Lucid Dreaming questions, without using Dream Journal or doing reality check often

[Leol]

Hello, probably you guys don't remember me as I posted about 2x here about ... a half year ago? So I wanted to share my experience, based on these last months. I don't know english very well, but I guess you guys will understand me. So, as the title says I don't do a dream journal or do daily reality check, but the most accurate would be for me to say I barely do it. Dream Journal? I only wrote down 2 dreams, one months ago and one recent ( mostly because I am that much lazy). Reality check? Yeah, I do sometimes but likely twice a day when I feel like it. So far you guys noticed I am very lazy ... but here comes the most interesting thing: back then when I even created anaccount here I was dedicated on reality checks and such ( well ... the dream journal was mostly skipped ) and I begun to forget dreams. I don't know why, maybe it's because somehow I felt that it wouldn't work? Of course, I was doing reality check and tried dream journal because I wanted to have lucid dreams. Not sure if this is the right word, maybe my subconscious didn't believe much on it. Still, I have had some lucid dreams that were very short. But the most realistic ( and I had thought I had very realistic dreams before ) was today in the morning ( about 4am), before I went to sleep I really did firm my thoughts "This time I will lucid dream, because this is something that depends on my will and I will make it happen this time", I was really serious. I went to sleep after 10 minutes I had thought about this and then I begun to dream in a place that I couldn't recognize, it was like a hallway with some stairs and I was like "Waaait! Let me calm down, I must be lucid dreaming", I tried taking off the pants ( I know, weird way to reality check ) and I really felt it going off and startled because I thought I was moving my real body, it had never felt so real that I even thought I was just half asleep taking off my pants for real ( ). With this I broke my concentration and awoke, my body was normal so it was just a lucid dream. Is it possible to make lucid dreaming occur just with my own will like I've done? If I am not wrong, most of my lucid dreams did occur when I really thought I could do it. Or just make it more stable by attempting this? Dream Journal and Reality Checking seen to have "reverse" effect on me. Also, I noticed that about 2:30am to 5am I can have lucid dream with better frequency if I got at least sleep at 10~11pm.

[Xanous]

I think you can get lucid this way. A lot of it is about motivation and the emotional feeling of wanting to have a lucid dream. All the other things like reality checks a dream journals help but I'm pretty lazy too. One thing that really helps me is focusing on awareness during the day and filling my thoughts with lucid dreaming. You just have to find what works for you. I know that if something feels like too much work then I wont stick with it. I'll quickly get tired of it and quit. So yes, you can get lucid just by will alone. It sounds like you were pretty much there in the dream you describe. Maybe you need a better reality check. The nose plug is always works well for me.

[Leol]

I think you can get lucid this way. A lot of it is about motivation and the emotional feeling of wanting to have a lucid dream. All the other things like reality checks a dream journals help but I'm pretty lazy too. One thing that really helps me is focusing on awareness during the day and filling my thoughts with lucid dreaming. You just have to find what works for you. I know that if something feels like too much work then I wont stick with it. I'll quickly get tired of it and quit. So yes, you can get lucid just by will alone. It sounds like you were pretty much there in the dream you describe. Maybe you need a better reality check. The nose plug is always works well for me. Yeah, taking off the pants wasn't the best idea ever ( to be honest, I don't even know why I did I had this idea lol ). I will try focusing my will this time again and see if I can get some results, it's 10:35pm here so if I sleep soon I guess I have an increased chance of success. All lucid dreams I had, I normally "lost control" of it, suddenly forgot everything ( that I was lucid, for example ) and "go" with the flow of the dream. And when I normally get lucid for good, I screw up like this :\

[Xanous]

All lucid dreams I had, I normally "lost control" of it, suddenly forgot everything ( that I was lucid, for example ) and "go" with the flow of the dream. And when I normally get lucid for good, I screw up like this :\ That's a really common mistake. Good luck with the lucids!

[Leol]

Well it didn't work today mostly because I barely slept ( my cats kept waking me up >.> .... ). But I am going to make some experiments based on this, if it actually get me increased chances of lucid dreaming then I will post back the experience.

