Thread: Elaol's DILD Workbook

Thank you both for useful advice.

@fogebise I think I would burn myself out atm, since I am meditating, doing GRC and I think it would be too much. Also, I want to try WILDing as well.

@FryingMan I agree with your theory. That is what I loved in your explanation of GRC: mindfulness and incubation technique in one

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I have some big news And of course I want your feedback

I had my first Gravity Induced Lucid Dream (kinda).

Spoiler for Elevator LD (I'll skip some unimportant details):

Some big festival was going on in my town. I didn't want to go, I went in the huge skyscraper for some non-lucid reason (the skyscraper doesn't exist IRL). I took the elevator. On the elevator, I was stomping with my legs. I told myself that gravity wasn't right (although I don't remember actually checking for gravity). I became lucid. My memory was OK, so I remembered Sensei's advice for stabilization (unfortunately, I didn't remember Sageous advice for memory) . My focus was first on sight, than I made some noise with my feet and I touched elevator walls. The walls were kinda bubbly, like someone inserted plastic balls half way through the wall. I told to myself "Behind this wall will be the gym". I pushed the wall and it moved. The next thing I saw was the gym. The dream destabilized, I remember shouting "STABILIZE!". I was in police station, although I didn't notice that until I woke up. The dream was fading and soon ended.

Idk if this was during my focusing on the gravity (incubation) or due real GRC. What do you guys think?

And it is also important to note:
1. I HAD ONE MORE LD! Better than the ones before
2. My fear didn't stop me from having LD



I love this emoticon

Originally Posted by Elaol

Idk if this was during my focusing on the gravity (incubation) or due real GRC. What do you guys think?

Determining the cause of any particular lucid moment is difficult given the delayed nature of practice having an effect on results. I like to say every LD is a "perfect storm" of preparation and conditions (in all their various forms: awareness, memory, rest, health, sleep cycle, brain chemistry, recall/dream awareness, etc.) combined. It really doesn't matter that you didn't check for gravity first, you had the all-important thought that "gravity is not right" and you immediately connected this to "I'm dreaming". That's the entire point of the practice. Of course, it will be much more fruitful if you do actually notice in your dreams that gravity is not waking-style giving you a physical sensation trigger in addition to the verbalization trigger: thus Hukif's advice that the target of your all-day RC should be something that you frequently notice/experience in you dreams.

I love this emoticon

Me, too! Congrats and many more!

Originally Posted by Elaol

I had very vivid HH before falling asleep. I was writing on this forum, and I looked at my lucid dream count. It was 90 (I wish xD ). I remembered that I don't have that many dreams, I couldn't remember the exact count, I knew the last number was 8. I thought in the HH/dream that it was 88 (again I wish xD)

Keep it up and you'll pass those numbers in no time! Congratz on your newest lucid as well, your GRC practices are paying off!

Originally Posted by Saizaphod

Keep it up and you'll pass those numbers in no time! Congratz on your newest lucid as well, your GRC practices are paying off!

Thanks! Indeed they are, I can't wait to be able to control dream well enough so I can do Dream Hero League tasks.

And do you guys like my title: "GRC apprentice"?

Ummm, today I was practicing GRC (duh xD).

I didn't practice it while sitting, didn't feel like it.

I went for a walk with a friend and did it during the walk (and also when walking around the house). I noticed one thing: the feeling of gravity in my feet depends on he shoes I am wearing. I feel different gravity, based on my footwear. So it is harder to adjust to the feeling in my feet without shoes and with different pairs of shoes. I am already adjusted to the feeling without shoes, and the feeling in my hands. I also made progress with feeling of gravity while lying on the bed.

This RC maybe seem simple, but you have to memorize a lot of different sensations.

That's about it for today.

Going to meditate right now and then straight to bed

Originally Posted by FryingMan

As long as you're doing something that boosts awareness, attention (to all your experiences), reflection (about your experiences), and memory (recalling your experiences, dreaming and waking), I think you're covered.

This quote belongs in a book, FryingMan. Love it!

Originally Posted by Elaol

I have some big news And of course I want your feedback

I had my first Gravity Induced Lucid Dream (kinda).

Idk if this was during my focusing on the gravity (incubation) or due real GRC. What do you guys think?

I am so happy for you Elaol! Awesome result!!

