Foxrally's DILD Workbook

http://i.imgur.com/7qrBQvi.jpg

Hello! I'm Foxrally. My real name is Rayene - but screw it, since so many people mispronounce it, call me Ryan instead. Same sound really.

So who am I? I am your lord and savior from outer space, obey and worship me I'm a not-so-average 16 year old who has recently heard about this place. Not-so-average in the way that I'm way too tall (them dominant genes) for a normal human and that I'm slightly on the childish immature side for my age. I also absolutely love sleep. (on most school days I go to bed between 8:30 and 9:30, seriously)

So after I got my first lucid dream last week I really got into the topic of dreaming. I've started a dream journal, been writing posts on this forum, basically reading a lot about LDs. My first lucid dream was obviously a DILD. Almost all sources I've read (including DreamViews) recommended this method as the best for newbies, so i read a bit about it and came up on here. Hence the existence of his workbook and the existence of these words in your mind. (Awesome, right?)

RCs and Other Methods:

Here are the RCs and techniques I use to help my dream recall and chances of LDing:

• Dream Journal
• Reality Checks including:
  • Looking at my hands
  • Pushing my thumb through my hand
  • Breathing with my nose plugged
  • Thinking "If this is a dream I should levitate"
• Reading about Lucid Dreaming and staying active on this forum
• Saying "I realize I'm dreaming" a bunch of times before sleeping
• Falling asleep while imagining a scenario I want to LD in (I did this even before knowing about LDs)

Future Goals and Achievements to Complete:

So I have a few long-term goals I want to achieve in my future Lucid Dreams, as well as other goals in general:

• Flying
• Element bending (most likely water or fire)
• Metamorphosing into animals
• See myself in a mirror
• meet my Dream Guide
• Try a fictional food
• Try a nonexistent video game
• Have a full-out conversation about myself with a DC
• Complete a "Challenge of the Month"
• Improve my dream recall
• have a 100 DJ entries
• Learn how to MILD and DILD easily

Current Goal(s):

• Have another Lucid Dream
• Stabilize that dream

Well, hopefully this course will help me achieve the above two goals and hopefully the long-term ones as well!

Welcome Foxrally/Rayene!

Quote:

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Hence the existence of his workbook and the existence of these words in your mind. (Awesome, right?)

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You had me laughing reading that one. :)

I know that you can achieve those goals, especially since you have already had your first LD. Congratulations on your first lucid by the way! I think that the most important thing that I can tell you initially is to consider this a fun journey of learning new things in and out of the dream world with great adventures along the way. From speaking to others and from my own experience as well, you will notice new advances as you go along, so don't stop at any one point thinking that there is not more that you can do and learn. Getting to ~100 LDs feels different and comes with so much more experience than getting to #5, for example. Continue being "not-so-average" because the average new member doesn't keep up the practices that will bring them tons of success.

You have a great solid base of initial practices in your "RCs and Other Methods" section! Do you have any questions so far?

Thanks for the motivational reply, Professor Fogel! (BTW your username reminds me so much of Phileas Fogg from "Around the World in 80 days") :D I have loads of questions about lucid dreaming, since I'm new to it.

I've skimmed through a bunch of guides about DILD and MILD, and almost every one of them has talked about "mantras". I'm guessing a mantra is a sort of phrase that's supposed to remind you to LD, but I'm really not sure how to use one, or even what to use in the first place. If the phrase "I realize I'm dreaming" is a mantra, is it a good one? What others would you recommend for me?

Also, I had a question on supplements. I'm definitely not going to use pills or medicinal supplements, but I've done some research and there are many dream-enhancing foods too, like almonds and apple juice. Would you recommend eating them before going to sleep? Would they increase my chances of DILD?

On a side note, as noted in my DJ, I had absolutely NOOOO dream recall today. I noticed this usually happens when I go to bed late or when I'm really tired.

