal and here on dream views. My recall has definitely improved as far as detail within the dream. I am trying to get back into the emotion of dreams since Ive been disconnected from that for a while. 

*Lucidity*
In the past two weeks I have had four lucid dreams. In the previous 3 months I only had one lucid and that was in the middle of August. It took since May of consistent practice to finally begin having lucids on a regular basis. This is totally ok with me because when I returned to the site in May, I was determined to focus on dream practice as a whole and let the lucidity grow at its own pace. This has turned out to be a huge advantage. It has made my dreaming much more consistent and I can see my awareness gradually growing. As I continue my practice, this consistency will provide that essential foundation for further growth. 

*Reality Checks*
This practice has become much clearer to me in the last week or so. I am learning to recognize my dream signs more often. Once I have consistent dream signs established, I try to RC whenever I experience those signs in waking life. This should serve to enhance my awareness as well. My dreams are changing as I change IRL which is very interesting. The beauty of reality checks seems to be the solidity they provide in an environment of change. 

*Pre-Sleep Routine*
I am still working this out. I feel that once I establish a consistent pre-sleep routine, it will serve as a mental activation for my mind and entering sleep aware will be much easier. What I would really like to do is create a unique ritual focused on awareness and relaxation. Like I say, this is a work in progress.

So yeah...Just wanted to provide an update and kind of show for myself where I am at presently. Any suggestions, input, analysis would be appreciated  :smiley:

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## OpheliaBlue

> *Lucidity*
> In the past two weeks I have had four lucid dreams. In the previous 3 months I only had one lucid and that was in the middle of August. It took since May of consistent practice to finally begin having lucids on a regular basis. This is totally ok with me because when I returned to the site in May, I was determined to focus on dream practice as a whole and let the lucidity grow at its own pace. This has turned out to be a huge advantage. It has made my dreaming much more consistent and I can see my awareness gradually growing. As I continue my practice, this consistency will provide that essential foundation for further growth.



I love this. I was just thinking earlier today how I would love to go through the workbooks and determine stats like that, like how many more LDs members have since joining DV, or DVA etc. But anyway, I'm so glad you had 4 in the last 2 weeks, that's great! I think it was smart going at your own pace. I think that's one advantage to having the Intro class "at your own pace" now. In the first month, students had to do one lesson per week together. It made it competitive, and forced members to set and reach goals pretty astringently. But I think the success rate over all is much better now that it's user-paced.

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## Chimpertainment

Last weekend I went to my friends house at my old apartment. We had a good time getting completely wasted/blasted/faded etc... However, since then I havent had one lucid and my recall has collapsed. I can only recall portions of dreams if that. 

Had a dream this morning about being trapped in a museum; which is a perfect metaphor for what is happening. When I go to bed I am having a really hard to letting go of the day and anticipating the dream. My mind keeps telling me I know what I have to do, but im not exactly sure what that means. Im thinking i need to put some serious effort into clearing my mind before bed. 

here i go again!

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## OpheliaBlue

Hey Chimp.

Have you ever seen RareCola's idea about writing down stressful thoughts before bed? I think it's in his bedtime routine tutorial. Anyway, sometimes we feel like we need to keep our mind filled with daily issues so that we won't forget to tackle them the next day. So if you write them down before bed, you free your mind from that obligation for the night. I'm not talking about a grocery list style, I mean a fairly in depth paragraph or more about what things are bogging down your mind, why this is the case, and what you plan to do to resolve them the next morning. That way, you know it's all down on paper, so there's no reason to keep it trapped in your head. If you start to drift off, then you remember something else and it jolts you awake, jot it down as well. I'd be really interested in seeing how this works for folks.

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## Chimpertainment

That's a good idea. I just got a phone that records stuff so im gonna try voice recording at night and then write down what I record in the morning. You know, its funny cuz I have been trying a recall method but it has gotten really shallow and repetitive. 
I think reading my DJ before bed might help too. 

thanks for the advice  :smiley:

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## Chimpertainment

Lucid Last night! 

Mantras are really helping me..my loss of recall could be related because I hadnt been using them for a couple weeks. Maintaining a consistent pre-sleep routine is really helpful for me..

but ya, little update for me book.

