Thread: About to give up on lucid dreaming.

Hello. I am a novice lucid dreamer. I used to get lucid dreams naturally when I was a kid. I started intentially lucid dreaming about last year and got around 3 lucid dreams. Then I decided to stay away from lucid dreaming to focus on schoolwork and my social life. About last month I decided to come back to lucid dreaming. However I've had very little luck. On my 1st night of returning to lucid dreaming,I had a DILD lucid dream. However,ever since then,I've been on a dry spell. I've been trying to get a lucid dream so badly but it hasn't worked. I've been trying ADA,meditation,WBTB,etc.... I've been trying MILD and DILD when I go to bed,and during naps I try to WILD. It irritates me that I can't get lucid dreams. Every morning I remember the dreams I've had and get mad at myself for not being able to realize that I was dreaming. I've tried keeping a positive attitude and telling myself "I will get a lucid dream" and "I will realize that I'm dreaming" but nothing works. I've read nearly every tutorial on this website. I'm tired of not being able to lucid dream. I used to be able to lucid dream naturally as a kid,and I know 2 people that can lucid dream naturally.(My grandfather and one of my best friends). My grandfather is always talking about his dreams and about 2 weeks ago I asked him if he can control his dreams,he said "Of course! Everybody controls their dreams right?" but when I told him that controlling their dreams comes with practice,he was shocked. And one of my best friends,who can LD naturally just never tells me how he LDs. He says that "It just happens" because he goes to bed when he's "really tired",and that most of the time the DCs just tell him that he's dreaming and then he ends up doing whatever he wants. I really want to lucid dream but I guess it's not for me.... I guess there are some things that people can't suceed at and I guess I just cant succeed with becoming a lucid dreamer. I want to thank all the people who gave me advice on this forum but I guess I'm done with lucid dreaming since I just cant get lucid......

Quiting is a personal choice. Nobody will stop you. But maybe we can give you some information to help you make a better informed decision.

1. You used to be a natural. You grew out of it.
Some naturas do grow out of this natural ability. That doesn't mean you can't get lucids anymore. You just have to work for it like rest of us

2. You have tried for 1 month.
It may take much longer than that. Even if you were a natural before, now you need to learn eveything from scratch.

3. You have tried all techniques in 1 month.
It would be better to stick with one method for at least a month. It's ok to read different tutorials, but actively only one method should be practiced.

4. You have given up, you don't believe that you can do it (eventhough you did have LD since you started trying).
State of mind is the most important aspect.

5. Dry spells are normal.
One month you can have 15 LDs and next month none. By doing exactly the same thing. Don't be mad about that. Accept it, it's normal.

6. DJ
Having a dream journal could also help. It tells your mind you like your dreams, among other things.

You have to accept that you need to start from scratch and learn everything, as if you never had LD before. You should be enjoing your learning and experimenting journey as well.

I feel like you have been hopscotching between ideas, methods, moods, thinking that you don't need to learn that much, since you have been a natural. I think it's time to hunker down, pick a method (DILD) and go from there.

I wish you would reconsider. Wipe the slate clean. Take on the challenge. Join a DV Academy class. Read threads, ask questions, give answers, motivate yourself. Get excited. Think of what were you able to do before - is it exciting? You can do it again. There are no shortcuts, but have one huge advantage. You already had a bunch of lucids, so you know how they feel, and you can use this feeling in your awareness questions. That's something none of us had when starting out.

I know you said you have read almost every tutorial here. I'm gonna link you to a few and you decide.

Induction Methods and Techniques
WILD
DV Academy

Good luck and please don't hesitate to ask.

Originally Posted by gab

Quiting is a personal choice. Nobody will stop you. But maybe we can give you some information to help you make a better informed decision.

1. You used to be a natural. You grew out of it.
Some naturas do grow out of this natural ability. That doesn't mean you can't get lucids anymore. You just have to work for it like rest of us

2. You have tried for 1 month.
It may take much longer than that. Even if you were a natural before, now you need to learn eveything from scratch.

3. You have tried all techniques in 1 month.
It would be better to stick with one method for at least a month. It's ok to read different tutorials, but actively only one method should be practiced.

4. You have given up, you don't believe that you can do it (eventhough you did have LD since you started trying).
State of mind is the most important aspect.

5. Dry spells are normal.
One month you can have 15 LDs and next month none. By doing exactly the same thing. Don't be mad about that. Accept it, it's normal.

6. DJ
Having a dream journal could also help. It tells your mind you like your dreams, among other things.

You have to accept that you need to start from scratch and learn everything, as if you never had LD before. You should be enjoing your learning and experimenting journey as well.

I feel like you have been hopscotching between ideas, methods, moods, thinking that you don't need to learn that much, since you have been a natural. I think it's time to hunker down, pick a method (DILD) and go from there.

I wish you would reconsider. Wipe the slate clean. Take on the challenge. Join a DV Academy class. Read threads, ask questions, give answers, motivate yourself. Get excited. Think of what were you able to do before - is it exciting? You can do it again. There are no shortcuts, but have one huge advantage. You already had a bunch of lucids, so you know how they feel, and you can use this feeling in your awareness questions. That's something none of us had when starting out.

I know you said you have read almost every tutorial here. I'm gonna link you to a few and you decide.


Good luck and please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for the advice. I think I will actually give myself one more run with WILD. People may think that WILD is more complex than DILD or MILD for beginners, but it is easier for me. When I used to naturally LD as a kid,it would be with WILD. I didn't know that I was using WILD,but now I realized that I was using it because I would at times wake up in SP,and had hallucinations as I went to bed. I guess I won't quit for now. I will keep on trying.

