Help - Still Trying to Get Lucid (again)

I learned about lucid dreaming in September and have had one LD officially. I became aware and did a couple of things and then woke up) and possibly a second (I don't know if this counts) when I was dreaming about a snake and thought to myself, "It's only a dream" and my eyes popped open, awake. I want more!! I've flown a couple of times but I'm not sure I was lucid. Since then, I have read a couple of books, have logged 150+ dreams, do RC every hour, have tried WILD and MILD many times and listen to podcasts (repeatedly) when I'm in the car. Of course, I've spent some time reading information on DV but I'm fairly frustrated. I've slept a lot and meditated a lot which aren't bad things but good gracious; what does it take? I'm thinking next technique is looking at my hands before going to sleep and trying SL's "tonight in my dreams when I see my hands, I'll know I'm dreaming". I also know the belief and confidence that I will have one needs to be in place. Since I've had one, I know I I can have another! Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your support.

Make sure that you truly expect and believe that you're going to be lucid!
When you're RCing, don't just ask yourself if your dreaming and RC like a robot. Stop what you're currently doing, truly believe that this could actually be a dream and expect that you are actully going to breath through your plugged nose or have strangly mutated hands (or whatever RCs you do) and most importently: NEVER EVER say the following: "Oh, it's not a dream..", even after you've done your RCs. If you don't realize that you're dreaming, just keep on with what you were doing before.

You may also want to improve your dream signs. Find a few things that occours often in your dreams and look for it while you're awake. Make sure you do a RC EVERY TIME you experience something that you often experience in your dreams.

I hope any of this helped, and I hope you'll get more lucid soon! :D

Thanks HansiElneff. I appreciate the specific instructions. I will no longer tell myself I am not dreaming which I was doing regularly throughout the day! Excellent point. I will keep at it!

What does it take (to LD)?

In addition to fundamentals of building greatly heightened awareness, training dream recall to very high levels, and learning and performing the various night-time practices (WBTB, MILD/WILD, intention, noticing wakings), it takes "the 3 D's":

• dedication
• determination
• desire (very very very strong: it must be a "need")

How long does it take? As long as it takes! That is not a flippant answer -- the lucid dreaming discipline is a life-long journey of self-discovery concerning awareness, dreaming, and sleeping. If you start to think of it that way, as a journey rather than a destination, then your head will start to get in the right place.

Summary: work hard/diligently, practice regularly, and never quit.

Thanks FryingMan. I am truly dedicated so I will continue for as long as it takes. I appreciate your input.

DEILDS are really easy to do I think.
Before you go to bed plan out when you want to wake up but don't set an alarm and make sure it's during your rem cycle. so what I do is add an hour and an half to the time I go to bed and take account those times, for example if I went to bed at 10:00 I add an hour and half to that till I wake up, so 11:30, 1:00, 2:30, and 4. So pick one of those times(of course yours may be different), pick one that is later, like your 3rd rem cycle and make sure you really think about waking up around this time and you will
I did this and I wake up during every one of my rem cycles, if you want to wake up during each one, just take account of all your rem cycles and tell yourself, "I will wake up during each my rem cycles."
Just a suggestion

Thanks TheHomeBeef. I'm actually awake right now after four REM cycles and will try your technique as that'll give me more opportunities for LDs.

You could try this BluKat....

Something I tried when I started LDing to get more was setting an alarm, not one you have to turn off but one that gives just a quick double beep like an IPhone calendar.
Set it to go off a couple of hours before you have to get up and set it to go off every half hour, maybe even every 15 minutes if you like.

That way it should disturb your sleep enough and keep you sleeping lightly, which gives you more chance of becoming Lucid.
Also if you have it set every 15 minutes, it will likely go off during a REM cycle sometimes and you'll hear it in your Dream.

If you set the alarm to go off a few times during the day as well when you're awake, RC every time you hear it, that way if you hear it in your Dream, you'll RC and become Lucid.


This technique only seems to work for a couple of months or so, as your brain seems to get used to it, but it is a good way of getting the feel for the Lucid state so you can recognise it easier.