Staring at hands to stabilise LD does the opposite for me!

[cfcsupporter]

Until recently I haven’t really given a thought to stabilising my LD. Although after reading the tutorial about it I thought that this could help me have longer LDs. I’ve only had about 6 LDs lasting longer than a couple of minutes. Anyway after becoming lucid I didn’t rush into action as usual. I stopped and decided to focus on my hands and combine this with the verbal command, "Stabilise lucid." - Although this had the opposite effect, my hands were so distorted that I couldn’t focus on them and then the dream became distorted. I’ve tried this technique about 3 times and each time it cuts short my LD rather than stabilise it. Does that happen to anyone else?

[acidlife]

Hey, the same thing happens to me! When i try this my hands will become very clear but i'll see the dreamscape around em go unstable! I now just try to focus on the entire dreamscape, and try to avoid tunnel vision! Also try to use all your senses and get engaged with the dream! Not forcing any dream control is also a good way to prolong ld's! And touching and feeling objects! You could try spinning your body to, but that's also something that doesn't work for me...

[Man of Shred]

sounds like a focus issue with you guys... what I do is focus both on my hands AND the rest of the dream. Shift your focus every few seconds between the hands and the dream.

[MatrixMaster92]

I kind of have the same problem. Only 1 of my 9 LDs so far using the hands technique didn't end quickly. I think I need to practice NOT thinking that I will wake up. I am going to start focusing my attention on some object in the dream, looking at it closley and feeling it. Then if that fails go to hand rubbing or spinning.

[Oneiro]

Quote cfcsupporter: "Staring at hands.." That's the wrong technique. You're not supposed to stare at them. You're supposed to glance at the hands, then another dream element, then back to the hands and so on and so forth. This technique when done properly will stabilise the dream scenario. Try not to stare at anything.

[DCross]

As oneiro has already correctly stated, if you're staring at your hands, you're doing it wrong. Your mind will try and give too much detail to them, which will have the opposide effect to what you want. It's the same thing with looking at the time on a clock, or reading text on a page - you're only supposed to glance, so you realise that there's something different (and therefore you are dreaming), rather than trying to work out the difference and waking up. Staring at your hands can be quite entertaining, though - I'd never tried it before a few nights ago, so I decided to give it a whirl. My hands looked perfectly normal, and I started thinking to myself "maybe I should find a different RC in the future, this doesn't really work for me ... " until I realised that I had four layers of hands. xD

[Aleksmy]

Wow this is great. I have always used the hand RC and after I look at my hand I can barely see, and sometimes my balance is off. I guess using the nose pinch is better? To see if you can breathe through your nose when you are pinching it.

[acidlife]

^ awesome avatar :p

[Aleksmy]

Me? Well thanks

[Hazel]

I prefer rubbing my hands together rather than looking at them. I always get too fascinated by how malformed they look, and then I can't look away.

[Samael]

Yeah, glancing at my hands works well as an RC, but staring at them is a surefire way to destabilize the dream (and I have done this). It's better to focus on your surroundings.

[harryhoudini66]

Until recently I haven’t really given a thought to stabilising my LD. Although after reading the tutorial about it I thought that this could help me have longer LDs. I’ve only had about 6 LDs lasting longer than a couple of minutes. Anyway after becoming lucid I didn’t rush into action as usual. I stopped and decided to focus on my hands and combine this with the verbal command, "Stabilise lucid." - Although this had the opposite effect, my hands were so distorted that I couldn’t focus on them and then the dream became distorted. I’ve tried this technique about 3 times and each time it cuts short my LD rather than stabilise it. Does that happen to anyone else? I just open my eyes more and more. For example, my dreams are super clear but when I realize I am dreaming, they look more like I am imagining the dream rather than living it. So my solution is to open my eyes even more as one closes their eyes when imagining.