Thread: Give all you've got, or try not to try so hard? (my story, RCs and MILD + some thoughts)

Hey there, everyone, this is my first post ever, and it will be a hell of a long one. I have a couple of questions, but first i'd like to tell a little about my lucid dreaming progress. In the end I will add some thoughts about my practice that I believe that could interest some people. Sorry for the big post, and I hope you guys can take the time to answer at least the Part 2.



-----Part 1 (my story)-----

I recently got interested in lucid dreaming and began practicing some basic technics like Dream Journaling and Reality Checking. In the beginning I would try to RC as often as I could, later on I began to RC everytime i crossed a doorway, then everytime I saw someone and then everytime I saw someone I knew. I quickly realized I was going nuts and just began to RC every now and then, maybe an average of 15-20 times a day. After one week, I began to get frustrated and said "that's it, it's now or never: I either LD tonight or I will never again waste my waking energy thinking about this crap" But then i came to myself and thought: "No, that's not the way to go. I read it is normal to take up to 3 weeks before your first lucid. I will keep my practice in a relaxed way for two more weeks, not worrying too much and then I will decide if I continue to try or not". Woke up next morning and couldn't remember any dreams. Went to the computer, spent one hour or so reading and felt so tired that I decided to get some more sleep. When I woke up one hour later, my heart was beating like crazy, I had my very first LD ever! A short moment of awareness during a flight followed by a lucid False Awakening.

Well, sorry for the long story. That's just to say that I early discovered that i can lucid dream too, and that perhaps trying too hard can be a very boring mistake. Since this first and only LD 2 weeks have passed and nothing has happened, no more LDs. I know that very normal, but it really got me thinking and researching technics and methods, and here come my questions:


-----Part 2 (questions about RCs and MILDs)-----

first of all, what is the real purpose of a reality check? Is it to make a new habit, or is it to improve your general awareness? I've been questioning myself whether I should RC at intervals of about 30-60min or if I should RC only when I notice something at least a little out of the ordinary. The last seems best because it puts less pressure, is much more fun and would force me to take more notice of the world as I try to find the cues for my reality checking. Besides, it is easier to get into the mindset of REALLY questioning if you are awake. Only problem is that i hardly doubt I could get much more than 5 RCs on a regular day...

second, I've decided to begin MILD two days ago. I read a lot of tutorials and especially liked Nayia's one. My main question is if all that mantra saying will not go directly against the idea of "not trying too hard". I mean, spending 2-5 minutes repeating the very same words and thoughts is quite an effortful thing...

Other doubt I have is about visualization. I have quite a hard time visualizing sceneries in first person. If I begin to reimagine a dream, at some moment I will want to visualize some digression from the dream (I mean, I want to see myself attaining lucidity, and after this point I can't keep just remembering the scenes from my dream; besides that, I really enjoy trying to imagine other landscapes from movies, pictures, books and sheer imagination). Creating the landscape is hard, but totally feasible and with some practice I should improve a lot. The tricky part is visualizing myself in FIRST person exploring the scenery, with all the changes in perspective, new objects coming up and even new rooms being explored. I will usually and unintentinally slip to THIRD person, that if I can visualize the exploration at all. Any tips on this subject?


-----Part 3 (Some thoughts and an idea for exercising Prosp/Retro Memory)-----

So, here are some things I've been thinking and developing:

First, I am coming more and more to the conclusion that fallowing your own path is the way to go, especially when we talk about something that has so much relation with intention. Going your own way can even help with some sort of placebo effect. Nevertheless, getting some advice is also tremendously helpful, as it can get you some insight into your own process. I also believe that not trying too hard may be a good choice, as it makes you more tolerant with failure and more likely to enjoy the work.

One thing I think some people will find curious is that I have stopped to DJ. I know it was hindering my progress, as I would get over stressed about spending so much time every morning. I even tried to stop writing texts and began writing only keywords, but even that was taking too much time. So I decided to take a good break and only get back to it once I FEEL like recording my dreams is really lacking in my life. Until then I will just try to remember my dreams first thing in the morning and think about them during the day, when my mind find some idle time 8)

Other things I've been doing is meditation and practicing my prospective and retrospective memory. The good thing about this practices is that they help my everydy life in the Waking World so much, that I would do them even if I didn't know anything about LDs. That way it takes almost all LD-related pressure off these activities

I believe that many people could benefit from hearing from my prospective/retrospective memory daily practice. What I do is to decide 3-5 cues that I am likely to encounter throught the day, like "next time I sit for lunch", or "first time i hear a birds singing" and stuff like that. Once these events take place, I remember about this exercise and then I try to recall what has happened so far in my day. When I am little motivated, I recall just the last hour or so. However, if I feel like really working out, I will recall everything that happened since I last tried this exercise, or even since I woke up in the morning. Nowadays, I try to decide 2 cues in the beginning of the day and the rest I choose as the day progresses. As I deepen my practice, I intend to decide all the cues right in the beginning of the day.


-----Final Part (last words)-----

Well, that's all, folks. Sorry for the big post, and I hope some people have the patience of reading it all (though I kinda doubt it). Thanks a lot, dreamers.