Thread: University/School/Work and Lucid Dreaming

Yeah, I actually let it slide for a few years (gasp, I know) because of school/work. Each time I pick it up again though, I take it more seriously and get better and this time I refuse to ever let it go again! Lately I don't usually have a time I need to be up by, thus I've been concentrating more on LDing but when I do have more of a schedule, I definitely will still at least focus on weekends.

So yeah, for me it's been about getting good enough that I want to continue to work on it, even when less convenient. Keep it up on weekends at least! I think it's so sad when people give up LDing because they get old and boring with adult commitments. I don't want to be one of those people and I hope everyone on here keeps at it!

Hi there my friend,
You are not alone, I too experience all the things you are having right now. Home-works, research, projects and exams hinder me in attempting to WILD daily. I often do 3 up to 0 WILD attempts a week depending in the intensity of school stress.

Busy routines and stress that comes from them can be a big ld killer. Sometimes something annoys you in the morning, and you end up still pissed (even if you don't notice it) and going to bed under pressure about something you have to solve the next day or something.

Now many people that are introduced to lucid dreaming make this mistake: assume that few time is not worth it.Remember that all you need to do is get your brain used to deal with your will of lucid dreaming. So the more you saturate it with it, the more chances you have to have a ld, even if you don't practice several hours a day. In the long run, those added 15minutes a day pay off Just don't perceive it as "I better not do it if I don't do it long enough" because you will signal your brain "heh, this subject of lucid dreaming is not that important after all, let me wander work on something else".

Setting routines also helps. If you take 1 hour of your day (preferably 1 hour before going bed) to solely stick to lucid dreaming practice/research, like reading DV and working on your mantra will make you used to make lucid dreaming a part of your life.

Lucid dreaming is like building a house: every brick is important for the final structure, no matter how small it is and no matter how long you take to finish your project

Hello sir.

Like everyone said, it can be tough to be focused on lucid dreaming while having exams and homework, things like that. Sometimes you just have to stay away from it for a while to deal with really busy times at school.

As for me I still can work it into my daily routine at school. For example: I practice awareness when I am in class when I have a few free minutes. I also do regular reality checks throughout my day as well. I also dream journal and post in the morning while I'm making my breakfast.

I just get creative and find ways to multi-task. And like zoth said, it doesn't really matter how much time you can fit in that's related to lucid dreaming. Even a small time like a few minutes will help you more than just ditching it entirely.


Hope this helps.

I've had the same problem since i started my first real job after college this past August. I have to get up early Mon.-Fri. This has killed my recall and ld rate. I've noticed that because of this, i've yearned more and more for the freedom and fun that ld's can provide. I do feel like attempting WILD tonight though. I had strange inspiration to really start pursuing lding again. On my lunch breaks, i will usually take my lunch out to my truck and eat in the parking lot. This way i can get out of the office and get some fresh air. I can also hook my ipod to my radio and listen to music. Anyway, today i decided to lay down in my truck for the last 25 min. of my break. I was a little worried that i would fall asleep and get back late from my lunch, which would be very bad (i don't want to get fired.) Anyway, i noticed all of a sudden that the upper part of my body felt like it sunk through the seat. As soon as i noticed it, i snapped out of it. I don't know if i could have turned it into a successful WILD, but i didn't want to risk falling asleep and not waking up soon enough. Now that i've rambled enough, that little taste of WILD reminded me of how much i've been missing with lding. So my advice is to never forget how enjoyable lding can be. If you go a long time without good recall or having an ld, it can be very easy to forget how much fun those things really were. So i think one of the best things would be to try to work in your dream journal somewhere in your schedule (i need to take my own advice =P.) Lding tends to follow good journaling habits.

The main problem I have in this scenario is not getting enough sleep :c On days when i gotta wake up early, i should go to bed sooner, i've been getting only 6 hours on average sleep per night (but more recently i'm sleeping earlier which is good ^_^) so as of now, weekends are the best time for me to lucid dream, because i don't have to worry about being jolted awake by an obnoxious alarm at 6 am and being dead tired xD

thanks for your input everyone

Originally Posted by Erii

The main problem I have in this scenario is not getting enough sleep :c On days when i gotta wake up early, i should go to bed sooner, i've been getting only 6 hours on average sleep per night (but more recently i'm sleeping earlier which is good ^_^) so as of now, weekends are the best time for me to lucid dream, because i don't have to worry about being jolted awake by an obnoxious alarm at 6 am and being dead tired xD

i feel ya!
it's good that you're getting to sleep earlier now, i've been trying to but if i go to bed when i'm not quite tired enough my mind goes berserk and i'm lying in bed thinking for hours.