Thread: Should I give up on lucid dreaming?

Originally Posted by NakedAlbino

Whats the point of doing something if it only works 20% of the time?

20% is actually very good... it's not as if all your dreams are going to be lucid! Doesn't that mean one in 5 nights you have a lucid dream? Few people are real naturals, if you want to have lots of lucids you just keep trying. 2 months isn't enough to say you're no natural (but like I said, one in five dreams is quite good!)
People say that DEILD is the easiest, but I've never succeeded with it. WILD, which I've never tried, seems to be the most reliable but takes the most persistance to master. You didn't mention MILD, mnemonic-induced lucid dream. I use it more as an aid to remember to stay still as I wake up, or things like that, but other people use it to become lucid. You should read Naiya's MILD technique to learn more. I've had the most success spontaniously realizing I was dreaming after reading KingYoshi's All-Day Awareness (a kind of DILD) technique - I don't have the energy to do that 24/7, though. No technique is guaranteed to work. But they all require persistance, probably more than 2 month's worth.

Just keep experimenting! But don't say it didn't work if after a few nights you didn't have a lucid. It's a matter of patience. But it's worth the effort, even if you don't have a lucid dream every night.

Originally Posted by Dren

20% is actually very good... it's not as if all your dreams are going to be lucid! Doesn't that mean one in 5 nights you have a lucid dream? Few people are real naturals, if you want to have lots of lucids you just keep trying. 2 months isn't enough to say you're no natural (but like I said, one in five dreams is quite good!)
People say that DEILD is the easiest, but I've never succeeded with it. WILD, which I've never tried, seems to be the most reliable but takes the most persistance to master. You didn't mention MILD, mnemonic-induced lucid dream. I use it more as an aid to remember to stay still as I wake up, or things like that, but other people use it to become lucid. You should read Naiya's MILD technique to learn more. I've had the most success spontaniously realizing I was dreaming after reading KingYoshi's All-Day Awareness (a kind of DILD) technique - I don't have the energy to do that 24/7, though. No technique is guaranteed to work. But they all require persistance, probably more than 2 month's worth.

Just keep experimenting! But don't say it didn't work if after a few nights you didn't have a lucid. It's a matter of patience. But it's worth the effort, even if you don't have a lucid dream every night.

actually I did not DILD for 2 months. I did it for 5 days.

If I could go lucid 20% of the time I would be ecstatic.

Just look at it this way. The average person lives to be around 75 years old. Let's say you are just now starting to LD and you are 20, for the sake of even numbers. You have 55 years of lucid dreaming ahead of you. That's over 20 THOUSAND nights of practice. The sheer possibilities you have ahead of you to experience and experiment with lucid dreaming is insanely high. Do it. It's one of the few things that will enrich your life and cost you nothing but practice.

Why would you stop? What else are you trying to do when you go to sleep?

I don't think you should stop. One of the most important things with dreaming in general (that I keep reminding people of) is to value your dreams. Not only your lucid ones, but also your non-lucid ones. Once you start appreciating the beauty and interesting world of your dreams, you'll be on your way to become lucid much more frequently. I wouldn't have been able to write down stuff pretty much every single day for two years if I were only after my lucid dreams. I've had countless of awesome non-lucid dreams as well.

Awareness and meditation are also two things connected to lucid dreaming that have improved my waking life tremendously. The key to lucid dreaming is to NOT give up. Don't even think about it for a second. Just enjoy your dreams, they're valuable.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by NakedAlbino

I truly want to be a lucid dreamer. But I think for some people like me its impossible to be a steady lucid dreamer. Some can, some cannot lucid dream well.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on this part. You may be having trouble with lucid dreaming now, but if you keep at it this will improve. Also, you mentioned you had a lucid dream after only 5 days of trying to DILD. That's faster than most people here.

Originally Posted by NakedAlbino

I tried 3 WILD tutorials on this website and they all did not work. I think if your like me its impossible to be a lucid dreamer. I think its just a hobby for the people that are lucky enough to be naturally good at it.

You can not expect to have a successful WILD right from the very first time ever trying it. This is something that you will get better at the more you practise it.

Some people are indeed naturally good at lucid dreaming. That doesn't mean those who are not natural can't have lucid dreams frequently. It just takes more time and practise.

If you've only been practicing for 5 days, that is way good. It took me six months to have my first lucid dream. I guarantee you that if you keep practicing you will get better. No matter how horrible you think you are at lucid/nonlucid dreaming.

