Thread: Pornocrates's Workbook

Summary of the rest of the week:

-I had a hard time bringing myself to bed before at least 1-2 AM during this week (stress often does that, if I feel I haven't done enough during the day I don't want to move to the next day) and lots of nights around 7 hours of sleep (that's not much, I need around 8-9 to be fully operative). The thing is if I try to go to sleep early it would take me from 1 to 3-4 hours to fall asleep (even after really short nights, guess it's just about my mindset then), and another weird phenomenon, I've been waking up sometimes 6 hours after going to bed completely alert but kinda frustrated.

-DR is coming back, I remember at least 2 dreams on short nights and up to 5 (only 2 with details) but I wasn't preparing myself properly to sleep and not doing any mantras and all. I'm getting really vivid dreams again and it's really nice, I've been wanting those more than LDs!

-I RCed this night although I'm not sure if I was awake or I failed my RC, I did the nose plug and the finger through the palm. Looks like my mind likes to be lucid on Sunday

-As for SA, I try to make my practice natural, sometimes I think about doing SA practice all of a sudden.
Also I get these feelings during the day where I am naturally aware, I try not to stress it too much though.

In conclusion

Although I'm a bit nervous for my finals I'm doing some really good progress in getting back my DR, slowly returning to writing in my journal instead of recording vocally! Regular sleep schedules would change everything I'm sure of it, I really want to get some consistency!

Last night I slept from ~2 to 9'30, recalled one long dream and a fragment (just a word actually, but had a particular feeling linked to it).

I clearly didn't sleep enough, although sometimes I happen to recall at least 3-4 dreams with the same amount of sleep.
I'd really like to go to bed earlier but when I do I can't sleep and most of the time I don't feel like going to bed before 1 AM. I wanted to try a MILD byt going back to bed after my waking but in the end didn't.

Thing is I put aside most of my activities:
I haven't been going to the gym in the last 2 weeks, and not really trying to induce LDs (even autosuggestion which is supposed to be my "chill LDing mode") because I decided to take a break to have more time to study... Obviously I didn't study more and I ended up getting all jittery because of the lack of activity (I kinda need sport to be able to calm down and focus).

I wanted to stop trying to induce LDs in order to avoid sleeping in (until noon). Concerning sport/gym: it's because although it takes maybe around 2 hours three times a week, I procrastinate and end up lazying around a lot before finding the courage and energy to go there. So the biggest problem I'm facing IWL which is brainblocking my LDs is (self) discipline obviously. I'm not satisfied with what I do during the day and end up in a vicious cycle, not doing any good for myself. (Sorry for the rant, I'm really angry against myself because I can't make progress, I'm always going in every directions at the same time...)

I'm really confused about something else as well:
Should I go to bed early or is ~1 ok? I know the most important thing is to have set schedules but I can't seem to keep them, and I'm kind of a night owl.
Idk if you can switch to early bird mode or if there are somewhat "profound natures" = Like I could sleep everyday around 10-11 PM and wake up around 7-8 but it would always be forced and the only mistake would mess up with the whole rhythm. If someone has/ has had the same issue and maybe found something (article, methode, etc) I'd be really interested. It would help not only for my LDing practice but also for my whole WL!

What I'm thinking about is maybe:
6:30 eat dinner
7:00 => 9:30 study
10:00 go to bed, read and meditation/relaxation
11:00 Sleep
5:00 to 6:00 or 6:30 to 7:30 WBTB
8-9 Waking up

This would be hard to set up and obviously it's just a draft (I have yet to determine the best time to sleep for me, the best time to do WBTB and how long). As for the schedules, I'm in Uni and soon on holiday so I have a lot of time and rarely need to wake up early.

TL;DR I'm really pumped about LDing and have been for more than two years with some success but I lack discipline, consistent efforts and obviously my WL issues are not helping. Need help with organization...

Another thing

I have recurrent dream signs like:
-My father's house and village
-All my schools
-Some people I don't see anymore

I can easily RC when I go to my uni but I mostly see my elementary school, my middle school and my high school, should I just RC when I see any school?
And for the persons I don't see? Should I just RC when I think about them?
What about my father's house (I spent almost all my childhood in this house and it's been one of my dream signs since I began recording my dreams and overall the most recurrent one), how should i use it?

