What is it to be good at Lucid Dreaming?

Recently I've been trying to consistently LD, as I have the time to learn now that Im on summer break. So far I've had pretty minimal success; a few short lucid experiences and steadily improving recall. But as my lack of first-hand experience continues to pique my curiosity, I begin to wonder what it is that I'm truly practicing towards.

So my questions go to those who consider themselves fairly good at LDing. How often do you LD? How long is a normal LD for you? What's your technique? Really what I'm asking is, what is the advanced side of LD like? I want to know what to expect out of my practice later on down the road, just so I have a reasonable understanding of what it will be like once I've developed my skill.

Thanks to anyone who can give me some insight! :D

Well, I guess I'd consider myself fairly good, although, not as good as I want to be. I have a lucid dream usually once per day at least, actually usually more like two or three and sometime I'll even get up to five in one day. But the reason I don't consider that good enough is I have to progress my in lucid stability and whatnot. Right now it really varies in the dream, it could be five minutes long or it could be two hours long, so once I fix my stability issue I think I'll be doing well.

I mostly use DILD and then couple that with DEILD if I notice a dream ending. Although I do have WILDs, occasionally. And in my beginning days I used SSILD a lot which I had great success with starting out, but, don't really see the need to keep doing with the current frequency of LDs I have. But, the best part of 'advanced' lucid dreaming I'd have to say, is the greater dream control and ability to exercise your dream powers to a greater degree than you previously could..

Ok, so eventually dreams will last longer than, say, 5 minutes. That's good to hear, I was beginning to worry that in all Lucid Dreams were relatively short experiences.

How long was it before you could consistently LD? And I've heard DILDs are done mainly by chance, how do you manage to have them every night? :O
EDIT: Also, what kind of "work" do you have to do to maintain that?

I have so many questions haha, and I appreciate your help!

How long was it before I consistently Ld'd... Well, that's tough, I've come to realize that I'm more of a 'natural' than some of the other people I've seen. And by that I mean, that, I was just able to pick it up much quicker. But, I'd say within two to three months I would have more than one per week. But I've been practicing, off on and on, for almost two years now.

Well, I should add that part of my DILD technique is to do a WBTB every night, although I wake up naturally so no need for an alarm or anything, for me, although, in the beginning I did have to use an alarm but after so long I've acclimated. So, once I wake up I get my mind on lucid dreaming, and that is usually enough to spark the lucidity once I'm back in a dream, as, it carries over. And then even if I don't focus on lucid dreaming during my WBTB I can still most times go back to sleep and then once in the dream, after having recognized it so many time before, just tell that I'm dreaming, it's just a sort of feeling you acquire over time.. And, I don't exactly do work to maintain it, I don't even maintain a dream journal at this point, which I advise against, you should definitely always maintain a journal, I'm just lazy. Really, the only work I do is wake up for my WBTB and get in the lucid dreaming mindset.

Well that's good to hear, I was beginning to think Id be doing RC's forever. :D
Thanks so much, you've really helped clear some things up!

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Originally Posted by Kraom

Well, I guess I'd consider myself fairly good, although, not as good as I want to be. I have a lucid dream usually once per day at least, actually usually more like two or three and sometime I'll even get up to five in one day. But the reason I don't consider that good enough is I have to progress my in lucid stability and whatnot. Right now it really varies in the dream, it could be five minutes long or it could be two hours long, so once I fix my stability issue I think I'll be doing well.

I mostly use DILD and then couple that with DEILD if I notice a dream ending. Although I do have WILDs, occasionally. And in my beginning days I used SSILD a lot which I had great success with starting out, but, don't really see the need to keep doing with the current frequency of LDs I have. But, the best part of 'advanced' lucid dreaming I'd have to say, is the greater dream control and ability to exercise your dream powers to a greater degree than you previously could..

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To me that is really good. Im struggling to even have one LD :( I either fall asleep whilst trying to FILD or find that DILD does not work

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Originally Posted by Kraom

...once in the dream, after having recognized it so many time before, just tell that I'm dreaming, it's just a sort of feeling you acquire over time.. And, I don't exactly do work to maintain it....

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This is one of the blessed aspects of dream work - it gains its own momentum so you do not need to focus so much on just becoming aware within the dream. It will become a natural second state of being.

Here are a few aspects of becoming good at lucid dreaming .

Self awareness and critical thinking will stay at a high degree. Less "half lucid" dreams where much of the dream is not recognized as unreal.

Little to no dream-plot in the background; just you in a virtual environment which responds to your thoughts.

Memory and ability to act on waking life goals you have pre-planned for the dream.

Increased length.

Increased intensity of experience and ability to stay in the dream as this is going on. Less need to curtail emotional reactions. Which sort of leads into...

Experiences which are less "virtual reality funhouse" in nature and more profound/spiritually charged.

