Help getting back into the rhythm

Hey guys,

Alright, so a bit more than a month ago I suddenly and unexplainably had a strange issue with lucid dreaming. I felt like it was suddenly more difficult to focus on it, and my previous determination slowly faded. My awareness seemed to just completely get shot down as well. I started getting extremely stressed about it, and while a few people had decent suggestions on what to do, nothing really felt like it was working, and finally I decided to just take a break from LDing entirely. I decided that within a couple of days I'm going to hop back into lucid dreaming.

I have a feeling that maybe I always was a little bit sloppy with lucid dreaming (or perhaps it was just because I was new, I can't say for sure) and I would like to make sure I really can cover everything correctly, and don't miss an important element. Essentially what I'm asking for is just a quick rundown of what to seriously make sure I do. I think I'm just going to go with MILD, since it really seems to be the only really schedule friendly LD technique. Problem is, MILD has always been my weak area, and all my LD's except for one have been due to WBTB, the other one being due to MILD.

Really, I just want to make sure I'm getting all the important factors of lucid dreaming in so that I don't make any mistakes. Hopefully I can convince myself that everything will be fine with lucid dreaming again. I really appreciate the help guys, I am thankful for any advice or ideas you may have. As a side note, it really is way too late at night for me to be writing this, so if anything is incoherent/misspelled, forgive me, let me know and I will correct it.

If your not working on your computer at 2pm then ill guess its a lack of discipline. In my experiences the only way to achieve a decent LDs is to go sleep early and be quite motivated to it. I have never read nothing about MILD so I can't help you out with that but i can give you this ---> http://www.dreamviews.com/general-lu...uragement.html

Hey TheJester, good to see you're at least determined to have a plan you want to follow through, that's very nice.

Some things I personally think you should prioritize with regards to lucid dreaming are:
- dream recall and journalling (tbh i think the most important thing this aspect does is put you in the proper mindset wherein you think 'dreams are important to me' and consequently let your subconscious help you out)
- meaningful mantra/s. I cannot stress this enough. As a MILD practitioner, i really think you should stick to a mantra that is close to your heart and really reminds you to do what you intend to do. I personally like to do my mantras in a 'commanding' or exclamatory way like. "reality check!" or "this is a dream!". That way the emotion compounds the effect of the words.
- decent sleep schedule
- overall awareness. Try to pay attention to yourself and surroundings more. The more you do this, the more you develop the ability to recognize the different feel of the dream. You dont even have to do a lot, just try to wonder every few hours or so whether you're dreaming and why or why not.


Good luck!

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Originally Posted by paigeyemps

Hey TheJester, good to see you're at least determined to have a plan you want to follow through, that's very nice.

Some things I personally think you should prioritize with regards to lucid dreaming are:
- dream recall and journalling (tbh i think the most important thing this aspect does is put you in the proper mindset wherein you think 'dreams are important to me' and consequently let your subconscious help you out)
- meaningful mantra/s. I cannot stress this enough. As a MILD practitioner, i really think you should stick to a mantra that is close to your heart and really reminds you to do what you intend to do. I personally like to do my mantras in a 'commanding' or exclamatory way like. "reality check!" or "this is a dream!". That way the emotion compounds the effect of the words.
- decent sleep schedule
- overall awareness. Try to pay attention to yourself and surroundings more. The more you do this, the more you develop the ability to recognize the different feel of the dream. You dont even have to do a lot, just try to wonder every few hours or so whether you're dreaming and why or why not.


Good luck!

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Paigeyemps, you've saved me once again. That helps a lot. I've always kept a journal, and recently have been learning more and more the importance. My recall is pretty good, as far as I can tell. Mantras are something I need to look into or get help with - you said that the mantra should be close to your heart. So, does that mean I could use a lucid dreaming goal to form a mantra? Like, if my goal was to meet a character, it could be "I will meet X"? This has always confused me, since most people say the mantra should be along the lines of "I will dream tonight". My sleep schedule, honestly, is rather erratic, and I've been a bit confused on whether it was absolutely key or only a potential factor. As for overall awareness, I feel like I used to have much better awareness, since I was absolutely constantly thinking about lucid dreaming, and lately I've been wondering whether to go with ADA, go with "normal" reality checking of just checking whenever something unusual happens, or some alternative awareness technique. I honestly can't say what to go with.

Thanks for you help once again!

