Pickman's DILD course workbook

[Pickman]

Hi, I'm Pickman and I have decided to have another go at one of these courses. My dream recall and lucidity seems to have slipped over the past month or so since I completed the March TOTM, so I decided that having a go at one of these courses would help me get back into the swing of things. I liked StephL's Random Daytime Awareness Technique, so I think I will use that as my main go-to technique, since my usual reality checks turned out to be problematic last time. As far as goals are concerned, I think I will try and go for the TOTM each month to keep things interesting and to motivate me. When I did the Beginners course, I found that posting a daily update helped to keep my mind on track, so I intend to do the same thing here.

[Pickman]

So on my first night, there wasn't any success with lucidity, but dream recall was pretty good. I'm thinking about starting a dream journal here on dreamviews just to get me into the discipline of writing up my dreams. I didn't bother in the past because I didn't think anyone could care less about my dream snippets, but I think there might be some personal benefit in doing so.

[fogelbise]

When I did the Beginners course, I found that posting a daily update helped to keep my mind on track, so I intend to do the same thing here. Sounds good! If you ever have any questions, just put them at the top of your post to make sure I see them but it sounds like you have taken some good initial steps and made helpful plans like aiming for the TOTMs.

[Pickman]

Thanks fogelbise, I'll bear that in mind. I got last month's TOTM, hopefully I can get a second one in a row. Last night there wasn't much luck - I got hooked on some stupid videogame last night and I ended up turning in at 1:20am, which is never a good idea. Dream recall was still reasonably good though, but there was no chance of any lucidity. I might leave starting the online dream diary until next week, a bit pressed for time at the moment.

[Pickman]

Not much luck last night either, but it's early days. Dream recall is still reasonably good - could be better. I don't seem to be waking up at 4am like I used to, so I only remember the parts of dreams close to when I wake up at 8am.

[Pickman]

I realize that I haven't made any updates over the past couple of days, so this update should cover it. Again, nothing much to report. My sleep routine has been rubbish, not turning before 1am, and recalling fragments in my dreams. However, I have the next two weeks off work, meaning that I should be able to get into a decent sleep routine. I work late, and there is always the temptation to mess around online or watch TV to wind down. Now that I'm on leave, I can do that before I go to bed.

[Pickman]

Another late update to cover the past two days. Still mot much to report, although I am gradually getting back into a decent sleep routine. Dream recall is getting better. Once I'm done with this post, I'm going to check out the DJ threads just to see how dream journalling is done on this forum.

[Pickman]

Last night I slept pretty heavily, and I barely remember any of my dreams to record. All I remember is seeing my cat who died over five years ago, which normally prompts lucidity in my dreams, but didn't this time for some reason.

[Pickman]

I had a near-success last night, and I don't know how I couldn't have become fully lucid. I almost WILDed into a dream while falling to sleep, and what I think kept me on the brink of waking consciousness while I fell asleep was the muscle tension that I felt. I had a sports massage earlier in the day, and lying on my side caused me to wake up in a state of panic when I couldn't feel any sensation in a couple of my fingers. My neck was strained on one side, and I guess that's because of the position I lay in. I lay back down again on my back. I found myself dreaming about being in a multi-storey carpark at night dealing with a couple of guys. I can't remember what else happened, but it seemed like a lucid dream - the only reason I think I wasn't fully lucid is that I was still a bit passive in my approach to the dream, when usually I try to make things more interesting.

[Pickman]

Last night I tried downloading one of those Eric Brown Hypnosis recordings with binaural beats to help with lucid dreaming. It didn't, possibly because I was too tired and my body just wanted sleep to recover from the time I've put in to the gym recently. I just tried it again today for my afternoon nap, and although it didn't quite work, it did seem to put me into a state where I saw a lot of intense hypnagogic imagery. Perhaps if I wanted to go to sleep properly and not just for 20 minutes, I think I might have WILDed into a lucid dream. This might be good for WBTB or DEILDing.

[Pickman]

So I've been a bit lazy with updating this thread over the past few days, but there wasn't much to report until last night's unexpected success. I woke up at 5:45am after a long dream which seemed to be a confused mish-mash of various elements in my life, past and present. I wake up and write my dream down, which is the first time I have been able to remember an entire dream in a while. I go to the toilet and come back to attempt a WBTB while listening to one of the abovementioned hypnosis tracks. To my surprise, it actually worked. I thought I had woken up and gone downstairs. The sunlight seemed really hazy through the living room curtains. I noticed that half of the furniture in the living room was missing, but I still wasn't sure if I was dreaming. I left the room and came in again, to find that the light was on and it was night outside. This confirmed it for me, but I failed to stabilize the dream and I woke up shortly afterwards. So not much fun, but I do at least know that combining WBTB with that hypnosis track seems to work, even though I haven't had any success with it while dropping off to sleep.

[Pickman]

Last night I tried repeating the previous night's success after waking up at 5am with a dream to write down. I plugged in my headphones after a ten-minute WBTB session and listened to the hypnosis track before sleeping, but no success - only another non-lucid dream. Better luck tonight I suppose.

