Mgc88's workbook

[Mgc88]

Hey, everyone. I'm Andrew, 19 years old and could be considered a total beginner. I have, however, read about lucid dreaming techniques for quite some time so I am familiar with most well known ones. I am in search for my first ever lucid dream. I kept a dream journal for about a year, (almost filled a whole composition notebook), stopped for a while, then recently started a new one. As of last night, I started repeating the mantra "I am consciously aware while I dream." as I fell asleep. I will continue to repeat this exercise nightly in hopes of an LD. Just so you know, I have had many dreams where my dream character knew I was dreaming, but I wasn't consciously aware. I even acted how I would have if I had been conscious. This makes me think that I am on the right track, but I'm not sure. Also, I've tried reality checks frequently before, but usually I'm not persistent enought to keep it going for more than a few days. I heard about your course here on Dream Views and was hoping you could help me out. Thanks a lot.

[gab]

Hi mgc88. Welcome to DV and to the DILD workshop Sure, will do our best here to get you your first one! Just keep posting your experiences and questions. Here are a few pointers to get you started: 1. Dream journal is essential. Keep writing in it. 2. RCs - pick a few and practice during day. It doesn't have to be too often, but you have to put some emotions behind them. I'll explain further down. 3. mantras tutorial 4. Daytime awareness technique - SAT and http://www.dreamviews.com/f49/all-da...gyoshi-113253/ Here is a classic example for daytime awareness plus RC: Couple times a day, no matter what you doing, ask yourself a startling question 'Am I dreaming'. This question has to give you a jolt, has to startle you and you really have to consider the answer. Not just automatically answer 'of course i'm not'. Look around and notice details. Pretend, you already had a bunch of lucids and they were so realistic, you had hard time telling them apart from waking reality. So, that moment could also be a dream. Look at your hands and count your fingers. Do you have the right amount? Do they look normal? Do a reality check. Tru to put your thumb through your palm. Is it going through? Pinch your nose and expect to be able to breathe. Can you? Can you levitate? If not, tell yourself, you are not dreaming. Next time I'm dreaming, I look at my hands and realize I'm dreaming. Pretty soon, this behavior will tranfer itself into your dreams and you'll be asking yourself if you dreaming, while in regular dream. That will make you lucid. You will do a couple of RCs to make sure. Happy dreams

[Mgc88]

I know it varies from person to person, but how long could this take for the habit of a mindful reality check to appear in a dream? Days? Weeks? Also, would increasing the number of times I do it each day speed up the process a little? I am willing to put in the extra effort if it'll get me my first LD. Thanks. I'll be sure to keep posting my progress.

[Hukif]

Oh, thats a difficult question. Some will take a few days, some even months... I recommend keeping a small waking journal in order to know how long it will take you, just writting down key notes of important stuff should be enough to notice how the trend goes in your dreams.

[Mgc88]

Just thought I'd post my progress. Last night had ANOTHER dream where I knew I was dreaming but wasn't consciously aware. I have had many of these dreams, and I didn't know if that was a good sign. I just need something to give me that extra boost of consciousness. By the way, this didn't happen after questioning if I was dreaming, I just suddenly knew that it was a dream. I'm continuing to constantly question my surroundings and really check if it could be a dream. I'm hoping this habit will carry over to the dream world soon.

[gab]

Last night had ANOTHER dream where I knew I was dreaming but wasn't consciously aware. By the way, this didn't happen after questioning if I was dreaming, I just suddenly knew that it was a dream. Wait a minute! If you knew you are dreaming, that is a lucid dream! If you say you were not consciously aware - what exactly do you mean by that? When you realized you dreaming, did you feel rush of excitement?

[Mgc88]

This is hard to describe. My dream character knew that I was dreaming. But my mind was not consciously aware. In other words, when I awoke, it was just like another dream. In the dream, I wandered along just like any other dream with absolutely no awareness, yet my dream character knew that it was dreaming. Does this all make sense? I thought that in lucid dreams you were actually lucid, not just your dream self knowing that it's a dream. I also have read some places that this is termed a "false" lucid dream. I wish I could describe it to you more clearly but it's the best I can do. I didn't really feel a rush of excitement when I knew that I was dreaming because my conscious mind didn't know it, just my dream self. I'll be happy to discuss this further with you if you are still confused about it. But if this really is a lucid dream, then I'm confused, because as far as I know, your conscious mind is supposed to know it as well. Maybe not. Now I'm intrigued, because if this was a true lucid dream, then I've probably had about ten of them, but I'm still not convinced it was real lucidity. Hope you can help.

