New guy here. I'm utterly fascinated!

[LeonardTaylor]

Well I'll start off by introducing myself. I'm Leo and for the past week have been immersed in this brand new phenom. I've always been a skeptic when it comes to dreaming in general; when someone would tell me how they could control their dreams and have lucidity I flat out didn't Believe them. If I couldn't do that how could they? I also found it impossible for people to have such recollection and vivid detail of the dreams they had, I sure couldn't. Well, the other night something happened. I can usually remember the gist of my dreams or come close to recalling it. I think sometimes I tend to associate déjà vu with forgotten dreams but anyways, I was dreaming that I was on vacation at some lake or resort. I remember watching other people do recreational sports like water skiing, jet skiing, canoeing, fishing and then I saw someone hang gliding above it all. I thought to myself that looks so amazing I wanna do that! The next I remember I'm flying above everyone else just gliding in the air as free as a bird it was so awesome! I looked into the lake and thought flying straight in doesn't seem dangerous, or deadly, so I begin a dive straight into the water. I am able to breathe and see and I know I'm safe. I didn't really get as excited about it as I am now after I woke but a few days ago I read about astral projection which led me to the introduction of lucid dreaming. I have never been so excited to go to bed! While I haven't had my first lucid dream since I am confident I will, soon! All my free time is spent reading up on this. The fact that every website and forum or youtube video is filled with nothing but affirmation that it is possible and not a load of bull just adds fuel to my flame that I will be ale to one day (or night I guess lol) master the skill. One thing though Is that I have lately been ale to see through my eyelids when I sleep which I've read could just be photographic memory? I'm to quite sure on that one. But still if anything it is motivating me to work harder and research this more. Any tips or advice would be great.

[MasterMind]

Welcome LeonardTaylor! Yeah lucid dreaming does sound a little crazy when you first hea about it, although with the logic of "if I can't do it, then nobody can" you can't believe in Lionel Messi either. ^-^ But the thing is that lucid dreaming isn't something you just read about once and then suddenly know how to induce one at will. It's actually more like an instrument, you begin by reading about the basics and the core theories of it all, and then you start practise and practise makes perfect. Although the best advice I can give you is to not get frustrated if you don't have a lucid dream on night, just like you shouldn't get frustrated if you can hold a chord on the guitar, because frustration will only make it more difficult and it might even make you quit. And we don't want that! Instead just acknowledge the things you need to practise and don't judge your progress, but observe your progress. And if you need help you are always welcome to ask of course. Sweet dreams and enjoy your stay!

[LeonardTaylor]

I totally have the patience and dedication to learning and using all the techniques and tips. The problem is that I don't know where to start as a beginner. I have been scouring the net for information every chance I get and it's almost overload! I am however doing small, basic things like reality checks, B6, binaural beats, daily observations of my environment etc.. But with all the different types of techniques I am unsure which would best suit a beginner. The first nighti read about it I immediately went to bed attempting the WILD technique (I fee like I came somewhat close? But I've read that's almost never the case with a first attempt) I basically would like to know where most people started off who are now seasoned lucid dreamers. I have the patience and I don't expect to be flying across the Atlantic tonight in my sleep, I just don't want to jump to the intermediate stuff before I know I'm able to get the basics.

[Buhl]

I am a 3 month old lucid dreamer, so i can relate to this. I took a somewhat bumpy road to get where i am atm, but if i should start over, i would start by doing reality checks and dream journaling. The dream journal is possibly THE best tool any lucid dreamer can have, since it boosts your memory enabling you to remember your dreams in incredible detail coupled with increased dream-awareness. Regarding reality checking, it is extremely important that you do not do them "mechanically" (lack of a better word sorry). You have to really question your reality and make your brain think about WHY you believe you are awake when you do it. If you fail to do this, chances are that you will remember a dream where you do one or more reality checks without getting lucid at all, but if you make it a habit of confirming to yourself each time you RC that reality is in fact reality, chances are you will remember to do the same in a dream. Example: RC'ing followed by, is this a logical scenario?, do i know this place?, was that thing always there?, are these people normally here?, how did i get here? etc. etc. Also: DON'T WILD when you go to sleep. I am not saying it is impossible, but it is very hard compared to after a WBTB.

[stonedreams]

Well when I started out ( still somewhat new to lucid dreaming been into dreaming for about 6 months) I used DILD. This is the most basic technique in my opinion. Once you get better at DILD you can throw WBTB into it and you have a pretty good combo. There really is no "best" technique because we all dream different and have different mind sets and what not. What I would do is look into different techniques and experiment with them to find what works best for you. And just one quick side note, if you want to do WILD you should probably do a WBTB before attempting.

[Buhl]

Can't edit my post and i forgot to include a link to a similar thread i started. Maybe you can find some advise there. http://www.dreamviews.com/f12/help-o...reamer-138008/

[MarineRecon]

Welcome to DV! If I were to give you advice I would say to stick to lucid dreaming. It may be hard to get the hang of it at first but it will surely pay off big time at the end! What you put in you get out! And finally, stick to a technique for a couple of months before you give up on it. This is an art and t takes time to master. Don't rush yourself!

