Thread: Having more lucid dreams when not thinking about them.

I can only wade in with my own personal experience: Sometimes I get clusters of lucids when I'm really thinking about them lots, sometimes clusters when I'm not thinking about them at all. I get dry spells when I'm really active in LDing, dry spells when I'm not thinking about them at all. Someone is sure to say, "Have a break and your subconscious will continue to work away and give you lucids" but I don't really subscribe to that way of thinking because it just adds confusion, in my opinion.

This just confuses me.

I have never had an LD when trying to - only ever had one when not actively trying to. I think it's a state of mind. You might not be trying to but all the things that need to be just are and you have one.

I play guitar and for a while tried to play every day. It made me better but I always found that when I didn't play for a while I always sounded and actually played better. It wasn't forced, it was natural.

I have heard from some, that they get a lucid the moment they stop trying.

This is my opinion about it.

1. Trying means practicing RCs, mantras, awareness, memory training, visualizing, writing in DJ, and anything else people do to set the intent. If we do all this, and we try too hard, meaning, we wish for it too hard, then it may not work well. Like when we get anxious or upset when it doesn't work. Then wrong emotions and mindset are projected.

So in this case, when we stop trying, we drop the anxiety and unhapiness. All there is left is the residue from practice. So if someone gets a LD when not trying, I think it's because of the residue of training is still there, but the anxiety is not.

2. Proper way of trying is to be practicing, but not really trying. Just knowing, that it will happen. Having confidence. Replacing wish with intent.

Wish is something not certain. Something we only hope for. Like "oh, I wish I was an astronaut".
Intent, is something that we know will happen. Something we know we are going to do. Like going to work/school in the morning. We don't wish for it, but we know it's going to happen.

So this intent and knowing shold be the mindset for lucid dreaming. Without anxiety, disappointment, stress... Just knowing, that we are doing everything right and we are going to have a LD, because we are lucid dreamers.

It's almost like "I don't care attitude". But not that we don't care if we have them, because we do, ofc. But we don't care, if we don't have them. If we just get an attmpt, we appreciate it as a learning experience.

Originally Posted by LucidAurora

I play guitar and for a while tried to play every day. It made me better but I always found that when I didn't play for a while I always sounded and actually played better. It wasn't forced, it was natural.

Ah, that's a different matter. I swear by a couple of days rest when learning an instrument. When I started learning piano I was practising seven days a week. Big mistake! As soon as I built a couple of days rest into my learning schedule I found my brain would work wonders by the time I came back to my practice.

Originally Posted by gab

intent

This is the keyword in my opinion!!! I was just thinking about "intent" the last couple of nights and it's nice to see somebody else posting about it!

For example when I just "wanted" to remember my dreams, I didn't, no matter how many times I thought "I will remember my dreams tonight".

But when I fell asleep with the "intent" of waking up in the morning and writing my dreams down, then I remembered them, in this case I didn't even need mnemonics, it wasn't that I "wanted" to remember my dreams, instead I was "planning" on remembering and writing down my dreams. It's a completely different mindset.

Happy intents. =]