Thread: Lucid Living: How I do it

Originally Posted by rynkrt3

Nobody, I mean nobody in a dream just randomly does a RC and becomes lucid. Most people just use RC's to confirm it. Think about it. If you do RC's when you see something dreamy or odd then in a dream you will do the same, after a while of training this. People never just stop everything in a dream for a random RC even if they do 25+ during the day randomly. If you read people's dream journals, they all go something like this: I was doing ( blank ) and I noticed something very strange, I thought, hey this might be a dream, I do a RC and confirm I am dreaming. None of them go like this: I was doing ( blank ) when all of a sudden I did a RC and became lucid.

Sorry but I have to disagree with you there. I've been in a dream not aware at all and I just randomly told myself to do a RC thinking I was 100% awake and when I took a look at my hands I only had 3 fingers.....Instant Lucidity.

Nothing out of the ordinary was happening at all and i've made it a habit of my every day life to try and do constant RC's throughout the day in order to make it a habit that carries over into the dream world and it has worked on numerous occasions.

Originally Posted by rynkrt3

Nobody, I mean nobody in a dream just randomly does a RC and becomes lucid. Most people just use RC's to confirm it. Think about it. If you do RC's when you see something dreamy or odd then in a dream you will do the same, after a while of training this. People never just stop everything in a dream for a random RC even if they do 25+ during the day randomly. If you read people's dream journals, they all go something like this: I was doing ( blank ) and I noticed something very strange, I thought, hey this might be a dream, I do a RC and confirm I am dreaming. None of them go like this: I was doing ( blank ) when all of a sudden I did a RC and became lucid.

I really have to disagree with you here. Every lucid dream I've had has occurred with a random RC, not because I've come across a dreamsign. When I have it ingrained into my head to do many RC's during the day (all on random occasions), I end up doing RC's in my dreams also.

You also mentioned:

Originally Posted by rynkrt3;

So many people get the idea in their head that, oh if I RC this many time's a day then it will occur in my dreams or w/e. That doesn't work at all, RC's should only be preformed when you see something odd.

This can not be more further from truth (for me anyway). Again, the more RC's I do in a day, the more likely I'm gonna do that in my dreams....and I've had several LD's already.

If you would like I have a music creating program called Fl studio 9 and I can take a song from the inception sound track and I can add some voice that goes "I'm dreaming" to the beat of the song.
I was thinking this one because It get stuck in your head pretty easy.

YouTube - Inception Soundtrack-Dream is Collapsing (Hans Zimmer)

You could listen to it on the bus when you go to school if you have an iPod or something like that or in the car.

holy shit thanks paefin the day after i read this and followed your instructions i had a lucid dream, ive been trying to find your post for a few days just to say thanks

Thank you PaeFin, I will give this an honest try, especially since you and rkenning got such quick results from it. I'm open to anything.

alot of my lucids were because i RC'd at a random time. like one time i dreamed i was walking around in my front yard, nothing looked wierd, then suddenly i thought 'I wonder if i'm dreaming' so i RCed. i'm Nobody also.

This technique looks interesting... do you acually have to believe you're dreaming or do you just think about LDing all day?

Originally Posted by Wristblade56

alot of my lucids were because i RC'd at a random time. like one time i dreamed i was walking around in my front yard, nothing looked wierd, then suddenly i thought 'I wonder if i'm dreaming' so i RCed. i'm Nobody also.

Except this wasn't a random RC. You thought "I wonder if I'm dreaming" and THEN you RCed

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep recommends something similar:

'Upon waking in the morning, think to yourself, "I am awake in a dream."
When you enter the kitchen, recognize it as a dream kitchen. Pour dream milk
into dream coffee. "It's all a dream," you think to yourself, "this is a dream."
Remind yourself of this constantly throughout the day.
The emphasis should actually be on you, the dreamer, more than on the
objects of your experience. Keep reminding yourself that you are dreaming up
your experiences: the anger you feel, the happiness, the fatigue, the anxiety – it
is all part of the dream. The oak tree you appreciate, the car you drive, the
person to whom you are talking, are all part of the dream. In this way a new
tendency is created in the mind, that of looking at experience as insubstantial,
transient, and intimately related to the mind's projections. As phenomena are
seen to be fleeting and without essence, grasping decreases. Every sensory
encounter and mental event becomes a reminder of the dream-like nature of
experience. Eventually this understanding will arise in dream and lead to the
recognition of the dream state and the development of lucidity.'

The emphasis, he says, is that:

In doing these practices, it is not enough to simply repeat again and again
that you are in a dream. The truth of the statement must be felt and experienced
beyond the words. Use the imagination, senses, and awareness in fully
integrating the practice with felt experience. When you do the practice properly,
each time you think that you are in a dream, presence becomes stronger and
experience more vivid. If there is not this kind of immediate qualitative change,
make certain that the practice has not become only the mechanical repetition of
a phrase, which is of little benefit.'

