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As much as i dont want to make a thread like this, i really need to stop this struggle.
Do techniques work on the first try? or am i supposed to try them consistently? I've been switching techniques too frequently just because they dont work on the first try.
I'm also struggling with this. It goes like this every day: Hmmm, MILD didn't work last night, let's try FILD. on and on and on :|
I had been doing the same thing as you switching between too many techniques and for the most part it just mentally drains you and makes it feel like lucid dreaming is actually a really hard task.
Truth is that it isn't hard but you do have to find a decent technique that you can be consistent with, my advice from my little experience is pick two techniques and focus on them for at least a month or more and if you arnt making progress then try something else.
I'm currently focusing on deild and ssild and am getting long lucids around every second night :D
I would recommend you give ssild a good try I got lucid on my first attempt at it.. It seems to be a little controversial because no one knows exactly how the technique works but I will say that it definitely does work even for people with little experience like my self I've only got back into lucid dreaming a few months ago, give it a try if you haven't yet it's one of my main techniques now.
The techniques are more like strategies. They aren't guaranteed to work on the first try but they raise your chances of getting lucid. A lot of times I have to keep going until the technique works once before I really get what I'm supposed to do. There's also a ton of variables that aren't always controllable that can stomp out your chances of lucidity. Like sometimes my brain just won't wake up for WBTB and sometimes it's ready to go when I start the WBTB. The best thing imo for any tech is to get lots of sleep and throw WBTB in with it.
Also sometimes you run into a dry spell and the psychology of that can make it harder to get back into it. Sometimes I just have to go read some really cool LD stuff to get back motivated for it again. Look up Sensei and read his Secrets thread, lots of good stuff there :)
It's not impossible to have success with a technique for lucid dreaming on the first attempt. The way to gain success rapidly with out being consistent with it is due to how much focus a person puts on it at the time. What I have learn is that you can always put a personal twist to the technique to better suite your preference. Also it is always good to have a back up plan for example if you tried WILD + WBTB and it failed, you could prepare yourself to gain a second chance by performing a good amount of RC's during your stay up with WBTB plus since dreams are much easier to recall when you fall asleep a second time it increase your odds to achieve a DILD. Or if you're feeling too tired for WILD you can use your fast WBTB with FILD to increase your likelyhood since FILD takes less focus than WILD. Instead of switching techniques I would try to cover up any miss opportunities for an LD. Only thing lucid dreaming requires is effort and determination the technique is to experience how you get there differently.
I like what ViIe writes. An accomplished LDer will absolutely have a full toolbox of techniques/approaches/mindsets to choose from and apply at the appropriate time. But in order to reach this level of competency you must spend some quality time with each one so that your mind can understand it and improve at it. Bouncing around from one to another will only delay results. For beginners I really recommend the "pure LaBerge" approach: WBTB + MILD, reflection/intention during the day, prospective memory exercises, and of course, building dream recall.