Thread: Broth's Workbook

Sure seems like a 100% lucid to me. It's possible you lost lucidity and continued on in the dream and so didn't wake immediately from a lucid state, which would account for the discontinuity.

As a note on the "memory" assertion, I think it should be only intellectual, you shouldn't reach for your actual waking body feeling, as you mentioned that could cause waking perhaps. Just note abstractly that "somewhere out there in the waking world," your physical body is asleep in bed. More important is the corollary to that: your present experience is ALL A DREAM taking place in your mind.

Yes, I thought about that as well. I think I either lost lucidity and continued on with the dream unremembered, or I dropped into a dreamless sleep period for a few minutes before waking.

Basically, I woke up and remembered this dream in the same way that I remember normal dreams during the night. This differs from the previous lucid dreams I've had where I've woken up from them directly and so there was a more direct memory/knowledge of the entire experience. I still think it was a lucid dream; I just think it was the first lucid I've had where I've remembered it slightly after the fact as opposed to transitioning immediately from the lucid dream to 'eyes-open' awake in bed.

And I agree with your point about the 'memory assertion'. That was my understanding of what you said earlier as well. The only reason I began to think of my body/bed was because of the DC asking me where I "came from". I definitely think that the intellectual understanding you're mentioning will raise my lucidity and stability in the dream.

My early LDs were all like this, probably up to 100 or so (don't remember exactly), I'd wake up from them directly and the transition of consciousness was seamless: I was lucid in the dream, then an instant later (I rarely have slow fades to awake) after a brief buzzin feeling I was lucid awake in bed.

As the LDs move earlier and earlier into the night, and earlier in the REM cycle, the possibility of not waking up from the LD directly increases, which makes recalling them harder, and that's where a solid recall practice (basically it's a never ending effort to recall in more and more detail and more dream experiences) really helps.

That makes sense. I can definitely see why recall is extra important for those early cycle LDs. In your experience, when you've recalled a lucid dream from which you did not wake up directly, did your recollection of your lucidity differ than other times when you wake up directly from the lucid dream?

In other words, did your sensation of being lucid and in control feel different when you recall lucids than when you wake up directly from the dream? I figure that would be the case, since the overall recall of the entire dream is likely somewhat diminished. Thanks for any input.

Asleep: 11:30
WBTB: 6:11, 7:20
Awake: 7:30
Tech: WBTB + MILD, DEILD/CAN-WILD
Dreams: 2 + 2 fragments
Lucids: 1

1. Fragment - I touched my mom's face and 90% of the blemishes disappeared

2. I'm having dinner in Russia with my family and two other families. We are the only guests in a fancy restaurant and we are sitting with a high-level Russian official. My old friend D is there. We ordered food, and it was kind of a competition to see who could order the healthiest. D ordered right before me; he got chicken, toast, and an unhealthy side that I can't remember. I got chicken, vegetables, and toast. I initially asked for avocado/guac on my toast, but the Russian official said there was a food shortage in Russia and they would only have a tiny amount of guacamole. He later came back with 3 avocados in his hands? (Memory Blank) We are all walking down the street. The Russian official accuses 1 family of something, but I never figured out what it was.

2. I was involved in a large, multi-car wreck on the interstate. Somehow, I think I was at fault for the crash or part of it. I got out of my car before police arrived. Later, they stated they couldn't find any identification in the vehicle at fault (mine) and I never admitted to it.

3. Fragment - I was driving down the road. There were about 5 buses on the side of the road in a line. They all put out their "stop signs" because they were going to pull away from the curb. I started to brake but my brakes weren't working well. I ended up slamming slamming down on my brakes as hard as I could and barely stopped in front of the crossing guard who was also holding a stop sign.

4. My auto-snooze alarm woke me up and I remained perfectly still. After 20-30 seconds I heard weird sounds and the white noise machine seemed to increase in volume. Suddenly, it felt like I was being flipped around? Then a feeling that is hard to described moved up my whole body. At one point, I knew I was asleep and could enter a lucid dream. I did a nose-plug RC and opened my eyes. I could breathe. I was in my normal bed. I got out and saw my two cats. The lights were off and it was dim. I rubbed my hands together which felt rough again and I thought about how I was actually asleep in my bed. I went into the hallway and there were more cats and dogs. I tried to turn on the lights but the light switch didn't work. I thought about how people use that as an RC. I went into the main living room, and realized I was naked and holding a sheet around my body. I walked back towards the bedroom to get some clothes and tripped over the large dogs that kept appearing. I tried to lock them in the bed room. Soon after, I woke up.

