Tried, and tried, and tried

[Odawg28]

I have been trying to lucid dream for over 8 weeks and nothing. I swear I have tried every method, I want one that bad. Any tips or anything let me know. I almost considerd this was fake for a moment but I know it's not.....

[Hukif]

Uh, don't tell me you gave up on the methods after a few days only? Generall, you need to stick to one method for 2 or so weeks for it to work, if not more.

[Odawg28]

I can't get any of them!!! For the W.I.L.D. The sleep paralyisys stops at my neck, never completion. I could move my head but nothing else...in my dreams I can realize that I'm dreaming but I can never become lucid.... So very frustrating.... I'm sorry I have only done 2 methods, each for two weeks like you said.... Lol sound like a whiny kid in this post but all you guys on this forum say how awesome it is and I guess I'm jealous...

[juroara]

I don't know who made a post when, where or why that makes so many beginners want to WILD - But beginners to lucid dreaming SHOULD NOT BE WILDING. I've been practicing lucidity for years now, and even I can't get the awesome WILD to work right for me. I find dream journaling and reality checks a more stable way of obtaining lucid dreams. It's a much slower approach. But time tested. If I were you, I wouldn't try to WILD until you have had a number of DILDs.

[Xaqaria]

...in my dreams I can realize that I'm dreaming but I can never become lucid... Realizing you are dreaming in a dream is becoming lucid. Congratulations, you've done it and you didn't even know it! Now that you've tackled that obstacle, you just need to work on dream control, which is what I assume you thought becoming lucid meant.

[Bobblehat]

I agree with what Dannon Oneironaut says. It's easy to get stuck in the "Lucid dream = success, no lucid = failure" trap as though there's no degree in between. Sometimes it's a good idea to look at your dreams from a week or a month ago to see just how far you've progressed. Compared to my dreams from a month ago, most of my dreams now have content related to lucidity - be it dreamsigns, thinking "something's odd here" or just sleeping related content such as beds.

[Darkmatters]

Yeah Dannon pretty much nailed it!! The only thing I'd add is this: To work on your dream recall, it's important to 1) Get enough sleep - 8 hours is good. 4 is not. 2) Try to have a regular sleep schedule. 3) Lay still when you wake up, keep your eyes closed, and try to remember the dream you just had. Don't start moving around, this wakes you up and separates you from the dreaming state... laying still keeps you in the dreaming state. Don't start thinking about your day... just think about the dreams. And the attitude Dannon brought up is important here... don't try to force it... don[t get mad if you don't remember anything... just relax and let it happen. Sometimes you can just remember a fragment, or just an image, or even just an emotion or a feeling. That's ok... often just thinking about that will bring up more of the dream. If I go for ten minutes or so and still don't remember anything, or just a fragment or 2, then I'll start going through certain familiar things in my life that I often dream about and think "Did I dream about this?". For instance. I often have dreams taking place on Main Street... so I think about it. Did Main Street appear in a dream? Or maybe one of my friends? My family? One of my (now deceased) dogs? These are things that are frequently in my dreams, and often once I start thinking like this parts of the dreams will come back. Once you do start to bring a dream back up, often the whole dream will suddenly pop back into your head. Sometimes several dreams will. Stick with it. Look at some of the tutorials about Dream Recall. Maybe try the WBTB or DEILD methods... these tend to work better for me than WILDing (I've never been able to WILD yet).

[Odawg28]

^^^^^^ thanks, nobody told me to wild, I just saw a method and that gives you an assured dream, just dreaming regularly could take like 2-3 days. I only remember dreams like once every 2 weeks.... Any tips on the original method or dream recall??? Thanks =)

[Ethereal]

WILDing is not assured for everyone. I've never had a successful one. I've been trying for over a year. You need to stay excited, but not rely on excitement. Simply set yourself on a determined path. Do good reality checks just 4 times a day. Keep a journal. Do pre-sleep mantras. Stick to that routine and you'll be lucid dreaming before you know it.

[Buddah]

Any tips on the original method or dream recall??? Thanks =) i need this too

[bushi]

i need this too Dream Journal. Every day if you can.

[LucidApprentice]

I actually think it's perfectly fine for beginners to give WILDing a try. It's not that as hard as people think it is, and you might just turn out to be a natural. Or like most people, you just need a little practice. Although, DILDs tend to be a bit easier to learn. For your SP problem-I think you might just have to wait a bit longer for it to go to through your whole body. As Walms suggested, try sticking to a method for a while to achieve results.

[Dannon Oneironaut]

OK, listen up: Before you get discouraged trying to dance you need to learn to walk. First of all, you need to work on dream recall. Don't worry about having a lucid dream. Dream recall is 90% of the work. Without dream recall you won't even remember if you had a lucid dream. Get a dream journal and write in it religiously. Second of all, you need the right attitude. Lucid dreaming is not an act of will, it is grace (for lack of a better word). You need to be patient yet enthusiastic. You cannot get discouraged. Your attitude is more important than you probably realize. Put ALL of your energy into it but remain relaxed and patient. Don't expect results. Don't be in a hurry to reach the destination, enjoy the journey. Even non-lucid dreaming can become incredibly inspiring if you work on your recall. Enjoy where you're at and make it a playful fun challenge to improve your skills. Also, sometimes after trying hard for a long time and putting all kinds of effort into it you will get no results, then when you give up and relax it happens. Funny thing. Reward yourself for success but don't scold yourself or get discouraged for failure. It is not failure, you just don't know what's going on in the clockwork of your mind. Things are happening if you put the right effort into the task, even if you see no results. Have faith in the process. You will probably end up finding that you are having dreams where you "could've been lucid if only". Don't scold yourself that you missed an opportunity but reward yourself that your awareness is growing. Then you might find that you are having dreams "about" lucid dreaming, like a lucid dream school, even though the dream itself is not lucid. These are all GOOD signs. So to recap: 1. Dream recall. the most important. Use dream journal RELIGIOUSLY 2. Right attitude of patience and trust in the process 3. Enjoy and appreciate all your dreams and don't hanker so much for just the lucid ones. Then try out all the techniques you want and make up your own and do it all as a fun game as if you are a child playing with dreams until you 'discover' lucidity by a happy accident.

[Odawg28]

I don't take meds but...so MILD do you just wake up naturally or?? Kinda confused

[Higgs2]

The key is waking up before your last REM cycle, and going to sleep with the described technique. Most lucids happen in the last two hours of sleep. The big glass is to get you to pee in the middle of the night, so you are awake, and able to use an imprinting (i will become lucid in my next dream) before you enter your last hours of sleep. If you look at all techniques, you will notice they put the emphasis on the last REM cycle which roughly appears in the 6th til 8th hour of your sleep. Most people have the lucid dreams in the morning. I had quite a few of lucids in my life, and i always have them in the morning, so thats what you should be aiming for.

[Clyde Machine]

There are so many posts in here that could be easily answered by either reading through all the appropriate tutorials and help topics around Dreamviews, and/or from reading with Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. Well folks, here's a link to the book online. Good luck getting lucid, it contains everything you need to know. Read that first to see if it's got the answer to your question, then post here if it isn't in there.

[Odawg28]

Should I use an alarm clock? Do I have to have a dream for this to happen or can I use a dream that was in my dream journal???

[Clyde Machine]

An alarm clock is not recommended for use with DEILD, but it's been incorporated into it and turned into a whole new method: CrazyInSane's CAN-WILD method. Also, you can think of any dream you want, so long as you re-enter the dreamstate. Here's the tutorial for DEILD if you have more questions.