Thread: Hirondelle's workbook

I did it! I did it!

Woke up (without alarm) at 7.30, tried to remember the dream that I had when I woke up. Disappointed that again I couldn't get a lot in my mind although I felt that there was a lot. Went to the toilet, wrote down the bit I remembered and read a bit on dreamviews. Last night I read a thread (I think started by gab) about the experiences you can have during the transition doing WILD (can't actually find it now). This morning a WILD tutorial by Billy-Bob. So......back to bed.... relax and wait for something to happen. I used the mantra: I am dreaming and found that I'd get distracted by random thoughts. Every time that happened I brought my attention back and said the mantra again. After a while I started to think that the random "thoughts", were not really thoughts, they were mini dream scenes..... I thought about RC's and that I'd better not move, so I tried to levitate. None of the times I tried did this work.
I found myself in the attick-room of the house of my childhood with my mother. Some things happened (wrote everything down in my DJ), nothing spectacular, but I had the feeling that something was not normal ( my mothers dead since 2009, haven't been in that house for more than 30 years.....) so I did the nosepinch RC. I was able to breathe, but I told myself that I probably didn't close my nose well enough. Did it again..... same thing, just didn't trust myself. Tried to push my finger through my hand, that didn't work, so..... I still wasn't sure.....
Next I found myself in a white room. Two young men where sitting on a white table, I saw them on the back. The one on the right, had very short hair and was quite suntanned. I recognized him, it was Lyson.
And now.... a new dreamsign:...... I must be dreaming, I don't know anybody by the name of Lyson!!! Did the nose pinch but still felt more convinced by the fact that I have never heard of somebody called Lyson than the fact that I could breathe with my nose pinched!

The dream went on some more (DJ)....went outside, beautiful part of a village/city but it was dark and cloudy so and I wished for more light, I summoned more light but that only worked a bit....

The dream ended as a NL.

Don't really know which category of LD this fits in, DILD or WILD, but what the heck... I did it!

Bravo for your lucid-dream.

Nice one Hirondelle

More LD's are coming your way

Congrats Hirondelle!

Because of my success on the 21st I decided to continue trying the same way.

22-2 Went to bed at 23.00. Woke up at 3.25 (because an SMS came in!!! the downside of living in the countryside, bad "connection", I verified the next day, my friend had sent it at 15.00!). I went to the toilet and back to bed. Try to WILD without result (didn't stay up!). Remember a dream when the alarm goes off at 7.15. I write it down (in bed). After that I spend a long time in a "slumber" state, fall asleep and dream NL again.

23-2 Bedtime 23.00 Wake up (after dreaming but without memory) at 4.45. Stayed up for half an hour to WBTB. It took a long time to fall asleep again and at the alarm at 7.15 I'm too tired to try to remember what I was dreaming about. Wake up again at 8.45 with a very vague memory, not more than on phrase in my DJ.

24-2 Bedtime 23.00 Wake up during the night after a dream and try to "fix" it into my memory to be able to write it down in the morning. I wake up at 6.10, and I can't retrieve it. I do remember the dream that I was having before waking up this time, so I get up, write it down and stay up for 20 minutes, knowing that the alarm (that goes of for my husband) will get in the way, but I try WBTB anyway. I lie down on my back, relax, and say (in my head) "I'm dreaming" on every breath out. Let my thoughts come and go without engaging, and get two "waves" of "going to sleep feelings" before the alarm goes of. I just keep doing the same thing, have to scratch my head in between, but continue. I turn to my side and soon think "Hey wait, you're falling asleep, stay here..." and then think of the dream that I have prepared in my head. I starts with me walking out our door. So, I walk out the door! Jeez,..... I'm not in my garden, but in the garden of my childhood home. I'm lucid, don't even feel the need to check reality!
I feel a bit cheated, because this is not what I wanted (I'm not in my own garden) I walk through the garden to go out the back. I rub my hands because I've read that that will stabilize the dream. The surroundings have changed quite a bit there, but that seems normal to me because it's been such a long time since I've been there. I can see very far and decide to fly to be able to go quicker. So I fly at about 2 meters high, "superman"-style to go fast. But I can't seem to get a decent speed. Try breaststroke (that's what I've done on 2 previous occasions), but of course (?) that doesn't make me move any faster. Not happy about that I start spinning and end up somewhere else, don't remember where, lucidity gone. I have a NL straight after that and wake up at 8.45.

