Maple's Workbook

My goal is to have at least one LD and more in the future!

I'm Maple and I have been learning lucid dreaming about 2-3ish weeks ago.
My RCs consist of looking at a digital clock then looking away and looking back at it, remembering what I was doing 5 minutes ago and closing my nostrils and trying to see I can breathe. I usually do them every hour but I found that very annoying so now I do it every 2 hours.
I have been DJ since 1st Feb and I used to remember short dreams but now I can remember at least a good chunk! :D I usually remember one big dream. Last night I wrote two pages worth in my DJ notebook.

Hi Maple, I think I am teaching all the classes now other than WILD and intro, hope that is ok. Good job on building up your recall so fast! It is definitely the place to start. I will be happy to help you learn in any way I can.

Thank you! :)

I had two dreams last night but I forgot the first dream because I didn't write it down. I had a fairly mediocre dream where I was within a video game. I am kind of frustrated on how I just don't realize that I am in a dream!

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Originally Posted by Maple

I had two dreams last night but I forgot the first dream because I didn't write it down. I had a fairly mediocre dream where I was within a video game. I am kind of frustrated on how I just don't realize that I am in a dream!

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It takes a lot of patience. :) Be kind to yourself though! You are making progress by remembering your dreams - that is something to be happy about. Dream recall is the most important thing you can do. Some nights will be better than others for recall, but what matters is the long term trend. :) Btw, it's normal to take several months of practice to have your first lucid dream.

You know, if it gets very annoying, I would relax a little bit on the RCs. For myself, I use a strategy where I will pick days I feel up to RCing, and other days? I just let myself relax. The most important thing isn't doing a bunch of reality checks (although that's helpful too), but rather, developing your critical reflective attitude. This is your ability to question reality when something weird happens. Look for things during the day that are strange to you, and RC whenever they happen. Really question your state.

Good luck to you! You can do this. :)

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Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

It takes a lot of patience. :) Be kind to yourself though! You are making progress by remembering your dreams - that is something to be happy about. Dream recall is the most important thing you can do. Some nights will be better than others for recall, but what matters is the long term trend. :) Btw, it's normal to take several months of practice to have your first lucid dream.

You know, if it gets very annoying, I would relax a little bit on the RCs. For myself, I use a strategy where I will pick days I feel up to RCing, and other days? I just let myself relax. The most important thing isn't doing a bunch of reality checks (although that's helpful too), but rather, developing your critical reflective attitude. This is your ability to question reality when something weird happens. Look for things during the day that are strange to you, and RC whenever they happen. Really question your state.

Good luck to you! You can do this. :)

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I'll try my best!

Had the weirdest dream of all time, I had 2 dreams but I didn't write the first dream I had. I need to get in habit of actually writing it down! Dreams feel like they are getting longer and I found out something about my sleep patterns. I wake up around 4:50 ish for some weird reason. I could try DEILD or WBTB.

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Originally Posted by Maple

Had the weirdest dream of all time, I had 2 dreams but I didn't write the first dream I had. I need to get in habit of actually writing it down! Dreams feel like they are getting longer and I found out something about my sleep patterns. I wake up around 4:50 ish for some weird reason. I could try DEILD or WBTB.

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DEILD is easier when you are exiting a DILD. It's hard to do it from a non lucid dream, although absolutely possible. You have to train yourself to hold still with your eyes completely closed whenever you wake up. Good luck :)

Had one long dream and I think I'm going to go focus on the environment on my dreams. In my previous dream there was many trees and it was summer. Maybe when I am looking at the environment I can find an error in the dream that will make me lucid? Also I don't know whether to write my dreams in past or present tense, currently I write the in past.

I would like you to not think of your RCs as things like plugging your nose or finger through the palm. Keep doing those if you have been, but start examining the world around you often. If you see anything written such as a sign take time to look at it and then look away, look back and see if it has stayed the same. Tap on surfaces and see if you hear the tap, listen for background noise and decided if it makes sense, usually there are many background noises, but in dreams rarely even one. Get your brain used to always wondering if something will reveal a dream.

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Originally Posted by Maple

Also I don't know whether to write my dreams in past or present tense, currently I write the in past.

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Initially I always wrote my dreams in past tense, I guess I'm not sure why now. If you look at my DJ here you'll see that I am now mostly writing in present tense. The main reason (I think) I changed to present tense was because it allows me to go through recall in a more fluid way, though I personally think there's nothing wrong with writing dreams in whatever tense anyway.

Personally I would say try both and see if you end up preferring using one over the other. If you find that actually you have no definite preference, then I wouldn't give tenses too much importance and just write as mood dictates, so as to avoid creating a false obstacle to your recall.

