So Many Methods, So Many FAILS

Sorry if I sound rude in this post, I got no sleep last night, and yet I went to bed a good 8+ hours before I had to get up... I'm frustrated.

First off, used to lucid dream all the time, but lost it in my 20's. So I'm familiar with it, but not inducing it. Also, my Dream Recall has sucked.

So I started a Dream Journal/Blog, I found many suggestions thru Google, found Dream Views, and the dreams were coming, but they were a hazy mess. Made a soothing music playlist. That never annoyed me, but I would occasionally wake up and turn them off. Found binaural beats, used them for a while (one great experience with them and a 30 minute suggestion audio clip, put me into a relaxed state while I was suffering from a severe headache, and when it was over, I felt better).

But I switch sleeping positions and lay on my side, and a stereophonic experience is impossible unless you're on your back. Soon, I *GOT* headaches from these beats/headphones.

Meanwhile, the Apples/Apple Juice before bed, mixed with writing my DAY'S events into a journal just before sleep, seemed to be helping me remember my dreams. I had a muddy lucid dream, just swirling through the blackness, aware I was dreaming. Then a few days later I had a false awakening that I Reality Checked into realizing was a dream, so I was Lucid... but trapped in my dream bed's comforter and woke up when I struggled to get out.

I've been doing this since about January 1st.

I made my own Isochronic Tones, had them ramp down from a relaxed state, to dead asleep, and looped it so it might bring me back to "lucidity" after the 45 minute file played. The FIRST night I used it, it woke me back up when it finished the first loop. I turned it off, and fell asleep. AND I HAD THE MOST VIVID LUCID DREAM I'VE HAD IN YEARS!

I was only asleep for 1 & 1/2 hours! It must've been the first cycle your brain rises towards R.E.M. I even said IN the dream, "This is like HD!"

So I've tried to re-create the scenario, and to no avail. Now I had made Binural Beats, and despite having made them, I got no placebo effect. It might've just been a thousand silly circumstances I can't control, but the next night I got a string of random dreams that were mostly frustrating and "pointless". I know, ya gotta let the subconscious do it's job occasionally, but after being THAT lucid, it's SO FRUSTRATING!

Last night I dreamed A: I was at work, and B: I was lost on my way home while riding a tricycle. Yeah, it sounds hilarious to say it, but IN the dream, I was frustrated and P.O.'ed.

I've tried many of the Suggestion MP3's, and I'm sorry, most are SO lousy and unprofessional. It sounds like they're making crap up on the fly, and it distracts me, sometimes makes me laugh, and often gets me annoyed. "You're soooo.... veeeery, very relaaaaxed. It's like the leaves are falling off the treeees.... no, wait, it's SPRING and everythiiiiings in bloom... unless of course you want to imagine," just shut up! ARGH!!!

They've thoroughly convinced me that hypnosis is a joke. I used to be intimidated and afraid of the idea of hyponosis, but wow.

The two good experiences I've had involved soothing music, a little brain entrainment, and a moderately decent suggestion MP3 combined. I may have to build a better monster here.

I'm married and it's hard to do half of the advice I'm given, because she's not doing this, and often times, RIGHT when I'm about to fall asleep, either our upstairs neighbor starts parading around, or my wife coughs, or gets up to go to the bathroom, and I just get SO ANGRY, killing my calm.

Any advice, opinions, experiences here would be greatly appreciated.

~Oneironeer

I quickly read through the post so sorry if I missed something. If you get frustrated and think that lucid dreaming is impossible, it will be. I suggest a break where you don't think about it at all. You seem to use a lot of mp3 files and sounds. Tried any techniques like MILD or WILD?

I'm a bit confused on the techniques, and as an INTP Rational, I find it reeeeal difficult to "let go", I internalize and criticize inside my head alot while doing this methods. I just read that it could take a month for some to get their first lucid dream, and I've technically had 3 since the 1st, so maybe I'm more stressed due to lack of sleep for all the experiments.

I bought a wall clock, to stare at the second hand -- but I don't know any methods. I'll have to look more into MILD and WILD.

Take a look at some guides here: DV Tutorials - Dreamviews Lucid Dreaming Community & Resource

Good luck :)

Thanks!

It appears I have been doing the MILD technique. Dream Journal, Dream Recalling, WBTB, telling myself I *will* dream and I will be aware that I am dreaming, etc., as I fall back to sleep (though my mind ALWAYS wanders). I have the Dream Goal of becoming Lucid within a city. I want to tear said city down. It's a scenario from a book. I've had dreams that suddenly included (for the first time ever) that book's writer. I've had dreams that when I unravel them backwards, seemed to have STARTED in a city. Several things like this, but not lucid within a city yet.

I'm curious, does the WILD technique work for you? If so, do you find it better sitting back, or laying down? This technique intrigues me, and tonight might be a good time to try it out. Thanks again!

~Oneironeer

I'm not very experienced with lucid dreaming. I have tried the WILD method a little bit with little success, but the plan now is to do WILD in the weekends and MILD on schooldays. So I hope it will work for both me and you. :)

It seems that you are trying too hard, don't do that, you won't succeed. The key is finding the method that suits you the best, not trying every method. You mentioned that you have a lot of disturbance during the process (wife, neighbors, etc...), you'll need to find time when they are least active.

If you are getting distracted by things during the night the wild technique will be difficult because you need to get into the same relaxed state and maintain it. It can be very frustrating when you first start out because it can be quite challenging for people to learn as well, but in the long run if you master it you should be able to have a similar very lucid experience almost every other night if you want to; when the other techniques rely on more of a chance that you will become lucid.

According to Stephen LaBerge, MILD can also be used to have lucid dreams on command. Requires a lot of practice of course.

Well... if I fall asleep trying WILD, I won't mind... if I sit there for hours and keep getting bugged, I might explode, rofl.

Here's to a free night!

Good news is, I didn't get bugged or bothered -- bad news, WILD didn't work, but I'm sure if I had succeeded the first time at it, that would be unusual.