Losing the ability to lucid dream?

[LydiaIsDreaming]

I used to be pretty good at lucid dreaming, but over time I seem to have lost it. At first I blamed the stress of losing a friend, then I blamed my depression which was actually the cause of losing the friend (I think he just decided I'm more trouble than I'm worth .), then I blamed the stress of losing my job and having a long search for another one... but by now I have accepted that my "friend" has turned his back, I have found a job and been secure in it for three years, and the only one of those things I blamed that still remains is my depression, which I'm getting treated for. So my question is why can't I have lucid dreams regularly? I had one last night, that was the first one I've had since forever. Has anyone had this difficulty and got through it? If you have, I'd really like to know how you did it. TIA.

[dolphin]

Sure, I've experienced this drop in lucidity before due to stress. I think that sometimes we can't have lucid dreams regularly when our intentions and motivations has shift our awareness away from things related to lucid dreaming. Over time, this can also cause us to unlearn some things that previously allowed us to become lucid. I find setting a stronger intention to complete a dream goal helps me get my intention and motivation where it needs to be. I also find striving to learn about dreaming helps with lucidity in general. For example, I'll learn about lucid dreaming by analyzing my dreams to try to learn from them or by trying a different approach to lucid dreaming to see where it takes me.

[lenscaper]

I think that sometimes we can't have lucid dreams regularly when our intentions and motivations has shift our awareness away from things related to lucid dreaming. Even in these early stages for me I have seen how lucidity weakens and slips away when my daytime practices get ignored. I have also seen that when I renew my intentions after those brief periods, lucidity returns even stronger. So I can see how your travails would have distracted you, LydialsDreaming. I wish you the best with getting back to your dreams and I think the mere fact that you are thinking about lucidity again will help you get there.

[gbbr]

Even in these early stages for me I have seen how lucidity weakens and slips away when my daytime practices get ignored. I'd be curious to hear what these practices are? Are they the same as what you wrote in my introductory post? The teachings from the "Tibetan Yoga of Dream and Sleep" book? The 4 preliminary practices? If so, I'm trying to do that myself. It's hard to keep continuity, but definitely interesting.

[lenscaper]

I'd be curious to hear what these practices are? Are they the same as what you wrote in my introductory post? The teachings from the "Tibetan Yoga of Dream and Sleep" book? I do spend a lot of time with that up on my screen during the day here in my office. I have a lot of people coming in and out during the day and I work hard on maintaining that "non-dualistic" presence in my interactions with them. By that I mean that I work on not reacting emotionally to the many different situations I am faced with throughout the day. Instead I try hard to remain "in the moment" and not get carried into the stream of emotional push and pull that generally carries us along during the day. This is incredibly difficult sometimes as things get busy....but that degree of difficulty makes me work harder at it and it is amazingly effective when I can maintain it. This is SO important to my lucidity at night because my dreams are often inhabited by dream characters who want to interact with me. When I am not lucid in those dreams I just become a part of the dream plot. But when my daytime practice kicks in in a dream I find myself stepping back from the dream plot and cutting through the fantasies and illusions of these dreams. When that happens, lucidity blooms quickly. When my daytime practice has gone particularly well I sometimes find myself dropping into a dream and becoming fully lucid when I first see a dream character. I am fortunate to have a daytime situation that allows me to practice like this.

[gbbr]

This is SO important to my lucidity at night because my dreams are often inhabited by dream characters who want to interact with me. When I am not lucid in those dreams I just become a part of the dream plot. But when my daytime practice kicks in in a dream I find myself stepping back from the dream plot and cutting through the fantasies and illusions of these dreams. When that happens, lucidity blooms quickly. When my daytime practice has gone particularly well I sometimes find myself dropping into a dream and becoming fully lucid when I first see a dream character. I am fortunate to have a daytime situation that allows me to practice like this. Oh that’s very inspiring. I should also try harder to remain present in interactions with others. I find it quite easy to do so in idle time, but less so when there is “action”. And of course that in my dreams there is almost always action, so more value comes out of being present then. Thank you!

[lenscaper]

The teachings from the "Tibetan Yoga of Dream and Sleep" book? The 4 preliminary practices? I meant to also say, gbbr, that those "Four Foundational Practices" have been amazingly helpful to me in my training. This kind of training has been slow as it takes a while to get results from daytime practice. I think, though, that the resulting dream recognition skills will become a part of the fabric of your life. I have found that after a few months of this dream yoga style of daytime practice lucidity often comes spontaneously to me in early REM cycle dreams...without any specific induction technique.

[zelcrow]

The same has happened to me, LydialsDreaming. Even recently I had a hiatus in my practices and intentions due to a mandatory test I had to take and pass for work. Within a week of finishing the test I started working at having an LD and within a few days I did Have you been doing much to work towards having LDs recently? I wish the best of luck to you!

[Caradon]

You can do it! You're not alone. I've been going through a lot of the same. I don't think it's so much that you lost the ability. You were there, you know how. I think it's just a matter of really digging in and having the determination to work on getting yourself back to where you need to be. Recently I was thinking it's a little similar to someone that wants to quit smoking, puts a little effort into it, but just can't. It's the determined mind that really digs in that pulls off quitting, cold turkey, with no help from patches or any other kind of manufactured methods promising to help. But really only trying to make money off your addiction. Because they want to convince you to buy their product.

