Who has actually improved?

[Spamtek]

It occurred to me in the shower (second best place to get ideas behind the crapper) that I read a lot of people's descriptions of their current abilities, like "I have 3 lucids a week" or "lucids this month: 7", and instinctually this gives me a feeling that there must have been a point where these people were doing worse than that record and there will be a time in the future where these people will be doing better than that. But when I try to put my finger on it, I can't say I've ever seen a story on these boards of someone who's actually significantly improved their lucid ability during their stay here. I hear about lucid masters, but all the ones I know apparently came to the boards just like they are, and never had to work significantly for their abilities (posting frustrating things like "I've been doing this every night of my life, it just comes naturally! " in Lucid Experiences). I can't shake a feeling that for all the spirit of improvement that this forum embodies, I don't see much of it in the flesh. People show up talentless and stay talentless, or people show up naturally gifted and stay gifted, and we see a mix of the two among ourselves and figure that some of the pros must once have been newbies... but is it true? Who here has actually been on these forums a long time and can honestly say that with hard work and determination they've significantly improved their lucid frequency, vividity, and control? An extension: who here can say that they joined these forums with no prior lucid experience at all and can now actually attain lucidity with some frequency? I'd like to find out that I'm just ignorant in this matter, and for you all to prove my suspicions wrong.

[KuRoSaKi]

Well for me "I hear about lucid masters, but all the ones I know apparently came to the boards just like they are, and never had to work significantly for their abilities", "I've been doing this every night of my life, it comes naturally!" Is what applies to myself. I can't say this site has helped me much other than clearifying things for me such as definitions and what I have been experiencing since early childhood actually was. I am mostly here to help others not to help myself. Although this site has given me new methods and such that I try and observe the steps as they occur and then I take this information and put it into steps and such to help others. I don't use the methods on the site to help me Induce LD's since I have them every night regardless of whether I try or not, but by performing various methods and seeing what happens it allows me to help others which is why this site is helpful in that for me it gives me things which I may try and then explain it to others.

[BeSomebody]

Okay, I began a year ago (roughly). Back then I remembered around 0.1-1 dream a night and never had lucids. Since then I now have around one lucid a month (sometimes more) and remember two dreams a night.

[AbyssNess]

I know that I've improved. I'm still not that good, but I am having pretty frequent lucids (at least one or two a week,) and I didn't have any before I arrived here. Also, before I discovered the site, I never remembered my dreams, but now I remember three or four every night.

[pokilty]

I started not remembering any dreams at all. A few months later, I can remember one to three dreams a night - without even being very diligent about keeping a journal. I feel a lucid dream around the corner, and I expect to improve even more after that. Also, just consider LaBerge's story again if you're doubting

[Truffles]

This site has helped me. I've gone from remembering 0 dreams a night to 4-6 almost every single night now. I'm not having lucids yet, but dammit, I'm pretty close. Just reading this site and letting lucid dreaming flow through my mind helps me get better. I know I can do it and this site has had a large impact on me.

[SEBSTER]

First of all, Spam. That was a very well written thread. but Personally since this site i can't really say i have improved however i have had many clarifications and motivation from reading experiences. Now from the persectinve of improvement i can say that the reading has changed my lucid life in a sence that i can understand phenomena better that i could before. But the frequency of Lucid dreams actually has DEcreased because of a personal goal of having purely DILDs until i can master the dream induced ability (i have had more WBTBs than DILDs). I can say houwever that this site is an inspiration for all Oneironauts and it can make you a better dreamer if you really sedire so.

[mylucidworld]

Well i am the "ld master" but i am far from that when i'm in ld's i'm useless i can't even ds or summon yet. I do feel if i tryed every night i could ld at will, i ld on average about 4 to 5 nights a week at the moment without any technique mostly, but i can't say i have improved since i joined dv i just like to read about other people's experiences, help others and get tips and help from others.

[P1nhead]

Before finding dreamviews i was never able to ever remember my dreams rather than a few occasions. Now i can remember about 3 dreams per night and maybe have an ld about once a week. I can definately say dv has helped me

[Adam]

I have been lucid dreaming for over 10 years naturally. And I used to have them all the time my mind was 'pure' for want of a better term. When I heard what lucid dreaming was and that its something cool that not everyone could do I found this forum and my abilities have deteriorated. So here, I am a failure story for you. So although I still LD they are not as frequent or vivid as they once were So I am working hard on sorting this out.

[•Neko•]

I'm not sure if my chances of lucidity have improved much or not, but my dream recall has certainly got better. I can't usually remember more dreams than usual, but I can remember a lot more details.

