1 Year Later

**Astrok** · 07-25-2017 11:47 PM

Lucid dreaming has been a part of my life for 1 year. I must admit I haven't progressed as much as I would have expected, but I am able to remember my dreams. I never used to remember them until I learned of lucid dreaming and put effort into it, and I now wake up to many adventures to remember in the morning.

Dream recall has never been a problem when learning to lucid dream. It seems that if I want to remember my dreams and set my intention to before I go to sleep, then I will remember many dreams. I've remembered 11 dreams (from what I can tell they seemed to be separate dreams, although they may have been during the same R.E.M. period) in one night and also woken up after no more than 2 hours of sleep and remembered the dark, shadow-like dreams that accompany the earlier stages of sleep.

I've also noticed many changes in my waking life. Awareness, for example, is now a part of my life; I pay attention to the events that unfold all around me much more than I used to. It also seems that my focus on lucid dreaming has lowered stress level since I don't seem to get stressed out as much. Patience is probably the cause of this which leads me to another change. My patience has significantly increase thanks to laying in bed for over an hour during a WILD attempt or (although I hate to say it) going months without a lucid dream.

Lucid dreaming, on the other hand, has always puzzled me. Although I've had some success, I still haven't figured it out. Most of the 5-7 lucid dreams I've had have been from using MILD, and I've also had a couple from WILD attempts during which I lost awareness but regained it once the dream had begun to form. Only 2 of my lucid dreams have been more than a couple seconds, and although I didn't really do much in them, they were unique experiences and are still clear in my mind. What I think is the reason for so much difficulty is learning to lucid dream incorrectly; in my first months, I jumped from technique to technique and mindlessly did reality checks. Although I've stopped those bad habits for the most part, It seems they still affect me.

This might be completely normal for my first year but I guess that's why I'm here: to get some help in figuring out how to consistently lucid dream and share what my first year has been like.

**dreamsOfSpace** · 07-26-2017 05:17 PM

I can relate to your experiences, for the 6 months I've been doing it. I do like the effect it's had on my awareness in waking life, and also how it's added to my meditation practice. The only thing that I can think of besides patience and time as you mentioned, is practicing staying lucid in your waking life and MILD. So you just practice rubbing hands together, repeating "I am dreaming". Something like that.

**Astrok** · 07-30-2017 03:18 AM

Yeah, the waking life's effects are really nice and a big reason I've kept lucid dreaming a part of my life, even in times with little success. If there's one thing I wish I could get back from when I first started, it's the feeling of motivation. After so long it seems even if you do all of the required elements, they just don't feel the same as the first time even if you are motivated.

**casualdreamer** · 07-31-2017 10:31 AM

Glad to know I'm not the only one struggling with the elusiveness of lucid dreaming

. However, I do believe that over time you'll get better and you'll see lucid dreaming as more accessible. I try to think of it as a life-long practice, so there's no pressure.