Thread: NyxCC's workbook

I hope you achieve your goals

What exactly do you mean by visualization practices? I am intrigued! Is it done in waking life?

Thanks!

Yes, it's done in waking state. Just find a quiet place and visualize something of your choice. It can be a simple object or an entire environment with lots of details. The goal is to keep the focus on the object of visualization for as long as possible. Ideally with time, imagining items becomes easier and one can hold the images for longer. I find it very useful for both stabilization as well as dream control and can also come in handy when wilding.

Mini goals:

- 5 MILD evenings
- 10 beach visualization sessions
- 10 object visualization sessions

As it turned out it was another busy month. I did some visualization but not enough to reach my goals. Interestingly, I had a lucid that took place on one of the places I was visualizing. Not sure if that is related to my practices.

At any rate, if I want to progress with this I will have to step back and make more place for the practices. Despite the busy schedule there are always those small moments which one can use to either do visualization or awareness exercises.

Stop. Pay attention. Remember. My challenge for October.

I want to share one veeery long journal entry by one of members here.

DJ#312: WOAAAHHHH BOOOOYYYY Catch up time - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

As this wonderful and lenghty entry shows - it's not difficult to journal on a daily basis. We just need to sit down and do it.

Been meaning to write here for quite a while and along with posting, resume the dreaming practices that I've, for the most part, set aside.

I've got a few fresh ideas (as well as some recycled ones) that will hopefully incorporate into day life activities.

As a reminder to myself, one thing that I have finally realized from my language studies, is that you should never fully stop with any practice. It is much better to be moving slowly and doing a bit of practice than to do none at all. It might be an obvious thing, but when things get busy, it's the things we like to do the most or that can benefit us that we tend to drop.

So there we go again, another round begins. Lucidity begins tonight.

Hi friend! So true about keeping up at least some practices. Let me know if you would like a buddy to bounce around ideas and keep each other on track.

Fogelbise, good to hear from you! I surely won't mind some lucid company .

My goals for the month of June - Min lucid count 5, establish the practices I've been thinking about into habits (more detail and hopefully results next posts), start working on some dream goals which must be written down tonight (at least one so that I know what to do next ld ).

That sounds good and you reminded me that I should set some goals myself. My goals tend to not be specific enough, so with that in mind I have figured out how many LDs I want to have for the remaining 23 days of June to get my average where I want it to be (same as 23 day average in year 4). If I achieve that goal, I plan to up the monthly average so I can beat the average achieved in year 4 of my adult practice. I also feel a bit of a renewed interest in my goal of completing all of the TOTYs after a bit of waning interest before.

Okay, let me know that you have written down the goals, and feel free to share them if you want to. Also looking forward to the additional habits details you mentioned. May we both be able to celebrate the smaller successes along the way to larger ones.

I like going over notes surrounding times of my favorite lucid dreams and what I was doing at the time as well as just re-experiencing those favorite lucid dreams.

I find that having goals that are not specific enough affects my lucidity rate and dream control a lot. For example, I need to have a specific task to complete before going to bed. That alone can result in lucidity.

If I find myself lucid and fail to recall any goals, I might also lose lucidity or even wake up as I don't feel quite sure what to do!

That being said, every once in a while, it becomes a challenge to pick just the right goal. I have been toying with some ideas that I find inspiring, yet need more skill to fully implement. I recently came across some really good surrealistic pieces of art and would very much like to use them as an inspiration and even blueprint for lds. Let me see if I can include some pics here. *unsuccessfully attempts to attach a pic*

Anyways. As I mentioned, while some of the pics I was browsing may look very cool to perform in the dream, a bit of warm up may be needed. While the general idea is to pick a few of these paintings and lucid dream them, I decided to start small first.

So, my first basic task will simply be to look up the sky. I still want to tie this to the surrealistic paintings, so hopefully the clouds will be in strange shapes or maybe something unusual will be flying around. Another task I would like to do, is look for some art in the dream.

If anyone's interested, I recommend checking out Christian Schloe's work for dream inspiration.

