# Lucid Dreaming > DV Academy > Current Courses > Intro Class >  >  Dodge631's Workbook

## Dodge631

*Dodge631's Workbook*

       Hello, I am Dodge631

Sleep:
I usually go to bed at around 11:00PM - 1:00AM and sleep in anywhere from 7:00AM - 10:00AM, usually closer to 10 on weekends and on some week days. and near 7 on other week days, and I prefer waking naturally.

Reality Checks:
Analog Clocks and watches, or Digital watches instead
Questioning my current reality, "am i dreaming now?"
RC after question
Finger through hand occasionally
trying to read text, then look away, then back more lately

Dream Signs:
Night Time (90% my dreams are at night)
at the moment less are apparent

Short Term Goals:
Increase LD frequency
Stabilize Dream
Lengthen dream

Long Term Goals:
More than 1 LD a week
Good stabilization
long LD


Current Techniques:
DILD Method
WILD Method
Self-Awareness

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## dreamingaze

Hello, and good luck!   ::D:

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## Dodge631

> Hello, and good luck!



thanks! you too. i will try my best

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## Dodge631

last night was just an average night of dreaming for me, nothing real special. was pretty vivid though. also, it wasnt night in the dreams i remembered. here is the DJ entry :(July 24, 2014) waterway house - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

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## NyxCC

Welcome to Intro class Dodge631 and congrats on your first lucid dream! It must have been a very exciting experience. Really cool it was one of the early rem cycles too. You did quite a bit of exploring there, really good for a first ld.  :smiley:

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## Dodge631

hey, sorry for the late update i was out of own doing stuff. no lucids since then, just interrupted sleep :/ for the past few days. i have been updating my dream journal every day still tho. last nights dream was great, just wish i could remember more of it. i need to get into a good rhythm again, my day time practice has been lacking.

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## Dodge631

Last night was good. I did not have a lucid, but the dreams i had were pretty vivd, and i feel as though i was there in real life, one dream i almost remember completely except for some beginning details. i wrote quite a bit in my DJ today. maybe you can have a look and see how it is coming along? also, i included notes on new possible dream signs, speculation on dream changes, and how a supplement may be affecting me positively. all good things to keep note on, its on the bottom of the DJ. i think it would be helpful if you at least read the notes at the bottom but it is up to you! ::D: 

here is the link:
(July 29, 2014) Abandonrd Shipping Depot, strange pond - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

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## Dodge631

these last 2 nights, recall has been pretty bad for some reason. I couldnt get hardly anything yesterday or today. any suggestions?

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## NyxCC

Hey there! About identifying potential dream signs and getting a grasp of what's going on in dreams as well as for ease of review, you can bold the different place, people, objects you encounter in dreams. That way they really stand out and also if you tag them the dream journal will make the ones that appear more often larger in tags. Then you can train during the day to recognize them. Think about them and remark that if you see them it may be a dream, do a RC. You can also use a mantra 'abandoned place', 'I'm dreaming' or something similar.

Sorry to hear about the drop in recall. It's possible that it is just a normal fluctuation in recall. Have you done something different in the last couple of days that may be affecting your recall, like late bedtime, late night games, etc? Sleep schedule disruptions usually affect recall. Or maybe some food changes?

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## Dodge631

Great tips, I always put tags of significant things in my dream journal. Most of the time, my dreams are at night. I mean like a lot of the time. However, i have noticed a change, since I began practicing ADA, and most of it is during the day due to being awake with more time in the light than the dark of night, my dreams have started being more and more in the day, tho i think i like night time ones better. 

Another thing i noticed a few days ago was feeling heat. When i feel objects in dreams, they are almost always cold ir have no feeling. In one of my dreams i put a banana on a high voltage raquet and it began warming up in my hand as i held it on the electricity. 

As for bad recall, i think it has been my sleep schedule. I have been going to bed late these past few nights, including last night due to long traveling. The only reason my recall was decent this morning was because I was woken mid dream and jumped right on my DJ in my phones notes. I was really tired still so i did not get down every detail this morning. Tonight i will be in a better sleeping situation regarding time i think. I will be in a different bed these next few days which has always affected my recall so i will have to see how it goes this week.

