Huntstreet's Workbook

Hey there. I'm 19 years old and I'm a college student. Right now I'm starting to be really busy with finals but in about a week or two I should be able to focus a lot on lucid dreaming. Right now my recall isn't great, but I can remember dreams if I try when I don't have a quick morning. My dream vividness is terrible when lucid. I seem to be kind of out of it. Like half way there, but still controlling my dream. My problem right now is stabilization. All 5 of my lucids have been DILDs. I'd like to work on having more. I don't do anything to raise awareness really, I just have them naturally when I think about lucid dreaming before bed. I often forget to though since my days are busy. I've found that praying for lucids helps, since I'm religious. Don't hate. But can you help me with some ways to increase my DILDs? I feel like I have potential and I'm glad that this is my chosen method. I've recently tried putting a dot on my hand and every time I see it I ask myself if I'm dreaming and do a reality check. That's about it. If you want to know more about my lucids I can explain. Thanks for the help!

Welcome Huntstreet!

RECALL:
First priority should be getting your recall up to snuff. You can achieve it by writing them in your DJ. Even, if only thing you remember is a single word or feeling. It's as much about you having a record of your dreams for later use, as for your mind to understand, that dreaming and remembering your dreams is important to you.
-Best way to recall is when you wake up after a dream. You can either drink water before bed and each time you wake up to use a restroom. Most likely, you'll wake up after REM, since we already wake up then, just don't remember it.
-If you have time in the morning, don't move or open your eyes after you wake up and try to piece your dream together.
-Mantras, like "I remember my dreams', or 'I wake up after a dream' said as you falling asleep also help.
VIVIDNES:
-Have you tried shouting 'clarity now!' ?
-I think what would really help is practising more daytime awarness. Think how you can remind yourself to do RCs and awereness. You can write 'RC' on some stuff.
-Awareness will also help you to raise your LD count. You are basically gonna teach your mind to ask 'Am I dreaming' in your regular dreams, by doing the same during day. Once you'll get used to it, you will start asking it in your dreams more often.
-When you ask 'Am I dreaming?', you have to do it with genuine surprise. The question should startle you, as if you just realized, you forgot to RC and this could be a dream.

I also pray, only I call it mantras :) Happy dreams:)

Hello Huntstreet,
read what gab said! All I have to add is that if you don't have much time:
1. Do the MILD technique before bed, for about 15 minutes - visualise, mantra
2. If you don't have time to write down your dreams, run through them in your head for about 10 mins in the morning.

Keep at it, please post your progression here.

Thanks for the response! I have been working on all day awareness, I'll try to focus on that a lot more. Also I'll try mantras. It's hard to get into the groove of saying them.

Mantras work best when said just as you falling asleep, as a last thought. Make yourself a mantra that feels right when you say it. It's best if it's in present tense, because our mind interprets anything said in the future tense as 'anytime, just not now'. And we want things to happen now. Put some emotion behind your mantra, look at it as your ticket to LD. See your mind as your higher self, that waits for you to tell it what you want and it will make it happen for you. Each time you say your mantra, recall a feeling of happiness you had in your first LD. Your mind will associate you being happy with having lucid dreams and will help you achieve both. Happy dreams:)

Great advice up there, especially since you said that thinking about lucids before bed makes you have natural DILDs. I would say that is some sort of MILD or very good incubation.
For stabilization using any of your senses should help with it, like doing some kind of movement that lets you feel the dream or watching something, and if given the chance, focusing on a smell or taste can be interesting and good for stabilization.