Lucid Living: How I do it

[PaeFin]

I believe that lucid living is the one strongest tool for having a lucid dream. I did it a few years ago until life got in the way, and I'm doing it again now, and it's given me wonderful results each time. You do it simply by telling yourself that you're dreaming or in a dream literally all day. Just keep repeating it in your head. Tell it to yourself out loud or at least more forcefully when you change places or when something bad happens, set a couple of triggers like that, but really you just have to tell it to yourself over and over until it's a habit. I did initially think that this would be an epic fail and that in a dream I'd just be like "Oh, I'm dreaming," and brush it off without becoming lucid. Au contraire, I ended up having about three lucid dreams... ON the day I started. So hopefully I've convinced you of the ease and effectiveness of this method. But I often find it hard to remember to tell myself that all day. (I mean, a day is like 15 hours, it's hard to keep it in mind for THAT long.) So the method I've come up with is to put "I'm dreaming" to the tune of one of your favorite songs. Then get it stuck in your head! It's really simple, but it works. I came up with this on the bus to school while listening to music, and I couldn't concentrate on dreaming and the music at the same time, so I sang along with altered lyrics. The song was stuck in my head all day and I had a wonderful lucid that night about the guy I like :3 Anyway, this method will give you epic DILDs with little to no effort, so I'd highly recommend that you try it! I do it in conjunction with WILD as well, just for the extra boost. I also chant, "I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming" while I fall asleep to solidify the habit and sometimes it will carry over into a dream. Thanks for reading, happy dreaming, and please comment, Paefin

[rynkrt3]

Awesome post PaeFin, I will start doing this on a daily basis and report back here occasionally. -Thank you! Edit: How often should I tell myself that I am dreaming? It's almost impossible to keep that thought with me all the time just because when I'm working, or w/e I would forget about it.

[PaeFin]

Just repeat it like a mantra whenever you can. It is sort of annoying during work or school because it can be hard to keep it in mind. Pause for a few moments every five minutes or so and say it more forcefully, but it should be in the back of your mind most of the time.

[MatrixMaster92]

So the method I've come up with is to put "I'm dreaming" to the tune of one of your favorite songs. Then get it stuck in your head! GREAT idea!

[PaeFin]

LOL thanks MatrixMaster it works for me anyway!

[Roxy]

What I find usefull to do aswell is make a little logo on your hand wich reminds you of lucid dreaming and when you look at it do a reality check. Or actually write down:''I'm dreaming'' however if you do that some people might think you are weird for having that on your hand.

[rynkrt3]

What I find usefull to do aswell is make a little logo on your hand wich reminds you of lucid dreaming and when you look at it do a reality check. Or actually write down:''I'm dreaming'' however if you do that some people might think you are weird for having that on your hand. Reality checks are useless unless you see something out of place or "dreamy." 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.

[Roxy]

Reality checks are useless unless you see something out of place or "dreamy." 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. ' I have to disagree with you here. If you believe that whenever you do a RC you are actually dreaming it will happen in dreamstate aswell. Ofcourse you shouldn't have a set time on when to do a reality check. Just do it on random times and random places. If you dream alot at work why not try it in your office for once? (exceptions for people who work at different locations ofcourse).

[rynkrt3]

' I have to disagree with you here. If you believe that whenever you do a RC you are actually dreaming it will happen in dreamstate aswell. Ofcourse you shouldn't have a set time on when to do a reality check. Just do it on random times and random places. If you dream alot at work why not try it in your office for once? (exceptions for people who work at different locations ofcourse). 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.

[NrElAx]

This is funny because I do this when I get anxiety. It helps me so much but I never thought about doing it for dilding. I'll give it a shot.

[PaeFin]

The point of repeating "I'm Dreaming" is that it's not really TIED to anything. You just repeat it whenever you remember. Then in dreams when you remember, you end up subconsciously thinking about dreaming/rcs, and you go lucid. So rynkrt3 I'd say that if you make it a habit to do it basically at random, or constantly, you DO end up doing it randomly in dreams when your subconscious visits that thought. make sense?

[rynkrt3]

The point of repeating "I'm Dreaming" is that it's not really TIED to anything. You just repeat it whenever you remember. Then in dreams when you remember, you end up subconsciously thinking about dreaming/rcs, and you go lucid. So rynkrt3 I'd say that if you make it a habit to do it basically at random, or constantly, you DO end up doing it randomly in dreams when your subconscious visits that thought. make sense? Makes perfect sence . Using this, how often do you become lucid?

[PaeFin]

The first couple of days it starts out at like 3-4 times a night (like the very first day, starting from nothing) but it tends to dip and then rise gradually (no LDs, then one a day, and then back up to the initial number). But that might just be me, IDK really.

[rynkrt3]

I did this ALL day yesterday, didn't have a LD and only recalled like 1/2 of a dream.

[PaeFin]

Well I don't know how long it takes for everyone, that's just me. And it doesn't help with recall at all. If you're not good at recall it's definitely possible to forget any lucids you might have had. That goes for any method. Try it for another day or so and see what happens.

[Jay12341235]

I'm going to keep at it for a week or two and I'll be sure to report back if I have any success

[NrElAx]

How do you remember to tell yourself that everythings a dream. I'll remeber to tell myself like twice in the morning, but then I'll forget till like nightime. Well its partially due to my bad short term memory.

[whiterain]

How do you remember to tell yourself that everythings a dream. I'll remeber to tell myself like twice in the morning, but then I'll forget till like nightime. Well its partially due to my bad short term memory. as someone else suggested i often just put a little l on my left hand, so eveytime i see it it makes me think of lucidity. i think some people get new rings and things also as constant reminders

[dakotahnok]

This sounds like MILD. An all day hardcore MILD. But still a MILD. And MILD is very effective.

[iFatal]

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.

[rkenning]

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

[WaterDreamer]

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.

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

[vmenge]

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

[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.