Antoia's DILD Workbook

[antoiaOLD]

Hello, I'm antoia. I'm 17, and I've been practicing lucid dreaming on and off since last September (around 10 months). It took me around a month to have my first LD, and I had some more sporadically after that. A lot of them have been DILDs resulting from FAs, and some (I think) were WILDs (though how I got them, I'm still not sure). They've all been short (<5 min) and not very vivid. Recall: I have okay recall (I remember at least one dream a night if I get enough sleep), though lately my recall's been decreasing in quality and increasing in quantity (I've been waking up naturally several times a night for the past few nights, but I only remember fragments, and I have trouble falling back asleep again). I've kept a dream journal for 2 years, before I was even interested in LDing, though I only started keeping daily entries last September. The quality of the entries is like a rollercoaster, but I've written down a decent amount of dreams. Reality checks: I've had an ambivalent history with RCs. On one hand, my ability to remember to do RCs is proportional to my motivation, which means I start out doing them enthusiastically for a few days before stopping altogether. On the other hand, I often catch FAs after RCing and becoming lucid, so... *shrug* Right now I RC when I remember to (nose-plug/looking at hands), but I try to do them critically and not mindlessly. I read a post somewhere about making LaBerge's action/awareness/form/context thing into one mental RC so I'm trying to incorporate that into daily life. Current status: Since I'm on summer break, I'm trying to fix my sleep schedule and get 9 hours every night (though insomnia is not helping). I've been trying out SSILD for the past few days (not sure if there's a correlation between that and the frequent awakenings). I had a dry spell that lasted from early May to last week, when I finally had a LD (short but fairly stable DILD). Since then I've had one more LD (again, short but stable DILD, though this time I had more control). I'm hoping to increase my lucid dream frequency somehow through DILD, because I've been practicing for a while and it would be nice to have some consistency for a change. I don't think I've been taking the whole dream signs thing seriously enough, and I'm not sure how to go about with DILD, so hopefully joining this course will get me on track Oh, almost forgot. The reason why I haven't really looked at dream signs and things is that many of my regular dreams either have no main character and I'm just watching things happen like a movie, or I'm this random person acting out a role, and I'm not sure what to do about that... On the other hand, during the school year a lot of people I know show up in my dreams, so maybe I can RC when I see a friend or something.

[fogelbise]

Hello, I'm antoia. I'm 17, and I've been practicing lucid dreaming on and off since last September (around 10 months). It took me around a month to have my first LD, and I had some more sporadically after that. A lot of them have been DILDs resulting from FAs... Welcome Antoia! It sounds like you are good at catching FAs! Are you RC'ing every time you think you have awoken? Recall: I have okay recall (I remember at least one dream a night if I get enough sleep), though lately my recall's been decreasing in quality and increasing in quantity (I've been waking up naturally several times a night for the past few nights, but I only remember fragments, and I have trouble falling back asleep again). What do you usually do when you wake up several times a night? It sounds like a few times lately you have been doing SSILD. That and any other WBTB method is usually best if the awakening is 4.5 hours or more after going to sleep. Reality checks: I've had an ambivalent history with RCs. On one hand, my ability to remember to do RCs is proportional to my motivation, which means I start out doing them enthusiastically for a few days before stopping altogether. On the other hand, I often catch FAs after RCing and becoming lucid, so... *shrug* Right now I RC when I remember to (nose-plug/looking at hands), but I try to do them critically and not mindlessly. I read a post somewhere about making LaBerge's action/awareness/form/context thing into one mental RC so I'm trying to incorporate that into daily life. There it is...yes, you are good at catching FAs, that is great! You are probably better at catching them more than me! I know that the action/awareness/form/context are ways of classifying dream signs but I am not sure what you mean my making them into one mental RC. To me that whole classification system is overly complicated. Have you read through your dream journals circling key words to see if certain things come up over and over? For instance: "on a trip/out of town" comes up for me a lot as well as "Police," "Dogs" and on and on. I will sometimes use a dream sign mantra to watch out for those items that evening when I start dreaming which mixes in prospective memory...but even better if you practice during the day. Current status: Since I'm on summer break, I'm trying to fix my sleep schedule and get 9 hours every night (though insomnia is not helping). I've been trying out SSILD for the past few days (not sure if there's a correlation between that and the frequent awakenings). SSILD can create too much wakefulness for some people. I find, however, that when I do have trouble getting back to sleep but do get back to sleep, my chances of LDing increase. I have found SSILD very helpful to having many DILDs. Oh, almost forgot. The reason why I haven't really looked at dream signs and things is that many of my regular dreams either have no main character and I'm just watching things happen like a movie, or I'm this random person acting out a role, and I'm not sure what to do about that... On the other hand, during the school year a lot of people I know show up in my dreams, so maybe I can RC when I see a friend or something. See my dream sign question above. I have gotten fairly good at catching dream signs, but it took a good deal of time and DJ reviewing, highlighting common dream signs...some of them general dream signs, not even specific. I get the best results when I am putting some focus on dream signs. Same thing with catching FAs, when I put my focus towards it, I catch more. Since you are good at catching FAs you might want to develop that further. RCing at every awakening no matter how sure you are that you are awake can yield more and more LDs!

