Thread: Speed of which to achieve LDs?

Ever since I've been trying to LD, like, since a week ago, I have not encountered one yet. I have around 10 dream Journal entries, and 1 major sign, that's all. I've tried most of the methods, WILD, MILD, DILD, SSILD. All that has been happening is that my dreams are more 1st person than 3rd, (My older dreams are a LOT more 3rd person), and my dreams are more vivid, AND I remember atleast 1 a night. What am I doing wrong?

Also, should I use an alarm clock or wake up naturally? (I do wake up naturally, but sometimes LDing is not on my mind at the time.)

Another also: I am 12, does this affect the possibilities of me having LDs?

the fact that your dreams are becoming more 1st person than 3rd, means your improving.
and i dont think lucidity come in only a week of practice. you have to practice more
the fact that your young, has nothing to do with it. as for the alarm clock, whatever method feels more comfortable for you
the best teacher you can have is yourself

keep trying and make sure to do reality checks!

Keep at it. You've really only just begun, be patient! The fact that you've started journaling your dreams is a great start, it will not only help you discover dreamsigns but boost your recall. Keep journaling till you're recording two or more dreams per night. People do in fact have several bursts of REM sleep every night, which can contain several dreams each. Recording one a night is good going though. To make it easier to remember more, try leaving a pen and paper beside your bed, on which you can jot down (very) rough notes on any dreams you have during the night. It's not uncommon for people to wake up briefly between dreams. Even if you scribble down a couple of words in that time, it could be enough to jog your memory of a whole dream later. EDIT: I forgot to mention, when you wake up, lie completely still and try to remember as much about the dream as possible before rolling over to write anything down. Something about moving seems to degrade the memory of previous dreams. You'll find you remember much more if you don't move upon waking.

As you pay more attention to your dreams (through journaling), you'll start to remember more automatically. A decent bank of dreams allows you to pick out recurring dreamsigns. If you've got one already, great! But always be on the lookout for more. Practise reality-checking throughout the day as well- particularly if your dreamsign is something which happens in real life as well as dreams. If you haven't heard of reality-checking yet, it's a way of testing whether or not you're dreaming. A common one is counting your fingers. For some reason, hands never look quite right in dreams. Quite often, there are too many fingers. I once counted 16 on one hand. Anyway, the point is to get used to reality-checking all the time in real life, and the habit will carry over to your dreams. When you try it in a dream, the test will fail and you'll know you're in a dream.

As for the alarm, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. You might find it easier to go straight back to sleep if you use an alarm to wake yourself up earlier than you would normally. That means you can try a WBTB-WILD. By the way, if you're awake for even a minute or two and go back to sleep, you have a much greater chance of gaining lucidity in the subsequent dreams.

As far as I know, age has no effect on lucid dreaming. Good luck!

Originally Posted by J.D.

Keep at it. You've really only just begun, be patient! The fact that you've started journaling your dreams is a great start, it will not only help you discover dreamsigns but boost your recall. Keep journaling till you're recording two or more dreams per night. People do in fact have several bursts of REM sleep every night, which can contain several dreams each. Recording one a night is good going though. To make it easier to remember more, try leaving a pen and paper beside your bed, on which you can jot down (very) rough notes on any dreams you have during the night. It's not uncommon for people to wake up briefly between dreams. Even if you scribble down a couple of words in that time, it could be enough to jog your memory of a whole dream later.

As you pay more attention to your dreams (through journaling), you'll start to remember more automatically. A decent bank of dreams allows you to pick out recurring dreamsigns. If you've got one already, great! But always be on the lookout for more. Practise reality-checking throughout the day as well- particularly if your dreamsign is something which happens in real life as well as dreams. If you haven't heard of reality-checking yet, it's a way of testing whether or not you're dreaming. A common one is counting your fingers. For some reason, hands never look quite right in dreams. Quite often, there are too many fingers. I once counted 16 on one hand. Anyway, the point is to get used to reality-checking all the time in real life, and the habit will carry over to your dreams. When you try it in a dream, the test will fail and you'll know you're in a dream.

As for the alarm, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. You might find it easier to go straight back to sleep if you use an alarm to wake yourself up earlier than you would normally. That means you can try a WBTB-WILD. By the way, if you're awake for even a minute or two and go back to sleep, you have a much greater chance of gaining lucidity in the subsequent dreams.

As far as I know, age has no effect on lucid dreaming. Good luck!

Thanks!
Also, I actually do remember around 2 dreams a night, I'm just really lazy in bed when I remember a dream slipping away, but I did record 1 today.

That's good! Take a look at my edit above. ^^ That should help with the problem of dreams slipping away.

Originally Posted by skullgunner1

...since a week ago... I have around 10 dream Journal entries...I've tried most of the methods, WILD, MILD, DILD, SSILD...my dreams are more 1st person than 3rd...and my dreams are more vivid, AND I remember atleast 1 a night...

Mate, you are way ahead of me and I've been doing this for 4 weeks,

Originally Posted by skullgunner1

Also, should I use an alarm clock...? (I do wake up naturally...

Another also: I am 12, does this affect the possibilities of me having LDs?

I would say don't use an alarm as it shocks you out of sleep(imagine, your having your first lucid dream and your alarm goes off, tearing you out from it) if you wake up naturally and don't feel like it then you won't feel like with an alarm

As for being twelve, it should be easier than an adult, purely because of a more active imagination. But at the same time it may be hard because of lack of concentration...IF that is a problem for you.

Lucky you for getting an early start, enjoy using more of your life.

Anyway bro, you are off to an amazing start of an amazing journey.

It normally takes people around a month (on average) to get their first lucid. It can take more time or it can take less time.

If you stay motivated, and keep practicing a technique you will get lucid soon! Be patient!

Your age does not affect your ability to lucid dream. In fact, some people say the younger you are the easier it is to lucid dream. I think the same applies to most skills. Good luck!

Remember to be lucid throughout the day and don't expect you're gonna dream lucid before sleep. I'm just a beginner but I can say most of my ld's happened when I ddin't really expected them. Be patient.
Personally it took me 4 days to my first very short but very vivid ld. But for some it may take longer.

You need to stick to one technique for a longer amount of time. 4 techniques in one week is too many.