why I will never be able to lucid dream~

@ title.

Recent events that have happened in some of my dreams that have led me to believe that I will never be able to Lucid Dream (LD). Let me first just state that I believe some progress is being made though it is only minor. Ever since I attempted to LD around 6 months ago, my dream recall has increased ten thousand fold. What use to be me only remember one dream a day (if lucky) has turned into my me being able to remember almost all of my dreams I have during sleepy sleep times. Some are very brief moments/ situations and others are grand adventures that I wish would never end. I believe I am borderline LD because when I dream.. I am looking through my own eyes of myself (in the dream) and it feels like real life. So much so that I don't think to question it. Other times however the dream is just so crazy that I KNOW that I am dreaming but I make no attempt to RC or literally do anything with gaining the recent knowledge that I am dreaming.

However it hasn't always been like that. On two different occasions I have realised I was dreaming and I have done the RC but.. I got unexpected results. On one occasion I was playing with a dog and I randomly decided to do an RC - I pinched myself and I felt pain. Yes, I felt the pain of the pinch. Once I felt it I concluded that I wasn't dreaming and it continued on. On another occasion there were 50 people walking down my street and they all looked really weird and I remember saying "what the F*** this can't be real.. I must be dreaming" It was right then that I began my RC and then.. I don't remember what happened next. Something either distracted me and I completely forgot or I just woke up (this was about a week ago so my memory isn't too clear on it)

So there you go.. pls halp? I've binaural beats and iso tones before but they don't seem to help at all. I honestly haven no idea what to do.

Well... You said that your dreams are so realistic that you don't question it, so you should provably start questioning everything.

Hukif once had the a similar problem. No RC would work for him. He would think that he was dreaming and every RC would tell him that he was awake. So he invented his own RC. The gravity RC. the basics of it is that he realized that the dreamworld was near flawless, but his body seemed to weigh too much or too little. Or objects would seem that way. He put it in his mind to memorize and keep in the back of his mind what his body felt like. When he got into a dream (after 2-3 months of constantly keeping that in his mind all day) he realized that he was dreaming and ever since then his LD rate has skyrocketed.

Good luck! I hope this story helps you like it helped me.

Sounds like you are doing great and getting close. Do not rely on just an RC but with each RC also truely analize your world. Do you remember how you got there. Does the world around you look normal. Do you feel strange? And so on.

Pinching yourself is an awful RC, because you can do that in RL, and you know to expect pain so that's what you'll get.
A good RC should be something impossible like poking your finger through your hand.
That gravity RC is an interesting idea.
Don't give up!

I agree with Artie - Pinching yourself is NOT a good RC. I recommend holding your nose closed and trying to breath through it regardless. In real life, you'll be suffocated, but in a dream the air will flow through your nose and you will know you are dreaming.

Saying that you will never have a lucid dream probably doesn't help.
No reality check works 100% of the time. It's good to have more than one, try one and then the other, and really question your reality while doing a reality check.
My favorite is trying to breath through a closed nose. Sometimes I also try to float. Tell yourself "If I am dreaming, I will be able to breath/float/whatever" This may help getting the RC to work more often.

Pinching is ridiculous. Terrible reality check.

Try counting your fingers carefully, or my favorite method - the digital watch. Read the time, look away, look back. Repeat.

Or a combination of finger counting + digital watch. In my experience, this works the best.

But pinching??? Hell no. You will feel the pinch, and very realistic also.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond and what interesting responses you gave me ! :) Pinching is only one of the reality checks that I do. I also inspect my body to see if everything is in order (as well as counting my fingers) I feel my clothing, hair and beard to check that it feels the way it should and I slap myself in the face really hard. @BrandonBoss; Gravity RC? Sounds cool. I don't recall seeing it in the RC tutorial section though.. and it's funny that pinching is actually in their when its clear that the general consensus is that it doesn't work. Does it have to be the gravity of myself or can I just drop something that I use on a regular basis and observe the rate of which it falls? e.g. my mouse or phone.

