Thread: HanZartaC's Workbook

Hello there!
My name is Hans. I am 16 years old and started to get into Lucid Dreaming on Wednesday.
I first learned about it a couple of years ago by my brother who had an LD without trying. Then I did some research, and I think I had an LD, I'm not sure. But anyway now I'm getting really interested and excited about it. I have studied and read and done research on the subject for a couple of days now. I do a noseplug every 5-10 minutes, or every time I enter a new room. I RC very frequently, however more rarely I really question reality. Once an hour I look around, pay attention to my environment, look at it, touch it, smell it and realize how it affects me and how I affect it. I do this and then RC, I truly question if it's real and believe it's a dream, and I ask where I was last? How did I get here? Where am I going next?. So I think my awareness is quite good.

Now there is one problem I do have. Dream Recall. I try to remember my dreams. On Wednesday, I remembered one dream which I wrote down. On Thursday I remembered two dreams. Friday I remembered no dreams, and neither on Saturday. I have been reading up on recall, and learned that when I wake up, I shouldn't move or open my eyes, and immediately try to remember my dream and write it down in my journal. I will try this tonight. I might also try to wake myself up between late cycles to remember my dreams.

Every night I have been attempting WILD several times. I have failed and not really gotten close. I now realize that I shouldn't jump straight onto the most difficult method of LD induction. So I will try to continue with DILD and MILD w/ WBTB. So if I have understood MILD correctly, when I perform WBTB, I repeat a mantra before I go to sleep and visualize a dream? I think my mantra would be something along the lines of: "I noseplug in my dreams". Then I visualize a dream and fall asleep? And I assume I would do this before I go to bed too and also WBTB?

Anyway I think what I need to focus on now primarily is improving my Dream Recall and to say mantras (I usually say: "I remember my dreams perfectly and lucid dream") more often in my daytime. I will also try the MILD technique paired with WBTB. I'll brush up on MILD and let you know tomorrow how it all went!
Thank you and sweet dreams!

Originally Posted by HanZartaC

Hello there!
My name is Hans. I am 16 years old and started to get into Lucid Dreaming on Wednesday.

Welcome HanZartaC! I think you will find that there are many nice people all around these forums so don't be shy to post in any of the forum threads that you find interesting. In here you can log your progress and/or post questions and I, or a teacher like myself, will attempt to check in frequently.

I do a noseplug every 5-10 minutes, or every time I enter a new room. I RC very frequently, however more rarely I really question reality. Once an hour I look around, pay attention to my environment, look at it, touch it, smell it and realize how it affects me and how I affect it. I do this and then RC, I truly question if it's real and believe it's a dream, and I ask where I was last? How did I get here? Where am I going next?. So I think my awareness is quite good.

It is obvious that you have been reading up! Nice! Your once an hour practice looks right on target though it can take some time to get the feeling for Sageous' RRC - which is what it sounds like you were describing in part of the above. The RC that you are doing every 10 minutes or so may be difficult to keep up, but if you can do it in the short term it is more likely to show up in your dreams sooner. Just watch out for the fact that the RC might show that you are awake during the dream because you are doing it so often and during those every 10 minute RCs you are probably not expecting anything but for it to show that you are awake. This is where it is also good to have several RCs...it only takes a few extra seconds, for example, to look at your hands and try a finger or thumb through your palm in addition to your nose plug.

Now there is one problem I do have. Dream Recall. I try to remember my dreams. On Wednesday, I remembered one dream which I wrote down. On Thursday I remembered two dreams. Friday I remembered no dreams, and neither on Saturday. I have been reading up on recall, and learned that when I wake up, I shouldn't move or open my eyes, and immediately try to remember my dream and write it down in my journal. I will try this tonight. I might also try to wake myself up between late cycles to remember my dreams.

Good plan! Post in here how it goes and if you still need some help with recall I can point you in a few directions such as writing your mantra in addition to only reciting it and I have another recall improvement technique if recall is not improving yet. Once you get it down and commit to keeping your DJ you can still have up and down days but you will definitely see an improvement from where you are at currently.

Every night I have been attempting WILD several times. I have failed and not really gotten close. I now realize that I shouldn't jump straight onto the most difficult method of LD induction. So I will try to continue with DILD and MILD w/ WBTB. So if I have understood MILD correctly, when I perform WBTB, I repeat a mantra before I go to sleep and visualize a dream? I think my mantra would be something along the lines of: "I noseplug in my dreams". Then I visualize a dream and fall asleep? And I assume I would do this before I go to bed too and also WBTB?

