Neuroanatomy and V8 juice: My quest for lucidity
Before I offer any answers or pose any questions I would like to offer an explanation as to why my first post to Dreamviews.com is in the "Attaining Lucidity" forum and not the customary "Newbie Zone".
I have always known of lucid dreaming but the first time I was told that it was possible for it to be consciously induced was about a year ago. At the time I had no knowledge of the numerous antonyms ending in "ILD", sleep paralysis, Galantamine, or any of the other words and phrases used regularly on this site. This is because, like most people, the first things I heard about lucid dreaming were misleading at best. fortunately I was smart enough to realize that "closing your eyes super tight" probably wasn't going to trick the most advanced computer in the world (the human brain). Deciding it was impossible I discarded the concept and carried on regularly. A few months later, stumbling aimlessly on the internet I came across an article about the NovaDreamer, a product I'm sure you all have heard of. Were it not for my slight interest in the subject I would have said "TL;DR" and continued on but thankfully I decided to read it. I was intrigued. Over the days that followed my intrigue turned into enthrallment, I had found a new hobby. I watched youtube videos, read sleep studies, learned brain anatomy, and added a few dozen new words to my vocabulary. It didn't take long for me to find what has been by far the most helpful reference, this website. After a month or so of reading threads and instructions I have decided to become a member of the community. Already knowing the answers to most of the questions posed in the "Newbie" threads I thought it a good idea to jump into the thick of it.
Phew... that was a lot of intro, thank you if you read it!
Now to the "Attaining Lucidity"
Most people, when attempting to lucid dream, choose a specific method and adjust it until it works consistently for them. And that's what I did, sort of. I decided that I would do them all at the same time. As you can imagine the first two or so weeks were a horrific hodgepodge of awkwardness and lost sleep. My days (and nights) were full of random RC's (Reality Checks), inconsistent mnemonic bouts of "I will lucid dream", a 4:15 alarm on my iPod for some WBTB (Wake Back To Bed), and worst of them all, the hours every night spent lying perfectly still, fighting the excruciating urge swallow or blink. Waiting for SP (Sleep Paralysis) and the elusive WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dream.
Since then I have added a few things, taken some out, and picked up a few crucial tidbits of information. Here's my do's and don'ts. Please comment if you've found otherwise or have something to add.
1. Dream journals: Dream journals are great for helping recall, just make sure you have pen and paper on your night stand. If you have to get up and find them there's a good chance you will forget everything about your dream that you were going to write down. Trust me. that is very frustrating. When writing in your journal write down key aspects and feelings, not specific details. The thoughts you have in your sleeping mind don't always translate well to your logical waking mind and it makes it very hard to gain meaning from them. Take for example this early entry in my dream journal "...steal it underwater from the hotel, the tubes of the nuclear reactor gave rush clay poisoning and there are lots of levels..." What I usually do now is write a few bullet points and it makes A LOT more sense "-In the Park With Friends -There is a big storm -The rain is really pretty -everyone is happy" small things like this can often trigger a full recall.
2. Reality Checks: Personally I haven't had any notable success with RCs but that is not at all because RCs don't work (sounds crazy but its not). The reason anyone, myself included, hasn't induced LDs through them is because they are not being done properly. The only way for an RC to carry over into a dream is for it to be habitual and for something to become habitual you have to do it ALL THE TIME. people usually give up with RCs because they can't remember to do it or get frustrated that its not working. I suggest making a ring or a bracelet that has the letters RC on it, and every time you see it do a reality check. Soon you'll get into the habit of doing an RC every time you look down at your hands. Hopefully this habit will start to cross over to your dreamworld and you will be able to readily identify that your dreaming. Which means lots of lucids.
3. Lucid Aids: Lucid aid's are things (usually pretty regular foods) are likely to increase your chance of a lucid dream, remembering your dream, or having a very vivid dream. My nighttime snack includes Garlic, Bananas, Dark Chocolate, and V8 juice w/hot sauce. This combination has worked well for me and is relatively cheap. If you spend any time on this site you will no doubt see mentions of Galantamine, Melatonin, and B6 supplements among others. In low doses all of these are harmless as all of the ingredients already exist in your body but messing with brain chemistry can be a very dangerous thing. If you choose to go the pharmaceutical route do so cautiously.
4. WILDs and WBTB: Wake induced lucid dreaming is without contest the most tantalizing of the "ILD" acronyms, being able to enter dreams directly seems amazing. However, as you all must know, it is very difficult. In my opinion there are three things necessary for WILD (excluding WBTB, ill talk about that later) The first is determination, if you fail the first few times (which you probably will, or have) you need to be able to stick with it. The other two are very conflicting. You need to have incredible mental awareness to keep your logical mind awake and extreme relaxation to let your body fall asleep. If they are out of balance you will fail. If you're thinking about it too much than you can never fall asleep, I had laid perfectly still for an entire night wondering why I wasn't yet in SP. I have also fallen asleep without keeping aware, I've done that a lot. Most of you know what WBTB is, if you don't there are countless threads on here that tell you how to do it. WBTB IS CRUCIAL, every time I have had a lucid dream is after waking up and going back to bed (thats what WBTB stands for, Wake Back To Bed).
5. Learn!: Read as much as you can, the more you know about how dreaming works. about how your body works, the more likely it is that you will be able to control it. Check in on Dreamview, teach your friends about lucid dreaming. Watch videos, Read books, talk to doctors, and maybe a few existential hippies. It doesn't matter who, the more you think about lucid dreaming to more likely it is that it will happen.
Thanks so much for reading! Please comment if you have anything to add, if I messed up on something, or you just want to say hey. You guys are great,
happy dreaming! :D
