Thread: 9 months and still nothing

Originally Posted by RXC573

I just realized that I have been trying to LD for 9 months, and i still have not had one. I keep a DJ, and last nght I had a very vivid dream, but i cannot seem to get an LD. Should i get more sleep? Use even more mantras than usual? Can i get a few tips, maybe people can tell how long it took them and what they did? Thanks in advance

Maybe you should try going back to basics:

http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ad.php?t=62282

Don't think about it too much. I've read many times that first times (mine too) were unexpected and unintentional. That's what I think.

Originally Posted by RXC573

I just realized that I have been trying to LD for 9 months, and i still have not had one. I keep a DJ, and last nght I had a very vivid dream, but i cannot seem to get an LD. Should i get more sleep? Use even more mantras than usual? Can i get a few tips, maybe people can tell how long it took them and what they did? Thanks in advance

It can be frustrating learning to LD. Be sure to keep it fun. If its not fun then you may ask yourself why you believe you need to be unhappy if you are not lucid dreaming

Here is what I did that helped me.

Accept myself just the way I am.

Accept Failure as my Greatest Teacher

I asked myself if someone talked to me the way I talk to myself would I want that person as my friend? Do I keep agreements with myself?

I discovered that I needed to work on my relationship with myself. Once I began doing what I said I would when I would then I began to trust myself. I could trust myself to do the reality checks when I was asleep or anything else.

Also question your beliefs. Your experiences are based on beliefs. Not all beliefs are true.

Meditate. after self trust is established then you may wish to learn how to quiet your mind so that you can open it to insight. Self-trusting means we rely on ourselves & trust ourselves with any task. This implies you have your own way. If we quiet & relax our minds then we create space & silence thru which you will connect with your way.

Relax, breathe, believe.

Also, when you reality check you are practicing the mental qualities that you wish to use to discover your true state of mind instead of going thru the motions mindlessly.

Originally Posted by RXC573

I just realized that I have been trying to LD for 9 months, and i still have not had one. I keep a DJ, and last nght I had a very vivid dream, but i cannot seem to get an LD. Should i get more sleep? Use even more mantras than usual? Can i get a few tips, maybe people can tell how long it took them and what they did? Thanks in advance

damn man that is a long time without a LD..

When I was little, I remember dreaming and knowing I was dreaming, but never knew it had its own name and what not, but anyway, after discovering this site last year, and reading about LD'ing, I had my first LD the night that i read about it, but its said that will happen because you were interested or what not, but damn 9 months.

I know I should keep a DJ again, but I havent been, but I still LD, I guess its like learning to ride a bike or diving in a pool, once you do it, your golden. As far as tips, all I can say is like everyone else is saying and go back over the basics, and im sure what they mean by that is..Dream Recall..Reality Checks, and so forth. If you already have decent dream recall, even if you wake up from a normal sleep, and can recall atleast 2 dreams, your ok, the more the better of course though. Dream Signs are vital, for example, Im always dreaming of being in my Great Grandmas Old house, but I have not been there since I was 9, thats over 10 yrs ago, thats a dream sign that is smacking me in the face but sometimes I dont pick up on it because you always seem to just go with the dream. You mainly need to learn how to spot dream signs, you also will discover you have your very own personal dream signs, my grandmas house would be one of mine. Regular dream signs can vary from you being in lets say NY and then all of a sudden you find your self in paris..or maybe a weird looking animal or anything out of the normal. Just practice and you will suceed.

Well, you don't go into details on how you try to get lucid. Also, Jumping from the beginning to WILDy techniques is hard - without WBTB impossible (?). From your signature I see you try WILD and MILD. Also, by that I can guess your are not persistent on one technique but you keep changing and this is not efficient. You say you have a DJ , that means your dream recall is at least ok. So what remains is your approach.

So, how you try to get a LD? Do you get enough sleep? Do you have time to combinate them with WBTB? From my experience, if I only check reality (many times a day) and have rudimentary dream recall I can get LDs (DILD).

1. Have a constant sleep schedule.
2. Write down dreams EVERY NIGHT.
3. Focus on your dream goals.
4. Wake-back-to-bed, during which you focus on reality checks, and how you would've become lucid in your last dream.
5. Persist. Don't have on-and-off days, where on some days you're 100% dedicated to lucid dreaming and others you aren't. Keep your motivation up and constant.

Basically, it's an experiement with your mind. You must hold variables constant (sleep schedule, journaling, motivation) and adjust them ONE AT A TIME to accurately pinpoint your problem (and improve).

Don't feel bad. I've been trying to LD for 3 YEARS!!!

(although I haven't been keeping a regular dream journal that whole time or doing reality checks consistantly. I get preoccupied with other things. I need to FULLY commit myself to it, and that's sometimes hard to do when a zillion other things are going on in life.

I feel ya. I have been trying to lucid dream as long as creativename has or probably even longer. I can't remember. but abra is right. keep a constant sleep schedule and constant effort. I should be doing that too. that is how I got my best resluts

yes i know the feeling. not having ld's for a while can be frustrating. just dont give up, everyone gets an ld at some point. also just as a hint, try doing it more on weekends, i find that this helps me because i can wake up naturally and spend some time remembering dreams. also weekends are great b/c i don't have school to think about. hope you get an ld soon!