Last night I had some very weird dreams.. one was that I was playing world of warcraft with my friend jarrad (who hates that game) and we were going through a big raid. I was observing this from the first person though.. but it was so clearly fantasy why didn't I realise it? It is very frustrating to say the least.

Another question; What are your opinions on binaural and isotonic beats? Do they aid in LD at all? If so do you guys have any that you can suggest? and finally - I'm aware that isotonic tones don't have to be played through a headset but how loud should it be through my speak system? Should it be loud enough so I can clearly hear it or should it be a very feint background noise?

binaurals and isochronics can work, but the extent differs between people. i'd imagine they'd be best as background noise. noticeable, but not intrudingly so. bit like using classical music for concentration.

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Originally Posted by splodeymissile

binaurals and isochronics can work, but the extent differs between people. i'd imagine they'd be best as background noise. noticeable, but not intrudingly so. bit like using classical music for concentration.

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I assumed as much yea - thanks for the response

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Originally Posted by moocowgoesmoo

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond and what interesting responses you gave me ! :) Pinching is only one of the reality checks that I do. I also inspect my body to see if everything is in order (as well as counting my fingers) I feel my clothing, hair and beard to check that it feels the way it should and I slap myself in the face really hard.

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Didn't we just tell you that pinching is the worst thing you can do as an RC? Did you even read the posts completely?

The "best" RC is a combination of two RCs. In my personal experience, the digital watch RC + finger counting = success.

Finger through palm = very unreliable (in my personal experience)

To each his own.

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Originally Posted by Gills

Didn't we just tell you that pinching is the worst thing you can do as an RC? Did you even read the posts completely?

The "best" RC is a combination of two RCs. In my personal experience, the digital watch RC + finger counting = success.

Finger through palm = very unreliable (in my personal experience)

To each his own.

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As you say "to each his own"

For me all techniques work fairly well, finger through palm being the best.

You are right, doing two RC's is definitely the most solid plan.

Dammit dutchraptor you got alot of posts. You joined last year and you have 2,347 posts... and I joined 4 years ago... 424 posts. :D

My "first RC" is to check the dream feeling. If it "feels a lot like a dream", then it is a reality fail and I go dream time. Second one is look at hands. I don't count my fingers, I just look at my hands and they normally have something wrong with them, plain to see as soon as you look at them. Especially now that I have my dream watch. :P

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Originally Posted by BrandonBoss

My "first RC" is to check the dream feeling. If it "feels a lot like a dream", then it is a reality fail and I go dream time. Second one is look at hands. I don't count my fingers, I just look at my hands and they normally have something wrong with them, plain to see as soon as you look at them. Especially now that I have my dream watch. :P

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How exactly do you check the dream feeling?

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Originally Posted by Gills

How exactly do you check the dream feeling?

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It's kind of like a gut feeling that it is a dream.

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Originally Posted by JoannaB

It's kind of like a gut feeling that it is a dream.

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I have had that as well, but it usually isn't enough, so I have to verify using an RC.

Never rely on your "gut feeling" that something is a dream, because you might jump out the window trying to fly.

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Originally Posted by BrandonBoss

My "first RC" is to check the dream feeling. If it "feels a lot like a dream", then it is a reality fail and I go dream time. Second one is look at hands. I don't count my fingers, I just look at my hands and they normally have something wrong with them, plain to see as soon as you look at them. Especially now that I have my dream watch. :P

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Yes, this is much more like my own RCs. Good suggestions. Dreams do not feel the same as waking. If in your RC you really try to notice if you feel strange, then do the RC in a dream, it really is a dead give away. Also on the hand thing, I agree. I do not try to count fingers, but just really examine the hands. They are almost never rendered correctly in a dream. Something looks blurry or there are no veins and so on.

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.... DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!!

It's a great thing that your recall is so good, and the amount of clarity and realism you have in your dreams is great as well. Don't let that stop you, take the others' advice into account and just keep on trying! Don't be demotivated by a lack of visible progress, because every night you make just a little bit of progress towards having a Lucid Dream.

One thing that I'll suggest that I haven't seen yet is to maybe give WILD a shot. It's when you fall asleep straight into the dream, and you are already lucid. It obviously takes practice, as with everything, but it may be what's right for you. Have a look at Sageous' WILD Class for more info. Good luck, and keep us all updated!

