it doesn't HAVE to be an LD but i would prefer one.
it doesn't HAVE to be an LD but i would prefer one.
You could try using mantras similar to an MILD. Just instead of using one like "I will become lucid tonight" use one like, "My dreams will be vivid tonight." Granted you could always combine so you would be saying to yourself, "I will have vivid, lucid dreams" or something similar. Just pick a mantra that suits you best.
There's also various outside resources you could use such as lucid aids. I believe certain juices help to increase vividness such as apple/orange juice (not quite sure) and I think I remember hearing that chocolate or bananas were good for vivid dreams, though I could be completely wrong. Drinking a glass of apple juice and eating a banana never hurt though :)
That's some good advice from Burke.
I would add vitamin B6, it increases vividness. First time I took it (100mg), I had 3, incredible long, vivid and interesting dreams.
Also, if I may suggest, say your mantras in present tense, like 'I lucid dream', 'My dreams are vivid', 'I remember my dreams', 'Next time I'm dreaming I realize my dreaming', 'Next time I'm dreaming, I look at my hands and realize I'm dreaming'. Make this mantra last thing you say just before you drift off to sleep.
Our mind interprets future tens as something that will happen some other time, just not now.
I always try to recall some happy feeling or excitement when I say my mantras - it helps my mind associate me being happy with whatever my mantra says.
Are you saying your mantras, doing reality checks, write in your dream journal, practice daytime awareness? All these things will help you get lucid.
Good luck and happy dreams!
Read about dreams, write about dreams, think about dreams, talk about dreams. Basically be involved in dreams and dreams will come. Some people have their first LD the night that they first learn it exists! Just tell yourself over and over again that you want vivid dreams that you'll remember, sometimes that's all it takes. Good luck!
Wake Back To Bed (WBTB) should be your best bet for a vivid or lucid dream. Try to set an alarm for a time when you know you will be dreaming. Try to catch a REM sleep stage. Maybe 4 or 5 hours after you first go to bed. Stay up for 15-30 minutes thinking of nothing but dreaming. Then, return to sleep expecting some amazing dreams.
Long term, you should start a dream journal. This will send your dream recall through the roof. You will start remembering 3 or more dreams every night, and they will become more and more vivid.
Mantras may help. Try saying "I have vivid dreams" for a bit before you go to bed.
All the advices you got are spot on. They work for both - regular and lucid dreams. But maybe we should have made it more clear.
Mantras work on everything, not just lucid dreams. If you want to wake up at certain time, remember your dream, have a VIVID dream, LUCID or REGULAR, say it in your mantra.
Also some supplements, as vitamin B6 enhances dreams, not just lucid dreams.
You are welcome.
I totally agree with everyone. We really are the experts and novices here on DV. I wouldn't consider myself an expert, but for some reason I almost always have my most vivid LDs when I go to sleep really late (like after midnight) and stay in bed until about 10 AM. In the beginning, I only had them while going to bed early (around 9 PM). Mantras are really good, and staying still on your back with arms to your sides and legs straight out. It's tough, but it's completely worth it.
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