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Originally Posted by Mikasan527

If your not working on your computer at 2pm then ill guess its a lack of discipline. In my experiences the only way to achieve a decent LDs is to go sleep early and be quite motivated to it. I have never read nothing about MILD so I can't help you out with that but i can give you this ---> http://www.dreamviews.com/general-lu...uragement.html

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One of my worries is that my motivation may not be quite so great lately, so I think I will need to work on that. Thanks for the suggestion.

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So, does that mean I could use a lucid dreaming goal to form a mantra? Like, if my goal was to meet a character, it could be "I will meet X"? This has always confused me, since most people say the mantra should be along the lines of "I will dream tonight".

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Sure! I do something like this every night. I would recall my goals in my head over and over and try to memorize them and think about my excitement to actually do them. It just helps remind you what to do in the event that you get lucid, since it's the last thing on your mind. Furthermore, using your goals as mantras even forces your subconscious to actually get lucid in the first place just because you wish to do those goals and it gives it a drive to get lucid in order to accomplish them.

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My sleep schedule, honestly, is rather erratic, and I've been a bit confused on whether it was absolutely key or only a potential factor.

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To be honest, my sleep schedule is so whacked as well. Fortunately, i manage to get lucids every few days or so despite this. But i think part of the reason is that i am so used to this already that my body might have found a way around it something. Although a decent sleep schedule is not ABSOLUTELY necessary to get lucid, i highly recommend having a decent one since it not only keeps you well-rested and in pristine condition to achieve lucids, but it is also the best way to make the most out of your attempts. What i mean to say is, if you have a decent sleep schedule, you are in a far better position to evaluate your attempts and to tweak it around without having to worry if it was the quality of sleep that affected the attempt in a certain way. You know what i mean?

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As for overall awareness, I feel like I used to have much better awareness, since I was absolutely constantly thinking about lucid dreaming, and lately I've been wondering whether to go with ADA, go with "normal" reality checking of just checking whenever something unusual happens, or some alternative awareness technique. I honestly can't say what to go with.

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First I think you have to prioritize what you want and what you are willing to do with regards to lucid dreaming. If you have much effort left to spare, i would definitely suggest getting into ADA. In a nutshell, ADA helps you actually practice lucidity in waking life. And once you learn to be lucid in waking life, you will be so much better at being lucid in dreams. However, if you feel that it might be too mentally stressing, you can practice sporadic awareness as well: Puffin's DILD Guide - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views (just scroll down to the SAT part)

¯\_(°‿°)_/¯ If you have any concerns, ask away or pm me. Seeya!

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Originally Posted by paigeyemps

Sure! I do something like this every night. I would recall my goals in my head over and over and try to memorize them and think about my excitement to actually do them. It just helps remind you what to do in the event that you get lucid, since it's the last thing on your mind. Furthermore, using your goals as mantras even forces your subconscious to actually get lucid in the first place just because you wish to do those goals and it gives it a drive to get lucid in order to accomplish them.


To be honest, my sleep schedule is so whacked as well. Fortunately, i manage to get lucids every few days or so despite this. But i think part of the reason is that i am so used to this already that my body might have found a way around it something. Although a decent sleep schedule is not ABSOLUTELY necessary to get lucid, i highly recommend having a decent one since it not only keeps you well-rested and in pristine condition to achieve lucids, but it is also the best way to make the most out of your attempts. What i mean to say is, if you have a decent sleep schedule, you are in a far better position to evaluate your attempts and to tweak it around without having to worry if it was the quality of sleep that affected the attempt in a certain way. You know what i mean?


First I think you have to prioritize what you want and what you are willing to do with regards to lucid dreaming. If you have much effort left to spare, i would definitely suggest getting into ADA. In a nutshell, ADA helps you actually practice lucidity in waking life. And once you learn to be lucid in waking life, you will be so much better at being lucid in dreams. However, if you feel that it might be too mentally stressing, you can practice sporadic awareness as well: Puffin's DILD Guide - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views (just scroll down to the SAT part)

¯\_(°‿°)_/¯ If you have any concerns, ask away or pm me. Seeya!