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## paigeyemps

Woot! I read your dream in the ToTM. Congratulations!!  :Party: 

That was really cool, and kinda funny. I imagined a chimp kneeling, ears to the ground, staring at a dirt mound. Lol. Great job!  ::D:

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## Chimpertainment

thanks paige  :smiley: 


I had another lucid this morning! It was a DEILD this time, the first ive had since starting my dreaming again. Things are lookin up!  :smiley:

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## paigeyemps

The train is picking up speed!!  ::D:  congrats on the DEILD. I find deilds to be really cool. Quick, and amazing nonetheless.

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## Chimpertainment

yeah, i usually really struggle with dield because i move right when I become awake. Its a matter of relaxation im guessing, but that reaction always seems to kick in, then ill be moving before I even know im awake.

also..another lucid last night, weeeee  :smiley:

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## paigeyemps

> yeah, i usually really struggle with dield because i move right when I become awake. Its a matter of relaxation im guessing, but that reaction always seems to kick in, then ill be moving before I even know im awake.
> 
> also..another lucid last night, weeeee




Aww nice! Gimme some of dat lucid powahzz :3

Also, sometimes when I DEILD, I roll over instead of staying still. Luckily, it works just as well. I think it's more on the mental state of focusing on reentering the dream than physically being able to lay still. Maybe that's why it still works even if I move a bit  :smiley: 



P.S. CONGRATS ON THE PROMOTION!!!  ::D:

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## Chimpertainment

> Aww nice! Gimme some of dat lucid powahzz :3
> 
> Also, sometimes when I DEILD, I roll over instead of staying still. Luckily, it works just as well. I think it's more on the mental state of focusing on reentering the dream than physically being able to lay still. Maybe that's why it still works even if I move a bit 
> 
> 
> 
> P.S. CONGRATS ON THE PROMOTION!!!




Hahaaa, I think you have plenty powerz on your own  :tongue2: 
Yeah, I am really gonna work on loosening my control this week. Things always have to be a certain way in my mind and I gotta let that go. but yeah, its definitely about that mental state.  :smiley: 

and thnx  :smiley:  I am one step closer to world domination! mwahahaaaa

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## paigeyemps

> I am one step closer to world domination! mwahahaaaa





What...



/me high fives!

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## Chimpertainment

A One, a two, a three and four annnnnnd...zzzzz



This is another update...

Update: During the month of September, I learned a lot, and had several lucid dreams. Although my workbook has been a bit sparse, which I plan to change, my experience in my dreams has been amazing as ever. 
My approach to the various induction techniques is to prepare for all of them and slowly gain speed on each technique simultaneously. So far it has worked pretty well, except for trying too much at some points. 
It is really interesting to see all the assumptions I have constructed over time play out in my dreams. An action or image in the dream can have meaning as a picture does. All you have to know is what you are looking at. 

Here are the various induction techniques and my experience with them.

DILD
This has been the induction technique for all but one of my lucids. While I have been introducing reality checks into my waking life, they don't seem to happen in the dream. Instead, I will produce an awareness of being in the dream organically. The question will arise in my head rather than from the sensory input. This could be because my sensory input experience in dreams is very faint. When I was younger, my dream experience was much fuller and richer than my waking life. As time went by, my dreams simply lost their color. 
DILD has proven to be the best for me especially in conjunction with mantras.
*Pros*
Minimal Time Spent Preparing
Dream is already constructed
No need to deal with Sleep Paralysis
*Cons*
If it is before wbtb, it could be difficult to recall
There is less control of entry

MILD
Mantras and using other mnemonic techniques is a very effect tool for me. My imagination is a freaky factory of crazy goodies and its a 24/7 operation. So when I try going to sleep, a day dream fully formed from the get go can throw me off. Mantras really keep me on track and also improve my recall. Whenever I need to accomplish anything with dreaming, I use a mantra as I fall asleep.

*Pros*
Helps recall
Improves DIELD chances
Improves wbtb chances
Especially effective with suggestible people
*Cons*
It is hard to make one up
It is hard to focus on the mantra


WILD
This is the most elusive technique for me so far. When I first joined DV back in 2010, I had a WILD during an afternoon nap. I haven't had a WILD like that one since. The experience was one of the most amazing things I have ever been through. There is always the thought in my head that I want to WILD. Every weeknight I wbtb in order to attempt a wild. I usually loose my awareness before going back to sleep. This could probably be fixed pretty simply by staying up longer. Even though it is difficult to achieve, I will continue to attempt the WILD. 

