Thread: Broth's Workbook

Originally Posted by broth

Hi all,

After another several year pause, I've returned (again)! Many more life changes have happened, but I always seem to find my way back to Lucid Dreaming and exploration of consciousness. I wanted to establish some form of routine before posting here again, and so I've been practicing for the last ~10 days.

Welcome back! Life indeed happens, as I've experienced myself poignantly over the last 6 years of on-again off-again LD practice, after life threw me a series of serious curveballs. I believe Fogelbise is still around, it's just that as you note there's been so little traffic on DV as of late that the workbooks have been mostly idle.

I'm glad my Unified Theory of Lucid Dreaming struck a chord with you! It still seems to me to be the key for fostering more and stronger lucidity, in both dreaming and waking states.

Every time I return to the practice from a lapse, I always wish I'd stuck with it, at least in some way, shape, or form. One big reason for the breaks may be burnout -- so use that enthusiasm to help drive your intent and your practice, but perhaps try to find that balance (the "B" word again!) between practice and non-practice activities.

I think probably the best long-term results come with settling in to a practice that integrates well with waking life. Determining what that is takes experimentation, research, and effort, but it's worth it!

Just this morning I tried a Raduga "The Phase" style DEILD attempt during a late morning waking, that led to a fairly vivid non-lucid where I did at the end start talking/thinking about dreaming and even did a nose pinch RC (which failed because I kept trying to pinch tighter and tighter to stop the air flowing in order to "prove I was awake!" Oops!). I've never done much with DEILD. But I've always believed that the most successful long-term LDers make use of all methods, and create a kind of "ritual" that they perform on many/most/every waking. Something like:

+ notice waking, remain still
+ immediately try to DEILD (1-2 minutes, say)
+ recall dreams
+ WILD/MILD
+ fall asleep

Best of luck, and remember that it can take a while for your mind to get back into mindful/lucid/dreaming mindset.

Have fun and enjoy the journey!

Hi FryingMan, good to hear from you! I read the last few posts in your workbook - I'm currently going through a situation with an immediate family member being re-admitted to the hospital for a serious disease, and I understand that it impacts priorities, stress levels, and everything else in life. I hope you're doing well.

I agree with you in terms of wishing I'd stuck with lucid dreaming practice, and with needing to find the appropriate balance. A routine that can be followed even during periods of transition and change. I'm hoping that following your unified theory, some prospective memory exercises, then DEILD/MILD/SSILD after natural awakenings will be sustainable for me, but I'm open to modifying it if I find that some part of the process is causing me to lose consistency.

If you were nose-pinching in the dream, and thinking about dreaming, then I'm sure a lucid is not far behind!
I would really love to become proficient with DEILD, since I've had a few experiences with it through the use of an auto-snooze alarm. It requires very little sleep loss, the transition is fast and relatively easy, and you enter the dream with self-awareness mostly in-tact. That said, without awakening from a lucid dream, it's tough to catch the awakening early enough.

Good luck to you as well!

Asleep: 12:00
Awake: 8:15
Natural Awakenings: 3
NLD: 3
Lucid: 0

I noticed at least 3 natural awakenings, including 1-2 caused by my girlfriend waking up early for work. I didn't perform MILD for fear of waking up too significantly and not being able to get back to sleep. Being a light sleeper, I need to refine my routine to work well when sleeping next to someone. I think trying to catch DEILDs or, if that doesn't happen, then performing SSILD quickly and letting myself fall asleep without delay are potential options for these nights.
I also try to pay attention/reflect during the awakenings, without causing myself to "wake-up" too much.
In any case, I had vivid and fairly long dreams last night and can remember a few weird moments that occurred. I'm very happy that my recall seems to be improving, and the dreams seem to be more detailed and incorporate more senses/awareness.

Asleep: 12:50
Awake: 8:20
Natural Awakenings: 3+
NLD: 3+ (fragmented)
Lucid: 0 (Woke up immediately following nose-plug RC, see notes)

I woke up at least 3 times throughout the night, and remember several NLDs, some fragmented and others a bit longer.
At one point, I had a FA and looked over at my dream journal and saw that I had made no entries, and I thought about the fact that I hadn't woken up much throughout the night and had low recall. As it turns out, this FA happened relatively early in the night. I then performed a nose-plug RC and felt a little air pass. I thought for sure I was awake (sound familiar, FryingMan?) and tried again 2-3 times. Suddenly, the "dream feeling" washed over me and I realized it was a dream, and then I woke up immediately! On going back to sleep, I again had the sensation of paralysis a few times which caused me to try to move my body, but I'm not sure if this paralysis occurred within another false awakening or if I had truly woken up and was in the process of falling asleep. I do remember trying to stay calm and focus on the images rather than the physical sensation of paralysis, but at some point I fell asleep (or the FA ended).

