Thread: 26 days trying to DILD. Getting a little sick of this...

So I've been trying to DILD for 26 days now. I've been RCing and questioning my reality at least twice an hour. I've been listening to lucid audios before bed. I've been writing a dream journal now with 45 dreams in. I've done mantras before bed, and I'm yet to get any results beside 2 brief semi's.

I want to WILD, but I want to have at least 1 LD before I try. Does anyone know why I'm getting such crappy results? I'm getting so sick and bored of doing the same tasks every day over and over with no results.

dude everybody is different. some take longer than others to get that first lucid. dont give up. hey youre 26 days ahead of anybody who hasnt ever heard of lucid dreaming.

and another thing, go for a more laid back approach, dont get stressed out or angry if you dont get results right away, thats what will make you more prone to give up. practicing lucid dreaming shouldnt have to feel like a chore. once you have that first full blown lucid dream it will have all been worth it.

just keep at it man

My first LD was a WILD and the gate opened after that. I had a LD, then another one the very next night that seemed tied together, then a week or so of a dry spell. That said, when I came out of that spell, I had three in quick succession, including 2 in a 24 hr period. The WILD in combination with a WBTB is probably (in my mind) the single most effective way of bringing on a LD. I believe this because you are conscious and therefore it makes it easier than just waiting.

Also, I had my first LD in 4.5 weeks after starting in earnest, statistically, if you've been at it very intensely, you should be getting close (according to some stat in LaBerge's exploring the world of lucid dreaming where they say 4-5 weeks seems an average time to have a first LD)

Hope this all helps,

Draxis

Whats a semi? Lucid is lucid. If you've been aware that you were dreaming, even briefly, then you've already had your first lucid dream. They don't always start out that great, but they usually get much better. You shouldn't be getting discouraged, especially if you've actually had two lucid dreams and you've only been at it for less than a month.

JamesLD speaks the truth.

Don't give up! It took me 3 1/2 weeks of hard work and dedication before I had my real first real LD. I woke up about 10 seconds afterward but I am getting there. Getting frustrated can hinder progess greatly. Try taking a break for a few days if need be.

I think I have been trying for 1 month, and even though I'm a bit sad, I'm still trying and trying, and some day...SOMEDAY.. I will have a LD

Well, some people have tried for years and only have had about 1 or 2. You're lucky. I know that's really annoying to listen to, because I remember people telling me when I was a newbie too.

Maybe you should try a nap. It's a lot easier during that time because REM comes immediately. Just keep a mantra stead in your mind. Usually you'll notice when the dream starts forming.

Originally Posted by mattbrox

So I've been trying to DILD for 26 days now. I've been RCing and questioning my reality at least twice an hour. I've been listening to lucid audios before bed. I've been writing a dream journal now with 45 dreams in. I've done mantras before bed, and I'm yet to get any results beside 2 brief semi's.

I want to WILD, but I want to have at least 1 LD before I try. Does anyone know why I'm getting such crappy results? I'm getting so sick and bored of doing the same tasks every day over and over with no results.

Lucid dreaming is not something you can have on demand...believe me I've tried/still trying to have a lucid dreams by pressing a switch..LOL. Lucid and non-lucid dreams all work on the same level just that in a lucid you have some waking conciousness. To be really good at lucid dreaming, I'm not that good btw but I keep on finding out through the night's dreams so first for DILDs you have to explore how your non-lucid dreams work where it gets the raw materials from the day..then you can start finding out the pattern of your dream content in relation to the days happenings and create a special routine to suit the way your dream works on and then have the lucid dream. If you are still interested in WILD...you can try using a blinking light put beside your bed. It may help you to WILD while keeping awareness of the blinking light but the light cannot be too bright or it will prevent sleep. You can also try using a device that beeps every few seconds...hope this helps.

IMJ

Thanks for the help guys.
Last night I had an extremely vivid semi lucid dream. It was semi because I still wasn't very... conscious.
I looked in a mirror and saw my face all messed up and squirmed. It looked cool
I managed to fly instead of walk really easily. I looked in the mirror again and saw no reflection which was sort of like being a vampire.
I flew away as fast as I could, like iron man. I went a little too fast I think because I noticed everything went blurry with the speed. I then noticed everything was going black; the dream was ending! I tried to rub my hands but was unsuccessful.
I woke up in shock that I had such an awesome semi lu cid. I did the nose RC and could breathe!! It felt so odd! At that point I wasn't semi lucid, I was full lucid. So I got over excited and woke up.

In real life I do a my RCs whenever my watch beeps. Last night I put my watch next to my bed really close to me head. From now on I'm doing that every night!

EDIT: The dream did have lots more than this, but I'm only putting a short un detailed bit in here

Are you doing WBTBs? I don't have any official statistics but I will say this: I have trained myself to lucid dream at will but I MUST do a WBTB to achieve it. That tells you something.

If you want to increase your chances by what I would estimate to be around 95% then do WBTBs and just try to WILD or at least use MILD. You may not succeed with the WILD but the awareness and focus will hugely increase your chance of having a lucid dream.

For me, not doing a WBTB and hoping to have a LD would be like getting into a car with an empty gas tank and hoping somehow it will take me to my destination!

Occasionally I have a random DILD during the night but this hasn't happened for months. Your best bet is WBTB.

Oh, I got distracted while writing this and have just seen you have had a lucid! Well done!

Haha thanks for the tip DreamQueen. When I have a full DILD I will definitely try a WBTB.