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## Dodge631

Ok so last night i think i may have had a brief lucid dream, but i dont know if it was truly a lucid dream or if it was just a normal non lucid dream plot. I thought about it and said im dreaming but felt as though i still just went aling for the ride. Its the only major thing i remember from last night. Im not sure if i want to call it lucid or not. One thing was i didnt get that excited feel i should have with it being possibly my second one yet. Any thoughts on this?

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## NyxCC

Sounds like a short moment of low level lucidity. Not bad at all. Next time think of the goal you want to accomplish, especially repeat it before falling asleep so when the lucid moment comes, you will detach from the dream scenario.

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## Dodge631

Sounds good, im on vacation for a week and since i have been here my recall has been not so great. Im gunna use a sleep app on my phone to see how im sleeping (feels bed vibration consistencies i think) maybe thatll give me some insight. I wake really tired feeling, by that i mean im in a half sleep wanting to go back to sleep phase for a while. Im going to put focus to that tonight and maybe these bext few nights. Im only recalling 5 seconds or less these past few nights. Recall is tonights focus, if i do get lucid then great but if not ill still be trying hard to recall. I want to be able to have a detailed entry in the morning. Ill post an update if it works.

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## Dodge631

I had success, finally had some good dreams to remember this time so im glad i got that possible mental block out of the way.

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## Dodge631

As for todays update, i had good recall, 4 dreams total i wrote info down for but i could not remember all of them in extended detail. One came out pretty good though. Im surprised i remebered two of them, because i recalled them in my head then fell back asleep but remembered when i re woke. In the little nap i fell back asleep in i had more dreams. I dont know what causes my recall to slump badly sometimes. I have ruled out the melatonin because recall is great on it or bad on it randomly so it has not changed much.

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## NyxCC

How about room temperature? During warmer nights my recall is significantly worse.

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## Dodge631

Usually for me its the bed, but i think mine seems to be worse in warmer climates now that i think about it.

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## Dodge631

last few DJ entries have been good, recall has been better, the problem i have is falling back to sleep after recalling, making recalling the whole dream harder and more broken up. now that recall is a little better ill put more focus back on lucid practice.

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## NyxCC

You can try reminding yourself it was a dream, while recalling the previous dream in bed. If you fall asleep in the process, it might take you back to the same scene and you realize you're dreaming. Classic MILD.

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## Dodge631

Sorry for late update. My recall and vividness have been extraordinary lately, tho i havent been using my DJ like i should. I had my 2nd lucid last night too, was a lower level licidity but i observed my environment for a while before a minute or two it was gone. Forgot to stabilize

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## NyxCC

Great to hear from you Dodge631! Congrats on your second ld!  :smiley:

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## Dodge631

im back! getting back on the LD track, hoping to have some success. ive been gone for a while. always thought about LD but havent given it much training while i was gone. ill start by saying my recall is down a bit but still remember to capture the detail when i write them down.

heres one from last night:
Another Outlast Dream (horror themed) - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

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## NyxCC

Welcome back!  :smiley:

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## Dodge631

i was almost in despair this morning when i woke and could not remember hardly anything. i closed my eyes and asked myself "what was i dreaming about?" and sure enough it came back in full. as soon as one part came back the rest all came back and i remembered the very vivid dream i knew i had. as far as i can tell i'm recalling the dream from the start of it all the way to the end of that particular dream. This is good. im one step closer to LD each day i have a good recall and hope one appears soon!

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## Dodge631

Another close call of forgetting my dream, then somehow pulling out the dream with very vivid images! Glad to know recall is good so far.

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## NyxCC

That's great news! I think your next ld is just round the corner!  :smiley:

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## Dodge631

> That's great news! I think your next ld is just round the corner!