[antoiaOLD]

Welcome Antoia! It sounds like you are good at catching FAs! Are you RC'ing every time you think you have awoken? Yup, I've been doing that almost every time I wake up (I slip sometimes). I usually RC every time I find myself in my bed/house (there have been some exceptions), but problem is, most of my dreams involve some kind of made-up place I've never been, or I'm not myself in my dream. What do you usually do when you wake up several times a night? It sounds like a few times lately you have been doing SSILD. That and any other WBTB method is usually best if the awakening is 4.5 hours or more after going to sleep. I only started doing SSILD recently, because the first time I read the tutorial I thought it was way too complicated, which turned me off. Right now I just do cycles of arbitrary length whenever I wake up (or try to, anyway. It's hard not to drift off). I feel like I haven't been doing WBTB the correct way. Normally people set alarms at some time before their REM cycle, get out of bed and stay up for some time, and then go back to sleep, right? Whenever I tried WBTB, I ended up not getting out of bed at all (though insomnia is a big factor... right now it's summer vacation so it doesn't matter as much, but when school rolls around, I don't want to wake up at 4 in the morning and end up lying in bed for two hours...). I'm probably going to experiment with that over the summer. Before SSILD, I didn't have a set routine. Sometimes it was mantras, other times (on the weekends) I'd try to WILD, and sometimes I'd just roll over and try to go back to sleep. I didn't have much time for WBTB, and because of school and procrastination I ended up getting on average 5-6 hours of sleep per night. I'd go to bed and zonk out until morning and hope to remember part of a dream. I know that the action/awareness/form/context are ways of classifying dream signs but I am not sure what you mean my making them into one mental RC. To me that whole classification system is overly complicated. Have you read through your dream journals circling key words to see if certain things come up over and over? Regarding the classification thing, I read that part of the book recently and agree that it's way too complicated. But a while ago I found this thing on reddit: Awareness - Do I "know" anything that I would not normally know? Often in dreams, we have some kind of knowledge or feeling that we normally would not. (This is the least concrete, but one that often triggers lucidity for me.) Action - Am I or anyone else doing anything that should not be possible? Feats of strength, defying physics, etc. Form - Is anything or anyone taking a different or impossible form? Is your childhood friend with you, but they haven't aged? Of course, check your fingers. Context - Am I somewhere or somewhen that is not possible? Ask how you got where you are. Trace your path in your mind. Go back several locations. I thought it was a good idea so I decided to go with it. I think for me, context and action are probably the most important, because I'm usually in some imaginary location in some other person's body. And I'm often flying or doing something strange like climbing through tunnels or throwing out dead babies. (Seriously, today I finally remembered a full dream in detail (due to mantras, maybe), and it had to be about a dead baby. It was gross and the me in the dream was mentally scarred for life.) Since you are good at catching FAs you might want to develop that further. RCing at every awakening no matter how sure you are that you are awake can yield more and more LDs! I wish I had more FAs. They don't pop up that often (at least, I don't think so, though how would I know for sure?), maybe because I usually don't wake up that often over the night. Since I seem to be doing that more often lately, I'll keep an eye out, though. Thanks for all the comments! I think I'll go through my dream journal and pick out some dream signs or themes and post them here when I'm done. Some signs I've noticed so far: 1. Friends/classmates/teachers (pop up most often over the school year, even people I don't really know) 2. Family (doing the strangest things, too, like climbing out tunnels or getting pregnant whyyyy) 3. Fictional characters (like Sherlock or the Doctor or occasionally Harry Potter, though I haven't seen them lately) To a lesser extent: - flying (I used to fly a lot in dreams so I guess that's why flying in LDs is pretty easy for me) - subways/trains (even in dreams, the NYC subway system sucks) I'm not sure how to use these dream signs though. I could RC whenever I talk to a friend, but it's summer and I rarely see anyone because we're all busy. Same for family, I guess. Haven't seen fictional characters in a while, maybe I should look around and ask myself "is anyone here a fictional character?*narrows eyes*" And RC whenever I see a train or get onto the platform etc. I feel like that hasn't been working lately, though... hmm. Also, I've decided to try DEILDing if this frequent awakenings thing keeps up. The hard part is getting myself to stay still and keep my eyes closed... Edit: I think I've been doing SSILD wrong... maybe I'm focusing too much on, well, focusing. I'll try concentrating less tonight and see what happens.