You seem to have a fairly good handle on things in the above quote. Yes, I would definitely not focus on WILDs until you have a dozen or more LDs unless you really want to. With MILD and DILD the mantras are useful and you probably will also want to imagine something like "when I see this" or "as soon as I do the nose plug I will also do a few other RCs and then I will remember what I wanted to do in my lucid dream." That would not be your mantra, that would just be something along the lines of what you can imagine during the day and as your are going to bed and/or during a WBTB. *It is also important to imagine the RC working at least in your once an hour sessions and think about how you will react. We recommend a controlled excitement...you will want to avoid getting overly excited when you first become lucid.

Anyway I think what I need to focus on now primarily is improving my Dream Recall and to say mantras (I usually say: "I remember my dreams perfectly and lucid dream") more often in my daytime. I will also try the MILD technique paired with WBTB. I'll brush up on MILD and let you know tomorrow how it all went!
Thank you and sweet dreams!

Definitely a good start. Yes, definitely let us know how it went.

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I can tell I'm going to learn and make friends and have fun here at DV!

Yes I will start doing more RC's and try to imagine it being a dream. And I have a question about the RRC's, I think I'm doing it right, but I'm not sure. I usually just look around me and examine the environment and ask myself how I got here, where was I last (all the way to waking up), and where I'm going next. Is that right? Is there anything else than that? I will try to do these more frequently and correctly. And I usually do them quite randomly, but frequently. Is there a way or "rule" to doing RC's? When should I do them? Is it whenever I see/do something in particular? Or just as often as I can? It's easy to forget to do them, which I don't think would be helpful towards DILD.

Okay so when I went to bed yesterday I listened to some theta waves isochronic tones to relax, then I repeated the mantra: "I noseplug in my dreams and realize that I'm dreaming" over and over, but it was easy to forget because I was relaxed and tired. Then I tried to visualize myself at the beach in vivid detail, but like the mantra it was easy to lose track because I was relaxed and tired. I think I need a simpler mantra for daytime use and nighttime. It wasn't that easy to fall asleep because I was visualizing and repeating the mantra. Am I supposed to visualize and repeat mantra, then stop and try to sleep, or repeat and visualize until I fall asleep?

Anyway, about two sleep cycles later I woke up naturally, which is a step in the right direction because I am a deep sleeper. I barely remembered a dream, only the setting and scene actually. It was a workplace, a building. Not very big, it was very modern architecture with white walls and a lot of glass and windows and light brown floor with spacious room. There were many rooms and stairs. It's hard to remember, but I'm pretty sure I was working there. I wrote it in my DJ and returned to sleep. About 5 hours later after I went to bed for the first time, I did the WBTB. I stayed up for about 5 minutes, I got a drink of water and went on DV to read about MILD. I then went to bed and listened to some beach waves, I tried to relax and repeat my mantra: "I noseplug in my dreams and realize that I'm dreaming" (a bit long, not sure) and then I visualized the beach again. I fell asleep easier this time then the first time trying to MILD. However I did not have a LD. I woke up later not remembering any dreams, but later throughout the day I remembered my dream, at least some of it. It was about my mom getting a phone call saying my grandmother had died, very unpleasant, which was a wake-up call to visit her more often

Originally Posted by fogelbise

Good plan! Post in here how it goes and if you still need some help with recall I can point you in a few directions such as writing your mantra in addition to only reciting it and I have another recall improvement technique if recall is not improving yet. Once you get it down and commit to keeping your DJ you can still have up and down days but you will definitely see an improvement from where you are at currently.

Yes, I could definitely use some pointers and advice for recall and mantras. I think I should reconsider my mantras and how to use them. Any help with mantras and recall techniques would be very appreciated! Oh and do you have any other tips or advice towards my DILD/MILD attempt?
Thank you

Originally Posted by HanZartaC

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I can tell I'm going to learn and make friends and have fun here at DV!

It is a great group of dreamers and you will fit right in!

Yes I will start doing more RC's and try to imagine it being a dream. And I have a question about the RRC's, I think I'm doing it right, but I'm not sure. I usually just look around me and examine the environment and ask myself how I got here, where was I last (all the way to waking up), and where I'm going next. Is that right? Is there anything else than that? I will try to do these more frequently and correctly. And I usually do them quite randomly, but frequently.

