Thread: Broth's Workbook

Very true. I'm not worried about it. It helped to look at experienced member's dream journals and see their own varying levels of recall. BTW, I love reading both yours and FryingMan's dream journal. Both are a source of inspiration for me.

Asleep: 12:00
WBTB: 5:30, sometime before 8:00, 8:00
Awake: 8:16
Dreams: 1 + a small fragment
Lucids: 1

1. I am woken up at 5:30 by T's work alarm. I feel myself "come up" out of a dream and all I can grab hold of/remember is this: Man speaking: "I encourage you to seek validation..."

2. I am leaving a food/smoothie shop with 3 friends. Myself and 3 others get in a car. At first, Ryan is driving. But then it turns out Gabe is driving. Both are friends of mine from college. The parking spot that we are in is small and there must be cars close behind us. Gabe pulls out and has to pull forward again to try to turn out of the space. He has a small car, and he gets VERY close to the car in front of us. We all tell him he's going to hit the other car but he tries to pull even closer and ends up hitting the car. I thought he was going to drive off but he parks and walks inside. He comes out with several pink slips of paper and makes us get out and write down what possessions we have in our pockets for when the police come to write up a report? I decide this is taking too long and decide to call an uber. I try to look up where I'm going and the app says an uber is going to be 75 cents, but I don't remember where I was going. I think it was a zoo but I'm not 100%. I thought about how I had to get home soon so I could "go back to sleep because it was almost time to wake up". (Note, the night before I had no recall so recall was on my mind)

3. The start of this dream is fragmented. My co-worker and another unknown person are sitting at a desk in front of computers. My co-worker is talking to the other person about not sharing some type of information with his mother? (Memory blank) Now I am lying in my normal bed. And somehow I'm communicating with my co-worker and the other person. They help people have lucid dreams? While lying down I experienced sleep paralysis (in my dream) and so I told them about it. Then I laid back down and experienced SP again. This time, I tried to "raise my dream hand" to do a nose plug RC to see if I could "enter" a lucid dream. In my dream, I thought I was raising my "(dream) waking hand". But, I was able to breathe through my plugged nose! I became lucid! At this point, I forgot all about my co-worker and the other person. I was still in my normal bed room. It was bright like there was light being let in through the window. I thought about how bad it would be if I believed I was lucid dreaming and tried to jump out of a window only for it to be real. So I did another nose-plug RC and looked at my hands. The nose-plug RC worked again and my hands were translucent up to the fingertips, which were darker than normal. I looked around. The room was realistic and detailed. After a moment, I woke up.

My last two lucid experiences ended immediately when I became lucid. This time, I remained in the dream for a little while.
I know that sometimes when you dream about laying in bed and sleeping, it can lead to having a "nested" dream about experiencing a lucid dream. But I believe this was a real (semi?) lucid dream because when I woke up there was no "pause of consciousness" and I was very aware of having just been lucid in my dream. The funny thing is, my alarm went off before the lucid at 8:00am which is the time I normally wake up. I debated getting up for the day but I decided to go back to sleep because I wanted to recall at least 1 more dream. And I woke up at 8:16 having just had a lucid dream!

Yay, congrats!

Originally Posted by broth

I thought about how bad it would be if I believed I was lucid dreaming and tried to jump out of a window only for it to be real. So I did another nose-plug RC and looked at my hands. The nose-plug RC worked again and my hands were translucent up to the fingertips, which were darker than normal.

There's no doubt in my mind that this level of reflection on your state (waking or dreaming?) points to this being a bonafide lucid dream. Congratulations Broth! Don't worry about the length of the lucidity, it will get better with time and also will start to come earlier in your sleep cycles as well. Some people use an alarm like this set before their normal time to get up to increase the chances of lucidity. I don't use it myself, but it may be good aide for you.

I am very happy for you!

Thanks guys! I'm very encouraged by my progress so far.

Asleep: 12:15
WBTB: 5:30, 6:30, 7:47
Awake: 8:30
Dreams: 1 + fragment
Lucids: 0

1. I walked to a gym with a pool in it. There I joined a woman's water basketball game? There was one other guy playing and he was on our team. While playing defense, I experienced that sluggish responsiveness that we all know in dreams but it did not tip off my awareness. I found it difficult to move my arms to block shots or steal passes. At the end of the game, somehow I got my phone wet. I wanted to take the battery out but I didn't have time so I set it on the ledge. Then after the game I won player of the game. The other guy who was playing won player of the month? and they had him give a speech. He stood up there silent for a while. I think I woke up before he gave the speech.