[Neo Neo]

I was going to post about this, but there's already a thread so ... This is exactly me right now. I can't seem to have lucid dreams by intent anymore. I mostly just have them at random and they are usually short. I know my mind is focused on other things, like learning kanji and Japanese, but basically I'm just regular dreaming nowadays lol. I haven't been doing RCs, but I also can't really wrap my mind around RCs anymore. It seems pointless to me because "waking" reality is just another part of the universe like dreaming reality. Also living abroad and I don't want to add to myself questioning my sanity . So I don't know, perhaps its just mental blockages that aren't going away? Not bad that I'm not lucid dreaming as often, but I'd like to have them more lol.

[Caradon]

I was going to post about this, but there's already a thread so ... This is exactly me right now. I can't seem to have lucid dreams by intent anymore. I mostly just have them at random and they are usually short. I know my mind is focused on other things, like learning kanji and Japanese, but basically I'm just regular dreaming nowadays lol. I haven't been doing RCs, but I also can't really wrap my mind around RCs anymore. It seems pointless to me because "waking" reality is just another part of the universe like dreaming reality. Also living abroad and I don't want to add to myself questioning my sanity . So I don't know, perhaps its just mental blockages that aren't going away? Not bad that I'm not lucid dreaming as often, but I'd like to have them more lol. Your post is a little confusing to me. By what you wrote it sounds to me like you're lucky to be recalling dreams at all, and a having a few random lucids here and there. By your own words you say you are focused on other things, and you think it's pointless to question your reality, to put the work in to induce more lucidity. Then you say you wish you were having more. Then you say you can't induce lucidity by intent. It sounds like it's not that you can't it's that you don't want to... I mean most of us wish we could just be getting lucid all the time without having to do anything to make it happen. But I actually like that I have to work to induce them. It's why I put the statement that I put into my signature. I feel like I'm getting a lot more out of it, by putting the work in, and the tranquility and peace it brings to my waking life. Than if I never had to think about lucid dreaming or recall, it just happened all the time without a thought put to it. There is always the option of supplements for those that have trouble with, or lack of desire, to put more mental effort into it. But I've not ever played with that other than for taking a little melatonin, or B6. So I can't give any advice on supplements.

[lenscaper]

Not bad that I'm not lucid dreaming as often, but I'd like to have them more lol. I can only respond from my own experience at this early stage in my training. At this point in that persistent training I am experiencing some degree of spontaneous lucidity almost every night in the early REM cycle dreams before I go to a technique. I still refer to what I am doing as "training" because, well...that's what it still is. Like Caradon, my goal is to make dream lucidity a natural part of my life for various reasons that may not be germane to this particular discussion. There is an ebb and a flow to this training though and when I feel as if I am too long in calm water....I increase my intention and the result is always increased lucidity. That may be the key for you. But.....you also have a life to live and it sounds as is you are doing some things that are very important to your overall development. Don't push the river. You seem to have lucidity in your life. Be glad about that. But when you feel the need for more, I suggest reaching for the Intention Knob and cranking it up a little.

[Neo Neo]

Sorry, yes my last post is a bit confusing out of context! I think its basically my mind is going off into too many directions now lol. Yes, I should count myself more lucky in that I'll have spontaneous lucids here and there. I think ya'll are right about intention, and therefore induction, being important. I can't say I've been consistent with that lately so its probably related to why lucids are rarely happening. I think my intentions and mindset need re-organizing as well. RCs worked really well when I first got into lucid dreaming and I'd have maybe 2-3 lucids a week. But as with life, I've changed as well as my original outlook on achieving lucidity. Intention and DILDs have always been the route I've taken. Some RCs, and just brute/persistent intention which leads to inducing lucids. Maybe that's what I should get back into once my other studies settle down.

[Sensei]

I like to have a complete switch from waking and dreaming. I journal before I go to sleep and before I start my day. During the day I don't get distracted by my dreams and during the night I don't get distracted by my day. It makes it so that life doesn't get in the way of dreaming, and dreaming doesn't get in the way of life. I notice that dreaming often gets in the way of life for a lot of people, so when life takes its reigns back, it ends up taking a huge toll on dreaming. I only do night work, every night when the night starts, it is like the morning, with things to do and tasks and fun things planned. I don't want to waste my days dreaming when I have people to spend time with that are much more important than dreams.

[lenscaper]

I like to have a complete switch from waking and dreaming. I journal before I go to sleep and before I start my day. During the day I don't get distracted by my dreams and during the night I don't get distracted by my day. It makes it so that life doesn't get in the way of dreaming, and dreaming doesn't get in the way of life. What an interesting perspective!! Six months along on this path, I am taking the exact opposite tack. I am working on establishing an unbroken continuity between the dream perspective of day and that of night. That's working for me now....but I am still in training. While perusing the back pages of Dream Views when I first got here, I read one of your posts from some years ago where you mentioned that you only write down important dreams now rather than constant journaling. I knew then that you would be one to look to for guidance on long term lucid dreaming. You have been doing this for a very long time....I can definitely see how your perspectives will help ensure that lucidity becomes and remains a part of the fabric of one's life. i am looking forward to that time.

[gbbr]

That sounds very promising and motivating. I like the benefits of both becoming more lucid in dreams, as well as in life. Thank you for this, it's very encouraging. Since forever I'm trying to maintain awareness all day, but there is always room for more.