Lucid Dreaming on a Downslope

[Adrenaline Junkie]

Hey everyone, I'll make this short and quick so i don't have to bore you with too many details, basically the whole lucid dreaming experience i was hoping to have has pretty much gone, i've lost all motivation and inspiration over it completely. I have remembered no dreams for nearly a week, not had a lucid dream in nearly 2 months, i'm in need of one, i feel that it is becoming an impossible task. I don't feel stressed, i may be stressed but to be honest i just don't know how to deal with it and rid myself of it, never been an easy thing to do with me. I really would appreciate a nice long lucid dream in which i could just neutralise this frustration. Many of you will say the key is to be positive and stay focused but to be quite honest i've given lucid dreaming months and months, i've been patient with it, very patient compared to other things i have tried and i have showed no progress what so ever, all my lucids are short and i never feel with it when i am lucid plus i always seem to do the exact opposite of what i want to do. What frustrates me the most is seeing people join and then days later they experience long vivid lucid dreams and they continue to have them, it is jealousy, i'll admit that but its really off putting. I have given lucid dreaming a good go over the past 9 months and to be honest i have gotten nowhere, maybe i recall my dreams but that is nothing, i suck at the techniques, i only get success with DILDs (randomly). I'm just wondering if its even worth continuing with because i have been so patient, i have really tried and nothing seems to work at all, and believe me i have tried lots and lots of stuff over this year, i have tried to be as positive as i can but i still manage to fail. Any advice or anything, i truly am out of ideas at this point. Thanks in advance.

[Iamerik]

Many of you will say the key is to be positive and stay focused I don't have much experience with LD'ing yet but I think that if everything else fails simply not thinking about LD'ing for a while or trying anything (for a week?) could help. And after that maybe try again, maybe using some of the tips given in the following posts, when they're posted.

[BeSomebody]

Sorry, to hear that. Your avatar is very ironic.

[Adrenaline Junkie]

Your sig is very ironic. Haha very funny, i can see the irony in it, can you also see the sarcasm in this particular post

[BeSomebody]

Haha very funny, i can see the irony in it, can you also see the sarcasm in this particular post Okay... Alternatively, you could try out a different technique?

[Adrenaline Junkie]

Like i said in my first post, i have tried so much and failed so much, alot of the techniques are very similar, ah forget it.

[Abra]

Like i said in my first post, i have tried so much and failed so much, alot of the techniques are very similar, ah forget it. Don't skip around with techniques. Stick with trying a technique for a week or two, not a single night. It'll take your brain a while to get used to the new routine--give it that time with a single technique to speed up and enhance the process. Don't lose hope.

[Adrenaline Junkie]

Thanks Abra, I did forget to mention that when i tried a technique, i gave it a good go, i had a good go at WILD, i gave it 2-3 weeks and still saw no progression, i gave up on it because it was affecting my sleep pattern and i felt really tired due to the failed attempts in which i just lay in bed awake. Its the same with other techniques, i gave them a go for a while and failed.

[Adam]

I don't think until you get into a routine with college and your life you wont be able to focus on this mate. You have had SO much on your mind over the last few months I really am not surprised at all you have not been able to concentrate on dreaming etc... If I were you I would forget about it for a month or so, let college reach a plateau in your life and get everything on track where you can manage everything, then try again.

[Zek]

