Breaking a long dry spell ?

[Goldenspark]

I've now had a dry spell that lasted over 3 months , partly self - induced because I thought I'd take a break because I was trying too hard. I stopped doing my DJ, and slowly my recall worsened to the point that I only had snippets each night. I used to recall 2 or 3 dreams a night before that . I've just started my DJ again but want to get the basics down. I maybe need to try something different? Already after only a few days of re-starting my DJ my recall has improved. Anyway, any encouragement is very welcome. what advice would you give to me trying to get back into it? I've had over 30 LD's, but only 2 decent long ones. T IA

[ParanoidLlama]

I'd recommend MILD. It's a really good long-term method which will aid you gradually. Besides that, aren't knowledge about skills and techniques that worked well for you before stored in your subconscious? Maybe in your next lucid dream or successful WILD you could ask your subconscious about that. Would that work? :S

[Sensei]

I would check out this thread http://www.dreamviews.com/dreamviews...e-told-me.html It talks about what you need to do to get a good leg up on LDing and What to expect at certain times. It is pretty normal for people to quit lding and try to come back a couple months later. The good news is that it is a forgiving game to play because you can get back into lding with a passion knowing that you won't feel like it in a few months and be prepared for it.

[ThreeCat]

Hi, Goldenspark. I would suggest continuing the dream journal, keeping a regular sleep schedule, and practicing WBTB when it's feasible. Be consistent with your practice and sleep schedule for a month or so. Celebrate the successes and resolve to learn from any setbacks. I would also really focus on your goals for the dream state--what do you want to do once you're lucid? Let us know how it goes!

[Goldenspark]

Thanks guys! I listened to your audio Sensei ; Very interesting , although I was slightly surprised at your emphasis on the number of LD s - quality not quantity and all that ... but I suppose when you have had 850 + you get quality as well. I managed to get lucid OK, but most of my 30 + LDs only Iasted a few seconds , and for all my attempts at stabilising I could not seem to stay in. I will have a go at MILD - it's not a technique that I really had a proper go at . I mostly did DEILD and WBTB /WILD. I'll report how I get on .

[Sensei]

You can't get quality without practice. Practice is quantity quantity quantity quantity. Quality without any quantity = zero. It needs to be a balance of practice of quality and quantity, but I definitely lean towards quantity more. When I am lucid every night it is 100 times easier to have a quality lucid dream.

[Goldenspark]

One thing that I have worked out is that the times I have got lucid naturally were when something really odd occurred in my dream, but that in most of my dreams nothing really odd tends to happen. It's like my dreams are so like real life I don't notice . I did once decide to to the nose-pinch RC Which made me lucid, but that was a one off. I'm going to concentrate on basic MILD and see how I go.

[FryingMan]

One thing I think extremely helpful to breaking dry spells is to shake up your routine. Travel, go to places you've never been before, even around town. Especially wacky little shops with wild decorations and crazy shop keepers. Interact with people you don't know (crazy (or non-crazy) shop keepers are a great way to do this because it's their job to talk to you! ). To me, "taking a break" means going a little bit easier (*not* eliminating it!) on the daytime awareness work and skipping WBTBs. Never take breaks from dream recall, that's the bedrock of LDing practice. Always reach for recall every single time you find yourself awake. As you drift off to sleep, at least do some quick affirmations ("it would sure be great to lucid dream tonight!"). I have a long list of things to consider about recall in my "recall tips" linked at the top of my signature, have a look, you might find something that resonates with you to boost your recall back. Nothing builds recall back quickly like noticing multiple wakings throughout the night and recalling dreams at each one.

[Patjunfa]

Similar to what frying man said about shaking up routine, sleeping in a different room, or doing a Wbtb and making the effort to go outside in the wee hours, maybe sleep on the couch...some part of you knows something is different... Sensi- with quantity and LD count, do you count even the brief flashes of lucidity that go no where?

[Sensei]

About what fryingman said. Sleeping in a different place seems to up awareness. I think it is a hunting instinct of being more aware. You wake up at the slightest sound and you remember your surroundings really well (I usually have FAs when I am in new places. I count them in competitions and all and counted them when I was at 100 LDs or less, but I rarely have them like that anymore. I would probably have about 100 more LDs if I did count them. It does get a little harder to count LDs when you get relaxed in LDs. There is no longer a "OMG! I can't believe I am dreaming!!!!" Moment. Sometimes I will think back on a dream and not even remember the moment I became lucid because compared to the rest of the stuff I did while lucid I forget. When recounting these dreams I usually have to turn to some meditation. Lol.

[Goldenspark]

Thanks for those suggestions. I've now been DJ 'ing for over a week and Iast night I remembered four good dreams, two of them vivid with one of those having a good dose of nudity just to add some spice ! Still not lucid, but I'm continuing to RC, mantra and WBTB, so hopefully that will come. I'm sure that the help and inspiration on here also really helps.

[Sensei]

http://www.dreamviews.com/dreamviews...ng-sensei.html Here is some more podcasts if you liked that one. It is recommended that you listen to one a day!

[Patjunfa]

What's with dry spells anyway? What causes them? Any theorys? I mean, when you are putting consistent effort and practices in and for some reasons weeks go by and no LD...some things compound the effect probably, such as diminished confidence and expectation from not lucid dreaming, but sometimes on a dry spell, I could double up efforts and really expect to LD but still nothing...

[Sensei]

As much as you want to "expect" a ld, it is near impossible to change what you actually expect. Because your experience changes your expectations. So for anyone that just started lding in the last couple years their experience is gonna be "not lucid dreams". I think that you can't make yourself ld, but you can significantly raise the odds. When the odds go against you three or four nights in a row when you are doing everything to ld, I think it hits your confidence. I don't think that confidence and "expectation" can make you ld, but I think that pessimism and negative expectations can effect you.

[ThreeCat]

I think that dry spells can often be a result of becoming too comfortable with our abilities or our rate of LDs. I know that when I haven't had a lucid dream in a while, I train a lot harder, and put more focus into the daily practices. I might try a real (not "micro") WBTB, or practice MILD several times during the night. Eventually, lucidity hits, and it becomes easier to make that happen again--partly because of what Sensei mentioned: once you've had a few lucid dreams in a row, or had a really great week of lucid dreaming, it becomes easier to expect lucid dreams to occur. A positive mindset is super important in this practice. That rate of training and motivation can't always be at peak levels, though; eventually, something distracts us and takes some of our mental focus away from lucid dreaming. We can maximize our interest in lucid dreaming, though, and continue to reinvigorate our practice in different ways. We might not always be at peak, but we can work to make our valley experience pretty sweet, too.

[Goldenspark]

I managed to have a brief lucid a few nights ago, but it was a bit weird. I just spontaneously said to myself, " I must be dreaming!" (because of something unusual in my dream), but almost immediately it turned back into a non-lucid that I couldn't remember the next morning. I get the idea about one LD helping to trigger more, so I hope that will come. I have noticed that even one small glass of red wine in the evening seems to have a bad effect on my recall :-(