This sounds about right. The short answer from my perspective is to really STOP and look around in wonder. For any RRC specifics I would encourage you to do a little back and forth on one of Sageous' threads (the expert) that covers it. If so, you could post your question here: http://www.dreamviews.com/wild/12557...mentals-q.html which is really long but lots of good reads especially if you look for Sageous' posts. But a simple shorter rundown can be found here: http://www.dreamviews.com/wild/13181...prep-part.html which may be the one that you read. It is in the WILD section but applies to DILD awareness work as well (I am not recommending WILD at this point unless you are highly motivated to).

1.Is there a way or "rule" to doing RC's? When should I do them? 2.Is it whenever I see/do something in particular? 3.Or just as often as I can? It's easy to forget to do them, which I don't think would be helpful towards DILD.

(I added the numbers for ease answering) 1.Not so much about rules as a about a state of mind and pointers to keep in mind such as really imagining that you could be dreaming and then thinking about how you will react the moment that you become lucid (stop, look around, touch things and you can practice all these things if no one is around) Definitely check out this link and post some questions in there as well...good stuff: http://www.dreamviews.com/induction-...hecks-rcs.html 2.Depends on your focus but if you can do it both randomly approximately once an hour no matter what in addition to every time you pass through a door, into a different area, or other threshold that is great as well. For random alerts to remind me I use Awoken for Android. 3.The app I mentioned or similar app will help with that.

Okay so when I went to bed yesterday I listened to some theta waves isochronic tones to relax, then I repeated the mantra: "I noseplug in my dreams and realize that I'm dreaming" over and over, but it was easy to forget because I was relaxed and tired. Then I tried to visualize myself at the beach in vivid detail, but like the mantra it was easy to lose track because I was relaxed and tired. I think I need a simpler mantra for daytime use and nighttime. It wasn't that easy to fall asleep because I was visualizing and repeating the mantra. Am I supposed to visualize and repeat mantra, then stop and try to sleep, or repeat and visualize until I fall asleep?

For DILD yes, do the visualization and mantra perhaps sitting up and then lay down and go to sleep. Shifting to laying down may be enough to put your mind into "go to sleep" mode. As far as feeling too sleepy, perhaps practice during the day both the mantra and visualization. You can also simplify your mantra to something like "I RC and realize that I am dreaming."

Anyway, about two sleep cycles later I woke up naturally, which is a step in the right direction because I am a deep sleeper. I barely remembered a dream, only the setting and scene actually. It was a workplace, a building. Not very big, it was very modern architecture with white walls and a lot of glass and windows and light brown floor with spacious room. There were many rooms and stairs. It's hard to remember, but I'm pretty sure I was working there. I wrote it in my DJ and returned to sleep. About 5 hours later after I went to bed for the first time, I did the WBTB. I stayed up for about 5 minutes, I got a drink of water and went on DV to read about MILD. I then went to bed and listened to some beach waves, I tried to relax and repeat my mantra: "I noseplug in my dreams and realize that I'm dreaming" (a bit long, not sure) and then I visualized the beach again. I fell asleep easier this time then the first time trying to MILD. However I did not have a LD. I woke up later not remembering any dreams, but later throughout the day I remembered my dream, at least some of it. It was about my mom getting a phone call saying my grandmother had died, very unpleasant, which was a wake-up call to visit her more often

Good progress in here! If you had an LD already I would have been surprised but it may not be too much longer. But you should expect one, it helps to really expect one.

Yes, I could definitely use some pointers and advice for recall and mantras. I think I should reconsider my mantras and how to use them. Any help with mantras and recall techniques would be very appreciated! Oh and do you have any other tips or advice towards my DILD/MILD attempt?
Thank you

See above on mantras and keep them present tense like you are doing. On recall try handwriting a recall mantra 30 times per day...adding 10 more the next day if no improvement and 10 less if you do see nice improvement. Something like "I remember my dreams." Whew...you wore me out a little with lots of questions...of course it is also getting late here so hopefully not too many typos.

Originally Posted by fogelbise

Good progress in here! If you had an LD already I would have been surprised but it may not be too much longer. But you should expect one, it helps to really expect one.

Yeah I say to myself: "Okay, I didn't have an LD last night, but I know I will have one tonight!"

Originally Posted by fogelbise

See above on mantras and keep them present tense like you are doing. On recall try handwriting a recall mantra 30 times per day...adding 10 more the next day if no improvement and 10 less if you do see nice improvement. Something like "I remember my dreams." Whew...you wore me out a little with lots of questions...of course it is also getting late here so hopefully not too many typos.

