Thread: HenrikUPI's Workbook

I don't know which training i should perform now
i'm trying the ring idea i hope it can work.
anyway today i managed to WBTB and wake myself naturally after 5:30 hours of sleeping
so i stayed awake for 40 minutes and turned on also the pc and went looking lucid dreams related things,but after 40 minutes i couldn't sleep anymore because i lost too sleepiness.
What did i have done Wrong?Maybe next time i should wait only 5 minutes.
Anyway now that i think about it,WILD aren't sure for me all the time i tried it,I never reached the Sleep Paralysis or the Hypnagogia,probably i'm too conscious i don't know,usually these Wild attempts finish when after an hour and half my leg have a myoclonus and then i suddendly open my eyes.

Hello, HenrikUPI, and welcome to the DILD class!

I'm smiling now because I sense your level of excitement about lucid dreaming, and remember my own beginnings in this wonderful hobby, how excited I was, and I hadn't yet had any lucid dreams!

The good news is you are RIGHT to be excited, because amazing, fabulous dreaming experiences are just waiting for you in the very near future! Ah, I'm jealous, I wish I were 17 and starting in with lucid dreaming with all the resources of the internet at hand!

DILD is the natural starting place for beginners. It is good to read about WILD and even try to perform a WILD once in a while, just so you become familiar with what the experience is like. But WILD for most people takes quite a bit of practice. Familiarity with lucid dreaming from DILD is considered helpful when attempting to WILD.

Keeping a dream journal is very good: I consider it a requirement. One dream per night typically is good! With recall, more is better. We're never really ever "done" working on recall, it requires a consistent, persistent effort. The more you reach for dream recall (best is immediately upon realizing you've woken up and before moving at all), the better you'll get at it. See my "dream recall tips" link in my signature for more information.

If you haven't done so yet, I encourage you to read and follow Laberge's "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" (ETWOLD) His PM (prospective memory, remembering to do something in the future) exercises (memory) are great to help with remembering to do things in the future (like remembering to RC upon certain conditions). It takes practice to improve your PM. Choosing daily RC targets every day and keeping track of whether or not you recognize them is very helpful for lucid dreaming. On those days where I'd do many targets, like 10-12, (I would always choose new targets after meeting the ones I'd planned, so that I always had something to look out for, and never "relaxed" thinking "I'm done now"), I would almost always have lucid dreams in the night.

The ring is not a bad idea to get started. I recommend working to do RCs just because you think of it, because you "feel" it is time to RC. In dreams you often don't have things like the ring, as you noted, you don't see your arms/hands much, so that may not be the best target. Where it comes in useful is in just keeping your mind on dreaming, and reminding you to check your state (waking/dreaming), *that* is the value of it. (Although, if you do it a lot, and think a lot about the ring, you may "incubate" it to begin appearing in your dreams, which can help you get lucid. We dream about what we're thinking about during the day, that is how we can purposefully influence the subject of our dreams).

How to have a good frequency when DILD?

This is a big question! By far the best way is to practice every day and every night. In the daytime, work on self-awareness/mindfulness, reflection (am I dreaming?), and memory (PM targets, remembering what happened all throughout your day). At night, learn to notice as many of the natural little wakings as you can, and use that opportunity to practice dream recall and perform MILD (described in ETWOLD). I would recommend reading my "Unified Theory of Lucid Dreaming" (link in my signature) as well, it discusses the main components are to lucid dreaming (in my opinion!). Never quit! It may take years to build up to very frequent LDs, but if you quit, it will never happen! So keep working, stay excited, and love *all* your dreams. Read a lot about lucid dreaming, and always have some dream goals you're really excited about trying. I also personally recommend doing daily mindfulness meditation, especially in the hour before bed can be extremely effective.

I have listed several books in my LD bibliography post in (sticky post in this DILD class forum, look up at the top). I believe mindfulness, with a continuous sense of reflection (am I dreaming?), and achieving a "steady presence" in awareness (discussed in the dream yoga books in the bibliography) are the keys to frequent LDing. In short, that means that you train your mind to control your reaction to your experiences, instead of letting your reaction to experiences control you.

Which is the better moment to do an RC?