So........ what have I learned here? (Patience108 and NyxxCC do you agree?)
WBTB as late as possible is good for me because earlier in the night I don't seem to be able to remember enough of my dreams. I should do this for the moment and try as often as possible.

Should I stick to trying to have the dream that I've built in my head (includes dream goal free riding a big black horse)?

I'm going to have a look around on DV to learn more about the ways to stay lucid longer, tips are welcome!

Well done Hirondelle Your going great and your insights are spot on

Thanks Patience! I'm really happy about my progress. Sticking to this at the moment.
Not looking at the hypnosis way any more! But, last night I saw another use of hypnotherapy, which was very useful for the girl that had it, just want to tell you about it. This program is a reality thing about people with severe eating disorders. There was this 18 year old girl living on liquid food because she couldn't swallow anything with "pieces" in it. The thought only made her panic and think she would choke. She'd been like that for something like 10 years, really skinny, always tired, so really not in good health. She totally agreed that it couldn't go on like that, and after months of cognitive therapy she was able to eat a bit of solid food. Two weeks without therapy ad she was back at where she started, pouring her "cup-a-soup" through a tea strainer to take the solids out. Then they decided to try hypnotherapy. The therapist talked to her subconscious (they showed a part of the session) and when she came out of the hypnosis he offered her a Mars bar and she ate.... You could see how surprised she was that she was able to do this. She continued to do better after this one session.

Nice Hirondelle, you're making progress.

Very pleased with my successful WILD's on 21 and 24 February!

25-2: Bedtime 23.00 Remember only a hint of a dream when I wake up at 4.35. I get up and do WBTB at 5.00. No success, got up at 7.30.

26-2: Bedtime 23.00 Wake up naturally before the alarm and remember a dream. I get up and write it down at 7.15. Try WBTB at 8.00, feel physically relaxed, think I feel a small "wave" but eventually get up at 8.55, I'm awake.

27-2: Bedtime 22.45 Have to go to the toilet at 3.10. I feel I was dreaming but can't remember. Stayed up for 15 minutes reading DJ. Try WBTB. It's not difficult to physically relax. I feel I almost made it. It's the first time ever I felt vibrations. Didn't sleep very well until the alarm at 7.15.

28-2 Bedtime 22.45 I had an argument with my husband and I'm stressed about that. The dream I remember at waking up at 5.40 is about him being angry. I try WBTB (stayed up for 20 minutes) but that doesn't work. I think I still dreamt but don't remember.

29-2 and 1-3 I feel I'm still to stressed about what's going on in RL to recall my dreams, so .... nothing.....

Hey great progress - sooo happy for you !

I know - when WL gets stressful LD's tend to be a little less forth coming but it's ok you will be back with it soon! Use your new insights into the feeling of ' wow it's all a dream' more and more in WL even when you your stressed as it can really help ease the load

Also just remembered read over the self awareness thread again as it can really help us hone in on ourselves when we might usually be loosing touch due to stuff going on in WL

Good job with the wilds! About your question regarding the scene - if you wish to dream/enter a specific scene you may hold on to a preset dream scene. However, this is not a requirement. I would definitely experiment to see if that makes wild eaiser for you. It may be that concentrating on the scene acts as an effective anchor that helps retain awareness .

NyxCC: I think I understand what you say, about the preset dream scene as an anchor, but I'm not sure about it myself. I felt so disappointed about not being in the right place, it took away a part of the joy of realizing that I was in a dream. Maybe I can try but warn myself that I might not succeed and need to be happy anyway and then focus on the basics, seeing, touching, tasting...

