"The Blur"

Coming in on this subject with about 15 lucid dreams under my belt from this year alone. I would have to say the only bad thing about my lucid dreams is "The Blur" as I like to call it. Now all 15 of these lucid dreams I've had are like this; I become aware, and then the blur strikes. That's pretty much it. I am lucid, maybe for a minute, but not lucid enough. During the dream i'm not as lucid as I want to be. I realize that I just can't seem to stabilize or, do anything for that matter, to increase the vividness of the dream. And I end up just waking up, or continuing with this barely lucid dream. There was one time when I was a kid that I had a lucid, and it was so vivid. I remember becoming lucid in that dream, and the whole atmosphere of that world felt like reality. It was just like what you are probably doing now. Sitting at the computer desk or on your mobile device, and just looking around the room and realizing that everything around you isn't real, and just made up by your subconscious, but with the same level of realness. So I ask my fellow members of Dreamviews. What can I do to shake this blur, and mimic my lucid's to the one I had years ago? Every lucid I have, I try and compare it to the one I had, and none of them even come close. Thanks for the help in advance.

p.s I know that WILD's are very vivid, and can fix this^ problem, but I haven't really mastered them and I am having difficulty with them atm, so i'm kind of limited to DILD :?
(even though I would kill to have a WILD, because the entire concept of them is amazing, and they are somewhat a challenge which is something I would like to overcome :D)

I wouldn't worry about WILD. They would likely be the same as a DILD.

Matter-of-fact, I would try to dispel worry completely if you can.

Anxiety caused by the blur can only be self-perpetuating.

Let's try combatting that by fighting it in waking life. The more we get the positive reinforcement into your mind while awake the more it will carry over into your dreams.

Stabilization techniques are great to practice while awake and take little time out of a day. Practice a brief moment of stabilization each day, kind of like a meditation moment, a mental time-out where everything calms down and you know all is well and lucid.

Writing these intentions down can also help. Whether you keep a workbook in the DreamViews Academy or you just use a pad of paper at home, the act of writing down the intention helps make the connection inside your mind. The more you reinforce this positive idea the greater the chance of reducing blur and stabilizing your dream.

Practice simple stabilization techniques when you do simple things...like using the bathroom or sitting down to a meal. Association with common actions and times of good feelings can really help strengthen the connections you are making.

You're training your brain...do it well. :)

Something to consider is that the degree of lucidity, the vividness of the dream, and even dream control can be influenced by some factors that are not always taken into account. Sometimes you got everything there: you became lucid somewhat early in the REM stage, you managed to stabilize, recall your intentions/goals, and the dream still doesn't go like you'd like it to be.

I can't speak for others, but the majority of my lucid dreams aren't always perfect clear, augmented vividness (more than reality), and flawless dream control. Some of them I have to spend some more time in stabilization, or increasing my visual sense. This is not to determine that your lucid dreams cannot be like that, but that factors like brain chemistry do play a role on dreams. If you assume lucid dreams by an increase brain activity during REM, then you have to take into account the degree on which these brain areas are more or less stimulated. Which might explain why every lucid dream isn't as the one you wish to have.

None the less, there are measures you can take. First of all, review your steps in the initial moments of lucidity. Do you interact with the dream world right away, running with fear that the time will run out, or are you taking your time to perform the basic steps for stabilization? Simple things like focusing your sight in your hands do wonders for dream vividness, at the same time that you can develop a stronger sense of self, instead of being drawn to the sensory input in front of your eyes. Are you planning your goals? For some, the mere fact that you know what you have planned makes it so much easier to concentrate, because your strengthening your short term memory. There's many things that basically serve you the same purpose: to become more self-aware.

I also feel that it's necessary to tell you about the metaphor between dynamite and REM: You got a certain amount of time of REM, and when it ends, you'll wake up. Some people think that they failed to prolong the lucid dream when all that happen was that the dynamite (read: REM) did Kaboom (read: ended). This is also one reason as to why some people tend to have initial lucid dreams that last such a short time: their brain is getting ready to wake up, and eventually people get lucid in the last minutes of the dream. It's not necessarily your case, but a few WILD, assuming you can stabilize, and you would notice quite a difference in the lucid dream length. Or you can always chain DEILD and arrive at a new REM stage, with loads of time in the dynamite.

As for last, WILD itself. What are your problems with them? I'll just give you some general tips:

- WILD get's much easier when you got a fixed sleep schedule. Some people go by instinct and hit the "sweet spot": their optimum time to perform a WILD. For others, they must find it themselves, which becomes much easier if you're sleep cycles/stages are consistent. Sometimes, waking up mere 15minutes earlier (than usual) to perform a WBTB can make all the difference.
- Failing a WILD due falling a sleep means you're generally closer to succeed than falling a WILD due not being able to fall asleep. I also got stuck in WILD until I understood that it's not a conscious waiting game, as there is no room for "waiting to fall asleep". You just relax, and eventually it happens. You want to find the thin line in which you're just outside the "dozing off" area, and all that is keeping you conscious is a tiny line of thought (like a mantra for example), which reminds you of your intention.

Hope this helped, good luck in your lucid dreams ;)