Whenever anything catches your attention! Anything odd, strange, funny, scary, startling, exciting. Any time you think of doing an RC, you must! You may be dreaming! Don't worry about what people think, they're probably all just DCs (dream characters) anyway! Even if you think "hey, nothing has grabbed my attention for a while," that's also a good time to RC. Also, any time you think about dreaming.

What techniques i can use to increase the chances of having a Lucid dream on a night?

Lucid dreaming is not like cooking: put in the ingredients, pop it into the oven, and out comes a cake. All the things we do are to increase the chances of having lucid dreams on a particular night. Dream recall, awareness, PM memory work, reading about lucid dreaming, having exciting dream goals, all these things all increase the likelihood of having a lucid dream. The more you perform these practices on a daily basis, build dream recall, and become more of a 24x7 (every hour of every day) lucid person, the more likely it is that you will have lucid dreams.

Just last night I was reading in the Holecek dream yoga book (in my LD bibliography): "studies have shown that mindfulness meditators have more lucid dreams, and experienced meditators have significantly more lucid dreams."

Things that in particular add to the chances:
+ building a strong self-awareness
+ thinking about lucid dreaming, reading about it
+ meditating, particularly right before bed
+ building strong intent to have amazing, vivid, lucid dreams
+ noticing the wakings in between sleep cycles
+ MILD, WILD, DEILD approaches
+ WBTB
+ loving all your dreams, including the non-lucid ones
+ a happy, healthy waking life.
+ body health (exercise) and mind health (things like music!)
+ avoid stress
+ regular sleep schedule, getting enough sleep

How to WBTB correctly?Infact after 20 minutes i lose the sleep and i can't sleep anymore ?

Welcome to lucid dreaming practice insomnia! It happens to everybody. Mastering the ability to get up in the middle of the night while still being able to get back to sleep in a short amount of time is a very valuable skill to practice. Research relaxation techniques. I like to use breathing relaxation: on every exhale, release all physical and mental tension from your body. One of the reasons I believe experienced meditators have significantly more lucid dreams is that one of the abilities you gain in meditation is familiarity with your mind and body, how they operate, and how to relax them.

Lucid dreaming is a life-long personal experiment/research project. Try different times: longer, shorter, getting up earlier, later, and so on. Keep careful records. For now, don't stay up so long, and learn to keep a careful eye on your feelings of drowsiness. Avoiding the computer can be helpful. I find that sometimes it takes longer for me to get drowsy again: an hour to an hour and a half. Once I have that feeling that I can't keep my eyes open any more, I jump back into bed. (I'm not that great at WBTB and don't do it that much, but there is no doubt that it is extremely powerful in increasing lucid dream chances).

How i can know my REM periods,i should record my Eyelids with a videocamera,but this isn't a little disturbing xD?

That's not necessary. If you want, you could record the times you notice you've woken up and recalled your dreams. Over time you will see a pattern emerge.

It's true that also after a Reality check says that u are awake u should feign to be in a dream?And what's the point on that?

Yes, it is advisable *never* to say or to think "I'm not dreaming." You do not want that thought echoing in your head. The danger is that this thought will come into your dreams and you will miss chances for lucid dreams! Better is to always think "I'm dreaming! I'm dreaming!" If your RC indicates awake, just say "Hmm, well, tonight I will be dreaming and might get lucid!"

What Mantras can i use during the day?

You don't have to have any mantra. I like "I'm dreaming" because it's short and you can remember it and say it to yourself as you're falling asleep without stumbling over the words mentally.

How i can sleep the night if i repeat a Mantra?

You don't have to repeat a mantra as you fall asleep. It can be helpful, though. I know that MILD has this long sentence that LaBerge recommends, "The next time I'm dreaming, I will remember to recognize that I'm dreaming." I don't know WHO can keep that going and still fall asleep! Much more important is the *feeling* you have, the strong intent, to be lucid in your next dream. The words just sort of get in the way. If you can repeat it to yourself, that's great. And if it prevents you from falling asleep, just stop it and fall asleep.

Remember, if you can't sleep, you won't dream! So anything that prevents you from sleeping should be changed. If a mantra keeps you awake, just do it for a while then stop then fall asleep.

I hope my questions will have an answer in future.

I hope you find these answers helpful!

