NyxCC

Congratulations on the lucid dream NyxCC.

I might try and get some l-arginine again, although in the past I've always used it at WBTB.

Thanks!

Maybe it also helps one fall asleep by lowering the blood pressure?

Congrats on the LD, Nyx!

I look at the DC and tell him to repeat this is a lucid dream and remind me of it later on as I would actually like to continue with this scenario

Ah, this is still one of those hopes of mine! I love the idea of convincing a DC to show up and remind me whenever it's a dream. Isn't that such a cool notion?

Combines the idea of intelligent, persistent DCs with the promise of lots of lucidity... sign me up!

Thanks!

Ah, this is still one of those hopes of mine! I love the idea of convincing a DC to show up and remind me whenever it's a dream. Isn't that such a cool notion?

It absolutely is! There must be a way to crack this "assign a lucidity DC" task and let them come and remind us! I wonder if it would be more effective to summon someone familiar instead and offer him/her the job .

Originally Posted by NyxCC

I wonder if it would be more effective to summon someone familiar instead and offer him/her the job .

Yes! That was always my exact thought on this. Early on, I worked really hard to make Wife's DC do this. I got one really, really good result out of it:

The Lucidity Machine - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

After that, I had one more Wife-initiated close call, but no more results after that. I think I found it kind of exhausting thinking about lucid dreaming every time I looked at her and I guess I sort of gave up on trying this...?

What I didn't try was performing this "programming" while lucid. That'd be a great thing to try!

Early on, I worked really hard to make Wife's DC do this. I got one really, really good result out of it:

Do you mean you worked irl like MILD/DS association building exercise? I sometimes get my bf to talk about lucid dreaming (mostly when he is not happy to hear about it and makes jokes about me and my practices). Hasn't transfered to dreams yet. But certainly must do this in a dream!

And thanks so much for the link! What an awesome dream, and to have your wife build a lucidity machine - so cool! I see this is the first time you have used the zoom technique too - called targeted flight then. This works great for you and I have done it in non-lds but not that I recall in any ld. So, what's the basis thought expectation when you do it, being pulled?

Focus on sleep and still getting lucid! I feel like that is slowly starting to happen for me...hopeful at least. I am guessing you have had that ability for a while!

Do you mean you worked irl like MILD/DS association building exercise?

Right, that's pretty much the way I approached it. I'd use a MILD mantra before bed and then in the daytime I kept thinking about lucid dreaming every time I looked at her. But it got sort of exhausting after a while. Plus, she generally thinks that LD is pretty pointless, so she's not a 100% natural fit for a Dream Guide type DC.

You're right, that was my first experience with the zoom tech as well! It's a great way to move around. I generally just focus on the spot that I want to go, centering all of my attention on it. And then I'm typically just... there! Lately I've found that adding the addition of pointing at the spot kind of helps, too. There are just so many ways to go about it! If only I could remember them when it counts!

Guys, sorry for the latish reply.

@ Fogelbise

Originally Posted by fogelbise

I feel like that is slowly starting to happen for me...hopeful at least. I am guessing you have had that ability for a while!

Yes, I think there are some nice lucidity side effects. Unless there's too much stress and my sleep schedule is falling apart, there's a good chance I'd catch more lds like this - although the awareness is still not as high as with wbtbs. Working on getting more lds with pre bed work too.

I think you are getting pretty frequent lds, so you might want to share your strategy too.

@ CL

Originally Posted by CL

There are just so many ways to go about it! If only I could remember them when it counts!

Thanks for the explanation. I know! We do have so many options, but we rarely remember to try all the awesome things we had in mind.

Yes, I think there are some nice lucidity side effects. Unless there's too much stress and my sleep schedule is falling apart, there's a good chance I'd catch more lds like this - although the awareness is still not as high as with wbtbs. Working on getting more lds with pre bed work too.

Agreed on the typical awareness difference without wbtb. Though it does feel like validation for all of the work put in when it happens without wbtb.

I think you are getting pretty frequent lds, so you might want to share your strategy too.

As far as sharing my strategy, this may sound corny but, I think that it comes down to "journeys." There is my journey to understand what is really helping me to lucid dream. There is my journey of relatively steady practice for the last 13 months (with some short periods of waning practice but never stopping completely and not really waning for more than a week or so). And then there is my overall journey from childhood to now with a huge decades long gap where I paid almost no attention to dreams at all. I had some LDs as a child and I think that helps me now - not really with induction - but with dream control and knowing that things like flying doesn't have to be hard if you don't believe it to be. That is one advantage of not going into something with any pre-conceived negative notions I guess.

My relatively steady practice has been evolving over these 13 months but has almost always been towards Sageous' brand of self-awareness work with RCs and RRCs. I think the shift to really understanding that I should really stop and look around in wonder when doing these "check-ins" was one of my first epiphanies. Another was being able to visualize "seeing myself" from various vantages. And more recently a kind of odd stepped-up realization of the fact that "I am he who is aware." If you get a kind of paradigm shift when really looking around in wonder (i.e. while your fingers are around your mouth like a man stroking his mustache/beard thus putting your fingers and hand into view or peripherally seeing your body below while looking out at the world) it can give you an idea of what I mean. The competition made me focus my efforts better and put in some more work on my dream signs, pre-bed focus and wbtbs, but those ramped up practices are currently slacking off and I can see the difference. Sorry so long!

Great comment, fogelbise, and an excellent explanation of IMO one of the most effective ways to become consistently lucid. You've done a good job of internalizing what works, I think. I'm not surprised that your results are so good!

That means a lot coming from you CL. You and NyxCC and your feedback and info exchanges have been an important part of my progress as well!!

Thanks for the long and great explanation, fogelbise! I very much like the part about the journeys, it definitely resonates with me. And the awarness practices you are doing are indeed very beneficial for lding and also for helping us experience the here and now of real life with much greater intensity.

Great to talk to you guys, as always!