I looked up his art and I like it!

That totally makes sense to start with something small first and if you want add a 2nd goal to pursue if you are feeling so inspired during your next lucid. I could see expecting to find one of his paintings or scenes around the next corner or in the next room with the "ah there it is, riiiiiiiiiiight…..theeeeeeeere" approach.

When I responded to you last time I was wondering about why I haven't been using concrete goals and then I remembered the next morning when I failed to have an LD when I really thought, during WBTB, that I would have one. I seem to fall victim to performance anxiety at times and seem to do better by holding my goals more loosely.

Originally Posted by fogelbise

When I responded to you last time I was wondering about why I haven't been using concrete goals and then I remembered the next morning when I failed to have an LD when I really thought, during WBTB, that I would have one. I seem to fall victim to performance anxiety at times and seem to do better by holding my goals more loosely.

I see. Do you keep both your dream goals as well as the monthly ld count loose then?

If you don't have a concrete dream goal - how do you go about the moment you become lucid, is it more of a free styling dream control or you try to reach for some of your general long term goals?

To update: I've scored an ld Saturday and had some awareness moments today (but too undefined to call lucid). So far it's 1/5 in terms of target lds. My perception during the dream wasn't quite clear. I can't say I'm very surprised as I was having what feels like focus issues due being tired/overworking in general. I'll try not to overdo it the following week, despite having a few extra projects running in addition to our normal workload.

The focus for this week should be again to work on strenghtening the daily practices and introduce minimal night practices at bed time and hopefully during natural wakes.

Congratulations on the LD! You know you have it in you, it just takes doing what you know you need to do, if you are anything like me.

Originally Posted by NyxCC

I see. Do you keep both your dream goals as well as the monthly ld count loose then?

If you don't have a concrete dream goal - how do you go about the moment you become lucid, is it more of a free styling dream control or you try to reach for some of your general long term goals?

-I alternate on how loose I hold my dream goals. LD count I have almost always held more loosely. I do make adjustments though. I tend to check my LD count looking backwards rather than forwards. In other words, I look back at how I have been doing and if my average is down I can usually point to myself not doing enough during the day and I am motivated to start putting in more day time work. I typically then see my average increase nicely but still not looking forward to anything like "I need 6 more lucids this month" since that seems to give me performance anxiety.

-When I do have specific dream goals that I really want to go after, I tend to think about them during the day during simulations of becoming lucid and hold them more loosely during evening and wbtb. It seems I most commonly remember my goals during the lucid when I realize I should be doing something more with my lucidity.

Originally Posted by fogelbise

Congratulations on the LD! You know you have it in you, it just takes doing what you know you need to do, if you are anything like me.

Thanks! I also feel that with reinstating lucid oriented habits, dream results will follow .

I alternate on how loose I hold my dream goals. LD count I have almost always held more loosely. I do make adjustments though. I tend to check my LD count looking backwards rather than forwards. In other words, I look back at how I have been doing and if my average is down I can usually point to myself not doing enough during the day and I am motivated to start putting in more day time work. I typically then see my average increase nicely but still not looking forward to anything like "I need 6 more lucids this month" since that seems to give me performance anxiety.

That sounds like a good strategy. It totally makes sense that if you work hard to build those habits and see the increase in lucids to a certain level, when you start skipping on the daily work here and there, it will have an impact on lucidity. That's why it's so important not to drop everything and even in times of stress maintain a little practice.

Speaking of practices, what does your daytime, nighttime routine currently include?

Update: I've had a below average start of the week practice wise and because of that I was feeling guilty. This was good in a way as it has then caused a lot ot thinking and more mindfulness afterwards.

I have been contemplating a lot about life and some decisions and of course also about lucidity. Some of my thoughts naturally went into my dreams, offering a perspective on an issue that has been on my mind. While it seems I have no solution yet, it's good to be reminded of things I had forgotten to take into consideration.

After this dream, I would like to take a step back and reconsider things. Wait to see other alternatives show up.