Guess what NyxCC?! you were spot on! I had one last night!   ::D:   my very first WILD

it has been a long time since i last had one, and it went great. here is the DJ, if you dont feel like reading all of it(it is a interesting build) but want to see how i felt i progressed the past few weeks click the link and read the progression part.
LUCID DREAM 3 (March 7, 2015) First Wild! Exploring in the darkest Night - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

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## NyxCC

Yay, that's fantastic! Congrats, Dodge!  ::D: 

You did really well, getting rid of those intruders in the beginning and holding on to the dream when it was fading and turning it into a long ld.  ::goodjob2::  Also, I think you going into your neighbor's house at the end of the dream could qualify for our basic task. Check it out and post in the totm thread to get a pair of wings if you like. 

http://www.dreamviews.com/tasks-mont...ch-2015-a.html

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## Dodge631

Though i am not too surprised, i had no recall this morning. i think it was because i was so tired from yesterday, i still woke up kinda out of it and moved around alot rather than my usual wake and recall right away. i am more rested now though and should have better recall tomorrow morning!

oh and i made a few updates on the workbook front post

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## Dodge631

no recall this morning because someone decided to use the house speakers to blast loud rap music at 6:30 AM and wake me up tired as hell, feeling sick, and now i get to go take a test.

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## NyxCC

Who listens to music at such an hour? Hope you get better sleep soon.

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## Dodge631

Much better night tonight as far as sleep quality. my recall still seems to be lagging a little behind though. but having some recall is better than none!

Side note: where i live, there is an exit sign next to my bed with a bright red light and i finally got tired of dealing with it so i decided to put up towels round my lofted bed with thumbtacks to hold them in the ceiling to block out some light and contribute to my night time comfort. so i put it up literally right before bed, and i had a dream last night with my bed set up change present. guess you can have things happen in your dreams after a ingle encounter! wish my DILD awareness worked like that hahaha.

goal for the week:As much as I just want to focus in on what I will do when lucid, i need my recall to get back on track this week. who know, maybe i missed a few LDs due to not remembering them. so i need to get that straightened out. i will still be trying to lucid, but make sure i have focus on recall techniques. i feel i know what i am supposed to do im just forgetting to do them when i wake. anyone with tips feel free to drop them by, any help, even if i had heard it a thousand times is still a help! the more times i expose myself to the practice and knowledge the better off i will be

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## NyxCC

> Much better night tonight as far as sleep quality. my recall still seems to be lagging a little behind though. but having some recall is better than none!
> 
> Side note: where i live, there is an exit sign next to my bed with a bright red light and i finally got tired of dealing with it so i decided to put up towels round my lofted bed with thumbtacks to hold them in the ceiling to block out some light and contribute to my night time comfort. so i put it up literally right before bed, and i had a dream last night with my bed set up change present. guess you can have things happen in your dreams after a ingle encounter! wish my DILD awareness worked like that hahaha.



Cool instant incorporation in the dream.  ::D:  Hmm, I wonder if this light may have something to do with your recall? Bright lights are usually not very good for sleep. Have you considered any sleep masks or just a T-shirt over your head. I use the latter and it has been very helpful blocking most light if there is any. 





> goal for the week:As much as I just want to focus in on what I will do when lucid, i need my recall to get back on track this week. who know, maybe i missed a few LDs due to not remembering them. so i need to get that straightened out. i will still be trying to lucid, but make sure i have focus on recall techniques. i feel i know what i am supposed to do im just forgetting to do them when i wake. anyone with tips feel free to drop them by, any help, even if i had heard it a thousand times is still a help! the more times i expose myself to the practice and knowledge the better off i will be



I think I had a good list of things to consider when it comes to recall, let me see:





> Personally, I'd suggest a few things to boost recall as well as keep you in optimal shape for lding.
> 
> - Regular exercise - while this may not be as obvious, regular exercise has huge benefits for sleep, dreaming, lding, etc. It helps your brain function better, improves quality of sleep, and even helps you grow neurons and helps maintain neurotransmitters in optimum levels.
> - Good nutrition during day and possible mini-pre bed snacks to supply needed nutrients for recall or lding
> - avoiding bright lights/screens before bed time
> - regular sleep schedule and good amount of sleep
> - daily awareness - here there's a broad range of things you can do to boost your awarness from meditation, to mindfulness exercises, RCs, ADA, etc., be in the here and now 
> - autosuggestion - mantras before bed or make a record and listen to it, you can put anything in there like "my recall is getting better" or "I realize that I'm dreaming", etc.
> - drinking some water before going to bed - this will cause a natural wake where it may be easier to recall a dream



Hope this helps!

