HoopTheory's Workbook

[HoopTheory]

Hi, I am HoopTheory. I was interested in lucid dreaming for a year, but I only took it very seriously for two weeks in November. I have kept a dream journal and feel that writing will be better than keeping an online one. I have accumulated a total of one lucid dream all time, it was during that two week span. I used a DILD technique with WBTB. Further more, I used this lucid dream enhancer audio, I am not sure if it actually helped or not. Anyways... The Actual Lucid Dream Well, I realized I was dreaming at the top of the stairs in my house. I realized before that I was in some sort of third person, watching events go on. Than, I was able to move around on my own, went down the stairs and saw my dream fading. I quickly thought to spin around, which was odd. The same environment was there, and I continued. I opened the front door, and some dude fell right in front. Shocked, I quickly closed it, and ran to the bathroom door. My dream was fading again, so I created some futuristic looking clock and looked away and back. It stayed, the guy was trying to get in my house, and I ran deeper into the house. All the lights off, getting closer, and the dream ended. I think it is safe to say that the ending event came from a result of me being overjoyed that I was having a lucid dream. Oh well... Reality Check -Look away from time and back at it. (clock) I am not really sure if I used this as a RC. It kept me in the dream, I should probably work on reality checks. Dream Recall My dream recall, I would say, is better than the average lucid dreamer. I have not attempted to recall for a while, and I am still able to recall two dreams with detail in one night. I can only hope for improvement as I continue to journal. Goals -Have at least three lucid dreams in the next three weeks. -Improve my dream recall to 3 dreams a night. Two detailed, at the least. -Improve dream control substantially -Work on falling asleep faster. Questions: Sorry if this may be long. 1) Are there any recommendations for audios to listen to that may increase the chance of lucid dreams? (I somewhat don't trust my previous one anymore for no reason.) 2) How many RC's should I use? 3) Should I attempt to lucid dream every night or schedule a day every week to LD? 4) How can I go about improving my dream control? 5) Should I go about lucid dreaming like I did last time with a DILD and WBTB combo? Is there any better method with these techniques?

[HoopTheory]

Ok, so here is how it is going to go for my lucid dream attempt tonight. Sleeptime: About an hour and a half from now. Wakeup Time: (WBTB) Around 4.5 hours after i fall asleep. Reality Checks: Look at fingers & Nose Plug Stress Level: Basically relaxed. I mainly ate and played games. (Talk about doing nothing lol.) I will try ADA for the rest of my time awake. Final Wake-up Time: Around 10-12 hours after I first fall asleep. I will use an audio that I found called Lucid Spike. After I wake up, I will read my dream journal, (maybe even record one if I can remember.) as I do not have any lucid dreaming literature. Here is to a lucid night!

[HoopTheory]

Ugh. No lucid dream, for a silly reason. I couldn't fall asleep after WBTB. Maybe I slept too much, 5.5 hours to be exact. Any tips on how to sleep faster because I was thinking about the dream and I was not able to sleep. Today I will get whatever needs to be done out of the way, and than I will do ADA. I will use an alarm during sleep to wake up 2-3 times to write down my dreams in my journal. It should be a non lucid, but very good day in terms of progress This will be the ideal schedule for this week leading up to Saturday, which is my lucid dream day. So I probably will not post in the workbook for most of the week unless I have a Q.

[fogelbise]

1) Are there any recommendations for audios to listen to that may increase the chance of lucid dreams? (I somewhat don't trust my previous one anymore for no reason.) I tried a few early on and had no luck and never looked back. 2) How many RC's should I use? 2-3 should be good. Sometimes one tells you that you are awake, so you might need one or two others to verify you are dreaming...but usually you just know. The RC's during the day get you to question. 3) Should I attempt to lucid dream every night or schedule a day every week to LD? Up to you. If you find yourself tired the next day then save wbtbs for days you can sleep in. You can dild without wbtb...but it helps most people. 4) How can I go about improving my dream control? Awareness that this really is your dream world. Remind yourself during LDs! Decide that in the dream realm you are unlimited! 5) Should I go about lucid dreaming like I did last time with a DILD and WBTB combo? Is there any better method with these techniques? That is a strong combo! I also like SSILD. b)Any tips on how to sleep faster because I was thinking about the dream and I was not able to sleep. Sometimes writing down what you are thinking about helps. Check some of FryingMan's past posts...he came up with some strategies , especially if it is a persistent problem but start with something simple like not stressing about getting to sleep and telling yourself you are getting sleepier and sleepier.

