But why cant I get Lucid?

Hey everyone,
Ive been able to remember all by dreams for the last 5 days. Only about 2 of those dreams I only remember centain parts, but the other 3 were very clear. The problem is, atleast 2 of those dreams were incredibly weird. For example, one of them, I was in a videogame world. Why didnt I go Lucid then? Surely I would have known that was just a dream.
I have a nice dream journal and a few dream signs. Plus, I do have regular reality checks, but its only been about 2 weeks since Ive started to try and I have been having late nights.
Any idea's?

Thanks alot everyone! ; )

Don't worry, it can sometimes take up to three months before someone gets their first LD. After you get one, more should be a lot easier.

Hey man...
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Don't worry...indeed,Indeed is right...:D
Some people wait quite long until their first LD comes...Others quit because they don't have the patience...Don't be one of the "Others"...;)
And yes,as Indeed said,after your first LD...the numbers will begin to increase...
Don't give up man...you're doing well...
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Sam

Couple comments in your post made me think there's a few things you could fix.

If you can pull off clear dreams but not lucid ones, the problem is awareness. Going to sleep late can make it so your mind can't get enough rest to work like its awake, which is what you want in a lucid dream. Try getting 8 hours a day at least with wake back to bed after 5-6 hours.

If you play a lot of video games or watch a lot of television, this can affect your awareness. Many people go through their days in a tunnel vision; looking, seeing and experiencing everything in the same way. Take a day to 'slow down' and look around you (ever have a teacher that made you stand on your desk to see how everything just looks different from other perspectives?). Really study how objects just 'be', and think 'if this is a dream, what would i do' (first thing should be a rc :P).

Try these suggestions and I'm sure it'll make a difference!

Keep at it! You'll get there eventually, I'm sure. I started trying about 2 months ago, and still nothing but I feel I have made a lot of progress in that time experimenting with techniques and learning from other people's posts on Dream Views.

Good luck! :)

Hi Livingbeyond. Your doing daily realty checks and a dream journal, that's good. Are you using any induction method such as MILD, WILD, or autosuggestion? Or strictly reality checks and a dream journal?

Thanks for all the reponses guys, really appreciate it.
To jwest0215, Im trying WILD, DILD and a bit of the MILD technique.
Im mainly focusing on DILD however.

OK, so this is gonna be a long post lol...and its all theory, meaning I literally just thought of this about 2 nights ago. What a coincidence you happen to come along? Because my theory tries to provide an answer to 'why does it take so long for people to start lucid dreaming?' So that's my question, and it doesn't apply exactly to everyone, some people just get it and can do it, others, like me, it took about a month to get my first lucid dream. But why? We try so hard, its always on our mind, and practice with lots of dedication and intensity to try to insure that we become lucid, but we fail...why? Why, with so much practice, so much dedication, so much earnest to become lucid does it take SO long for it to happen.

I think that the answer lies in what are called 'Hypnotic Laws', laws that are associated with conducting hypnosis on people. There are a couple of these laws but one in particular that really relates to lucid dreaming. And that is 'The Law of Reversed Effect". The Law of Reversed Effect states when dealing with the power of the subconscious mind, the greater the conscious effort, the smaller the subconscious response. So relating that to lucid dreaming, that would mean that, the harder you try to consciously have a lucid dream, the harder it will be to have one.

Now that sounds pretty terrible and discouraging, and looking at it from a different perspective, it doesn't even make sense. Try relating that Law to learning how to play guitar. If you try learning the guitar, and practice every day for say an hour, at the end of the week (7 Hours totally practicing), you will be better than you were when you first started. So this Law had no effect. Why? Why does it not apply to learning the guitar, but then apply to lucid dreaming?

The answer is because lucid dreaming is a subconscious focus and learning the guitar is a conscious focus.

So basically when you learn to play the guitar you are using your conscious mind to figure out the problem of not knowing how. With lucid dreaming its different, you have to use your subconscious mind to figure out the problem of not know how.

