Spontaneous lucid dream after a 10 year(!) dryspell.

About 10 years ago I used to have a series of spontaneous lucid dreams. It was enchanting and exciting.
Without any induction or effort, I just suddenly realized I was dreaming.

Then, as suddenly as they started, they stopped.
To have lucid dreams again I tried using all these induction techniques that are discussed here:
WILD, FILD, Dream Incubation of Reality checks, WBTB+WILD etc...
None of it worked. It seemed to me that my Lucid dreams would not allow themselves to be forced.
They would come when they wanted too, as if they had a life and will of their own.

With great pain I then entered a dryspell that has lasted 10 years. I kid you not. Lucid dreams had become nothing but a distant memory.


Until last night. Last night I spontaneously had a lucid dream again. I was in my former bedroom (The one in my mother's house where I lived 10 years ago) and
suddenly, for no appearant reason, I became lucid. I just realized that what I was experiencing was a dream. I immediately thought of flying out of the window.

Just to be sure, I didn't jump out of the window like I initially wanted to. To be extra sure that I was indeed dreaming, I first levitated off of the ground. It worked.
(You know, just in case that I wasn't dreaming, so I wouldn't jump outt of a window and plummit to my death lol)
I was overjoyed and remembered to stay calm, so as to not wake myself up with excitement. From there I flew out of the window and around the neighborhood,
observing the treetops and the p[laypen in my block. Unfortunately I quickly faded back into a lower state of consciousness and lucidity. From there the dream
continued as a regular, non-lucid dream.

That said, I am so overjoyed that after a bloody 10 year dryspell I have finally had a lucid dream again. I had to share this miracle.
To celebrate and to encourage those who are experiencing a long lasting dryspell not to give up hope: Lucid dreams can come back.
Even after a dryspell of literally a decade.

Now I'm trying to figure out why I had that long dryspell and what caused my dryspell to finally end after 10 years.

Congrats on breaking the dryspell!

Given the relatively greater detail at which you described your surroundings while recalling the dream, I think you became lucid by subconsciously finding your surroundings to be significant, reflecting on how you could be there and concluding that you were dreaming before consciously reflecting on the fact you were dreaming.

It can be easier to become lucid during dreams where there aren't many interesting things to reflect on other than the fact we're dreaming. It can be difficult to break a dryspell if the majority of our dreams are not like this.

The average number of dreams during which we are conscious each night can also play a role in how long a dryspell is. The more dreams that we notice, the more chances we have to become lucid. For example, an average of 1 dream noticed every other night over 10 years is about 1825 dreams. One dream noticed a night on average would be about 3650 dreams, two dreams noticed a night on average would be about 7300 dreams, ect.

well done. I remember I had a sudden boost with two months of 32 LD's in total, record-breaking compared to my usual weekly LD. Still not 100% sure how it happened.

Congrats on breaking the dryspell! Sometimes the act of losing something may mean you are on your way to getting what you want. However, this is where you have to stay positive to receive it. Perhaps you needed to take that journey to better appreciate the gravity of what you found or even you have.

I think losing my ability to have spontaneous lucid dreams was part of a spiritual lesson I needed to learn:
I needed to learn to value the non-lucid dreams for the subconscious wisdom that they are trying to convey to (my conscious) me.

I have since had MANY non-lucid dreams that were deeply mystifying, enchanting, but most importantly; conveying insights to me in a symbolical way.
Since I have learned to appreciate these dreams for their wisdom and for their inspirational and enchanting qualities, I feel that my subconscious has
rewarded me with another lucid dream.

I have learned that the subconscious mind is a superior author of great stories that can inspire hope and that contain wisdom and self reflection.
The conscious mind can never compete with it as an author or as a source of wisdom. Since I've realized this I actually prefer non-lucid, mystical
dreams to lucid dreams. I will still enjoy the living life out of a lucid dream, but I no longer crave them.

That is what I have learned from all of this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SKA

Since I've realized this I actually prefer non-lucid, mystical dreams to lucid dreams. I will still enjoy the living life out of a lucid dream, but I no longer crave them.

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I think this is a wonderful and healthy outlook....and it is one that I share.

As I am beginning to understand it, the Dream Yoga perspective is that adventuresome lucid dreaming is creating more karmic traces that will eventually have to be liberated and that those wonderfully clear and present dreams that leave you feeling refreshed and alive upon waking......are actually liberating those traces. That sounds right to me.....and it feels right as well.

When lucidity blooms naturally for me it feels fantastic. I embrace those dreams and nurture them. But I still have a long way to go with all this. So often during a clear and present dream my subconscious will offer up an obvious LD trigger which I will look right at and still miss. It's as if my mind is saying....."Hey! Look over here! I've got some real lucidity for you!!" I always wake up from those missed rewards with a smile though.

Update:

1 night ago I had yet another lucid dream. Or rather a very brief lucid moment in a dream.
It was as thrilling and enchanting as it was brief.

I dreamt of walking on the road from my local grocery store back to my home. It was during dusk. The sky was a very deep dark blue and it was raining and storming.
I specificly remember crossing the road and walking onto the pavement on the other side, passing closely by a pole with a sign on it.

Suddenly, seemingly without cause, I realized it was a dream and I became lucid. I remember tempering and inhibiting my excitement so as to prevent waking up.
I just followed the course of the dream and observed in awe how realistic my environment looked. Perhaps it was my excitement or perhaps it was the girl sleeping next to me
that moved, but my dream started to fade and so I tried focusing on the dream more. I walked into an apartment complex and thought of going into an apartment to get some
social interaction going in hopes of it captivating my attention and pulling me back, deeper, into the dream. It failed because I ended up waking up anyways.

It is significant to note that this was one night before the moon was full(The moon is full right now as I type this) and I was very restless, gripped by a wild, predatory and warlike consciousness.
It took me a long time to feel sleepy enough to go to bed. I am sure that it played a role in the unusually high level of awareness I had in the dream that followed once I did fall asleep.

I am excited to go to bed and see what my dreams will bring tonight, under a full moon.

Welcome back to Lucidity in dreams SKA! Nothing I love to hear more than someone actually being excited to return to bed because that means you are getting something great from your participaction in your dreams.