How many of you aren't naturals?

[carlhungis]

It seems to me that the majority of people on this site naturally had their first lucid dreams. I am curious who here isn't a natural, like myself. Who here had to work to get a lucid dream? What did you find that finally worked for you? Thanks

[spiritofthewolf]

im not a natrual at all..i had my first Lucid Dream before even knowing what it was or hearing about it...i went on google.com the next morning and typed in "Controlling Your Dreams" and found this site....ive had about 27 LD's since then and 8 False Awakenings.. What do i do now days to help myself? Keep a Dream Journal Find Dream Signs (reoccuring things/people in your dreams) Vitamin B-6 (helps vividness of dreams) Play out what i would like to do in my next LD Listen to relaxation cd's I just set a new goal for myself...to find my dream guide, its going to be interesting to find it..i dont know how long it will take me or what i will have to do in my LD's to accomplish it, but im on a journey....for how long, i do not know... hope that helps dj jones

[Gwendolyn]

I am not a natural, by any means. When I had my first LD, at about thirteen, I wanted to pursue that activity. I have to work pretty hard to LD.

[TygrHawk]

Originally posted by spiritofthewolf im not a natrual at all..i had my first Lucid Dream before even knowing what it was or hearing about it Errr... if you had your first LD before ever knowing it was possible, how is that not natural?

[kafine]

There are large boundaries. I think most people will experience lucid dreams occaisionally (like me). And then you can work to increase the frequency (I have had 5 now). But some people experience them more often than non lucid dreams (like my brother). And that's what I think of when you say "natural". And some people don't remember having any at all.[/list]

[OpheliaBlue]

yeah not sure what constitutes natural or not if I'm a natural, then I'm a very weak natural, meaning I DID have some when I was young and before joining DV, but they were random and uncontrolled at best I have to be on DV alot, and keep up with my journal and get plenty of sleep to have regular LDs, and even then I'm not guaranteed to have them I guess the pinnacle of a "natural LDer" are those who say "Ok, tonight I'm going to have an LD" and they have one if I say "Ok, tonight I'm going to have an LD" there's about a 75% chance that I will not, even at my best I'm still dependant on alot of luck, whereas the more natural ones just use their skill, or something like that

[CryoDragoon]

i'm no natural... i just waited for it to happen... someday i just *had* an LD good luck!

[TygrHawk]

Well, in TygrHawk's dictionary (lol), a natural is anyone who has had even a single lucid dream before they've ever consciously tried to have one. Those people who have them every night, I think, in most cases have had to work hard to get to that point, so that doesn't seem "natural" to me. But I suppose that it's open for interpretation.

[dudesuperior]

Originally posted by TygrHawk Errr... if you had your first LD before ever knowing it was possible, how is that not natural? I had my first LD before I knew that it was possible, but I would not call myself a natural lucid dreamer by any means. My definition of a 'natural' was someone who regularly has LDs without trying to have them.

[Jalexxi]

Originally posted by TygrHawk Well, in TygrHawk's dictionary (lol), a natural is anyone who has had even a single lucid dream before they've ever consciously tried to have one. I've had a few LD's before I even know they were called that, but 'natural' seems to imply some sort of talent. I'd attribute it to luck, actually.

[MAXxyz]

I have never had anything near a lucid before i started here, i only recall a few dream from when i was a child

[Sortilegio]

I think a natural would best be described as someone who has been lucid dreaming their entire life, learned all of it by themself, etc. ... In that sense I'm a natural

[Burns]

Originally posted by OpheliaBlue yeah not sure what constitutes natural or not if I'm a natural, then I'm a very weak natural, meaning I DID have some when I was young and before joining DV, but they were random and uncontrolled at best I have to be on DV alot, and keep up with my journal and get plenty of sleep to have regular LDs, and even then I'm not guaranteed to have them I guess the pinnacle of a "natural LDer" are those who say "Ok, tonight I'm going to have an LD" and they have one if I say "Ok, tonight I'm going to have an LD" there's about a 75% chance that I will not, even at my best I'm still dependant on alot of luck, whereas the more natural ones just use their skill, or something like that Ophelia's response is identical to my situation. At first I thought of myself as a natural because I didn't have to do all the WILDs, MILDs, etc to have a lucid dream - but it does take more effort than just sleeping to do it.