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That answers a lot, to be honest. When I first started lucid dreaming, I read many lucid dreaming guides, but not in depths ones, and none gave in depth information on reality checking. They usually said no more than to question reality regularly, and gave me a few ways to reality check. Now that I've actually found more detailed guides, I'm only now realizing there are many individual methods to reality check, and this has thrown me off just a bit. I will try ADA sometime, because I've heard almost only great things about it, thought the tutorial you gave me sounds like a great method for me, and sounds like a medium between what I always did up until this last month or two and ADA. That helps quite a bit, thank you very much, that sounds like something that'd be pretty good for me.

Also, I was wondering something. I think about a month and a half ago, I had some pretty intense nightmares, the first in a long, long time. Going into lucid dreaming, I figured nightmares would be no big deal, since, by my logic, being in a nightmare would not only help me become lucid, but being lucid would help me eliminate the threat of the nightmare. So when these nightmares hit, one of them being pretty bad, I wasn't prepared. Although I personally am not sure that that could be why about a month ago my motivation suddenly staggered and my awareness fogged up, do you think maybe that could be the reason? I suppose it's absolutely more than possible, and maybe my own initial blind determination to LD has caused me to think that nightmares could never be an obstacle for me. Until about that month and a half ago, my determination was an absolute train, which was great, since, being new at lucid dreaming, I had the benefit of knowing I would LD no matter what. I've had a few LD's by now, but once that time period hit a month ago, I feel like my progress slammed straight into a wall and knocked itself out cold, which forced me to take a break. Of course, maybe I'm just making a big deal out of nothing, and I'm just going through a dry spell or something of that nature. If those nightmares were really the reason I've been feeling like that, is there any kind of remedy? It sure is disappointing when after being unerringly motivated for 6 or so months I suddenly feel unsure of how I'll do with lucid dreaming. Since the beginning, I've had one goal for lucid dreaming, and that goal still stands, but I just cannot, for the life of me, understand why I feel like I'm no longer near as motivated. And, of course, there doesn't really seem to be a way to "gain" motivation or determination, since those are the basic mental elements that go towards lucid dreaming. What I do have is a strong desire to get to my lucid dreaming goal - but I can't truthfully call it determination, so, funny as it sounds, I'm in reality determined to be determined. If that makes sense.

Sorry I'm asking so many questions, it just feels like after all this time I'm only now discovering the true amount of knowledge that lucid dreaming expands across. It seems like lately I just can't figure out what to do, whats going on with my progress in lucid dreaming, and when to ask for help. Although, for what its worth, that SAT tutorial sounds quite promising to me, and now I actually understand what a mantra exactly is. I see what you mean with making a sleep schedule, I think that while it may be a long time before I can actually seriously make a grounded schedule, I will be sure to at least narrow my schedule more. I suppose for now, going back into lucid dreaming, I'll probably work with SAT for a while, make a personal mantra, keep up with my journal, keep up my recall, and see if I can figure out why I suffered such a motivation hit. Thanks a ton, seriously, since I've joined this forum you've answered most of my questions, it helps to know that I'm not just throwing guesses at LD'ing myself.

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So when these nightmares hit, one of them being pretty bad, I wasn't prepared. Although I personally am not sure that that could be why about a month ago my motivation suddenly staggered and my awareness fogged up, do you think maybe that could be the reason?

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Hmm i honestly can't be sure. But I do know it's totally possible that it kind of 'traumatizes' your subconscious in a way, making you less inclined to pursue it. Think of it like this (inb4 waking life analogy) :

You are very eager to try out the new ice cream flavor. And when your aunt suddenly surprises you with it, you eat it, only to find out it's friggin awful and just doesn't suit your taste at all. So naturally, you avoid it from now on, and you don't feel the interest or motivation to have it anymore. Now this is in waking life, with your conscious control. Imagine it in the dreaming world. It works exactly the same way, but this time with your subconscious. This is why you can't actually explain why you lack the motivation or why your awareness just isn't quite there anymore. Since it all happened subconsciously in the nightmare, then it kinda makes sense that your subconscious would be the one 'avoiding' and getting 'less interested' in lucid dreaming without your full control. Just keep in mind that you can't really blame yourself for that. :)

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If those nightmares were really the reason I've been feeling like that, is there any kind of remedy?