[fogelbise]

I feel like I haven't been doing WBTB the correct way. Normally people set alarms at some time before their REM cycle, get out of bed and stay up for some time, and then go back to sleep, right? Whenever I tried WBTB, I ended up not getting out of bed at all (though insomnia is a big factor... right now it's summer vacation so it doesn't matter as much, but when school rolls around, I don't want to wake up at 4 in the morning and end up lying in bed for two hours...). I'm probably going to experiment with that over the summer. Yes, a normal WBTB involves getting up and activating the mind a little which can be carried into the subsequent dream(s). Most people recommend reading or thinking about lucid dreaming (going on DV for example), reviewing their DJ or incubating a dream that they would like to have come up. In general you don't want to think about waking life concerns that may get your mind wandering or worrying which could keep you awake. However, if something with a strong emotional tie-in comes up anyway, it wouldn't be unusual to dream about it or a similar theme that very night. I could see using those situations to remind yourself to keep an eye out for a related dream sign that night. One personal example: I was checking out a social app during WBTB and saw that I missed a friend's baby's first birthday! I felt so bad during the WBTB that I missed it! I had a dream later that night that I was with that friend and explaining how bad I felt that I missed it. If I set that as a dream sign I would have been more likely to recognize that I was dreaming in that situation. Of course, if it seems like you are usually someone else you may have to look out for things more general but you have a good start for a dream sign list going. The more you recall and the more you review your journal, the more common signs will stand out. I have experimented with going through my whole list of dream signs during WBTB, but it seems too taxing. Sometimes the same dream sign will show up several nights during the same week or even several nights in a row. If I notice something come up 2 nights close together then that is likely a dream sign I will remind myself to look for over the next few nights. Basically, I usually choose a limited number of dream signs to remind myself about using a brief mantra. Remembering to RC when you see "X" during the day is not something that I have really worked on but a number of people feel that it is productive. You will likely find your own ways of doing things and that seems to be an important part of getting good at lucid dreaming. I think for me, context and action are probably the most important, because I'm usually in some imaginary location in some other person's body. And I'm often flying or doing something strange like climbing through tunnels or throwing out dead babies. (Seriously, today I finally remembered a full dream in detail (due to mantras, maybe), and it had to be about a dead baby. It was gross and the me in the dream was mentally scarred for life.) Although I have no experience with the way you are approaching it, I would encourage you to experiment with it to see if you find something workable that is not overly complicated. As for more the more common dream sign approach, do you remember dreaming about babies other times recently...or death? Some people say babies can signify something "new" in your life or experiences. I wish I had more FAs. They don't pop up that often (at least, I don't think so, though how would I know for sure?), maybe because I usually don't wake up that often over the night. Since I seem to be doing that more often lately, I'll keep an eye out, though. I think that they happen more often than we realize and perhaps we forget that the dream started with a false awakening since the experience of waking up/getting up is so mundane. Sometimes the earliest part of a dream I remember involves a bed or pillows but I don't remember waking up in that space. Just a theory. Thanks for all the comments! I think I'll go through my dream journal and pick out some dream signs or themes and post them here when I'm done. Some signs I've noticed so far: 1. Friends/classmates/teachers (pop up most often over the school year, even people I don't really know) 2. Family (doing the strangest things, too, like climbing out tunnels or getting pregnant whyyyy) 3. Fictional characters (like Sherlock or the Doctor or occasionally Harry Potter, though I haven't seen them lately) To a lesser extent: - flying (I used to fly a lot in dreams so I guess that's why flying in LDs is pretty easy for me) - subways/trains (even in dreams, the NYC subway system sucks) Yes, definitely keep adding to the list. This is a good start! I'm not sure how to use these dream signs though. I could RC whenever I talk to a friend, but it's summer and I rarely see anyone because we're all busy. Same for family, I guess. Haven't seen fictional characters in a while, maybe I should look around and ask myself "is anyone here a fictional character?*narrows eyes*" And RC whenever I see a train or get onto the platform etc. I feel like that hasn't been working lately, though... hmm. For dream signs that you are not likely to come across during the day, you could just focus on those in a mantra or mantras right before bed and/or during WBTB. You can also work on prospective memory for items that aren't dream signs just to exercise the prospective memory muscle. Also, I've decided to try DEILDing if this frequent awakenings thing keeps up. The hard part is getting myself to stay still and keep my eyes closed... Definitely a good tool to have in your arsenal. It can also be a pre-emptive strike to a potential false awakening. I only recently realized that a good number of my short lucids were not really over but I was going into a false awakening. If you immediately try to re-enter a dream at every awakening, you could actually still be dreaming and that would make the transition into the next dream lucidly all the easier. I am of the belief that many situations in which we think we have DEILD'ed are ones where we never actually woke up. Usually when we actually wake it will be at the end of a REM cycle, so not the ideal situation to quickly re-enter a dream as the next REM cycle may be a little wait or a long wait depending on how far into you night you are. But what if many of the little awakenings are FAs?..then you can "DEILD" a lot! So, I say try to go back in every time. If nothing happens, you can do a motionless RC and if you are awake you can decide then if you want to get up for a WBTB. Edit: I think I've been doing SSILD wrong... maybe I'm focusing too much on, well, focusing. I'll try concentrating less tonight and see what happens. Practice each cycle during the day when you can think clearer to get a better feel for doing it. It takes time to get into a rhythm and then you can do it more passively. I personally do it a little differently combining the 3 elements in concert with my breathing. If you like the advice or help here or anywhere on DV, don't forget to hit the like button at the bottom of a post.