More able to move within the rules of the dream environment. Ie: flying is as simple as walking.

These are all good lucid dreams which can occur frequently, though less impressive and clear LDs can still occur often.

To be good at Lucid dreaming, you must have a transparency of doubt.
If you believe Lucid dreaming is difficult, you will never experience one.

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Originally Posted by Rev

Recently I've been trying to consistently LD, as I have the time to learn now that Im on summer break. So far I've had pretty minimal success; a few short lucid experiences and steadily improving recall. But as my lack of first-hand experience continues to pique my curiosity, I begin to wonder what it is that I'm truly practicing towards.

So my questions go to those who consider themselves fairly good at LDing. How often do you LD? How long is a normal LD for you? What's your technique? Really what I'm asking is, what is the advanced side of LD like? I want to know what to expect out of my practice later on down the road, just so I have a reasonable understanding of what it will be like once I've developed my skill.

Thanks to anyone who can give me some insight! :D

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I may not be veteran with lucid dreaming, with only about 50+ recalled, but I find that the "lucid dreamer" being the only acknowledged "authority" status leads to misconceptions that we can only learn through lucid dreaming. Since I join this forum, I automatically became a child all over again with the potential that lucid dreaming and dreaming overall can give me. As I kept trying to discipline myself in recalling my dreams (from June 2011 up until now, despite my short break of not recalling as much as I did before), I found myself being able to recall dreams pretty decently for a newcomer.

As I went through the typical stages and the eventual lesson that we can't take guides to absolute laws, but rather just a supplement towards our own progress, I find myself battling through reality and dreaming itself. Whether it's accepting that Lucid Dreaming is the epitome of experiencing Solipsism, and trying to find meaning through dream characters, and balancing myself to not go too far into forgetting that the experience is all within the confines of my mind....I find myself personally wanting to expand outward. Lucid dreaming, and being a "pro LDer" are all just labels just to make people feel better about themselves that they're doing something not many people do for most of their lives. For me, I see value in my non-lucid dreams as well, but you don't see anyone telling themselves "Hey, I'm a pro non-lucid dreamer too!"

When you try to find dream guides, spirit guides, astral guides, whatever higher aspect of yourself you're looking for to make your life easier, better, more fulfilling and meaningful to you, you will encounter the negatives that comes with it. The most prevalent is the escapism and wanting to just forget reality itself, to see that your mind truly can make near-perfect projections of the people you consider most dear in your reality, the urges become so strong....we start becoming more focused on ourselves that we may develop apathy of others. Because after all, why worry about other people when I can build willpower to the point where I can become anything I can imagine? If I can imagine it, I sure as hell can have it held on my hand if I'm willing to make it happen (things that are practical obviously).

And not only that, even as you try to convince yourself that it's all just the confines of your minds, those slips of curiosity of wondering if there's more to that can come by, and as we try to fathom it all, it becomes harder to process and record them for safekeeping. It feels that as we grow as individuals and use dreaming overall as a supplement towards our desire to excel in life, we do eventually have to have some attachment to the same thought-forms in our dreams as a means of delegating to accommodate us trying to shoulder the burdens that comes exploring the mind and going on a scavenger hunt. Seeking to collaborate with the subconscious and other aspects of our minds starts becoming a desire, a necessity for our growing curiosity.

We start seeing ourselves as something special because of this, we start caring less about how others helped us in our lives in some way. And even when we can become more competent and aware of how the world works and continually aiming to seek more knowledge, if there's something you really want to know of what it takes to just be a person that embraces dreaming life and waking life:



We all tend to feel that we are the starring roles in this life, and tend to view thought-forms in our dreams and people in our lives as minor characters that just add on to the experience. This tends to make us feel the world revolves around us, and we want to feel significant and important and unique compared to the billions of people in this world. But as much as we want to feel that, it's not really like that, it's not how this world really works (or being conceptualized). Being able to realize that you're doing this for your own sake, for your own desire to be content with yourself, that the more you explore yourself, the more others might think you're crazy or delusional. Being able to know they have their own opinions, and that you have control over yourself rather than them, but taking their thoughts into consideration from time to time, you'll see that trying to be one who excels in life comes with negatives we have to deal with. But we shouldn't let ourselves be defeatists because of this, the only way we can truly advance ourselves is to ask why we're doing this, believing we can do it, getting what we put out into this, and seeing this as a never-ending finish line for improving ourselves.

But even with that, even if you can find yourself making new beginnings and finding solace again, my own opinions or anyone's perspective should just be a supplement for your own desires with waking life and dreaming life, and maybe beyond, just maybe, but we can only know based on our own experiences. Wanting to expand outward when we're restricted to this mortal body, and knowing our subconscious can express unconditional love better than anyone we meet in this life , and much more...it becomes an endeavor of coping with those urges and justifying everything.....

Every.

Single.

Thought.