I feel like i have no idea what im doing

ive been interested in lucid dreaming for years. ive been practicing on and off with many different techniques and methods, and throughout all those years, ive only had a couple lucid dreams, most of which were either semi lucid, or ended almost immediately. ive read countless guides, tips, and advice threads, but still, it feels like i have no idea what im doing. my recall is pretty mediocre, i can remember about 1 or 2 dreams a night, but i hardly journal as much as i should. currently, all i do is try MILD by reciting a mantra and trying to visualize a dream before going to bed and try to remember my dreams when i wake up. ive tried daytime methods like doing reality checks or trying to be more mindful and aware of my surroundings, but they just feel impossible for me for some reason. its hard for me to focus all throughout the day. deep down, i feel like i'll never be able to lucid dream because i can never get those methods like reality checks, or mindfulness down.

It sounds like you do know what you're doing! And you know that you're not giving it your all. Maybe because your results were less than you'd hoped, you're reluctant to dedicate more time and energy than you are now.

Lucid dreaming is a serious endeavor, very rewarding to be sure once you start to see some progress, but like all serious endeavors you need to put in the time and energy for your abilities and results to grow. It all begins with living a life where you promote high quality, regular sleep, and where you develop very good dream recall. It's not just recall, though, it's creating a very close connection to your dreams, paying attention to them, and developing a very high degree of vividness in your dreams.

If you decide you really want to pursue lucid dreaming, to get feedback on your day and night routines, let us know and we can go in to a lot more detail on the next steps. I'm sure that you could get your dreaming to a much more satisfying level from where it is now, if you decide you really want to.

Let us know, and we could begin a full diagnosis of your past and present practice, and offer suggestions. But the motivation and effort has to come from you! It's your decision...

I would like to get more feedback on how to improve my dreaming

Great! Why don't you start with a more detailed description of what you do on a typical day/night. How's your sleep? Do you have regular wake/rise times? Do you take drugs/weed/drink alcohol or caffeine? Do you notice your wakings in the middle of the night? What books have you read?

To people who are just starting out, I recommend a good beginner book. Nowadays there are several to choose from. Exploring the World of Lucid dreaming, chapters 1-3, give you enough info and exercises to build a full practice.

And I'll reiterate: all the info and advice in the world will not help if you haven't made a decision to really dedicate yourself to it and spend time, energy, and effort on it, consistently. Choose a period of time, like some number of months, or a year, or whatever, and dedicate yourself to doing the most you can to promote dreaming, recall, intent, and self-awareness/lucidity.

i dont really do any methods or anything lucid related during the day. i dont go outside much because i have online classes and no car or job. my sleep schedule is basically nonexistent and impossible to fix. even if i fall asleep at a good hour one night, the next night i wont be able to sleep until way into the night. sometimes i try to take melatonin to force myself to fall asleep at a good hour, but not too much or too often because i know taking too much can make it hard to fall asleep without them. when i go to sleep, i try to repeat a mantra as much as a can like "i will lucid dream tonight" "i will remember my dreams" "i will control my dreams" etc. its hard for me to fall asleep while doing the mantra so i usually zone out afterwards and think about whatever. a lot of the time i'll wake up after around 2 hours of sleep and wont feel tired at all and will not for the life of me be able to fall back asleep. usually, i'll just give up and either browse my phone or just get up and do stuff. i remember probably 1 to 2 dreams a night. theyre not that vivid and i usually remember a few key scenes. sometimes i'll journal whatever i remember but im not that consistent with it like i used to. ive heard of ETWOLD but havent read it yet. ive seen in lots of guides that doing things during the daytime like doing reality checks every now and then or trying to stay mindful and aware of your situation help you become lucid more, and it did help a little bit back when i first started out trying to lucid dream. i dont know why, but those methods feel incredibly difficult for me. it feels hard for me to focus and remember to do them, or to pay attention to whats going around me and try to stay mindful.

Lucid dreaming is not an easy journey to take on. There is a lot of work and if you are busy with school it may be a little difficult to do.

So you are saying are dealing with some REM deprivation. Note that if you are dealing with this kind of thing you may want to seek medical or Psychological help first. Seek to your doctor if you are having a problem sleeping. ;)

- Are you currently on any medications that would cause you to have sleep deprivation?

