Thread: Dionisos' Workbook

Welcome to the DILD workbooks Dionisos!

May I ask what brought you to this period where you have found the most motivation ever?

Keep it up and I do believe you will be rewarded. If you can keep it up long term you will be in an enviable position of not waiting many years or a number of decades, like many of us have, to start your journey. I truly believe you will find many benefits in waking and dreaming by staying the path.

Try to make daily or at least weekly notes here as a way to keep you on the path and also as a way to keep track of all the different things you are trying as well as things you find enjoyable. You would be surprised some of the practices I have rediscovered many months later and had simply forgotten about. The latest one is "looking for the dream" in waking, something I learned from CanisLucidus here on DV. I forgot how much fun and productive that practice can be.

Hey fogelbise,
thanks for the reply and warm welcome!

May I ask what brought you to this period where you have found the most motivation ever?

After reading this question I sat down and thought about it for a few minutes and to be honest... I'm not entirely sure.
I think however, that it has to do with my start in university and some major shifts in personality I went through the last few months which made me more confident in my own abilities.
After reflecting about my past years of wanting to learn lucid dreaming and not managing to do so I came to the conclusion that I was almost living a lucid dreaming focused life-style without actually having any real lucid dreams.
It was always in my mind and in the back of my head but I just wasnt doing anything mindful enough to really become lucid e.g.:"Am I dreaming? naah whatever, probably not."

I just made a conscious choice to change all that and finally get results! The only enemy I have to slay is my own lack of long-term motivation and the Dreamvies forum (particularly things like monthly lucid dream challenges to have things and ideas to look forward to), have already been very helpful to keep me on the path to lucid dreaming.

I will probably make weekly to bi-weekly notes as I dont think I would have interesting things to write down every single day.
Since I opened the workbook I can say that I sadly have strayed a bit from my plan to get up at 7AM every day (though only by a few hours on occasion), yet I will just try to keep it up from now as it is a pretty drastic change to my sleep schedule.
My dream recall the last week has been okay I would say with me remembering everything from several dreams per night to only snippets of dreams which I mostly attribute to my alarm waking me up.
Im not really sure what I should do about the alarm at the moment except maybe trying to remain still when it wakes me up though that does prove to be difficult for now.
I think I will give a proper WBTB another go tonight, even though I'm always a bit worried that I will end up with insomnia after getting out of bed in the middle of the night or most notably while trying WILD as I just cant fall asleep while trying that and last time I made a WILD attempt I lay awake for over 3 hours until my alarm rang which wasnt particularly fun.

But before I go to bed now I shall check out the "looking for a dream" practice you've mentioned
Thanks a lot and sweet dreams!

On the new motivation question, no worries. I was basically looking for something to help you latch onto whenever motivation is reduced and you want to put some more power behind your goals. You may be close to your personal answer there in the probing that you did into that question.

I do think that regularly visiting and participating here on DV will help keep your mind on lucid dreaming so that you don't easily forget to keep some practices going even during busier times like exams. For situations like that you may just keep your dream journal going and try to remember to do some day practices when possible, perhaps a few minutes spent during a lunch break for example.

Bi-weekly notes sound sufficient, as long as you have a good memory that allows you to recall all the things that you are doing in relation to lucid dreaming during the time in between the notes. You can see on student Elaol's workbook that he was posting almost every day and was getting some very good results.

On the sleep schedule idea, I think getting to bed early enough to get enough sleep is more important than waking up at the same exact time every day. If you are able to get up at 7am every day it probably has some other waking life benefits though. Sleeping in a couple of times a week, perhaps on the weekends (while having a fairly regular sleep schedule the rest of the time), can help produce more chances to become lucid in those last couple of REM cycles before waking...especially when paired with WBTB.

For the alarm, perhaps set the alarm for 7:05am (5 minutes, 3 minutes after your intended waking, or whatever number of minutes sounds good to you) but tell yourself when you go to bed that you want to naturally wake up at 7am. You may have experienced this working in the past, perhaps on an occasion where you needed to get up for a big event. If you wake up naturally before the alarm goes off then you can lay still recalling your dreams and might even fall back to sleep an catch a quick lucid.

