Thread: How long did it take you to have your first LD?

try drinking water and doing natural wake back to bed, and journaling on each awakening (unless your prone to insomnia) and each time you go to sleep (especially on latter awakenings) do mantras and such, and RC during the day and most especially when getting ready in the morning (to detect any false awakenings)

I too face much stress possibly for the remainder of the year, and it is affecting my sleep, my recall and probably my ability to Lucid, but I still try to dream and trigger. However, I find my mind wandering and lack focus even in my dreams (at least most of them)

just keep up as much of your practice as you can.

I still manage to keep my dream journal and I find that my recall is better and my dreams are quite realisitic tbh, so I hope that helps.

It took me something like 3 months of doing reality tests during the day and affirmations at night to have a lucid dream. I starting doing WILDs some time after being successful at 'dream induced' lucid dreaming. It took about 4 or 5 attempts before I had my first full WILD. The first few WILD attempts I did not get past the vibrational stage, those first few tries resulted mostly in sensations of lifting out of my body or falling, I still found those experiences very thrilling at the time.

When you visualize being in a past dream, how do you do it exactly?

Also, how do you prevent your thoughts from wandering cuz I have a huge problem with my mind wandering whenever I try to repeat my mantra.

Originally Posted by kamenriderbaron

Also, how do you prevent your thoughts from wandering cuz I have a huge problem with my mind wandering whenever I try to repeat my mantra.

Practice existing in stable lucidity in waking life. Practice remembering and reciting your mantra, and practice the moment of lucidity and include a little ritual that includes stabilizing, affirming to yourself that you are lucid dreaming, having a good look around and engaging in the dream environment, and recalling and then performing your dream goals. Mindfulness meditation is excellent for promoting lucidity (because you're basically practicing being lucid) and stability once lucid.

Nice, any tips for visualising past dreams?

tip one read your journal
tip two replay a dream
tip three find an inconsistency
tip four imagine you notice it
tip five imagine you reality check (tip five B imagine it fails and imagine you do a different one)
tip six imagine you succeed and imagine you stabilize
tip seven imagine you recall some goals
tip eight imagine which one is most appropriate for the scene
tip nine imagine you attempt goal (tip nine B imagine you face difficulty and imagine a different solution)
tip ten imagine you succeed

general tip be a bit uncomfortable in bed so you don't fall asleep half way thru imagining all this
general tip B (run thru it more than once or thru more than one dream)

Yeah, the thing is I have a real probem with my wandering mind as I think of really cringe-worthy stuff sometimes and it's really annoying.

Well then maybe try to clear your mind and just lay still and think of nothing, but in the slightly uncomfortable position.

Hoping to get a flash of hypnagogic imagery, this would not be part of a wild attempt but to see what images your mind throws at you as you begin to randomly see dream like images.

Then focus on those while they are there and begin the above tips but with the hypnagogic hallucination as the basis of your selection for focus of imagery

for me most often it will be a female face rush in towards me into focus and then just as fast rush away.
Or a scene of a vehicle like a train or a truck or a tractor driving past me or maybe a conveyor belt with stuff on it.
(We are not talking an imagined image either but rather a full blown crystal clear dream quality image)

Originally Posted by kamenriderbaron

I've been trying mainly FILD while recording a DJ for about 3 months and I was wondering, how long did it take you to have your first lucid?

I got my first LD 3 months after discovering lucid dream only with dream journal and reality check.

The thing is , aside from my dream journal, I haven't been doing much lucid dreaming stuff and I worry that when I do start again, it'll take me too long to have my dream.

Originally Posted by kamenriderbaron

The thing is , aside from my dream journal, I haven't been doing much lucid dreaming stuff and I worry that when I do start again, it'll take me too long to have my dream.

Self-fulfilling prophecy! Begin an LD practice now, do it ever day, and never quit! It may take a while. But with no practice, it'll be never or only once in a blue moon.

I would really like to, but I'm kind of stressed out to do any of that.

so why do you bother to write here anyway? you want lucid dreams but dont want to do anything for it. maybe just quit and wait for affordable Virtual Reality devices?

No don't get me wrong, I really do, it's just lately that I don't have the time because of I have a lot on my plate now and it's kinda frustrating me! I was just letting of some steam, I don't mean to sound lazy.

Originally Posted by kamenriderbaron

...I'm kind of stressed out to do any of that.

Yes stress is the dream killer

I face stress of possible (probable) death of family member, and certainty of having to move, and difficulty of find a place to allow my birds. Also I just came off being on a Jury. Without such stress I predicted dream count from 98 --> 124 by years end, new prediction 98 - 102 by years end.

So don't let attempt to become Lucid help you to acquire the stress that prevents it.

It is pretty damn easy to at least A) drink lots of water at night B) tell yourself a mantra like 'I will be aware when I am dreaming' or at least 'I will remember my dreams' C) when you wake at least go thru some recall attempts D) write down what you remember

Actually developing the ability to trigger, stabilize, acquire prospective memory and exercise control, yea now that's a lot of work.

But come on, just going to sleep with an intention of remembering dreams, drinking to wake up, trying to recall and at least writing down stuff like "Midnite: Zilch (drank 8oz water) 1:30a Nadda (drank 10oz water) 3:00a (drank some water) 4:00a Nope (water) 5:00a Hi Ho Hi Ho off to work I go", come on that's pretty damn easy and likely to get you a lucid in like 3 months (but do some RC on at least your last awakening for the day)

Would it be ok to try lucid dreaming on work/school days?

Originally Posted by kamenriderbaron

Would it be ok to try lucid dreaming on work/school days?

Of course. There is a whole spectrum of "night practices," including simply setting intention before bedtime to remember your dreams and to become lucid in your dreams. Noticing wakings during the night gives more opportunities for re-setting intention and recalling the earlier dreams, but can be tiring and can be left to those mornings where you don't have to rush off at an early time.

You can always try, since predicting only a few more this year a few days ago I managed 2 despite the killer stress
reaching 100 official LD (including 5 counted from child hood / adolescence even tho I probably had many more), soon I'll be up to 100 intentional LD and then 100 since joining Dream Views

The competition should help me reach at least 2 more of the 16 days, maybe even 5+ depending on stress levels.

Is it possible to have music playing in the background like a videogame?

Originally Posted by kamenriderbaron

Is it possible to have music playing in the background like a videogame?

sure why not, in the contest for my level this week I'm supposed to spider-man up a wall/building. After losing lucidity in my last lucid I did spider-man up a wall but it didn't count since I wasn't lucid. So all day I have been playing in my mind 'spider-man spider-man does what ever a spider can, looks like us, acts like them, oh yea, he is a spider man' will try to summon the sound in the dream (once lucid) (having rehersed it will increase chance of remembering goal, and when the music starts it will increase the chance of success)

looks like my lyrics aren't to accurate tho (just checked em)

I believe 4 days. A totem is what make me realize I was dreaming.

I had my first lucid dream sometime in early 2005. It took me about 3 months after doing reality tests daily, then I began branching out toward deliberate induction methods.