And for the "wow it's all a dream"-feeling that Patience108 mentioned: At the moment it's more like "it's all a nightmare". Won't be making any progress in the state I'm in at the moment. The only thing I need to do now is not loose motivation to carry on when things have calmed down...

There's always bad things we can focus on, but the good things are also always there. Let's choose to focus on the good stuff. And a lucid dream can make your day brighter.

Won't be making any progress in the state I'm in at the moment. The only thing I need to do now is not loose motivation to carry on when things have calmed down...

This is what I wrote 8 days ago. And I was right, I just wasn't in the right state of mind with life happening around me. I think I'm back on track!
What got me there? Being able to let go of my thoughts and doing RRC's.... not all that often but really with attention...

3-3 To bed at 22.30, stayed awake for a loooong time. Woken up by my husband at 4.15 (was I snoring?), got up and stayed up for 20 minutes to do WBTB. Nothing. Remember some dream fragments when the alarm sounds at 7.10.

4-3 Nothing

5-3 Bedtime 22.45 Set intentions to become lucid and remember my dreams. I wake up at 4.50 and remember a dream. The last part of it is really lovely NLD, I have to go and pick a horse to ride out of a group of horses. The horses frolic around me and discuss with each other which one of them would be best for me.... Got up to write these dreams down, stayed up for 15 minutes and tried WBTB. Nothing. The alarm went of at 7.30, I was dreaming at that time, but I don't remember anything.

6-3 Nothing

7-3 Feel like I've had a "busy" night, but don't remember anything. WBTB after the 7.10 alarm. I was physically very relaxed, but not sleepy anymore. So... nothing. When making coffee for myself I remember dreaming about different tastes of coffee. This is special in itself as taste normally doesn't seem to play a role in my dreams.

8-3 Went to bed at 00.30 and dozed of fairly quickly. Was a bit cold during a big part of the night (because one of the covers slid off, why didn't I figure that out straight away!!!) Dreaming when the alarm goes off at 7.10. I get up and stay up for 20 minutes and then try to sleep again for an hour or so. I get some waves of the "floating or sinking?" feeling that I had before my WILDS. This feels kind of promising. I try to nap in the afternoon and have the same feeling, without other results.

9-3 Bedtime 22.45, tired of the relatively short night before. I'm dreaming when the alarm goes off at 7.10.

10-3 Bedtime 22.30 I'm able to relax, but feel like I stayed awake for a long time. I wake up when my husband comes to bed at 00.30. His breathing noises are bothering me, I want to grab some earplugs and make my phone drop on the floor. It's 01.00. I lie down on my back and concentrate on my breathing. I feel the urge to turn to my side and I let myself do that.... I can go to sleep, it's too early to go straight into REM sleep. I notice HI, different than usual, different forms, patterns and colors. I enjoy myself peacefully watching them for what seems quite a while.
Then even before really noticing what is around me, just out of the blue, I seem to be thinking: "I could be lucid right now". I look at my hands, at first they seem normal, but when I start counting my fingers they start changing all the time. I smile.... I'm lucid. I tell myself to stay calm. I'm in an unknown bedroom, sitting on the single bed that is in a corner with one side against a wall. The room is a bit gloomy, mainly brown colors, not a lot of light. I know that there's a staircase behind the door in one of the walls. I think about what I want to do now. Do I want to go out and free ride the horse (my next dreamgoal). I decide not to, too difficult, I don't know where I am, so if I go out I have no idea where I'll end up. Just go with the dream, remember to stabilize... touch things.... I'm quite sure I touched different things.... don't remember well enough. I want to go out, don't use the door but go to one of the walls, that's not there. In stead of the wall there's a dark green wooden frame, it's standing in the opening where the wall should be. I touch the wood and step outside. I think there was some more but the next thing I remember is that everything went black. I open my eyes and find myself in bed.... I got out to write this down, it was 03.00.