Originally Posted by Deelo

I think I will actually give myself one more run with WILD.People may think that WILD is more complex than DILD or MILD for beginners, but it is easier for me. When I used to naturally LD as a kid,it would be with WILD.

I know you have more info than a complete beginner and I'm not saying that this is also what you think. Just a word of caution. Reason why beginners flock to WILD is that they see it as a very simple method - lay down, stay still and you get yourself a WILD.

They fail to realize, that there is lots of practice involved with WILDing. Most of it you learn while practicing for DILD. Awareness/self-awareness, RC, mantras, WBTB. So whether you want to DILD or not, learning the basics for both methods is essential.

And last thing. You are very unlikely to experience SP when WILDing. Unless you have a disorder. SP is not part of lucid dreaming. You would do yourself a huge favor by forgetting all that you ever heard about SP and read sageous's tutorial linked above. happy dreams

Originally Posted by Deelo

Thanks for the advice. I think I will actually give myself one more run with WILD. People may think that WILD is more complex than DILD or MILD for beginners, but it is easier for me. When I used to naturally LD as a kid,it would be with WILD. I didn't know that I was using WILD,but now I realized that I was using it because I would at times wake up in SP,and had hallucinations as I went to bed. I guess I won't quit for now. I will keep on trying.

It really is more complex. In order to WILD, you not only need to wake yourself up in the middle of the night, as you also have to be able to relax your body and your mind. Maybe you didn't have to do that while you were a kid and so it appeared to be easier, but now it may be different.

Listen to what Gab said, Deelo, but here's one more thought as well:

Don't put so much stock in this "natural LD'er" business.

If these people you know truly are natural (which is amazing, because at two, you personally know more naturals than I've met in 40 years -- and I've met hundreds of active LD'ers, BTW), just bless their good luck and otherwise ignore it; don't use it as a guideline for your own success. And don't look back at your abilities as a child, because it seems that kids have a tendency to LD that fades as they mature.

In other words, consistent LD'ing is not easy, regardless of the impressive stories you get from folks around you. It is not supposed to be "natural." Be patient, work hard, and live up to your own abilities, not someone else's. Or just give up; it's up to you.

Oh,and another question. How long did it take you guys to get an LD? And when did you begin being able to LD consistently?

Originally Posted by Deelo

Oh,and another question. How long did it take you guys to get an LD? And when did you begin being able to LD consistently?

That's yet another thing you shouldn't concern yourself with, as success rates vary from person to person.

For what it's worth, though: It's hard to remember at this point, but I think I was exploring my dreams for about a year before my first intentional, definable LD ... keep in mind though I did so long before the terms WILD and DILD were invented, much less accessible, so my progress might have been different had I started now (it might even have been slower, had my mind been inundated and confused by all these terms, techniques, and breathless testimonials). But that doesn't matter, of course!

I have found that teaching new students the art of JuJitsu is complicated by one fact, that is that young people want to do the coolest things in the world "NOW."

JuJitsu is an art that is truely amazing, but as such, you should plan on it taking dozens of classes to even get down the most basic aspects,,, and years to actually be able to do JuJitsu with skill. Yet, studentas come in and want to jump straight to awesome things they see in movies,,, but nothing amazing and powerful works that way. They get bored by having to work hard for slow results,,, and quit.

Lucid dreaming is the same thing in my opinion,,, a complicated art that is both powerful and amazing. Is it even remotely reasonable to expect quick progress? You are wanting one of the premium life mystries handed to you, but you are not alone. Few will want to work hard and long, regardless of the reward.

That is saddly why, even though we are the largest LD forum in the world, we see less member activity in a day, then a reef keeping forum will see in an hour. A hobby like reef keeping can be bought, and exact details exist on how to suceed. It is therefore many hundreds of times more common to meet a reef keeper, than an acomplished LDer.

It is up to you what you do. Do you stick it out and learn one of the most complex and amazing mental disciplines readily available, or do you say "it takes way to much effort" and move on? Ask yourself though, how many years will you get to enjoy LDing even if you have almost no success for say 3 years? What, about 60 years? Probably worth it.

Originally Posted by sivason

I have found that teaching new students the art of JuJitsu is complicated by one fact, that is that young people want to do the coolest things in the world "NOW."

JuJitsu is an art that is truely amazing, but as such, you should plan on it taking dozens of classes to even get down the most basic aspects,,, and years to actually be able to do JuJitsu with skill. Yet, studentas come in and want to jump straight to awesome things they see in movies,,, but nothing amazing and powerful works that way. They get bored by having to work hard for slow results,,, and quit.

Lucid dreaming is the same thing in my opinion,,, a complicated art that is both powerful and amazing. Is it even remotely reasonable to expect quick progress? You are wanting one of the premium life mystries handed to you, but you are not alone. Few will want to work hard and long, regardless of the reward.

That is saddly why, even though we are the largest LD forum in the world, we see less member activity in a day, then a reef keeping forum will see in an hour. A hobby like reef keeping can be bought, and exact details exist on how to suceed. It is therefore many hundreds of times more common to meet a reef keeper, than an acomplished LDer.

It is up to you what you do. Do you stick it out and learn one of the most complex and amazing mental disciplines readily available, or do you say "it takes way to much effort" and move on? Ask yourself though, how many years will you get to enjoy LDing even if you have almost no success for say 3 years? What, about 60 years? Probably worth it.

True....lucid dreaming is a skill. Just like basketball or any sport,you gotta practice to be able to succeed with it. So I will keep on practicing in order to become a successful LDer.