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Originally Posted by JoannaB

It's kind of like a gut feeling that it is a dream.

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It is kind of like a gut feeling, but I think that for me it is that the dreamworld, once noticed, is a lot more different than we normally think it is, so after a few LDs, I noticed a feeling that I have in all dreams as well as all lucids. It is impossible to explain this feeling, as I don't think that we possess the needed muscle or organ to feel it. :P I don't know how to describe it better than that. I think that it might be like a tangible gut feeling.

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Originally Posted by Gills

I have had that as well, but it usually isn't enough, so I have to verify using an RC.

Never rely on your "gut feeling" that something is a dream, because you might jump out the window trying to fly.

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I would have to disagree with it not being enough. :P I never just jump out of windows in my dreams, if I see a window or something that would be dangerous in waking life, I will "Fly" out of it. If I am flying, then it doesn't matter if it is waking or a dream. This feeling I trust over examining the hands. Also, I normally teleport to a location at the beginning of LDs.

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Originally Posted by sivason

Yes, this is much more like my own RCs. Good suggestions. Dreams do not feel the same as waking. If in your RC you really try to notice if you feel strange, then do the RC in a dream, it really is a dead give away. Also on the hand thing, I agree. I do not try to count fingers, but just really examine the hands. They are almost never rendered correctly in a dream. Something looks blurry or there are no veins and so on.

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Thanks. I am glad to see someone else has a similar experience. :)

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Originally Posted by Gills

Didn't we just tell you that pinching is the worst thing you can do as an RC? Did you even read the posts completely?

The "best" RC is a combination of two RCs. In my personal experience, the digital watch RC + finger counting = success.

Finger through palm = very unreliable (in my personal experience)

To each his own.

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lol okay.. "Did you even read the posts completely?" The same can be said of you guy. I said that pinching is only ONE of the reality checks that I do. Which suggests that I do others as well. It is one that I use to do - I no longer do it because of the responses you guys gave me. Please read carefully what others have said before you jump to conclusions and dive down their throat.

Now I'd like to change the tone of this post by giving you all some wonderful news! I BECAME LUCID; though only for 5 or so seconds. It happened on the same night that I read the script for lucid dreaming off this thread http://www.dreamviews.com/attaining-...ml#post1769374. While I didn't feel any different after I read it I had a lucid dream that night so it must have worked. Anyway on to what happened: I was running from meteors (or something of that nature) and for some reason I brought my hand up to my face as I was running and began to count my fingers. I had the right amount and then all of sudden a structure appeared in front of me as I ran. This structure was double my height and I decided this was a perfect time to use the gravity RC that brandon suggested. So that's what I did - I leaped into the air and did a perfect forward flip over the object. When I landed it hit me that there was no way I could do that in real life so I put my hand in front of my face again and after counting two fingers I noticed instantly that I had more then I should (8-9). "I am dreaming.. lucid dreaming" Is what I thought.. I 100% this was a dream and I became so ecstatic I couldn't contain my excitement. I ran up to a tree, ripped of a very large branch (with ease might I add) and began to spin around. I was more happy then I had ever been in my life at this moment and then I realised it might end at any moment. I remembered reading that one of the best things to do when you first become lucid is to 'ground yourself' after spinning 3 or so times I looked down to touch the ground and focus entirely on that (so I wouldn't loose the moment). Anyway right before I touched the ground I woke up... yeaaa it sucked.

What is everyone opinion on this? Why did I wake up when I tried to touch the ground? Should I have no tried to do it? Will I be able to LD tonight or will it still be equally as hard?

I'd imagine it was sheer excitement. If you're too excited, stabilization and grounding won't work or, at least, will only delay the inevitable. If you're able to control your excitement, it can work wonders, though. Anyways, lucid dreams tend to get easier the more you have them. Its entirely possible to have another tonight. Good luck with your next one.

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Originally Posted by splodeymissile

I'd imagine it was sheer excitement. If you're too excited, stabilization and grounding won't work or, at least, will only delay the inevitable. If you're able to control your excitement, it can work wonders, though. Anyways, lucid dreams tend to get easier the more you have them. Its entirely possible to have another tonight. Good luck with your next one.

