Thread: tips for increasing vividness?

I've had most success (and quite huge) with imagining how something which isn't and should be there would look like. It always makes the dream really sharp and vivid. In today's lucid I only did rubbing hands and spinning (while teleporting!! YAY! ) and the dream was very unstable, I've lost lucidity twice and control once.

I kinda shout 'increase clarity!' as if I am ordering my dream to do something. The outlines of objects then become sharper and I begin to be able to hear and smell more than before.

hmmm.... i never thought to try to hear and smell things!

Screaming and shouting for a few moments as loud as I can will sometimes do the trick for me.

the shouting out, increase lucidity, increase vividness worked for me. One time I found a pair of glasses in my pocket and that helped.

I try to use all five of my senses. At times when I'm too lazy to do that, I look at my hands and stare at all the details. As another alternative I breathe in and out deeply 5 or more times and take the time to look and observe all of my surroundings.

Drink some apple juice before bed.

Rubbing my hands works all right. I usually like to touch objects in the dream, like furniture, the walls, the ground, or whatever. That helps stabilize the dream and increase vividness.

Spinning has never worked for me for some reason--always wakes me up.

get more sleep. trust me, it's the easiest way. The more sleep you have the more vivid your dreams in general will be, and the more vivid your LD's will be. You'll more likely to be in a longer stage of REM when you become lucid if you can sleep longer.

Everytime ive shouted as loud as i can i always wake up. Spinning usually is me having a false awakining which i sometimes catch but sometimes i dont.

Originally Posted by lagunagirl

get more sleep. trust me, it's the easiest way. The more sleep you have the more vivid your dreams in general will be, and the more vivid your LD's will be. You'll more likely to be in a longer stage of REM when you become lucid if you can sleep longer.

Yeah ive noticed this as well, my dreams will seem a lot more bizzare when i get a good nights sleep, but this is probably from remembering a lot more detail. I have also found the WBTB method for me will increase vividness dramactically and is a lot easier to recall.

Originally Posted by beachgirl

still, while these do work sometimes, these don't always do the trick. what are some favorites that others have?

It sucks that you had to waste so much time with unreliable techniques, but at least now you're in a better position to understand what's happening.

Using more "specific" techniques like the ones you listed (or at least random ones from other people) is only going to have the same results. You need to understand the theory behind what makes each of those techniques work, and also what makes them fail.

They all work on the following principles.

1. Everything requires your attention to exist.
2. The more attention you give something, the more related detail it creates.

look at your hands, and rub them.
This stabilizes your dream body, and slightly stabilized your surrounding by association. Your body is touching the ground, a clearer body make a clearer connection to the ground.

spin, etc, (roll down hills, etc)
Movement is good, because movement requires that you be moving to something else. So that boosts both your body and your surroundings. With the exception of spinning, which actually decreases your ability to focus on your surroundings. No attention, no exist, into the void and wake!

open closets, doors, etc
put things in drawers, etc.
touch things
Same a movement, these imply multiple contacts, you, the surroundings, tactile sensations.

call out, "increase vividness 1000 times".
ask for things
pick up my magic crystal and look inside it
Those succed and fail based on archetypes.

Anyways, all that stuff you tried was highly personalized techniques that worked for certain people. Better you come up with your own techniques. The more something works for you, the better it will work the next time you use it.

But don't rely only on one technique to do something. There are thousands of ways to do any one task in dreams. You only fail when you restrict yourself to just one.

Rolling, hand rubbing or looking into the light helps. Looking into the light helps me the most.