First of thank you for the quick reply fogelbise!
I suppose I might as well try to post as frequently as possible; should also help with keeping me as focused as possible even when university would otherwise keep me busy.

Well, my WBTB last night didnt really work out as intended since I apparently turned of my alarm at 5am, yet cant actually remember having done that; still had a nice side effect though, as I was drifting out of sleep every now and then which helped me have a nice clear dream with my recently departed dog.

Regarding lucid dreaming related practices I am doing doing reality checks during the day very regularly actually (usually 1-3 per hour), yet I sometimes find it very hard to properly focus on the idea that I actually might be dreaming and my mind drifts elsewhere. That usually results in me remembering after about 20 seconds that I was trying to RC and then I get annoyed at myself for not managing to focus.
To combat this tendency of my mind not being able to shut up with random thoughts that lead me astray from what I was trying to do, be it reality checking, attempting a WILD or even just falling asleep, I was thinking about maybe giving meditation a go.

On the sleep schedule idea, I think getting to bed early enough to get enough sleep is more important than waking up at the same exact time every day.

I would certainly agree with that, which is why I am usually going to bed at around 11pm every night to get about 8 hours of sleep. It certainly is better than the "sleep cycle" I had before that where I was sometimes going to bed from 11pm to 6 am, whatever I felt like at the time.

While I was sleeping in on the weekend for about 2 to 3 hours I noticed that I was getting very clear dreams so I will certainly follow your suggestion to do that from time to time.
The tip with setting my alarm 5 minutes later sounds great and I will try that tonight!

You're welcome. I appreciate the appreciation.

Originally Posted by Dionisos

...still had a nice side effect though, as I was drifting out of sleep every now and then which helped me have a nice clear dream with my recently departed dog.

That sounds like a very nice dream to have. Your dog could be a great dream sign even if you don't dream about your dog that much. It could trigger lucidity especially when paired with MILD before bed and/or at WBTB. You can repeat an autosuggestion like "The next time I see my dog I will realize I am dreaming." This is made all the more powerful when also using visualization of this dream or another clearly remembered dream about your dog, especially when done during WBTB.

Regarding lucid dreaming related practices I am doing doing reality checks during the day very regularly actually (usually 1-3 per hour), yet I sometimes find it very hard to properly focus on the idea that I actually might be dreaming and my mind drifts elsewhere. That usually results in me remembering after about 20 seconds that I was trying to RC and then I get annoyed at myself for not managing to focus.

3 per hour might be too tiring after a while, but once every hour or so (and more when you are feeling it) might be easier to maintain. I encourage you to stop and ponder the question before doing the RC. Perhaps look for dream signs around you, under the sheet, behind the door…with as much "wonder" as you can sustain. As far as getting annoyed about forgetting that you were RC'ing and remembering 20 seconds later…I recommend fostering positive emotions and thoughts: be proud that you remembered what you were doing after only 20 seconds and know that you can shorten that 20 seconds with practice.

To combat this tendency of my mind not being able to shut up with random thoughts that lead me astray from what I was trying to do, be it reality checking, attempting a WILD or even just falling asleep, I was thinking about maybe giving meditation a go.

I think that is a great idea. Since it is helpful towards many different aspects of everyday life, I would mentally mark that time as meditation for everyday use so that you don't begin to think of lucid dreaming practices as taking up too much of your time…just an idea, go with whatever feels right for you.

**Edit: I wanted to add that a focus on your breathing is a relatively easy, and great way to start playing with meditation. I think it is more helpful to think of it as play, something relaxing, rather than some rigid thing you have to "get right."

I would certainly agree with that, which is why I am usually going to bed at around 11pm every night to get about 8 hours of sleep. It certainly is better than the "sleep cycle" I had before that where I was sometimes going to bed from 11pm to 6 am, whatever I felt like at the time.

While I was sleeping in on the weekend for about 2 to 3 hours I noticed that I was getting very clear dreams so I will certainly follow your suggestion to do that from time to time.
The tip with setting my alarm 5 minutes later sounds great and I will try that tonight!