Originally Posted by RXC573

I just realized that I have been trying to LD for 9 months, and i still have not had one. I keep a DJ, and last nght I had a very vivid dream, but i cannot seem to get an LD. Should i get more sleep? Use even more mantras than usual? Can i get a few tips, maybe people can tell how long it took them and what they did? Thanks in advance

hey maybe you could try having a nightmare just watch a few horror films or something

this is how i learnt as a child from a nightmare ..everytime i knew it was a nightmare i would close my eyes ( in my dream ) and i would wake up very fast .. anyway after that i just realised when something was bad or wierd that maybe its a nightmare so id think hmm i know il close my eyes.. then rethink on that and just go lucid

its amazing really as when your lucid your mind is just the same as being awake !!you can think as clear as day !

also i have found lately i seem to be swimming in dreams alot ( even though i havent been swimming in a long time ) that i will go to dive to the bottom and its further than i imagine i will get near the bottom and finnally touch but have hardly any breath left so i inhaled the slightest bit

There was no water going in my mouth and i could breath i soon used this to my advantage and had a nice lucid dream now everytime i dream im near water i just jump in and try my little breathing thing always works for me !

If you believe you will fail and expect failure, you will fail. Expect and want success. That little tip should help xD

I wrote up an article here.
Those are pretty much the best tips I can offer at this moment.

Bad recall, fragments, poor control, and lucidity problems are just some of the issues that severely effect and demotivate many dreamers. Even the more skilled lucid dreamers can and often do suffer from fragmented dreams, and terrible recall. There are also “dry spells” when a lucid dreamer can’t seem to induce lucid dreams at all.
If you fit any of these groups at all, I have some tips that might help you achieve better dreams.


Tip 1 - Go To Sleep Earlier

I don’t know if it was just luck, but when I went to bed an hour earlier than usual I managed to achieve satisfying lucidity later that night. Going to sleep earlier may also be a good idea if you are having trouble getting to sleep. I for one tend to lay in my bed awake for a few hours then just fall asleep eventually. If I go to bed earlier, it gives me more time to sleep.


Tip 2 - Let Your Thoughts Wonder

If you are like me, you’ll go to bed then start thinking and thinking and have trouble getting to sleep as a result.
Its a good idea to let your thoughts just wonder on their own. Don’t focus on a particular thought. Just let ideas and images run through your mind by themselves.
If you find that you really can't stop thinking, get out of bed, think about it for a while and get it out of your head, then go back to sleep.

Tip 3 - Change Your Diet

Eating late at night is a bad idea - it’ll keep you up. Also, you should obviously avoid caffeine before going to bed. You may also want to eat fruits like cherries an hour or so before bed for its melatonin.


Tip 4 - Buy A Notepad

Buy a nice notepad and pen and keep track of your dreams. When you wake up throughout the night, jot down notes related to your dreams to help jog your memory when you wake up in the morning. You’ll be surprised how much this helps recall.


Tip 5 - Avoid Computers Late At Night

If you use computers right before sleep, your brain waves change into a pattern thats not good for sleep. If you find you are on computers a lot and have trouble getting to sleep, turning them off an hour before bed is a good idea.


Tip 6 - Reverse Blinking

Click here for the technique. Many find success with reverse blinking, although if you over do it, it will become less effective over time.


Tip 7 - Mix & Match Lucidity Tutorials

If you are lucky, you’ll find a tutorial that works 100% for you. But otherwise you’ll have to produce your own technique. Research and read various other lucid inducing techniques, then mix and match them together and create a method that works for you. It’ll take a lot of experimenting to get things right, but it’ll be worth it.


Tip 8 - Give The Dream The Responsibility

When trying to control a dream, most of us will have trouble with control because we doubt it will work.
For example, if we try and destroy the sun, its likely we will doubt (even subconsciously) that we are skilled enough to do this in a lucid dream, so it will fail. But if we go up to a DC and ask for a big red button that will destroy the sun, the DC will probably give it to you, and the sun will probably explode. This is because we are shifting the responsibility from ourselves to the dream world itself. We trust that the dreamworld will be able to do it, more than we trust ourselves, probably because the dreamworld rarely faults. If you were non-lucid and decided to go to the fridge to get a burger, it would be there. But if you were lucid and decided to spawn a burger, it might not work. Rather than depend on your own “powers” let the dream world sort things out for you.


Tip 9 - Expect

If you want to create a person, or an object, look away, describe what you want to appear, then expect it to be there when you turn around. Chances are it will be there.

Same applies with inducing lucid dreams. If you want to have a lucid dream, expect that you will. It’ll help.


Tip 10 - Get Sleep

When going to bed at night, you have to sleep for a few hours until REM kicks in to achieve a lucid dream. Don’t dwell on getting lucid. Just go to bed and enjoy some sleep. When you wake up later in the night, prepare to lucid dream. If you have trouble waking up through the night, set an alarm of some sort.


Tip 11 - Keep a DJ

To help you get lucid, a DJ is essential. Not only does it additionally help improve your recall, but it also lets you motivate yourself for further lucid dreams. If you are feeling a little unmotivated, take a look back at some of the amazing experiences you have had. Maybe you could publish a few to the gallery?


Tip 12 - Read Other DJs

Read other DJs. If you have control issues, you can see how other lucid dreamers accomplished controlling their dreams. Mzzkcs DJ helped me on my journey to find my dream guide, where I mimicked the way he found his DG.
Other DJs also can motivate you.

Tip number 10 is the closest to the truth. Forget about LD for awhile. Sometimes you can try too hard.

Seriously. It is a delicate thing in the begining. Don't worry about inducing for a few weeks.