2. I remember 2 HHs/dreamlets occurred after my WBTB at 5:30. I had been laying in bed for a while repeating MILD procedure and somewhat struggling to fall asleep. At one point I heard children laughing/crying. At another point, I remember seeing a computer screen next to me on the bed. I was scrolling through but I thought about how the screen's light can keep you awake. Of course, there was never a computer near my bed.

I woke up several times knowing that I had just been dreaming (and even having fleeting sensations/images/words, etc...) but any memory I had evaporated instantly. Very frustrating. I hope my recall goes back to where it was when I was remembering 2-5 dreams per night. I also experienced slight insomnia tonight. I'm still so encouraged by the other night's lucid that I'm not worried about it. Just going to stay consistent in my practice.

Originally Posted by broth

2. I remember 2 HHs/dreamlets occurred after my WBTB at 5:30. I had been laying in bed for a while repeating MILD procedure and somewhat struggling to fall asleep. At one point I heard children laughing/crying. At another point, I remember seeing a computer screen next to me on the bed. I was scrolling through but I thought about how the screen's light can keep you awake. Of course, there was never a computer near my bed.

I would take this as a good sign that you are maintaining some awareness while starting to fall asleep. If you notice things like the children laughing and you have strong awareness, try not to get excited or anything…try to just passively note it something like "ok, HH's" or just "HH's."

I woke up several times knowing that I had just been dreaming (and even having fleeting sensations/images/words, etc...) but any memory I had evaporated instantly. Very frustrating.

That happens…try to avoid feeling frustrated and keep positive thoughts in relation to dreaming and lucid dreaming. If you've given your best in reaching for the recall perhaps just conclude with "it happens sometimes, even to fogelbise and FryingMan" haha…it's true!

I'm still so encouraged by the other night's lucid that I'm not worried about it. Just going to stay consistent in my practice.

Perfect!

Originally Posted by fogelbise

I would take this as a good sign that you are maintaining some awareness while starting to fall asleep. If you notice things like the children laughing and you have strong awareness, try not to get excited or anything…try to just passively note it something like "ok, HH's" or just "HH's."

I'll give that a shot!

That happens…try to avoid feeling frustrated and keep positive thoughts in relation to dreaming and lucid dreaming. If you've given your best in reaching for the recall perhaps just conclude with "it happens sometimes, even to fogelbise and FryingMan" haha…it's true!

Haha I know, I'll try to keep that in mind. Thanks for keeping everything positive! I feel like the routine I have now is sustainable. Doesn't interfere with daily life too much, nor with my sleep. And I feel confident that it will lead to regular lucids!

Asleep: 12:45
WBTB: 3:30, 5:30, 7:30
Awake: 8:24
Techs: WBTB + MILD (and a little SSILD to help fall asleep during WBTB)
Dreams: 3
Lucids: 1

1. (FA) I "woke up" and looked at the time on my phone. I then decided to move my alarm one hour later for WBTB because of how late it was already. Then I woke up for real.

2. I am in a room with my dad and one of my parent's family friends, Jackie. It is night-time, during a WBTB. I am reading a night-time WBTB recording on (dreamviews?) which has notes from everyone's WBTB from that night. Jackie and my dad are eating turkey burgers.

3. During this dream, two people were present who I genuinely thought were friend's of T IWL. I thought we had seen a movie with them. I even have memories of being at the movie theater with them. Upon waking, I know we've never met these people before. T's two friends, who I apparently remember seeing a movie with, came over to our house early in the morning. They were dressed 'uniquely', kinda metrosexual or hipster. (Trying not be offensive, I just seriously don't know anything about fashion lol) They laid down in our bed with us and we all tried to get some sleep. Then their other friends came over as well. There were three of them, but I remember this one big guy. He came over and shook my hand while I was lying in bed. Then he leaned down and gave T an awkward hug where they were patting each other's backs for a socially awkward amount of time. After this dream, I think I immediately experienced the following FA.

