Some questions

[RioIsHere]

So after a along time of getting only false awakenings I took a long break, about a year or 2 to be precise. But now I’m very determined to have one. But I’m not sure if they were actually false awakenings or just me dreaming that I had a false awakening. Lucid dreams feel like real life right? Like you are conscious. It doesn’t feel like a normal Dream which is always fuzzy to me. You decide if you wanna touch stuff. Because my false awakenings felt like real life. I had one where a mysterious figure kicked a shoe into my room, he had smoke coming off him. Also I Always have no sound in my dreams either. Rarely do I get sound. Maybe I’m not vivid enough. Anyway. I’m doing MILD, because me and my brothers share a room. And I can’t wake them up in the middle of then night haha.

[zelcrow]

Hey, RioIsHere, when you say you're very determined to have one, do you mean you want to have false awakenings or lucid dreams? Lucid dream can feel like real life but not necessarily. Mine tend to have a dreamlike quality to them. Things like my bodyweight won't be perfectly simulated. And yes, you do choose within lucid dreams. It feels like choosing in waking life as opposed to merely recalling upon waking with non-lucid dreams. If you don't get sound, you can try spending a few minutes each day focusing all your attention on what you hear and listen very closely to sounds and hear things you don't normally notice. Then when going to sleep remind yourself that you'll hear sounds vividly in a dream. That has helped me. It worked with smelling too! Some other members might have some good input for you as well. Good luck working with MILD! Don't forget to do the prospective memory training and reality checks. Let us know how it goes and good luck!

[RioIsHere]

Thanks for reply! Yeah false awakenings. My dreams feel really realistic. But the only reason I know they are FA’s is because weird stuff usually happens. But I’m usually too tired to keep the dream going and just go back to bed. Any way to fight this? Prospective memory? Any good guides you recommend? Thanks!

[zelcrow]

I don't have that many false awakenings so another member can probably help you more effectively. When you say you go back to bed, you mean you get back in bed during your false awakening? I would recommend Stephen Laberge's book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. He invented the MILD technique and explains it very well. In the book he outlines the prerequisites like dream recall and prospective memory and state tests (reality checks). A way to fight the tiredness is to do WBTB (wake back to bed) where you get up an hour or two earlier than normal, stay up for a 30-60 minutes, and then go back to sleep while intending to recognize your false awakenings or for lucid dreams. WBTB also immensely increases your chances of having a lucid dream. I've read false awakenings are very common at the end of lucid dreams too. I've had that happen a couple of times myself.

[zelcrow]

Hey RioIsHere, last night I was reading Are You Dreaming? by Daniel Love and read something that might be of use to you. He has a method called FATE. It is essentially where you set an alarm to wake up after at least 5-6 hours of sleep so you'll have increased REM at that point. Then over the next 90 minutes have an alarm go off at random intervals (you can use an app to do this. One I know of for Android is called Randomly Remind Me for Android). Set the alarm in your room so that you have to get up and walk to it. Also, cover the time with a cloth or something so you don't see the time. Each time you get up and check the alarm, observe your surroundings and experience carefully and closely. Turn the alarm off and do a reality test (he recommends the nose-pinch RC). Once you know you're awake, return to bed. If you're dreaming, go about your false awakening! If you're still awake, go back to bed and visualize the reality test as you're going back to sleep. Next, you awaken to the random alarm and repeat the process of getting up, turning off the alarm, doing a reality check, and getting back in bed and visualizing until you reach your goal. This could work, so long as your brother is okay with it or not in the room! Some people might find it a bit annoying so you could check with him beforehand. Best of luck to you in having some false awakenings!