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## Dodge631

thanks a lot for the tips! im not sure what it is but my dreams have been pretty vivid lately. i started taking melatonin again recently. the 2 nights ive taken it, i have had vivid dreams but an alarm wakes me up from them and sometimes hurts my recall. however, i find that setting my alarm to be quieter helps me wake more peacefully. if it is loud i spring awake to my alarm and quickly try to disable it. that "violent" waking makes me lose my calm recall state. but soft alarms i think may be part of the key to better recall during the school week.

as far as melatonin goes, as expected, my vivd dreams are the ones closer to morning. so if i can sleep in on melatonin, i can probably expect to see an increase in recall, length, and vividness. i also suspect a lucid during this time may be slightly more stable, but this is just speculation. i will have to do dome experimentation. i try to be all natural with lucidity most of the time, and usually take melatonin if i am trying to go to bed early and need something to help nudge me to sleep.

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## Dodge631

another update with good news!
I had 2 DILDs last night/this morning! making my 4th and 5th LD

The 4th one was much much longer, more vivid, an very stable, I didn't even have to do the stabilization at the beginning this time. it just stayed well. I think it may have to do with the melatonin i took. it seems to keep those early morning dreams vivid and stable while the REM rebound is happening. ill post the link below. this dream is more "vulgar" than any of my previous though. has sexual stuff in it but they are in spoiler tabs for those who would prefer not to read them.

5th was short, but it was still cool being able to observe my environment more and more while lucid.

here is the link:
Lucid 4 and 5!DILD 3 and 4 (March 19, 2015) How I expected my early Lucids would be like - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

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## NyxCC

Yay, congrats on the lds and TOTM! Two in one day, that is awesome.  ::D:  I really liked your mirror shattering dream control.

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## Dodge631

Thanks! and me too. i really felt that was an accomplishment for me as i could not do environmental control before. I managed to change a few things. the mirror was hard to concentrate on breaking. i had to completely concentrate. hope it get easier. it is a step in the right direction. one thing I still struggle with is summoning a specific DC. I would like to learn how. I want to be able to control my urges sometimes though, i was so drawn to wanting to do dirty things i didnt really get to do much else, though it was enjoyable.

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## Dodge631

well i had no recall tonight. I had a late night and an early morning. probably about 5-6  hours to sleep. good news, I am on break now and am at my home, with a much comfier bed and hopefully can sleep in. recall and lucids here i come!

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## NyxCC

> Thanks! and me too. i really felt that was an accomplishment for me as i could not do environmental control before. I managed to change a few things. the mirror was hard to concentrate on breaking. i had to completely concentrate. hope it get easier. it is a step in the right direction. *one thing I still struggle with is summoning a specific DC. I would like to learn how.* I want to be able to control my urges sometimes though, i was so drawn to wanting to do dirty things i didnt really get to do much else, though it was enjoyable.



One thing that works for me is to think about the person I want to summon and then I usually look around to find them come out from somewhere. Thinking and focusing on the thought itself is a great way to summon pretty much anything in an ld. The more you use it and the better your focus, the better the results. 

About your other urges - just know you are fully capable of controlling yourself and have a strong resolve during the day to do so, that is, you won't indulge any more than what you think is acceptable for you. It also helps to focus on dream tasks.

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## Dodge631

Havent posted in a few days, but i have been sick with a fever for days, its been keeping me up a lot at night, and recall has been hard

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## NyxCC

Hope you feel better soon!

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## Dodge631

thanks! im getting back on track but itll still be a little off the next few days. turns out it was the flu. 5 days of terrible fever, and still got the cough that likes to wake me up once i fall asleep at night. last night was the first night i slept good in days. during my sickness i could still remember stuff but they were fragmented. i kept waking up a lot at night in a half awake state and every night i would wake up i would keep seeing this metal junkyard scene in the part of me still dreaming. every time, every night i woke multiple times. always this metal scrapyard image stuck in my head, but the rest of the dreams that weren't interrupted were good.

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## Dodge631

recall has been okayish, ive had some really cool scenes in my mind i want to revisit. one place in particular i found very cool! i havent wrote it down yet. ive been lacking a bit becasue of this sickness.  i get one more night in my nice comfy bed so i will try to make the most of it!