[Twoshadows]

An extension: who here can say that they joined these forums with no prior lucid experience at all and can now actually attain lucidity with some frequency? I'm defintely one of these. I had no idea lucid dreaming existed until I accidently ran into it on the internet. It intrigued me...and I soon found this site. I didn't join immediately, but started reading. At first I wasn't even sure I even believed what I was reading. But the possibility kept me going. It took a month of pondering it and trying some of the suggestions before I had my first LD and made me a true believer. I joined that morning, and have had LDs fairly regularly since. Have I improved since then....? I definitely think so. I have learned to do many things in my LDs. In most LDs I try to do new skills. The Tasks of the month have been great motivation in learning to do new things. I have had some pretty long LDs lately in which I'm able to do many different tasks. (See my Lucid Dream Journal--link below) Of course, I do have my dry spells or the occasional really short uneventful LD, but overall I have seen much improvement. Also, my dream recall is way better since starting. I have made friends with other people here who have learned to LD since finding this site.

[Crabman]

I came to this site not more than two weeks ago, and then I never remembered my dreams. But now I remember atleast one a night and I had my first lucid Dream last night.. I have improved alot in the time that I've been here, but my development will probobly slow down

[Caradon]

I learned how to Lucid Dream on my own in the 1980's before I knew other people were doing it. I never had a random Lucid before trying to induce one. Once I found Exploring The World Of Lucid Dreaming by chance in a book store. I got really excited and motivated. Over the years, I have gone back and forth from Lucid dreaming at will, to no recall at all. People definitely can improve, if they set there mind to it. I firmly believe, that anybody can learn to become Lucid pretty much at will, if they really really want to. But unless your a natural, it takes pure dedication and motivation. It's hard to keep that kind of intense mind set, day after day. but for those that do, it really pays off. And like laberge says in his book. the more you do it the easier it gets. and thats very true. You can get a lucid momentum going, and just start getting them one after another. Persistence really is the key! so don't give up. Keep at it. In the beginning stages you really have to put a lot of energy into it. Good Luck! An example: In 2006, my Lucid count was 20 for the whole year. In 2007 I already had more than that in the first three months of the year. that is an example of a huge improvement.

[EagleEye]

I went from 2 LDs my whole life (I'm almost 40) to 1 or 2 LDs a week during my early stint on the board. Then I ran into a problem with my MILD technique and had some life major stress since April. So I'm down to 1 or 2 LDs a month. Hopefully, the frequency will go back up soon. On the good side, my control and stability have steadily improved.

[little nemo]

Dream Views has definately helped me. First induced LD was from using a Castenada technique - finding your hands in a dream - this happened MANY years ago. I joined DreamViews about 10 days ago, read about the RC technique of trying to breathe throught pinched nose and BAM!, that night had a kick-ass Lucid! First one in quite a while. Engaging in this forum keeps one's mind on Dreaming - that's its greatest value for me.

[Moonbeam]

I have gradually, but it seems to take a long time. I guess I may have one or two lucids in my whole life before DV. I've had a lot since then, but I've put a lot of effort into it. I feel like I still have a lot of improving to do to consistently have the awareness that I want every time, but it is getting better. Not just the frequency, but the quality too.

[Spamtek]

So it seems with a little effort most people can increase their dream recall rather impressively, but actually improving lucid ability is a shakier trend to track. Looks like most of you experience immediate and modest improvements right around joining the site/getting serious about getting lucid, but long-term results are slower and less certain to be had... and some people have actually gotten worse since starting. twoshadows, your story interests me because I hadn't yet heard of anyone starting from literally no foundation of lucidity but finding progress anyways with good hard work. Everyone else I can think of off-hand (except maybe BillyBob_001) has had childhood experiences, "one or two lucids in the past," etc. to work off of. Guess I should respond to my own question. When I learned about lucidity initially (not on DV) I began a dream journal and was easily able to invoke recall to a depth of at least a few dreams a night, and often more, and this is an ability that with a little conscious effort I've never had to worry about losing. I've had a handful of nightmare-induced LDs as a child that I chose to wake up from and a single half-lucid half-second that I might have experienced about two years ago, but have otherwise been unable to induce any lucids since taking conscious action to do so about five years ago. It seems most people show a slow but steady climb in lucid ability over the years, but I'm a flatliner in this regard... obviously the thorn in my side that started making me question the reality of other peoples' progress and the creation of this thread. Keep on posting; I want to get as clear a picture of this as I can. And you know you love talking about yourself anyways.

[skysaw]

I had my first LD about 10 years ago, and had worked up to a frequency of about one every six weeks or so. I joined DV just last month, and on the very first night after reading some tips, I had a LD, and learned to maintain it better with the hand-rubbing and spinning techniques, which I had never heard of before. Now I am having a lucid once or twice per week, and getting better and better control and clarity. I'd say being disciplined with the DJ has been a big help, as well as defining dream signs and reality checks for myself. All of this was foreign to me before I found the forums.