*Pros*
Clear, controlled entry
vivid beginning of the dream
deeper perception of possibilities
No Pre-sleep prep required
good for nappers

*Cons*
difficulty level is up there

DEILD
Since August, I have had Eight Lucid Dreams and One of those was a DIELD. It was accidental although I was attempting to maintain awareness as always. There was intention for awareness I suppose. This dream was slightly realistic as it started in my room. My dream creativity is still growing. In one lucid, I closed my eyes and tried to create a new scene. Instead, I got shapes and colors. There is a lot to be said for passive control and dield requires a lot of that.
My second alarm of the night following my deep sleep cycle alarm is my dield alarm. I have slept enough to be aware when the alarm wakes me up. Then the alarm goes off automatically, I a attempt to enter a dream. I have accomplished two attempts and have gotten as far as a rough dream scene while in Sleep Paralysis. This is the technique that shows the most promise for improvement and future success. When I work the kinks out of this technique, it should lead to a lot of lucid dreams.

*Pros*
Dream entry is easy
awareness and control from beginning of dream
No need to wbtb
pre-sleep prep is unecessary

*Cons*
You have to wake up after a dream
You may have to go through sleep paralysis

WBTB
Every weeknight I set an alarm to wbtb. While I dont always properly execute the wbtb technique, it does help to simply wake up and exercise some awareness. This is basis of my WILD attempts and improves my recall. 

*Pros*
Easy, improves dream experience exponentially

*Cons*
Hard at first to wake up in the middle of the night
awareness can be difficult to maintain
might be hard to get back to sleep

Dream Yoga
This summer, I bought the tibetan yogas of dream and sleep. It is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone. There is a lot of the Buddhist religion mixed in but it has some great awareness techniques. I usually use some kind of breathing exercise to calm myself while laying in bed. As my schedule is more solidified, I will be expanding my pre-sleep practice. There was a couple times in August when I was able to maintain some semblance of awareness when I first fell asleep. When I was a kid, I used to get stuck in sleep paralysis before falling asleep. One of these experiences was repeated recently and it was pretty terrifying. After a few times, I think I will be able to maintain the awareness despite the sleep paralysis. 

*Pros*
raises overall awareness
opening for meditation, more relaxation exercises

*Cons*
Time consuming
Requires some dedication and commitment - These can be cons if like me, these are hard to come by. 


There will be a lot more dream updates forthcoming from me. They will be simpler and much shorter than this one, but great none the less. 

Its a great day to have a brain.  :smiley:

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## paigeyemps

Wow, I gotta agree with most of what you said about the different techniques! I haven't tried dream yoga yet though  ::D: 

This is a really great way to update  ::happyme::

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## Xanous

That's a really good write up. I found it helpful. I see a lot of similarities in my ideas as well. Thanks for the read!

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## Kaenthem

That's one big update, I failed not to notice that you said you have a great imagination, so why not use VILD?

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## Chimpertainment

Thnx for the kind words guys   ::loveyou:: 


So, this is kind of a second part to my update. What I am going to do is list some new dream signs and all the areas that I think I need the most work on. Please feel free to give me advice, thoughts, free food, money...etc...


New Dream Signs

- Theater - This started happening after going to the Seattle Public Library and seeing their theater. It is an amazing set up. 

- Apocalyptic/War Zone near home - Not sure I can tie this with anything in waking life yet.

- Clearing in the Woods - These have always been places I have been to in the past. 

- In Group of Armed "Enforcers" - Whether its a group of assassins, or a police force, I am one of the group. 

- Friends from my past - These are people I have not seen or talked to in a while. They continue to show up in varied ways.

- Hiding - Usually this means I just drop to the ground and play possum. 

- Implicit Expectations - This happens a lot in dreams, but it seems to happen quite clearly in my lucid dreams. I know it is a hurdle I must overcome yet it still holds power. It is also a point of some frustration for me because I have been through it before and it was much easier the first time.


