Thread: How much longer???

Well, it's different for everybody, but it sounds like you're on the right track. Just keep trying.

Originally Posted by Edge_of_Nowhere

I have been trying to get lucid for a little more than a month, now. I DILD and RC about once every 1.5 hours. I have come close; but never fully got control. Or any control; for that matter. So my question is how much longer??? And if it helps, I have good recall. I keep a DJ, use it about 85% of the time, and remember 1-3 dreams a night by adverage, at least 6 days a week, probabally 6.25/week. So, how much longer? Thanks!

I had the same problem when I was first starting out... check out the link in my signature. It will tell you exactly what I did. I now lucid dream almost every night. If you decide not to, though, just remember not to give up and do constant reality checks. You have great recall, so that will help you too.

I just had my first lucid dream recently, it took me a little over a month, so don't give up. If your recalling 1-3 dreams a night then it sounds like your recall is at least as good as mine, so keep up the good work and hopefully it won't be long.

Hey man,
the thing with reality checks is, you're supposed to do them when you see something out of the ordinary that might only happen in a dream. not just to do them every so often.
But you're heading in the right direction

It will take as long as you are impatient. If that makes sense. Just be relaxed about it, fretting over it will have detrimental effects on LD'ing.

And soadfreak2121 is right, do reality checks only when you see something out of the ordinary. Simply making it a time-based habit won't work for many people.

I spent two years trying to LD after my first one. It wasn't until I figured out one of my good dreamsigns, and did RCs every time something seemed unusual and I questioned whether or not it was a dream, that I started to have LDs. Keep trying! Your hard work will pay off!

Also, I started napping recently, and I had 6 LDs in the past 30 days. Considering I've had 2 in the past 2 years before that, I am a firm believer in napping now This is what I would do:

Get up at 6 am (for class). Take a nap from 11-2:30 (I then had classes). Come back to my room, go to bed around 11 pm, and get up around 6am.
OR
Get up around 6 am, take a nap from 3:30-6pm, then go to sleep at 11 pm and get up around 6 am.

I wouldn't even necessarily have the LDs during the naps, but for some reason as soon as I started that schedule I would start LDing. It might be worth mentioning that I was taking the naps because I was studying for exams... maybe you have to be incredibly sleep deprived to start out with, like I was

Maybe this will help...
Get up at 3 am and walk around the block. Stay awake for a while. Maybe a half hour to an hour. I almost always have one when I forget t take out the trash, the dog barks alot, and the baby cries. I think its a little stress mixed witht the wbtb method.

Mate, it was a good few months before my first LD. Even now it has been well over a year since i started, and I have only had 5. It takes patience and dedication. Since it is so differen't for people, you never know how long it will be till you get a good lucid dream.

(For some it takes a day, for some over a year)

ive been trying to become lucid for about 2,5 years.
im not giving up.
i try different things.

i havent done any realitychecks in a while...it became bothersome....people where wondering wtf i was doing all the time
i will soon kick down the wall thats stops me from LD...i bet there are alot of cracks in it =)

I feel the same way. When? I'm pretty new to the forum here, but I've been journaling for 3 months now. On average I remember 1 -3 dreams a night. I've been waking up early for about 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes every morning before going back to bed for about 2 weeks now in an attempt to boost my chances. I have tried taking melatonin, nutmeg, vitamins, and even peanut butter (because of another thread here) and I have only gained partial lucidity once. I even meditate for about 15 minutes right before bed. Otherwise the closest I come is dreaming about writing in my journal which is frustrating. The only thing is I stink at doing reality checks on a regular basis.

Any advice?

Originally Posted by Cephadelic

I feel the same way. When? I'm pretty new to the forum here, but I've been journaling for 3 months now. On average I remember 1 -3 dreams a night. I've been waking up early for about 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes every morning before going back to bed for about 2 weeks now in an attempt to boost my chances. I have tried taking melatonin, nutmeg, vitamins, and even peanut butter (because of another thread here) and I have only gained partial lucidity once. I even meditate for about 15 minutes right before bed. Otherwise the closest I come is dreaming about writing in my journal which is frustrating. The only thing is I stink at doing reality checks on a regular basis.

Any advice?

Maybe you're trying to hard, that's a possibility.
If you have a watch or a phone that you could set to beep every half hour or so you should do a reality check on every beep. See what looks out of place around you.

Originally Posted by Cephadelic

I feel the same way. When? I'm pretty new to the forum here, but I've been journaling for 3 months now. On average I remember 1 -3 dreams a night. I've been waking up early for about 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes every morning before going back to bed for about 2 weeks now in an attempt to boost my chances. I have tried taking melatonin, nutmeg, vitamins, and even peanut butter (because of another thread here) and I have only gained partial lucidity once. I even meditate for about 15 minutes right before bed. Otherwise the closest I come is dreaming about writing in my journal which is frustrating. The only thing is I stink at doing reality checks on a regular basis.

Any advice?

It sounds like you're doing most of the stuff you're supposed to do. I'd tell you to do more reality checks, but to be honest I've had reality checks fail in dreams more often than they've worked. My few LDs (all DILDs) have basically all come as the result of somewhat spontaneous lucidity, although recognizing dream signs has also played a huge role. Have you taken note of all your dream signs and recognize what situations/signs tend to appear in your dreams? Doing so might increase your chances.

I don't know about the whole "you're trying too hard/you're not trying hard enough" stuff. But maybe it's possible to allow yourself to become too frustrated and think (subconsciously) that it's never going to happen. Maybe change your attitude toward it from focusing 100% on LDs to recognizing the benefits you're getting from doing the journaling and having great dream recall, even if you don't have frequent LDs. To me, anyway, LDs are a great perk from generally being more aware of what goes on in my dreams.

Anyway, good luck...

Yeah I guess I came off like I'm trying too hard. I'm not quite as obsessed as all that, and I do really appreciate remembering my dreams, and I love having a journal. The meditation isn't necessarily for LD's but I figured it couldn't hurt. I've always had pretty vivid dreams, and I'd had 2 LD's before I ever started trying, so I just kinda figured it would happen quicker.

I did have a dream recall dry spell lately and I finally told myself to just not worry about it and voila! the recall came back. So, I know I need to stop thinking about it so hard, it's just easier said than done sometimes. Thanks for the advice!