Amity's MILD-1 Student Workbook

[Amity]

Getting excited for the first class!

[Amity]

I suppose I’l begin my first entry with a nap I had this afternoon... My sleeping pattern generally swings from insomnia (where I can barely sleep at all) to hypersomnia (where I’m so tired that I need sleeps during the day as well as at night) I’m currently in a hypersomnia phase. My internet cut out towards the end of the first lecture and I couldn’t get it working again, so I decided I’d read the logs later and went to have a nap. I was sure I was going to have a lucid dream, since I’ve been thinking about them all day, especially in class, and I was trying to keep convincing myself that I would. I continued thinking about dreams as I fell asleep... the last thing I remember thinking was that I would dream of being in a setting I’d seen in a movie a few weeks ago, set in the 1600s - a beautiful grassy field. I decided I would remember thinking about being there and perform a reality check. I was 100% convinced I was going to have a lucid dream. I didn’t, but (this is so ridiculous) I had a dream where I was constantly talking about lucid dreams, and I never thought to do a RC. I do remember, at one point, feeling what was described as ‘semi-lucid’, where I was sort of conscious of the fact I was dreaming, and I remember thinking, “Ohh, I guess this is what Percy was talking about.” When I woke up, I tried to remain still. Earlier this month, I had my first ever DEILD and I’ve been addicted to the idea ever since. I felt more negative as I was falling asleep this time, though... I was disappointed about not becoming fully aware (even though I remember now that semi-lucid is still a good thing) and I think I kind of talked myself out of falling back asleep altogether, because here I am, awake and writing this post. I remembered to do a RC when I first opened my eyes though, which is something I’ve been slipping a bit with lately, so I’m glad about that.

[PercyLucid]

Do not become frustrated of becoming semi-lucid. Remember the golden statement: The more lucids you get, the more you will have Dreaming about LD is an awesome sign. It means your subconscious is processing it. It is a signal of a very close success!

[Amity]

You will find my DJ entry from 21 Jan, 2011 here: Death & The Afterlife - Dream Journals - Dreamviews Lucid Dreaming Community & Resource

[Amity]

Saturday 22nd January, 2011 - 1:30am I'm writing this just before bed to record my night's activities. I have just got home from seeing some friends at the pub, and I'm feeling a little agitated (physically) since I opted for energy drinks over alcohol tonight. What's mainly been on my mind tonight is a semi-competitive basketball tournament I'm competing in tomorrow with a group of friends. I'm a little bit nervous but mostly excited. We're all dressing up in team costumes and it should be a lot of fun. I'm also incredibly excited about being adopted on DV today. I've barely stopped thinking about lucid dreams since and I've been doing reality checks all day. I'll post a link to my DJ when I've had some dreams!

[PercyLucid]

Alcohol kills lucid dreams and recall, but energy drinks kills sleep (although they increase awareness) However, we all have a life too. Having a couple, a few or some more (whenever you do not harm your health too much) is good too. We need to socialize. I go for drinks with friends every now and then, thinking to sacrifice my lucidity for that night... however, sometimes I ended up turning lucid and recalling a lot of dreams like on a regular night... go figure! Being excited and enthusiastic does MAJOR wonders. I will teach on 3rd class (I think,) how to spike your excitement tricking yourself. If done properly, has a 100% success rate, trust me.

[Amity]

The energy drinks certainly killed my sleep. I slept for less than an hour that whole night and recalled no dreams. I woke up for my basketball tournament the next day and cured my tiredness with more energy drinks... flawless logic! Last night, I arrived home after an exciting day. Most of it had been amazing and I had lots of fun. But by the end I was feeling exhausted, and a little disheartened after a conversation with my [unrequited] romantic interest. I was feeling pretty low, but I was still thinking about lucid dreams last thing before sleep because I remember wondering what I might write in my workbook today. I can recall very little detail about my dreams last night which is unusual for me. Here is what I remember: 1. I received a >100 page letter from my pen-pal who is in jail. In real life, I am writing a film inspired by his story. In the dream, he had written me this enormous explanation of all the things that happened before and during the event that landed him in jail, which was absolute gold for my film. Only some of the pages were numbered though, and my brother kept picking them up and putting them back in the wrong place. I was getting really frustrated, wondering how I would ever get them all back in order. 2. I was communicating with my friend via Facebook posts. We're not that close in real life but he was talking lots and being really friendly in the dream. Then we were together at a basketball game and he was still acting like we were really close. I'd heard from someone that he is gay, so I was wondering whether he's just really friendly, or if he might be interested in me. I asked him straight out if he was gay, and he started laughing and said no, and wondered who had given me that idea. He was in the middle of playing basketball now. There were funny signs and messages being played on a big TV screen that were also making him laugh.