Thank you so much for answering all of my questions! It was a handful yes, but now I know a lot more and will try it all out. So I think I know how to do RC's and RRC's correctly and I'll try to remind myself somehow, I think I'm going to try to do a big RRC every time I'm in a new environment, or if I'm in the same place for a while, every one or two hours or so.

And I will do some small RC's as often as I can. And I will try that mantra out and I will write it, thanks for the advice! I'm going to handwrite "I remember my dreams" 30 times, and I'm going to repeat to myself before bed "I RC and realize that I'm dreaming" which I think is a better mantra. I'll try doing it while sitting up so I don't drift off.

Anyway yesterday I didn't attempt a WBTB or MILD. To be honest, I think I slacked off a little yesterday, which I shouldn't have done. I had a lot to do. I tried to do RC's as often as i could, and RRC's as often as I could. I didn't really repeat mantra's or visualize either. I should have put more effort in, I guess I was just busy and didn't feel motivated, but that's why most fail, right? I just have to be consistent and put the effort in. Do you have any suggestions for motivation?

So yeah I went to sleep, and I hoped that I would wake up naturally again so I could record my dream, but I didn't. I suspect it's because I didn't follow my regular sleep schedule. And I think I read that it's important to go to bed and wake up at the same time, I will try that.
So I woke up later, and I remembered one dream, it was very short, but instead of only remembering the scene and setting, I actually remembered some of the plot too and what I was doing. But it was still very short. So I will try this out, and maybe attempt a MILD+WBTB. Do you think it's a good idea to try it out or not? Should I only focus on DILD and improving recall? Anyway, I'll repeat the mantra and visualize before I go to bed, in addition to doing it in daytime.
Thank you

Originally Posted by HanZartaC

Yeah I say to myself: "Okay, I didn't have an LD last night, but I know I will have one tonight!"

Great!

Anyway yesterday I didn't attempt a WBTB or MILD. To be honest, I think I slacked off a little yesterday, which I shouldn't have done. I had a lot to do. I tried to do RC's as often as i could, and RRC's as often as I could. I didn't really repeat mantra's or visualize either. I should have put more effort in, I guess I was just busy and didn't feel motivated, but that's why most fail, right? I just have to be consistent and put the effort in. Do you have any suggestions for motivation?

Go back and read some of your favorite dreams from your DJ. Even regular dreams can be very fun to relive through reading them. I say this often but when I do go and read some of mine it really surprises me how much of a boost it gives me. Also, a competition is good motivation, check this out, lower league you can still get rack up good points for recall and if you get lucid during the competition, how great would that be! Many beginners in there, don't be shy..it will probably start in several days but the host will let us know...Link: http://www.dreamviews.com/general-lu...read-16-a.html

So yeah I went to sleep, and I hoped that I would wake up naturally again so I could record my dream, but I didn't. I suspect it's because I didn't follow my regular sleep schedule. And I think I read that it's important to go to bed and wake up at the same time, I will try that.
So I woke up later, and I remembered one dream, it was very short, but instead of only remembering the scene and setting, I actually remembered some of the plot too and what I was doing.

Good, this is progress!

So I will try this out, and maybe attempt a MILD+WBTB. Do you think it's a good idea to try it out or not? Should I only focus on DILD and improving recall? Anyway, I'll repeat the mantra and visualize before I go to bed, in addition to doing it in daytime.
Thank you

Sure, they use a lot of the same components. What does your MILD consist of?

Okay I might sign up, and I will read my dreams! I also feel like my first lucid dream will keep motivating me too.

So anyway, yesterday I wrote "I remember my dreams" 44 times (just to be sure), and then I read it back to me 10 times!! (Just to be even more sure) I also tried to do the RC's as often as I could remember. When I went to bed, I sat up and repeated my mantra "I RC and realize I'm dreaming" for a couple of minutes, then I started to visualize a dream I imagined and imagined doing an RC and waking up in the dream (that's what my MILD consists of), then I went to bed. When I woke up I didn't remember any dreams, I tried to think back but I couldn't. So I thought that I would remember my dream(s) later throughout the day which happens to me sometimes. That didn't happen, so I don't remember any dreams from last night. But I guess there's up and down days?

So yeah I'll just keep working and hoping to see some improvement

Quick response before bed...yes, can have up and down days. Try writing the mantra a few more days and see if helps. The other tip I was going to mention is to recall your day' s various events and details as a day journal it can help dream recall. If you want to join competition, sign up by Thursday...it starts in a little over 24 hours.