All these have started showing up within the last couple months. It is endlessly fascinating for me to watch my mind sift through all this built up information. 

So, problems...Staying sufficiently motivated has been my biggest problem. Its not that I don't want to practice dreaming in the best way possible, its more like I don't feel like I want to. Perhaps I think I need to feel like I want to in order to do something. 
Another thing is my expectations. Whether it is waking life, or in a dream, my expectations are always there to sabotage my experience. This keeps me continually questioning my experience and trying to freshen my perspective. Unfortunately this gets tiring after a while, and maybe the way I am going about that is too intensive. Practitioners are always talking about passive control, passive awareness, and my personal passivity is most definitely out of practice. 

I could keep going but I need to focus on a few things at once so I don't drown myself. 
And again, I would very much like to hear any comments, questions, advice, harsh direction, seething raging madness!!!! anything   :smiley: 






> so why not use VILD?



First of all, thank you for noticing my imagination.  :wink2:  

Second, I have no clue what VILD is, could you fill me in?

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## Xanous

uuuh that's wierd. I just found out about VILD myself and going to start tonight. HERE is the link that I found.

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## Chimpertainment

Thanks for the link Xanous, that sounds pretty useful. I like that idea for a wbtb, and its pretty close to a mild too. I think I will give it a try, and thanks for the tip areyoume!

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## Chimpertainment

Last night I went to bed after doing some relaxation exercises. I slept really deeply and restfully. My wbtb alarm woke me up at 5am. Got up, went to the bathroom, then when I got back into bed, I tried the VILD technique. I imagined myself in my room, in a dream, and I become aware. Then I look around, look outside, and imagine going outside to explore. As I am imagining this, I am doing my best to embody the lucid state of mind. I fall asleep repeating a mantra in my head. "I am looking forward to having a dream, and becoming aware." Typically I use present tense mantras, but this was a suggestion from a book I am reading so I thought I'd try it out. 

I slept from 11pm-9am. I recalled two full dreams from REM and one fragment from my deep cycle. 

There is a recall wall that I have been hitting and I think if I can get over this hurdle my awareness will go through the roof. When I wake up, my dream has already ended. Its like there is a dark fog between the time that I wake up and my dreams. In the next few nights, I am going to try mantras focused on waking up immediately following the dream. Also, as part of my recall practice, I will relive my recalled dreams and attempt to "stretch" my recall. What I mean is I go to the earliest and latest memory of the dream, then attempt to remember further. It even helps to imagine things just to see if it fits. 
Any tips would be appreciated. Once I get clearer recall, I believe my dream awareness will increase substantially. Then again, I could be setting myself up for failure...

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## Xanous

It seems like I am struggling to recall lately myself. I have to really lie there and think for a while. Slowly I remember more and more. I imagine it like the end of a root in the ground. The more you pull and dig, the more you are able to expose.

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## Chimpertainment

Ive tried VILD a couple times now and it has had a very strange effect. For two nights in a row I had dreams at the same location. That has never happened in the history of any dream journals I have and the last time I had a recurring dream was a long time ago. I followed the method on the link pretty much exactly. It seems like it latched on but in a way I hadn't anticipated. I imagined I was in my room and I thought of it as my room. In the dreams however, they are located at the house I grew up in where my dreaming was most prolific and I also lived there the longest. The idea of "my room" translated to something I was not expecting at all. On the other hand, it makes complete sense looking back. 
Interesting tidbit: that house usually never shows in my dreams.
So, it seems like the technique may be working. And it looks like I created a dream sign!

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## Chimpertainment

Got lucid this morning  :smiley: 

Here is the Dream

When I have more time later today, I wanna go into more detail about the experience but I figured I'd post it for now.

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## OpheliaBlue

I read your dream, really interesting. I noticed you had people chasing you, is this common?

Anyway, I replied in your journal. Congrats on another lucid! I'm sorry we couldn't meet. This time  :wink2:

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## Chimpertainment

> I read your dream, really interesting. I noticed you had people chasing you, is this common?
> 
> Anyway, I replied in your journal. Congrats on another lucid! I'm sorry we couldn't meet. This time



Not common at all. Although, the other night there were some teenagers making fun of me. They were associated with my mom. Not sure what that means yet but I am keeping my eyes open. Chasing dreams haven't happened to me in a long time.
Thanks for the input, and yes, I intend to keep trying.  :smiley:

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## paigeyemps

Nice! Congrats! 