4. (FA) I "woke up" in my normal bed. I stayed laying down for a second and then realized that I should write that previous dream down. I turned over and grabbed my penlight, but couldn't find my tag notebook. I wasn't thinking clearly because I thought, "I wonder if that big guy knocked it down." I looked on the nightstand and the floor. Then I thought, that's weird my tag notebook really should be here. Am I dreaming? I did a nose-plug RC and before I even completed the action, I just knew I was dreaming. The nose-plug RC worked and I could breathe. At that point, I was lying on my side but I felt total sleep paralysis. I couldn't move. My normal reaction to SP took over and I tried to move my head/neck. I then woke up.

Commentary - I did a little autosuggestion before bed but that's it. I woke up a couple times during the night, once to use restroom and once to my alarm. I didn't do any induction techniques during these awakenings. Then, T came home and got in bed at 7:30am which caused me to wake up. She also let the cats in. I laid there for a while and did MILD. Then I eventually got up to kick the cats out. I couldn't fall back asleep so I decided to try SSILD as a cure for insomnia. I guess it worked, although I was still up for a little while. I fell asleep and had those last two dreams, during the last of which I became lucid!

I used to freak out at no recall nights. Freaking out is the worst thing: it can set in motion "dreaming performance anxiety" that can keep a damper on you recall. One must have a quiet, calm, happy, dreamy mind, reaching ever so gently for those memories, letting them come to you. You have to trust yourself that they will come. And enjoy the process, and love all your dreams. If you establish a consistent habit of immediately reaching for recall the very first thing you do after waking up, and of course a life habit of paying careful attention to all your experiences, your dream recall will skyrocket over time.

Very nice! It sounds like you had an FA DILD after doing SSILD! Another LD for you!

Originally Posted by broth

I just knew I was dreaming. The nose-plug RC worked and I could breathe. At that point, I was lying on my side but I felt total sleep paralysis. I couldn't move. My normal reaction to SP took over and I tried to move my head/neck. I then woke up.

I don't think this was sleep paralysis since you were able to move your arm to do the nose plug RC. I think it was sluggishness that sometimes comes with FA's. Sometimes it feels like it is hard to move, to roll out of bed and start interacting with your dream. I had two recent occurrences and had two different solutions, the first one was a conscious solution to just float up off of the bed instead of trying hard to roll out which sometimes wakes me up or throws me into a(nother) convincing FA. The 2nd solution I don't remember influencing but the bed just angled down and I slid off of the bed. When rolling or sliding onto to the floor, sometimes I have to crawl until I can walk.

On the other hand, you do have to really want it. So sometimes I would refuse to get out of bed before I slept and recalled at least one dream . As in all things in this hobby, you must find the balance between focus, effort, intention ("make it happen") vs.relaxation ("let it happen.")

Originally Posted by FryingMan

I used to freak out at no recall nights. Freaking out is the worst thing: it can set in motion "dreaming performance anxiety" that can keep a damper on you recall. One must have a quiet, calm, happy, dreamy mind, reaching ever so gently for those memories, letting them come to you. You have to trust yourself that they will come. And enjoy the process, and love all your dreams. If you establish a consistent habit of immediately reaching for recall the very first thing you do after waking up, and of course a life habit of paying careful attention to all your experiences, your dream recall will skyrocket over time.

Great advice all around. I've only been practicing for 3 weeks so I'm definitely still working on finding that balance between effort and relaxation. I'm sure it's a continuous process throughout one's practice.

Originally Posted by fogelbise

I don't think this was sleep paralysis since you were able to move your arm to do the nose plug RC. I think it was sluggishness that sometimes comes with FA's. Sometimes it feels like it is hard to move, to roll out of bed and start interacting with your dream. I had two recent occurrences and had two different solutions, the first one was a conscious solution to just float up off of the bed instead of trying hard to roll out which sometimes wakes me up or throws me into a(nother) convincing FA. The 2nd solution I don't remember influencing but the bed just angled down and I slid off of the bed. When rolling or sliding onto to the floor, sometimes I have to crawl until I can walk.

Thanks for the response. It's weird that this 'sensation' has happened twice now. I'm glad to hear you've experienced it before as well. And I know I've read of other members on this forum also experiencing this "sluggishness" when becoming lucid while laying on their bed. Next time I'll try the other techniques of rising up off the bed, or rolling off, and crawling. As you said, my lucid's will increase in time as I become more comfortable.