Hi fogelbise!
I'm sorry I have not been writing for a while. I've been busy and I started losing interest. I experienced what many new dreamers experienced, "giving up". I didn't exactly give up, but I started losing interest and didn't do as many RC's or remembered dreams. But then guess what happened last night? I HAD MY FIRST LD!! So yeah I had a DILD last night and it was awesome! I was dreaming that I was at a mall with my family, it all seemed weird because I've never been there before, and the stores were weird and there were a lot of people from my school, so I nose plugged, I was already pretty sure I was dreaming though. So I nose plugged and I could breathe, the I looked at my hand and I had a large sixth finger! I started getting excited because it was so real, and the dream started fading. But then I started rubbing my hands and I got back in with clarity. I tried to fly through the halls, but I could only jump very high and long. Then I just did some random shit. I wish I remembered what I wanted to do, but I didn't know it was that hard to remember from real life. Do you have any ideas or tips on that?

I forgot to say that now that I reached my first goal, having an LD, that will really kick start my motivation to keep going and trying harder. It was a DILD by the way, but I guess you could tell from the story.

Heeeey, welcome to The Club! Congrats

Indeed, now that you know you can and how, more are on their way.

2 RCs, that's great. Looking at hands and counting fingers is my favorite one, because it's just so much fun to count more than 5 fingers, lol. It allways gets me laughing.

There is something very easy you can do to help you remember things you want to do in your lucid.

1. Write your goal into your dream journal
2. Daydream about it
3. Draw a picture of it

and the really weird one:

4. Practice it in waking life. During day, stand up in your room and pretend you just got lucid. Now go through the motions of your goal.

I practiced yelling commands and stabilizing. Close your windows, lol, and yell out a command "clarity now", "stabilize now"...

Touch your clothes, your feet, arms, the ground, smell the air...

Then let's say you want to throw fireballs - pretend you just made a fireball in your hand and throw it! It may sound funny, but it does work.

Also, raising your daytime awareness helps you carry more memory and awareness into your dream. Pay attention to details of your day as you go through it.

Good luck and happy dreams

Originally Posted by gab

Heeeey, welcome to The Club! Congrats

Indeed, now that you know you can and how, more are on their way.

2 RCs, that's great. Looking at hands and counting fingers is my favorite one, because it's just so much fun to count more than 5 fingers, lol. It allways gets me laughing.

There is something very easy you can do to help you remember things you want to do in your lucid.

1. Write your goal into your dream journal
2. Daydream about it
3. Draw a picture of it

and the really weird one:

4. Practice it in waking life. During day, stand up in your room and pretend you just got lucid. Now go through the motions of your goal.

I practiced yelling commands and stabilizing. Close your windows, lol, and yell out a command "clarity now", "stabilize now"...

Touch your clothes, your feet, arms, the ground, smell the air...

Then let's say you want to throw fireballs - pretend you just made a fireball in your hand and throw it! It may sound funny, but it does work.

Also, raising your daytime awareness helps you carry more memory and awareness into your dream. Pay attention to details of your day as you go through it.

Good luck and happy dreams

Thank you so much Gab! I will try it out!
And last week I had another LD! But it was kind of unclear and my lucidity was low, but last night I had my first BETTER LD. I was more lucid, and the dream was more stable and clear, and I had more control. I could fly and summoned a surfing board. But in all of my LD's, I don't have a lot of dream control, I can fly and summon, but I am still sort of following the dream story, I can't just do whatever I wanna do, I am following my dream memory instead of my waking life memory. I also am not 100% aware. For gods sake I was afraid of surfing because it might ruin the iPad I was holding in my hand. In dreams there are no consequences. So do you have any tips on increasing dream control, and lucidity? Thank you very much!

Originally Posted by HanZartaC

Hello there!
Every night I have been attempting WILD several times. I have failed and not really gotten close. I now realize that I shouldn't jump straight onto the most difficult method of LD induction. So I will try to continue with DILD and MILD w/ WBTB.

Hey, don't believe it is hard to have a wild, everyone in here says it is hard, but i think this isn't true. I had a few LDs and I can only remember to do a RC in one dream (And I did it after I questioned myself if I was dreaming, only to check out how it feels to plug your nose and been able to breath). To get a wild you got to relax and get sleepy, if you want to move, scratch or do whatever you like to get comfy you must do it. And after you have found your comfortable position try to stay in this position. Try to visualize your next dream, try to convince yourself you are going to get a wild or a LD. After some time (if you didn't loose your consciousness yet) you should feel your body tired and really heavy, at this moment i usually like to do some kind of RC (actually it isn't a RC). I try to rise my arm and then just let it fall in the mattress and then ask myself how it felt. You will realize if you are in SP or HH or whatever state you are in, after a few tries im sure you will get it. Also some times it helps me to set an alarm that isn't hard to turn off for 3 or 4 hours later.