Odd.. So many of us have gone lucid today. MASS LUCIDITY!!!  :Party:

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## Chimpertainment

Today pretty much sucks. Everything in my dream life is effected by my waking life and making changes is becoming excruciatingly difficult. My dream last night is a picture of exactly how I feel. My boat can't reach the dock, it has sunk, and I am trapped inside. 
Trying to stay positive, but its really hard when all I feel is negativity. Its like my hulk rage is just waiting for a chance to explode. 

Each time I reach lucidity I do something to sabotage my awareness. Even though my recall is better than it used to be, I feel like it should be better than it is. I keep telling myself to have patience, but then my other side say fuk that.
I'm pretty sure I am at the uphill battle part of the journey. Anyways, just had to get that out there.

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## Xanous

You're not alone. I am not sure what it is but I have had similar emotions lately. I'm just trying to ride it out and stick to what I was doing back in August while trying not to expect too much of myself. It comes easier if I stay focused yet relaxed. Thanks for sharing.

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## OpheliaBlue

Man what is in the air?? I've been having the worst month in terms of life AND dreams too! I'm going to get on board with you Chimp, and say it's just the uphill part. Like Xanous's bike. And maybe I just won't strangle everyone within arm's reach of me today. Even though I want to. Today all my birthday plans are failing one by one, so now all I have to look forward to is a bellini and hopefully some deep fried macaroni. Provided that dinner plans don't get fucked up today too. What makes matters worse is my birthday last year got fucked up too.

Sorry to use your workbook for that mini-rant Chimp lol.. you guys are my bros. And if we're having bad luck at the same time, maybe we'll achieve good luck at the same time later. Preferably sooner. I have to believe it.

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## CanisLucidus

If you three excellent lucid dreamers saw your workbooks and dream journals the way that _I_ do, I think you'd find your doubts vanishing into thin air.  Chimp's over here able to cruise around in outer space any time he gets lucid and rattling off spools of vivid non-lucids on nights where I'm scratching out fragments about how I "accidentally ate dog poop".  My man Xanous is chaining like 50 million DEILDs together, completing the TotM two months in a row, and still finding time left over for vigorous "victory celebrations" at the end.  And Ophelia!  3 LD's in _one morning_ and total mastery not only of false awakenings, but also of all dream characters in handlebar mustaches.   :smiley: 

You all described this as an uphill, which is right on the money.  OB mentioned in particular Xanous' bike ride.  This quote from him illustrates why that's a perfect analogy:





> I immediately saw a connection with this and lucid dreaming. So, I decided to use my calming mediation like I do in my lucid dreams. *I knew I could not calm my breath or heart rate but I could calm my mind.* So I did that. I let my breathing and heart rate go wild but my mind was focused and calm. I concentrated on just the pavement as I continued to peddle. I noticed the rough surface, the tiny peddles, the cracks in the asphalt, ect. *I remembered that the best way to forget about something it to think of something else.*



Yep.  Today's obstacles are what they are.  You'll be past them soon enough, so I say spend this time in the uphill preparing for your next victories.  The time will come back around again soon, so stay sharp -- those downhills are closer than you think.  You'd best be ready.

As always, if there is _anything_ I can do to help any of you get that little extra push on the uphill, I hope you already know that I'm here for you.  It would be an opportunity to repay about 1% of the help _you all_ have given _me_!

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## Chimpertainment

I think this calls for a group hug  ::hug:: 

Thanks for the encouragement guys, it feels nice knowing that others get what it going on.  :smiley:  

No worries Ophelia, my workbook is honored that you would choose to share here.  ::sunflower:: 

That metaphor is essentially what I am going through yeah. Except I can kick my body's ass up one hill and down the other. My emotions on the other hand...O..M...G....Trying to find clarity amongst the chaos feels like going for a needle in a haystack...
and one of these days, im gonna find that damned needle, lol.