Sounds good

Partial Success today!
After overleeping for about 1 1/2 hours I had my first Lucid dream that didnt end after about 10 seconds!
I was walking around at home in the dark when I just randomly plugged my nose to do an RC and I first couldnt believe that I actually was dreaming.
Right after I noticed that I was dreaming the floor I was standing in became pitch black and I became worried that it would devolve into some kind of lucid nightmare because I felt very vulnerable for some reason. I wanted to change location and first tried to make a super jump through the ceiling to get out of the house but that failed because I was half panicking, but then I managed to change location twice only by visualising the scene chaning in front of my eyes.
It has to be noted that the dream was still very foggy because I wasnt lucid enough to remember to stabilize the dream or do something I had planned for this occasion (I heard that being called a layer 2 lucid dream before).
Well after changing into a city landscape with very intensive colours I found it full of strange futuristic cars and helicopters in the sky. At that point I, for some reason, walked around marking them for destruction with me swinging my hands around and pointing at them.
This was probably what made me loose my lucidity because at some point while doing that (or maybe even shortly before that), I completely forgot that I was dreaming and it devolved into a very weird but incredibly hilarious very vivid dream.
Well, long story short, it already somewhat paid off!

Your dog could be a great dream sign[...]

That's a wonderful idea and I can hardly believe that never crossed my mind since he already appeared a few times!
I will also try to maintain a positive attitude when remembering to be mindful while RCing.
Also I have to say that regularly writing in this workbook is very useful, espescially shortly before bed, as it focuses my mind on lucid dreaming before I get to sleep.

The attitude and focus on breathing you suggested for meditation also sounds like a very good way to keep it fairly frustration free, which is great!

Originally Posted by Dionisos

Partial Success today!
After overleeping for about 1 1/2 hours I had my first Lucid dream that didnt end after about 10 seconds!

Congratulations! Good job!

I became worried that it would devolve into some kind of lucid nightmare because I felt very vulnerable for some reason.

Do you know where you got this idea of a lucid nightmare? I really try to avoid reading some of the negative, fear-mongering ideas some people put on the internet. I personally haven't had any lucid nightmares that really scared me. The closest I got to it was the same night after hearing someone else mentioning lucid nightmares. I noticed the fear surfacing and I was able to turn the fear around which was very empowering! I talk about expectations throughout this thread: http://www.dreamviews.com/general-lu...-read-imo.html

Well after changing into a city landscape with very intensive colours I found it full of strange futuristic cars and helicopters in the sky.

This sounds like a nice scene!

That's a wonderful idea and I can hardly believe that never crossed my mind since he already appeared a few times!
I will also try to maintain a positive attitude when remembering to be mindful while RCing.
Also I have to say that regularly writing in this workbook is very useful, espescially shortly before bed, as it focuses my mind on lucid dreaming before I get to sleep.

So true. I realized multiple times that I had gotten away from doing some lucid dreaming activity before bed. I have always been pretty good about doing WBTB's and including lucid dream activities during WBTB, but I have found it very helpful to also do some before bed.

Originally Posted by fogelbise

Congratulations! Good job!

Thank you!

Do you know where you got this idea of a lucid nightmare? I really try to avoid reading some of the negative, fear-mongering ideas some people put on the internet. I personally haven't had any lucid nightmares that really scared me. The closest I got to it was the same night after hearing someone else mentioning lucid nightmares. I noticed the fear surfacing and I was able to turn the fear around which was very empowering! I talk about expectations throughout this thread: Something Every Newbie Should Read IMO

Hmm, I would say that it mostly stems from my own expectations that originate from a lack of experience with beeing in a lucid dream. Since you could do absolutely anything it only seemed to me like I might have to "censor my own thoughts" in a dream to not accidentally "summon" something that I didnt want to have there.
I already have had experiences several times where I was in a regular dream in a spooky environment and thought: "Oh damn, something bad is gonna pop out any second for sure.. Better get ready!" ... and then nothing at all happened.
I can't remember having had an actual nightmare since I was a child (I'd say at least 8 years ago); at that time I had regular nightmares though which I can still remember today which made me scared of my dreams at that point in time. I also had reccuring dreams where I was walking around without beeing able to see while hearing threatening sounds around me and just beeing scared; also I often dreamed in black and white.
During that time I actually often knew that I was dreaming (but didnt know that lucid dreaming was a thing) and I sadly only used that knowledge to try to wake up from my dreams.
That beeing said its not like I dont have dreams with ghouls and ghosts today, the only difference is that I now find them really fun and I usually win in some way.