Notes - Very happy with tonight. Had pretty good recall and I experienced a true DEILD or CAN-WILD entry into a lucid. I know I was awake, stayed still, and quickly entered a new dream while staying conscious the whole time. Very cool experience. During the dream, I rubbed my hands together and remembered that I was truly asleep in my bed and this was a dream. However, I didn't follow a set IJGL routine so I need to continue working on that.

Awesome!

I'm having dinner in Russia with my family

Ой! Ты русский что ли?!

I'm gonna guess you asked if I speak Russian?! My dream journal entry was ambiguous. My family doesn't live in Russia; I have no idea why the dream took place there (besides my great-grandparents having lived there) but I do not speak the language

Haha awesome. It seemed not to phase you at all and there was so much Russian content that I thought you might be from there! I wrote "Oh ho! So you're Russian, eh?

You are killing it Broth! Goodness, keep doing what you're doing, keeping that foot on the gas and taking heed of my mistake over and over: me getting over-confident and thinking I could coast a little and still stay consistent…I wasn't able to coast, though maybe I have been able to a little bit now after 4 years of dedicated practice. I still stay consistent with getting to bed on time and doing WBTBs knowing that is a huge boost for me.

FryingMan - Haha I was close. Since you seem to speak the language, are you from there?

Fogelbise - Thank you! That's always a danger. I'm trying to keep a consistent routine. One of the keys, at least so far, has been a sustainable routine. I remember getting burned out last time. This time, I'm not doing too much too fast, so I feel like I can maintain this level of effort for the foreseeable future. Like you, the main things are getting enough sleep and doing consistent WBTBs. But 4 years is a different story! Very impressive that you and FryingMan and others have stayed dedicated for so long. I hope you continue to see success and stay motivated to practice every day.

Originally Posted by broth

One of the keys, at least so far, has been a sustainable routine. I remember getting burned out last time. This time, I'm not doing too much too fast, so I feel like I can maintain this level of effort for the foreseeable future.

That is a great point! I also made adjustments to avoid burnout and never really stopped practices over the 4 years, I just adjusted intensity (though sometimes adjusted way too low when thinking I could coast).

Asleep: 12:00
WBTB: 4:30, 6:30
Awake: 8:00
Tech: Autosuggestion, WBTB + MILD, CAN-WILD
Dreams: 1 + 2 fragments
Lucids: 1

1. I wake up to use restroom and lay down. I do MILD and visualize two of my recent lucid dreams. I also do several nose-plug RC's and tell myself I will nose-plug RC when I am dreaming. I don't even notice falling asleep. One minute I'm laying there doing this, the next minute I'm doing a nose-plug RC and I can breathe through my nose. Suddenly, after doing this a few times, I realize I can breathe through my plug-nosed and I must be dreaming. I get out of bed and walk over to T's side. I wake her up and say "this is a lucid dream T". She seems mildly curious. I have the thought that I might want to have sex with her, but when I walk over there I realize I "feel" really tired and not in the mood for sex. I open the bedroom door and our cats are waiting there as usual. I'm careful not to let them in. I walk in the hallway. It's dark again and I decide to try the light switch. Again, it doesn't work. I remember reading someone's DJ on DV where they said a "magic spell" to increase the light in a room. The second I thought that, the light increased a little (but it didn't seem like a light bulb had turned on). T comes out and asks me what's so cool about lucid dreams. Then I looked over and saw our front door so I walked outside. It was totally green with ivy around us; there were no other houses or streets. At this point I think I lost lucidity and the scene shifts. I'm standing on the front porch of a house. A guy walks up asking if I want to be his golf partner? He usually plays tennis but his buddy isn't here. Suddenly his friend walks up. They both hand me business cards. They work at Ameriflight, which is an aviation company that I was looking at working for when I was still planning on going into aviaiton. Then, my manager at work walks out the front door? The next thing I remember is lying in bed awake. It was about 4:55am.

2. Fragment - I am telling Taylor about the lucid dream I just had. Her dad is there, although he didn't look like himself. There was another guy and girl present in the scene who had apparently just started dating.

3. I'm in a banquet hall for some celebration. One of my co-workers is there. I walk up to her and we sit together and talk. I drop a huge drink and walk out to find a bathroom. I realize we're in a hotel. For some reason, this hotel has a live-animal exhibit. There are a bunch of birds in these relatively tiny cages on the wall. There's also a huge bearded dragon in one cage. I walk over to the bathrooms. A couple woman and I try to figure out which bathroom is male and which is female, but these seem to be unisex bathrooms. I see men and women walk into the same one. Right before I walk in, some guy comes up to me. He asks if I can stay here and watch his bag. He will save some money for me. I ask how long. He says 12 minutes. I say that's too long.