[Barry]

I believe a lot of it is just belief. If you truly believe you can lucid dream then you will. I always have some doubt, but I am confident I will have a lucid soon.

[Seltiez]

Its not about believe. It about determination. If you are too lazy to be writing dream journal its a sign that you are not completely determinated of having lucid dream. The key for success in lucid dream was for me not taking shortcuts. That just showed that i wasnt determent enough to have a lucid dream since i was always finding a easy way to lucid dream. Once i did every technique properly without any doubt or whining i learned to lucid dream willingly. Then i developed my own ways of inducing lucid dreams and stopped using dream journal and reality checking. Its kind like losing weight there really aint shortcuts. Its not that you are lazy but i think you make it seem so much harder than it is. If you just say you will do this without any complaining it becomes easy enough even for lazy person.

[OneUp]

I actually really believe in this. Soon I want to conduct an experiment regarding willpower with Lucid Dreaming. Very few, if at all anyone, has ever tried LDing off of pure willpower and no practice. I believe that it is possible, but in order for that to be so we have to destroy all of those mental blocks and schemas preventing us from attaining LDs at will. To an extent I really also agree with Seltiez. I think its really good to get the hang of it at first, then after a while you can create your own, easier way to Lucid Dream. From past experiences I would say that pure belief, or better yet "knowing" that you are going to LD works, but only to an extent. I haven't found much evidence that suggests you can get Lucid Dreams with no practice, and trust me, I was really hoping too, but then again I still havent conducted a solid experiment on it. If you want consistent and frequent LD's then you'll have to go to techniques/methods for that, at least thats what I've learned from my experience so far.

[Leol]

I actually really believe in this. Soon I want to conduct an experiment regarding willpower with Lucid Dreaming. Very few, if at all anyone, has ever tried LDing off of pure willpower and no practice. I believe that it is possible, but in order for that to be so we have to destroy all of those mental blocks and schemas preventing us from attaining LDs at will. To an extent I really also agree with Seltiez. I think its really good to get the hang of it at first, then after a while you can create your own, easier way to Lucid Dream. From past experiences I would say that pure belief, or better yet "knowing" that you are going to LD works, but only to an extent. I haven't found much evidence that suggests you can get Lucid Dreams with no practice, and trust me, I was really hoping too, but then again I still havent conducted a solid experiment on it. If you want consistent and frequent LD's then you'll have to go to techniques/methods for that, at least thats what I've learned from my experience so far. I really begun to believe that with willpower I can LD, that time which I described in the first post when I thought of lucid dreaming ... it felt as if I made even an oath of how serious I thought about it. I had even some small shivers, but the thing is: concentration which is also another thing I am very bad at.

[OneUp]

I really begun to believe that with willpower I can LD, that time which I described in the first post when I thought of lucid dreaming ... it felt as if I made even an oath of how serious I thought about it. I had even some small shivers, but the thing is: concentration which is also another thing I am very bad at. I wouldn't approach the practice itself with concentration, but a better substitute is awareness. With concentration you can get distracted and lose focus completely. With awareness you can recognize those distractions yet never lose awareness. Sounds a bit confusing I can imagine but its true. Awareness and concentration are different. Try using awareness when you do whatever it is you do from now on, I think it will help you alot. Also, just because oneironauts on here say that it isn't possible, doesn't mean you should give up. "97% of the people who quit too soon are employed by the 3% who never gave up". I hope you can see why I am putting that here. Very few people believe they can make a difference, but those who actually stand out and go for it, really do become the game changer. That is why my signature is what it is. I am a strong supporter of pure belief and intention.