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wise words. do you think I had an LD because of the scripture I read ? I'm thinking I should read it again before be tonight as well.

Not exclusively from the scripture, but it definitely helped. Based on that, I'd certainly give it another read, but don't completely rely on it.

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this but have you thought to try a different induction method? i.e. WILD

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Originally Posted by LemonPartiez

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this but have you thought to try a different induction method? i.e. WILD

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I tried that around two weeks ago. I hadn't had my LD experience by that point though and people told me there isn't a point to trying WILD if you haven't LD before. But I suppose now is a good time to try right? It is a huge challenge to take on though. The first time I tried it my fingers were having random spasms of movements that I had no control over and I read that you were supposed to stay perfectly still so that might have effected it. Around the 40 minute mark I decided to focus on the swirls under my eyelids and then.. I woke up some time later. I might try it but the idea of laying down for 30-90 minutes with nothing but my thoughts sounds very dull and boring.

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Originally Posted by moocowgoesmoo

I tried that around two weeks ago. I hadn't had my LD experience by that point though and people told me there isn't a point to trying WILD if you haven't LD before. But I suppose now is a good time to try right? It is a huge challenge to take on though. The first time I tried it my fingers were having random spasms of movements that I had no control over and I read that you were supposed to stay perfectly still so that might have effected it. Around the 40 minute mark I decided to focus on the swirls under my eyelids and then.. I woke up some time later. I might try it but the idea of laying down for 30-90 minutes with nothing but my thoughts sounds very dull and boring.

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But you have gottena wrong impression of what you are trying to do. Maybe this will help. You do not need to lay perfectly still, any more than you do when you want to sleep. You must not forget the goal involves falling asleep. The hard part is bringing some waking awareness with you into the sleep.
Laying there with your thoughts is actually going to prevent WILD. Try not to think. If you must think, do not let it be about your real life, or anything to complex. Simply put your brain on very low duty. If you are seeing colors or feeling yourself spin/fall just observe it in a half interested way, but do not think about it. Do not stare directly at the colors and so on. To keep your brain active you just repeat a few words over and over, or count with no interest in keeping track (start over the second you falter without THINKING about your place), or visualize one small sequence over and over,,, and so on.
You just relax and try to fall asleep,,, BUT use one of those tricks to keep your awareness slightly intact.
WILD is not the best place to start, but I figure if you want to try, then keep that stuff in mind.

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Originally Posted by sivason

But you have gottena wrong impression of what you are trying to do. Maybe this will help. You do not need to lay perfectly still, any more than you do when you want to sleep. You must not forget the goal involves falling asleep. The hard part is bringing some waking awareness with you into the sleep.
Laying there with your thoughts is actually going to prevent WILD. Try not to think. If you must think, do not let it be about your real life, or anything to complex. Simply put your brain on very low duty. If you are seeing colors or feeling yourself spin/fall just observe it in a half interested way, but do not think about it. Do not stare directly at the colors and so on. To keep your brain active you just repeat a few words over and over, or count with no interest in keeping track (start over the second you falter without THINKING about your place), or visualize one small sequence over and over,,, and so on.
You just relax and try to fall asleep,,, BUT use one of those tricks to keep your awareness slightly intact.
WILD is not the best place to start, but I figure if you want to try, then keep that stuff in mind.

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Ok.. I understand now I guess. But that is equally as boring if not more boring because now I know I can't think of complex things i.e. analysing how I did in a video game earlier that night. Just relax and try to fall asleep? I honestly have no idea how I am suppose to do that. I will try counting I guess. I assume I am to count in my head right? Are my eyes also to be shut?

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Originally Posted by moocowgoesmoo

Ok.. I understand now I guess. But that is equally as boring if not more boring because now I know I can't think of complex things i.e. analysing how I did in a video game earlier that night. Just relax and try to fall asleep? I honestly have no idea how I am suppose to do that. I will try counting I guess. I assume I am to count in my head right? Are my eyes also to be shut?