My Goals for the future are :
-Have more vivid Dreams in general
-Have at least 3 LD's in a week
-Have LD's that lasts at least 30 minutes
-And of course being able to perform my tasks

These are good goals. Long-term goals are good. But I think most important and the most effective ones are the short-term, specific things you want to do in a lucid dream. The excitement you build about doing these tasks may be more influential than almost anything else. Have a look at the "Task of the Month" club here on DV: . Some of the best and longest lucid dreams I've ever had came from the desire to perform the tasks of the month!

(For vivid dreams, build dream recall, and read my "Unified Theory of Lucid Dreaming" (link in signature). Vividness comes from attention!)

Feel free to use this workbook to track your progress, and ask us questions at any time! Let us know if you have any follow-up questions about what I've written here!

edit: I've added a few things to the post, have a read through again

Oh thanks for the reply i couldn't be online for weeks because i was changing my ISP,
Luckily i made some progress infact i was able to do two LDs dreams in these 2-3 weeks
i already wrote these dreams on my papery Dream Journal but i will post them on this forum only if someone want to read them,
if not i don't want to do that because is boring to re-write and to translate from italian to english all the time.
Anyway in these weeks i read a lot of things and i created a daily routine with actions and techniques that should help me Lucid Dreaming if i'm doing something wrong feel free to report it to me :
During the day :
-I write the dream just made
-I do an RC to test if i'm really awake or if i'm in a FA
-I do an RC when i see the ring
-I do an RC when i sit somewhere
-I do an RC when i exit from a room
During the Night :
-I go to bed at 10:30 PM
-I Set an alarm at 3:00 AM
-For an Half hour i visualize myself in a recently dream becoming lucid,
and i start to think what i should have done if i was lucid in that dream,
at the same time i mentally repeat the phrase: I'm dreaming and I'm conscious
or the phrase : The next scene is a dream
-When i got awake for the alarm i wrote the dream just made
-Then i climb the stairs and go to the kitchen to drink a glass of water
-When i return i read 10 times my tasks
-Next i repeat the visualize exercise for another half hour or for when i suddenly sleep and lost consciousness(THIS NEVER HAPPEN SO USUALLY I LOST AN HOUR,I LOST DROWSINESS AND I GOT ANGRY AND ANXIOUS but when i manage to sleep in some way usually i Lucid Dream for the strong conviction,sometimes after this passage i dream myself trying to Lucid Dreams and when i sleep with this intention inside the dream usually i became lucid because my
unconscious give me big clues,for example in a dream i got awake inside the dreams with my hands in front of me but without the ring or in another dream the entire house was dark and all the switches didn't work)
-Then the cycle repeats

When i have to do an RC i perform these actions :
-I look around and try to search something strange
-Then I try to remember what happened recently
-Next I try to breath with pinched nose
-and finally i count my fingers and i try to make my ring disappear
-Lastly i say myself that certainly i will Lucid Dream tonight and i daydream my tasks

When i luckily became Lucid(usually after the nose pinch test)in a dream i do these actions :
-I remember me to stay calm
-I start rubbing my hands together
-Then i count my finger and start looking my hands with attention and i try to push fingers inside other hand
-Then i shout firmly : Clarity,Now!!!
-Then i shout firmly : I remember everything!!!
-Lastly i repeat myself that i'm dreaming and nothing is real and that now i'm the architect of my dream and that i can do everything and nothing can stop me
-Finally for the rest of the Lucid dream i repeat the last three passages,asking for clarity and for memory and remembering me of my position

Hi Henrik! Your day and night practices listed in your last post above look very good! They should lead to continued improvements. The only thing I might suggest would be to either adjust your alarm time or try the water method (experiment until you find the right amount of water to drink before bed) to attempt to wake up naturally after 4.5 hours. If you prefer the alarm method, you might want to time it so that it is 4.5 hours after falling asleep. It sounds like you lay down at 10:30pm and set the alarm for 4.5 hours after laying down, but then you are awake for 30 minutes doing the visualizations...if I understand correctly. If that is the case then the alarm goes off after 4 hours of sleep, assuming you fall asleep immediately after the 30 minutes of visualizing.

Keep up the great practices you have set up, as best as you can. I find that I have to adjust some practices occasionally to keep them fresh…so none of my practices become too mindless.