Originally Posted by DeadDream

Hey, don't believe it is hard to have a wild, everyone in here says it is hard, but i think this isn't true. I had a few LDs and I can only remember to do a RC in one dream (And I did it after I questioned myself if I was dreaming, only to check out how it feels to plug your nose and been able to breath). To get a wild you got to relax and get sleepy, if you want to move, scratch or do whatever you like to get comfy you must do it. And after you have found your comfortable position try to stay in this position. Try to visualize your next dream, try to convince yourself you are going to get a wild or a LD. After some time (if you didn't loose your consciousness yet) you should feel your body tired and really heavy, at this moment i usually like to do some kind of RC (actually it isn't a RC). I try to rise my arm and then just let it fall in the mattress and then ask myself how it felt. You will realize if you are in SP or HH or whatever state you are in, after a few tries im sure you will get it. Also some times it helps me to set an alarm that isn't hard to turn off for 3 or 4 hours later.

Thank you, you have inspired me to try WILD again. I will try it later, right now I'm just focusing on having lucids and increasing dream control. But thank you for the tips and explanation of WILD. I appreciate it!

Originally Posted by HanZartaC

Thank you, you have inspired me to try WILD again. I will try it later, right now I'm just focusing on having lucids and increasing dream control. But thank you for the tips and explanation of WILD. I appreciate it!

I think that this is a good plan. I apologize for not responding directly earlier than now but I saw that gab had answered. I hope all is going well. Let me know if you have any questions. In any paths that you take, I recommend that you customize it to you.

Originally Posted by fogelbise

I think that this is a good plan. I apologize for not responding directly earlier than now but I saw that gab had answered. I hope all is going well. Let me know if you have any questions. In any paths that you take, I recommend that you customize it to you.

Tank you very much, and don't worry about it. Oh and Happy New Year! I hope you have a great 2014 with many possibilities, and thank you for helping me on my lucid journey to my inner self, I wouldn't have had my 3LD's without you. And regards to post #12, do you have any tips on increasing dream control, lucidity, stability, and clarity?

Again, thank you for your help.

I am guessing that you need a combination of daytime work and dream time tactics. In order to remember to do the dream time tactics, you need to put in the daytime work. I agree with gab's suggestion to practice during the day. The simplest step is one of the most important ones: stop, really stop and wonder various times during the day...the focus here will take some time and introspection to get down but you can start by simply asking yourself how you got to the room you were in or what you were doing 15 minutes before. Pretend "hey wait the last thing I remember I was laying in bed...I'm dreaming!" Then practice how you will proceed during your next LD. Gab's suggestions here are also great.. "Touch your clothes, your feet, arms, the ground, smell the air..." I also like focusing in on one item in the dreamworld and closely examining it. Whatever you do don't worry too much about stability or the other items just enjoy and do your best to remember your plans to take control.

Edit: I wanted to add that you can also remind yourself as you go "I am dreaming" while rubbing your hands together (or touching items). You can practice this as well.

WOW!

Hello Fogelbise! I regret leaving without any regards or goodbyes. I want to apologize and I also want to explain why I left. Quite simply, I lost motivation. I started slacking off and after New Year's Eve, I couldn't remember any dreams anymore. Three weeks before that, I had three lucid dreams in three weeks. So I lost motivation when I didn't have a fourth lucid dream in the fourth week. I wanted to force myself to stay motivated, however that was worse than anything. I then continued my waking life, while trying to get lucid dreams from time to time, with little effort. Now however, I decided to go on Dreamviews for old time's sake, and I read some stories. Now I remember what fun it was to lucid dream and have those amazing, vivid experiences. My motivation and inspiration have jumped through the lucid roof! I hope that I can return to Dreamviews as if nothing happened. I also hope you would accept me as your student again and being willing to share your knowledge with me. I am very happy to have returned to Dreamviews. I will start trying to lucid dreams.

Another reason why I have gotten my motivation and inspiration back is because I have remembered a lot of dreams with detailed lately, so I'm going to dust of my old dream journal, start practicing the techniques, and also re-learn some of them.

Thank you, and I hope you've had a great year so far!

Originally Posted by HanZartaC

I also hope you would accept me as your student again and being willing to share your knowledge with me.

Absolutely ...Welcome back! Let me know how I can help. For me, I find motivation in reading my past dream journals...even non lucid dream journals can be motivating, reading interesting dreams you might have.