I like writing in the present tense. Partly because that's how I was taught to write, but also because when you're writing in the present tense, you're walking yourself through the dream as if reliving every moment. It's easier to re-visualize it. Additionally, if you post your dreams online (in the dream journal here for example), it lets other people read your dream as if they are living it, too. :)

Sivason ^ great idea with the tapping. I've never heard that before. I'm going to try this, too.

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Originally Posted by sivason

I would like you to not think of your RCs as things like plugging your nose or finger through the palm. Keep doing those if you have been, but start examining the world around you often. If you see anything written such as a sign take time to look at it and then look away, look back and see if it has stayed the same. Tap on surfaces and see if you hear the tap, listen for background noise and decided if it makes sense, usually there are many background noises, but in dreams rarely even one. Get your brain used to always wondering if something will reveal a dream.

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Sounds like a good idea, will do.

Had one dream, been lacking on the RCs because of online class.

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Originally Posted by Maple

Had one dream, been lacking on the RCs because of online class.

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This is why I teach a shift in how people look at RC. If you get used to just frequently questioning if something can clarify whether you are currently dreaming it takes no time. As an example, I have found my dreams can not recreate the sensation of running my tongue over my teeth very well. The tongue is amazingly sensitive and can feel vast amounts of detail in your mouth. It is something my dreams just can not create. So I will often just take a moment while working to slowly see if my tongue is highly capable of detecting detail in my mouth or not while wondering if I am dreaming.

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Originally Posted by sivason

This is why I teach a shift in how people look at RC. If you get used to just frequently questioning if something can clarify whether you are currently dreaming it takes no time. As an example, I have found my dreams can not recreate the sensation of running my tongue over my teeth very well. The tongue is amazingly sensitive and can feel vast amounts of detail in your mouth. It is something my dreams just can not create. So I will often just take a moment while working to slowly see if my tongue is highly capable of detecting detail in my mouth or not while wondering if I am dreaming.

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Ahh so put more emphasis on RCs and don't treat them as oh yeah I gotta do this!

I will just put my dream in here

I was holding a big stick and a hammer and I look back to see there were many people following me. I look back ahead and notice that I am just holding one large stick. I become lucid because of this and feel overwhelming amounts of sensation. I tried to calm down and closed my eyes then I lost lucidity and then awoken (still in dream) I was in my room and I grabbed my Dream Journal and I said "Oh my God" my mum comes in the room and says I have an assessment, I said that I needed paper yada yada.

I am proud that I actually got lucid for a bit! :D
I will start doing RCs when I wake up just in case stuff like that happens again and I will also start reading up on Stability in dreams.

If anyone could say or link me some stabilization methods that will be helpful!

Yay!!! Great job! First lucids usually only last seconds, but still are a wonderful sign of things to come.

I woke up in the middle of night and I tried falling back asleep. I was awake for about an hour or two.

I can't remember the details but I remember I was falling then something happened and then I was untangling my hair in a room. Then I was in a different room like a classroom and I looked at my fingers and saw they were really short and stubby. But I felt like I was already lucid? I looked at some text on a poster and looked back, I'm guessing it changed but I can't remember. I felt like my eyes were really tired. I was in a neighbourhood and I found a woman and then I imagined there was a door behind me. I looked behind me and I saw a brown door that was glowing white from inside. Then I went into this "Hangar" and I wanted to do what most LDers would do. Then I woke up.

None the less it was fucking amazing! :armflap:
I do have some questions, how did I get lucid? why can't I remember much? and why does my eyes feel tired?

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Originally Posted by Maple

I woke up in the middle of night and I tried falling back asleep. I was awake for about an hour or two.

I can't remember the details but I remember I was falling then something happened and then I was untangling my hair in a room. Then I was in a different room like a classroom and I looked at my fingers and saw they were really short and stubby. But I felt like I was already lucid? I looked at some text on a poster and looked back, I'm guessing it changed but I can't remember. I felt like my eyes were really tired. I was in a neighbourhood and I found a woman and then I imagined there was a door behind me. I looked behind me and I saw a brown door that was glowing white from inside. Then I went into this "Hangar" and I wanted to do what most LDers would do. Then I woke up.

None the less it was fucking amazing! :armflap:
I do have some questions, how did I get lucid? why can't I remember much? and why does my eyes feel tired?

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Congrats!!!!! :bliss::bliss:

One thing to keep in mind is that there are levels of lucidity, and we can shift from lower lucidity levels to higher levels within one dream. It's something that can be improved upon with practice.