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Yes, count in your head, but do not pay too much attention to the counting, and if you lose count just keep going in whatever sequence. Yes, eyes closed. :) Keep in mind that your goal is to fall asleep, so do anything you do when falling asleep, just with more awareness. I think it is better to fail to stay aware than to fail to fall asleep because if you fall asleep but lose awareness, you can still DILD later, but if you fail to fall asleep, you can't LD.

This dream clarity tutorial helped me immensely. I had several 20 second to two minute lucids, but I couldn't seem to make them last much longer than that. It soon grew frustrating but I sort of accepted that it would take time to make them longer. I stumbled on to that article and the same night I had a fifteen minute lucid, which is a pretty good improvement!

Now I have a checklist in my lucid dreams to do before I take off on an adventure; Hands, Verbal, Anchor. Read the article to find out what that means, and improve your dream stability tenfold.

~Raven

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Originally Posted by JoannaB

I think it is better to fail to stay aware than to fail to fall asleep because if you fall asleep but lose awareness, you can still DILD later, but if you fail to fall asleep, you can't LD.

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Very well said! I could not agree more. Respects.

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Originally Posted by moocowgoesmoo

Ok.. I understand now I guess. But that is equally as boring if not more boring because now I know I can't think of complex things i.e. analysing how I did in a video game earlier that night. Just relax and try to fall asleep? I honestly have no idea how I am suppose to do that. I will try counting I guess. I assume I am to count in my head right? Are my eyes also to be shut?

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Boring is a concept up to the individual. Of course only you can control what you find boring. It is a form of meditation. Some people are excited to explore meditation and some think it sounds very boring. I find that the weird sensations WILD causes are exciting all on their own. WILD is an art that requires patiences and mental discipline. It is not for everyone. Many beginners think it sounds better than DILD, but they do not account for it being something subtle and the amount of patience required to learn it.

thanks everyone. I am just now heading to be. going to put on some soothing instrumental music and try to WILD. While I had read up on most of what that article said raven - the part on verbal commands were very interesting and I'll be sure to try it tonight. Peace ~

Moocowgoesmoo, I think that you can really think of whatever you normally think of when you fall asleep. In my opinion, WILD takes the same amount of time to do as falling asleep (with WBTB), so whatever you normally think about when falling asleep plus an anchor should be just enough awareness, which shouldn't be any more boring than it normally is falling asleep. Though I do agree with Sivason that things like this and meditation are boring depending on the individual.

This is my favorite WILD tutorial:
Mzzkcs Comprehensive WILD Guide - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

I do something pretty similar, but what I do incorporated MILD a lot more.

Good luck. :P

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Originally Posted by BrandonBoss

Moocowgoesmoo, I think that you can really think of whatever you normally think of when you fall asleep. In my opinion, WILD takes the same amount of time to do as falling asleep (with WBTB), so whatever you normally think about when falling asleep plus an anchor should be just enough awareness, which shouldn't be any more boring than it normally is falling asleep. Though I do agree with Sivason that things like this and meditation are boring depending on the individual.

This is my favorite WILD tutorial:
Mzzkcs Comprehensive WILD Guide - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

I do something pretty similar, but what I do incorporated MILD a lot more.

Good luck. :P

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The reason I suggest not thinking about your real life or other complex thoughts is that to many people that is the opposite of falling asleep. If you were simply coaching someone on how to fall asleep, then the advice would be the same. Often thinking about your job, homework and so on results in laying in bed unable to sleep. By reducing the amount of thought it becomes easier to fall asleep. Nothing more mysterious or complex than that. The less active thought the quicker sleep will hit, in my experience.
However, being an art and not a science, there are many ways to the same end, and no one of them is going to be right for every person.

I'll check that guide out brandon. I had no lucidity last night :/ I didn't actually remember any of my dreams until much later on in the day when different conversations sparked my memory of some of the dreams I had. I had no urge to test my gravity or look at my hands in those dreams but I read the script just like I did last night.. what has changed? I don't get why I didn't think to RC at all like I did before.

@Sivason.
Makes sense. I normally think very abstract thoughts about books and movies before sleep.