That thread you linked was very enlightening! I also noticed myself that forcing positive thoughts and expectations can be extremely powerful if, one can manage it.

Originally Posted by Dionisos

Thank you!
...
"Oh damn, something bad is gonna pop out any second for sure.. Better get ready!" ... and then nothing at all happened.

You're welcome!

Since nothing happened in those cases, I would keep that fact in mind whenever you think about fears popping up in lucid dreams. …Or just let the idea of lucid nightmares fall from your mind altogether. As far as thoughts popping up uncontrollably, meditation is good for that and that focus on breathing we discussed is a great way to start.

On the positive thoughts and expectations idea, I recommend thinking of it more like massaging those positive thoughts in, rather than forcing them in. This lucid dreaming practice has helped me to catch much of my negative self talk and correct it. As a quick side note in that arena: I have come to love the self-question "What would a wise man do (or choose)?" when tempted by things that I know are not good for me (not really using for lucid dreams so far, just for avoiding overeating or eating poorly).

Originally Posted by fogelbise

Since nothing happened in those cases, I would keep that fact in mind whenever you think about fears popping up in lucid dreams. …Or just let the idea of lucid nightmares fall from your mind altogether. As far as thoughts popping up uncontrollably, meditation is good for that and that focus on breathing we discussed is a great way to start.

Yeah I will do my best to fight these uncontrolled thoughts. As for the fear I had in my dream I think it can mostly be attributed to the fact that I "wasnt completely there" so to say, meaning that I just didnt think the same way I normally would (I very rarely get scared).
As for meditation the last few days didnt work out so well because I was constantly pushing it back for hours until I had to go to bed. To deal with this I will set out a specific time every day where I will (hopefully) meditate. I'll just have to take a look at my schedule to seek out the best time for that.

On the positive thoughts and expectations idea, I recommend thinking of it more like massaging those positive thoughts in, rather than forcing them in. This lucid dreaming practice has helped me to catch much of my negative self talk and correct it. As a quick side note in that arena: I have come to love the self-question "What would a wise man do (or choose)?" when tempted by things that I know are not good for me (not really using for lucid dreams so far, just for avoiding overeating or eating poorly).

This is very important advice I feel!
Espescially the "What would a wise man do (or choose)?" seems incredibly helpful since it forces you to argue with yourself to a certain degree which can stop you from making hasty decisions based on subconsciously ignoring a certain aspect.

Otherwise nothing particularly noteworthy has happened the past few days which is why I didnt post into this workbook.
The only things I suppose I could note is that I noticed that my dreams did attain a strong visual clarity the past few days and my dream recall is pretty good with me remembering at least 1 dream every night but usually at least one very long dream and several few snippits from other dreams (for example I remember that I somehow dreamt of this very workbook).
Also in my dream last night I had the weird experience of me punching the air next to a dream character because he was an annoying pretentious twat. My dream self than, in my thoughts justified this action with the fact that I was dreaming and he couldnt do anything about it (he didnt react at all), yet I wasnt lucid and it was the only time that the subject of dreaming was in any way part of the dream itself.

Well, what do you know I actually had another (very short) lucid dream tonight!
I'm currently making more progress in the past week than in the last few years combined

The dream was in a very early REM-cycle though which made me forgot it even happened until I suddenly remembered a few minutes after waking up. Most of the dream is sadly lost to the depths of sleep, however I do know that I did remember I wanted to increase my dream control while in the dream so I commandingly said "clarity" while looking at my hands and my vision did become notably less foggy, though I can only remember how clear I could see my hands; everything else in the room was like it was glowing with bright white light so I couldnt see details at all.
I also remember trying to push a finger through my hand which didnt work out for some reason.
I became lucid while randomly RCing and plugging my nose and breathing. The dream location was incredibly boring and mundane though as it was simply the bathroom at my mothers house. I vaguely remember that something happenend with talking cats shortly after my failed finger-through-palm test but I cant for the hell of it remember what exactly.