Anyways, that being put aside for the moment, back to thoughts about lucidity. I mused a lot about this topic, which by itself is great, also did some mindfulness/ADA/SSILD practices at work (hopefully without looking too weird!).

After so much thinking, I reached the conclusion that I cannot satisfactory describe the differences between the dream world and the real world. Yes, obviously, there are differences and you can RC on those, but if I were to compare my dream friend to my real life friend - would I be able to spot the differences?

It seems that a lot of this detail is missing for my conscious mind to answer. So, ultimately, what I want to do is to try to map the dream world more precisely. I will write down some questions and after having woken up from the dream, I will see if I can answer any of these questions. This will also help pay more attention during the day and improve recall as well.

I like the way that you think!

Originally Posted by NyxCC

That sounds like a good strategy. It totally makes sense that if you work hard to build those habits and see the increase in lucids to a certain level, when you start skipping on the daily work here and there, it will have an impact on lucidity. That's why it's so important not to drop everything and even in times of stress maintain a little practice.

Yes, I keep going from thinking that I have somehow permanently re-wired my brain for lucidity and then being reminded that it takes regular effort. One can dream, haha.

Speaking of practices, what does your daytime, nighttime routine currently include?

Day

My core daytime practices are what I remember as CRRCIS or C - RRC - RC - C - I - S.

C=clear light, an idea I got from Liddybug's clear light thread that involves seeing myself from outside of myself which seems to strengthen self-awareness
RRC= a la Sageous
RC= reality check
C clear light again
I= I am he who is aware…I am he who is aware of the awareness
S= Stop, really stop and look around

I periodically mix in other things to keep my practices from feeling stale, like:

The Open Beta Exercises posted on here by Chris Vondermehden (cvmehden I think is username), particularly exercises 4A and 4B.

Simulating an RC showing I am dreaming and then becoming lucid.

Release technique for instant presence and awareness which has some side exercises I have come up with (release + little, release - clear view)



Night (middle of night/WBTB)

Primarily:

WBTB and alternate some nights using MILD and some nights using SSILD
MILD is primarily visualizing my boldness dream sign

Sometimes:

playing with what I call weirdness induction for quickly changing brain chemistry it seems, but I still stay up longish anyway

quick refocus on self-awareness using CRRCIS above

quick open beta exercise

Good stuff! I especially like the I, S parts of the practices. Ah, the vondermehden exercises, I recall there were quite a few good ones among them, might benefit from revisiting them.

Clearlight - this also sounds interesting. Do you have the link to the thread by chance?

playing with what I call weirdness induction for quickly changing brain chemistry it seems, but I still stay up longish anyway

Is this a form of visualization exercise, how does it affect brain chemistry?

Update:
negatives: Got a bit thrown off the board in the last few days of the week due late nights and never-ending family drama.

Positives: Had 2 bortherline dreams, from those people like to call semi-lucid. I knew I was dreaming and engaged in purposeful dream control - challenging a DC to a kung fu fight, which took place mid-air and ended up with me running in circle up on all the walls. I am still reluctant to include it in my count as there seemed to be no clear distinction between when the lucid portion of this dream began and where it ended. It was a very smooth transition, so to speak, rather than one of those, hey it's a dream realizations. Nevertheless, it's a step in the right direction and ultimately I should have both more of these as well as those strong awareness lucids.

Originally Posted by NyxCC

Clearlight - this also sounds interesting. Do you have the link to the thread by chance?

This is the post that got my attention, and then the OP and discussion above it resonated stronger with me: http://www.dreamviews.com/beyond-dre...ml#post1783290

(re: weirdness induction)
Is this a form of visualization exercise, how does it affect brain chemistry?