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## CanisLucidus

> That metaphor is essentially what I am going through yeah. Except I can kick my body's ass up one hill and down the other. My emotions on the other hand...O..M...G....Trying to find clarity amongst the chaos feels like going for a needle in a haystack...
> and one of these days, im gonna find that damned needle, lol.



Damn straight you will!  An insight from Tibetan dream yoga that resonated with me is how emotions are entirely internal experiences.  Even though they color every aspect of our experience of the world, they are dreams -- constructs of our own making that begin and end entirely within us.

Of course, we can't master every emotion any more than we can expect to dream lucidly 100% of the time.  But I still find this insight enlightening and comforting.  Emotional mastery and dream mastery seem (IMO) to be tightly interwoven ideas.  Do I fly or do I fall to the Earth?  Do I let go of that grievance or do I let it fester?  I'm a long, long way from mastering either question, but I'm coming to believe that the techniques for addressing each of them is remarkably similar.

In short, I think you're looking in all the right places.  There's an old (probably apocryphal) Native American story that it reminds me of:





> An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story.
> 
> I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.
> 
> But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times." He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.
> 
> But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger,for his anger will change nothing.
> 
> Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."
> ...

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## Chimpertainment

Ah, Canis..Have you been reading some Rinpoche?  :smiley:  I like the parable too! It is very true

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## CanisLucidus

> Ah, Canis..Have you been reading some Rinpoche?  I like the parable too! It is very true



Yes!  As a matter of fact, I'd say that fully 100% of what I've learned about Tibetan dream yoga comes from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's excellent book.  Frankly, I'm not even sure that I could _name_ another source of information on dream yoga apart from that book and the class here.   ::D:   I'm glad to hear that you've read it as well.

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## Xanous

Whats the name of the book? I may buy it.

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## CanisLucidus

> Whats the name of the book? I may buy it.



The book is called "The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep".  Although there are some mystical, quasi-religious elements to it, by and large it is surprisingly down to Earth.  I really enjoyed it.  Here's the Amazon link, if the forum lets me post it.  The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche,Mark Dahlby: 9781559391016: Amazon.com: Books

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## VictoReverie

Ooh second time i've heard of the book. Maybe I will get it

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## OpheliaBlue

Any fun dreams lately?  :wink2:

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## Chimpertainment

hehe, indeed.  :smiley: 

I got really discouraged by my last failed lucid so I took a few nights off unintentionally, lol. Then, yesterday during my meditation class I had an epiphany. If I keep all my focus on doing what leads to success, then I won't have time to focus on what leads to failure. Thinking about everything that I am doing wrong has been draining my energy and motivation for pretty much anything. 

And speaking of fun dreams, for the past few days they have been especially dark and scary. 

In one dream I was getting totally freaked out by someone knocking on the door of a hotel room...then they came in and i was behind a door in another room. I was freaking out pushing my back against the door and putting my feet on the bed....
Then today, I had a dream where I raged out on a friend and forgot my trumpet for band at a church. 

Fun, yeah sorta lol...freaky and scary is always fun.  :wink2: 
This epiphany has me pretty motivated and energized so hopefully I can keep that goin.

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## OpheliaBlue

Hey I think that's great advice for anyone on anything. That kinda thinking is what made me settle on a midnight bedtime, then sleep in as long as I need to LD (on an off day). It's like, if it works, go with that. No need to wallow in the stuff that keeps elluding me. And more often than not, if there was something I kept failing at in the past (like WILDs, for example), if it was meant to be, they'll creep up on you naturally one day. In the meantime, nothing wrong with putting all your focus and energy on the things that set you up for success instead of failure. Hooray for epiphanies!  ::happy::

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## CanisLucidus

Great stuff, man!  Spend your limited time on the things that make you happy, successful, and free.  Once you've learned from your setbacks, toss em over your shoulder and never look back.

Apart from "42", your epiphany is about as close as you can get to having it all figured it out.   :smiley:

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## Chimpertainment

2 lucids this morning! Looks like positivity is paying off.  :smiley: 

one was dild and i finally accomplished a wild! sweet jesus someone get a fire extinguisher!


The WILD attempt was pretty interesting...





