Thread: For those struggling with very short LDs...

I say hang in there! I've been back into the practice of LDing for about 4 months now, having had one very vivid one about 8 or 9 years ago. Up until last week, my LDs were very, very short - I mean like 5-seconds to 10-seconds short. I've been reading books, reading these boards and anything else I could get my hands on, and everyone was saying that short LD were the norm when starting out, and that with practice they will get longer. Well out of the blue, about 3 weeks ago, I had a good 10 minute LD that got me excited.

At least I knew I was on the right track.

Then 2 days ago, I had a wonderful 15 minute LD. I was able to summon a dream guide and ask for help.

And, just last night, I had an amazing 40 minute LD. Out of this world. I went to bed with the intention to repeat my personal info to myself if I became lucid so as to ground my consciousness. Not only did I repeat to myself in my dream my name, address and phone number, but I called myself on the phone and had a brief conversation. I also looked at my hands and counted my fingers (to my surprise I had 6 on each hand). I willed the sun to rise in the sky, and I summoned my dream guide again. It was simply an amazing way to treat myself after months of hard work.

To those struggling to stay in an LD, or even those who are struggling to even have an LD, my advice would be to practice every single day and treat it as though it is something fun. There will be many mornings you will wake and nothing will have happened. This will go on for weeks, perhaps months. But if you stick with it, and you are serious about it, and you practice every night with a sense of adventure it will get easier and easier...

nsquared,
That is a very uplifting and positive message.
I have never had an LD for more than 10 minutes I would guess.

My question I have for you is this - Do you constantly keep an idea in your head while you are dreaming? For example, I may be having a dream, I become Lucid, then the whole dream scene usally changes. If I do not act quickly and try to focus my attention on somthing, I will wake up. When I become Lucid my dream scene almost remains stagnent, which I always thought was odd because others explain how all these things go on once they become Lucid. ?!

Hi Howetzer,
Here's my little routine that I've developed as I've learned to watch how I fall asleep. I tell myself to wake after my dreams and write them down before going to bed. I usually wake up automatically between 3am-4am. I write in my journal what I remember, then get up and use the restroom and go to the kitchen for a drink of water, etc... I do this for around 15 minutes.

I go back to bed and force myself not to fall asleep. I talk to myself, keeping myself up for another 15 minutes, for 30 minutes total. I stare at parts of the room (ceiling, ceiling fan, window...) while saying to myself, with conviction, "The next situation I'm in, that's not in this room, will be a dream. When lucid, I will do ________." In that blank I set a goal, for instance, "sit and stare at the ground". I say this over and over again, forcing myself not to fall asleep. If my eyes get heavy, I force them open again.

Then after that, I close my eyes and focus on a glowing white ball situated between my eyes where my forehead would be. I try to imagine this ball as clearly as possible. I say to myself "I'm dreaming" over and over again. If I drift off into nonsense, I pull myself back, focus on the ball, and keep going.

If I'm lucky I'll awaken in a dream and pinch my nose and breathe to confirm I'm dreaming. The first thing I do is sit on the ground and stare at the ground. I rub my hands on whatever surface I'm sitting on and say to myself "I'm dreaming now. I will stay conscious."

Yes, I have to say "I'm still dreaming" once every few minutes just to remind myself. If I feel things aren't going right, or if I feel things changing, I sit down again and stare at and touch the ground. It is amazing how it gets me back on track. I highly recommend it! Sit there as long as you need to. Don't be in a rush. Also try remembering who you are by stating your name, address, and everything about your waking life. When you feel you are in control again, you can stand up. Remember to say "I'm still dreaming" again!

You say your dream scene almost always remains stagnant - but I think that's what you want. At least that's what I strive for. If the scene gets to crazy you risk waking up. At the times I wake up to quickly, it's usually because I try to do things to quickly. For instance, if I get excited and jump into the air to fly, I'll wake up. Grounding is what has worked wonders for me. I think once a person becomes more proficient, they can gradually change things in their dream. But I think just waiting and watching things happen in your dream can be just as rewarding.

Keep me posted, and I'll keep everyone posted of how things are going on my end. I'm still trying to grasp the amazement that I felt last night! If you have any more questions, let me know!

Thanks for the reply.
Yes you are correct. You would think that most would want a stable dream scene, but in my case, when I try to change it is when my concious mind seems to take over and I awake.
Again thanks for your suggestions - they could be very helpful

Ok so my big problem is that when I first go to bed i keep thinking about having a lucid dreams and then my mind starts to drift to other things and i think about other things. But I really am serious about having lucid dreams so thank you for helping me keep going I wont give up and try harder.

Penguins= the greatest thing

Thanks for the encouraging message.... I've only had a few 10 second LD's, so hopefully LONG ones like the ones you described are irght around the corner! Oh, and when you say how long your LD's were, did you actually time them somehow or are you just describing how long it felt like they were?

It really felt like 40 min in the dream... and also I did WBTB. I approximated the time I fell asleep and when I woke up, I looked at my clock. It was around 45 minutes.

thanks for the info...i usually have problems like howetzer. my dreams aren't that long. I'm guessing that i lose lucidity because after i become lucid there is a certain part where i just dont remember what happened next..at all..It's like my memory was erased then, so im not really sure whats making me lose lucidity, but then again..my dream recall sucks...

thats it..im going to work on it now...i needed the motivation, thanks