Yay!

[Theotherguy]

After a dryspell of about a month I've finally managed to have a lucid dream, and my dream recall is getting better Basically all I had to do to get out of my dryspell was a few simple steps. First, instead of merley having a dreamjournal somewhere in my room, I put it directley on top of my alarm clock with a pencil attatched to it, and turned to a page without lines (so that I can write it down in the dark and it is still legible) Second, I read completley through my dream journal and scrutinized every detail, and then I made a list of things I should look for in my dreams. For instance, I said, "If you are at a mirror, you are dreaming" or "If you are driving a car, you are dreaming" with no exceptions. If I naturally assume that I am dreaming while I'm doing these things, then I will not have to go through the horrendous process of failing a reality test. Third, I set my alarm clock for 3:30 AM. This is usually when I'm most tired, and I have not yet had a dream. After I woke up at 3:30, I began going over my list of dreamsigns in my head and said to myself, "If I find myself doing any of these activites at all, I will immediatly recognize that I am dreaming", and then I waited. Since I was so tired, the line between asleep and awake was quite blurry, and I only had to wait for about 30 minutes before I was asleep and doing one of those activities. Luckily, when I started dreaming, the first thign I was doing was looking at a mirror. I immediatley realized I was lucid, and was incredibly happy. In contrast, the night before I was looking in a mirror and had three arms and several fingers on each of the three hands, and I wasn't sure if I was dreaming, so I did a reality check of pushing my finger though my palm, and failed. Now I know that I must assume immediatley that I am dreaming. Sorry if this is not such a big deal to any of you, and if all of my teqchniques are well known and old-hat, but it is a monumentous occasion for me.

[odds]

Oh, but it is a big deal. Congrats, man... Especially because you sort of formed your own technique, and it proved successful. I think I'll try it!

[Enigma13]

I think I'll try that tonight because I'm also in an outrageously long dryspell and am wiling to try pretty much anything.

[CrimsonDemon]

couldn't I just write a list of things down, which i know i won't do in everyday life (as i'm 16 drive a car) and the wake at 3:30 am, or whatever time, or were those things you saw in your dreams?

[Theotherguy]

they were things I specifically did in the dream the last night. I just looked at thigns that happen alot in my dreams and associated them with dreaming in my mind.