[HoopTheory]

Wow, thank you for the advice, I feel as if I might abandon the audios also, as it contributes to me thinking about my dream and I end up not sleeping. A few more tries wouldn't hurt though. I had very good dream recall last night. I will definitely check out FryingMan's posts. Again, thanks for the advice! Update Last night I had very good dream recall, even though it was one dream. (no lucid) I was able to perform reality checks every half hour during the day, this is probably what led to the very vivid dream. It seems as if it was a couple of dreams split into this big dream as I didn't wake up during it. It was very vivid, and today I went to the library and got myself a book about dreaming. It may not be specific to lucid dreaming, (it is in the book) but I feel it will help me get through those WBTB nights. Schedule: Similar to Sunday, I hope to get in five more reality checks before I go to bed. I will also practice ADA an hour before I go to bed.

[fogelbise]

You're welcome. That sounds like a good plan! If you can get a hold of a copy of "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" it is an excellent read! Not expensive in paperback either.

[HoopTheory]

I have gotten off track with dream journaling. It was mostly due to stress, I couldn't place a lot of importance into remembering my dreams and writing them. Although I did have one very good entry on Sunday. I have a 5 day "weekend" ahead of me. It will be very relaxing. This is definitely the perfect time to work on my dreams. Again, lucid attempt will be on Saturday/Sunday morning. Tonight I will go for 2-3 dreams. Next update will be tomorrow night, hopefully I have my schedule for my lucid Saturday by then.

[HoopTheory]

It was a great night, in terms of recall... First, when I woke up, I couldn't remember a thing. After the second time I woke up, my mind went into super dream recall mode. I recalled FOUR dreams. Three of them were very detailed.I was left shocked, and smiling while I was writing in my journal. What a great way to lead up into my lucid dream day (night). Tonight, I will incorporate a new method, SSILD. I printed out small manual about SSILD. (Thanks fogelbise, for introducing this method to me.) I love how it fits right into my old method. I tried it earlier today, just to get the cycles down (I was also somewhat tired). It felt great, relaxing. When I heard a small ringing noise in my left ear, and the background noise started to fade, I believed that this could work. I was starting to fall asleep, but I was getting pretty excited. I cut it off, so I wouldn't be energetic when I seriously go for lucid later. The only problem I will most likely have, is the feeling of excitement. When I feel those odd sensations, I start to focus on them. I should be fine though. Reality Checks Nose Plug, look at hands and away, look at time and away. I will do all day awareness after I log out. Stress Level: Somewhat relaxed Sleep time: 9-10 PM WBTB Time: 2-3 AM. Off to dreamland!

[HoopTheory]

No lucid dream, but two detailed dreams recalled. I think this has to point to my health at the moment. My throat was getting sore, I was becoming sick, I knew I would. It just bothered me and it might have been a factor in the failed attempt. So here is my question, does being sick affect your ability to lucid dream, (the body has to focus on something else?)? This really disappointed me, oh well, I got something good out of the night. A Dream Sign This person I know has been appearing in every single one of my dreams lately. They are just there, and don't even affect it. It feels great to finally have a dream sign!

[fogelbise]

does being sick affect your ability to lucid dream, (the body has to focus on something else?)? Being sick definitely makes it more challenging from my experience. When I am sick I usually just concentrate on getting a good night's sleep. That is great that you have such a consistent dream sign! You could try using a mantra of your choice...perhaps something like "When I see (name), I realize that I am dreaming."

[HoopTheory]

Yea, over the past couple of days I just wanted to sleep. It really affected my mindset, making it so I should just rest to get rid of the sickness as fast as possible. My dream sign is great, although I couldn't recall anything today, I did recall seeing my dream sign in my dream. I guess I have my mantra now. Thanks! I have learned a lot of stuff over the past week about dreaming so that is great. Now as my sickness is going down (Yay!) I am hoping to get 2 dreams recalled later tonight.

[fogelbise]

Glad to know that you are feeling better. Let me know if you have any questions.

[HoopTheory]

Thank you. Update I recalled no dreams in the morning, (it was a very long night) but in the nap I took at 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM, I recalled my dream in a very detailed manner. I should probably get into the habit of recalling my dreams after naps, as this is the first one. It is a great opportunity that I miss out on every once in a while when I nap. Hopefully tonight I should be able to sleep, (too long a nap better not ruin my night). Regardless, I have a backup plan and stuff to do if I can't fall asleep. (Work on my dream journal, and other journals.)

[HoopTheory]

Alright! Lucid Dream Attempt today! I will try SSILD again, Reality Checks Nose Plug, look at hands, count fingers, and push thumb through palm I will try ADA for 20 min every 3 hours. It is mostly similar to last weeks attempt. Here I go!