[Pickman]

Another late update - nothing much to report. I had to be up early yesterday morning, so getting enough sleep was higher priority than lucid dreaming. Last night I think I was just recovering from the previous day, and I can barely even remember any of my dreams, although I wish I could because the fragments I did remember seemed interesting. Better luck tonight hopefully.

[Pickman]

Another night of heavy sleep. I only remember really vague fragments of my dreams. I did wake up at 5am and I took advantage of this by attempting a WBTB, but no luck - I was too tired to remain in that state between wakefulness and REM sleep, and I just drifted off. Perhaps I should have used the binaural beats then, instead of just climbing into bed and hoping for the best.

[Pickman]

No lucidity, but I did remember enough of my dream to post my first DJ entry: Burning Building; Justin Bieber's funeral - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views I think my recall is starting to come back.

[Pickman]

Again, no lucidity, but my recall was pretty good. I remembered my dream in reasonably good detail. Lucidity seems to be difficult right now, but at least my recall is steadily improving.

[fogelbise]

Definitely some good signs. Your next lucid is probably not far off, especially if you are doing some daytime practices.

[Pickman]

Thanks fogelbise, I'm still doing some light ADA practice - maybe I should shift it up a gear. Last night wasn't much of a success either. I couldn't even remember my dreams. Maybe my body was recovering from the intense gym session I had that morning.

[fogelbise]

Thanks fogelbise, I'm still doing some light ADA practice - maybe I should shift it up a gear. Last night wasn't much of a success either. I couldn't even remember my dreams. Maybe my body was recovering from the intense gym session I had that morning. Intense workouts do tend to put me in a deeper sleep with less recall or chances to LD...not impossible to recall or LD, but I did stop being disappointed when results are down a little after such workouts. If you want a new spark for ADA practice, I very much like the "Open Beta" exercises put up on the forum recently.

[Pickman]

Thanks for pointing out the Open Beta threads - it looks like I'm too late to sign up to the experiments, but I will read through the threads properly when I have the time. Last night my dream recall was pretty good, but stupidly I didn't record my dreams. I was too preoccupied with getting up and getting on with my plan for the day. It's a shame because I remember waking up and thinking that the contents of my dream that night was actually quite interesting.

[Pickman]

Last night, I slept heavily and remember nothing of my dreams. This could be because I'm feeling a little run down at the moment and maybe my body is recovering. In the meantime, I'm going to read those open beta threads, see if they inspire me.

[Pickman]

Still feeling run down so no lucidity, as my body was more interested in resting than playing around in a lucid dream. My dream recall was pretty good when I woke up at 5am. I attempted a WBTB for about ten or so minutes, but it didn't work, I just fell back to sleep and I don't remember any of my dreams afterwards.

[fogelbise]

Thanks for pointing out the Open Beta threads - it looks like I'm too late to sign up to the experiments, but I will read through the threads properly when I have the time. Actually, you can just jump right in and post your experiences. Not enough experiences are being posted so I hope that you get the chance. Still feeling run down so no lucidity, as my body was more interested in resting than playing around in a lucid dream. Do you think you are feeling run down due to anything to do with lucid dreaming or WBTB or are you sick? I think anyone experiencing the former can find a way to do both...get a good night's sleep and practice lucid dreaming in one form or another, sometimes only needing slight adjustments.

[Pickman]

Actually, you can just jump right in and post your experiences. Not enough experiences are being posted so I hope that you get the chance. Oh okay, I didn't know that. I'm only on Day 0 at the moment so let's see how it goes. Do you think you are feeling run down due to anything to do with lucid dreaming or WBTB or are you sick? I think anyone experiencing the former can find a way to do both...get a good night's sleep and practice lucid dreaming in one form or another, sometimes only needing slight adjustments. I doubt my illness has anything to do with lucid dreaming - I think it's just a virus I picked up from somewhere last week. That's interesting what you say about getting a good night's sleep and experiencing lucidity in dreams. Maybe it's just my beliefs about lucid dreaming that get in the way. I have noticed that whenever I do experience lucidity, it feels like my body is paying for it the next day. It's like it's not proper rest - that I have already woken up at the point of DEILDing or whatever I did and I'm being physically active. I often wake up feeling the same way I would if I only got a couple of hours sleep, but not feeling too bad about it because I had an awesome experience. Even with non-lucid dreams, if I am dreaming about doing something physically stressful like chasing something or running away or fighting for long periods of time, I wake up feeling tired out. I've heard other people say the same thing. So maybe I just need to challenge my underlying beliefs about lucid dreaming. As for last night, my dream recall was okay if a bit fragmented when I woke up at 5am. I practiced WBTB but drifted off to sleep again, so no luck last night.

[Pickman]

Last night I had a near-DEILD experience. I remembered much of my dreams, but I woke up at around 8am when I was halfway through a conversation with a DC. So I tried to remain in my position and continue the conversation with the DC in my imagination at least, in the hope that I would slip back into the dream. It didn't work - I just ended up falling asleep again.