Asleep: 3:30?
WBTB: A couple times
Awake: 11ish
Techs: None
Dreams: 2 + 1 short fragment
Lucids: 0

1. Fragment - T's friend Page is talking about losing weight through eating...

2I am living in a dorm with T. I'm talking with my mom about us getting an apartment together once we graduate college. T and I never knew each other in college. The food was really bad. We also had no place to lay down. I remember trying to drape a shirt/sheet across a hallway to lay down on or something?

3. I am on a police training compound. For some reason, the FBI comes to investigate the compound. 1 agent is killed. I remember wishing I had a gun. I've been researching which gun to buy IWL. I remember scenes of running away/being chased.

Notes - last night was T's birthday and we threw a big party. I was very drunk and didn't get to sleep till around 3:30ish so I didn't practice any induction techniques during the night. However, I did keep up my SAT and RC's during most of the party, if a little less frequently than usual.

Asleep: 11:45
WBTB: 4:04, 5:00, 7:30
Awake: 8:30
Techs: WBTB + MILD and SSILD
NLDs: 1 + a fragment
Lucids: 2

1. Fragment - Woke up with the image of drinks in champagne glasses

2. I had insomnia after last awakening. I did MILD and then SSILD to help me fall asleep. I'm not sure if this is an FA because I didn't realize I ever fell asleep till after. T said I was keeping her awake. At one point, I started typing loudly on a computer? She got mad and grabbed her pillow and said she was going to sleep in the guest room. She said, "I can't afford to not get sleep before work". After she left, I got out of bed to use the restroom and I brought my phone with me for light. The screen was very dim. I tried to adjust the brightness but it still wouldn't get much brighter. Then, I heard male voices coming from above me. But we live in a single-story house so I knew there couldn't be anyone else near-by. As I was leaving the bathroom, I thought both these things were weird so I did a nose-plug RC. I was still fully convinced I was awake, so when I could still breathe through my plugged nose, I rationalized it by saying that maybe I didn't hold my nose fully closed. I tried again. I could still breathe. I became lucid! Suddenly, the whole dream started to vibrate or shake. I tried to stay calm but I woke up and used the restroom.

3. (FA) Again, I had insomnia. Eventually I must have fallen asleep. I'm laying awake in my normal bed. Now, the bedroom door is open which is unusual as I sleep with it closed. I got up for some reason and "it felt like a dream". As I walked out of the bedroom, I did a nose-plug RC and became lucid. I tried to remain calm. I walked a few steps in the hall, then remembered to try looking at the ground. The floor was our fake-wood. I then looked at the wall and saw a light switch. I got up close to it and it was very detailed and impressive. After a few more steps down the hall, the imagery started to fade. I tried to spin. I remained in a black void for a few seconds after which I woke up. I felt rushed/pressured during the lucid portion.

4. I'm watching a sci-fi movie that I've apparently seen before at an unknown house. There are cats roaming around. At one point, I let a cat in from outside and it starts hissing. I think to myself that maybe it is rabid. I let in another cat and it seems friendly but has long claws. It is playing with me, but comes close to scratching my arms several times. I remember one of my co-workers was present in the house. I then walk into a main area and see my mom, except she is black. (we're both white). Somehow I rationalize this as real LOL. And when I hug her I see she has a "new" tattoo on her back, in addition to one already there. It is for her mother (who is still alive). My mom would never get a tattoo!)

Notes - Today was a great night. Two lucids and the 2nd one was the longest I've had so far (though still only 30sec - 1min). I feel so confident and excited! I did experience some insomnia which is frustrating and caused me to lose out on some sleep. Also I find it funny how I missed my mom changing races and getting a tattoo lol. As always, thank to fogelbise and FryingMan for all your help. I know this workbook, as well as your advice and encouragement, is largely responsible for keeping me motivated and for developing a sustainable practice!

Excellent, congrats! I understand that rushed feeling, but from the experts, (e.g., Sensei), he found that his lucids started getting quite a bit longer when he stopped worrying about waking up. The best thing after a few seconds of a "I just got lucid" ritual (asserting that "my physical body is asleep in bed and this is entirely a mental lucid dream experience" really helps raise lucidity and stabilization) is to dive right into LD goals. Don't stress about dream length: if you have enough time to look around and interact with the dream environment a little, that's quite a nice length in the beginning.