Also - it could be more of a recall issue. Recall and lucidity don't always match up. It's easy to have a foggy memory about the earlier parts of a lucid dream, especially if recall is not very strong, and if it's a DILD. Sometimes we can even have lucid dreams and barely remember them (or not remember them).

Anyways, GRATS!!!

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Originally Posted by Maple

I woke up in the middle of night and I tried falling back asleep. I was awake for about an hour or two.

I can't remember the details but I remember I was falling then something happened and then I was untangling my hair in a room. Then I was in a different room like a classroom and I looked at my fingers and saw they were really short and stubby. But I felt like I was already lucid? I looked at some text on a poster and looked back, I'm guessing it changed but I can't remember. I felt like my eyes were really tired. I was in a neighbourhood and I found a woman and then I imagined there was a door behind me. I looked behind me and I saw a brown door that was glowing white from inside. Then I went into this "Hangar" and I wanted to do what most LDers would do. Then I woke up.

None the less it was fucking amazing! :armflap:
I do have some questions, how did I get lucid? why can't I remember much? and why does my eyes feel tired?

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That is wonderful. Moonage is right about levels of lucidity and not recalling everything. If I could remember all my lucids it would be awesome, but sadly I sometimes have fantastic long lucid adventures yet only remember the roughest details, other times the details are very clear.
How did you get lucid: it does not require an RC like the nose plug, which is why I teach general questioning and awareness. Most of the people who learn from me end up getting lucid simply by paying attention and spotting things that scream dream. Maybe suddenly being in a new place, or your fingers looking wrong did it. That is how you want it to happen.
Your eyes may have felt tired because there is often some cross over between what you feel as your dream body and your actual body. This will be an exciting weird thing for you to experience as the years go on. Your body may have been attempting to open your real eyes due to confusion about what was happening.
As far as stabilizing, you can read about it but I am not going to direct you to a thread. I do not like most of the advice for where you are in your art. Instead I will just explain one simple thing and give you one simple technique. When you first start lucid dreaming and even much later instability likely comes from sensory overload. Your brain is shocked by becoming conscious in a dream at this point. You will be some what in awe and start looking around. that forces the brain to create tons of details while it is in the middle of being shocked. What I want you to do as far as stabilizing is to reduce the amount your brain has to create by focusing in on one object. While awake look at the palm of your hand. Ignore everything else. Pretend you are dreaming and trying to only experience looking at your hand. Now make a fist for a few seconds and open it again looking at your palm. Say out loud "I am dreaming". Do this daily for at least 4 days. Now your goal is to remember to do that in a lucid dream! Like we do Task of the Month, this is your first lucid goal. Do not feel bad if it takes many lucids for you to remember and get it to work. You will be learning three important things at one time. 1) Prospective memory: being able to bring logic from waking life so you can do things you had planned on. 2) dream control: before you can float objects with your mind or fly you must learn summoning. Basic summoning is to have an intent that an object will be in the dream and making that happen. In this case the basic (does not require magical thinking like a tree sprouting out of the ground) summoning object is your hand. You intend that you will see the object and then you make that happen. 3) stabilization: by reducing what your brain must recreate and focusing on something it is very familiar with you eliminate the sensory overload. If you succeed you continue to look at your hand and try to say out loud in the dream "I am dreaming". get that far and then start your dream adventure. anytime you feel like things are fading or you are at risk of loosing lucidity repeat this. Go easy on yourself though. This one step is pretty big and will take some work. It is a wonderful achievement at this point to get lucid at all, even for a few moments.

Hi all, sorry for no replies I just haven't really been interested in LDing in general. But I can get at least a short LD every night I think? Anyways, I have a question about when you a transitioning to WL state to dream state. Last night when I was awoken in the middle of night then tried to fall asleep I felt an overwhelming feeling all around my body for 5 seconds but then I lost it. Does anyone know what this feeling is?

Hypnogogia

Don't worry about how much time or attention you choose to put into this. We will be here. You can spread the first steps out over many months.

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Originally Posted by Maple

Hi all, sorry for no replies I just haven't really been interested in LDing in general. But I can get at least a short LD every night I think? Anyways, I have a question about when you a transitioning to WL state to dream state. Last night when I was awoken in the middle of night then tried to fall asleep I felt an overwhelming feeling all around my body for 5 seconds but then I lost it. Does anyone know what this feeling is?

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Like vibrations? That is very normal. It can be really uncomfortable, though. Sometimes even painful. Don't try to fight it, though, that makes it worse, could go into sleep paralysis, or just lose your WILD. Best to lean into it.