Hey everyone, I'll make this short and quick so i don't have to bore you with too many details, basically the whole lucid dreaming experience i was hoping to have has pretty much gone, i've lost all motivation and inspiration over it completely. I have remembered no dreams for nearly a week, not had a lucid dream in nearly 2 months, i'm in need of one, i feel that it is becoming an impossible task. I don't feel stressed, i may be stressed but to be honest i just don't know how to deal with it and rid myself of it, never been an easy thing to do with me. I really would appreciate a nice long lucid dream in which i could just neutralise this frustration. Many of you will say the key is to be positive and stay focused but to be quite honest i've given lucid dreaming months and months, i've been patient with it, very patient compared to other things i have tried and i have showed no progress what so ever, all my lucids are short and i never feel with it when i am lucid plus i always seem to do the exact opposite of what i want to do. Im no expert but what you are experiencing could be pretty normal. I dream a hell of a lot, lucid and non lucid but I have times when I cant remember any of my dreams, even though I know I have dreamed I cant remember a single detail. I also have times when I dont seem to have a lucid dream for ages (even though its probably only a week or so) At times like this I feel anything from frustration to annoyance to something verging on mild panic (thinking I may never dream as I normally do ever again) Could you be trying too hard? You say you dont feel stressed and no offence here but it does sound like you are a bit stressed by this. I think anyone who had tried to do something and put all their heart into it would feel demotivated and uninspired if they werent achieving what they were trying their best to do. Have you thought about about having a break from trying to lucid dream and just let your dreams take you were they want for a short while? A break is pretty good no matter what you are doing if you are having problems, you know, step away from the situation and come back later with a fresh mind on the whole thing? I wouldnt worry too much about your lucids being short, I have a lot of really short lucids that on reflection hardly seemed worth having. You may laugh here but I call them lucid 'adverts', you know, they are there for a little while but are completely meaningless and not worth the mind screen they are seen on, kinda just like tv adverts lol Hopefully if you take a break you may get back into remembering your normal dreams, your short lucids may come back and who knows, with a bit of good luck your short lucids may become the long ones you are wanting

[Redrivertears]

Hey there, I was somewhat surprised and sad to read your message. You always seemed so positive before. But I can understand how the lack of results tends to get to you after a little while. People here have already offered suggestions, and doubtlessly will offer more, which is all good advice. I am going to add a few things that you may not have heard yet: - Stop counting. Personally, I find that counting does not help, only hinders. Setting yourself time-goals (I will be lucid before two weeks have passed) only leads to frustration if you fail to meet them, setting yourself number-goals (I will have three lucid dreams this week) only leads to comparison and again frustration if they fail to be the way you want them. You could remember five dreams on week 1, three on week 2 and one on week 3, and automatically begin to wonder if you're doing something wrong. Dreaming is much less linear then that. It works with ups and downs (and lefts and rights and top and bottoms and every other variation you can think of ). So your attempts to put numbers on your dreaming can work against you, because you're basically trying to force something upon the dream that has no relevance to it at all. - Never ever let it become a chore Ideally, you should be going to bed all excited and happy because here comes another night of interesting experimentation, dreams that will be fascinating to experience, and more knowledge about yourself and your body. Even if you don't quite reach that ideal, never ever try to do anything when it feels like a chore. When you don't feel like experimenting with a technique that night or when you just want to sleep, do just that: go to sleep! Not only does forcing yourself not work, but your mind will begin to add an association of unpleasantness to what you're trying to do. Soon you'll go to sleep and go 'ugh, I have to try this and this again before I can just get to sleeping'. And that situation is very counterproductive. Approach nighttime with an open mind, know that there's the possibility of learning, but not the necessity of it. Just find a way that makes it fun for you. Make it something you look forward to and that you can enjoy. And you'll find things will come much easier with that mindset. - Question your motivation for lucid dreaming! Sometimes your own reasons for lucidity can work against you. Ask yourself why you want to be lucid, make an honest assesment, and then make sure it's something you're ok with. Again, it's hard to give you a clearer picture then that as there is so much variety, but here's two hypothetical examples where your motivation could work against you: a) You want to be lucid because you feel if you're going to be spending a third of your life asleep, you might as well do something useful with it Ugh. Anyone that has that motivation and manages to get lucid, my hat off to you. Because if you analyse the above motivation, it is utterly dismissive of your regular dreams. Basically you're saying 'my nights aint worthy of my attention, so I'll go get lucid to make them more worthy'. Lucid dreams and regularl dreams (and sleep) are intimately connected. Anything that dismisses any part of this is likely to be counterproductive on all other parts as well. b) You want to be lucid because you want to have lots of dream-sex. But your girlfriend can't know about it! Nothing wrong with the first part But it's very likely that in this situation, you're going to get feelings of guilt that can hinder your lucidity. That's what I meant when I say 'make sure you're ok with your motivation', that is doesn't have other fears, worries, problems with it that can stop you from succeeding. Hell, I've known people who just love to fail at things (although they're often not consciously aware of it), leading them to sabotage their own attempts without realising it. So be sure there's nothing there that can sabotage your attempt. - Do not place all your faith in "techniques" Understand that techniques are all very superficial. If you never look further then them, you might never be able to make them work for you. Let me give you an analogy. If you are a machine, then a technique is a series of manipulations: hitting buttons, throwing switches, turning wheels, that produce a certain result. By hitting all the buttons, switches and wheels in a certain order, you get a certain result. That's what a technique is. Now to continue that analogy, we're all machines, but we're not all exactly the same models. In fact, we're all a different variation of model. While the basic instruction of buttons, switches and wheel might work on some or even most of the machines, there's no garantue it'll work on your particular model. In fact it may even be counterproductive. So instead, throw open the machine (not literally!!!! ), learn what's under the hood. Find out why certain techniques advocate doing certain things, and find out how it works in your case. It's one thing knowing the 'technique', it's quite another understanding 'why' the technique is the way it is. The first will either get you an easy succes, or no succes at all. The other will pretty much garantue you a succes, sooner or later, but its a harder and more intensive (yet more interesting!) road to take. - Expand your vision With the previous in mind, realise that 'dreaming' is not an independant, unconnected phenomena. And 'lucid dream' even less. It's related to sleep, to awareness, to attention, to consciousness, to unconsciousness, even to your particular psychological personality. So go broader, don't focus entirely on dreaming, learn how these things interact, see the connections. (You'll never get a clear answer, ofcourse, as even all the brightest minds in the world can't 'make up their mind' on these topics , but even thinking about it and delving into it can help you enourmously). And always correlate these things back to you. Basically, remember from the before, you're trying to figure out how and why things work they way they do for you. Anyways, I hope some of these suggestions might be helpful to you. If you want more specific help, feel free to PM me at any time, and I'll be happy to discuss things with you further and see if we can't turn things around. Good luck, and don't forget, enjoy the ride! -Redrivertears-