[HoopTheory]

ugh, no lucid. Honestly, I didn't work on my lucidity throughout the week, so I will work on that. I reviewed why I was doing this, and realized my old motivations. I wrote them all down, and am now more determined than ever to lucid dream again. It feels great, but like all things I have ever done, I will always fail unless I plan it out. So here is my plan... Question(s): 1) Are there any specific food or drink that I can consume that could enhance lucid dream? (I will not be able to take supplements or drugs) Week of 2-9-14: Tonight I will go for dream recall tonight: Two dreams, detailed. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday I will do reality checks 10 times throughout the day. -Nose Plug -Count Fingers -Look away from time and back -Push thumb through palm I will go for one every 30 min. Dream Recall: Two detailed dreams ADA: I will go for one (5 min) during every hour. I guess it will help me focus more in school, when things get tedious Friday & Saturday Lucid Dream Attempts All Day Awareness: Every hour, this time I will lengthen up the time spent. (10 min) Reality Checks: More focused, I will concentrate on two -Nose Plug - Push thumb through palm Two SSILD attempts. I will try to stray away from electronics, 4 hours before my first sleep.

[fogelbise]

I like your plan. It looks solid. Now for your question... 1) Are there any specific food or drink that I can consume that could enhance lucid dream? (I will not be able to take supplements or drugs) The only one I have tried is apple juice (natural, cold pressed I think it was, not from concentrate though I don't know if it matters). It seemed to be beneficial but I can not rule out that it was just a placebo effect. I am thinking about buying some more.

[HoopTheory]

I might buy apple juice soon to try it out, I am assuming that apple cider would count, correct? Update I actually caught myself during school and remembered to perform reality checks and do ADA. I was able to perform three reality checks, (nose plug, count fingers, and push thumb through palm) at three different times during the day. ADA could use some work, as I tried it two times for about 5 minutes. I will try ADA twice over the next two hours for ten minutes each, and try to get two more cycles of reality checks in.

[fogelbise]

I am not sure about apple cider. The only one I had experience with was natural cold-pressed apple juice from one of those warehouse stores.

[HoopTheory]

I will just go the safe route then, trying it out one day might not hurt though. Update No dream recall, I went to sleep with tasks unfinished and had the stress of not preparing well for a test. It was a very bad mistake, but it ended up going well. (Just have to let this not happen again.) -ADA and Reality checks three times again. I will also go for it three more times before I go to bed. Most of what I planned is going well, it is odd to believe it was only two days though. Time usually flies by for me.

[HoopTheory]

Wow, what a hectic day in the northeast. Anyways... Last night was a great night for recall. I remembered a lot of dreams, there was one problem though. I had so many dreams remembered in my mind, but as I was writing one part of them down, I ended up forgetting about the others. Essentially, there was too much to remember throughout the writing. So I wonder, is there any way that I can not encounter this problem? Or when my dream recall gets better will I be able to write it all down? Update One full, separated dream recalled. Big parts were forgotten during the process. A good night overall. (12 Hours of Sleep) Heading into my lucid dream day, I look to perform 5 more reality checks and ADA. I am seriously turning up the amount of times I do each. Early sleep, (9 to 11 hours maybe?) Hopefully, tomorrow will be a snow day, and schools are closed. Winter vacation also starts, so I will have a FULL week of lucid dreaming practice and attempts. I will probably plan my vacation lucid experience after my Sunday morning lucid attempt. I am really confident that this will be my breakthrough.

[fogelbise]

I remembered a lot of dreams, there was one problem though. I had so many dreams remembered in my mind, but as I was writing one part of them down, I ended up forgetting about the others. Essentially, there was too much to remember throughout the writing. So I wonder, is there any way that I can not encounter this problem? Or when my dream recall gets better will I be able to write it all down? Sure, several things can help. Until you get stronger recall/memory, you can quickly jot down what people call tags. An example would be that you remember a long dream about being in a airport and getting stuck overnight and you might just quickly jot down "airport - stuck" then same thing with the next dream. *Before this it can help to lay still, keeping eyes closed and recount/memorize the details or even just the "tags" and since you are awake it is like committing those memories to your waking memory so it doesn't fade away as you write. Once other thing I use when my recall or memory is struggling is day recall. I can point you to a link if you want but it basically involves recalling your events during the day in detail. Lately I have been doing this as I lay down to sleep, but it can be done anytime during the day. I am really confident that this will be my breakthrough. Love the confidence!