[LeonardTaylor]

Thank you so much for all the quick and great responses. I will definitely use all this advice. One more question I have involves reality checking. I chose to reality check every time I hear my name or use my phone. Are those sensible? Because I'm unsure when I would do either of those things in a dream, and also I'm still confused about how to rc. I started with trying to push my finger through my palm, after awhile I kind of felt silly and then tried doing the nose plugging method. I think I'm being too stubborn (and I don't want to be!!) what methods do you use or did you use that confirmed your lucid dream?

[Zyangur]

Welcome . I hope that your ventures in Lucid Dreaming are successful! From my experience in a dream, when I RC'd, it was when I realized I was dreaming, and I used it as somewhat of a confirmation. I haven't really gotten into RCing when I experience one of my dream signs, so I wouldn't have any advice on that

[MasterMind]

Thank you so much for all the quick and great responses. I will definitely use all this advice. One more question I have involves reality checking. I chose to reality check every time I hear my name or use my phone. Are those sensible? Because I'm unsure when I would do either of those things in a dream, and also I'm still confused about how to rc. I started with trying to push my finger through my palm, after awhile I kind of felt silly and then tried doing the nose plugging method. I think I'm being too stubborn (and I don't want to be!!) what methods do you use or did you use that confirmed your lucid dream? I am a little careful with reality checks, becaue if I put too much conscious focus on them, they are not as much in my subconscious mind and therefore the habit will not occur in my dreams, same for dreamsigns, but perhaps that's just me. So what I do to see if reality checks is automatic, is to begin my day by deciding "Am I going to perform reality checks today or not?" if the answer is "yes" then I start think about something else but mantain the prospective memory of "the next time I think about reality checks or dreams, I will perform a reality check". Well at first it is troublesome for me to stop think about it, atleast as long as I am on Dreamviews. So then I start a song on my Iphone and take my usual trip to my university. And then I will suddenly think about lucid dreaming and realize that I have stopped thinknig about it for a while and then I think to myself and really try to believe it (t's not as difficult for me to believe anymore, because my dreams usually feel like this), anyway I think "Hmm is this a dream or not? It seems real and familiar but I can't be sure ok let's stare at a person's face for a few seconds (embarrassing but effevticve in my opinion, especially when you talk to a friend (did the face looked normal?) Either way let's look at my hand, hmm five fingers ok I guess I am awake..". And yesterday my trainstation was bomb threatened by some crazy guy so I couldn't get to my university (here I wondered if it was a dream...) then me and my friend got to a new mall and it looked so futuristic and when my friend went to the WC I wondered "Hmm this might be a dream!". This is the sort of mindset you should have as you perform your reality check, it shouldn't just be something you do by habit, but it should actually be a check of your current reality! Reality checks works because dreams aren't as stable as physical reality and when we perform a reality check we intend to activate the critical thinking of the brain that is usually shut off when we dream. This is the way of timing I use to reality check, but if your prospective memory isn't good enough yet, you can start out with targets like you said yourself "when you hear your name" or "when you use your phone ". I hope this inspired you because this is just a dream or is it? ^-^ Also here you have a beginner guide divided into basics and advanced, pay extra intention to his descriptions of mindset etc. because those are so well explained that you can watch them 200 times and always learn something new. Learn lucid dreaming: part 1 - YouTube

[Sivason]

Welcome to Dream Views! This is the place to be for anyone wanting to learn how to lucid dream. There is no quick answer to your question, but the Dream guide team is here to help you navigate the forum and answer questions. We all have 3 green stars above our avatar. Click on our user name and you can then select private message if you have a question, or you can start new threads. Don't worry about starting threads that have been started before, just try it out, if it ends up in the wrong place one of us can move it for you. One thing you can do in a post is place a link to another thread. I have done this below. You can click on the colored words to see the new thread. Start with this extra basic one, it will help you read the acronyms in other posts, Help With Acronyms For Complete Beginners After that one the very first thing you should do is check out basic tutorials. This one covers most of the terms you will see members using in much more depth, so start here, http://www.dreamviews.com/f20/beginn...eaming-124786/ Also be sure to check out the DVA Dream Views Acadamy, click on this link to get there, DV Academy. Matte , our Dream Guide team leader runs a general lucid dreaming class, and you can join in contests where you gain points for dreams you have. General Lucid Dreaming (Matte87) Gab , another Dream Guide runs a class that is very valuable to beginners on MILD/DILD, which is by far the best method to start with. DILD (Hukif and gab) Finally as far as the DVA stuff goes, there is a class on introduction to lucid dreaming. This is a great place if you are just starting out and need a little personal help. Intro Class (OpheliaBlue, RareCola, CanisLucidus, Chimpertainment, Xanous) Now, on the lighter side, you may be excited to learn to fly! Here is a thread where people explain how they went about learning to fly, http://www.dreamviews.com/f14/can-u-...u-learn-40468/ Then just for a laugh here is a thread where people list all the things they want to do in an LD. It is mostly light hearted and supposed to be funny, http://www.dreamviews.com/f11/1000-t...-dream-104556/ Have fun and good luck with your dreaming!