And there in lies the problem...
In our attempts at lucid dreaming we are trying to solve a subconscious problem with consciousness...
Remember when dealing with the power of the subconscious mind, the greater the conscious effort, the smaller the subconscious response

Your subconscious mind has gotten into a habit of you simply falling asleep and dreaming unconsciously. Now, with lucid dreaming, you are trying to change that habit of the subconscious. And any attempt to change that habit gets fiercely resisted. Thus enacting the law of reversed effect. The more pressure you apply the more resistance is generated.

SO now the question is 'How do we get around the law of reversed effect?' The answer is to use creative visualization and emotional association. This is the minds natural way to change the minds process.

Hmmm....doesn't that sound familiar? Creative visualization and emotional association? It should! Because that's exactly what you do in a MILD! MILD has us visualizing ourselves becoming lucid in a dream (creative visualization) and stating an intention (emotion association) to get us to have lucid dreams. Stephen LaBerge even states in his book on when stating your intention to "Really try to feel that you mean it" which means you have add emotion to it! What a smart guy Stephen LaBerge is huh?

When I found out the other night how to get around the law of reversed effect I was like
'Oh My God! That's exactly what MILD is. LaBerge is a genius!'

So...I could have just told you...DO MILD...but your question was why is it taking so long. The answer is because your doing it the hard way...the techniques you are trying will eventually work because your subconscious will eventually give in, it will just take a little longer. And the reason I explained all that stuff about the law of reversed effect is because I wanted you to know the reason why MILD works, and why your brain allows it too. By now knowing this I hope it will further you along to a lucid dream!

So I say forget DILD, forget WILD, and start doing MILD. Keep your dream journal and keep doing RC's but really work on MILD with a WBTB.

Here is a website to help you with visualizations. It sure helped me.

Creative Visualisation

I hoped this helped and I hope you have your first lucid dream soon too! And send me a message when you do! Id love to hear about it! Good luck!

Here are the websites I used to find all this stuff out.

Laws of Success Rules of the Mind Law of Expectation Law of Reversed Effect
Creative Visualisation
PsiPog.net : Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD) by Stephen LaBerge

Having plenty of sleep is the first step. Remember, the last thing you have to think before falling asleep is about how much you want to become lucid in your dream. Always plan what you will do if you get lucid in your dream.
At the beginning, I was reading everything I could get on lucid Dreaming. The book ''Exploring the world of Lucid Dreaming'' by Stephen Laberge is a MUST.
Keep doing your RC when you encounter your dreamsign in your ''waking life'', eventually you will become lucid in your dream. Be sure to do atleast 10 RC per day.
GOOD LUCK!!!;)

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Originally Posted by LivingBeyond

For example, one of them, I was in a videogame world. Why didnt I go Lucid then? Surely I would have known that was just a dream.

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Your brain is remarkably capable of tricking itself into believing all kinds of things. I dream that I'm alternate characters all the time, complete with backstories that I'll make up on the spot if pressed. Right down to childhood traumas. :P

The thing about playing videogames is that you'll find yourself immersed in the experience. While you're dreaming, your mind tends to stay on one track (at least until you get distracted), and you'll remain focused on what's in front of you in a similar way. Becoming lucid involves tweaking your state of mind during a dream, something that doesn't occur naturally.

Improving your recall is the most important part of this process, and your dream journal is the key to that. Keep at it; it takes time.

A big part of becoming lucid, for me, involves becoming more aware of my surroundings while I'm awake. By utilizing your awareness, you can actually start to sense the difference between dreams and reality. This is the most common approach to DILD that I use - there's actually a tutorial up about it.

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Originally Posted by jimmychooshoe

The human's upsat is so cute...

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What.

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Originally Posted by Samael

What.

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Just another spammer. Pay it no mind, for it draws power from your attention.

Speaking of attention, Samael's approach to lucidity is actually quite similar to what I employ. Now, confidence and recall are great and all, but awareness tends to be that one crucial piece of the lucid equation most people overlook. That's actually where most of my effort goes when I'm looking to improve my DILD rate.