Exoyo's Workbook

Hey, I'm Exoyo! I've known about lucid dreaming for a while now - since 2011 or so. Since then, I've been in and out of lucid dreaming for various reasons. I have just recently got back into it now that my life is a bit more stable and stress-free. I used to be heavily into the WILD technique, but I never had any true results from it. I've only had a few lucid dreams over the years, but that is because of infrequency. Now I would like to focus more on DILD and MILD instead of WILD.

I have gotten back into the habit of doing RC's, keeping a dream journal, and working on awareness. I haven't quite decided how I want to ultimately keep my dream journal - whether it is typed or on paper. I think tonight I will try typing, and perhaps I will keep my dream journal here, on DV. Also, I meditate, and I am working on techniques from Sivason's Dream Yoga class.

I think my biggest struggle with lucid dreaming was motivation. I always ended up getting side-tracked and stopping due to a lack of motivation. Although I have said it to myself before, I wish to keep with my goal of attaining frequent lucidity. Hopefully keeping this workbook and receiving input and advice will help me stay motivated until I can become lucid more often.

I'm really excited about this class!

Dream Journal Entry: 10/19/14 - Nighttime Snow - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

I did not have any natural awakenings last night for whatever reason. The last few nights I have woken up around 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, so it is kind of odd that I did not wake up this morning/last night. I woke up when I heard my mom's alarm go off at 6:00. I laid in bed trying to remember any dreams and I had a surprisingly hard time. The past few nights, the memories came much easier. Eventually, I remembered a face and a specific scene and my memories began to flow. I quickly wrote down a few notes to help my memory and then got up to get ready for school. In the shower, I thought more about the dreams to see if there was anything else I could remember. I finished writing in my journal on the bus ride this morning.

A few notes about going to sleep last night: I took a shower and meditated before going to bed. During meditation, I focused on skills from Dream Yoga and then ended with some focus on my mantra, "I realize that I am dreaming." I got in bed and again put focus on my mantra. I had a hard time falling asleep, as I felt that there was too much light in the room. I wear a sleep mask, but some light seeps in underneath. After some tossing and turning I finally got up and closed the curtains as much as I could. I got back in bed and felt much more comfortable with less light. I again tried to focus on my mantra. I noticed that I had a hard time doing this, and my thoughts kept wandering. I finally fell asleep, but it was a bit later than usual. This may have contributed to my recall and lack of natural awakenings.

Today I have 3 things to remember to look out for to help my prospective memory. I have also turned off the timer on my phone to remind me to do reality checks because I think I will remember either way, and I don't want to become dependent upon an alarm.

From reading your two posts here, I can see that you are doing a lot of good things. :) For now I will focus on trying to help with the two challenges that you mentioned. The first was motivation waning in the past. In case you feel motivation waning again at any point, I find it helpful to relive favorite dreams by reading past DJ entries, whether they are lucid dreams or just really interesting non-lucids. I know it can be challenging to stay motivated when you are still in school and have tests and deadlines on the horizon. Try to remember that slow and steady wins the race and you have your whole life ahead of you to work towards this fun goal of lucid dreaming regularly. Try not to burn yourself out as that can drain motivation.

The other challenge you mentioned was getting to sleep last night. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence, but until you find your own personal ways to relax and drift off to sleep quicker after activating your mind at night, you may want to consider limiting your night time practices to nights that you can sleep in.