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I can't think of another way but to confront them another time. It might help to use autosuggestion and mantras, perhaps some meditation to put you in a more relaxed state of mind. If it were me, i'd aim on achieving lucidity as soon as possible (preferably with wbtb since it always helps me get lucid), and when i do, i'd like to confront those nightmares and take control (given they come up or if you recreate it). I think taking control is the best way to give your subconscious a confidence boost to remind yourself it's not too bad and you can always do something about it — basically to get over it. It might not be easy to accomplish though. If you can't do that, it might help to get into a better mindset in waking life, as it greatly influences the dreaming world. Surround yourself with positive influences, reread your dream journal especially your favorite dreams, and remind yourself of how you felt when you did them. Also create a new list of personal goals you reaaally want. Watch inspirational movies or read. I know what you mean when you say you can't really find a definite source of motivation. But the thing is, YOU have to be your own motivation. What i mean to say is, you can only watch and read and listen to so much inspiration, but if you yourself aren't actually interested in pursuing those, then you might never really find a way to achieve them. You'll have to remind yourself what you really want, and how much you really want them. That way, the more you internalize it all, and understand yourself, the better your mind and subconscious will adapt to it and multiply that wanting feeling tenfold. Kind of like dream recall. Sometimes it gets too tiring and unmotivating to write your dreams down. But you know that the more you TRY AND INTEND to, your subconscious will just kind of help you out.

Good luck :D

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Originally Posted by paigeyemps

Hmm i honestly can't be sure. But I do know it's totally possible that it kind of 'traumatizes' your subconscious in a way, making you less inclined to pursue it. Think of it like this (inb4 waking life analogy) :

You are very eager to try out the new ice cream flavor. And when your aunt suddenly surprises you with it, you eat it, only to find out it's friggin awful and just doesn't suit your taste at all. So naturally, you avoid it from now on, and you don't feel the interest or motivation to have it anymore. Now this is in waking life, with your conscious control. Imagine it in the dreaming world. It works exactly the same way, but this time with your subconscious. This is why you can't actually explain why you lack the motivation or why your awareness just isn't quite there anymore. Since it all happened subconsciously in the nightmare, then it kinda makes sense that your subconscious would be the one 'avoiding' and getting 'less interested' in lucid dreaming without your full control. Just keep in mind that you can't really blame yourself for that. :)


I can't think of another way but to confront them another time. It might help to use autosuggestion and mantras, perhaps some meditation to put you in a more relaxed state of mind. If it were me, i'd aim on achieving lucidity as soon as possible (preferably with wbtb since it always helps me get lucid), and when i do, i'd like to confront those nightmares and take control (given they come up or if you recreate it). I think taking control is the best way to give your subconscious a confidence boost to remind yourself it's not too bad and you can always do something about it — basically to get over it. It might not be easy to accomplish though. If you can't do that, it might help to get into a better mindset in waking life, as it greatly influences the dreaming world. Surround yourself with positive influences, reread your dream journal especially your favorite dreams, and remind yourself of how you felt when you did them. Also create a new list of personal goals you reaaally want. Watch inspirational movies or read. I know what you mean when you say you can't really find a definite source of motivation. But the thing is, YOU have to be your own motivation. What i mean to say is, you can only watch and read and listen to so much inspiration, but if you yourself aren't actually interested in pursuing those, then you might never really find a way to achieve them. You'll have to remind yourself what you really want, and how much you really want them. That way, the more you internalize it all, and understand yourself, the better your mind and subconscious will adapt to it and multiply that wanting feeling tenfold. Kind of like dream recall. Sometimes it gets too tiring and unmotivating to write your dreams down. But you know that the more you TRY AND INTEND to, your subconscious will just kind of help you out.

Good luck :D

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Well, I suppose that answers all my questions! The more I think about it, the more the nightmare thing seems to make sense in that it may be what's sidetracking me. Though, of course, that's not to say it couldn't be something else, but for the moment I can't really think of something more feasible. That advice helps a lot, thank you, I've started to feel a bit better about LDing lately, possibly now that I may have a potential reason for why I seemed to just suddenly lose control of what I was doing. You pretty much filled in all the holes of the parts of lucid dreaming that I couldn't explain or find the answers to, at least not easily. That alone makes me feel more confident, and I think I may have a stronger approach to it again. My guess is that once I get another LD I'll feel more confident, and stop my constant worrying, which I have no doubt has only been setting me back. Thanks a ton for your help, you seriously helped me out!

You are very much welcome! :)

If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Seeya around!

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Originally Posted by paigeyemps

You are very much welcome! :)

If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Seeya around!

