Thread: Semi-Wilds and partial LD

Seven months ago i got seriously interested in lucid dreaming and worked with it constantly, and had moderate success, but i got too busy and stopped working on it but am picking it up again but having a hard time.

I find myself somewhat aware that i am dreaming, but it never clicks. I remember myself thinking, if you think about that, it will happen, since this is a dream, but i dont become lucid. Same thing happens when i find myself waking up, i think, focus on the dream and stay in it, but i dont become lucid.

Is there a way to correct this?

Also, i have never liked wilds, or used them. But the last few nights i have found myself falling asleep with vague images and thoughts and then i snap awake and wonder why those were happening cause they were completely random, is that the beginning of a wild? If i focused could i put myself in the dream?

If you knew, even on the lowest, most illogical level that you are dreaming it is technically a LD.

Dream control and logical thought are a completely different thing.

When it comes to correcting illogical thinking practice can really help. By this I mean both having more LDs and practicing while awake. Imagine a dream in which you knew you were dreaming, but it didn't fully dawn on you. Try to relive it as much as possible. Try to relive the feelings and thoughts of it. Then imagine full realization of what it means to be dreaming occuring to you. Think how that would feel. What would you do next?

I don't much care for WILDs, either. Those random images and thoughts may have been HI (hypnagogic imagry) which occur as the mind prepares to enter a dream (as in a WILD). Or you may have been having some short non-REM dreams.

thanks, that makes sense, just out of curiosity, how long did it take you until you started noticing oddities in dreams and thought to do reality checks. I admit im not too consistent with doing reality checks in waking life, but i have never had a lucid dream where i notice something weird and then rc'd, all the ones i have had just seem to happen, all the sudden i just think "im dreaming".

Basically im asking whats the best way to perform RC's during the day that will carry it over to my dreams

I'm a natural LDer, so I'm not big on RCs. Usually I just "know" it is a dream. Once in a while if I'm not sure I'll RC (and usually it turns out I'm awake). Sorry, I know this is completely unhelpful!

Originally Posted by seeker28

I'm a natural LDer, so I'm not big on RCs. Usually I just "know" it is a dream. Once in a while if I'm not sure I'll RC (and usually it turns out I'm awake). Sorry, I know this is completely unhelpful!

Wait, i dont believe im a natural lucid dreamer at all, but that is exactly what happens to me! I just know its a dream when i have them, nothing ever happens that makes me wonder about the surroundings, all the sudden ill be in a normal dream and ill just think, im dreaming. This happened to me last night, i was in a parking lot where a gun fight was happening, and all the sudden i thought, im dreaming, and i made everyone go away and started walking around taking in my surroundings but i was trying to concentrate on staying in the dream to hard and woke up.

This is very frustrating to me because I dont know what im doing right thats causing the dreams. So far i feel like the times i have had lucid dreams, its all been because of auto suggestion, which is very sporadic i feel like. All i did yesterday which i usually dont do was i just repeated "i will recognize that i am dreaming" over and over again.

Autosuggestion is a great tool for causing DILDs. If you do it several times a day every day it may help you have even more LDs.

It it cool that you just "know" it is a dream too. I wonder why this is?

Here's what usually works for me to increase my lucid stats:
* Dream Recall: before getting into LD, I almost never remembered my dreams. I had to pay attention in the night and the morning, and start a dream journal, to correct this. This helps to have a better conception of what my Dreams look like, and so it's easier to notice "I'm dreaming" when inside one. Many times I don't need to do a RC, I "just know" that I'm dreaming

* If you notice a recurring situation in those dreams, you may direct your attention to those as an hint to do a RC. (mines are for example dead family people and childhood places.)

* autosuggestion: It works for me but only when doing it right before sleeping (I have plenty of time for this since I need 1h to fall asleep once in my bed...). If I wake up during the night, it's another occasion to reinforce it. Use your favourite autosuggestion method (repeat "I will notice my dreams" over and over, or do a MILD...). The point is to "obsess" over Lucid dreaming before sleeping, so your mind/subconcious is full of this idea, and nothing else. It a good time to review the previous "dream signs" .

* Frequent awakenings during the night: For better dream recall, reinforcement of autosuggestion, and the occasional WILD, I try to wake up at the end of each REM cycle. It can be done by programming your clock on a multiple of a REM cycle (1h30), or (I prefer) by autosuggestion before you sleep ("I will wake up after each of my dreams"). Depending of how well you sleep, can be easy or not, tiring or not. You just need to be conscious enough 1 or 2 minutes to remember the previous dream and reassert your will to be lucid, then fall back to sleep.

* False Awakenings: Previous point might increase their frequency, so get the habit to do a RC each time you awake. When I still kept track of my statistics, nearly 1/3 of my DILDs were caused by a RC in a FA.

* If you don't have a dream sign, create one. We often dream about things that obsessed us in the day (repetitive work, or a big event). Try to create a new obsession over something that you can keep in the back of your mind in the day, and expect to actually be triggered a few times (not too much, not too few) each day. Be aware and do a RC each time it happens.

For example mine was "looking for mirrors", so it was triggered on each bathroom trip and when stumbling on reflective surfaces. Sure enough, after a few days I had dreams where at some points there was a mirror in a room, and when seeing my reflection I would get the idea to do a RC.

* Things that don't work for me: "generic" autosuggestion during the day; "RC for no reason all day long ": I never carried the habit in the dream, even after several months.

Thank you, that all is very helpful! Auto suggestion has worked for me but not very consistantly.

I have dream signs that i have noticed, common ones are seeing people i never see anymore, old teachers, friends, deceased family members, and my ex girlfriend, and i do rc's throughout the day, but when is see them in my dream, i NEVER think to do an RC. I just cant get into the mind set in my dreams to look for such things. Any hints for raising over AWARENESS while in my dreams?