[HoopTheory]

Heh, such a long weekend up to today. it has been a while since I updated this. I have a lot of information to input, so I will do it by day, and try to condense it as much as possible. Friday My lucid dream attempt, a SSILD. I performed several reality checks and did ADA 3 times for 5 min. I went to sleep at about 11:00 PM. I woke up at around 4 AM. I tried the SSILD technique, and I fell asleep. Nothing happened. Saturday This day was definitely more interesting. I went about it the same as Friday, and when I tried to SSILD, here is what happened. Just as I was about to sleep, I felt my arm pulling on my leg, which was picking me up, and moving forward. I felt as if I was about to fall off the side of my bed, and I somehow pulled myself back to my original position. The odd thing was, I know that it is impossible for me to pull myself with my arm on my leg, and actually move forward (My one arm is not strong enough to do it.) So my question is, what could this possibly be?? Other than that, I had no lucid, but this experience was very close to one. I am definitely making serious progress. Sunday-Monday Another day of focusing on recall, I remembered two dreams. One was somewhat detailed, while the other was a few sentences. Monday actually came as a shocker to me. Monday-Tuesday Dream recall day, I went to sleep earlier than before, and woke up twice during the night. It was an absolutely amazing night of dream recall. I recalled FOUR dreams, with a lot of detail. Writing down the first dream, I felt like I was writing an essay. I just had so much to write down, it felt amazing. This will definitely provide new material when I review for any dream signs. I love how right when I feel like quitting, I push through just a little more and than something amazing happens in terms of progress. This definitely got me excited for my next lucid night, but I can't get carried away, I have a long week ahead of me. Week Schedule I will do ADA for 5 times a day, for five minutes. I will also try to perform eight reality checks during each day, up to Friday and Saturday. On Friday and Saturday, I will up the ADA attempts to 10 times, for 7 minutes. I will also try to perform ten reality checks during both days. I will continue with SSILD, as I seem to be making real progress, and getting closer to be able to control when I have a lucid. (It won't be random, like my first one.)

[fogelbise]

Saturday This day was definitely more interesting. I went about it the same as Friday, and when I tried to SSILD, here is what happened. Just as I was about to sleep, I felt my arm pulling on my leg, which was picking me up, and moving forward. I felt as if I was about to fall off the side of my bed, and I somehow pulled myself back to my original position. The odd thing was, I know that it is impossible for me to pull myself with my arm on my leg, and actually move forward (My one arm is not strong enough to do it.) So my question is, what could this possibly be?? Other than that, I had no lucid, but this experience was very close to one. I am definitely making serious progress. It sounds like hypnagogic hallucinations. Now the challenge is to not get too excited when you experience these. Telling you that you may have been close to entering a dream may make it harder to not get excited when you most need to stay calm. I agree that it was progress that you retained awareness to that stage, so good job. Your attempt to reposition yourself may have interrupted the progress. At this stage I would recommend ignoring sensations like you experienced and drift on off towards sleep with the goal of getting a DILD. At some point down the road you may want to look into WILDs, but most experienced LDers consider WILDs an advanced (harder) method. I was able to generate quite a few DILDs via SSILD and later WILDs. Monday-Tuesday Dream recall day, I went to sleep earlier than before, and woke up twice during the night. It was an absolutely amazing night of dream recall. I recalled FOUR dreams, with a lot of detail. Very nice! Congratulations!

[HoopTheory]

Hmm, I read about hypnagogic hallucinations, I completely forgot about those. I was waiting until I became more experienced before I tried WILD, so I will stick to my original plan. The hardest part will always be avoiding extreme excitement, once I can get through that barrier, I feel that my lucid dream count will begin to increase. Anyways... Yesterday, I looked at BrandonBoss' topic/guide on how to effectively dream journal. I looked at the format and it seems that I was leaving out a lot of stuff! I liked the format, because I want to get as specific as possible. I will be adding in this new format to my dream journal, to get more out of it. I also looked at StaySharp's dream recall compendium. It all gave me a better view on improving my recall, and now I have new things to record. I guess I just need to be as specific as possible to see what works. Alright, Update It was dream recall night, or day... so I was only able to remember two dreams this time. One of them was very, very detailed. I am also trying out sleeping in my room with more light than usual, (I used to cover the curtains with dark bed sheets) I will try this for about two weeks to see if it improves lucidity or recall. The temperature was warm to hot, I will be also trying this out. I was able to perform reality checks almost every 45 minutes yesterday. I did ADA for 5 min about 4 times yesterday also. Everything is going according to plan, I am hoping for a lucid dream on Friday or Saturday. The schedule will be mostly the same as yesterday.