Originally Posted by Dionisos

My dream self than, in my thoughts justified this action with the fact that I was dreaming and he couldnt do anything about it (he didnt react at all), yet I wasnt lucid and it was the only time that the subject of dreaming was in any way part of the dream itself.

When I read this I was preparing to say how this is a good sign that you will become lucid soon, and sure enough, I see your next post.

Originally Posted by Dionisos

Well, what do you know I actually had another (very short) lucid dream tonight!
I'm currently making more progress in the past week than in the last few years combined

Awesome! Great job Dionisos!

I vaguely remember that something happenend with talking cats shortly after my failed finger-through-palm test but I cant for the hell of it remember what exactly.

It is good that you noted this though, writing it down. Including vague memories and feelings can sometimes help you remember more of the dream. I definitely recommend putting in extra work jotting down as much as I can for lucids and also interesting non-lucids. Great job capturing the dream recall even if it wasn't immediate!

Originally Posted by fogelbise

Awesome! Great job Dionisos!
It is good that you noted this though, writing it down. Including vague memories and feelings can sometimes help you remember more of the dream. I definitely recommend putting in extra work jotting down as much as I can for lucids and also interesting non-lucids. Great job capturing the dream recall even if it wasn't immediate!

Thank you!

Yes, over the last week now I have pretty much been writing down 1-2 dreams per night (I mostly use an app I have for it on my phone so I can do it when I get ready to leave the house or on the train to university) and my dream recall and my dream-vividness went through the roof! And then often through the day when something particular happens, someone mentions something related or just completely randomely I suddenly remember scenes from dreams I must have had through the night.

What I also found to be very helpful is that after I wake up (I have quite a bit of time left until I have to actually leave to university usually) I set a 30 to 45 minute timer on my phone and get back to sleep (and when the timer rings I sometimes set another one and get back to sleep).
This form of "bootleg-WBTB" has resultet in amazingly vivid dreams for me since I directly wake up from the REM-phase and I am already more awake since I had to turn off my alarm once.
This is also how I got my first longer lucid dream a few days ago!

Very nice! You are already finding your own little tricks and adjustments. Keep that up with the various dream practices and you will be improving by leaps and bounds in multiple areas!

Well first of Merry Christmas!

Sadly I have been slacking very heavily regarding my workbook and Lucid dreaming in general. Almost every day leading up to now I have been like: "oh well tomorrow I'll write into my workbook. I know I said the same thing yesterday but tomorrow will be the day for sure!"
Well, today I finally did it again and I will do my hardest to keep it up again!

Regarding lucid dreaming in general I have not been able to properly get meditation going because of this procrastination problem. I will do my best to get that going as well.
I have been doing my reality checks and I have been doing them fairly well and often enough I would say but recently I have a problem with really "believing" that I could be dreaming. Not entirely sure what the cause of that is.
My sleep cycle has also worsened with me going to bed at very late (or early depending on how you look at it) times and sleeping in very late.
I did notice a increase in remembered dreams on some days and a complete lack of remembered dreams on others.

One thing I noticed actually a long time ago is, that in a very (and I mean about 75% I'd say) many of my dreams I either tend to think that I am in a video game or I utilize some sort of feature that does not exists in real life but in a game (like pressing a button on a key board or respawning after I die).
On the one hand this has made it incredibly hard for me to actually notice that I am dreaming because I tend to instantly rationalize everything away with the thought that I am in a game, but on the other hand if I could manage to establish this as a dream sign this would be insanely powerful.
Though since I play video games basically daily I have no idea how I should turn this into a dream sign because on some days I would literally have to sit there all day while I'm on my computer having to think about whether I'm dreaming or not. Any possible ideas on that maybe?

You are already finding your own little tricks and adjustments. Keep that up with the various dream practices and you will be improving by leaps and bounds in multiple areas!

