is too much motivation bad?
i've recently discovered an interesting correlation between my current and teenage selves. when i was young i would practice lucid dreaming with a fair amount of motivation and dedication. my dream journaling was fairly regular but i would skip a few days some times and i read EWLD* and practiced the state testing tips and daily targets presented for MILD. i would do this and have a lucid dream inside a month. then have three a month or so for a few months and then slack off. six months or a year later i would do the same.
i'm older now and i practice with much greater motivation and very strong dedication. my dream journal is the first thing i pay attention to when i wake up and i write in it every morning. i practice my MILD targets religiously. i have very slow progress with getting lucids now.
the only thing i can think of is that taking it easy and giving it less thought makes it more likely to become lucid for some people and me especially. of course other factors could play a part as well. when i was young i drank a few times a week and there were times when i didn't get much sleep and then would catch up the next night. i also took nyquil from time to time to avoid feeling sick when i had come down with a cold. all of these things cause REM rebound making more vivid memorable dreams and more chances to become lucid. now i never have so much as a drop of the sauce. i also sleep regularly and never take any kind of sleep inducing medication so i never have anything that would cause REM rebound. when i was young i also smoked, nicotine effects dreaming in a positive way (although the negative side effects clearly outweigh the benefits!) and i no longer smoke.
these are the two possibilities i've come up with.
what do you think?
*exploring the world of lucid dreaming by stephen laberge and howard rheingold.
