Lazyness is killing my DJ

[Micael]

Hey guys, So I have this problem... I try to perform WBTB with the intent to waking up, set the alarm off, write down my dreams (which have been many lately) and immediately go back to sleep, that is because if I stay up too long I won't be able to fall asleep again. My problem is when I wake up I feel so tired and "heavy" that I never have what it takes to make myself write down my dreams, you know, turning the light on get myself up in position to take notes etc. The thing is I really wanna do this, every time I lay down at night I'm motivated and willing to, I just don't have it when I wake up. I've thought about getting some device that allows me to record my voice instead of writing it down, is that a good idea? Or what else is there, how do you guys do it? Thanks for your time !

[skullgunner1]

Just get the will and do it. We can't really help you when you are too lazy to write on a sheet of paper.

[Micael]

Yes when I wake up from 4h of sleep I am unfortunately. Who's "We"? If you can't help that's ok, there's no need to be rude I'm just looking for some tips, pretty sure I'm not the only one having trouble getting up in the middle of the night...

[skullgunner1]

Yes when I wake up from 4h of sleep I am unfortunately. Who's "We"? If you can't help that's ok, there's no need to be rude I'm just looking for some tips, pretty sure I'm not the only one having trouble getting up in the middle of the night... I'm not trying to be rude, but there aren't many tips on lazyness. If you are lazy, pull your thoughts together and turn dat light on.

[Zoth]

Hey Micael, how are you doing? Your situation is pretty common. Even people with years on lucid dreaming report frequent laziness dream journalling, and they been around this for a long time ^^ The fact is, if you recall 5 dreams per night, you shouldn't feel obliged to note them all down. You see, dream recall serves several purposes for lucid dreaming, being the most famous one "so you don't forget your lucid dreams". It actually goes beyond that, but the point is: you're not helping yourself if you force an action against your will. If you still feel that you must write every dream down for purposes of reflecting on them, then I can give you some advice. - First of all, don't see dream journalling as an end. See it as a mean to something. Every time you wake up and are about to dream journal, instead of thinking "man this sucks" train yourself to think "every effort I make towards dream journalling turns my chances of getting a lucid dream higher". Think of it not as the price you have to pay, but as the challenge you overcome every day and that shows your commitment to it. - In the beginning, it's very hard to do it. It's just because if you don't build the habit, then it will seem hard every single day. My suggestion is make yourself get out of bed, either you want it or not. How can you do this? Some examples: > get an old phone and put an alarm for it for WBTB purposes. Don't put it on your bed, put it in a place where you have to get up to shut it down. > Put 2 alarms in your clock/phone. One will shut down itself and it will gently wake you up. The second one requires you to turn it off and it has a pretty headache/annoying/high pinch sound. This is the method I use to dream journal and to get out of bed: I wake up smoothly, think about my dreams and note them, and when I get up I turn off the incoming high pinch alarm. - Now, have you ever tried making dream journal more fun and less stressful? There are loads of ways of making the process not seeming like "I'm gonna write 2 pages of dreams down....". Examples: > Audio-record = easier, faster, doesn't require a light, doesn't require you to write anything down. > I developed a technique called MMR (Mental Map Recall). Although I still have to translate it, since you're also portuguese, you can read it here, I posted it for friend of my. The technique is pretty straightfoward and very different from the usual "dream journal". Maybe it will make DJing more relaxing for you, and it even offers some advances in terms of connecting dream content memories. - For last, award yourself every time you write down X number of dreams. That way, your brain will connect the two events, and you'll have a pretty good motivation to keep up your actions. For example buy yourself something you love to eat but don't eat many times (like...a bar of chocolat, popcorns, whatever ^^). Define if you remember let's say 20 dreams per week, you'll get eat that, otherwise you won't. You'll see it helps quite a lot. Good luck and if you have any more questions, just post them

[Micael]