[PercyLucid]

That is some good recall for such crazy-two days I hope you had today time to rest!

[Amity]

BEFORE BED: I played a game of scrabble with my friend and chatted about the video I’ll be making on lucid dreaming for my mid-year project at film school. I was feeling creative and happy. SLEEP TIME: I think a big reason why my recall is usually so vivid is because I wake up so many times during the night. It means I have time to really focus on what just happened in my dream, rather than rushing to get up and get ready for the day. Last night however, I slept solidly through the night. UPON WAKING: I woke up in the morning and had to get ready for an appointment straight away. I couldn't remember any dreams from the night at all. Then I went to the toilet and I suddenly remembered being asked in my dream, "What colour is your urine?" making me realise that it must've been another dream about doctors. No further details came to me though.

[Amity]

My final update before class #2! I had a few dreams last night - I've written about them all in my DJ: 3-in-1: Ex-Sex, TotM and a Princess - Dream Journals - Dreamviews Lucid Dreaming Community & Resource Looking forward to seeing you soon! Thanks so much for taking the time to run this class Percy! xo

[Amity]

Here's a pretty long DJ entry for you! Contrary to what I said in my email, these last ones were actually very vivid! Split Dimensions, Static Noise & Another Ex - Dream Journals - Dreamviews Lucid Dreaming Community & Resource

[PercyLucid]

Golden Chest! Pretty ! I always visualize a old wooden, wet and stinky chest The actual, classic treasure chest. I will make it golden tonight, it will be funny! The result will probably be the same, just prettier That is right, fight a little bit your inner monologue, but do not spend over 15 minutes, be stubborn but do not overdo it! It sucks when you "waste" a lucid with stuff you would not do in waking, right? Temptations on dreams are a million times stronger that real life... after all, you will not get bad karma or something harmful for your actions in dreams, right? It was just like a dream, but I knew I was still in bed, and I didn’t have a body in the dream You were lucid!! Maybe you were not grounded enough in the dream, but you were lucid. However, your lucidity was extremely low and you lost it on the very last moment! All you needed to was to move!!! But hey, AWESOME job!!! Now you can focus on that "almost" excitement. When I was a kid, I induced a lot of lucid dreams with visualization, I would see a roller-coaster I could not ride due age, I would assure I was going to dream with it. However, I was never told to dream something. I remember when I first read the first TotM when I joined this site. First night I was very close (giving a flower to somebody) but my lucid did not generate DC Next night, I accomplished it! You will do the same!

[Amity]

Lucid!! That is SO exciting – in my 4 years of lucid dreaming, I have never successfully gone lucid straight from waking! Excellent progression there! I’m sure I will achieve the concert task soon! Wednesday: I have to confess, I didn’t do much visualizing during the day, because it was the Australia Day public holiday and we had people over at our house. I did, however, put a good effort in before falling asleep. I spent a long time visualizing my chest, which actually seemed to work really well. My mind stayed completely focused on the concert after that, and I think I figured out what sense is my strongest. I tried to focus on the sounds this time and I feel it worked a lot better for me than vision. I could imagine the sound of the crowd, the sound of the band, even the reverberation of the microphone as they spoke and got the crowd excited. I tried to stay focused on just the building cheers of the crowd. My mind wandered with my inner monologue a few times, but I was able to quickly get it re-focused on the crowd’s cheers. It was very easy because I practice shutting out my wandering mind when I have insomnia sometimes by repeating a neutral word like “the” and cutting off any distracting thoughts. My dream memories are not as vivid from last night. There are fragments I remember: Fragments: Baby, Buildings and Art Class - Dream Journals - Dreamviews Lucid Dreaming Community & Resource The most memorable part of the dream was when we were singing happy birthday. I remember thinking, “YAY, IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY... AND I’M GOING TO DREAM OF THE CONCERT TONIGHT!” Haha... guess not! High hopes for tonight, though!