It seems to change brain chemistry (or at least function) the way that I assume WBTB does by getting certain brain processes flowing that are mostly dormant during sleep. "Seems" is the operative word since I just don't know enough about these processes. It definitely raises awareness of environment. I wouldn't call it visualization. It started with a weird sound during a WBTB that strongly heightened my awareness. My logical mind kicked in shortly after and assigned the sound some mundane explanation, but the heightened awareness of environment remained to some degree and it seemed to have a positive affect on that night's lucid. So sometimes I will do a quick head turn and enact the same feeling of being startled during my WBTBs to "wake up" more. This may not be advisable for everyone, especially those who have trouble getting back to sleep.

Update:
negatives: Got a bit thrown off the board in the last few days of the week due late nights and never-ending family drama.

I can relate!

Positives: Had 2 bortherline dreams, from those people like to call semi-lucid. I knew I was dreaming and engaged in purposeful dream control - challenging a DC to a kung fu fight, which took place mid-air and ended up with me running in circle up on all the walls. I am still reluctant to include it in my count as there seemed to be no clear distinction between when the lucid portion of this dream began and where it ended. It was a very smooth transition, so to speak, rather than one of those, hey it's a dream realizations. Nevertheless, it's a step in the right direction and ultimately I should have both more of these as well as those strong awareness lucids.

Definitely a step in the right direction!

Originally Posted by fogelbise

This is the post that got my attention, and then the OP and discussion above it resonated stronger with me: http://www.dreamviews.com/beyond-dre...ml#post1783290

Thanks for the link. Good idea on how to use perspective to increase awareness. I will definitely give it a try. Perceiving the world as a carrot is also an interesting concept. I have to say that after starting to more intensely lucid dream and meditate, I often feel way too conscienscious about chopping vegetables!

It seems to change brain chemistry (or at least function) the way that I assume WBTB does by getting certain brain processes flowing that are mostly dormant during sleep. "Seems" is the operative word since I just don't know enough about these processes. It definitely raises awareness of environment. I wouldn't call it visualization. It started with a weird sound during a WBTB that strongly heightened my awareness. My logical mind kicked in shortly after and assigned the sound some mundane explanation, but the heightened awareness of environment remained to some degree and it seemed to have a positive affect on that night's lucid. So sometimes I will do a quick head turn and enact the same feeling of being startled during my WBTBs to "wake up" more. This may not be advisable for everyone, especially those who have trouble getting back to sleep.

I see. Sounds like you're tapping in the deep protective wiring of the brain which has been placed to keep us out of trouble. The weirdness technique probably raises awareness by increasing neurotransmitters in expectation of something to happen. I also agree it may not be everyone's cup of tea. At any rate, increased wakefulness following wbtb remains one of the best ways to induce lds imo.

Update: I think my practices this week were below the average level I am aiming for but they were not completely forgotten. First fews days of the week I was quite absorbed by work, which was followed by a few days of trying to be mindful while working. Bedtime schedule was okayish overall.

Towards Friday I was getting a bit worried about my stats for this month. This seemed to do the trick and Saturday and Sunday I scored 3 lds! I did one of my basic tasks finally and recalled and completed another one from the previous night. The first one was to look at the sky and examine the clouds. Unfortunately, no cool effects there - just normal clouds, but still task done. The second one was to examine my dream clothes. I want to do this one again in the future - it seems quite funny to find out what my subconscious has picked for clothes.

Originally Posted by NyxCC

Towards Friday I was getting a bit worried about my stats for this month. This seemed to do the trick and Saturday and Sunday I scored 3 lds! I did one of my basic tasks finally and recalled and completed another one from the previous night. The first one was to look at the sky and examine the clouds. Unfortunately, no cool effects there - just normal clouds, but still task done. The second one was to examine my dream clothes. I want to do this one again in the future - it seems quite funny to find out what my subconscious has picked for clothes.

So awesome! Way to respond to the goal!

I think on the clouds idea, if you expect something amazing you are more likely to get something amazing. I like the clouds and the dream clothes idea.

Congratulations on the 3 lucid dreams!

Thanks!