I'll do my best to get to that point! :p

Though since I play video games basically daily I have no idea how I should turn this into a dream sign because on some days I would literally have to sit there all day while I'm on my computer having to think about whether I'm dreaming or not. Any possible ideas on that maybe?

I think if is less important to remember to RC during the day for a situation like this and that the key is instead doing MILD before bed and at WBTB where you visualize being IN the game and realizing you are dreaming and then completing some goals. Let me know if you need more ideas.

Originally Posted by fogelbise

I think if is less important to remember to RC during the day for a situation like this and that the key is instead doing MILD before bed and at WBTB where you visualize being IN the game and realizing you are dreaming and then completing some goals. Let me know if you need more ideas.

Thank you I would very much like some more ideas on this issue.
I had already though about using this in MILD, yet the problem is that I usually dont dream of a specific game but rather I dream of whatever and I utilize features of video games in the dream as if it were completely normal.
That can be different things, for example what I can remember from the top of my head: using keyboard to start an action or write something in a "chat", respawning or loading a save after death, walking around in a level editor where I can change parts of the dream world, build things with some form of menu system , not feeling pain and remaining calm in the most horrifying situations because its all "a game" or even "quickloading" when I notice I screwed up so I dont have to die again and so on.
How could I use that in MILD properly? Just saying "I realize I am dreaming when I do something game-like" doesn't seem specific enough to actually trigger that in the dream itself.

In other news, two days ago after I was woken up briefly and went back to sleep I suddenly realized I was dreaming, though I completely forgot what the reason was. I have a shadowy memory of something telling me I believe.
I'm not sure though if I only dreamt that I was lucid since I didnt do any reality checks whatsoever, yet looking back it really felt like I knew that I was dreaming and I believe I even tried to stabilize the dream and thought about what I wanted to do in such an occasion.
Sadly I forgot most of the dream because I kept on sleeping for a few hours longer after that dream ended, though I noticed that the dream I had after this one was insanely vivid visually speaking.

From my experience, the most important thing is visualizing the moment of becoming lucid. Sometimes I will get almost the same scenario that I had in my visualization but usually it is quite a different scenario but a very similar realization feeling as in my visualization. Since most of your dreams are gamelike then ideally you would use a gamelike dream from the same night or the prior night that is still fresh and vivid in your memory. You would be imagining/visualizing that you're back in that same dream and this time you realize that you are dreaming, perhaps noticing the gamelike quality that isn't possible in waking life, at least not in the direct way that you are experiencing it in these dreams. If your most vivid dream isn't gamelike, no worries, use it anyway and just imagine noticing something else like "why would I be here?" Does that make sense? WBTB is the biggest boost for this MILD method of induction.

Congratulations on your latest lucidity! It sounds like you feel you were most likely lucid. If you want to be harder on yourself for any reason you could log it as a lower level lucid perhaps. Keep it up!

Originally Posted by fogelbise

From my experience, the most important thing is visualizing the moment of becoming lucid. Sometimes I will get almost the same scenario that I had in my visualization but usually it is quite a different scenario but a very similar realization feeling as in my visualization. Since most of your dreams are gamelike then ideally you would use a gamelike dream from the same night or the prior night that is still fresh and vivid in your memory. You would be imagining/visualizing that you're back in that same dream and this time you realize that you are dreaming, perhaps noticing the gamelike quality that isn't possible in waking life, at least not in the direct way that you are experiencing it in these dreams.

They way you describe it that definitely seems like something that could work really well if I can manage to do it correctly!
After new years eve I will get my sleep cycle back in order and WBTB more often to create the best condition for successful MILDs.
One problem I notice whenever I try MILDs with mantras or something similiar is, that after a certain point I still repeat the sentence in my head over and over again but I dont even notice I'm doing it anymore because I shifted focus to other thoughs entirely which "run" seperately but take all my attention.

Congratulations on your latest lucidity! It sounds like you feel you were most likely lucid. If you want to be harder on yourself for any reason you could log it as a lower level lucid perhaps. Keep it up!

Thank you, I'll do my best!

