What can I do today to improve my chances this night?

[Stalkr]

What can I do right now to improve my chances this night to be lucid? I've been having some bad dreams lately, resulting in loss of good sleep. I wake up, and I'm pretty much off the whole day. If I could somehow turn this around, make my dreams awesome and fun, I am sure I would gain lots of good sleep again. What I've done so far Keep track of dreams in my dream journal Mild study of my sleep habits (when do I REM, after what amounts of hours) Read some tutorials and threads on this board Currently subscribed to LucidDreaming on reddit I've got 2 month of vacation, where nothing really happens -- a great opportunity to practice some lucid dreaming! My plan for the next couple of days: Schedule my sleep Go to sleep at 1:00 am, wake up 8:30 am Keep logging my dreams Just before bed, write what I want to dream about in a book Setup reminders to do RC, would 8 - 12 times a day do? I'm thinking about trying out WILD together with WBTB. I will use the sleep schedule to determine what time it's best to wake up. Let's say my REM cycle is after 5 hours. I would set my alarm to wake me up at 5:00 am, for how long should I be awake? What should I do in this time? But I can first WILD after I've been sleeping. What should I do when I go to sleep? Any good techniques to try there? Basically anything I can do today and the next couple of weeks to improve my lucid skills.

[jamiealexander]

Meditate for 20 mins before bed. This helps me immensely when I do it every night before sleep. Just make sure you're doing it right and not just daydreaming.

[n00bf0rlyf3]

Go make a sandwich with peanut butter, a sliced banana, whole wheat bread, and a huge glass of milk, about 30 mins before bed

[Sivason]

When you are first sleeping WILD is too hard, but it sounds like you know that. Personally the core of your practice should be in developing your state of awareness while awake, and the use of a mantra. Check out the DVA class on MILD/DILD for help with these topics. Super basic. Have one of your RCs be a high state of awareness where you examine your whole living experience at the moment and determine if it seems dream like. Second as you are falling asleep chant something positive in your head like, "I am dreaming." Those two MILD skills combine will be your fastest route to an LD. WILD is very advanced and go ahead and try it as a WBTB or DEILD, but keep the core of your study to MILD. 8-12 RCs a day seems about right for some one who is excited and motivated. Make sure you do at least 4 or so. It is by doing this as a regular part of your life, that you will dream about your RC and get lucid.

[melanieb]

We all have advice to contribute...so here's mine. I'm going to tell you some of my experiences to make this relatable. On those RCs...make sure they mean something to you, that you will really recognize them and be able to remember them in a dream. If it's not personal it won't work. The tutorials have several options for RCs but they can fail just as much as they can succeed. If you don't connect to them try one that works for you. Example: For me, the color blue is a common dream sign that I recognize. Many significant objects or detailed items are blue in my dream. I can look at vivid blue objects when I'm awake and touch them or examine them. This often helps me become lucid. WBTB is a great way to achieve lucidity, and I found more success with that method than any other. This works well for me because I like to stay up late, and during the months between September and June I have to stay on a weekly schedule to get my kids up and to school on time. When they go to school I go back to sleep in my living room chair in a reclined position. This works great for WBTB and on a few occasions it has led me to WILD. Some of that may come from the different location for sleeping. With my WBTB schedule and potentially yours it shouldn't be too difficult to set yourself up for an occasional REM-rebound, skipping out on a sleep period on some mornings to give yourself a better opportunity to make the WBTB work the following day. WILD can be elusive though I find that having a lot of external stimuli that you're not accustomed to can really help your chances. For me, I sleep late during the summer, but noisy contractors and yard workers often begin work between 7 and 8A.M. I don't always feel like getting up when I hear their noises disturb my slumber, but I do manage to become aware enough for either DEILD or WILD. Though I frequently despise their early-morning activities they do provide the stimulus I need to exit sleep, become aware and then move into a new dream cycle. So, how long should you stay awake for your WBTB? The typical answer is 5 to 60 minutes. I think it may vary by the person and what motivates you towards sleep. I achieve mine by staying awake anywhere from 5 minutes to nearly 90 minutes, depending on the time of year and my schedule. What you do is up to you. You need to maintain awareness but not become so involved in staying awake that you can't go back to sleep at all. Are you the type of person that instantly becomes aware when you awake, or do you find it difficult to become alert unless you get out of bed and engage in activity? The more you have to work at awareness the harder it likely will be to achieve your WBTB and WILD. You want one thing that you can do right now to increase chances of lucidity? Believe you will have a lucid dream...KNOW that you will have a lucid dream, and keep this thought in mind day and night. It's very common not to have a lucid dream, but the more you think about what you want to experience and how to achieve it the greater your chances are of succeeding, and this can only happen if you keep up a positive attitude. I wish you success. Welcome to the forum, and happy dreaming! If you have any questions about this or other dream issues please feel free to send me a private message by clicking on my profile picture.

[xdream]

This may not be what you are asking for, but if you are able, try WBTB.

[eworm]

Personally I'd advice anybody who wants to dream lucidly the ADA technique. It's not even that much of a technique as it is a way of life There's a great tutorial here: dreamviews.com/f49/all-day-awareness-dild-tutorial-kingyoshi-113253/