That was extremely helpful Zoth. I've been lucid dreaming on and off for some time now, I even developed some sort of metaphorical theory to make non-lucids more appreciated and motivate myself to recall them. Let's look at a bodybuilder, in order to get where he wants to be he needs to lift weight, the more consistent he gets with it the higher his capability to lift more weight and eventually the more results he'll get right? In order to do that he needs some weights to lift, well... non-lucids are my weights as I get more capable and consistent with them, my "muscles" (mind) will be able to retrieve much more and be more familiar with the dream reality. I find that the more familiar I am with the general dream world the easier I get to be lucid. My problem came mainly from the inability to focus, get up and not succumb to the urge of my body to just let go especially when I know I would be writing a lot... my DJ notes are usually pretty big, more like a narrative as you explained in your tutorial. With your alternate alarm system and MMR I'm confident I will be able to get it going again. Obrigado !

[gab]

Have you tried drinking some water before bed and then every time you wake up to go to restroom? But if you have a great recall, just write down the once you remember in the morning. Don't feel bad when you too sleepy to get up and start writing. Think about your dreams during daytime. That's almost as good as writing in a DJ (if you have good recall), thinking about your dreams lets your mind know, they are important to you.

[Micael]

That's a bit tricky for me, I can't drink anything before bed if I do I wake up too soon, too soon to catch any REM period. I used to just write my dreams in the morning and I'd still remember DILD's and MILD's but I wasn't getting as consistent as I would like to. I would get 2 LD's a week, sometimes just one, it's when I was really going for it with my DJ that I came to have 3 LD's in 2 days. I'd like to average 3 per week but of course, first things first. Sometimes I go through my DJ, it's always fun, I'll start doing it more often. Thanks

[melanieb]

You have received some great advice here. One more thing I tried, because I hated turning on the light sometimes, is simply keeping a pen and pad next to my bed and simply writing in the dark. It's not all that difficult and by using keywords and phrases I shorten the time I need to spend writing. A low-lux night-light can also help. When you're sleepy and it's the middle of the night you really don't need much light to find your way or see your recorder or writing-pad. I guide myself using the dim light from the LED on the air-conditioner on the far side of my bedroom. It allows me to write in greater detail because I can see where I'm writing my words, even if I can't actually see the letters I'm writing. This keeps me from writing over the same space I've already written on. Keeping up with a DJ is so worth it.

[dreamscaper22]

i pick up my dj and take it with me in the bathroom so i wont forget to write in it

[MasterMind]

Place your alarm clock far away from your bed that will get you up xD Hehe I was lazy before as well and what I did to solve this, was to really force myself out of bed the first times, I was able to do this because I considered the pros and cons of getting up or not getting up. Upon awakening I thought "Do you want a lucid dream or not?! If you don't get up now you have wasted ths night.." It really helped to talk to myself in thirdperson But just like zoth00 is saying, when you have made it a habit it will be easier.

[Micael]

Yes it's all great advice, I had a productive night of 3 more or less detailed recorded dreams and others that came on immediate recall but I let them go. This is also an habit of mine I always have the urge to be super detailed and super descriptive with my entries, sometimes this is a drawback because getting greedy will only shorten my long term interest in the process. I must start approaching my notes (at night) as notes not reports. Thank you all, DJ here coming soon I hope.

[gab]

I must start approaching my notes (at night) as notes not reports Yes, at night, write down just some keywords that will help you remember your dream in the morning. And for motivation to write details in the morning, read some of your old dreams. Every time I do that, I'm so glad that I wrote them down, because some are just so cool and it brings back cool memories. Happy dreams

[Micael]

Yes! It's awesome remembering old dreams. in the morning it's okay I enjoy doing it, I will be more patient. Happy dreams

[Mancon]

Recording with your voice is a good idea. It is a lot faster and simpler than writing and is great for the lazy lucid population. You also don't have to write every single detail. You can just write some key notes and facts so that you will remember the dream when you wake up. Then when you have time, you can go back and add the details.