Originally Posted by Dionisos

One problem I notice whenever I try MILDs with mantras or something similiar is, that after a certain point I still repeat the sentence in my head over and over again but I dont even notice I'm doing it anymore because I shifted focus to other thoughs entirely which "run" seperately but take all my attention.

I wouldn't worry about that too much, it tends to be a sign that you are drifting towards sleep - which is great. Since you are noticing that this is happening, this is also good so that you can catch it. At that point you acknowledge these new thoughts and then either redirect your attention towards your MILD (earlier in the back to bed/back to sleep process) or if you are ready to go to sleep just let any thoughts run and carry you off to sleep.

Here is a nice, short description of Laberge's MILD tips: http://www.dreamviews.com/lucid-expe...ml#post2160952

Originally Posted by fogelbise

I wouldn't worry about that too much, it tends to be a sign that you are drifting towards sleep - which is great. Since you are noticing that this is happening, this is also good so that you can catch it. At that point you acknowledge these new thoughts and then either redirect your attention towards your MILD (earlier in the back to bed/back to sleep process) or if you are ready to go to sleep just let any thoughts run and carry you off to sleep.

Okay first off let me say, thank you for the continued guidance.

I have been trying this the past few days now, though have been met with crushing failure because of one simple thing currently severely hampering my progress.
Firstly let me say, that while my sleep cycle is nothing to emulate at this point, I still do remember roughly 1 dream per night (though not with as much clarity as I would like).

Im not entirely sure how to properly explain my current problem but Ill give it a shot.
I somehow completely lack focus and imagination. I just cant properly focus on my reality checks, I cant properly fathom the thought that this could potentially be a dream right this moment.
I plug my nose and try to breath or look at my hands, but I just cant properly get my mind around the concept of "is this a dream" for some reason.
I hope that made sense.
Also as an added bonus to this comes that I cant visualize anything at all. I think I can say its like my mind goes "well, whatever" and then moves on to whatever else I could think about every few seconds. No focus as I've said.

The only idea of what the reason for this could be is my horrible sleeping pattern, otherwise I have no idea what the reason for this could be.

Originally Posted by Dionisos

Okay first off let me say, thank you for the continued guidance.
...
Im not entirely sure how to properly explain my current problem but Ill give it a shot.
I somehow completely lack focus and imagination. I just cant properly focus on my reality checks, I cant properly fathom the thought that this could potentially be a dream right this moment.
I plug my nose and try to breath or look at my hands, but I just cant properly get my mind around the concept of "is this a dream" for some reason.
I hope that made sense.
Also as an added bonus to this comes that I cant visualize anything at all. I think I can say its like my mind goes "well, whatever" and then moves on to whatever else I could think about every few seconds. No focus as I've said.

The only idea of what the reason for this could be is my horrible sleeping pattern, otherwise I have no idea what the reason for this could be.

No worries, thank you for continually showing your appreciation.

I see two separate challenges here. The first one you mention is truly questioning whether you could be dreaming during RC's. I think most everyone experiences this, especially earlier in their lucid dreaming practices. Some "natural" lucid dreamers that developed their abilities due to nightmares found it necessary (or perhaps habitual) to regularly check if they are in a scenario where something terrifying may happen at any minute like in their nightmares. You can think of them as being on high alert, fearful that they could be in a nightmare at any moment. For the rest of us, I think we just have to do our best to consider whether this could be a dream. *You can ask yourself: "How do I know this isn't a dream right now? Well because I am sitting at work…but do I remember how I got here? When was the last time I remember being in bed?" Look around and scanning the room or your environment for anything that looks out of place or especially shiny or beautiful or anything.

Basically you do it as sincerely as you can until you start to notice more and more moments where you realize that almost ANY MOMENT COULD BE A DREAM. Did you question that odd dream that you had…no, but it was indeed a dream…so how do you know that you are not dreaming right now? Again this can be many months into your practice before it really starts to set in, depending on your focus, and:

The second challenge you mentioned was focus. This is where meditation will help greatly. Again, I highly recommend starting with a focus on your breathing throughout the day. You'd be surprised how great this is for stress reduction. You will quickly notice that you are breathing shallowly when stressed out and then you open up your breathing and feel much better.


