Insight on breaking the dryspell, stress, difficulty sleeping remembering, staying motivated.

*edit* I can't edit title, sorry if it seemed as if I was providing the insight, I meant it more as a question for help, sorry.*

Hello, when I first discovered lucid dreaming over 8 years ago I had no shortage of motivation to research everything about lucid dreaming and to really practice in attaining them. I did actually have success and had several in the first few years but I never felt as though I was becoming consistent. The inconveniences of life and stress in recent years seemed to have made me incapable of getting back into the mindset. Now it feels as though I can't recapture that magic of discovering something new and life transformative, because I know lucid dreaming is very incredible in my few brief experiences with them and I know they can only become more vivid and immersive.

It really is something I want to have actively however, it seems I am in a rut. I don't know if I suffer from some kind of mild insomnia or just find myself thinking too much, becoming physically uncomfortable, but I have difficulty just trying fall asleep and staying asleep. I end up needing to get up multiple times to use the restroom and I get intrusive thoughts that ruin my ability to relax. I try to do relaxation exercises which do work sometimes but other times they seem to make my mind more active. I can't seem to hold onto the idea of lucid dreaming through the various techniques like MILD or WILD and I rarely find myself able to somehow become aware inside of a dream for a DILD given the entire night isn't a blur and I can actually stay asleep long enough to remember the dream.

Recently, I have been going back and reading through the big technique guides here on Dreamviews to re-introduce lucid dreaming to myself as a means of motivation. I started actively using a dream journal again about half a year ago and have recorded some interesting dreams but I never feel it becoming consistent and lucidity continues to be elusive. I have been trying to meditate during the week to calm down which has helped some in my daily life.

So I ask, what is it I need to do? What am I missing? Should I try to re-obsess like I did years ago and read thoroughly information about lucid dreaming? Is my lack of success somehow attributed to my lifestyle choices I am making, even things such as diet and leisure activities which could somehow be influencing my sleep or lack there of? Or is there something unknown holding me back?

Any insight or words of motivation are greatly appreciated, thank you.

How about DEILD? http://www.dreamviews.com/wild/13348...ther-wild.html

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Originally Posted by dolphin

How about DEILD? http://www.dreamviews.com/wild/13348...ther-wild.html

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I know about DEILD and it's a fantastic addition to WILD. I will probably go through the techniques again and try to just devote my effort to lucid dreaming as a whole.

Are there any specific things you would like to do when you get lucid, like flying, meeting your dream guide or whatever? If so, deliberately setting that as a goal might really boost your motivation. For me, motivation always drops disastrously when I don't have a clear and concrete idea of what I'm trying to accomplish. Having short-term goals that are relatively easy to attain may really help you to stay motivated and consistent in your practice, as well as giving you much faster results compared to vague long-term goals.

A big thing for me was mostly exploring huge landscapes with very interesting geological formations or architecture. It's difficult to describe the only thing I can think of are those huge surreal wallpapers where there are lots of interesting colors and an overall massive sense of scale. I know flying through such a place would be very exhilarating. Another thing of mine is shapeshifting just to sort of experience how the mind can simulate different sensations. There are other things I'd like to do but what seems to happen is thinking or visualizing it tends to get me excited which means I can't sleep for a while. I haven't had a long and vivid dream in so long I forget what it's like. Most of the recent ones I remember tend to be very mundane and are full of familiar places which go right past me in the sense that I can't realize I am dreaming. I never get to the point where I am able to actually think rationally without it feeling like a very fuzzy movie.

Try a slight adjustment in attitude. One of the things you've cited as a problem can be potentially turned into blessing (waking during the night). One of the most successful lucid dreamers on the forum, Sensei, uses multiple nighttime awakening per night as a platform for recall and LD induction. I recommend using these awakenings to maximise your dream recall, and then using an induction technique such as SSILD or reverse blinking which also induce sleep so as to combat insomnia.

That's a pretty good tip. I think a big part of the reason I can't fall asleep easily is I tend to be pretty uncomfortable. The room is too hot or too cold or I get restless limbs or other annoying sensations. I could try to stress muscles and then release to have that relaxing effect and combine with reverse blinking to get a more tired feeling.

I used to be horrible at falling asleep (sometimes lying awake for 4 hours or more) so I've tried a great many things, and what I've found to help amazingly is to first do stretching exercises right before going to bed (really helps with restless limbs) and then do a good breathing exercise or meditation for 15 minutes. It takes some dedication but worked miraculously for me.

Yeah, I think forming a ritual of sorts in going to bed would help. I am already going to bed much earlier than I used to and have also started basic meditation practices during the day. Something I have a habit of doing is drinking too much before bed as well but I am never sure when a good time I should stop drinking liquids is. I've read also that caffeinated beverages even after 12 PM can still be affecting you many hours later, mostly soda in my case which I am trying to cut out slowly.

Well, drinking water right before bed can be a great way to induce natural WBTB's because you have to go to the toilet, but if it makes you unable to sleep at all that becomes pointless... Caffeine definitely messes with sleep for me; I don't drink caffeine after 1 PM anymore and it really helps me.

I would suggest Dream Yoga,if not making a journal formally,just read in the lessons and apply them where needed,as they sort of address a lot of the things you mentioned.

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Originally Posted by iThousandSunny

I would suggest Dream Yoga,if not making a journal formally,just read in the lessons and apply them where needed,as they sort of address a lot of the things you mentioned.

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I am not familiar with Dream Yoga. Which lessons are you referring to?

Dream Yoga

Supressing Emerging thoughts,along with Basic Dream Yoga 1 & 2.

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Originally Posted by iThousandSunny

Dream Yoga

Supressing Emerging thoughts,along with Basic Dream Yoga 1 & 2.

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Thanks a bunch! I will read through these and put them into practice.

Just try to stay consistent, just do enough so you can keep it up. If you try too much at once you might burn yourself out when you don't get results. I just started trying more seriously (more dedicated but within reason to not burn out) this year and I already got like 19 LDs, which probably is more than my on and off attempts for all previous years combined...

I try some MILD as I fall asleep, when I wake up in the middle of the night I try to WILD (this is really hard for me, sometimes I feel like I'm awake for 30min-1h if I try too hard, but eventually a WILD can happen once I got over the irritation of how long it can take)

I think while having the intention to lucid dream, and doing enough MILD and WILD attempts, you eventually will get some DILDs (happened to me anyway). I keep my expectations in check all the time so I don't get too frustrated by failures, just keep trying and see what happens. Consistently.

Thank you, that is probably the best plan as far as getting back into it. I will try multiple techniques at night and make a more active effort. I'll try following your method and see how it goes.