I also think my LD goal might be way too difficult considering my dream control abilities.
I've been trying to incube when I go to sleep and when I RC (visualization) my dream workshop, I've pictured it so many times that I know the basic layout by heart. I chose the workshop, it's a big empty tree in a forest, inside: platforms, rooms, stairs and a cave with hot springs (It's a bit cliché and "Adventure Timesque" but I really like it, it gets me so excited and motivated to LD and there are many more things and ideas to come). I imagined myself in it or discovering it so many times that I actually built it mentally and therefore I know it's gonna be really close to what I picture. However, I had 2 LDs where I thought about going there but it requires too much control for me.

Should I switch to a more basic task like the ToTM first ones? Would it be possible that it actually blocks me since it is too difficult for now?

As to when to go to sleep -- you have to experiment. I find the earlier I go to sleep (and the longer I sleep), the more/better dreams I have, in general. I do not have issues going to sleep at bedtime, I usually fall asleep quickly.

As to when to RC: I think you should RC any time you *feel* like you should. Always pay attention to that impulse to check your state.

For frequent dream signs, I think doing daytime visualization/MILD helps. Visualize yourself in recent dreams or in the frequent location, see yourself in the dream noticing the dreamsign and telling yourself "I'm dreaming! I"m dreaming! I'm dreaming!" and going on to accomplish some LD goal.
"

Originally Posted by FryingMan

As to when to go to sleep -- you have to experiment. I find the earlier I go to sleep (and the longer I sleep), the more/better dreams I have, in general. I do not have issues going to sleep at bedtime, I usually fall asleep quickly.

As to when to RC: I think you should RC any time you *feel* like you should. Always pay attention to that impulse to check your state.

For frequent dream signs, I think doing daytime visualization/MILD helps. Visualize yourself in recent dreams or in the frequent location, see yourself in the dream noticing the dreamsign and telling yourself "I'm dreaming! I"m dreaming! I'm dreaming!" and going on to accomplish some LD goal.

I wanted to do that during the last holidays I had, so I figure I would just try to avoid screens at night and that I wouldn't set alarms in order to find the best schedules but Idk if it's the way to go? Would you have any idea how to know your natural circadian rythm?

What I do when I find that I don't RC enough, is that I write a "C" on my hand and every time I see it I RC. I find myself really wondering if I'm awake when I RC, I don't consider not being dreaming or almost not.

Good idea for the visualization with frequent dream signs, I don't know why I didn't think of that...

Thanks as always FryingMan, btw I've been reading a bit of your DILD course workbook, it's really motivating to see someone as diligent as you with such good progress since the beginning!

Yes, dream sign visualization can be successful. I would just focus on the one most common dream sign that you can visualize clearly. I have used it successfully, mostly during WBTB or just before going to bed.

On the waking life and sleep issues, I don't have a lot of experience or expertise but for sleep see if this article helps: 10 Tips to Reset Your Internal Clock - Sleep Center - Everyday Health (seems the site is not selling anything but ads)

On the waking life issues, you mentioned getting angry at yourself. Catching any negative thought loops can be helped through mindfulness and meditation. Try to not criticize or judge yourself, just try to catch yourself when you are not thinking or acting optimally…more like "I was thinking this way…ah...good catch!" Not "I was thinking this way, why am I always making that mistake." It takes time for sure and simple breathing exercises help also. You will notice your breathing patterns change when you are not at the optimal state. A simple one exercise to start with is breathing in goodness, and breathing out any negatives with a cleansing breath. It can do wonders.

Originally Posted by fogelbise

Yes, dream sign visualization can be successful. I would just focus on the one most common dream sign that you can visualize clearly. I have used it successfully, mostly during WBTB or just before going to bed.

On the waking life and sleep issues, I don't have a lot of experience or expertise but for sleep see if this article helps: 10 Tips to Reset Your Internal Clock - Sleep Center - Everyday Health (seems the site is not selling anything but ads)

On the waking life issues, you mentioned getting angry at yourself. Catching any negative thought loops can be helped through mindfulness and meditation. Try to not criticize or judge yourself, just try to catch yourself when you are not thinking or acting optimally…more like "I was thinking this way…ah...good catch!" Not "I was thinking this way, why am I always making that mistake." It takes time for sure and simple breathing exercises help also. You will notice your breathing patterns change when you are not at the optimal state. A simple one exercise to start with is breathing in goodness, and breathing out any negatives with a cleansing breath. It can do wonders.

Thanks for your answer fogelbise!