Again, thanks for the motivation! I really hope I can achieve another LD by the end of April. It's only been around a week since my last LD, but hopefully it won't take long.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Foxrally

1. If the phrase "I realize I'm dreaming" is a mantra, is it a good one? What others would you recommend for me?

2. Also, I had a question on supplements. I'm definitely not going to use pills or medicinal supplements, but I've done some research and there are many dream-enhancing foods too, like almonds and apple juice. Would you recommend eating them before going to sleep? Would they increase my chances of DILD?

3. Again, thanks for the motivation! I really hope I can achieve another LD by the end of April. It's only been around a week since my last LD, but hopefully it won't take long.

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I added numbers into the quote above for ease of answering.

1. That sounds like a great one to me! It can absolutely be used as a mantra. I would stick with that and if you are looking for another you might try a recall mantra like "I remember my dreams" or "When I wake I lay still (eyes closed) and recall my dreams."

2. I have only tried apple juice and mustard. Apple juice seems to help to a degree, but I don't know for sure.

3. Your welcome :) It doesn't have to be a long wait with continued practices and eventually it can become frequent.

Still not much dream recall today, although I'm satisfied with my efforts. I woke up in the night seemingly in the middle of a dream (around 5 hours after I went to bed), and I realized it was a great time to practice WBTB for the first time.

I didn't stay up long though. I was afraid that if I washed my face I wouldn't go to sleep as easily and lose memories of the dream. I stayed up for around 5-8 minutes, probably not enough to LD later.

I am rather disappointed with myself, however, for not doing a RC when I woke up. I'm starting to forget to do them, especially due to the fact that now my exams are over I spend a lot of time on video games.

This won't discourage me however, I'll keep on trying to work on dream recall and once that's perfected, I'll retry WBTB.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Foxrally

1. I stayed up for around 5-8 minutes, probably not enough to LD later.

2. I am rather disappointed with myself, however, for not doing a RC when I woke up. I'm starting to forget to do them, especially due to the fact that now my exams are over I spend a lot of time on video games.

3. This won't discourage me however, I'll keep on trying to work on dream recall and once that's perfected, I'll retry WBTB.

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1. The good news is that it sounds like you woke up more or less naturally, versus by alarm which can be a little rough. If you were in the middle of a REM cycle it is a good time to just keep your eyes closed, relax and see if you can feel yourself sinking back into your bed and into the dream with awareness (DEILD). If it doesn't happen within a minute or so just relax and go to sleep as normal or if there is no school the next day and you feel like it you can get up and do a WBTB.

2. At least you are recognizing this which allows you to improve. :)

3. This sounds like a good plan for now, and as I eluded to in #1, you may not want to become too awake or do WBTBs on school nights at least until you get good at getting back to sleep easily. WBTBs are helpful for DILDs, but not required.

Little to no dream recall for the past 3 days... I'm sure I remembered my dreams upon wake-up, but forgot them as soon as I moved to get my notepad. I'm starting to think it's due to me going to bed too late. I'll try sleeping earlier now. I also thought my room was too hot (my brother hates air conditioning), and it must have had an effect, because in the past I had ZERO dream recall even upon waking up.

Good news however - I seem to be regularly and naturally waking up around 4-6 hours after bedtime! Definitely a good thing if I try WBTB again. I also realized that my first lucid dream may have been a combination of WBTB and DILD - I went to bed visualizing a dream and I went lucid then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Foxrally

Little to no dream recall for the past 3 days... I'm sure I remembered my dreams upon wake-up, but forgot them as soon as I moved to get my notepad. I'm starting to think it's due to me going to bed too late. I'll try sleeping earlier now.

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Getting enough sleep and having a consistent sleep schedule is definitely good for lucid dreaming. Another remedy for the recall situation you described above is to hold off on reaching for your notepad and just lay still with your eyes closed and ask yourself "What was I just dreaming?" Wait a while and/or ask it again. Also think about how you feel since sometimes the emotional residue from the dream will remind you of what you were dreaming. You can also start thinking about your common dream themes or dream signs. An example would be "Did I dream I was in school?" or "Did I dream I was running late?...ah yes that's right, it is all coming back now..."

That 4-6 hour mark is ideal for WBTB, especially on the weekends, that is good news. :)

I like your signature. Who are the two characters?