[Cryptic Cane]

I wish I was a natural. I have only had one very, very blurry lucid dream. I started out trying WILD's mostly, but my eye-handicap prevented me from making any more progress. The first and only one I had occured when I was drifiting in and out of sleep on a long weekend sleep I'm not even sure if it was lucid. I would classify it as a...low-level lucidity. It was like playing a crappy, fuzzy videogame after you've woken up at 3:00 AM.

[wombing]

definitely not a natural. my first lucid dream was about three years ago (when i was 19), and looking into astral projection (at the time i didn't know lucid dreams were). since buying EWOLD a few months ago and frequenting this site i've had 32 lucids...so being a natural is by no means neccessary to learn. or having one or two when you're younger.

[Asclepius]

Natural can mean so many things on the internet.... I first heard of LD reading Castenada. It took several months before I "found my hands in a dream". I woke up immediately, and didn't have another LD, until a few years later reading Patricia Garfield's books. Having finally read LaBerge, I very much recommend 2 techniques WBTB and MILD.

[Amethyst Star]

Definitely not a natural. Even having been here a year and a half, I've only racked up about 10 semi-official lucid dreams, none of them longer than a minute. I stick around because I'm a DG and I enjoy helping others achieve lucidity. Though I would really like another LD...

[Morca]

I am by no means a natural. I tried actively for a year before I had ANY progress. Even now, I barely ever have Lucids, and I still cannot get real control.

[MartinB]

I am definitely not a natural. I discovered lucid dreaming on the 21st June 2005 and decided that I would try it. Being a patient person, I figured that I would not try to have a lucid dream straight away, but simply work on dream recall and keeping a dream journal for a few weeks or so, but on the morning of the 24th, only 3 days later, and after having only recorded 4 dreams, I had my very first lucid dream, which was actually a pretty good one. Since then, I have been having about 1 lucid dream every 5 days on average without even trying.

[carlhungis]

Since I started this topic, I figure I had better define what I mean by a natural. Tygerhawk pretty much hit it on the head. If your first Lucid Dream came without you trying or even knowing what it was makes you a natural by my definition. I realize that most people improve their Lucid Dreams through practice and what not. But my question is for people who knew what Lucid Dreaming was, then worked to have one. I keep a Dream Journal. (In the Dream Journal Forum if anyone is interested). I am reading EWOLD I have good recall , but lately it seems a bit harder than usual to "grab" it when I wake up. I have been working on it for a few months now with no luck. I do a lot of RC's during the day and when I lay down to sleep I try to set my mind to Lucid Dream. It is hard to explain, but when I fall asleep and start to dream I am just an observer. It doesn't seem like I forget to do a reality check in my dream, it seems like it isn't even an option. As if I am just watching a movie and it just plays out. I guess it wouldn't be so frustrating if it felt like I was even close. Problem is that it seems like something so foreign now.....

[Thorz]

I remember having lucid dreams when I was a child but most of them were nightmares such as being in a world full of tornados, having a nuclear bomb going off, or being chased by some kind of monster. I would usually try and kill myself as fast as possible so I could wake up from the terrible dream, I dont remember ever enjoying a lucid dream.

[wombing]

don't get discouraged carl h. from the looks of your DJ it looks like you are getting closer. the signs may not be obvious, but the fact that you are starting to notice things (ie, that your wife had more hair at a certain point) while IN a dream is an extremely positive sign. i didn't know about lucid dreaming persay until recently, but i tried for a few years off and on, sometimes extremely hard, to 'astral project', which is essentially the same thing. it seemed impossible, and i gave up on it many times, only to come back and try again. you say you are reading EWOLD. keep at it. eat, sleep, and breathe lucid dreaming. do quality RCs where you actually accept you COULD be dreaming that very moment-that is very important. you must truly believe you could be dreaming EVERY time you do a RC. other than that, perseverance is the key. you WILL lucid dream if you stay dedicated. i am absolutely confident of that... oh, and concerning the 'observer' aspect of your dreams. i know exactly what you mean. i've had spells where all my dreams were like that. i found it helped to incorporate that into my reality checks. for instance, any time during the day i found myself passively observing without really noticing my own involvement in any situation i would do a RC. usually if i happened to be watching tv, or a movie. this could actually work out for your benefit. i've had a couple lucids where i realized i was in observer mode and became aware. i essentially 'zoom' in on the nearest person when this happens, and then stabilize quickly with hand rubbing, or spinning. don't allow yourself to get negative. you must look at it as "after all this time and effort i am bound to be rewarded sooner rather than later. each day i stay consistent in my practice is one day closer..." good luck, and i can't wait to hear your first lucid dream account. make sure you post it in big block letters in the lucid experiences forum