I will make it part of my pre-sleep routine then, visualizing myself getting lucid in my hometown.

These tips are great thank you, some of them I found on a documentary this afternoon, something interesting is "The three 9":
-9 hours of sleep
-No screens after 9
-No work/school before nine

My first steps will be, no screens at least 2 hours before bed, and set schedules. The morning is difficult I always want one more sleep cycle...

I need to get a grip on these emotions, most of the time I can't really think straight because of these. Mindfulness and meditation help me but when you're driven by sadness/anger/anxiety it's really hard to bring yourself to do those. Anyway it always helps and I need to fully assimilate this principle. Thanks a lot for your support fogelbise!

Time to really get back to LDing!

I didn't try to induce for a month due to my exams but I kept DJing except for a few days where I was too tired. Therefore, my DR is not as strong as it was in April.

I kinda have a plan to follow in order to put things in order:
I'm going to focus on regular sleep schedules for the next week (or 2 weeks) as I always felt it was preventing me from having more LDs. And also recall, I'd like to try to reach a lot, like 6 and more every night, I know I can do it, just gotta set the intention and manage my schedules. However I won't give up on induction, I'm on holidays so I have all the time I want, I will nap and try WILD as well. I will also keep on focusing meditation/SA/mindfulness. I'm so pumped up!

Nice, summer breaks! Those were the days! When you are really feeling it, maybe spend a lot of time reading the well reviewed lucid dreaming books and perhaps outlining plans for your night ahead among other things, but be sure the ease off a little if you are feeling like you are tiring of the subject so that you can maintain some level of LD practices throughout your summer break. Towards the end of the break perhaps you can formulate a plan for integrating some level of LD practices even amongst your busiest periods of studies and exams. Just some ideas. Hope to see you around

Thank you for your precious advice fogelbise.
Would you have some good recommendations? I already read ETWOLD and Gateway to the Inner self.

I don't really know why but I have a hard time bringing myself to bed before at least 2AM and when I do I'm too tired to focus on anything. I try to repeat to myself "I'm dreaming" but it keeps me awake. I definitely need to get better habits concerning health: sleep, exercising and all.

I didn't sleep much last night, will try to go to bed before 1. Until I sort ou my sleep schedules my main work will be DR, mindfulness (got a nice app with a bell ringing regularly in order to bring my self to the moment) and setting intentions!

I really liked "The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep" It's sort of the ultimate book that started it all, you'll be amazed at all the of the parallels modern-day LDing practice has compared to the Tibetan practice. They basically invented LD practice: daytime awareness, night-time intention, WBTB, dream recall, WILD.

Good sleep and a calm, positive mental attitude are pretty important. So is timing.

I also can't fall asleep to a mantra. Try alternating between breaths with the mantra and some breaths without the mantra, perhaps decreasing the frequency of the mantra as you go, like,:

1, I'm dreaming
2
3 I'm dreaming
4
5
6 I"m dreaming
7
8
9 I'm dreaming
10
11
12 I'm dreaming
13
14
15
16 I'm dreaming
17
18
19
20 I'm dreaming

so that you tail off the frequency of the mantra the more relaxed you get.

^See FM's post, if you haven't yet. I think there are also a good number of books that will add to your knowledge and keep your mind on lucid dreaming (you can read 10 minutes at a time if you want to). As long as they aren't full of misinformation. I think the ratings on Amazon give you a decent idea but some others are Daniel Love's Are You Dreaming (I enjoyed it. He is giving away a free e-copy, though not sure when you get it, for contributing at any level for his Kickstarter campaign and sharing his campaign on social media, seemingly for as little as 1 British Pound). I also enjoyed the 2 you mentioned. Waggoner also has Lucid Dreaming, Plain and Simple but I have only gotten to chapter 2. Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming seems good for mostly beginners. There are some good ebooks I have seen online like The Ultimate Lucid Dreamers Manual as well as Advanced Lucid Dreaming - The Power of Supplements (has some useful opening information before it goes into supplement info if you aren't interested in the supplement side). I'm quite sure there is a thread somewhere on DV where people discuss LD books but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

"The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep"? I have a sample on my kindle but never fully read it, I will change that!

Hum calm attitude is not on of my traits, I've had a lot on my mind recently and that's the reason why I can't focus on pretty much anything. I am sometimes able to fall asleep with a mantra and in this case I have a LD or at least vivid dreams but I feel too jittery to do that right now. That might be because I don't make the most of my days since the end of my finals and I don't feel like going to bed because I'm not satisfied with how I spend my time. Study, reading, exercising and meditation will help settling this problem.

