Thread: dream journal full, what now?

Well done, you are now ready for level 2. From now on, write an alternate ending to each dream in brackets at the end of the entry. A sentence will suffice - just imagine yourself realizing that you are dreaming and taking control of the dream.

Originally Posted by theftoid

Sorry for lack of grammar in advance...

I have already filled my dream journal to the brim, still no lucid dream. My dream recall is only half good, in that I cant remember a full dream I guess. What next? Do I continue writing down bits of my dreams or try harder to recall every single detail?

Dream journal is a great thing. It helps you with recall and it tells your mind you like dreaming and remembering your dreams.

However, you don't have to wait till you have perfect recall to start practicing for lucid dreaming. As dream recall fluctuates, we rarely, if ever, get a perfect recall. But that will not stand in a way of you getting a lucid dream. But DJ-ing is only one part of practice.

Do you practice anything else? Reality checks and awareness? Mantras?

If not, you should start, as those will get you lucid, not a DJ. Please check out DILD and RCs tutorials here. Induction Methods and Techniques

If you like, join a class DV Academy for some personalized help, or just reply here in this thread. Happy dreams

Originally Posted by gab

However, you don't have to wait till you have perfect recall to start practicing for lucid dreaming. As dream recall fluctuates, we rarely, if ever, get a perfect recall. But that will not stand in a way of you getting a lucid dream. But DJ-ing is only one part of practice.

Do you practice anything else? Reality checks and awareness? Mantras?
:

I am practicing all at once at the moment, here and there. I do reality checks, but am on verge of giving up due to lack of success. The palm thru hand and the nose hold. I have recorded bits of dreams and longer, but still somethings not clicking. Does willpower help? I've seen a lot of people on here say that, but a part of me doesn't believe that just believing will do it.

Originally Posted by IAmCoder

Well done, you are now ready for level 2. From now on, write an alternate ending to each dream in brackets at the end of the entry. A sentence will suffice - just imagine yourself realizing that you are dreaming and taking control of the dream.

At the moment I am not practicing as a step by step. Maybe I should, its very scattered.

You need awareness training and patience. Also look much deeper in RCs. Make sure you understand more about RC, it is alot more than plugging your nose.

There is never lack of success, every day of practice is always a step towards bigger goal, keep going, keep practicing and you will reach it!

Originally Posted by Scionox

There is never lack of success, every day of practice is always a step towards bigger goal, keep going, keep practicing and you will reach it!

There was a guy on here who said he'd been a year without one, i don't want that to be me. Is that rare?

Make peace with the idea, that yes, it could take you a year or longer. And then tell yourself and understand, believe and KNOW, that with raising your daytime awareness and doing meaningfull RCs, you can have your first LD tonight.

Meaningfull RCs are, when you fully believe, that you could be in a dream and the RC will work, when you practice it during day. That's the feeling, the "omg, this is a dream", that will then start happening in your regular dreams. It will give you enough awareness to either become lucid right away, or it will give you an urge to do RC, that will confirm your luciditity.

Induction Methods and Techniques
Check out the DILD and RC tutorials. Make your plan, what you want to do in your first lucid. Get some ideas from posts. Write it in your DJ, make a picture, daydream about it.
Good luck. I know you can do it.

I think I have done the meaningfull reality checks, but thanks anyway, this should help

theftoid, you can do it! Have you tried WBTB (wake back to bed)? You can't imagine how much it can help you to have your first and many lucid dreams! If you know about it but haven't tried it very much, I definitely recommend trying again when you have extra time to sleep (weekends, etc).

I have started WBTB up again after 4 nights or so trying and then lapsed. Iv'e only had 2 near lucid experiences ever, one was when I started it up again 2 nights ago when I set my alarm 3 hours after sleep, I had a near lucid. What I mean is I checked a bit of paper on a wall and then looked at it again it said a different thing twice. This was after I started this thread, so i suppose I'm quite pleased when those kinda signs happen. I was lucid for about 10 seconds or so then I went back into normal sleep, i should've done more but I just stood there and stared at this fairground I was in.

That's good theftoid, you are on the right track. One simple stabilization technique you can try (if you remember, practice during day) is to keep reminding yourself "I'm dreaming...look around...I'm dreaming" while rubbing your hands together which kind of anchors you into your dream body and reminds you that you are an active participant in that dream world. WBTB is the most overlooked aid for lucid dreaming by most beginners so it is great that you are already trying it. The most common recommendation is after 4.5 or more hours of sleep but I have seen 3 hours for DEILD attempts...but of course everyone finds a slightly different timing that is best for them.

I have been trying to have consistent lucid dreams for many years, and only recently have I made progress. I am not saying that to discourage you, only to bring to your attention that the single most important thing you can do to achieve success is to be earnest and consistent in your efforts. The only way to do that is to set smart goals for yourself. This goal-setting is what has been responsible for all of my progress lately.

To set a goal, it has to be S.M.A.R.T.:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-based

An example of a goal I set myself to improve my dream recall was:

"I will follow a precise dream-recall routine at least 3 times a week for two weeks." The routine was to do a mantra before going to bed, to wake up at 6AM and do another mantra, and then to record my dreams in detail as soon as I awoke, on my laptop.

Obviously it was very specific and measurable (the evidence is on my laptop). Setting a time-limit on the goal is probably the second most important part. The difference between achievable and realistic is subtle but important as well: I am certainly capable of doing it 4 times a week, or even 7 times a week, but realistically this would be too much effort and I would lapse.

If you think carefully about what you want to do and tailor a goal for yourself to help you achieve it, you will find progress happens almost magically. You can also have multiple goals at once. If your goals tend to overlap and reinforce each other, so much the better.