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Originally Posted by moocowgoesmoo

I'll check that guide out brandon. I had no lucidity last night :/ I didn't actually remember any of my dreams until much later on in the day when different conversations sparked my memory of some of the dreams I had. I had no urge to test my gravity or look at my hands in those dreams but I read the script just like I did last night.. what has changed? I don't get why I didn't think to RC at all like I did before.

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If you don't have enough awareness, you will never think to check.

Congrats! Welcome to the awesome world of lucid dreaming!

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Originally Posted by sivason

Do not stare directly at the colors and so on.

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This is a challenge for me. I'm having trouble getting to sleep after WBTB (even very brief) and MILD/SSILD or WILD. I find that I tend to react strongly to the visuals (HI/HH/dreamlets), to focus on them, and my reaction keeps me awake. I just discovered that if I move all my focus to the aural (e.g., listening to a fan in the room) and hold it there as long as I can, the visuals are greatly de-emphasized in my attention, and I seem to make more / quicker progress towards sleep. I'm probably too eager to stay conscious through the transition that I'm never making it to the transition point. I may be the counter-example to WBTB: I may only succeed in all the various techniques if I start them while already fairly drowsy (since otherwise it can take *hours* to get back to sleep).

Or maybe I just need more discipline and experimentation in learning how to fall asleep after WBTB. Any suggestions along these lines greatly appreciated!

I noticed just today that I went from not hearing the fan in the room to hearing the fan, and was momentarily confused why I couldn't hear the fan the moment just before. "Oh, I just woke up from a dream" I then realized, and recalled the dream.

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Originally Posted by BrandonBoss

Moocowgoesmoo, I think that you can really think of whatever you normally think of when you fall asleep. In my opinion, WILD takes the same amount of time to do as falling asleep (with WBTB), so whatever you normally think about when falling asleep plus an anchor should be just enough awareness, which shouldn't be any more boring than it normally is falling asleep. Though I do agree with Sivason that things like this and meditation are boring depending on the individual.

This is my favorite WILD tutorial:
Mzzkcs Comprehensive WILD Guide - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

I do something pretty similar, but what I do incorporated MILD a lot more.

Good luck. :P

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Great link, thanks. There is so much great stuff buried in the corners of this site. I am *definitely* the hunter on high alert for the approaching dream, so much so that I'm not going back to sleep! What I need now are concrete techniques to squash this alertness.

Congratulations on the progress :) My first LD was even shorter than that so don't feel bad, I think it's common. It's definitely about the excitement. I think once you have a few LDs then the excitement won't be as much of a problem -- you will still be excited but you'll be able to control the level of it and stabilize the dream then continue with whatever you were doing, ideally. But no I think you were completely right to try to grab at the ground and it's good that you remembered.

I wanted to add that I do like RCs that have to do with hands. I often use a tweaked version of the finger through the palm one because it helped me get my third(?) lucid. I tried it but instead of my finger going through the palm it still stopped as it normally would but my finger was comically large, like just got hit with a mallet in a bugs bunny cartoon large. Another thing I like is touching my nose with my finger and looking down at it, although that could be kind of awkward in public. If I do that in a dream it causes a weird perspective glitch.

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Originally Posted by duke396

Congratulations on the progress :) My first LD was even shorter than that so don't feel bad, I think it's common. It's definitely about the excitement. I think once you have a few LDs then the excitement won't be as much of a problem -- you will still be excited but you'll be able to control the level of it and stabilize the dream then continue with whatever you were doing, ideally. But no I think you were completely right to try to grab at the ground and it's good that you remembered.

I wanted to add that I do like RCs that have to do with hands. I often use a tweaked version of the finger through the palm one because it helped me get my third(?) lucid. I tried it but instead of my finger going through the palm it still stopped as it normally would but my finger was comically large, like just got hit with a mallet in a bugs bunny cartoon large. Another thing I like is touching my nose with my finger and looking down at it, although that could be kind of awkward in public. If I do that in a dream it causes a weird perspective glitch.