- You may want to start with the fundamentals of lucid dreaming.

- I would keep on writing consistently in your DJ because you can not only use that for recording your dreams about your sleep cycle also. It's not easy to do. You can use a voice recorder or write it here. Actually, there are plenty of members here that are encouraged to write or use a voice recorder every day in their DJs. More than just a technique, a dream journal is a core component, a fundamental, of lucid dream practice. A dream journal acts as one's personal "map" of the dream world and is an indispensable tool that every lucid dreamer should possess.

Dream journals can come in many forms; from a physical notebook to a digital record. More important than the medium used is the data that it collects and the regularity of record keeping.

A lucid dreamer without a regularly updated journal finds themselves in a position no less impaired than a cartographer without pen and paper, or a scientist without a means to record data.

You are welcome to make your own DJ! Here: https://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/
I would try to do it each morning, shortly after waking and transfer any dream memories and relevant factors from your night's sleep into your journal. If required, one can either use a voice recorder or shorthand system to quickly record key points that can be transferred, in full detail, at a more convenient time later in the day.

Note: It is not required to use the DJ system here unless you are going to do the lucid tasks, "The Task Of The Month or "The TasK Of The Year". The Link for that is down in my signature.

The more data collected the better, beyond a record of just your dreams, additionally recorded data, you can (and should) also record your: sleep times, sleep quality, distractions, level of health, techniques used, sleep environment, hormonal cycles, diet, sleeping arrangements (partner/alone, etc.), and any other relevant factors.

Also, Before sleep, You can use your journal to note any dream goals or intentions for the coming night.
Regularly assess your dream journal for recurring patterns, and clues to any lucidity triggers (either from within the dream or external factors), and to become familiar with the nature of your dreams. These assessments are a time to categorize and update your list of dream signs, improve your familiarity with the dream world, search for recurring patterns in your sleep, assess the effectiveness of different techniques, or be creatively inspired by your dreams.

- Being consistent is important with kinds of things for Reality Checks.
How are you performing your reality Checks? I think you may want to develop a more detective mindset. Of course, that takes practice.

Spoiler for REALITY TEST:

1) Using one's dream journal compile a list of "dream signs", a dream sign is any theme that regularly occurs in one's dreams.

2) During one's waking hours regularly perform your chosen reality check whenever something unusual, unexpected, or dreamlike occurs. Be especially vigilant to perform a reality check whenever a waking event closely resembles one of your dream signs. Regularity and consistency are absolutely key, you are attempting to develop a new default lifestyle behavior. When you think about lucid dreaming, Reality check as soon you think about it.

3) Be certain to perform each test seriously and with full critical awareness—do not simply assume that you are awake. Do not allow yourself to perform a test on "auto-pilot", it is vital that you perform each reality check with a critical mind and full lucid awareness.


4) Perform a minimum of 10 reality checks each day, ideally many more. Reality testing should become a natural default behavior, performed daily, for the duration of your life as a lucid dreamer.

5) As dreams closely mimic our waking life events and thought patterns, the idea is that developing the habit of regularly reality-checking during one's waking life will eventually transfer into the dream world, at which point it will instigate a Dream Initiated Lucid Dream (DILD).

Hints & Tips:
Reality checks are as much a state of mind as they are a test. There is no point in performing a test if one's mind is not fully engaged in the process and is open to the strong possibility that one is dreaming.


Ideally one should perform multiple different tests during each reality check. This allows for a fail-safe should one of the tests provide false results. Two reliable tests to combine are the Nose Pinch Test and the Text Test.


Rather than enter a reality check with the assumption that one is awake, reverse this concept, assuming that the very act of performing a reality check implies that one is most likely dreaming. The burden of proof should be on proving that you are awake. This way, should a test give false results, you will assume that you are dreaming rather than awake.


Reality checks are not optional, without them you will miss potentially thousands of possible lucid dreams. They are an act that reflects the core philosophy of lucid dreaming.


Reality checks are primarily used to induce Dream Initiated Lucid Dreams (DILD) but can be used to stabilize, build confidence, or confirm one's state during a Wake Initiated Lucid Dream (WILD).

Reality Check or test RIGHT NOW!!!

If you are in your house can do a Reality Test your house.