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## Dodge631

well, took a week off, probably longer, from DV. I dont know why. Been stressed lately though so thats probably a factor. so after a short break i need to be back more active on here lol. felt like this was a good time. had a scary-ish set of dreams last night and that usually never happens, they usually never affect me in my dreams anymore, but they made my dream self a little frightened. but they were vivid and good so i still say its good recall, its a win. 

(April 8, 2015) Scary stuff - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

awareness has lacked this past week too, but tonight i have a good set-up to have at least good recall, hopefully a lucid!

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## NyxCC

Sorry to hear about the scary stuff! Maybe the dream really was trying to make you lucid. I read in the beginning you were thinking about meditation and lucid dreaming.

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## Dodge631

Hey there been a while. I have been busy lately and unfortunately my dream life has been brushed to the side lately. But I can not ignore my current non lucids so i decided to make some journal entries. Recently my passion for orcas has surfaced rapidly and is hanging around. maybe it is just a phase in my life maybe not, i dont know. even if its just a phase ill always have this passion, always have in the past but lately it has been busting though taking over a lot of my thoughts and interests. Thats why Im having increased dreams of them now. I can only recall 2 orca dreams in my life prior to this past few weeks. Ive had one brief one, then a week went by, had a longer one, week goes by, last night i had a long and vivid encounter. 3 over a two week period vs 2 the past 19 years, although only a few years now have i gotten in depth with my dream life. Must mean something right? 

http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/dodg...ld-orca-66542/

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## NyxCC

Hey Dodge! Good to see you!  :smiley: 

The orca dreams sound really cool! I remember a period when I was reading a lot about dolphins and then had a number of non-lds with them and even one ld. It was a really nice experience. If you have a passion for orcas then it can manifest in dreams. You can even try to facilitate the process with pre bed visualizations and if you want to turn these into lds, then you can use the orcas as dream signs. Either way, awesome dreams!  :smiley:

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## Dodge631

Awesome. I had another orca dream last night. Was only a fragment but the one part I remember was the part with the orca. I was a bit suspicious at some point but no lucid. it was an odd dream though. 

also, i have not wrote down as much dreams as I usually do, but i still try to keep them detailed. how does it look from an outside perspective? too much detail? or still not enough? constructive criticism is always helpful. Also, Ill post my dream journals here when I can, which is pretty common. you don't have to read through them if you don't want to. Part of the reason I post them here is to see how Im progressing v.s. what my recent dream was like. kind of like a self assessment of sorts. So do not feel pressured into reading if you don't want to!

http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/dodg...en-wide-66974/

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## NyxCC

Nice! That was an interesting dream! Good you came out of it unharmed too.  :smiley:  I'd say you remembered the details really well. As far as how much detail in general to aim for, that will be up to you depending on your time constraints. If you can include details like you did with the dream above and it's feasible for you, then go for it. It's a really great practice for the memory for both dreams and real life.  :smiley:

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## Dodge631

Thanks. knowing myself, sometimes things i like will suddenly become the center of my attention for some reason. usually they leave by now. most things that make an abrupt resurgence in my mind usually disappear in a week tops, not like my current 3 weeks strong quest for knowledge on this. It has given me some more motivation for a few things though; making a positive impact on me. My current 3 weeks of researching orcas has increased my knowledge and respect for these creatures (you wouldn't believe the intelligence, empathy, and family bonds they have) , It has given me more motivation in my search to see if biology is the right career field to pursue(still deciding on careers :/ ), and it has given my dream life a boost in energy/motivation(score!). 

So when I have these dreams with orcas I feel energized to write a detailed dream journal. It has made me want to write down all dreams more too. Sure when I wake I still come to the realization that I have yet to actually see a real one, ever, and feel a little bit like "ahh I cant believe it was only a dream!" but Im always grateful for the dream still. Each dream is a gift to me! But only writing down some night vs every night helps me keep from burning out a bit. maybe its bad but idk. id rather write down a few dreams a week and stay motivated than every day and lose interest.