Originally Posted by FryingMan

Excellent, congrats! I understand that rushed feeling, but from the experts, (e.g., Sensei), he found that his lucids started getting quite a bit longer when he stopped worrying about waking up. The best thing after a few seconds of a "I just got lucid" ritual (asserting that "my physical body is asleep in bed and this is entirely a mental lucid dream experience" really helps raise lucidity and stabilization) is to dive right into LD goals.

Thanks! I'm definitely going to work on both those things. What is your normal "I just got lucid ritual"? Is it just the assertion that you specified above or do you incorporate other actions such as looking at the ground/your hands, other affirmations, etc? I want to develop a set ritual that I can memorize and use every time I become lucid to help stabilize.

Additionally, I will start writing down and thinking about LD goals before bed so that I can have a goal to work on in the LD to keep me focused. Perhaps flying or one of the beginner tasks in the TOTM.

When I was really assiduously practicing my IJGLR, it was: rubbing my hands for a second or two, then vigorously patting down (with fists) my dream body from chest to feet (sort of like the "Tarazan chest beating" thing) while counting to 5 and looking around (brings your dream body fully into the dream)[*], then the assertion then goal recollection. I did it in my dreams almost right away after I started rehearsing it in waking life. I haven't been rehearsing it or doing it as much in the last few years and I think my LDs have suffered because of this. The assertion is extremely powerful, when you realize fully that you are asleep in a lucid dream, there are no boundaries to dream control, no nagging feelings of being scared or concerned about consequences that comes from not fully realizing the meaning of your current state. It is Sageous's recommendation, and it helps establish a connection to waking memory, which helps in overall lucidity level and in goals, etc.
[*] I would also sometimes after this body patdown do an, uh, shall we say, "equipment check," (in the pants, that is) which is always amusing and usually finding things slightly different from in waking life.

Great, thanks! I'll work on incorporating those actions and assertions into my routine when I get lucid.

I also made up an acronym for all the things I wanted to do in the ritual, like: "BE STRONG" (Breath, Enjoy/Engage, Stop/Stabilize, Remember [waking body dream assertion], Narrate [like making a mental/vocal dream journal entry while you're dreaming], Goals"

That's a great idea. I really like the narration idea as well. I need to start doing that.

Asleep: 11:30
WBTB: 5:30, 6:30, 7:00
Awake: 7:55
Techs: Autosuggestion, WBTB + MILD
NLDs: 0
Lucids: 2

1. I woke up to my alarm at 6:30 and laid down. I didn't notice falling asleep. I'm laying in bed. I see an alarm clock on my nightstand that says it's 7:13. That's weird, because I feel like I just woke up to my 6:30 alarm a few minutes ago. But its happened before where I wake up and feel like I've just blinked and suddenly an hour has passed. So I reach over to grab my phone to turn off my 7:30 alarm. I press the 'home' button on my phone repeatedly but the screen won't turn on. That's weird. I do a nose-plug RC and become lucid. Instantly, I start floating up toward the ceiling! I will myself to stop rising up before I go through the ceiling. While hanging in mid-air, I remember FryingMan's advice to pat down my body. I start at my chest and work my way down. Then I rub my hands together. The feeling is different than waking life. Very rough, almost like sand paper. Then I will myself to float out of the bedroom and down the hall. Halfway down the hall there is a bathroom, which I float into. I then turn around and float down the hall some more. This whole time I'm floating on my back, in the same position I was in when I was laying down on my back in bed. Then I wake up.