> 7am LD- This began with a false awakening. I could hear the sound of rain and in my mind, I was in a room with the roof over my head. I was laying in bed listening to the rain and I knew that I wasn't lucid yet. So I closed my eyes again, and waited. Then I opened my eyes again, and I was in my regular bed. This time, I was laying the opposite way that I was IRL. This didn't seem to throw me off as I became aware that I was dreaming.
> My dream body floated out of the bed and outside. When I got outside, I had a very strong impression that I needed to find "The Gnome". My cat Jeffery came outside behind me through the opened sliding glass door and meowed. I tell him, I need to find the Gnome Jeff. Instead of the usual rock wall behind the house I live in, there is a path leading into a forest. The ground is covered in orange maple leaves. There is a pumpkin propped on a rock to my left which is there IRL.
> I walk down the path into the trees.
> The feeling is SO REAL. The wind is chilly against my skin, and the ground is soft yet bumpy. I jump onto a tree and pull myself aloft. I begin to jump and swing through the trees. The branches bend, snap, and swish as I tumble through the trees. Branches hit my face and I feel the pain. I want to cover my face but I tell myself this is a dream. There is no need for pain. After a moment, the pain goes away. I jump to the ground and continue on a path.
> At a crossroads in the forest, I see an old woman. She is wearing wintery clothes and has silvery white hair. She says nothing but looks at me. I tell her I am looking for the Gnome so I can ask him a question. I say "I want to ask him about a paradox. If you ask why would you ask questions, then you have already asked a question. And that is the paradox!" I feel power in my words and the question seems infinitely profound in my mind. The white haired woman says nothing. She is standing near a horse stable. I wait for an answer but none comes. She disappears and the dream fades...



The whole night's DJ Entry 

Five dreams in all with two lucids. This is the most activity I have seen since starting back in May. Totally awesome.  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

Hell yeah, man!  You are indeed on freakin fire!  And all it took was you remembering the fact that _you are damn good at this lucidity stuff after all_.

I'm loving the results and I'm loving the positive vibes even more!  Enjoy!  Try to never forget how amazing this feels right now.

I'll check out your DJ as well...

 :Rock out:

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## Chimpertainment

Little update:

Been sick the past week or two and my computer was sick too so I had to do some recovery work and now it is complete! Plus I am finally getting over this dang cold. 
Anyhoo, Ive been taking fish oil supplements as a way to be healthy and it really helped my lucidity for like, a day, lol...Ive also been a lot better with my WBTB the past week or so which has helped my recall quite a bit...

Had a pretty cool moment this morning...I woke up for my WBTB at 3am. I knew that I had two dreams, but I couldnt remember them. So this idea popped into my head to go through my dream signs in my head to see if I could recall the dream and poof! my dream came back to me! It was a pretty cool moment.  :smiley:  

In other news, now that my WBTB is doing better, I am going to start focusing on ADA. Even if I do try to WBTB and mantra before sleep, it has a very low success rate. I think about dreams a lot during waking life and with the dreams however the awareness just isnt there yet. Working on the ADA and reality checks should help boost that.

So yeah, im still here. I will be more present in the forums in the coming weeks, although I will be starting school in the new year so my activity will probly be limited to a tiny bit during the week days and mostly on the weekends. 
My determination seems to finally be kicking in.  :smiley:

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## CanisLucidus

Holy cow, man!  Sounds like kind of a rough couple of weeks.  I'm glad that you're feeling better (and it sounds like your computer is too.)

I really like the dream signs tip.  That's a great idea for those WBTBs where your recall wasn't great but you need to stay up for 20-30 minutes anyway.  When nothing else is working, meandering through the list of dreamsigns sounds like a good, high percentage play.  I will definitely do that next time my recall takes a break!

Awareness is everything, so you can't go wrong working that.  Sounds like a plan!  It's good to have you back on your feet.

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## Chimpertainment

Been thinking about goals lately...I figure it would be a good idea to establish some long term goals then some short term goals that will help me accomplish the long term ones.