Alternating breaths is a great idea, I began to do it naturally but didn't really consider it. Thank you FM!

Fogelbise: Actually I might be curious about supplements so I'll check it out. I'll go with the Yoga of sleep and dream first, I'll make a list of all your suggestions, thank you!



As for last night: I slept from 1'45-2 AM to 11, had put an alarm at 8AM but didn't wake up for good. Fortunately I remember some parts of the dreams I had before the alarm. I also had a super vivid dream for which I used more than 2 pages of my DJ, hehe. I love those vivid dreams, when you feel really present and wake up full of emotions. Hell I even love nightmares, they're an interesting experience!

Very good! Cherish those vivid dreams as well. I also can enjoy certain nightmares, but I don't get many.

Originally Posted by Pornocrates

"The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep"? I have a sample on my kindle but never fully read it, I will change that!

It's a great book. You can skip the buddhist background first part and jump right in to the practice section.
I suggest taking it slowly, there are so many amazing insights even in the two pages of the practice intro.

Calm abiding is pretty important. Without it, we are whisked away into mindless action/reaction cycles and remain non-lucid.

I'm working on making TYoDaS the majority of my primary practice.

Lucid all night every night, baby!

Fogelbise: I don't get many too, although I had a lot as a child. Never triggered lucidity though.

FryingMan: I have a huge interest in Buddhism but I might go straight for the practice part as you recommended! I'm not a really calm person so that would be a good practice (I get excited pretty easily, i can even induce this state haha (I use it for my mantras and visualization but apart from that it's a waste of energy and I consider it might be part of a really bad catch 22 concerning my little self control). I'll give some feedback here during my reading!

PS: I find that I have very little willpower, did you try the exercises at the end of ETWOLD (Strengthening the Will) ?

Originally Posted by Pornocrates

PS: I find that I have very little willpower, did you try the exercises at the end of ETWOLD (Strengthening the Will) ?

Yep, I did them all on my first readthrough back in 2013. I have strong willpower when I really want something .

I'll do them then!

Btw, I really wanted to tell you teachers how grateful I am for all the support and advice! I'm happy I decided to participate in the forum and I would advise anyone reading the posts and wanting to LD to do the same!

^You are very welcome. I honestly want to see you grow tremendously, fast or slow, into he who you want to be. I truly feel the many interconnections between LD practices and other practices can help us all to reach new heights. We can further propel these improvements through the questions we ask and the adventures we commence within our dreams and lucid dreams. I love to help in any way that I can and I am quite sure FryingMan feels the same.

Had a Ld 2 nights ago, it was a really faint and short one. It happened during the 4 first hours of sleep so even though I took notes when I woke up and I knew I was lucid in the morning I still couldn't remember it all. But it's good to see that I can still have them!

I'm slowly getting to a better, healthier sleep, and I had a decent recall recently!

Great! Keep it up and dreams will keep getting better and better!

Great job! You've got this! It is also very impressive that you got your LD in the first 4 hours!!

Thank you!
Yeah not the first time it happens, unfortunately when it does it's a really low level LD. Almost no awareness!

Yesterday I managed to go to bed before 1AM. I turned off the lights around 00:30.
I had 4 waking: 00:30 => 7:00 => 8h45 => 9h30 => 11h00 (there might be another one but I don't remember.

8h45: I had a really intense dream about spiders (Yuck) but when I awoke I was too tired and lazy to write it down. I wrote it at 11:00 (final waking) but lacked a few details.
From the last period I had 1 very long dream about hosting a homeless person, doing my old summer job (night receptionist in hotels) and zombies (Someone had removed thei hunger for human flesh and they would just lick people and eat food: fries and all).

I'm really happy about this night, firstly because I went to bed earlier and so woke up with energy (without waking after 12:00PM), secondly because I had intense dreams. Fortunately I will have an easy time writing down my dreams tonight because I will feel less tired during the night.

When I went to bed, I used my mantra a bit, and used conscious breathing to get my mind off stressful stuff but I don't think I repeated the mantra until the end. I want to get back to setting intentions before bedtime + relaxation: mindfulness, stretching + visualization. Avoiding screens at least 1h,1h30 before going to bed would be a good thing too (even though I use flux).

Oh and Rcing whenever I woke up!