Consistency

Hi, I'm new, but I've been reading this forum quite a bit.

I started lucid dreaming a few years ago, relying mainly on DILD techniques- reality checking, dream journaling, etc. I had some mild success, but really not enough, and I was off and on.

The last month or two, I resumed lucid dreaming, but using my own techniques. This has been more successful. However, it's still not consistent as I'd like it to be.

My own technique just relies on a mixture of doing stuff like reading dreamviews before bed, closely observing hypnagogic imagery while I'm drifting off to sleep, and getting excited about lucid dreaming before I go to sleep. (no dream journal, reality checks, etc.- i have decent dream recall without a journal and reality checks have only been of use to me in dreams). However, I might have 2-3 lucid dreams one week, 0 the next, 1 the next, 2 the next, etc. (1 or 2 every night is more desirable)

I think we're all different, and different things work for different people... any tips/thoughts/ideas are welcome, thanks.

Kudos to you for relying on yourself to intuitively develop LDing. I feel it's what'll make you a first-rate dreamer. I will take note and say that journaling and RC on a consistent basis will probably at least double your LDs after a bit. And you're right, we are all different so there most likely isn't a hard or fast answer as to why your LDs vary in quantity from week to week. I will say this though, I've noticed that when I'm more interested in my dreamlife, it seems to flourish. I strongly believe that you dream about what you focus on in daily life, so being excited and eager to dream will help...up to a point. Putting too much pressure on your brain to LD can also be detrimental to your success. The trick is to find the sweet spot and hitting that stride. Long story short, try not to worry too much about quantity and instead focus on the quality of your LDs. Also, try your immersion techniques right after waking up in the morning, too.

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Originally Posted by speedbasssux

Kudos to you for relying on yourself to intuitively develop LDing. I feel it's what'll make you a first-rate dreamer. I will take note and say that journaling and RC on a consistent basis will probably at least double your LDs after a bit. And you're right, we are all different so there most likely isn't a hard or fast answer as to why your LDs vary in quantity from week to week. I will say this though, I've noticed that when I'm more interested in my dreamlife, it seems to flourish. I strongly believe that you dream about what you focus on in daily life, so being excited and eager to dream will help...up to a point. Putting too much pressure on your brain to LD can also be detrimental to your success. The trick is to find the sweet spot and hitting that stride. Long story short, try not to worry too much about quantity and instead focus on the quality of your LDs. Also, try your immersion techniques right after waking up in the morning, too.

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Thanks... I'll try all of that.
What's weird is that last night I just had the longest and most vivid LD I've ever had (well, vivid would be a tie since several of mine have felt 100% real).

I think this reaffirms a suspicion I've had recently about how my mind works optimally in general- it needs novelty constantly. It's no coincidence that I get the first LD I've had in 4 or 5 days the night I join this forum. But also, I had no major distractions last night, which also seems important. The real challenge is how to involve myself in something novel lucid-dream related and have no distractions at night, consistently... (also, I wasn't "super excited" or "confident" last night even though I was the last few nights of non-success, so I'm starting to feel those are non-factors)

We're all playing with shadows on the wall here. Until science gives us better and better pictures of our brains, it's all trial and error and knowing yourself. There is a sweet spot, for sure. The novelty thing would be helped if you made a really long list of things you want to do while lucid and complete it one by one. Each one getting increasingly more complex or novel. And honestly, streaks come and go, don't force yourself to LD every night. Once you become more confident and relaxed in your abilities, LDs will come with less and less effort because you are comfortable with your own progress. Even though we like to throw around our LD counts, it doesn't really matter. Trust your mind and relax into it.

Alot of beginners struggle with consistency, so don't worry about it, it probably could be improved by keeping a dream journal and attempting some techniques, they really do work ;).

Hello and welcome to the forum. I have been telling people for years that visualization and dreaming both occur in the secondary visual cortices in our occipital lobe. This is not a theory but a scientific fact. I suggest that this is info we can use to attain a LD. By observing hypnagogic imagery, and applying a real world definition (a green blob is a green cloud, a cross hatch matrix is a fence) you are maintaining some activity in your frontal lobe. Our frontal lobe is normal 'off' during dreaming. Lucid dreaming is a balancing act between conscious and unconscious awareness. I have been using visualization now for ten years and it works for me. However, if someone thinks drinking apple juice or eating Cheetos will help them attain LDs, then they will. This is simply because positivism is a fundamental key to a forced LD.Keep on visualizing ... it works for me and it looks like it works for you!