Thread: It's been almost 2 years.

I got into LD'ing May 2009.

I still haven't had a long, vivid lucid dream. Every time I realize I'm dreaming it fades right then and I don't have good control. I always wake up.

So what's wrong?

Am I not dedicated enough? Am I doing something wrong? Should I give up? :/

Well, it all depends. What are you doing? How are you doing it? All of that is needed, maybe you are overstressing about it.

Also, if it makes you feel better, it took me 8 years to induce even one LD, so that you can already induce them is good.

I'm doing what most people here would do...I focus on my dream recall and if it drops I push it back up. I meditate and relax myself, other stuff like that. I enjoy many books about dreaming and LD'ing. I don't over stress about it at all. I'm pretty relaxed with it. I focus hard, but not too hard so that it wont work.

Ah, but what method are you going for? WILD or DILD?
Also, it sounds like you are in the right path, how many lucids have you had? Maybe you just need to gather some more experience.
Oh right, do you do any stabilization techniques?

I usually try WBTB, DILD, and sometimes WILD which I've had a small amount of success with.

I've had 6 very small lucids that I woke up from as soon as they started. They were not very vivid and I couldn't move at all.

I do many reality checks...stabilization techniques? Do you mean like rubbing my hands in my lucids? I would, but I can't move in them. I wake up immediately..

Lets see, do you think it has to do with excitment or fear? Maybe you get scared because of the paralysis? Or too excited because of the success, staying calm is always good.
Other than that, rubbing hands isn't the only way to do it, you can use sight to stabilize a dream, like, watch at something and try to make it more detailed, that is another way to stabilize, basically, any sense can be used to stabilize.

I have very little control in my dreams. In fact, while I'm aware, I'm not THAT aware. I'll go "Oh, I'm dreaming" then RIGHT AWAY I will wake up. I don't have the chance to feel excitement, fear, anything.

Ah! Do you actually say it out loud? Because that might be the problem (Don't ask me why, only explanation I can come up with lol), and if it is the problem, you could try to tell yourself to not shut when becoming lucid.

Maybe you should try a differient technique... DEILD? MILD?

Originally Posted by Jayme

Should I give up? :/

Never. Plain and simple. Like what dakotahnok said, maybe you need to try something else.

Originally Posted by Walms

Also, if it makes you feel better, it took me 8 years to induce even one LD, so that you can already induce them is good.

Talk about dedication Wow.

What was really important for me was to be in the mood for it. At the time I had my first LD's (actually it was a series of false awakenings) I was reading a lot of monroe's books. I also read some of castaneda's books. There was that atmosphere in them that everything is possible. That vast dimension, endless space.
I felt that I really could go into that space.

The other thing that worked well was not to get into my way. Sometimes I talked with a friend about my experiences. While doing that I went through past experiences. This alone might trigger an unexpected Lucid Dream.
I had always difficulties if I planned for a Lucid Dream. The more I tried to get it right the slimmer the chance to get one. On the other hand, if I just considered the possibility of having a Lucid Dream tonight and prepared myself to take it should it present itself to me, was often enough to have one. Sometimes days later when I already forgot about it.

I also analyzed the most lucid dreams I had. It helped me to understand that I really can do them. Somewhere down in my subconsciousness I seemed to believe that this was to hard for me. That only the other gifted people were able to do that. I truly convinced myself that it is possible and that I will gain more and more control of my dreams through thinking about them. About what I did and why it worked or not, what I want to do different the next time. I did some mistakes ten times a row. Shortly after I awoke it was clear to me what I did wrong. But eventually I figured it out.

There is not so much you can do with your rational mind other than planning for good moments. That is what the techniques are about. Producing more good moments.
You have another mind when you are in a dream and you have to learn how to use it. This comes only from first hand experience.

I think when we were toddlers we learned it the same way and we managed it because we were open minded. Failures did not exist at this time. We simply explored our mind and body over and over again.