Edward34's Workbook

[edward34]

Hello I am Edward, I am 16 and have been recently getting into LD. It has come to my understanding that DILD is recommended for beginners. I have been at this for about a month. This month I have been working on my recall and creating an appropriate sleep cycle. I have definitely improved on my recall at first I could only write about 1/4 of a page. Now I write about a page sometimes even more. One big question that I have is do you have to be LD to actually be aware in a dream. I can only remember my dream. People assume that dreaming is the cloudy image that is given to you when you wake up but to me the definition or the real image of dreaming is that it is exactly as WL is to us. I have experimented with WILD and WBTB but have had no success. I haven't found my dream sign I feel that I need help finding my dream sign. Sometime I find something in common between two or three dreams but I lose that common thing after i realize what it is. I don't know if that made any sense or not. the response is greatly appreciated.

[fogelbise]

Welcome to the DILD workbooks! This month I have been working on my recall and creating an appropriate sleep cycle. What a great way to start your practices and very nice results on your dream recall. One big question that I have is do you have to be LD to actually be aware in a dream. I can only remember my dream. People assume that dreaming is the cloudy image that is given to you when you wake up but to me the definition or the real image of dreaming is that it is exactly as WL is to us. I guess it depends on what you mean by aware. Sensei talks about "General Dream Awareness" which I think he uses for a dream in which you generally feel like you are you and you are there in the dream. This would be in contrast to those dreams where you have a hazy memory of seeing some scene play out but not really feel like you were there. Then there is the next step up in awareness where you realize you are dreaming while dreaming. So in Sensei's "General Dream Awareness" you don't "have to be LD" (lucid dreaming) but it is important part of getting to that next level. I haven't found my dream sign I feel that I need help finding my dream sign. Sometime I find something in common between two or three dreams but I lose that common thing after i realize what it is. I would guess that there are things common between your dreams that occur over and over again but it can take some time to use dream signs effectively. Perhaps: driving, getting lost, losing an item, something blocking your path for example. Just keep journaling and periodically read through past entries and circle or highlight things that might be dream signs and you may find several other dreams in which the same thing popped up but you forgot about until you re-read that entry. Some dream signs can fade if they were related to something temporary in your life. My most effective one early on was my deceased father in law. Later on one good one was looking at the stars and seeing something out of place or unnatural with them. *If you like any of the information here or anywhere on the forums, don't forget to hit the like button below.

[edward34]

Yea, I read through my journal entries and found a lot of dream signs. Water-ocean, sewer, rain, rivers and water tanks like in a aquarium. Running- it can be to and from something and just for sport. A dream place that I am in is usually my high school. Friends usually show up three especially- Eddie, David, and Issac.I am usually put in a life or death situation and my dream sign is to survive. My last visible dream sign is video games either controlling a player or being part of the game.

[fogelbise]

One way to work with your dream signs is to repeatedly remind yourself to watch out for the dream sign. This can be especially effective during WBTB, but I would recommend to save WBTB attempts to nights that you can sleep in. If you can't sleep in you can still remind yourself before heading to bed either repeating it to yourself or writing it out repeatedly. Something like "Anytime I see (friend you no longer see), I am dreaming!" Or if there is something often unnatural connected to your other dream signs, watch out for that. Perhaps you can figure out a good one for your life and death situation dreams. Is there a particular LD practices(or practices) that you enjoy? Did you have any other questions at the moment?

[edward34]

Dream Signs -Water: Ocean, river, sewer, rain, gigantic water tanks (like in seaworld), and the beach. -Running: To and from something and just for sport. -High school -Friends: Eduardo, David, Issac, and Japhet -Video games: Controlling a character or I am part of the game. -Surviving I have trouble remembering to do my reality checks and ask myself if I am dreaming.

[fogelbise]

*Edward, I had a few questions for you in my last post that you might have missed...you did ask for responses in your initial post, but let me know if you just want to just post your own thoughts here. I have trouble remembering to do my reality checks and ask myself if I am dreaming. A random reminder is great for this. I use the random reminder that is part of the "Awoken" app for Android devices. I am sure there is a truly random reminder available for iphone as well. You don't want something that goes off at regular 1 hour intervals for example as you will find that you are expecting the alarm after a few days or less...your body's internal timer is too good.

[edward34]

ya I kinda have trouble with that because I don't have a smart phone. I was thinking about getting a watch to remind me every hour but you said that I will expect; it how can this be bad??? I just recently made an origami money ring and told myself when ever I see the ring or think about it I will be reminded to check my reality by asking myself if I am dreaming and also to perform reality checks. Today was my first day and I did alright.

[fogelbise]

I like your money ring idea. That should work for now.

[edward34]

I just read kingyoshi's guide to ADA and am officially starting it tomorrow.