Originally Posted by fogelbise

Absolutely ...Welcome back! Let me know how I can help. For me, I find motivation in reading my past dream journals...even non lucid dream journals can be motivating, reading interesting dreams you might have.

Great! That was good news.
So I read through my dream journal and it was so much fun. I chuckled and reminisced about my dream past. It did increase my motivation. I didn't have any results last night, though, which I didn't expect anyway because my sleep pattern has been bad. I slept six hours, which isn't enough. This brings me to my next question. How long should I sleep? I wake up at 6AM every weekday. And should I start waking up at the same time everyday and maintain the same sleep schedule?

Also, I have been motivated to try a WILD soon. Is it too soon? And I am also confused as to when I need to perform the WBTB. Do I wake up before my next REM period? And how do I know when that is?

Anyways, I'm gonna continue with my RCs and DJs and see where it gets me. I have also been wanting to try meditation. Do you think it will help? Thank you!

Originally Posted by HanZartaC

I slept six hours, which isn't enough. This brings me to my next question. How long should I sleep? I wake up at 6AM every weekday. And should I start waking up at the same time everyday and maintain the same sleep schedule?

Everyone is different, but I would think that 8 hours would be better for lucid dreaming unless you are one of those people who function better on a little less sleep. Have you ever slept about 8 hours a day on a regular basis? A regular schedule is supposed to be better, but I cheat on the weekends and sleep longer myself.

Also, I have been motivated to try a WILD soon. Is it too soon? And I am also confused as to when I need to perform the WBTB. Do I wake up before my next REM period? And how do I know when that is?

In general it is more advanced, but it doesn't hurt to try. Have you seen this simple procedure that if it doesn't turn into a WILD could lead you to a DILD later? > http://www.dreamviews.com/attaining-...nterested.html

Anyways, I'm gonna continue with my RCs and DJs and see where it gets me. I have also been wanting to try meditation. Do you think it will help? Thank you!

I feel that meditation can help you control thoughts coming into your head which can be useful for getting back to sleep during WBTB and WILD attempts. I also hear that it has many other benefits, but I don't have a lot of experience with meditation though.

Okay so some progress have been made. Yesterday I went to bed, I tried to relax while listening to theta waves. I used a technique similar to the one you mentioned. I did the same thing, except I relaxed entire body parts instead of points. It worked well for me and I fell asleep quickly. So that's good.

Moving on to the WBTB. Oh boy...
I woke up ~6 and a half hours later feeling aware and awake. I stayed awake for 8 minutes precisely before going back to bed. Now here's the problem: I got comfy and relaxed, but I could not sleep. I stayed awake for quite some time. Even when I gave up on the WILD I couldn't sleep. I slept until maybe half an hour before I needed to wake up. So I think the timing was wrong, and I should probably try the 61 point technique instead of my own one.

Anyway, when I woke up, after a while, I remembered something. A dream fragment. Not any dream fragment, a more vivid and more detailed one than the one from the night before. My dream recall is improving even more! Also my phone was involved, again. Could it be a dreamsign?

~3PM, deprived of REM sleep with a slight headache, I decided to take a nap. I already posted this at another thread that focuses on WILD, so I don't think I'll include it. But I got farther than I've ever gotten, so even more progress have been made. I'm gonna try again tonight. And I'll let you know of anything happens.

Just a side note. I know this is a DILD class, so I will try to avoid getting sidetracked with WILDs unless it concerns DILD. I will try to only post dream recall and DILD progress and whatnot. However I will still attempt WILDs, they fascinate me and it's a skill I want to learn. That's all I wanted to say!

Sleeplessness is no fun. That is why I suggested to lean towards the sleepy side of the balancing act and nights you can sleep in.

Also my phone was involved, again. Could it be a dreamsign?

Perhaps! They tend to look different or do strange things.

Okay, so I forgot to write yesterday, so I'll do it now.

Friday night:
It took me a while to fall asleep, probably because I wasn't following my sleep schedule. However, five hours later for my WBTB I woke up naturally! This is a step in the right direction considering I'm a heavy/deep sleeper. Nothing really else happened, I forgot to do the dream recall technique friday night and yesterday, but I will do it tonight. I didn't remember any dreams, but I think I remember some images...

