Thread: 1 year, not a single LD

Originally Posted by BrandonBoss

how consistent is your sleep schedule? what is your mantra? what do you think about during RCs? What do you think about during WBTBs? have you tried natural WBTBs?

i sleep 7 hours during weeks and 10/12 hours during weekends
my mantra is: I know that i am dreaming
during RCs i think that i am lucid
during WBTBs i think about lucid dreams
never tried natural WBTBs

Originally Posted by JoannaB

How much do you really want to LD? If the answer is that you desperately want an LD, maybe you are trying too hard? Also if you are just going through the motions of the methods but after that long a time do not really expect it to work, that could be your issue. I know a combination of those two is my issue why I have not LDed in three months now: I desperately want one, but I do not really expect to have one much of the time. I need an attitude adjustment. Do you?

I really want to LD, it could change my life.
i am really into it, sometimes my motivation
goes down, but i definetely want to have 1
no matter how much time i will took.

Originally Posted by Iriba

i sleep 7 hours during weeks and 10/12 hours during weekends
my mantra is: I know that i am dreaming
during RCs i think that i am lucid
during WBTBs i think about lucid dreams
never tried natural WBTBs

This is helpful.
I don't have much experience with mantras. I've just never used them.
However, repeating "I know that I am dreaming" may be dangerous to your likelihood of success. Reason being that you are not dreaming when you do this (unless I completely misunderstand the concept of mantras). Since you are not dreaming, this means that you aren't actually telling yourself that you know you are dreaming. Rather, you are simply going through the motions and saying the words.

It's hard to explain, but here is an example:
When I first heard about reality checks, I did them all the time. "Am I dreaming? No. I'm awake." I did them several times an hour for about a week. As a result, at the end of the week I performed a reality check while in a dream, exactly the way that I had been rehearsing them for days: "Am I dreaming? No. I'm awake." The problem is that I wasn't ACTUALLY asking myself the question, I wasn't actually checking to see, and I wasn't actually answering... I never actually thought about the question. I was just going through the motions... just saying the words.
So, I'm not sure exactly how mantras work with lucid dreaming, but this is something to consider. They seem like they would work somewhat similarly to reality checks. The goal is to CREATE A HABIT. That way, that habit is likely to carry out in a dream. Just make sure that habit involves ACTUALLY exploring the question of the matter, instead of just being a mindless habit.

Your RC "I think that I am lucid." may have the same issue. Saying that you think that you are lucid, when you clearly aren't may not be the best way to go about it. Make sure that your RC involves you actually thinking about it. I think the phrase you are using should work as long as you actually think about it afterwards, but having that THREE part RC: Question, Observation/study/consideration, Answer is the most healthy way, I think.

Thinking about lucid dreams is actually a pretty good practice. Believe it or not, my lucid dreams, dream recall, clarity, and detail always go up significantly just from logging into these forums. However, for WBTB I have a particular method that I'd like for you to try.

Originally Posted by Iriba

I really want to LD, it could change my life.
i am really into it, sometimes my motivation
goes down, but i definetely want to have 1
no matter how much time i will took.

I not only agree with Joanna about this, but I DOUBLE agree with her (That's a lot).
Don't do this.
I don't know why. I don't know. But for whatever reason, trying too hard really seems to be a bad idea. I've just heard too many people speak of this issue. It is, ironically, the ones who want it the most that have the hardest time, especially when you start actually initiating lucid dreams, and then you get excited and wake yourself up. It's infuriating when it happens too. When it comes to the subject of lucid dreaming, just relax. Perform your methods of initialization and then let it be. Worrying about it can actually implant the idea that it's not going to happen, and then it just won't.