And I wholeheartedly agree. If you follow PaeFin's advice, it is imperative that you make your words powerful and consequential.

Originally Posted by vmenge

Except this wasn't a random RC. You thought "I wonder if I'm dreaming" and THEN you RCed

BUT nothing triggered that thought. i refuse to argue, i'm lazy like that

Originally Posted by Wristblade56

BUT nothing triggered that thought. i refuse to argue, i'm lazy like that

A-ha! Something did trigger your thought! I like to call it... awareness
But still, I agree it's entirely possible to just make a habit out of RCs and translate that to your dream life, but I've read about people who RCed in the dream, realized they were dreaming (in the dream), but didn't go lucid.

Originally Posted by vmenge

A-ha! Something did trigger your thought! I like to call it... awareness
But still, I agree it's entirely possible to just make a habit out of RCs and translate that to your dream life, but I've read about people who RCed in the dream, realized they were dreaming (in the dream), but didn't go lucid.

Yep. This is the biggest problem with making RCing a habit without exercising awareness at the same time. Habitual, awareness-powered RCs remain one of the best ways to employ general awareness.

That said, the method presented by the OP is heads and tails above RCing from time to time, as it's a relatively easy way to practice constant awareness. Other such techniques include constant RCs (like the gravity check Walms should be famous for) and straight-up situational awareness, for the sake of reference.

If I may say, bravo! I started this last night and got some interesting results in my personal dreamscape that night! I was a passenger in a car and we were going somewhere. I, out of nowhere say "I am dreaming" I then quickly realize that this time I AM dreaming, I ditch the car and I end up in a familiar setting... A setting where BOTH of my dreams from the past two nights took place... I look over a small cliff (ledge) and decide to try and fly, I run and jump...

But I fell...

Dream fades...

This sounds like it might work at first, but after awhile you'll forget about it entirely. However, I'll give it a try. My recall's been choppy lately, though.

Originally Posted by Wolfwood

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep recommends something similar:

'Upon waking in the morning, think to yourself, "I am awake in a dream."
When you enter the kitchen, recognize it as a dream kitchen. Pour dream milk
into dream coffee. "It's all a dream," you think to yourself, "this is a dream."
Remind yourself of this constantly throughout the day.
The emphasis should actually be on you, the dreamer, more than on the
objects of your experience. Keep reminding yourself that you are dreaming up
your experiences: the anger you feel, the happiness, the fatigue, the anxiety – it
is all part of the dream. The oak tree you appreciate, the car you drive, the
person to whom you are talking, are all part of the dream. In this way a new
tendency is created in the mind, that of looking at experience as insubstantial,
transient, and intimately related to the mind's projections. As phenomena are
seen to be fleeting and without essence, grasping decreases. Every sensory
encounter and mental event becomes a reminder of the dream-like nature of
experience. Eventually this understanding will arise in dream and lead to the
recognition of the dream state and the development of lucidity.'

The emphasis, he says, is that:

In doing these practices, it is not enough to simply repeat again and again
that you are in a dream. The truth of the statement must be felt and experienced
beyond the words. Use the imagination, senses, and awareness in fully
integrating the practice with felt experience. When you do the practice properly,
each time you think that you are in a dream, presence becomes stronger and
experience more vivid. If there is not this kind of immediate qualitative change,
make certain that the practice has not become only the mechanical repetition of
a phrase, which is of little benefit.'

And I wholeheartedly agree. If you follow PaeFin's advice, it is imperative that you make your words powerful and consequential.

this is fantastic cheers. its a great extension of things ive started doing recently. a really great way to work out your imagination and get greater focus on your senses and especailly dream senses

Originally Posted by Mzzkc

Yep. This is the biggest problem with making RCing a habit without exercising awareness at the same time. Habitual, awareness-powered RCs remain one of the best ways to employ general awareness.

That said, the method presented by the OP is heads and tails above RCing from time to time, as it's a relatively easy way to practice constant awareness. Other such techniques include constant RCs (like the gravity check Walms should be famous for) and straight-up situational awareness, for the sake of reference.

whats this all about then? anything like what i do when i just try to jump as a reality check?

VERY NICE! i tried this, starting HALFWAY THROUGH THE DAY and i got a lucid. i don't know if it was a result of this or not, but i'm gonna try to do it all day today and see what happens.

Originally Posted by rynkrt3

Nobody, I mean nobody in a dream just randomly does a RC and becomes lucid. Most people just use RC's to confirm it.

Sorry, but I agree with Roxy on this. I did become lucid at least once or twice by doing random RCs and I was absolutely surprised to find out that I was actually dreaming! There was nothing strange in the dream, I just felt compelled to to a RC as I do randomly when I'm awake. That's the point, even if "most people" don't actually use it that way!
Just because you and (in your own words) "most people just use RC's to confirm it" (notice how you didn't say "everybody"), doesn't mean there aren't exceptions to the norm.