Saturday Night:
April 27th was the date, the date where I got back into lucid dreaming! I'm back baby! I had my fourth LD last night!. But from the beginning...
I fell asleep quite quickly. Six hours later I was woken up by the alarm. Note to self: Never EVER do six hours for a WBTB because I am too awake at that time. So I had a hard time sleeping, but I tried to WILD anyway. I got comfortable, tried to relax, listened to theta waves and beach waves, and eventually fell asleep. I was trying to WILD, but I fell asleep. I wish I stayed with WILD because the dream was right around the corner. Anyway I fell asleep and entered the dream without lucidity. (I'm just gonna get to the point in the dream). I was in a house, more and more people came. It was a family vacation. We went out and I noticed I wasn't wearing a shirt, and I realized I was dreaming! It was a weird trigger, but I think I did an RC too though. It felt really real, and I was even convinced by my cousin that it wasn't a dream. But then I realized that it in fact was a dream! Oh and when my dad tripped, he started hovering over the ground, so it was obviously a dream. I started floating a little bit, and the dream ended abruptly because I got a little...*ahem*...excited, if you know what I mean...
This has been the best lucid dream I have ever had. My dream control has been improving, though my dream self-control has not . I was able to summon simple objects and float. So yeah! I am really happy about this and I think that I am progressing. This has really motivated me to keep getting better.

Oh and I also remembered a non-lucid dream. Whew! Two vivid dreams in a row? I am very happy about this. And in this NLD, I also wasn't wearing a shirt. I'm weirded out, I have no idea why I wouldn't wear shirts in my dreams. I don't know, maybe another dream sign? Most lucid dreamers would ask their subconsciousness deep questions about themselves, next time I'm asking why the hell I'm not wearing a shirt!

So yeah now I just want to continue practicing getting LDs. I also want to practice my dream control, instead of starting with a handful of roofies and a hot girl, which ended in waking up. Lol
...I really have no shame.

EDIT:

I just wanted to add that in the lucid dream, I felt like my senses were amplified. It was the most real lucid I've ever had, with clarity and control. I still need to work on control though. Funny, I didn't have to stabilize the dream for once, when I got lucid, the dream didn't change or start to fade. Have you ever felt like your senses were heightened in a dream?

Okay another progress report. It's gonna be thin.
So no progress has been made, rather the opposite. No dreams remembered and no lucid dreams. I tried a WBTB with a little prospective memory (Just saying "It's critical that I remember when I'm dreaming" and "It's critical that I remember to remember my dreams" once). Then I tried SSILD, but I'm not sure if I did it right. I don't think I focused enough, or long enough on the senses. However I am motivated to try another WILD tonight. I'm not giving up! My last lucid dream really spiked my motivation. I am going to try counting as an anchor, I will try counting to 20, then space off a little, then count to 20 again. I got this from one of Sivason's posts. Do you think that will work? However I don't want to get sidetracked off WILDs and SSILDs considering it's a DILD class. Though I am motivated to try different techniques. I am going to continue with RRC/RCs and writing in my dream journal. I will also try some more in-depth prospective memory during my WBTB, and continue to experiment with my WILD technique. I think I'll revisit SSILD at some point during this week too. I'll let you know how it all went tomorrow.

EDIT:

I tried the Dream Recall technique, but it didn't prove useful to me. I will try it again tonight. Did you say you had some tweaks to it? Do you have any other advice on dream recall? And do you recommend waking up after every dream (with an alarm, I'm a deep sleeper) to try to remember my dream? And also, do you have any ideas/advice on my "plan" above?

Congrats HanZartaC on what sounded like a very nice lucid dream!!

I'm weirded out, I have no idea why I wouldn't wear shirts in my dreams. I don't know, maybe another dream sign?

Missing clothes is a common dream theme/sign. You could definitely use it as a dream sign if you don't normally walk around shirtless in a particular scenario.

Have you ever felt like your senses were heightened in a dream?

Absolutely! You may also notice heightened senses in waking life.

Did you say you had some tweaks to it?

Only if you are remembering so much that you find it tiring. Is that the case?

Do you have any other advice on dream recall?

Recite a mantra before bed that when you feel yourself back in bed (waking up) that you will lay still, keeping your eyes closed. When you wake you will ask yourself "What was I just dreaming?"

And do you recommend waking up after every dream (with an alarm, I'm a deep sleeper) to try to remember my dream?

Not after every dream by alarm. Drink a lot of water before bed which will wake you up more gently. Resist the urge to jump up straight to the bathroom and use the mantra/plan above when you do wake needing to go to the bathroom.

And also, do you have any ideas/advice on my "plan" above?

Which part?

Again, congrats on your LD!! Ride that exhilaration to continue your progress! To further success!