4. Fragment - I'm standing in front of a restaurant with a couple people. There are a lot of people present in this area. One woman makes a comment that she is looking to have fun tonight. I suggest myself but she laughs cause she's so much older than me.

Notes - I'm very satisfied with last night. First, I had a lucid dream using MILD (although maybe a slight variation on it). But secondly, I set an auto-snooze alarm for 4:30 and then for every 15 minutes from 7:00-8:00. At least 2 times, I woke up and remained completely still after the alarm. In one case, I truly felt like I might have been able to enter a dream immediately (like I did yesterday), but I was in such an awkward position. I started hearing the rushing sounds and feeling that "deepening" physical sensation that I felt yesterday, but I started sliding off the pillow and therefore had trouble breathing enough where I had to change position. The other time, I remained still and heard the rushing sounds but it didn't go anywhere. Maybe I was too awake, or woke up in NREM, or something else. But it's still training me to wake up to that alarm and stay completely still which is good. I know one of those times will also lead to a lucid which is encouraging.

Asleep: 12:15
WBTB: 4:00, 7:15
Awake: 9:20
Tech: Autosuggestion, WBTB + MILD
NLDs: 1 + 1 fragment
Lucids: 0

1. I'm with two other guys outside on a wide street. There is a small animal, maybe a mouse or rat but I can't remember for sure. It has been trained by some organization (possibly the government?) to dodge objects/weapons that are thrown at it. We take turns throwing rocks or other things at it and it recognizes and responds by moving out the way. We are all impressed.

2. Fragment - A few guys and I are flying drones. One of them "goes rogue" and doesn't respond to the remote controller anymore!

Notes - I had a few beers before bed and slept extremely deeply. I woke up around 4:00 to use the restroom and fell right back to sleep. I woke up at 7:15 to my alarm but I didn't remain still for a CAN-WILD so I did MILD. After my intention was set, I turned over and went to sleep. I slept through my 4:30, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 7:45 alarms so I must have been out last night. Not sure why except for the couple of beers I had. Anyways I might look at increasing the duration/volume of the alarms but during the week they usually wake me up at just the right level to remain perfectly still so I'll probably leave them. Tomorrow will be a better night!

I really think you have a good combination here: consistent WBTBs combined with DILD/MILD and WILD/DEILD techniques. That nose plug RC MILD was impressive, a seemingly quick transition into the dream and catching it!

Originally Posted by broth

Anyways I might look at increasing the duration/volume of the alarms but during the week they usually wake me up at just the right level to remain perfectly still so I'll probably leave them. Tomorrow will be a better night!

I probably would leave them as is also. That night seemed unusual for you and full of deep sleep…sometimes that's just what the body and mind needs. Ultimately you will be the best judge of any adjustments you may need though.

Thanks fogelbise for the encouragement and suggestions. That's just what I needed to hear. You're right that the practices so far have been working, so I will definitely continue with them. And thank you, I think 7 or 8 of the LDs have come from doing a nose-plug RC during a FA so that's definitely something I'm working on. I RC every time I walk into/out of the bedroom and bathroom, every time I lay in bed and get out of bed, etc. How's your practice coming?

Asleep: 12:50
WBTB: 4:30, 7:15
Awake: 9:45
Tech: WBTB + MILD
NLDs: 1 + 1 fragment
Lucids: 0

1. Fragment - I am looking for websites that will allow me to host my own server on the internet. I find a site that starts with an "S" but cannot remember the name now.

2. I am at a steak house. I order a filet but I am served ravioli. I'm upset but I eat the ravioli anyways.

3. (FA) I "wake up" from this steak dream (which I have now mostly forgotten, possibly due to this FA occurring before I truly woke up) and decided to write my steak dream down in my DJ. At first, my pen light wasn't working. I had to mess around with the button a little but it eventually turned on. Then, when I started to write, I realized quickly that I was writing in pencil. I knew that before now this "light pen" had always written in pen. I 'realized' that while trying to get the light working, I must have rotated it to the pencil writer. (remember those old pen/pencils that twisted to write with both?) I got it to write with pen again, but the way I did it makes no sense looking back. I pivoted the bottom portion outwards so that it was perpendicular to the main part of the pen cylinder. Then I did something and pivoted it back onto the pen. Then it wrote normally. I then woke up from this FA.

