Thread: Age and Lucidity

Originally Posted by lenscaper

So after immersing myself for a while in the dream yoga approach to ADA I decided to go all in for a bit. I spent the last couple of weeks practicing just "The Main Practice" as outlined in "The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep". It took a while to get into the flow and after spending months working on more active LD techniques like SSILD and the like, these passive protocols seemed, well, TOO passive.

But as I got into the rhythm of it and actually got through opening all four of the chakras (as I understand it), something interesting has begun to happen. I have found my dreams to be clearer and much more memorable...with a strong sense of what I would call underlying lucidity. I am having memorable dreams with each sleep cycle now.....filling a lot of dream journal real estate with them.

But the coolest things happen when I throw in strong SSILD at the end before going to sleep for the final sleep cycle.

I'll stay on this for a while and see where I end up.

Here's how that protocol might look.......

Hi lenscaper,
I'm coming to your thread a bit late, but welcome to the site and congrats on all your progress! I'm also a "more mature" LD practitioner (mid 50's now), having started right at the end of my 40's. I found I had very good success. I was thrown off practice for the last couple years by traumatic waking life events, but I'm making my way back towards more lucidity.

It's great that you're working with TYoDaS. I find that the two general approaches I resonate the most strongly with are the general practice as described in ETWOLD chapters 1-3, and the two pages at the start of the practice section of TYoDaS. In fact, I believe these two pages are the most significant and succinct summary of LD practice in general, and encourage everybody to read them (link to these pages is in my LD bibliography post) and really ponder them.

I would also encourage you to read Andrew Holecek's DY/LD book. He offers a slightly more "Western" perspective on the practice, with a bunch of concrete exercises.

I think the degradations that come with age can be counteracted by maintaining an active lifestyle. There is ample research that "athletes of aging" who maintain high levels of physical activity (including strength training) do not suffer from the ails of degenerative muscle and bone loss. I believe the same goes for largely mental activities as well -- in other words, "use it or lose it." When you're young, you just have "it" by default, but those of us in the "2nd half of life" need to expend effort to keep "it."

Consistency is key with LD practice. Do something every day, even just a little. Keep LDing on your mind -- the notion that at any conscious moment, you could actually be in the dream state.

I find that my best and longest lucids some when I have specific, concrete dream goals. Participating in DV site TOTM, TOTY, and competition activities can really help with this. Some of my best LDs of all time were when I accomplished TOTM goals in succession. Dream length can be enhanced by actually *not worrying* about dream length, but instead focusing on really enjoying each dream, and having specific things on your list that you want to accomplish.

As for more general advice, I'd say: focus on dreaming practice, not just LD practice. Really treasure all your dreams, especially the non-lucid ones (since they come for "free" every night!), and consider LDs as icing on the cake. Work for lucidity, but do not set up a "non-lucid = failure" association, which IMO can impede LD progress. A positive, happy, confident, anxiety-free mindset results in great dreaming, and more lucidity!

Hey, it finally happened! I've been waiting for you guys to connect for months; I knew you would. I suggest you stay in touch with each other as your paths -- and your drives -- seem remarkably similar to me!