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I'm surprised that this thread was pulled out from the grave :S I've actually given up on LD (to an extent) but I was emailed due to your replies so I might as well fill you all in ~ to whom it may concern. I have never again experienced a full blown lucid dream even though I continued to read the script for another week. I don't know why this is? I never stopped with the RCs nor the amount of RCs I would preform each day. This was quite disheartening for me ~ About a month or so later I began to realise (can't remember If I mentioned this earlier in another post) that I was remembering most if not all the dreams I have each night. Most of the time I think this is because, for whatever reason, I wake up when a dream ends and go back to sleep. I usually go to sleep at 1-3 am and wake up at noon the next day. I'd be lying if I didn't say my life wasn't great but what I most look forward to is dreaming (there is a point to this).

As I mentioned in a previous post ~ I seemed to believe that I was content with just viewing the dreams and since the day of that post that is all I have done so its safe to say that it's true. I don't know if it is because I sleep too much or if I'm mentally unstable but It feels like my dreams and reality are blending into one. Now not to the extreme says that you might be thinking but to an extent that my dreams feel like memories - like they actually happened or are happening. Whether it be fighting aliens or falling in love; I have the time of my life and am content with playing a character.

All that being said of course I still wish to LD I have just .. lost my way. After reading your post duke I feel reinvigorated with trying RCs again and especially love the one about watching your finger as you touch your nose.

Thanks for the replies ~ Now I'm off to dream another ..memory

Never give up! Never surrender! If you put the proper effort, you will be rewarded. It takes steady, consistent effort, and introspection: discovering what works for you, what doesn't. Everyone sleeps and dreams differently, you just need to explore all the various ways that other people do it, and tweak it until you find your own personal formula. LDing is a voyage of personal discovery!

Good luck!

A thread that had no comment in two months was not dead, it was hibernating. You said "As I mentioned in a previous post ~ I seemed to believe that I was content with just viewing the dreams and since the day of that post that is all I have done so its safe to say that it's true." I think what may have happened is that by saying that you are content to just watch, you may have set your expectations, and your mind heard and listened. If you want another lucid dream, you got to fix your expectations and intensions to becoming aware of the dream state. Come to think of it, that's probably my problem as well. :) Also I know what you mean by memories of dreams and waking memories blurring: on at least two occasions I have had to ask my husband whether a memory I had of something that happened while he was there, did it actually happen or was that a dream memory. Memory is memory, and sometimes it plays tricks on us. Best!

everyone can be lucid.... and I am sure of it....also there is no need of any devices or some serious supplements...the most important is to try to practice it as often as you can.....like meditating every day because it raises your awareness do RC's several times every day.....and trying to lucid dream maybe every few days.....also keep a dream journal ...preferably a paper one because it will be better way to track your dreams than electronical way......and write everything in it you dream anything you remember every time you get something.....you have to be really dedicated.....and don't quit so easily just be dedicated......and do it all the time.... I am sure anyone can be lucid .....

I want to assure you all that even if it takes years, you will still have many years to enjoy it. The brain adapts and changes just by focusing on something. It takes months to develop completely new neural pathways, but they do develop. If all you do is read DV threads, talk about LDs and keep a DJ,,, eventually you will get LDs. Add in awareness training and it will come much faster, but it still may be months. That is ok. When you have been LDing two or three years, the months it took to get started will seem well spent.

I didn't even realize the last time you posted was a couple months ago god I never look at post dates. I just jumped right on in with whoever revived it lol, but looks like all that served a purpose afterall. But hey it just takes effort and there's no shame in taking a breather. From my first (mere seconds) and second (pretty awesome) lucid in the same week, it took me somewhere around a year and a half to have another lucid that wasn't just "oh, hey, I know I'm dreaming but I can't make any actual decisions". Don't know why! Not that I was practicing hardcore the entire time but my DJ is littered with crazy "should have been lucid, why wasn't I lucid" and "I knew I was dreaming but there was nothing I could do" moments and now after taking a year-ish long break I'm doing that all over again. Don't give up, enjoy every dream for what it is just keep in mind your ultimate goal of lucidity and make efforts toward it, you will get there just as I will return there.