[PercyLucid]

“YAY, IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY... AND I’M GOING TO DREAM OF THE CONCERT TONIGHT!” Awesome, just awesome! You have it in your subconscious. You even followed my advice to take advantage of a birthday party or any noisy moment to cheer and also to celebrate your upcoming success with the task. I am a 100% sure you will do it very soon!!!

[Amity]

Thursday: My day time was filled with drama. A close friend of mine became very sick so I was filled with worry, as well as being upset about a fight with my recent ex-boyfriend. There were good emotions and excitement thrown in the mix as well, with a letter arriving from my pen-pal and a GOOD visit with my own doctor. I still thought about the concert when I could during the day, but I was very distracted. In bed, I spent a long time thoroughly re-living my day and putting all memories, thoughts and feelings into my chest and locked it. It worked amazingly. I was no longer distracted by negative thoughts and was able to get excited about the concert. I had trouble with sound this time, and more luck with vision. I’m still figuring out what my strongest sense is. I didn’t have very vivid dreams, and didn’t dream of the concert, but I was so happy and surprised to realise that I didn’t dream about a single thing I put into my chest either! Here are some fragments I remember: Fragments: Fish Bowl, Work & More Ex-Sex - Dream Journals - Dreamviews Lucid Dreaming Community & Resource Friday: I went out to a pub, had some drinks, and stayed at a friend’s house. I barely slept for an hour (with another drunk person snoring in my ear) and I didn’t recall any dreams. I’m super tired and looking forward to a good sleep tonight!

[Amity]

My day was quiet so I had a lot of time for visualizing! I took every opportunity to close my eyes and really imagine I was there. I did watch a lot of TV during the day, but I stopped 2 hours before bed and listened to music while I browsed the net and chatted to friends. I went to bed and put the day’s memories in my chest (I’m finding this exercise really helpful for clearing my mind) and began thinking about the concert. I found my mind wandering more than usual and fell asleep almost straight away. I have very few memories of my dreams for the whole night. The only notes I wrote were: “Outdoor setting like at the basketball tournament. Talking to DCs about dreams.” I know I had a lot of dreams through the night, but I would only wake up for an instant before falling straight back asleep and moving onto another dream, and my memories of the previous one would be lost. The GOOD news is, I had a lucid dream about halfway through the night! The bad news is, it’s the first in history that I can’t remember in crystal clear detail. I remember the dialogue perfectly, but I can’t recall the setting. I know I wasn’t at the concert, but I was talking ABOUT the concert to a random DC and that’s how I remembered to do a reality check. I looked at my hand and I had 6 fingers. The dream was only short, but here’s how it went: I was standing somewhere with the DC. They didn’t have much of a personality from when I became lucid, but I chatted away to them anyway: “Finally! A lucid dream! But I’m not at the concert... I should go there! Although, I don’t know if it counts if I’m not there to start with. Maybe I should do the task of the month? Create a wormhole and visit an alien planet... Or maybe I could create a wormhole, and go to a concert ON an alien planet! This is going to be so exciting to write about in my DJ tomorrow!” At this point, I felt myself slipping and forgot to use any stabilizing movements or commands for clarity. I woke up and was a bit disappointed, but at least I was lucid! I'm sure tonight will be the night. I’m getting closer to the concert all the time!

[Amity]

I spent the whole afternoon and evening imagining and talking about the concert. As it was the last night before the next class, I repeated, “I will dream about the concert tonight.” Every other night, I have been repeating your suggestion of, “I will have a lucid dream tonight or very soon,” but I thought I'd push it up a notch this one night. I also locked my chest again, but I imagined it a little bit differently this time. Instead of putting my thoughts straight in the chest, I imagined there were glass jars in the chest as well. I put each thought into a glass jar, closed the lid, and then closed the whole chest when I was finished. I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I thought of it as an extra seal. Something went right anyway, because I spent the entire night dreaming about dreams. I dreamt about lucids, I dreamt of talking about the concert, I dreamt that Mikeac from the class was teaching me about WBTB. I woke up this morning, still without a lucid dream, but I decided to sleep in a little and try one more time. I went to the toilet and came back to bed. I repeated, “I will have a lucid dream this morning.” I thought of the concert and fell asleep. I HAD AN AMAZING LUCID DREAM! I went to the concert, but I’m not sure if it counts because I didn’t start there. Read about it here: Amazing Lucid: Dream Guide, Task of the Month & MILD Concert - Dream Journals - Dreamviews Lucid Dreaming Community & Resource I’m so excited for the next class!