I then went on to have a few more NLDs and natural awakenings, in which I noticed elements from my waking life of the past few days. However, I didn't recognize these elements as odd within the dream.

2 things that I think I can improve moving forward. First, as FryingMan discusses in his unified theory, I need to continue the practice of paying attention and reflecting throughout the night, especially when following natural awakenings. Second, I haven't been performing full MILD and/or SSILD inductions during the awakenings. I'm not sure if it's due to being too tired, or from fear of insomnia, but I've been just barely setting intention (and even that's being generous) and then falling asleep. Next time, I'll make an effort to more clearly set my intention and perform the induction.

I'd count that as a lucid -- you were in a dream, did an RC (even if a not entirely clear one, and yes, all too familiar!), realized you were dreaming, then woke up.
As for intention and insomnia, try adding in juuuuust a liiiiitle bit more intention, slightly stronger, slightly longer, before allowing yourself to fall asleep. IMO, you definitely want to (usually) err on the side of falling asleep rather than risk insomnia and loose dream time.

Yeah I guess it could be seen as a very short lucid. Either I woke up from excitement, or I became lucid during the transition to the waking state as my consciousness moved out of sleep.
And that's good advice with regard to always ensuring I can fall asleep, and just extending the inductions only insofar as it won't (shouldn't) affect my ability to fall back asleep.


Asleep: 12:30
Awake: 8:20
Natural Awakenings: 1
NLD: 0 (fragments)
Lucid: 0

Girlfriend slept over. Woke up once during the night, but went back to sleep quickly. I remember having some dreams, but only remember very fleeting emotions/images. I need to focus on my intention/expectation before falling asleep, and not just during nightly awakenings.

Asleep: 2:00
Awake: 10:30
Natural Awakenings: Don't know the exact number, but several
NLD: 2
Lucid: 0

Went out and drank some good whisky last night. Went to sleep late and woke up late. I had a very vivid and enjoyable dream, and remember a decent fragment of a second dream. However, I didn't practice any inductions during any of my natural awakenings throughout the morning. Nevertheless, I continued with day practice as well as thinking of lucid dreaming, and I know it's one day closer to consistent lucid dreams!

Asleep: 1:00
Awake: 9:00
Natural Awakenings: 2+
NLD: 1 + 1-2 fragments
Lucid: 0

When I woke up naturally for the 2nd time during the night, I remembered a dream but decided not to write it down because I was too tired. On waking up in the morning, I had that sensation of having dreamed and felt certain emotions, but I couldn't remember the dreams. After laying in bed searching for 10 minutes, I finally recalled a a decent part of one dream and one or two fragments from other dreams. I didn't perform any induction methods during the natural awakenings. I definitely need to push myself more during the awakenings. That said, my day practice is consistent which is a good sign. On top of that, in one of the fragments from last night I remember being outside with someone, and being under the impression that we were given a pill/medication that made us forget what happened previously or how we arrived at the area. I think I recognized the oddity of having appear in a location "from no where" (a dream forming) but I came up with a story to explain it away rather than recognizing it as a dream.

Asleep: 12:45
Awake: 8:15
Natural Awakenings: 3
NLD: 2 decently long and vivid dream scenes + 2 fragments
FA: 2 back-to-back FAs which led to LD
Lucid: 1

I woke up at what felt like a relatively early time in the night. I remembered a vivid dream scene as well as a fragment, and decided to write down notes so that I wouldn't forget by the morning. I went back to sleep and was woken abruptly by my girlfriend's alarm at 7:00. I eventually fell back asleep and had 2 FAs which led to an LD. In the first FA, I was writing my dream journal on a silver "dry-erase" board. I thought to myself how practical it was for journaling. I then "woke up", walked around a bit, and realized I had just been having an FA because there was no longer a dry-erase board on the night stand. Instead there was just my usual journal. I decided to lay down in bed and write down the FA. As I was laying there, I suddenly realized that I was still dreaming, and felt the "dream feeling" permeate the scene, although I'm not sure what (if anything) caused that initial moment of lucidity/self-awareness. But I felt excited/anxious and the dream seemed unstable. I stayed there for a few seconds, and decided to become aware of the sensation of gravity. I didn't really feel the weight of my body pushing into the bed as I lay there. After a few seconds, I decided to get up out of the bed, but I almost immediately woke up for real. Next time I will try to remember to DEILD. When I woke up for good to my alarm, I remembered another vivid dream scene and an additional fragment.

