Try this maybe.

I finally had an LD after a LONG time (it felt like). Sorry so much complaining.

Anyway, in addition to other things that I tried (listed in thread "Lucid dreams have stopped" if anyone wants to know), I did something else; I don't know whether this will be helpful or not. The other day, I was thinking about how DS's are weird because they are recurrent in dreams, but not in real life (seeing old friends, being at an old school, etc). and things that I do all the time don't happen that much in dreams. I was thinking I work out a lot, usually in the evening not long before bed, but I never dream about lifting weights. That night, I dreamed I was at a gym and I had a long, vivid, non-LD. So I did it again yesterday, I thought I dream about dogs all the time, why not horses? That night I dreamed about horses and became lucid. These were just really random passing thoughts, I didn't dwell on them, I wasn't even trying to use them for help in LD. I've got another one for tonight but I don't want to think about it too much and ruin it. These are mini-incubations and they maybe they work better for me than the big-time incubations. (Unfortunately, it is like trying not to think of an elephant!)

And, like everything else, once my subconscious figures out that I am tricking it, it will rebel again probably and not let me LD.

I think this is stupid and it didn't work last night. Sorry I wasted your time reading this nonsense. Unless it helps you, then, your welcome.

Heh, it's not stupid, but it's not a guaranteed method either.

What I think might have happened is this:

The first time it happened by a freak chance (well, not so freak really) and that made you hopeful for the next night. You thought because it worked before, it should work again, and lo and behold, it did. The last time though, you'd already started to doubt whether it would work, and so it didn't.

Having faith in your ability, or the method you use, to LD will get you half of the way towards LDing.

I don't really understand why older memories will reoccur often but things in your daily life won't. The memory sorting/organizing theory explains it, but I still don't know much about it. Perhaps short term memories are more active while awake because they are more efficient in aiding reactions and reflexes. Asleep it would interfere with lying still.

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Originally posted by Moonbeam
I think this is stupid and it didn't work last night. Sorry I wasted your time reading this nonsense. Unless it helps you, then, your welcome.

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Why are you apologizing? It worked a couple times, and that is what matters. So what if it doesn't work every time, if it induces an LD, even just sometimes, then you are successful. There is no perfect technique, so I wouldn't worry about this not working once, as it worked twice before. That's a 66% success rate.

Yeah I just have to keep trying new things because I can't seem to get anything to work more than once or twice. It almost does seem like there is some resistance in my mind, which isn't really very smart and can be tricked, but not the same way again. It must be in the subconscious. I have read that the subconscious is very simple and doesn't understand negatives. Also, if you give it a problem or ask it a question, it will continue to work on it until it finds some answer. That's why, if you are trying to think of like an actor's name, and you just can't think of it, later on it will come to you out of the blue--the subconscious worked on it until it came up with the answer. And that is why you should never ask yourself a qestion like "Why am I so (fat, stupid, incompetent, etc.)? because the subconscious will take that question and work on it and eventually answer it for you (telling you it is because you are weak-willed, lazy, a retard, etc.) which is not helpful to you. Instead, you should ask "How can I improve, do this right, etc." and then the subconscious will work on it and come up with a constructive answer. So the question is "How can I LD?'' . Now, my subconscious should come up with the answer.

Unfortunately, it almost seems like my subconscious is working against me for some unknown reason. But, the dryspell did break, I am keeping the faith, it will happen again. Thanks for encouragement.

I agree on your opinion of the subconscious and answering completely. Also, you're not the only one who's subconscious tries to piss them off. Doubt kills. That's that, but it can be tricked a couple times, and that's good.

i think that it is safe to say is that the only perfect technique is extreme change while keeping lucidity and noticing your dreaming in mind. Something that rattles your equlibrium.

I've had your technique happen to me many times before, sometime later in the day I'll be lying on my bed and think "I wonder what ____'s up to..." then as quickly as the thought came its gone.
This has happened so many times that usually I just know that whats happening as it does but don't really care (and usually I'm right, thus predicting that nights dreams)

I never really thought much of it though... I think when we do that we're doing one of two things:

1) Somewhere deep in our subconscious we're placing a schema (see "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" by Stephen LaBerge) that will later manifest itself into our dreams

or

2) We're remembering a memory that somehow got dredged up to where our consciousness can easily access it, and our subconscious later uses this recently dredged up memory for a schema to build a dream around

that's my opinion on it anyway, if whats happening is scenario 1, then your method should work. If its scenario 2, you could notice when it happens and use it to your advantage

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