Thread: Secret to frequent lucid dreaming (supposedly)

Set up an experiment in research maybe? Get 100 enthusiastic people to live the word of the ETWOLD section on the critical question:

«Practice in attaining the critical-reflective frame of mind is only necessary in the beginning phase, which may last a
number of months. Later on, lucid dreams will occur even if the subject has not asked himself the critical
question during the day. The frequency of lucid dreams then depends to a large extent on the will of the
subject. Most subjects who consistently follow the above advice experience at least one lucid dream every night.»

Say they do this for six months. I'd be very very surprised if more than 30 percent are having LDs every night. If the route to having LDs every night was regularly asking the CC then there'd only need to be a couple of paragraphs written on LDs - not the scores of websites and books we have now. SLaB has to carefully choose his statistics to make LDing look easier than it really is or nobody would buy his books.

Originally Posted by Bobblehat

Set up an experiment in research maybe? Get 100 enthusiastic people to live the word of the ETWOLD section on the critical question:

«Practice in attaining the critical-reflective frame of mind is only necessary in the beginning phase, which may last a
number of months. Later on, lucid dreams will occur even if the subject has not asked himself the critical
question during the day. The frequency of lucid dreams then depends to a large extent on the will of the
subject. Most subjects who consistently follow the above advice experience at least one lucid dream every night.»

Say they do this for six months. I'd be very very surprised if more than 30 percent are having LDs every night. If the route to having LDs every night was regularly asking the CC then there'd only need to be a couple of paragraphs written on LDs - not the scores of websites and books we have now. SLaB has to carefully choose his statistics to make LDing look easier than it really is or nobody would buy his books.

As I first brought that paragraph to the discussion, I have to say that is supposed to be a quote from Paul Tholey, that LaBerge includes in EWOLD when discussing different techniques.
Actually what I find frustrating about LaBerge is how he avoids statistics on effectiveness of techniques.

Originally Posted by Bobblehat

Say they do this for six months. I'd be very very surprised if more than 30 percent are having LDs every night. If the route to having LDs every night was regularly asking the CC then there'd only need to be a couple of paragraphs written on LDs - not the scores of websites and books we have now. SLaB has to carefully choose his statistics to make LDing look easier than it really is or nobody would buy his books.

This, sadly, is likely very true.

Originally Posted by Sageous

Originally Posted by Bobblehat

Say they do this for six months. I'd be very very surprised if more than 30 percent are having LDs every night. If the route to having LDs every night was regularly asking the CC then there'd only need to be a couple of paragraphs written on LDs - not the scores of websites and books we have now. SLaB has to carefully choose his statistics to make LDing look easier than it really is or nobody would buy his books.

This, sadly, is likely very true.

I honestly don't agree about this.
First of all, Stephen LaBerge was actually asked to write EWLD, it wasn't his own idea.
And if you are going to write a book about lucid dreaming then you might as well include as much as possible about the topic.
Books like EWLD are intended to mention the science behind lucid dreaming and several possible ways to become lucid, and LaBerge often stresses the fact that all it really takes to become lucid is to decide to recognize the dreamstate.
And when he describes his dream goggles, like the DreamLight and the NovaDreamer, he often points out that you don't actually need them, and that you should just think of them as a nice aid.

Moreover, LaBerge has said himself that he started out with "less than one lucid dream per month" become he started practicing for real.
And he didn't immediately become lucid "every night" either, it took him three years to get lucid dreams most nights - as you can clearly see on this chart - and that's when he practiced diligently.
I find it completely reasonable that even a beginner would be able to have one lucid dream per week right from the beginning if they do everything right - like having good dream recall, a good sleep schedule, clear goals, and a general motivation and enthusiasm.

I believe that the main difference between ordinary dreamers and natural lucid dreamers is that natural lucid dreamers developed an interest for lucid dreams very early in life, sometime during childhood, and then started trying to get them, and always thought of them as something fun and natural - this would make them have a much more relaxed attitude to lucid dreaming, and thus they would be able to get them much more easily.

It's just like learning to play the guitar;
I learned it from a very early age (6) so I find it completely natural and not the least intimidating in any shape or form whatsoever - not even when I try to learn an extra hard guitar solo - whereas some beginners sometimes think of it as "tricky" and "complicated", and so they lose confidence and do not practice with the right mindset, and find practicing it a chore, which makes it much harder for them.
I think it's very important to start practicing something with the attitude "I will learn this now, and it's alright if it takes time", rather than "oh my god, this seems so complicated and confusing".

Originally Posted by Bobblehat

Set up an experiment in research maybe? Get 100 enthusiastic people to live the word of the ETWOLD section on the critical question:

«Practice in attaining the critical-reflective frame of mind is only necessary in the beginning phase, which may last a
number of months. Later on, lucid dreams will occur even if the subject has not asked himself the critical
question during the day. The frequency of lucid dreams then depends to a large extent on the will of the
subject. Most subjects who consistently follow the above advice experience at least one lucid dream every night.»

Say they do this for six months. I'd be very very surprised if more than 30 percent are having LDs every night. If the route to having LDs every night was regularly asking the CC then there'd only need to be a couple of paragraphs written on LDs - not the scores of websites and books we have now. SLaB has to carefully choose his statistics to make LDing look easier than it really is or nobody would buy his books.

It was actually Paul Tholey, not LaBerge, who claimed that and he is referring to his 9-step technique, known for Critical-Reflective Technique. It is much more elaborate than a simple critical question.

Original Tholey's paper here