Five years, still no lucid dream!

Since discovering the concept of LD over five years ago, I can count potential lucid dreams I've had on less than one hand, those that may qualify haven't corresponded to any technique I've tried, so I'm yet to find a 'way'.

Over the years, I have tried all the techniques I've come across, most for (I'd have thought) a substantial amount of time, as well as a few of the well-known programmes and 'key texts'. I've previously tried WILD, MILD, WBTB and a whole host of others, as well as some visualisation practices and listening to binaural beats. None have been so far successful. I have a feeling that once I crack a few, the rest will start to come more naturally, but I've just not managed to tap into that well of lucid dreams yet. I feel like my motivation is wavering. It's hard to get that back, and I worry that this lack of motivation may actually be further affecting my ability to LD.

These are some facts about my habits:
- I Try to keep consistent sleep pattern (generally 22:30/23:00-7:00).
- I definitely dream, and when really motivated can usually remember and record three dreams a night, average. I record in as much detail as I can (I have three Moleskine's full), so remembering dreams isn't an issue for me.
- I meditate regularly.

For the last few months, I've half-mindedly given up I think, just being at the mercy of my dreams. I'd love some help if anyone can. Perhaps if someone's been in the same situation and found something that works. Thanks!

You seem pretty enthusiastic, so I'm guessing you've already tried this (you seem to have tried a lot), but perhaps maybe the HILD technique might bring you some luck if you haven't already given it a try? It's a self-hypnosis technique (similar to meditation); it helps you to co-operate with your subconscious mind instead of trying to trick it into lucid dreaming, as many other techniques do. It seems to work for many people (including myself) the night after the hypnosis, so it requires a little patience.

I had my first lucid dream five days after discovering the concept thanks to the HILD method; I hope this might help you too!

You say you have tried WBTB and WILD. I would recommend starting with DILD, it's usually the technique that gives the most success early on. Perhaps trying DILD and WBTB combined.

May I ask what a typical attempt looks like to you, what's your process? I'm asking as, given your success with the recall, I see no reason why you are not LD'ing.

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Originally Posted by MartinB

You seem pretty enthusiastic, so I'm guessing you've already tried this (you seem to have tried a lot), but perhaps maybe the HILD technique might bring you some luck if you haven't already given it a try? It's a self-hypnosis technique (similar to meditation); it helps you to co-operate with your subconscious mind instead of trying to trick it into lucid dreaming, as many other techniques do. It seems to work for many people (including myself) the night after the hypnosis, so it requires a little patience.

I had my first lucid dream five days after discovering the concept thanks to the HILD method; I hope this might help you too!

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Thanks, I'll look into it. There seem to be different schools of thought about the technique when I look online. Is there a particular tutorial you followed that you could link me up with?

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Originally Posted by LucidPower

You say you have tried WBTB and WILD. I would recommend starting with DILD, it's usually the technique that gives the most success early on. Perhaps trying DILD and WBTB combined.

May I ask what a typical attempt looks like to you, what's your process? I'm asking as, given your success with the recall, I see no reason why you are not LD'ing.

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I went through phases of waking up at particular times, staying awake (or not) for different amounts of time, and doing different things when I'm awake/falling asleep. I used to do a lot of reality checks, and tried a variety and tried to keep them consistent for a substantial length of time. I've not done RCs for a long time now though, except when something really whacky happens in real life. I've tried doing different things before bed (visualisations, mantras, or simply nothing at all). It's probably going to be a particular mix of these that will work, but I'm yet to discover it.

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Originally Posted by fearcandy64

Thanks, I'll look into it. There seem to be different schools of thought about the technique when I look online. Is there a particular tutorial you followed that you could link me up with?

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I wasn't able to find the specific tutorial I used (It was 2005, so it may no longer be available), but it went something like this:

• Lie down somewhere comfortable (e.g. bed or couch) on your back in a dark and quiet room.
• Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Slowly breathe in and out. Count down from 100 to zero for each time you breathe in/out.
• As you count down, try to relax your body and release any tension. Begin by focusing on your toes and move through your legs, up your body and finally through to the top of your head. Cover every part of your body, so your entire body is relaxed.
• After counting down to zero, you should be deeply relaxed. This is where you should focus on your objective. Slowly repeat your objective in your head (not out loud) over and over, e.g: "I will have a lucid dream. In my next dream, I will become lucid. I will have a lucid dream.", etc.. The goal here is to set your intention. Do this for a few minutes, or as long as you feel necessary.
• Now do the induction steps in reverse: e.g. count slow breaths in/out upwards from 1 to 100. The objective here is to gracefully bring yourself back to a normal wakeful conscious state.
• When you reach 100, you're done. Continue the rest of your day as usual.

Note that you shouldn't fall asleep during this process. You will remain aware and conscious throughout the entire process, but you should be in a very relaxed state (hypnosis is not magic; you won't experience anything unusual or weird).

The night after using HILD, you might not recall any dreams at all. Some people (myself included) seem to get a lucid dream on the second night after using HILD (I didn't need to repeat the HILD twice, I just had to wait an extra night for the desired result).

