I guess I'm close to having an LD...

[saratdear]

Hi, I've been trying to LD, keeping a dream journal since about January, doing RCs throughout the day, and the like. For a few days I'm so hyped about the thing that the dream idea carries over to my dreams, but I don't realise I am dreaming. For example, cats are a common dream sign for me that I do RCs when I see cats in real life. Some days before, I had a dream that I was in my room, looking through the window. A cat was outside it. I had a vague idea - "Oh..this would be a dream like others I had (I have a lot of dreams about my cats, who all are, unfortunately, dead. )..so I'll try inviting it in. If it's a dream it won't come." Now, this consciousness I had wasn't very good, meaning the way I thought it would be a dream wasn't like "let me do a RC now", I was just sad about the idea that the cat could be a dream. Anyway, I invited the dream cat in, and it came. That's when I "decided" that it was for real. (Aaargh!!) Yesterday, I had a frightening dream about somebody I know (who is, in real life, a sweet person). Now what happened is, after sometime in the dream, I wondered why I was scared of that person, and decided that I was having just bad dreams, not even considering that this could have been a dream. This wasn't a false awakening; all of it took place in my house - I just came down and decided whatever happened upstairs was a dream. Ah well...should I consider these as signs that my dream awareness is increasing? Isn't this (thinking about dreams inside dreams) a good sign?

[yumester]

Yes its a good sign Pretty soon you will notice that you will be thinking about whether things are real in dreams more and more. You just have to make sure to do reality checks when you suspect something is a dream

[KingYoshi]

This is a sign that you are definately heading in the right direction. You questioned reality (if only for an instant), you just have to keep doing the RCs. Keep making mental notes that you will perform RCs when you begin to question reality. Also, when you perform a RC during the day, take a few moments to look around and question your reality. Ask yourself, "How do I know I'm not dreaming right now?"

[saratdear]

That's reassuring, thanks! I'll continue doing RCs...

[Draxis]

Give a WILD a shot. Thats how I got my first LD. I recommend waking up in the middle of the night and then laying on your side, focus on your breathing. Tell yourself to concentrate as you breath out and count as you breath in. Watch the Hypnagogic Imagery. That was my first LD experience

[saratdear]

Give a WILD a shot. Thats how I got my first LD. I recommend waking up in the middle of the night and then laying on your side, focus on your breathing. Tell yourself to concentrate as you breath out and count as you breath in. Watch the Hypnagogic Imagery. That was my first LD experience Problem is, with school and other stuff, I'll be so tired when I sleep that I go straight away to sleep when I even try to concentrate. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion.

[Draxis]

If you wake up in the middle of the night (and you will if you try to follow LDing) try FILD. Basically you just sit there fluttering your fingers (index and middle) and say once "in (insert period of time here, i prefer 3-5 minutes) i will do a RC" then do it. I haven't tried it too many times, but it could work for you and requires less concentratio

[saratdear]

I'll have to try that out, I guess the idea is that we will enter a dream where our dream body will be moving the fingers?

[DreamQueen]

Are you doing WBTBs? (wake back to bed) This greatly increases your chances of having a lucid dream. If you attempt WILD and/or MILD when you go back to bed eventually you will have a lucid dream. Just be ready to be surprised. Like KingYoshi says, make sure you really question your environment when you reality test. Don't just get in the habit of always assuming you're awake.

[fleeee1]

DQ is right on. i hate to say it but the WBTB is the way to go. i think it's a pain the a** sometimes but i always tell myself it's worth it if i get a LD.

[saratdear]

@DreamQueen and fleeee1 - The problem is, being a student, I can't afford to waste sleep by waking up in the middle of the night. Thanks for your suggestion anyway. But I'm having progress. In today's dream, I was running to my house in the dark (semi naked) and I was thinking - "If this was a dream, being this dark and all, it would be scary." But I didn't do an RC, unfortunately. I just assumed I was awake. There was another cat as well, and it had just points in place of its eyes, and I was mildly wondering why its eyes were like this. I guess this should be asked in the dream intepretation section, but I'm just asking it here - For some day now, whenever I dream, I see the same thing over and over. For example in the dream I said above I saw the same cat three times. Or else it would be like I know what is going to happen beforehand in the dream, like I saw the trailer to a movie or something. I'm thinking the dream wants to desperately say something or stress some point, could that be it?

[Serenity]

I guess it's all in how your mindset is. My reality check is to ask myself if my surroundings or things that are happening make logical sense. Like... do they really add up? My awake reality checks are things to prove to myself why this isn't a dream. It kind of sounds like to me that you're trying to prove to yourself why this is a dream, which has the stronger potential for failure.

[saratdear]

There's something else I'd like to ask - You know how you just fall asleep when you are so tired? I was coming back in the car yesterday (thankfully, I wasn't driving ) and I kept dipping in and out of sleep, only waking up when my head hit somewhere. Are the visions you get at that time classified as dreams? Because during one such episode I had my mouth open, and I knew that I was asleep with my mouth open. Was this being lucid?