[werty52]

Hey Leol, I know exactly what you're talking about. Check this out since it pretty much covers what you're talking about, I read about it only a few days ago and I attained my second lucid dream, http://www.dreamviews.com/general-lu...nique-rut.html Lucid dreaming goes against a lifetime of mental conditioning, you need to build a 'bridge' of neural connections to allow you to bring your consciousness into your dream state. Imagine this 'bridge' as a muscle that can be exercised like any other muscle, and the stronger it is then the stronger your ability to become lucid and control your dreams. Intent/determination/belief are all the same thing in the end, it's like a self-sourced fuel to your desire of being able to lucid dream I found the article above and just went full on with the intent thing, it worked for me so I think there's something to it . I also think that RC and keeping DJ helps a lot too (keeping a DJ helps dream recall, RC help ground you, etc), everything you do towards lucid dreaming helps

[FryingMan]

As soon as you start awareness training with the idea that you want to lucid dream, you're not "doing nothing" to lucid dream. And yes, check just about every single source including the Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep: building *very strong intent* is critical to success in lucid dreaming. IMO the problem with not journaling, (you don't mention how your recall is) is that keeping dreaming on your mind shows your subconscious that it is important to you. Lucidity IMO (this is from Sensei) takes two things: being aware of your state, and being aware of and in your dreams (in essence, having good recall). I'm (partly) with Seltiez on this: it takes a very strong determination to do all that you can to LD in order to succeed as a non-natural, I believe. Strong intent is absolutely part of that: (one way this could be: very important goals [like waking up on time so you don't miss your flight] stay highly activated in your goal seeking center even while asleep -- setting strong intention to do something is making a very important goal in your goal seeking center of the brain). And let me just say: reaching the high levels of LDing success and being lazy do not go hand in hand... If you're happy with the once-in-a-while LDs, then great...

[Leol]

As soon as you start awareness training with the idea that you want to lucid dream, you're not "doing nothing" to lucid dream. And yes, check just about every single source including the Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep: building *very strong intent* is critical to success in lucid dreaming. IMO the problem with not journaling, (you don't mention how your recall is) is that keeping dreaming on your mind shows your subconscious that it is important to you. Lucidity IMO (this is from Sensei) takes two things: being aware of your state, and being aware of and in your dreams (in essence, having good recall). I'm (partly) with Seltiez on this: it takes a very strong determination to do all that you can to LD in order to succeed as a non-natural, I believe. Strong intent is absolutely part of that: (one way this could be: very important goals [like waking up on time so you don't miss your flight] stay highly activated in your goal seeking center even while asleep -- setting strong intention to do something is making a very important goal in your goal seeking center of the brain). And let me just say: reaching the high levels of LDing success and being lazy do not go hand in hand... If you're happy with the once-in-a-while LDs, then great... It's a bit hard to explain, but it works out like this: "Dream "x" starts, everything looks very bit with "film grain" ( you know, looking like these old movies ? ) and then I notice that it's a dream, but at the same time I suddenly lose the control of myself and become like a spectator of my own body doing everything as if I was on another world that was normal for the "dream me". Normally when I obtain full control it lasts about 10s because I end up doing something weird and lose control. Hey Leol, I know exactly what you're talking about. Check this out since it pretty much covers what you're talking about, I read about it only a few days ago and I attained my second lucid dream, http://www.dreamviews.com/general-lu...nique-rut.html Lucid dreaming goes against a lifetime of mental conditioning, you need to build a 'bridge' of neural connections to allow you to bring your consciousness into your dream state. Imagine this 'bridge' as a muscle that can be exercised like any other muscle, and the stronger it is then the stronger your ability to become lucid and control your dreams. Intent/determination/belief are all the same thing in the end, it's like a self-sourced fuel to your desire of being able to lucid dream I found the article above and just went full on with the intent thing, it worked for me so I think there's something to it . I also think that RC and keeping DJ helps a lot too (keeping a DJ helps dream recall, RC help ground you, etc), everything you do towards lucid dreaming helps I will check it out, thanks. I wouldn't approach the practice itself with concentration, but a better substitute is awareness. I guess that's the word I was trying to say, not exactly concentration. Btw, I don't know if you Android users have the "Awoken" app, but I thought of trying to use it for RC ... but when my Xperia L enter in sleep it doesn't make the sound ( and I can only set it to take 30 min at maximum to sleep ). I think the app is pretty useless other than writing Dream Journal or am I doing something wrong with it? Edit: Forgot to say, but today I didn't had a lucid dream but how can I say it .... the "world" where was I at looked even more vivid than any other.