Originally Posted by NakedAlbino

actually I did not DILD for 2 months. I did it for 5 days.

5 days is no length of time to decide a technique isn't for you.

Originally Posted by jasonresno

If I could go lucid 20% of the time I would be ecstatic.

Just look at it this way. The average person lives to be around 75 years old. Let's say you are just now starting to LD and you are 20, for the sake of even numbers. You have 55 years of lucid dreaming ahead of you. That's over 20 THOUSAND nights of practice. The sheer possibilities you have ahead of you to experience and experiment with lucid dreaming is insanely high. Do it. It's one of the few things that will enrich your life and cost you nothing but practice.

Thats the problem, my lucid dreams only last 1 minute. There so short I don't even enjoy them. I look at my hands but they still end early.

Originally Posted by NakedAlbino

I truly want to be a lucid dreamer. But I think for some people like me its impossible to be a steady lucid dreamer. Some can, some cannot lucid dream well.

These are assumptions. Why is it impossible for you or anyone else, outside of a scientifically verifiable REM deficit? A beginner pianist faces the mighty instrument and feels it is impossible for him, and yet, with the knowledge of those who have strove and succeeded before him, is able to one day feel comfortable and make beautiful music at will from sheer dedication and practice.

Originally Posted by NakedAlbino

I tried DILD but I only could get a lucid dream 1 out of 5 days I did DILD. Whats the point of doing something if it only works 20% of the time? I tried DEILD and I could not get it to work. I tried WILD. If I woke up after 5 hours I could not fall back to sleep during the WILD. If I woke after 4 I would simply fall asleep and the WILD would not work. I tried 3 WILD tutorials on this website and they all did not work. I think if your like me its impossible to be a lucid dreamer. I think its just a hobby for the people that are lucky enough to be naturally good at it. Is there something I should try that I have not done yet? Or should I just quit trying?

Each LD you have allows you to get more and more comfortable with how they feel, how to induce them, and that you can induce them. However, if you keep changing techniques, you won't build up comfort with an individual one. If a kid wants to play an instrument, should they try guitar for a day, then switch to piano for maybe a week, and then try trombone for a few hours before picking up violin for a day? Efficiency requires focus on a specific process.

You will not learn to LD at will in a week, and probably not within a month. However, with a year or two of truly dedicated, motivated, efficient work, I see little reason you couldn't be lucid as much as you want.

You present a false ultimatum at the end; you don't have just two choices (try something new or give up). Since you've had success with DILD induction, stick with that for at least two or three months, and see if your progress improves. If not, then determine how come, and decide whether you should change something you were doing with that technique or try another one entirely. However, realize that changing techniques means building back up from ground zero.

In the end, there's no reason to ever give up, though. You will always sleep, and you will always dream. You might as well put a little effort into making those experiences the best possible.

Originally Posted by NakedAlbino

Thats the problem, my lucid dreams only last 1 minute. There so short I don't even enjoy them. I look at my hands but they still end early.

If you work on LDing, then there's little reason to assume your lucid dreams will always last only a minute. Stability, like induction, takes time to perfect.

Simply put... no. You have nothing to lose in trying, and it's my philosophy that something's gotta give sooner or later for everyone. If you quit, I know for a fact you'll want to pick it up again after a week. Plus, putting to use all there different techniques out there should be viewed as fun, not as work.

Originally Posted by NakedAlbino

Thats the problem, my lucid dreams only last 1 minute. There so short I don't even enjoy them. I look at my hands but they still end early.

My average lucid dream length is 5 seconds! Just enough to say "hey cool this is a dream - wait what's happening? Where'd everyone go? Crap, I feel my bed." That doesn't mean it'll always be like that, I just have to get better at stabilization. I'm sure your LDs will get longer with practice.

Never give up, It took me months to be able to get lucid dreams every few days.Even if its every 5 days, thats over 50 lucid dreams a year. Thinking that there is no point will make it harde to lucid dream.

yes you should give up.

Is that what you REALLY wanted to hear? I'm thinking not. You know what to do

for the WILD troubles, try waking up after 4 1/2 hours and trying it, cuz if 5 hours = too awake and 4 = too sleepy then 4 1/2 = perfect. and no, do not give up, even if the DEILD worked 20 % of the time, thats still better than many people. I have had very long "dry" periods in which I have no lucid dreams, and I start trying less, and then one night out of the blue I have a LD even though I wasn't trying, so keep going at it if you truly want to have more