Thread: Read Along: The Art of Lucid Dreaming by Dr. Clare Johnson

Hi Hilary,

I actually have a copy of the book myself that I was planning to read at some point. I may end up having too much on my plate to read it in the near future, or comment here in much depth if I do, but I'll check back here in any case.

Spoiler for Chapter 1:

I just finished Chapter 1. So far so good. I am liking the book. Specifically, I like her meditation exercise as a WBTB method. She describes getting up 2 hours early, and then forcing yourself to stay awake and meditate for a while. After some time with basic meditation, she encourages the reader to practice a visualization exercise about becoming lucid and experiencing a very desired lucid dream. After that, you head back to bead, use a mantra, and attempt a WILD.

I also liked her idea of sketching dreams. Not a new idea, but it's been so long since I've done it. It's actually really fun to do, and has the effect of giving your dream a sense of permanence. She touts it as an excellent way to improve recall and promote lucidity.

[Not in the chapter] What can also be fun is to create posters, vision boards, or journals of dream art. Someday I want to make a "Dream wall" near my bed. The entire wall can be covered in dream art.

I generally have a strong sense of orientation in dreams and can remember the layout of rooms and other dream places, the location of objects and DCs, the paths I take through them in dreams. Sometimes I make very crude diagrams of these layouts and the path I took through them in the dream. I agree that this practice helps recall. Really don't like WBTB, though. Nope, not gonna get up in the middle of the night. I need me my ZZzzz! I usually do defacto "WBTB" when I do long recall/delving sessions, but that happens in bed.

The book looks interesting. I've picked up the ebook version and I'll try to read along and comment! It's always very interesting to read other people's takes on the practice and what's worked for them, and how they frame their understanding of the fundamentals.

Spoiler for Chapter 1:

OK, I've finished reading chapter 1. I like the author's perspective, her enthusiasm really comes across. She frames the lucid mindset as being ICE -- Intent, Clarity, Expectation. I feel some resonance with this, not super strong, but I'll wait for subsequent chapters. I think my intent has been lacking somewhat in recent years, and that working seriously on it could only yield better results.
Ugh -- the WBTB task. OK, ok, I'll try it. Maybe "mini-WBTB" to start with. I've been sleeping very well recently, and I'm a bit hesitant to do things that will stimulate insomnia sessions again. Interesting that the author mentions day napping to make up for missing some sleep due to the "early morning meditation" practice. I've never been much of a napper, but with my increased schedule flexibility, maybe I can give that a shot. I also never had much in the way of nap dreams, I think I'd have to sleep longer, and I'm a bit leery of messing with my sleep schedule.

In general I'm positive and excited to see what else the book has in store. I like the structure of short practices, each with motivation for why they're important and/or useful.

I also like the unique approach promised in the book to provide unique personalized plans based on what kind of sleeper/dreamer the reader is.

I thought the suggestion of "make a deal with your dreaming mind -- 'give me dreams I can remember, and I promise to write them down'" is interesting and something I hadn't read before.

Looking forward to chapter 2!

In chapter 2, and still really enjoying the book. I like the organization of exercises. Despite a lot of the material being familiar, Ms. Johnson offers fresh insights and framings of the topics that still makes reading worthwhile even for veterans. And some ideas and tips are new.

I finished the book. I skimmed some sections like handling nightmares because I only very rarely have them. I really like it. There are a lot of fresh suggestions for veterans to spice things up. The section on taking the "lucidity quiz" (what kind of dreamer/sleeper are you, and matching that to specific practices to try) is a fresh approach. I'm going to go back through the book and highlight the practices that particular resonated with me, and work them into my day/night practice. I wonder if the Llewellyn's Complete Book of Lucid Dreaming (also by Clare Johnson) has enough different content to be worth the purchase. I liked this one enough that I think I'd probably get it next, after I finish reading up more on sleep, insomnia, circadian rhythms, and how to fix them!