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Wow, whatever I'm doing differently now is working. Today I woke up a bit earlier than I usually do, because I went to go meet up with a friend, and only got about 5-6 hours of sleep. I came home about 2 and a half hours later and went to sleep, and I suppose I "accidentally" did a WBTB. I got lucid really quick, and it was my first lucid dream where I was able to conjure up something or cause something to happen by expecting it. The dream didn't last very long at all, maybe a max of 30 seconds, but as soon as I became lucid I conjured the man in my really intense nightmare, who was executing me with a revolver. I'd decided I wanted to face my nightmare head on, and since for a long time now I've been researching/been very interested in samurai, I decided that I wanted to have the courage of one, so I tackled him, and while it was vague, I believe he sort of transformed into a more friendly person, I suppose as if to signify the passing of the threat, or at least, that's how I interpreted it.

This was quite reassuring to me. Not only have I had another LD to help boost my confidence, but I no longer fear my previous nightmares. I think that while my subconscious will be slightly doubtful for a little while, I no longer seem to have that feeling of being extremely unsure. Your advice on taking LDing as an adventure seemed to help as well, I have a feeling that without that mental barrier (provided it truly is gone) that I will be able to make very quick progress now. Your advice helped me a ton, I'm still kind of surprised that I've so quickly had another LD, and one so motivating.

But, this reminds me of one last question (I know, I know). I've had 5 dreams that I seriously consider lucid dreams, where they're relatively clear, I know I'm dreaming, and preferably I have at least a minimum of control. One of the dreams has been due to a MILD where I basically convinced myself I would have an LD that night. Every other LD has been due to WBTB, but the thing is, I've attempted many, many WBTB's, and the one thing that seems to make them work is if I don't plan for it. As I said, for this one, I got about 6 hours of sleep, and then about 2 and a half hours later I went back to sleep, when I had the dream. Here's whats caused every other LD (and any dreams close to an LD). I have chronic pain, and sometimes when I wake up for school, it becomes horrible, and I have to go back to sleep. That's when I've had the other LD's, and if I don't have a lucid dream, I have multiple very meaningful dreams. Whenever I wake up, and have to do something that I really don't want to, or if I get really stressed or worked up, or just in general have to wake up much more fast than I'd like before going to sleep, I seem to have a much, much higher chance of having a lucid dream. Now, here's the thing, I can't figure out how I could replicate that effect when I plan to do a WBTB. Do you, by any chance, have any suggestions? I wouldn't blame you if you have no idea, because I myself am rather confused by it. Maybe it's not as much that I need to replicate that feeling as much as I need to work on how I do planned WBTB's.

Also, I know I've said this about other thing's I've written before, but I'm tired and really should have done this earlier, so it may be rather incoherent in places. Please let me know if any of that didn't make sense, and I'll correct myself.

GAAAHHH DAMN I TYPED A LONG-ASS REPLY AND THE BROWSER CRAS--- oh nvm there's autosave whewwwww :muffin:

Oh wow that's awesome!! :party: congratulations on the lucid and confronting the nightmare :D

You know, i forgot to mention this before but even *intending* and thinking about facing your nightmare helps you a lot to actually do it. It's pretty much mental conditioning. So great job!

As for the WBTB dilemma, have you tried experimenting with the time you sleep as well as the time you stay up? Those times you had to wake up early, it could be that they coincided with your REM period, so the WBTB was much more effective. The key to WBTB lies in knowing YOUR optimum time, and not relying on what others say it should be. I suggest keeping logs of the amount of time you sleep and the amount of time you stay up for your WBTBs, including the conditions like if you had bright lights when you woke up or if you did or ate anything prior or during the WBTB. All of those affect how it's gonna work out. I gotta be honest, it took me quite some time to figure out my optimum time. (My time is around 2 hours of staying awake and about 4 hours of initial sleep). But i tell you, once you finally figure it out, it's all worth it! Provided ofc that you dont have any dramatic changes in sleep schedule.

The thing is, it's hard to pin down exactly how WBTB works. Sometimes it's just placebo effect, sometimes just luck. That's why I recommend experimenting with it as much as you can because personally it makes you more confident about yourself when you actually know what you're doing as opposed to just "hoping it works this time".

Oh and another thing, REM rebound.

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REM-rebound happens when someone is deprived of REM sleep, therefore, they usually occur much more quickly and last longer in order to make up for the lost time.

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That could be another possibilty. If you got only very light sleep and few hours, your REM could've had a boost the moment you slept again, making you lucid quicker.

Cheers!