Your question about whether incubation induced or GRC induced…I agree with FM. Be happy it was gravity based awareness in the dream and rest assured that this will add to your GRC practice either way, which you are doing an awesome job with!

Originally Posted by Elaol

And do you guys like my title: "GRC apprentice"?

I noticed that…Since you are taking to GRC quite well and you are committed to giving it significant time and attention, I do like your title.

Originally Posted by Elaol

This RC maybe seem simple, but you have to memorize a lot of different sensations.

I don't think it is simple. I tried it early in my practice and it just didn't seem like something for me but I probably could have given it more effort and adjustments. I think most people consider it difficult to practice, but you have found a way to make it work for you which is impressive!

Thanks fogelbise for your awesome feedback. You guys really motivate me to keep on with writing this.

Today I have no special announcements. Anyway, I am really anxious these days, but I try my best to practice GRC. Today I did enough practice, but I could have done better. I have job interview tomorrow, so I am nervous because of that among other things. I hope the next few days will be better, so I can practice GRC more.

I got an idea yesterday that I could practice GRC whenever I am using my phone. I would continue practicing it while walking, but I thought that if I practice GRC when I use my phone (which is often), then that would increase the rate of my GRC practice.

That's it for today

Yaaaaay I got one more LD, this time semi-lucid

I was stealing weed from the biggest drug dealer. When she came to take it away from me, I realized I was dreaming. I did both GRC and nose plug RC, but I don't remember the result. I think gravity was normal, although I am not sure. I tried to do Kamehame wave, but nothing came out of my arms. I looked at my hands, they were normal, and I woke up looking at my actual hands.

It was really bright in my room, I might consider wearing sleeping mask. Perhaps light woke me up, or the REM was ending. Anyway, I got another success

I'm off to job interview, wish me luck

Congrats and good luck! Sleep masks (even just rolling up a light pajama top/tshirt/scarf works great) and earplugs can be very helpful if you are unable to block external light (I like sleeping in total darkness, but my wife can't stand it, so thus the mask).

Thanks FryingMan for the response. I am really happy with my progress

Today I failed at doing GRC totally. I hope that won't kill the progress I've made so far. But even KingYoshi makes breaks from ADA; so I guess I can sometime make a break from GRC. I did pay attention to it few times today, but two bad things happened to me today, so my mind was focused on them.

I will do a bit more GRC today, and also during meditation, I will try to make the object of meditation the feeling of gravity.

Cya tomorrow.

Hey everyone

Today I was getting back into GRC. I don't know if I am overthinking or what, but somehow gravity sometimes seems different, i.e. my hand seem slightly heavier than usual. What do you guys think about it? I do RC every time it happens.

My legs are fine most of the time, so I consider them more reliable than hands, since I am usually carrying something in my hands.

Am I trippin' or what about these changes in gravity?

Congrats on more lucidity Elaol!!

I often use a sleep mask and ear plugs, so I second the suggestion. They are both very helpful for lucid dreaming I feel.

Originally Posted by Elaol

Today I was getting back into GRC. I don't know if I am overthinking or what, but somehow gravity sometimes seems different, i.e. my hand seem slightly heavier than usual. What do you guys think about it? I do RC every time it happens.

My legs are fine most of the time, so I consider them more reliable than hands, since I am usually carrying something in my hands.

Am I trippin' or what about these changes in gravity?

I don't think you are trippin', I think it is normal to notice some difference in how heavy your hands feel or even your body in general IWL (more common examples would be like when you are tired, sore, sick, etc). In a dream though you may notice a huge difference, but like in your latest lucidity not always so it is always good to have a few other follow-up RC's which you did. Those moments when several RC's all seem normal are rare, so don't worry about that much.

Congrats again!!

I think that if you're doing GRC, and you're noticing gravity, and if you're using that as a reflective trigger to check if you're dreaming, then that's good . That's the point....

Thanks guys for the feedback! It really means a lot.

Today practice was good

I noticed gravity when I was walking alone, not in company, I guess I need more practice for that. I got really good at noticing both hands and feet. I still need to work on noticing gravity while sitting.

That's about it. This seems like not enough text :/

Maintaining awareness while in company is perhaps (at least for me!) one of the most challenging aspects. But noticing these times is the first step in improving them, and gives you a feeling for when you should be extra vigilant!