[Kromoh]

I have to say that, if you haven't improved, it's your fault people who spend their time on the Tutorials section will be way better than the ones who stick to the Extended Discussion one. Also the lucid tasks and thelucid experiences are a great incentive. They help one to set intentions and that is great for LDing. Of course, no community or book is perfect. If one doesn't fit you, try another one. ----------------------- I myself improved from zero recall, zero lucidity and pretty low vividness to great recall, regular spontaneous lucidity, ability to chain lucid dreams, and reality-like dreams in less than 6 months. For sure this website helped me, especially when i was just starting. We all know that the foundations of a building are the most important ones.

[Never]

I have only been lucid for a year, but I can pretty much be lucid whenever I want now with the WILD technique. I had been messing around with it for years though without knowing what I was doing in meditation. I would get the vibrations and so on. One day I was researching dreams on a science website and then remembered the term "lucid dreaming". From there I found this site and heard about WILDs. Once I knew about what this was I was able to learn lucid dreaming relatively quickly. My experience with meditation and the "powers of belief" made mastering LDs easy for me. It's not the LDing that is hard to learn...but the belief that one has the power to make them happen the first time, and all the time. All you must do is believe, and you will have complete control. It is that simple. I must be fair though; with my lifestyle, sleeping 10 hours a day and only getting out to earn a living I have much time to focus on my pursuits. In fact I pour myself into one or two things and the hell with all else.

[Otter]

I had my first lucid dream 11 days after I came to this site. Before, I remembered maybe 1 dream a week, and it wasn't very clear, and it generally sucked. After reading the stuff here, I started keeping a journal and trying different things, and now I can remember vivid dreams every night, and have lucid dreams at least once every week or so. It's improving all the time! ^_^

[Oneironaught]

I was introduced to and read Lucid Dreaming in Jan. '01. I immediately began a paper dream journal and had my first - very controllable at that - LD within a week. In the first month I had at least three LD's I kept it up at an average rate of around 3-4/month for about 4 years or so. After that, I let life got in the way, so my dreaming got put on hold. I paid no attention to them. Fast forward to Jan. of this year: Something on another forum prodded me to bring up the subject of LDing there and I immediately got back into it and was right back on course. Two months later, I decided to re-read Lucid Dreaming, EWOLD, and Creative Dreaming. I also looked up LDing on the net and stumbled upon DV. Now I'm here. That my LD frequency has increased is something I'd have to say probably hasn't happened. But, I did get back on track. Though, I'm not LDing as often as I want to be right now, I'm still not too far below my average right now. Kind of a slump lately, but not completely. I have improved alot in the time that I've been here, but my development will probobly slow down Don't think like that. You have to know that you will continue to improve in various aspects of LDing or you're defeating yourself and fighting the cause. I did read about your first. I'm so proud Engaging in this forum keeps one's mind on Dreaming - that's its greatest value for me. That's the key to successful LDing: keeping your mind engaged in it. So it seems with a little effort most people can increase their dream recall rather impressively, but actually improving lucid ability is a shakier trend to track. You nailed it; probably for most non-natural LDers. people who spend their time on the Tutorials section will be way better than the ones who stick to the Extended Discussion one. *Runs to the tutorial section out of pure guilt.* I've been lazy lately about keeping up my dream journal and reading/re-reading the tutorials and other material. But you are so very right about that.

[memeticverb]

Ive improved a lot since I had my first lucid dream when I was just starting high school. It didnt occur to me to look online to see if others were LDing for some reason, but when I did and found Laberges book, I started having them more frequently. When I found this site and read all the tutorials I began having them many times a week, and now almost anytime I decide I really want to have one. Last night I had my first experience being able to control a lucid dream by changing the LD environment instead of usually just going with whatever setting I "woke up" in. Spamtek i wouldnt be discouraged if you think you havnt improved. You seem to have a high level of skill in the first place which probably can make it harder to make that next jump to an even higher level

[FreeOne]

for me, back last year i didnt even know what a lucid dream was. I remembered maybe 1 dream a month if i was lucky, and i had never had a single lucid experience. Not even from childhood. Then one day after coming home exhausted from work, i got mad cause it was already almost dark outside, and i had work the next day i was frustrated that i had no time to ever do anything in life. So i thought "well if i cant have fun during the day, then i want to have the greatest adventures at night!" i figured there had to be some guide on the internet that taught me how to control what i dreamed about that night. so i typed it in on google and i found dreamviews i had never heard of lucid dreaming before, and was very interested in it. I read the whole site probably 2 times and thought that it would be an awesome thing to try. But for some reason i lost interest in it and thought that it wouldnt be for me (i know. I was dumb lol) After 3 weeks of discoving the site, i had my first lucid dream. It was amazing. The coolest most realistic thing i had ever expierenced. I didnt just dream of flying, i expierenced it. The very next day i signed up on the forum, and got to work on my recall. With time that came and so did many other achievments. I went from having virtually no recall, and never having had a lucid dream, to having at least one dream remembered a night, lots of DILDs, lucids with other methods, and i have even learned to WILD. Im getting closer and closer to mastering WILD so i will be able to have a lucid dream whenever i want. i would say that i have acomplished alot. And it was all because of dream views. thank you DV!