Asleep: 12:30
Awake: 8:15
Natural Awakenings: 2
NLD: 3 decently long and quite vivid dreams + 1 fragment
FA: 0
Lucid: 0

My dreams tonight were quite vivid, present, and long. In one dream, I discussed lucid dreaming and even lay down for a WILD-style entry (on a base on the moon). I experienced a transition to "sleep" (sounds, images, sensation of floating, etc.) but tried to move my body too early and "woke back up". I then left the building and spoke about the experience with a friend, who was holding a book on LDing. Clearly, the subject is on my mind. Earlier, I had felt the sensation of floating as I walked on the moon. In waking life, I've been using the sensation of gravity as an RC and it seems to be making its way into my dreams.
With regard to day (and night) practice, I continue to pay attention and reflect on my experience throughout the day, recalling sometimes where I've come from. At night, I set the intention to recognize my natural awakenings and during these awakenings I pay attention and set an intention to recognize the dream state. I'm feeling satisfied with the progress so far.

On a couple occasions I dreamed about doing a WILD and then got lucid! Easiest "WILD" I've ever done .
And congrats on the lucid!

I bet! Did you become lucid once the Wild "transition" occurred successfully? And then did you realize that the induction happened within a dream?
And thanks!

Asleep: 2:30
Awake: 7:50
Natural Awakenings: 1
NLD: 1 recurring dream
FA: 0
Lucid: 0

On a work trip and my flight was delayed, so I got into town late. I continued with consistent day practice, but I slept deeply and only remembered fragments of a reoccurring dream.

Asleep: 12:30
Awake: 7:45
Natural Awakenings: 1
NLD: 1 + 1 fragment
FA: 0
Lucid: 0

Still on work trip until Friday. Went out with co-workers last night and drank a lot of whiskey. Slept deeply, noticed one natural awakening and promptly fell back asleep. I continued with day practice, but did not practice any inductions. As long as I continue with consistent practice during this trip, I'll be happy regardless of the outcome.

Asleep: 2:15
Awake: 9:45
Natural Awakenings: 4
NLD: 3 + 1 fragment
FA: 0
Lucid: 0

Just got back from my work trip. Obviously my sleep schedule has been messed up for a few days due to the travel and hectic schedule. I've continued with consistent day practice, and last night I woke up seemingly after each dream during the morning hours and was able to write the dream down before returning to sleep. The dreams were vivid, with more clarity and awareness. I believe the day practice is having an impact, and I'm satisfied because I'm finding a routine of practice that is sustainable even during crazy periods that require deep concentration during the day and changing sleep schedules at night.

Asleep: 2:00
Awake: 10:00
Natural Awakenings: 1
NLD: 1 fragment
FA: 0
Lucid: 0

I ingested some weed oil yesterday afternoon for the first time in a while. I wanted to see how it would affect my dreaming. Obviously 1 night is not enough to draw any strong conclusions, but I think I'll be hesitant moving forward since it seemed to have a big impact on recall and overall awareness during the night. I continued with day practice yesterday, and will keep pushing forward!

Asleep: 12:45
Awake: 8:20
Natural Awakenings: 2
NLD: 2 fragments
FA: 0
Lucid: 0

I was a little sick yesterday, and felt fatigued all day with headache and sore throat. I continued with day practice, but fell asleep deeply. Despite that, I remember two natural awakenings throughout the night, as well as two dream fragments. For the last, I have a strong sensation of it being a long and vivid dream, and I remember certain fleeting images and emotions, but I just can't quite seem to recall the dream. In any case, consistency of practice is the most important thing and in that respect, I'm doing well.

Asleep: 12:50
Awake: 8:20
Natural Awakenings: 1
NLD: 2 dreams, 1 of which was particularly long and vivid
FA: 0
Lucid: 0

I'm feeling much better today, and I think that was reflected in my recall and in the vividness of my dreams. Both were re-occurring dreams that I've had before, with minor variations. That said, a few weeks ago I was remembering several natural awakenings per night, whereas recently that has not been the case. I think that is in part caused by the work travel and changing sleep schedule, being sick, and the stress of preparing to move into a house. But I want to make an effort to set my intention each night before sleeping to recognize each natural awakening. I think this helps with recall and allows me to reset my intention to lucid dream throughout the night.

Hey broth, how's it been going this last week?