**I am going to share something quite special that is rather simple, so anyone reading this should try this! I am going to try to keep this simple which may make it easier to absorb and put to work for you, but let me know if you have questions:

1. Picture a simple object with eyes closed or open, whichever works better for you. A plain white wall would probably be an easier backdrop for open eyed visualization. It can be an object of your choosing that you are very familiar with but if you have trouble thinking of one, lets say it is a simple red square, basically 2 dimensional square or a square cut out of a piece of red paper for example.

2. Now release that image - let it go! Pay attention to that feeling of release. Keep trying until you become familiar with that feeling of release. You will bring up that feeling of release however you choose to initiate it anytime that you need it. Use this exercise until you find your own way. I now do it with a simple breath: taking in one good full breath and then activating that feeling of release as I let go of that breath (not pushing the breath out, just letting go of the breath).

This can be like a mini-meditation session and it has so many benefits like allowing you to refocus on what you want to by releasing all of the distracting thoughts bouncing around in your head, releasing tension and stress, getting to the here and now, mindfulness, not allowing emotions to control you, and my favorite side effect of noticing how much more beauty can be found all around us in all of the things that we were tuning out by being lost in thoughts of the past or present - when everything real is actually here in the present! I'm sure there are other benefits that I am forgetting and have experienced as well as ones still yet to experience.

Since you mention the challenge of quickly losing focus, for this exercise you might want to sit down and write down a brief reminder of what you are doing. That way anytime your mind drifts off, you will see your written note and refocus on this really short exercise. By sitting in place, you can't get away from the reminder note.

I learned the release technique from C. A. von der Mehden and added some tips above.

I see two separate challenges here. The first one you mention is truly questioning whether you could be dreaming during RC's.

Yeah I'm constantly having my ups and downs with that. I'm also pretty sure that the more vivid memories of former dreams I have the better my ability is to reality check.

The second challenge you mentioned was focus. This is where meditation will help greatly. Again, I highly recommend starting with a focus on your breathing throughout the day. You'd be surprised how great this is for stress reduction. You will quickly notice that you are breathing shallowly when stressed out and then you open up your breathing and feel much better.

Started doing this in the evening now and I have to say that it really does feel very relaxing
I'll try to keep that a regular activity from now on.

2. Now release that image - let it go! Pay attention to that feeling of release.

Okay, I get that this feeling of release is the main focus of this exercise and I get what we are trying to achieve here in the end, though I'm not entirely sure what exactly you mean with "feeling of release".
Would it be possible to elaborate on that aspect a bit further? When I just dismiss a visualization no specific "feeling" comes to mind.

Originally Posted by Dionisos

Yeah I'm constantly having my ups and downs with that. I'm also pretty sure that the more vivid memories of former dreams I have the better my ability is to reality check.

Yes, agreed. Vivid memories of dreams and lucid dreams along with the lucid experiences that you will have will certainly help with this. Any dreams or lucid dreams that you have in the future that are borne from mundane/everyday scenarios are particularly useful to keep in mind.

Started doing this in the evening now and I have to say that it really does feel very relaxing
I'll try to keep that a regular activity from now on.

Glad to hear.

Okay, I get that this feeling of release is the main focus of this exercise and I get what we are trying to achieve here in the end, though I'm not entirely sure what exactly you mean with "feeling of release".
Would it be possible to elaborate on that aspect a bit further? When I just dismiss a visualization no specific "feeling" comes to mind.

It's more than dismissing the image. If you aren't getting a sensation of relaxation or a wonderful stillness along with the release of the image, then I would suggest continuing with the breathing work and then come back to this exercise periodically to see if you get a different experience. Perhaps it is an exercise that requires some pre-requisite experiences. I do highly recommend returning to it at some point though!

*Edit: I just wanted to add something on the release, at least until I think of a better way to explain it. Instead of thinking of it as dismissing the image, perhaps think visualize a red balloon that carries inside of it all of your thoughts, worries, stresses, everything. The wind is trying to pull it away from you and you decide to just let it go. Let me know if that gives you a different sensation.