Hi guys! First I'd like to say what a warm and caring forum you've got going here. I really think I have struck gold with this one!

I'm 21 and from Australia and I first heard about lucid dreaming quite a while ago but payed no attention to it, not knowing what it was until a week ago when I stumbled upon some information about it and became hooked.

Since then, I've downloaded a heap of information about it, obtained "Brainwave Mind Voyages" and read a lot of information I found on the net. I think I am beginning to grasp the concept of lucid dreaming.

So far, I've tried setting myself to LD when going to sleep, thinking about it a lot, performing the odd reality test (from tomorrow I'm going to try writing a big "R" on my hand and checking if it is still there throughout the day), drinking a bottle of coke before bed (I read this can increase dream recall) and listening to Brainwave Mind Voyages then putting the "Am I dreaming" loop track on repeat. I did this last night and at first I didn't think I dreamed at all, but later on I very very vaguely remember that I did have a dream of some sort. I don't know if it was lucid or not. The battery on my MP3 player died during the night so I don't know if it lasted till REM sleep.

Does anyone know if the "Am I dreaming" loop is a good idea and if it could possibly work?

I have also purchased some Calea zachatechichi which hasn't arrived yet.

Anyway, there are reasons why I am attempting these sorta shortcuts. I suffer mental illness and haven't had much motivation or really followed through with anything for quite a while. This has resulted in very weak conviction in what I do and poor resolve.

Have I started off on the right track? And does Calea actually help with dream recall or becoming lucid? I also have a very poor dream recall and would like to know if there is anything I can do to improve this. I've been thinking about dreaming a lot lately and have set up a dream journal ready to be written in, but I've had nothing to write so far. (But I have just started.)

Also, I am really interested in the NovaDreamer, especially considering it comes from the Lucidity Institute but it is not available for sale at the moment. I've found the REM-Dreamer which seems to be a viable alternative but would like to know if anyone has had an experience with either of these 2 devices and if they help at all? I've read they are a bit uncomfortable but I am willing to put up with it. (It can't be any more painful then sleeping with my crappy earphones in which was absolute agony&#33

Another thing that could be going against me having a LD is fear. I'm a bit scared about what will happen if I do have a LD. I listened to Brainwave Mind Voyages last night and it brought up a strong feeling in me. It was quite freaky. I 100% believe lucid dreaming is possible but it kind of seems too good to be true. Like I'm scared of the unknown or something.

Well, I've raved on long enough

Any help, suggestions, ideas or opinions would be awesome! What a great site you got going here!

Can't wait for a response.

-Brendan