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## Dodge631

Lately I have not been recalling anyhting, I have been getting bad sleep because I broke my back last week unfortunately. That and staying up late and waking up early hasnt helped. last night before I went to bed, I thought about how my recall has been non-existent lately and I would make an effort to recall or lucid. I also went to bed early. It paid off big time, totally a great night last night. I had another wonderful dream with the orca. one that makes me sad I cant see them now! It was a pretty powerful dream for me. Aghhh i feel empty that they were just a dream lol. One day Im going to see them and maybe work with them if marine biology is truly where my passions and interests are.

(July 18, 2015) Orcas #5, Family of Orca - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

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## NyxCC

Awww, that is such a nice dream! Pine forests, the beach and the little orca that was so happy! Thanks for sharing  :smiley:

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## Dodge631

Hi there, still alive ive been gone for a while though! Slowly working on dreaming up again figured I would start tracking my progress again. I had a very brief lucid dream a night ago so I m glad some of the practice seems to have worked its way to long term memory. I have been out of practice lately and trying to get up to speed a bit. My recall the past two weeks has been good, just havent been recording everything.

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## NyxCC

It's nice to see you back! Congrats on ld!  :smiley:

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## Dodge631

Almost a full year ago I made that last post. Time really goes I suppose. This past month, perhaps even longer than that, I have been thinking about lucid dreaming. I haven't even had to make a conscious effort to make sure I think about it, it has just naturally been flooding my mind more often, which is certainly welcomed. So more often I have had it on the mind, and I have slowly crept back into the my desire to LD. I had been on a fairly long hiatus, and last time when I thought I was "back again" I really wasn't at the time. This time though it feels different, for as long as I have been thinking about it, pondering whether to jump back in or not, I think I can safely say it's time to increase my efforts again. The final motivation came to me last night/this morning at about 3AM. I awoke due to drinking too much water before bed. Got up, got back to bed and lightly thought about LDing. I lay on my back and just wait. 20 minutes go by and I cant fall asleep, so  I finally roll over on my back, with a slight sense of defeat and fall asleep. Only I enter a dream, non lucid at first. I open a padlock and fall into a dark room where I cant move, realizing i'm experiencing REM atonia my awareness heightens but I wake up, partially an instinct to wake myself up from it as I did out of fear as a child, forgetting it's current usefulness in LDing for me. Now I lie awake and aggravated I woke myself up out of it. So I fall asleep again, and I immediately enter he dream conscious. I am amazed! It was short; 30 seconds long only. I had forgotten the feeling of being Lucid in the dream world and it was very rejuvenating. I wont link it here, it was short and a bit odd, but it's in my dream journal for those interested. There was even one more instance of becoming aware in another dream after that one but the recall is really lacking on it so I am hesitant to fully confirm it, despite recognizing my LD time-goals within the dream as the only fragment. Now that I remember the feeling, I want it back. This time though, I wont force myself and tire myself out of the practice like I did before.

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## NyxCC

Welcome back and congrats on the ld! 

Yes, time flies by pretty fast, doesn't it. But on a positive note one way or another we always end up coming back here - because we are lucid dreamers.  :smiley: 





> Now that I remember the feeling, I want it back. This time though, I wont force myself and tire myself out of the practice like I did before.



Agree. I think what matters most is setting your practices in such a way that they are not intrusive. Consider them a continuation of the adventure that was already started in dreams. Think about having a lucid dream and examining every item in great detail and amazement. Then during the day, in our practices we can do the same. So, in the end, we are not forcing anything, just enjoying ourselves by being more aware. And with time results will follow - both in dreams as well as in waking life.

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## Dodge631

Quick little update. I had another Lucid the other night, but did not post a journal. I should have though, it was interesting. Basically it happened mid nightmare-ish. I remember being in my dorm but all the hall lights were out and it was really dark in the hallway but some light in the room I was standing in. Once I became lucid I tired to summon a DC but looking down the dark ness of the hallway I kind of felt like something else was there and of course since I was expecting to see something creepy something creepy did show up, two shadows were moving down the hall at me and I knew it was a dream still but I was a bit nervous anyway since this is the first time it happened and I couldn't make them disappear. I did not get hurt or anything, but I did not have the best control over this one.

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