Notes - Again another deep sleeping night. Not much recall, went to bed later than usual, and didn't wake up to most alarms or as much as normal. I did do MILD after the 7:15 awakening which might have led to the FA. I'm encouraged by the fact that I DID have some awareness during the FA, as indicated by the fact that I knew the light pen had always written in pen before this event. I knew that something was wrong, but I did not RC and become lucid. I will get back to the intensity of my normal practice during the week. The weekends are hard when T sleeps in bed all night (as opposed to leaving for work in the morning) and when I go to bed late. I also drank a bit before bed. Anyways, I'm encouraged by this FA and I know another lucid is just around the corner!

Asleep: 12:50
WBTB: 4:30, 6:11, sometime around 7:15
Awake: 8:20
NLDs: 1 + 2 fragment
Lucids: 1

1. My auto-snooze alarm wakes me up. My eyes briefly open but I don't move. I'm laying on my side but my legs are in a weird, slightly uncomfortable, position. I remain still but I feel my legs moving/relaxing into a more comfortable position naturally. I wonder if this movement will affect my attempt, but I don't worry about it. Eventually, I feel vibrations and the "deepening" physical sensation I've felt before. Also there was a wave of energy. Not much in the way of auditory or visual hallucinations. Eventually, I knew I was sleeping.
I did a nose-plug RC. I could breathe and was lucid. I was in my normal bed room. I got up out of bed and patted my body down from chest to lower legs. Then I slowly spun around in a circle to fill in my environment. Everything looked relatively normal. I thought (abstractly) about how I was actually in a bed sleeping. I walked to the door and went into the hallway. There were spots of water on the ground and footsteps as if someone had gotten out of the shower and walked around without drying their feet. I walked down the hall way. I woke up, possibly due to the uncomfortable position of my body.

2. Fragment - I'm traveling with two female friends. We are in some house on the 2nd floor. There are a couple guys around us, and one of them is hitting on my friend. He's being weird about it though; he's not talking to her. He's just standing really close. He keeps making these fighting gestures, not really towards me but just in general. It's like a "mating dance" to show her that he's worthy. There's 2 other guys near us who are "play" fighting similarly with themselves. I think it's amusing.

3. Fragment - I'm in some foreign country. I meet up with an older couple, who are apparently my friends. The guy is driving. He backs out of a parking space. I'm not sure where we're going.

3. (FA) I wake up in bed. I lean over to T's side of the bed, because there is something on her nightstand. It's a large, green basket-type thing without a bottom. Inside are a box of large chocolates in unique shapes. I think how weird it is that earlier in the night I was able to turn down our white noise machine, even though this huge basket is in the way.

Notes - Can't believe I missed that FA! I need to get back in the habit of more regular RCs, especially when in bed and waking up in the middle of the night. Again an indication of heightened awareness because I knew that earlier in the night I had turned down our white noise machine, and I realized that it was weird that I hadn't noticed that large basket there. I'm very happy with the CAN-WILD. I don't always wake up to the auto-snooze alarm, but when I do, it's usually subtle enough that I don't move which gives me the opportunity for a CAN-WILD. I woke up to it 1 other time last night and didn't move, but I wasn't able to slip right back into a dream. I also did MILD when I woke up at 6:11.

Congratulations once again!

Originally Posted by broth

I'm laying on my side but my legs are in a weird, slightly uncomfortable, position. I remain still but I feel my legs moving/relaxing into a more comfortable position naturally. I wonder if this movement will affect my attempt, but I don't worry about it.

This is really good that you did not worry about it…that is the primary issue for most people - the worrying part.

Thanks fogelbise, I agree. And with a DEILD or CAN-WILD, it's really not worth worrying about. Either I'll be in a lucid dream within 60 seconds, or I'll get a shot at practicing MILD. Win-win situation.

Asleep: 12:50
WBTB: 6:40, 7:30
Awake: 8:30
Techs: WBTB + MILD, auto-snooze alarm
NLDs: 2
Lucids: 0

1. It's the first day of my senior year of highschool. Apparently, all the students live in a large dorm-type structure with several floors. I remember feeling like a bad-ass cause I'm a senior (lol). I walk out of my room and as I shut the doors, I look inside and realize I have one of the largest rooms in the dorm! Two large, mostly glass doors. I take the 3 flights of elevators down to the main lobby with all the other students as we head towards our classes/school? I realize when I've gotten to the bottom that I grabbed the wrong watch! I check the time and realize it will be cutting it close, but I REALLY want to wear my new watch. So I start running up the elevators, trying to get up there in time to make it to school. (I have a memory of earlier in the dream trying to select which watch to wear. I initially selected a Casio G-Shock but changed to the Timex expedition. Unfortunately, I must have grabbed the wrong watch off the counter).

