Thread: Why Did I Destabilize?

So last night, I had my first proper inkling of a lucid dream! I posted this over in my DILD workbook http://www.dreamviews.com/dild/15281...-workbook.html, but I'd like your opinions on this.

Here's how it went:

I'm at my father's house, fighting some demon or something. The demon manages to kill me before it escapes outside into the backyard. I'm now a ghost. I go outside after the demon, but can't see it anywhere. I see a floating meter that tells me to wave my arms and jump around so that I can resurrect myself. I try this for a bit, then get tired and sit down. I then get up, still a ghost, and then start jumping into the air and floating and flying around! In my gut, I know I'm dreaming. I knew it, and I was aware I was! But for some reason, a part of me was scared that if I acknowledged this out loud, the dream would destabilize and I would wake up with the pins and needles feeling I got the first time I tried to lucid dream (the first time I became lucid, I immediately woke up with a pins and needles feelings. I asked around about this, and the general consensus was that my dream destabalized and I experienced WILD-esque vibrations). So I said to myself "I will tell myself that I am lucid dreaming, but I will fly to the ground very quickly and lie very still with my eyes closed so that my dream stabilizes." As soon as I said "I am dreaming" to myself, I fell to the ground and my dream destabilized, and I woke up for a fraction of a second. I continued to lie still and essentially DEILDed into a non lucid.

What an experience! The moment of calm and clarity as I was floating around, knowing in my gut that I was dreaming! But why did I destabilize as soon as I said the words, even though I tried to stabilize? How can I solve this so that I can lucid dream for longer next time?

That feeling of clarity is quite something eh!!
I'm hardly an expert as i've only had 5 lucids, none of which lasted longer than ten seconds, but i would suggest you maybe got too excited?

There's a good general dream stabilization guide here : Dream Stabilization and Clarity Tutorial - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

I'll also bee keeping a keen eye on this thread in case anyone has other tips on managing to stay in the dream longer!

Congrats on the first lucid

Thank you. ;u;

You were thinking too much is all. It happens to everyone in their first few LDs. When you're too much in your own head, you disconnect from the dreamscape and tend to destabilize. For next time, plan an action that engages your senses. Those linked threads all have good ideas. A very easy one is to find an object to touch and closely examine with your eyes. It could be a wall, the ground, a rock, a piece of furniture, anything. Bonus points if you can smell and taste it too. If there's nothing in reach, you can look at your hands.

Originally Posted by sisyphus

You were thinking too much is all. It happens to everyone in their first few LDs. When you're too much in your own head, you disconnect from the dreamscape and tend to destabilize.

Agreed. One thing I always hear from members is that, after a while of having lucid dreams they realized that they were doing something wrong. They were indeed over-thinking things.


I think there's something else to Stabilization too, a kind of unstated, between the lines thing. I'm going to try this in my Lucid Dreams and if it works then I think it's something that frustrated beginners need to be more aware of. (Also, if this or something similar is what made the jump from failed stabilization attempts to successful ones for you, then please let me know!)

So, my dreams often get cut short, Quilly. A common thing for beginners, and for various other reasons.

I hear all the time that after having had many Lucid Dreams, people got more relaxed and nonchalant about the process. In other words, once they had many Lucid Dreams the idea of Stabilization was no longer a chore. That's why, I believe, it finally clicked for them. This happened, I think, because they realized that the dream was theirs. They found their sense of self. And this extra sense becomes more clearly defined with frequent trips to and from the dream world.

And that's why we look at our hands, smell, hear, and touch. To bring awareness into the dream. Yes?

Well, NLDs can feel just as vivid as LDs. I clearly remember caressing the back of Peeta's neck in a NLD, holding him to my shoulders (Don't ask why). So it's not just the senses we need. It's that extra sense. That feeling of awareness. I have no idea how to explain it, but at least for me, you can't simply be aware of all your senses. You have to be aware of YOURSELF. Think about WHY you look at/rub your hands. Because they are apart of you, and you are conscious in this LD.

If this made sense to anyone please let me know haha


So, again, Stabilization is really relaxing and taking your time, pulling your awareness into the dream. If you're trying to hurry up and stabilize, or run through the motions, then those stabilization techniques won't be very effective. You have to really ground yourself. Feel a sense of being. When people say "look around" I don't think they just mean to superficially scan the things around you, but to really get a sense of where you are in your environment spatially. Feel your own presence in the room.