Thread: Help getting back into the rhythm

You are very much welcome!

If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Seeya around!

Originally Posted by paigeyemps

You are very much welcome!

If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Seeya around!

Wow, whatever I'm doing differently now is working. Today I woke up a bit earlier than I usually do, because I went to go meet up with a friend, and only got about 5-6 hours of sleep. I came home about 2 and a half hours later and went to sleep, and I suppose I "accidentally" did a WBTB. I got lucid really quick, and it was my first lucid dream where I was able to conjure up something or cause something to happen by expecting it. The dream didn't last very long at all, maybe a max of 30 seconds, but as soon as I became lucid I conjured the man in my really intense nightmare, who was executing me with a revolver. I'd decided I wanted to face my nightmare head on, and since for a long time now I've been researching/been very interested in samurai, I decided that I wanted to have the courage of one, so I tackled him, and while it was vague, I believe he sort of transformed into a more friendly person, I suppose as if to signify the passing of the threat, or at least, that's how I interpreted it.

This was quite reassuring to me. Not only have I had another LD to help boost my confidence, but I no longer fear my previous nightmares. I think that while my subconscious will be slightly doubtful for a little while, I no longer seem to have that feeling of being extremely unsure. Your advice on taking LDing as an adventure seemed to help as well, I have a feeling that without that mental barrier (provided it truly is gone) that I will be able to make very quick progress now. Your advice helped me a ton, I'm still kind of surprised that I've so quickly had another LD, and one so motivating.

But, this reminds me of one last question (I know, I know). I've had 5 dreams that I seriously consider lucid dreams, where they're relatively clear, I know I'm dreaming, and preferably I have at least a minimum of control. One of the dreams has been due to a MILD where I basically convinced myself I would have an LD that night. Every other LD has been due to WBTB, but the thing is, I've attempted many, many WBTB's, and the one thing that seems to make them work is if I don't plan for it. As I said, for this one, I got about 6 hours of sleep, and then about 2 and a half hours later I went back to sleep, when I had the dream. Here's whats caused every other LD (and any dreams close to an LD). I have chronic pain, and sometimes when I wake up for school, it becomes horrible, and I have to go back to sleep. That's when I've had the other LD's, and if I don't have a lucid dream, I have multiple very meaningful dreams. Whenever I wake up, and have to do something that I really don't want to, or if I get really stressed or worked up, or just in general have to wake up much more fast than I'd like before going to sleep, I seem to have a much, much higher chance of having a lucid dream. Now, here's the thing, I can't figure out how I could replicate that effect when I plan to do a WBTB. Do you, by any chance, have any suggestions? I wouldn't blame you if you have no idea, because I myself am rather confused by it. Maybe it's not as much that I need to replicate that feeling as much as I need to work on how I do planned WBTB's.

Also, I know I've said this about other thing's I've written before, but I'm tired and really should have done this earlier, so it may be rather incoherent in places. Please let me know if any of that didn't make sense, and I'll correct myself.

GAAAHHH DAMN I TYPED A LONG-ASS REPLY AND THE BROWSER CRAS--- oh nvm there's autosave whewwwww

Oh wow that's awesome!! congratulations on the lucid and confronting the nightmare

You know, i forgot to mention this before but even *intending* and thinking about facing your nightmare helps you a lot to actually do it. It's pretty much mental conditioning. So great job!

As for the WBTB dilemma, have you tried experimenting with the time you sleep as well as the time you stay up? Those times you had to wake up early, it could be that they coincided with your REM period, so the WBTB was much more effective. The key to WBTB lies in knowing YOUR optimum time, and not relying on what others say it should be. I suggest keeping logs of the amount of time you sleep and the amount of time you stay up for your WBTBs, including the conditions like if you had bright lights when you woke up or if you did or ate anything prior or during the WBTB. All of those affect how it's gonna work out. I gotta be honest, it took me quite some time to figure out my optimum time. (My time is around 2 hours of staying awake and about 4 hours of initial sleep). But i tell you, once you finally figure it out, it's all worth it! Provided ofc that you dont have any dramatic changes in sleep schedule.

The thing is, it's hard to pin down exactly how WBTB works. Sometimes it's just placebo effect, sometimes just luck. That's why I recommend experimenting with it as much as you can because personally it makes you more confident about yourself when you actually know what you're doing as opposed to just "hoping it works this time".

Oh and another thing, REM rebound.

REM-rebound happens when someone is deprived of REM sleep, therefore, they usually occur much more quickly and last longer in order to make up for the lost time.

That could be another possibilty. If you got only very light sleep and few hours, your REM could've had a boost the moment you slept again, making you lucid quicker.

Cheers!