2. After a brief awakening, this dream seems to continue. I'm at home with my parents and a couple other friends. We are on some type of mid-day break from school. I decide I want to get my computer out to get on dreamviews and ask about the "motivaider" which is a timer-vibrating wristband that a user here uses and has written about in their dream journal. However, I ask my friend what time it is and she says it's 2:45. I ask what time we have class and they say 3:05. So I don't have time to look it up and I have to go to class.

Notes - Got to bed a little late last night. I did practice MILD during my 6:40 awakening and I woke up at least 1 time and remained perfectly still but wasn't able to re-enter a dream. At least the idea of lucid dreaming penetrated my dream. A lucid can't be far behind!

Asleep: 12:35
WBTB: 5:45, 7:00, one other time
Awake: 8:00
Techs: autosuggestion, CAN-WILD
NLDs: 0
Lucids: 1

1. Auto-snooze alarm woke me up. I stayed perfectly still. After a few seconds, I started hearing the auditory hallucinations and feeling vibrations. Then I felt like my body was rotating, along with a wave of energy. I knew I was dreaming when I felt my hands and arms "above" where they should be. I raise my right arm and do a nose-pinch RC. I'm lucid and can breathe. I'm still in the same lying position as IWL. I try to move but I'm unable. I'm not sure what to do. I've heard others rolling off the bed or floating. I try again to move, but I put a little too much "force" into it. I immediately wake up. I know it's weird that I can do a nose-pinch RC, but then have SP when I try to move. Perhaps it's a mental thing.

Notes - I woke up with the feeling of having had long dreams several times, but not really able to recall more than faint images. I'm going to focus on dream recall for the next few days. I'm very happy with CAN-WILD. It's almost a miracle technique. I mean sometimes when my alarm goes off and I stay perfectly still, the conditions still aren't right. But when they are, I enter a lucid dream within 60 seconds and it's easy. Nevertheless, I'm gonna continue my training with MILD every night as well. I was sleeping through my last alarm ringtone a lot, so I changed it last night. It seemed to work well. If the same thing happens again, where I'm unable to move off the bed, I'll try rolling or floating off the bed instead.

Originally Posted by broth

I try to move but I'm unable. I'm not sure what to do.

Some, like Sensei, teleport in situations like this. It's sort of a catch-all: if you think you're having a FA, or have entered the dream state, teleport! If it works that will establish 100% that you're dreaming and it gets you out of bed.

I'm not an accomplished teleporter, though, so can't offer specific advise for that. There are threads on DV (one big one from Sensei in fact!), you could search for them.

I basically just try to picture the place I want to go and imagine I'm already there.

Thanks, that's good advice. Especially because I don't want to start every lucid from my bed room, which is often the case when I do a CAN-WILD or DEILD. It would be nice to teleport or open my eyes in a different location. Not that I'm complaining too much. I'm just happy to be getting lucid!

Congratulations again Broth!

Originally Posted by broth

1. Auto-snooze alarm woke me up. I stayed perfectly still. After a few seconds, I started hearing the auditory hallucinations and feeling vibrations. Then I felt like my body was rotating, along with a wave of energy. I knew I was dreaming when I felt my hands and arms "above" where they should be. I raise my right arm and do a nose-pinch RC. I'm lucid and can breathe. I'm still in the same lying position as IWL. I try to move but I'm unable. I'm not sure what to do. I've heard others rolling off the bed or floating. I try again to move, but I put a little too much "force" into it. I immediately wake up. I know it's weird that I can do a nose-pinch RC, but then have SP when I try to move. Perhaps it's a mental thing.

I do think it's a mental thing and the sluggishness thing we talked about since you were able to reach up and do the nose pinch (and able to breathe). The biggest factor is probably worrying about moving your waking body, but to play it safe I do recommend something less forceful like you mentioned. I second the teleport idea since a new scene sounds ideal for you. Sensei does have a ton of ways to teleport but the only one I've used is his closed eye teleport (let us know if you have trouble finding his teleport thread). I do it like a 1 second blink (versus the typical waking blink of milliseconds). If you want to influence where you end up, you can imagine the location with as many rich senses and details as possible before performing the slightly-extended-blink. If you decide to go from your bed, simply imagine the feeling of slipping off of your bed (or floating, etc)…probably safer than rolling considering your concern about being forceful which can affect the results through expectation. Another idea is to imagine your dream body moving until it does, not using muscles but imagination. You will defeat this challenge in no time!