Edit: sivason posted while I was still writing but he is correct... In fact one of the reasons I came back here when I decided to get back into LD was because it always helped with my recall and liklihood of becoming lucid just to be here on the forums posting or even lurking daily, being around people with the same goals kept my mind in the right spot and reminded me what I was shooting for.

I'm loving this forum more and more with every visit :) Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply; I really appreciate it. Let me first just that yes, I have had another LD (that makes two total) My second one came for no reason.. by that I mean I don't remember trying to do anything special or anything it just happened. It was just me flying around on a surf board in my own house and I realised I was dreaming. I had learned from my previous mistakes however and I was going to make sure I asserted myself over the dream. When I realised I began to chant "LUCIDITY STABALIZE / CLARITY". Sadly I was more focused on projecting my voice and being confident in the words I was saying rather then concentrating on what I was saying LOL! It turns out I was just saying lucidity clarify and not the other one.. when I tried to think of the word I simply couldn't and the dream slowly collapsed. BUT It is without a doubt a great step forward I think. I didn't make the mistake of getting too over excited like I did last time and instead I immediately tried to assert myself as the leader.

@JoannaB
Interesting read indeed ~ I'm glad you I have someone else on here who is in the same boat as me and I agree 100% with what you said. I will no longer be contempt with watching >:D I am zee leader of this here ship I tells 'ya !

Once again that's for the great advice everyone and just like duke said: "being here on the forums posting or even lurking daily, being around people with the same goals kept my mind in the right spot and reminded me what I was shooting for."
I'll definitely give dukes method a shot.

Good job on getting another one. I suggest next time that you not try to command anything. Instead just calmly repeat "this is a dream" while calmly looking at what ever is already in the dream. If you can do this for 30 seconds, then attempt to raise one of your hands and look at it. If you get that far try flexing your fingers. If you get that far,,, THEN try anything that seems fun, such as exploring or what ever.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sivason

Good job on getting another one. I suggest next time that you not try to command anything. Instead just calmly repeat "this is a dream" while calmly looking at what ever is already in the dream. If you can do this for 30 seconds, then attempt to raise one of your hands and look at it. If you get that far try flexing your fingers. If you get that far,,, THEN try anything that seems fun, such as exploring or what ever.

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40 of my first 50 LDs:
I am lucid! run! find a goal! Run! try to fly! Run! wake up two minutes later tops. Slowing down was really hard at first.... Especially if there was a... person... of other gender around. FA's especially, since I wake up next to my hot wife ;)

Slowing down will make your goals get to you better and make it easier to stabilize.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BrandonBoss

40 of my first 50 LDs:
I am lucid! run! find a goal! Run! try to fly! Run! wake up two minutes later tops. Slowing down was really hard at first.... Especially if there was a... person... of other gender around. FA's especially, since I wake up next to my hot wife ;)

Slowing down will make your goals get to you better and make it easier to stabilize.

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This is a great point, BrandonBoss. (Great advice here from Sivason as well.)

This is something that I still struggle with because lucid dreams are so exciting and our brains are in a state where we have very little natural impulse control. (Which is also what makes the wife-related false awakenings harder to resist! :rolleyes:)

But in the last several weeks I've been trying to slow my tempo down, really make myself a part of the scene and just enjoy the LD for what it is before I go flying off into the distance shouting "yippee!!" like an 11-year-old. I've found that if I remember to do it, slowing down and really observing makes the entire experience so much more vivid and gives me a lot better chance at ultimately controlling where things go and steering the experience toward whatever goals I have in mind.

Thanks for the reminder of this, both of you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BrandonBoss

40 of my first 50 LDs:
I am lucid! run! find a goal! Run! try to fly! Run! wake up two minutes later tops. Slowing down was really hard at first.... Especially if there was a... person... of other gender around.

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DILD #1: Yep!
DILD #2: Yep! (longer because there were no ... persons... around at the beginning, also managed a hands-rub stabilization at the start to counter unwilling impersonation of a balloon )

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moocowgoesmoo

Other times however the dream is just so crazy that I KNOW that I am dreaming

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Actually, this was a lucid dream.
So you have definitely been lucid at least once.