Long Term Goals

- Master Lucid Dream Control
- Retain Lucidity While in Total Darkness
- Execute WILD Every Night

Short Term Goals

- Find a Mirror and Test Realism
- Use Mirror as Portal
- Use Skill of Expectation to perfect Skills of Summoning/Telekinesis/Flying
- Morph into Animal like Crow/Whale/Cheetah/Squirrel

During the months that I have been truly dedicated to lucid dreaming, I have found that my goals are not exactly what I *want*, instead they end up being what I think they should be. Lately, Ive been realizing that it is ok to want something for myself, and that is what I am going to go for. So I will pursue these goals until they are accomplished.

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## Chimpertainment

so, I have like...twenty dreams on my recorder that I am going to transcribe to my journal. All I need to do is reinstall my microsoft word program. 

Within those dreams are four lucids Ive had within the past couple weeks. 

One of them actually includes a couple mirror tests. I am still going to find some more mirrors in my lucids but it was definitely a good start. I was also able to practice some dream control as well. It was mostly trying to use expectation to make things appear and practicing my flying techniques. Good times though, when I get them all recorded, I will copy some snippets here for your reading playshzure.  :smiley:

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## paigeyemps

Hooray for more playshzure!  ::D: 

I don't know why, but I've mised you around chat. Hopefully I see you soon!

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## Chimpertainment

and here come the snippets... 





Since my last post long, long ago, in a place far, far away, I have been faithfully focusing on the WILD technique. I've been reading up on all the WILD literature in the forum as well and finally have had some results. 
For the past six months, I've worked on all the techniques, however at this point, my focus is specifically on WILD, and that enabled me to really buckle down on the details. 
Here is my basic routine as it applies to lucid dreaming. 

*[Sleep Schedule]*

To bed: 11pm weekdays, avg 1am friday, saturday nights
Awake: 7am on weekdays, avg 11am on weekends

*[WBTB]*

Every weekday night I set an alarm for 4:55am for my wbtb. My deep sleep cycle typically ends after 4 hours of sleep but I set the wbtb time an hour after the end of the delta cycle to increase the probability of utilizing REM sleep. 
Now, as far as the wbtb, awake time goes. That keeps fluctuating because of my varying levels of fatigue when I wake up. My present practice has been to wake up and read for 15 minutes then mantra back to bed. A not so different idea I have devised, is to write as well as read for that 15-20 minutes. That should be tested tonight if my determination will hold strong. 

*[Daytime Exercises]*

During the day, perhaps the main trigger for my WILDs is done. Every hour, an alarm on my phone goes off, and that reminds me to perform a couple awareness exercises. Firstly, I remember the past few minutes and perhaps further into the past. Then I become aware of my environment, and of myself. There is a list of reality checks that I have been using as well to add to that exercise.

*[Mantra]*

Another life saver has been the mantra. When I first go to sleep, I will mantra something about remembering dreams and awareness. When I wbtb however, I have a single mantra that I have been repeating 100 times. Today during a WILD however, I used upward counting with a limit of 200 repetitions in case I actually get there, I would focus on some relaxation exercises, then repeat the mantra. The practice of the mantra is effective in a strange way. During the WILD, the mantra activates this short term memory of some kind. When you go into the body-less darkness, the mantra that you were just repeating comes back around in the short term memory and brings some awareness along. Anyway, aside from the mechanics, using a mantra has helped as well.

*[Pre-Sleep]*

For pre-sleep, there are a few things that I have been adding onto my routine. Memory exercises are key, while mantras not so much. Also relaxation exercises are essential for my exercise. The memory exercises are for recall and the relaxation for restful sleep. The relaxation helps with recall as well because you can remember your dream much better if you remain still when you wake up. And if your body is tense like mine is much of the time, that relaxation will help. It can also aid with DEILD. 
My memory exercises can vary because of use 1 or 2, of three exercises.
1. Reading my DJ
2. Recalling previous dreams from memory
3. Recalling the days events from memory



For whatever reason, this all only kicked in recently. Its been about 2 weeks since I began all these practices. For about six months now I've been practicing the different techniques, so when I decided to focus on WILD, all my knowledge of the other techniques went into developing the single technique of WILD. 

In the past week, I have had 2 WILDs and a DEILD chained from the second WILD.

These are the DJ Entries

WILD Marry Go Round



and...


The DILD and the WILD





and as if that wasn't enough, I have some new goals which have been coming along great.

They are listed in the title of my DJ here

 ::banana::

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