Lucid dreaming begginer, things are getting worse than when I started.

Hello,

I am a begginer in lucid dreaming, meaning that I had never found myself in a LD longer than 3 seconds. I have encountered some major problems.

I started about 2 weeks ago, however I read about LD (EWLD by Laberge and some other stuff on internet) before that.

When I started, first induction techniques I tried were WBTB with MILD. The first night I did that, I could not concentrate enough to repeat the mantra the whole time until I fell asleep; my thoughts just bursted without control before i actually fell asleep. Nevertheless, I had a dream, I was sitting on a wooden chair, neon lights in front of me, and a girl that I know on my lap. Then I said something like "this is a dream", but I lost it before I even said the whole sentence. I woke up feeling OK.

Second night I tried WBTB + MILD, I have had somewhat better results; I was climbing some ladder, and when I got to the wall above me, I wondered what to do for a while, until I realised that I am in fact dreaming and thus I can break any wall in front of me. I yelled, most joyfully, "This is a dream!!" and I even forgot to break the wall, because I was stunned by the vividness of the world around me. I have never seen anything like that before. I woke up after 3 seconds or so, my eyes were wide open, and I could not calm down for a while.

So I was making progress. However, the two nights that followed I was unable to perform WBTB as I was enjoying the company of my friends through the nights. And after that, everything went to hell.

I keep my DJ, I write everything in it. Even the slightest fragment of a dream, if I remember it. But during the last week, I could not even remember much, maybe 3 dreams during whole 7 days!

I tried setting my alarm clock for WBTB again, but I always wake up before it turns on. And what´s worse; when I wake up like that, without alarm clock, before my scheduled time, I almost never remember even that I was dreaming!

I read that even if I wake up on my own, I should get up and engage in some brain activity etc. then return to bed. But if I am not sure that I woke up from REM, what point is in that?

So I try to fall asleep again, but it is so hard. It usually takes me 30-45 minutes. Note that it takes this long only if I wake up on my own during the night. When I go to sleep for the first time, it takes 15-30 minutes.


So my question is: What should I do? My dream recall went worse than when I was beggining! I am getting plenty of sleep, that can´t be the problem. Should I still try WBTB? And if I should, how to not wake up before I am supposed to?

It is really frustrating, more so because it makes it harder for me to fall asleep. LD is something beautiful, and I want to return to dream world more than anything in the world.

Thanks for your advice in advance.

Hey there,

I've been there, same situation as you describe. Start out (or re-start), make quick progress, then seem to have it go downhill. I think its fairly common.

To begin with, expect dry-spells. Dreaming is erratic and progress is anything but linear. There'll be moments where you seem to do everything right and still produce no results (or even have trouble with basic things like remember dreams). Don't worry about it too much. I suspect the worry actually increases the dry-spell (because you get to a point where you're expecting it to fail despite all your good intentions, thereby unconsciously sabotaging the whole process).

Make sure you're still enjoying it all. It it becomes too frustrating, too much like a chore, go back to the basics. Stop doing any special techniques for a few nights and just enjoy the non-lucid dreams you might have. Or maybe switch techniques. Find another technique that you find interesting or have always wanted to try. Do that for a little while. The goal is to keep it relaxing, intriguing, and fun. That's easier said then done when you feel like your progress is blocked, but it is, in my experience, still the best way to get things going again.

Additionally, there could be a physiological aspect here as well. Basically, lucid dream and recalling dreams is easier the lighter your sleep is. Quite often, when starting with lucid dreaming, you'll alter your sleep patterns, which knocks your body out of its normal sleeping rhythme. For a few nights, this will result in your sleep being lighter (and thus easier to lucid dream). But at the same time, your body is wearing itself out, so afterwards, your sleep will be deeper to compensate. Result, less dream recall, and less chance of lucidity.

Give your body some time to get used to the new sleep-rhythme, and you'll likely see your dream recall increase again, with lucidity hopefully not far behind.

Hope that helps, and wishing you good luck,

-Redrivertears-

Thank you!

This night was a bit better; I was not that frustrated, and it was actually fun to relax for once and not think about LD. I woke up several times through night and remembered 3 dreams, which is my personal record. I had some troubles falling asleep through the night again, but I think I came up with a possible solution.

Is it possible that during WBTB I need to stay away from any direct light? It is extremly hard for me to fall asleep after 30 minutes of doing something like reading this forum... Maybe I should stay awake only for 10-20 minutes and read through my DJ using some dim light?

Recall goes up and down in cycles I've found. Stay excited about dreaming and recalling your dreams.

Have a look at my dream recall tips

Do not enter lucid dreaming practice expecting instant results. It requires nothing less than the transformation of your awareness to become awake and attentive, both in your waking life and in your dreaming life. That takes time. Steady, consistent effort yields the best results. Progress is measured over months and years in this discipline, so if you can dedicate yourself, you will reap the rewards.

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Originally Posted by FryingMan

Have a look at my dream recall tips

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Hello,

I already read your dream recall tips (I have seen you recommend them on some other post) and one thing I found particularly helpful for me: "practice recalling your waking day before bedtime".

I remember when I was younger, around 10, I liked my dreams, and once I asked this guy who is a psychologist and my father's friend what to do to increase the number of dreams I have. I did not have a clue what LD is, nor did I know that we are in fact dreaming every single night. But i got one advice; the same one that I mentioned above. And seeing it from you made me remember those days. I was very young, I did not last long, my dreams kept me occupied for about 1 week.

It is possible that because of the fact that I accepted this "technique" as a youngster, it is much more effective for me now. I have read that LD is hard to achieve mainly because our brain and unconscious are not used to it. But this particular thing I had been doing years ago, and maybe it is stored somewhere deep in my brain as an effecive method to "have dreams".

This thing I did now before sleep, and combined with much needed support from Redrivertears (who made me feel happy about LD again), I remembered three dreams, which has never happened before.

Thank you both for your help and advice.

Hey there,

Happy to hear of your dream-filled night :)

As for WBTB, I'd advise you to experiment around. The trick is indeed to find the balance between waking yourself up enough so that you'll have an increased chance at lucidity, but not so much that you can't get asleep anymore. Some people only need 5-10 minutes, others stay awake for 45 or more. Some need the direct light. For you, it may indeed be too much.

I think it's probably better to start off with shorter durations, like reading the dream journal for a bit like you suggest. If its not enough then you can adjust for longer periods or more activity. The "danger" with overdoing it is that not only will you be unable to get back to sleep that night, but it will tire you out, likely leading to deeper sleep in the next few nights as your body recovers, and thus less dream recall and less chance of lucidity (not to mention increased irritation during the day due to insufficient sleep :)).

-Redrivertears-

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The "danger" with overdoing it is that not only will you be unable to get back to sleep that night, but it will tire you out, likely leading to deeper sleep in the next few nights as your body recovers, and thus less dream recall and less chance of lucidity

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I am afraid that this is exactly what happened. I will try to shorten the duration this night and see how it goes :)