[PercyLucid]

AWESOME!!!!!!!! I knew it!!!!!!1 I knew you would complete it! And right before class!!!! Also, the ToTM, that is extra credit And yes, does work! You have been at the concert, that was the task does not matter how you made it. And alien concert would have been hilarious. I combined dream tasks too and it is very fun Two birds with one stone, and extra points for flavor!!! Now, recall well the excitement you woke up with (and probably ran with a smile to your DJ) and use it for future classes! Your extra seal is fine whenever it works better for you You need the chest and be able to lock it up to trick your subconscious, but placing the though in bottles inside the chest is good too. (Are the bottles pretty like your golden chest? ) See you at class!!! Note to other students: (I am not replying to all workbooks today, but I do read all of them from my e-mail. This one has a reply for me because of the big accomplishment )

[Amity]

Thanks so much for your encouragement; it makes my achievement even more exciting! Are the bottles pretty like your golden chest? Haha, how did you know!? The bottles were bright blue and glowing!

[PercyLucid]

Well, you completed the extra credit, for the extra credit, for the extra credit You are just awesome!!!

[Amity]

While I have been communicating with you about my tasks via PM, I thought I'd better update my book at least once before the next class! I have still been visualising the chest before sleeping, and it seems to be becoming more and more effective. There is less resistance from my mind when I'm trying to silence it, so it's becoming easier to stay focused on what I want to dream of. WBTB has also been helping a lot to strengthen my recall and improve my dream quality. My memories started out being quite vague, but have become better as I've been practicing. I have been following your exact procedure: - Stay still with my eyes open for a couple of minutes - Record dream memories in my phone notes - Visit the toilet and try to recall any extra details - Record additional memories in my phone notes - Get a drink of water - Go to bed for complete incubation with my eyes open - Try to sleep and don't let my mind wander Here is an example of my sleeping pattern / WBTB. This is taken directly from my phone notes from the FIRST night after last class: Before bed: I read about lucid dreaming for a good couple of hours. My head was in a great place - I was feeling very positive and confident. I relaxed and emptied the day's memories into my chest. Sleep at 1:30am. 3:20am I woke up naturally. I spent a couple of minutes lying still with my eyes open, recalling my last dream. I remembered quite a few details, BUT... when I went to write my notes in my phone, there was a message on the screen from a friend which I read first, and when I closed it, I could barely remember any details of the dream. I remember I had been dreaming about someone else's dream... They were trying to get rid of a nightmare but it kept coming back. They were telling me about it. ...That's all the details I recall. I went to the toilet to try to bring back more memories, but nothing came back. I went to get a drink of water and returned to bed. Perfomed complete incubation for my extra credit task. 3:55am – I started to fall back asleep. 5:15am Dream memories: Dream-related again. It was like an epic adventure to complete my task, but I wasn't lucid. Someone from the class was upset about their parents splitting up; I think it was NoDaniel. I remember a frying pan... I'm not sure of its relevance. I visited the bathroom and sat or 5 minutes. No further details recalled. Back to bed for incubation. 5:40am – Sleep time. (FELT GOOD VIBES, warm sensation.) 6:44am I made progress on my extra credit task. Read about it here: Nightmare Task #1 - Dream Journals - Dreamviews Lucid Dreaming Community & Resource Meditation: I have been meditating, but not every day due to time restrictions. When I have taken the time, I imagine inhaling the green mist and exhaling the dark smoke. I can visualise it very well (I am also getting better at that!) and I feel extremely relaxed. I am very surprised at how clear my mind gets when I meditate, in fact, the only stray thoughts I find entering my head are, “Wow, I can't believe my mind is so clear!” I have been repeating mantas of what I want to achieve, eg. “I will have a lucid dream tonight or very soon,” and a similar one related to my extra credit task. I'm finding both of these techniques very useful, and completed my extra credit task very quickly with their aid. Read about it here: Nightmare Task #2 - Dream Journals - Dreamviews Lucid Dreaming Community & Resource

[PercyLucid]

We have been talking about it already, but to make it official. Awesome job, you are truly a genuine soul and an awesome dreamer! You are going to love today's class