I have used the HILD technique around a dozen times over a period of a few months or so in 2005. My first lucid dream was a result of HILD and it was awesome (I did also use a reality check for confirmation as well).

As I did HILD more often, the frequency of my lucid dreams increased in general, and I often became lucid for no apparent reason at all (i.e. without any reality check or specific signs of dreaming). At my peak, I was having around three lucid dreams per week and had hundreds of lucid dreams in total.

I haven't made any efforts to lucid dream in years (I'm just getting started again), yet the effect of HILD seems to have persisted to some extent as I still get around one lucid dream per month, despite making no effort whatsoever.

But which techniques have you tried and how have you tried them? Also what is the regular dream world of yours like? But you will get there, I had my first lucid after 8 years of trying so!

hi fearcandy. I too have not had a huge amount of success either, so i my advice might be valuable to you because i feel like i am in a similar situation to you, yet i have had a few experiences and feel like i can recreate them if i put enough effort into it.

The technique that only ever worked for me was a natural WBTB / WILD / DEILD "type" thing. Where you get towards the last quarter of your night, revitalise yourself as to remember who you are , what your intentions are and how importantly you want them. I feel this is equivalent to removing the groggy feeling that often accompanies waking up in the middle of night. Now once that groggy feeling has subsided, I recommend positioning your body in the position that you feel most comfortable in and that you have prooven makes you fall asleep in. I say this, because largely my problem was that I cannot go to sleep unless i lay on my stomach, dont ask me why. So now you must 'act' as if you are going asleep, meaning relax yourself as much as you possibly can and begin to feel super comfortable and cosy, like a baby would who is curled up in a warm corner with his teddy bear or something. But whilst your body is becoming super comfortable, your mind must be repeating something to keep your mind awake. If you can juggle these 2 things simultaneously ( super comfort and active mind ) the only missing ingredient is patience because entering into a dream is a timing thing. You will need to be patient for atleast an hour and during that time it can get very hot, so keep the room temperature good with window etc. Now this instructions are fail proof i think, do not expect success every time you try this, but if you are patient enough its bound to work on one night.

as you can see this is a lot of effort just to experience a shortlived lucid moment, which most likely you will wake up from prematurely because i always do.. But if its merely to experience what all the fuss is about then its well worth it! I wish you the best of luck!

it took me till I was 22 too have my first lucid dream I'm 28 now so I know how you feel most of the time I'm just trapped behind the darkness with my eyes closed then I just wake up with a hint of what I did or if I did anything at all but wake up

Keep at it mate, you're not alone - I'm coming into my 3rd year now. When I started out I was super skeptical, after 2 months I had a one second lucid dream, I realised i was dreaming and woke up - a month after that I had a 15 minute lucid dream (again DILD) where I asked to speak to someone in charge, i can still recall her face even though i'd never met the woman before... Point is, it does work, but i'm 2 years on since that last event and nothing since then. My dreams are always very vivid, I just can't get lucid, it's frustrating. Anyway, no advice just a bit of support - I'm still searching for the key, trying new things, tweaking things. I've dropped off doing my dream journal, I need to restart that - my dreams are totally random so I couldn't find a tangible dream sign - last time i got lucid i used the feeling of anxiousness as a sign (that i sometimes got when i entered new environments), but that evades me now.

To the OP: if I was you I would forget all the techniques. They don't seem like they're gonna work for you. They never did for me either, any of them.

If I was you I would just go really nuts and start getting super serious about the DREAM JOURNAL and REALITY CHECKS!! Those two things. When you wake up and do your typical dream journal dont be vague at all. Write down every little detail you can, it will tell your subconscious how important it is to remember the dreams and you'll start remembering like 6 a night.

Next, on the reality checks.... Do one literally like every 10mins all day everyday if you can remember to. Like always. It'll HAVE to carry over into your dreams..

Third and final tip I have found to help a lot: do a lot of reading about lucid dreams. A lot. Read about them a ton. Articles on how to, random forum posts, etc. Basically just get your mind thinking about it a lot. A looooot.

Do all this stuff and I absolutely cannot see you not having some lucid dreams.

hi candy
your not alone in your efforts anyway, after years of patience my success rate is still very low, but i like too think that one day soon when i have less stress and more time to sleep in, my lucid rate will be super high. I found it very helpful to open a dreamwork book in DILD section, because forces me too reflect on dream habits also get some great advice.
Best of Luck anyways.

There has been a lot of good discussion and tips here which is great to see.

If I were in your place I'd probably put less energy into trying to lucid dream (this might sound a little confusing, but bare with me). If you focus more on awareness in your waking life (continue to meditate, journal about your waking life etc.) then I think you'll find it benefits your dreaming. Obviously keep your dream journal going as well. Keep your mind engaged with the idea of lucid dreaming, read posts on here, engage in discussions and generally just try to keep it in the back of your mind.

I'd also like to suggest that you keep at WILDs, if you're keen to pursue lucid dreams directly. My first consistent method for inducing lucid dreams was (and still is) WILDs. Personally, I found them to be a miracle induction technique. A lot of people warn newer lucid dreamers away from WILDs but I think that if you put some energy and time into them they'll be really rewarding.

I really hope you have a breakthrough soon. Best of luck!