~L

Lang gave you some great advice. To add to it:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink0827

i dont really do any methods or anything lucid related during the day.

---

Why not? If you want to lucid dream, you'll almost certainly need to. Assignment: get a good beginner LD book, and follow all of its recommendations. Example: Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by LaBerge. Just read chapters 1-3 is enough to give you a full set of daytime and night-time exercises to work on.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink0827

i dont go outside much because i have online classes and no car or job

---

In my experience, having regular changes of location will stimulate your mind to produce more interesting dreams. This is not a hard and fast rule, but I've found it's hard to stay mindful if you remain home and have very limited external stimulation. Assignment: get outdoors regularly, take walks several times a day. Even if it's just around the block a few times. This is an excellent opportunity to practice mindfulness/awareness and do some RCs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink0827

my sleep schedule is basically nonexistent

---

Major issue!. In order to dream enough you need to sleep enough and be well-rested. Read about insomnia and how to promote healthy, regular, solid sleep habits. Assignment: get a good book on insomnia featuring CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), read it, and follow it. This will take a month or two, but is WELL WORTH doing. If you want to dream, you need to have good, REGULAR sleep. There's no way around this. Example book (I used it to great benefit): "End the Insomnia Struggle: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Get to Sleep and Stay Asleep". Getting outside and getting regular exercise is really important to getting good, regular sleep. As is getting (especially early morning) direct sunlight (not through glass) in your eyes throughout the day. Check out Andrew Huber's excellent summary video on how to optimize your sleep and waking patterns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2aWYjSA1Jc

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink0827

when i go to sleep, i try to repeat a mantra as much as a can like ....

---

This is a good idea, it helps to set intent. But I would focus first on dream recall. I do not recommend intent phrasings using "will", use the present tense and no negatives. Better: "I lucid dream...." or "I'm dreaming....". Notice that the *intent* behind the statement is more important than the words. Really feel the intent and believe it. Setting strong intent (to lucid dream, to recall dreams) is one of the foundations of lucid dreaming.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink0827

theyre not that vivid and i usually remember a few key scenes

---

Assignment: read guides on dream recall and follow them. You can find mine linked in my signature. You NEED to build dream recall to high levels with regular very vivid dreams in order to have success in lucid dreaming. Memory (of life experiences & dreams) is another foundation of lucid dreaming. You need to practice recalling your waking and dreaming experiences. (You also need to pay attention to them in order to remember them! Check out my "Unified Theory..." link in my signature.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink0827

ive heard of ETWOLD but havent read it yet

---

Read it, chapters 1-3 are all you need. (And *do* all the exercises, work on them every day) (You can read the rest if you like but I think the rest is less relevant, at least to me).
Also very good are more recent books, like: "The Art of Lucid Dreaming: Over 60 Powerful Practices to Help You Wake Up in Your Dreams" by Clare R. Johnson, or "Learn to Lucid Dream: Powerful Techniques for Awakening Creativity and Consciousness" by Kristen LaMarca PhD. You have to be careful with online guides. You want to make sure you're reading a reliable source, and many are not. You could join lucid dreaming discords as well, PM me for links if you want.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink0827

ive seen in lots of guides that doing things during the daytime like doing reality checks every now and then or trying to stay mindful and aware of your situation help you become lucid more, and it did help a little bit back when i first started out trying to lucid dream. i dont know why, but those methods feel incredibly difficult for me. it feels hard for me to focus and remember to do them, or to pay attention to whats going around me and try to stay mindful.

---

Motivation to to RCs, stay mindful & aware, etc. will grow once your dream recall grows and you start getting some lucid dreams. No one can help you be interested in these things, that's your decision. I personally enjoy being mindful during the day, especially during walks (this is why it's important to get out every day a couple of times for a change of scenery). As Lang mentioned, lucid dreaming is a challenging journey. You have to take the decision to own it and do your best: research, read, experiment. But you have to *practice*. Just reading about it isn't enough, you need to set short-term achievable goals, build confidence, then set slightly more challenging goals.

There's a lot to do here, but if you really want to lucid dream, doing these things will all lead you towards success.

Of all the most important characteristics, is the will & ability to research, experiment, self-diagnose, and take action. We can suggest, but only you can put these suggestions into action. In order to progress, you must make a dedication, and take action.

Good luck!