2. I'm on a bus sitting next to one of my co-workers. I think we are driving back to school/dorms but I'm not sure. I hear two girls in the seats in front of us talking about one of my other co-workers stand-up comedy routine that they are listening to on their phone/ipod. This co-worker doesn't do stand-up IWL but is really funny. At some point, I do a nose-plug RC. I don't know why, I can't remember anything causing me to. I can breathe slightly through plugged nose, but I'm so convinced that I'm awake that I don't believe it. I do the action several more times, struggling harder each time to successfully close off my nostrils. I keep thinking that I'm somehow not pinching my nose all the way shut. But after doing this several times, I can still breathe. I'm becoming VERY suspicious that I'm dreaming. I look at my hands. There's no doubt now. I'm lucid. My hands are mutated and fingers are missing. Just for fun, I see if I can count my fingers; I can. I count 4 fingers on one hand. I remember someone on DV saying that as they counted their fingers, an extra finger would grow. As soon as I thought that, instantly another finger started to grow. I looked to my left and now I'm sitting next to T instead of my co-worker. We start to kiss and the bus pulls up to wherever our stop is. I want to have sex right there, but I guess I'm still a little shy about doing that on a crowded bus. As we were getting off the bus, I remember thinking how weirdly quiet/silent it was. As though I would have to consciously put effort into creating the appropriate sounds for this mental "model". And I also felt some sort of pain in my mouth that I told myself I would ask about on DV later. As I was walking off the bus, I woke up.

I laid completely still as I was exiting this dream and found myself in bed on my side. I didn't move, and after 20 seconds it felt as if my legs had shifted position even though I didn't move them. Then I felt pulsating/vibrating as well as a "rigidity" that I associate with SP. I got freaked out and broke it then did a RC and confirmed I was truly awake.

Notes - I was very tired after not getting much sleep the night before last due to insomnia. I slept VERY deeply, and didn't wake up till T left for work at 5:30. I instantly fell back to sleep and woke up to my alarm at 6:30. All I did was repeat my MILD mantra, "I want to remember to recognize when I'm dreaming" a few times before falling asleep. That is when I had the 1st lucid. After the 1st one, I repeated the same mantra and visualized that 1st lucid several times. Then went back to sleep and had the 2nd.

Congrats! You're on a roll! Interesting, in my 2nd lucid dream I started floating unwillingly up to the ceiling as soon as I got lucid, I then immediately started rubbing my hands and then I slowly floated back down again and continued on with exploring the dream.

I'm still a little shy about doing that on a crowded bus

It's hard to break strong taboos in dreams, but doing so really asserts your lucidity. Just remember, "there is now crowd, there is no bus," do as you like in the dream!

My LDs are also usually without much or any background sound. Once however I went out into the back yard of a house after getting lucid there (FA), and heard an absolutely perfect imitation of a typical suburban back yard soundscape, particularly birds chirping in the distance. That's one dream where I achieved ongoing narration for the first part, so it really helps in raising vividness and lucidity. So sound is definitely possible!

I also sometimes doubt nose pinch, that I'm not completely closing the nostrils. Much better is to always assume that ANY air escaping means you're dreaming. I had a number of missed LDs from this even, so I forced myself in waking practice to realllllly sloooooow dooooowwwnnn when I did the RC and gave it my full, undivided attention. That helped and I stopped missing LDs from semi-ambiguous nose pinches. It's always good to have a couple more RCs to do, hand check is a great backup as you've shown, as is testing gravity (jumping into the air and seeing how quickly you plop back down to the ground). I have had gravity test fail me on at least one occasion though, in an ultra-vivid dream, and others report hand-check fails. So nose pinch I recommend as the always first RC.

Thanks! Very interesting that LD's are often without much background sound. I wonder if all my dreams are like that and I just don't notice? But I remember in the last dream from last night hearing the people sitting in front of me on the bus talking about my co-worker. So I know there is SOME sound. Do you know if your normal dreams usually have sound?

I'll definitely have to work on narration as well as the IJGL ritual to raise the vividness and lucidity of my LDs. As you said, that might cause/allow there to be sound in the environment.

Oh sure there is sound, no doubt. I hear people's answers to my questions (when they deign to answer). Most of the sound is voices or the vocalization of my own thoughts or my speech, I don't recall much background noise in non-lucids either.

Congratulations Broth! 2 more lucid nights and 2 lucids on each of the nights, you are progressing very nicely!

Keep your foot on the gas as much as you can…

Originally Posted by FryingMan

Oh sure there is sound, no doubt. I hear people's answers to my questions (when they deign to answer). Most of the sound is voices or the vocalization of my own thoughts or my speech, I don't recall much background noise in non-lucids either.

Yeah I guess there's definitely direct sound in terms of answering questions or speaking to you. But I don't even know if my normal dreams contain that background, environmental sound. And certainly that was what was missing from my lucid on the bus.