[gab]

I wish I had an explanation for this, but I'm not sure. You have me stumped. If you know you are dreaming, that's a lucid dream. But you saying, that you didn't know only your dream caracter did? Is this DC another person in your dream? Like if you had a dream about your friend and he told you that you are dreaming? Or you calling yourself in your dream 'a dream character'? In any case, if this was not lucid, you may be close, and the extra awareness you are looking for - you can get that from the awareness plus RC technique I described above. Happy dreams

[Mgc88]

I was actually referring to myself as the dream character. When this happens, I just know that I'm dreaming from nowhere. I hope I am close, however, to a real lucid dream. I am continuing to constantly question my surroundings and see if it all makes sense. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

[Mgc88]

It's been abouit four days since I started really questioning my reality and increasing general awareness throughout the day. For some reason, I am beginning to doubt my ability to have a conscious lucid dream. This is not what I want. I need to get motivated again and increase my efforts. I really hope it won't take much longer for my awareness to carry over into my dreams.

[Hukif]

Ah I see! To me it seems like your mind is dettached from the dream representation of you, so no matter how much you (DC you) knows it is a dream, it is like any other being aware, it won't make you lucid. I have heard of this before, the real awareness is not understanding anything the "you" does, because it is dettached from each other. On top of increasing awareness, you could try mental reality checks in order to avoid having your body become lucid and then having your real conciousness take it for granted because of that and thus not actually question the dream anymore.

[Mgc88]

Is there any chance you could expand on that a little more, Hukif? Because I had another one of these dreams last night. I "knew" I was dreaming but wasn't really lucid. So what exactly do you mean by a mental reality check? Is it different from a physical reality check or something? Sorry for my lack of knowledge, I'm just eager to have a real lucid dream because these false ones are making me feel like I'm really close.

[Hukif]

Oh, a mental reality check would be like asking yourself "Where am I?" "How did I get here?" "Does this feel like the waking world?" "Does this make sense?" and that kind of thing. Or in this case where your DC knows, you could ask yourself "Do I actually understand this?" and try to elaborate a bit more on the thought. This way, no matter how much the DC you knows, there will be this extra awareness to not fall for the trick. When I first heard of this thingy, was when someone was on spectator mode, they had a DC of themselves and watching it from afar, and the moment the DC became lucid they would move over to the body, but not gain the lucidity of their new body, getting the mental RCs helped them with that.

[Mgc88]

Thanks so much. I actually do this kind of reality check as well. In addition, I know a major dreamsign that appears in almost every one of my dreams, so I always check for that. I think I'm all set to have my first lucid dream. I am continuing every day to really question where I am and what I'm doing, as well as checking for my dreamsign. I recall one or two dreams each night and write them down in my DJ. I believe that now it's just a matter of time before I ask myself if I'm dreaming while actually in a dream. Then hopefully I'll question my environment, do some RC's, and become lucid. I'll keep posting my progress. Wish me luck!

[gab]

I like your attitude. Good luck. You can do it

[Mgc88]

For some reason, I have kind of lost all my desire/motivation to have a lucid dream. I mean, I WANT one, but I don't know if I'm just too lazy to put in the effort anymore or what. Maybe a part of me seems afraid of the new experience, but I don't think that's the case. I KNOW that I'm completely safe in a lucid dream and I've always been eager to try it out. But lately I just feel like no matter how hard I try, I won't have a lucid dream. I know enough to realize that doubt is the enemy of lucid dreams, you need confidence to be able to do it. What the heck is going on with me? I used to desire to lucid dream more than anything. Just thought I'd let you know about my progress, or in this case, my backtracking.

[gab]

OK, you need to recharge your energy. If necessary, take a few days break from trying. But before you do, check out this collecion of methods for DILDs to see, if there is anything you can add to your practice. If you have not done so yet, read up on DEILD, WILD, WBTB, SSILD. All these methods are done at different times, so they don't interfere with each other. For motivation you can read some posts like '1000 things to do in LD' and make your own goals. Write them down, daydream about them, draw a picture, play them out. If you decide to take a break - one week should be enough to get a "I don't care" DILD (sometimes you get a lucid when you stop trying), please post and take it from there. Or join a WILD class for change of pace. Happy dreams

[Mgc88]

Hey, thanks a lot, Gab. I am determined to get motivated again to lucid dream. I will certainly write down my dream goals (a great idea) and visualize myself becoming lucid and enjoying the dream state. Thank you again for the great dild course you all have going here, it's a perfect place for the beginner to learn. I'll be sure to post my progress.

[gab]

Good luck