[Jeff777]

Hey everyone, I'll make this short and quick so i don't have to bore you with too many details, basically the whole lucid dreaming experience i was hoping to have has pretty much gone, i've lost all motivation and inspiration over it completely. I have remembered no dreams for nearly a week, not had a lucid dream in nearly 2 months, i'm in need of one, i feel that it is becoming an impossible task. I don't feel stressed, i may be stressed but to be honest i just don't know how to deal with it and rid myself of it, never been an easy thing to do with me. I really would appreciate a nice long lucid dream in which i could just neutralise this frustration. Many of you will say the key is to be positive and stay focused but to be quite honest i've given lucid dreaming months and months, i've been patient with it, very patient compared to other things i have tried and i have showed no progress what so ever, all my lucids are short and i never feel with it when i am lucid plus i always seem to do the exact opposite of what i want to do. What frustrates me the most is seeing people join and then days later they experience long vivid lucid dreams and they continue to have them, it is jealousy, i'll admit that but its really off putting. I have given lucid dreaming a good go over the past 9 months and to be honest i have gotten nowhere, maybe i recall my dreams but that is nothing, i suck at the techniques, i only get success with DILDs (randomly). I'm just wondering if its even worth continuing with because i have been so patient, i have really tried and nothing seems to work at all, and believe me i have tried lots and lots of stuff over this year, i have tried to be as positive as i can but i still manage to fail. Any advice or anything, i truly am out of ideas at this point. Thanks in advance. I know what you mean...perhaps they're putting something between their ears different than you are? Perhaps the approach ld'ing in a different manner that reaps them amazing results?

[conisag]

Go to my thread about lucidrage island, i think what you need is an adventure to get the motivation back. first take a week off and dont think about lding, then come back and set yourself a task (saaaay, complete and win lucidrage) so your refreshed and ready for more, your probably over-doing the lding stuff which can give you a headache.