Ah, it's been a while since the last post. Things got a bit hectic last week. Anyways, here are a few summaries:

June final week and overall: Very interesting - the ld frenzy continued (that was a few days in a row), so 3 more and finishing the month with a total of 7. It's a good rate for this year taking into consideration that I am trying to work my way back to a more frequent ld schedule and maintain it. One thing I didn't quite like in the past few months is that all my lds seem to be happening towards the last few weeks of the month with me dropping the practices afterwards (sometimes for a busy reason, but more like resting on the finish line laurels).

My goal for July is 6 lds. I am raising a bit from the 5 target and ideally I want to maintain a minimum rate of 5-6 lds on a consistent basis. More are of course always welcome, but the key point here is engaging in the practices. At this stage I think this should be my focus and I can add more things as deemed necessary.

Practice-wise I want to experiment with detail oversaturation - really notice as many things as possible and also test how much detail I can remember. I think it's a good mental exercise that can potentially also help with dream recall.

Awesome! You blew past your goal of 5 by 40%! Keep up the progress and you will be back to before and beyond.

I like that detail oversaturation exercise idea and would love to hear what you experience from it in waking and dreaming!

Yesterday I realized that half of July's already gone but my lucidity plan has been a bit vague goalish wise.

Apart from the day element saturation (update below), the target ld count, I want to add:

- 10 mantras at bed time (can also include wbtbs)

- reenergizing strategy (LT goal)

Update:

Day practice - had a few quite interesting moments with the element oversaturation practice. One of the mornings couldn't quite recall any dreams. I continued preparing for work but kept looking at each item intently, holding it a bit longer and examining the details. One of the cool things that happened was that one object (scissors) was actually featured in a dream for that night so in this way it helped me recall the dream.

This has happened before as well during mindfulness walks but it never ceases to amaze me. After this, I got pretty excited and continued the practice on my journey to work. Each time I focused on an object, left my mind blank for a while and waited for my brain to give me something, it would result in lots of associations related to the element I was focusing on. I think that if one gets into the habit of doing this frequently, one can get very close to a sort of active day dreaming.

This reminds me of comments by several people that the dream is always there. Indeed, I think on a subconscious level we always get these associations - we just don't pay attention to them. For example, you might see a certain person and like them. What happens on subcoscious level is that you like them because they bear a resemblance to an old friend with whom you shared many happy moments.

Every object and element holds a personal universe of associations - which most of the time give off either a pleasant or unplesant feel relating to that underlying universe.

Night time practice/sleep: On a less of a positive note have been my night practices. Late nights have in a way been a driver of all evil and of mediocre results. I believe there was one lucid dream from the night before, however, with poor recall of the actual scene I am not considering it worthy of celebrating as much.

Another issue I've been having recently with ups and downs is the fatigue and lack of concetration. There seem to be a few key areas that contribute to this vicious circle:
- late bed time - obvious one, need to get into a more organized sleep schedule to allow for plenty of sleep otherwise both health and dreams will suffer

- working manner - I believe I need to be more mindful when working. I tend to focus a lot on what I do, ignoring everything else. There's totally no need to jump from one task to the next, without taking a breath, so to speak.

- Screen time - it seems to me that the majority of my time awake is being spent in front of screens. We all know that this can have a lot of negative effects, including disrupting the sleep cycle. I also feel that there is an attention energy drain. Even after pleasant browsing, my mind feels much more tired than it would be otherwise. Limiting screen time is highly recommended .

- Nutrition - I follow an overall balanced diet, but more can be done. Reading on a few issues I decided to improve on this, starting where it all ends, namely, in the gut. This often neglected part of our bodies is where a lot of neurotransmitters are being produced and circulate in general. So, if this area is not being taken care of, other functions such as cognition and overall health will suffer as well. My aim here is a pro and prebiotic diet and more healthy and cleansing foods. It will be interesting to see if this makes a difference for my energy levels.

- Meditation - need to add more sessions in my week and weekend days even if short ones. It also will keep me away from the screen monster

That's pretty much it, sorry for the lond post and any typos!

What a great, detailed write up on your current practices! That is exactly the kind of record keeping that is great to look back on in the future to understand what works and what doesn't.