I think I am losing motivation a little bit. First few days I was super psyched because of GRC, now those feelings are less intense (which is normal).

I really love my progress with this technique, but since I am not as psyched as before, I tend to forget to practice it. What did you guys do in similar situations?

Every once in a while, not so often these days but still from time to time, usually towards the end of a longish dry spell, I'll stop and ask myself, "What the #^&* am I doing? Spending all this effort on ...*dreaming*!?" I think everybody who spends effort on any discipline that requires significant effort to progress in experiences the same. Sometimes it's hard to shake off our cultural conditioning that tells us dreams aren't real or valuable.

It all comes down to doing what you love. For me, I *love* dreaming. Waking up in the morning after a particularly good night of recall, is just the most wonderful thing in the world. The same with being lucid in the dream state, there's just no experience like it. I can't imagine life without regular dream recall and LDs popping in from time to time. (Sure, I'd like more LDs, who wouldn't? But with me the main thing is the dreams themselves, lucid or not).

One thing that really helps me with a continued mindfulness practice is the realization that it is not just about dreaming. My goal is to be a lucid *person*, not just lucid dreamer. My practice of attention, reflection, and recall, boosts enjoyment not just in dreaming life, but in waking life as well. How many people just glide by their entire existence, both waking and dreaming, on autopilot? They can't remember what they did or experienced today, let alone their dreams from the night before. I feel like my LD practice has taught me not just how to wake up in dreams, but to wake up in LIFE. That's why I love it and will stick with it for the long haul.

Hey guys,

nothing new to report here. My attention is still kinda wobbly, I'll try to figure a solution tomorrow. When I am sitting, I am losing focus all the time. I'll report tomorrow with, I hope, improved results.

Cya tomorrow

Oh, and "night work" refers to all the things we do at night to foster LDs: intention setting, mantras, visualizations, MILD, WILD, DEILD, WBTB, dream recall & recording.

I'll try to figure out something interesting to write, those last two days were soooo boring xD

I had bad dream recall last night, but I think it was because I was watching TV over my usual 10PM boundary (I turn off every screen after 10PM to keep melatonin high). I am writing this because it felt so weird when I tried recalling dreams last nigh, like I have some wall between me and memory. Also, I was conscious again during Non-REM. It is the worst feeling ever. Seriously, don't try it, it sucks :/

Anyways, I think I am a bit tired from GRC, not the technique itself, but the constant reflection. So today, I kinda neglected the part about reflection and focused on sensing the gravity, since reflection part is really boring xD I really try not to get into the habit of automatically answering "Yes" to the questions "Is this gravity normal?".

So, as I've said, today's practice was just noticing gravity. I gave up on sitting gravity, it is just too hard. I can't possibly remember the feeling of every possible posture. So now I am looking for alternatives. I was brainstorming a bit and I realized this: in 99.999999% of my dreams I am walking. So, I don't really need the sitting feeling. I just need to keep gravity in mind, so I keep that incubation quality of GRC (credit goes to FM ).

I think the next day will also be focused on keeping gravity in mind and noticing it, without reflection, and from Day 21, I will get into reflection again.

I am really fighting to keep this a 2 month challenge. As much as I love this technique, I have urge to change the technique. But I WILL stick with it. Maybe I'll just freshen it up, or spicy it, with some new technique that complements GRC.

I also got a lot of useful info from FM about his Unified theory, and I think a lot of it can be implemented with GRC. I will think about it some more tomorrow.

P.S. I am pleased with this post, it came better than expected

I think it's helpful to frame the reflective questions in such a way as to assume that the answer is "I'm dreaming", and if it indicates otherwise, not to reach a conclusion that "I'm not dreaming." Instead, just think "hmm, well, I'll definitely be feeling dreaming gravity tonight in my dreams!"

One aspect of the Balance that we must find in our practice is the intensity of the reflection. It's OK to dial down the reflection intensity, especially if you can keep attention on the continuity of your experience. If you've established a waking condition, and nothing materially has changed (location, etc.), you can keep reflective awareness at a lower level. You don't want it to go away entirely, because the dream state can be very very tricky to detect, with false memories and quick rationalizations standing in the way of lucidity.

