Your opinion please (technique "i'm awake")

Hello,
I've hit a huge bump in my LD journey. NUMBER ONE, I have been struggling with a personal addiction in my life and haven't been keeping a journal. You see, every time I relapse from this addiction, I tear out the day's dream entry and start over for next day. It's as if I can't forgive myself from doing this and don't want to be reminded of when I last did it. Have you ever had a regret or addiction, and has it ever affected your lucidity? Should I just drop this addiction and move on? Please help.

NUMBER TWO: I stumbled across a youtube video of a woman, who suggested the practice of reminding yourself as much as possible that you're AWAKE all day long. She said to choose a few objects that you use on a daily basis as triggers, and to always tell yourself that you're awake from either seeing them or using them. With practice, the objects will supposedly appear in your dreams and you will suddenly realize that you're not awake and become lucid after they glitch. (I can post a link to this video, if you like.)

Doesn't this contradict the practice of always assuming that you're dreaming and NOT awake? In my opinion, it makes more sense, because you don't have to assume or "pretend" anything. EX: "I look at my hands and see that I have five fingers, therefore I'm awake. If they were more than five, I'd be asleep. EX. After looking at my watch twice, I am awake." However, most people don't suggest revealing whether you're awake or not, so doesn't this pose a problem?

In summary, I seem to have a personal problem of forgiving myself for having a personal addiction, and am constantly counting the days when I don't relapse. By having a journal, I am presented with the problem of knowing when I last quit the addiction, and have trouble not associating my journal with my progress from overcoming it. How do I get over this mess and disassociate my problems from keeping a journal. Am I crazy, or have you ever encountered a similar problem like this? Thanks for reading!! PS: I've had 30 LDs, but only from making my hands my dreamsign.

NUMBER ONE:Having 30 LDs, you're probably conscious enough of your dreams where you don't need a dream journal in order to become lucid. At this point, the dream journal is more for transferring your dreams to long term memory so you can recall them much later on. As for your addiction, it will only affect your lucidity if it affects your dreams.

NUMBER TWO:As long this habit reminds you of dreaming it would work if you did it in a dream. The words don't really matter, only the intention behind it. You can just as easily say "I'm dreaming" in a dream while still assuming you're awake. If saying "I'm awake" reminds you of dreaming, it works just as well as anything else.

Don't ever do anything dangerous while awake just because you assume you're dreaming.

I believe you should try to figure what you do that allows you to dream about your hands. Try to find patterns and use them to your advantage. This is your niche and is probably a better way to go than number 2.

Hey bassdrop, 30 LDs is a good amount so far!


I second dolphin on being safe while awake. It seems like you have a technique that is working for you. If you keep practicing you will naturally learn how to extend the dreams and get.more control. Just be sure to keep trying! LDing is one of those things where practice is making you better even if you don't see results just yet.

And addiction, depends on what it is. I don't think any addiction is healthy but on the journey of recovery I would always be proud of my successes. Rather than beat yourself up, be proud of how much better your getting

Happy dreaming!

Yea don't get depressed by the addiction. Be happy for every time you endure that temptation. Don't focus too much on it, remember it always begins in your head and then the body reacts on it. Clear your mind ^^

Thank you for the replies! Dear Wisher, to get those 30 LD, I simply counted my hands several times a day. Although they rarely glitched in my dreams, it gave me a foothold, so that I could get a grasp on my lucidity.

Keep two separate journals. One dream journal just for dreaming. And one day journal for personal reflection.

As for the reality checks stuff, there's two separate things going on that relate to two different mental faculties:

Using familiar objects to remind you to reality check is part of prospective memory. The point is to create an association in your mind (a "trigger") between seeing the object and then remembering something.

Using an action to test your reality state is part of critical awareness. The point isn't just to say you are awake or asleep. Rather, you are entering a mode of thinking in which you consider multiple possibilities and use evidence to determine which possibility is the most likely.

So the plan is to use these things together. You develop prospective memory triggers to remember something. That thing you intend to remember is to enter a state of critical awareness. It is tricky though because the two things sometimes work at cross purposes. Prospective memory is developed through repetition and habit. But critical awareness requires you to take all information as fresh and new. I think the best course is to develop prospective memory in other areas in addition to lucid dreaming. Use it for practical things like remembering to walk your dog or take out the trash or whatever. Prospective memory is like a muscle, so training it for one purpose can benefit other purposes. Separately, you can train critical awareness with meditation or puzzles. Try not to get overly concerned with the words you say or the motions you go through. Instead, you are developing two mental skills and then applying them together for the purpose of increasing your awareness in response to familiar cues.