If you have been trying consistently perhaps if you forget about it for a week and then pick it up again you may have some luck. My dreams tend to come in waves, sometimes I wont remember any for a long time then suddenly I will have long vivid dreams for a week straight. If you try on a cyclic system with planned breaks the change of pace alone my stir up your subconscious

Just some thoughts

Hey,
Sorry to hear you have to wait this long...
Whatever you do ,don't give up...that's the worst thing
you could do...When your first Lucid Dream comes,believe
me,you won't regret the effort.
My friend waited 2 months for a Lucid Dream,while I had
it on the 10th day ...everybody is different...
Hope this helps,
Best of luck,
Sam

Originally Posted by waving on oceans

If you have been trying consistently perhaps if you forget about it for a week and then pick it up again you may have some luck. My dreams tend to come in waves, sometimes I wont remember any for a long time then suddenly I will have long vivid dreams for a week straight. If you try on a cyclic system with planned breaks the change of pace alone my stir up your subconscious

Just some thoughts

This is right.

Stop everything you're doing to get lucid. No reality checks, no audio files, no mantras, no techniques. Write down your dreams, but don't think too much of it. Go to DV if you really want to do, but just stop all the other things. Just lead a normal life for a few days, and you might get results. I have seen other people have such experiences.

Originally Posted by mattbrox

So I've been trying to DILD for 26 days now. I've been RCing and questioning my reality at least twice an hour. I've been listening to lucid audios before bed. I've been writing a dream journal now with 45 dreams in. I've done mantras before bed, and I'm yet to get any results beside 2 brief semi's.

I want to WILD, but I want to have at least 1 LD before I try. Does anyone know why I'm getting such crappy results? I'm getting so sick and bored of doing the same tasks every day over and over with no results.

Dude, I'm sorry, but that's just VERY impatient. It took me over three months to truly get an LD, and I've never had huge control over my lucids at all. You have to wait for it, and make sure you're prepared when it happens. Trust me, the worst thing you can do is freak out after realizing you're dreaming.

Also (don't know if anyone's said this yet, didn't read the thread much) do not confuse RCs with an induction technique. Doing them during the day does not mean you'll do it in your dreams automatically. Now, I'm not saying not to do them, but just realize they're just what they claim to be, a "check". They let you check whether you're asleep or not.

EDIT: and also, realize what you're getting out of all this effort. If you're like me, then you'll keep getting LDs randomly without any effort every month or two, which is a nice surprise when you wake up. And you'll have more vivid dreams. In all my time LDing, I have to say that I especially loved the vivid, non-lucid dreams. There's just no comparing to them, and you can get them all the time.

Don't get discouraged. You're nearly there and your semis show that. You were prob lucid there in the semis. Keep at it and sooner or later you'll start getting good.

RC every 5 mins AND say "I deeply desire to have a lucid dream" out loud; should be lucid in a few days.

Now I can have lucid dreams by saying "I deeply desire to have a lucid dream" just ONCE any time in the day.

Try WBTB and a mantra together. That got me my first 2 lucids 2 days in a row.

I assume by "semi" you mean, you saw something in the dream that reminded you of dreaming, but it didn't actually push you over the edge into consciously knowing/realizing/understanding that what you are witnessing is a dream? As far as I know, this is actually referred to as pre-lucidity... or, not-lucid-but really-close-to-it.

Keep in mind, there is no halfway. You're either lucid, or you aren't. For me, it feels like a lightbulb goes off in my head, and I get a moment of "Ohhh, I get it, it's a dream!"

Don't confuse dream control with lucidity. If you understand that you're watching a dream, but are powerless to do anything about it, that is still a lucid dream.
---
Okay, now that's aside... there was a topic I wanted to post, but maybe I'll just tag it on here, because it's relevant.

I too get frustrated sometimes about "lack" of lucidity. We're different in that, yes, I've had them before, but I can't seem to break past the randomness of them occurring. So... I do feel your frustration, I can't seem to induce them, either.

I know I'm using a technique that IS and WILL BE random for a while, as I keep practicing it (I do day-long awareness exercises, chronic dream journalling, and a WBTB/mantra at least once a night), but when I get long stretches between LD's it's just so frustrating. I always start feeling like maybe I should jump ship and start practicing WILDs, because then maybe at least I'll feel like I'm actually working towards something, rather than just mantras and falling asleep.

All I can say is... the last time I got like this, I did jump techniques and caused myself a draught in LD's. Nothing even randomly came up for exactly a month. I resolved to not jump techniques anymore.

Perhaps you do need to back it off a notch? Relax and stop trying your induction method for a week?

Another thing I noticed is... despite my journalling, I didn't feel very connected to my dreams. I wrote them because I had to. Sooooo wrong, I've realised!! It may have just been a placebo effect, but I started analysing my each dream for the point where I could have gotten lucid, and I re-write them as if I did. I keep it in a private DJ in the Waking Journal forum. I got 2 LD's with the best control I've ever had in my life, and I got them 5 days apart.

I say it might have been a placebo effect, because that was nearly two weeks ago, now and I haven't had another one, since... But... I have noticed that my pre-lucidity has increased to a few more dreams a week, and moreover, my questioning of the things happening to me/around me has gone up to almost every night. Almost

Something else to try, perhaps?

Originally Posted by Serenity

Don't confuse dream control with lucidity. If you understand that you're watching a dream, but are powerless to do anything about it, that is still a lucid dream.

And that works the other way around too. I've had a dream with all the control you'd expect from a lucid but none of the realization. Lucidity refers to enlightenment. So if you KNOW you're dreaming, whether you're able to act on that knowledge or not, you were still lucid.