I think it's OK to change up the particulars of practice, even on a somewhat regular basis. What you don't want to do is to eliminate one of the fundamentals for a while. As long as you're working on some aspect of attention/awareness, reflection/vigilance, and recall/memory, in some form, you're building a strong foundation for lucid dreaming. Keeping things new and interesting and avoiding a slide into dull routine is also important. Discovering "how long" is part of the journey. Maybe sometimes you do want an extended run on one particular practice.

Thanks FM for your response, now I understand your theory a lot better. Can you please help me with reflective questions, I'm having hard time coming up with a question that matches your description?

About today...

I had an interesting dream today. Not sure if it was lucid. It was a sexual dream, I wanted to have sex with DC (non-lucid in this phase), but other DCs kept disturbing us. For example, we were in bathroom getting to business, and DC comes in. Then we go to the bedroom, another DC is entering. So I sat with all DCs in the room and told them I know why they keep interrupting us. It is because this is a dream and my unconscious mind doesn't want me to have sex with this person. I didn't have that "I am in a dream feeling", so I don't know what this was.

I am also wondering if a person keeps overthinking everything about LDs, why doesn't that person have LDs all the time (since the person thinks about them every second). For example, now I am overthinking every LD of mine will be like this. Sometimes I really hate myself.

Anyways, todays GRC practice went very well. I noticed my weight as usual, but I also tried to notice it while talking with people. So I must give myself a pat on the back.

I also got excited because LDing again. It's been a while. I think I am overthinking everything because I love LDing so much I want it more and more, but I am afraid that I won't be able to do it. Even though, I WILL KEEP TRYING UNTIL I SUCCEED!

That's it for today!

See ya tomorrow!

Hi Elaol,
There is nothing special about any particular reflective question, the main thing is that you are reflective about your experiences. Some examples could include, "How odd is this?" "What was I doing <just before this/15 minutes ago>?" "Why do I think I'm awake?" "Is this dream-like?" "Is this a waking location?" Reflection doesn't necessarily need to be framed as question, but it can be helpful.

Nice dream! Sounds like a low-level lucid for sure with the "this is a dream" dialogue. Not every lucid will necessarily come with a super strong "this is a dream feeling", lucidity falls on a spectrum, it's not just black or white. You can train yourself to really grab on to these little lucid sparks and fan them into a full-strength lucid dream, it's a matter of discipline and practice. That's pretty challenging when you're entangled in a hot and heavy moment with a DC hottie . I have had many what I term "semi-lucids," especially sex dreams, where I know that I'm in a situation not like the normal waking state, but I don't make (or am simply not interested in making!) that final leap to full lucidity and "I'm dreaming."

Note that Sageous writes that "some dreams are fine just the way they are," not every dream needs to be lucid to be enjoyable or interesting or meaningful.

As to why do particular people have or not have LDs constantly despite obsessing over them (as I have and continue to do quite a lot of the time!), I think the answer is to be found in my "perfect storm" theory: it takes the coming together of many diverse factors to result in a lucid dream. Strong intent/desire is one part, but not the only part. Also, there is the critical notion of "balance" -- strong intent needs to be balanced with relaxation and acceptance and confidence. Desiring something too intently may actually stall progress if it results in frustration and lack of confidence and feelings of failure. That's why I emphasize that all practitioners should cultivate a very positive, happy, grateful attitude towards all their dreams. Work for the lucids, they'll come in time, but enjoy all your dreams, and enjoy the journey and the practice itself, that's the only way to sustain it.

Hey FM, thanks for response. I guess this is lowest level there is. I am aware there are different levels of lucidity (semi-lucid, lucid, fully lucid and super lucid), but this one was the lowest, I wasn't even in control of myself. But I guess that is success as well.

I have two things to report (I can't wait until tonight to post it).

1. I had another lucid. It was lucid dream on the continuum. But it was on the end of the REM, the third dream in that phase, so I woke up few seconds after realizing it was a dream. I think the problem with DILDs is that they don't guarantee that you will become lucid at the beginning of REM phase, and if you are not experienced with DEILD than lucids can be very short. What do you guys think of this? I will spice up GRC with occasional WILD practice

2. I tried meditating last night on the feeling of gravity. It was a lot easier than meditating on the breath. My mind became calmer easier. I will definitely continue doing that.

That is is for this morning