That's great! I'm happy things have worked out and you're back on track and lucid!

Nothing special happened after my post of March 10, well not in the "LD department". I slept well last night but the 2 nights before were horrible and I still felt quite tired this afternoon. I had the possibility so I decided to go for a nap. I was able to relax my body quick enough, I love it when I realize that I hardly feel its presence and even hardly notice my breathing as it gets very quiet. I started counting on breathing in and thinking "I'm dreaming" on breathing out. Had to start again several times because I lost count, and after a while just continued where I thought I'd stopped. Then when I got to 100 it was like something happened. Everything went "blank" for just a while. I "looked" around for a dream but there was nothing there, and then I started noticing my own breath and immediately after that my thoughts switched on again. I tried once more and had the same experience another time. After a while I got up, I've been lying down for 1.5 hours.

Sounds like you were experiencing NREM. It's quite often the case that there is a short phase of this dreamless sleep, especially if we manage to stay conscious while falling asleep like you did. While it's not an ld per se, I find it a nice experience and definitely a state worth exploring.

I agree that it might be that NyxCC, because it has happened to me before, but this was very short indeed. Ok, WILD-training...!

This morning I got up at 5.30 to write down what I remembered of the dream I was in when my husband came to bed last night. I don't remember "the story" but more of a feeling, it was about things that are happening in RL, and it was like a dream, in a dream, in a dream, in a dream…. something never ending.

Went back half an hour later and felt my body relaxing more and more. I tried to stay in the relaxed state without going to sleep until after my husband and son had left the house at 7.35. I thought that it would be such a shame if I made to a LD to be woken up from it by their noises.

It felt promising… I had some HI/HH that I can actually describe which is unusual for me. I saw movie credits, black background with lots of names, in which I recognized one as the name of a member of the LD Facebook group. (Funny, not someone who's ever "said" something I find interesting…have never been in contact with that person). I also saw my computers toolbar, the Facebook sign was missing.
Then I felt like it was happening….the transition…. but as earlier this week there was nothing there and I quickly returned to being awake. I thought that I needed to think of a dream but I could not really and so the same thing happened a second time…

I got up at 8.30.

Any advice?

So, this scene that you were seening vanished? Maybe next time, try to relax a bit more towards sleep, in order to make sure you cross over rather than come back towards wakefulness. No need to worry about visuals, your brain should do this for you, ideally.

NyxCC 3-20:

So, this scene that you were seeiing vanished?

It was hardly a scene, more just a flash.

At the moment I seem to get stuck in between waking and sleeping all the time when I try to WILD. It's getting quite annoying because I loose sleep. It feels quite relaxed in that state but I don't feel rested when I stay like that for (at last that's what it seems like) hours.

no need to worry about visuals, your brain should do this for you

It should..... but it doesn't!!!

I know that I'm not doing well in the awareness department. I think about it often enough, but I just can't get the feeling that I know I should be having.

Sorry for this..... just had to complain a bit (again)

Having similar problems when I try WILD, which is rarely enough I guess considering I am more opportunistic with WILD attempts than actively trying it on as a technique.

Will definitely keep watching this space to see how you get past it.

Here I am again. Haven't posted for a while because there was nothing to post. I'm kind of angry with myself. It's like I've let it slip away.

I remembered one tiny dream last night. I've said to a few DV friends that I'd join in the beginners league of Spellbee's spring competition if I succeed in recalling at least some dreams before the closing date the 8th of April. In that case I'll start a DJ here next to my handwritten one.

Found another dream goal. I've been "immersed" in historical hand writings about the area I live in. Birth, death and marriage records from 1720 to 1740. With all the family names, names of townships, buildings still existing it would be great to find myself back in that time. I'm also reading a local novel about the era.

"Verdomme" (dutch swearword) I want to do this!

I'd definitely recommend joining the competition. It's a great motivator to both dream journal and also to have as many lds as one can.