Questioning my resolve

So, I have hit a really big dry spell.

I want to lucid dream so bad again, but I simply cannot. None of my old techniques seem to work and I never mastered WILDing (still trying).

I know I should probably take a break because that might restart my pattern, or, if nothing else, allow me to stop stressing over it so I might get one. I feel like that is a waste of time and simply just can't bring myself to stop caring for a while.

My WILDing attempts just don't progress like others it seems. I either fall asleep too fast or can't fall back asleep. I rarely hit SP and rarely get HI. Though, I did have a terrific HI experience the other night. It was quite fleeting though and occurred as I was trying to go to sleep instead of during a WBTB.

I have come to a point where I am rather depressed by my failures. I am even depressed at the mere fact that I have stuck with this for so long (rapidly approaching my 2-year anniversary since I started) and still can't even get them at will. My lucid dreams are always random and thus I cannot complete a lot of my tasks, none of them really.

For the first time, I have questioned whether it is really worth it. I would love to continue it, but I would rather continue with results. Unfortunately, I can only try at night (or early in the morning) with any hope of decent results.

What's worse, and I am sure this stands for a lot of people, is that we work so hard and when we finally get the lucid dream, we get distracted, never finish our task, or lose lucidity rapidly.

I have come to a point where I question the worth of my motives for even starting this project...

Does anyone else feel like this?

Sorry I can't be more empowering with this post >.>

Well as minor comfort I'm also in the same situation as you. I'm probably near my 2nd full year (Don't remember exactly when I started) and I still haven't had an LD that lasted more than 30 seconds, or wasn't just a blurry pseudo-LD. So essentially, I've completed nothing I ever planned.

I've wanted to take a break actually, but the thing is I can't. Journaling and RCs have become so ingrained I don't think I could stop. Or I'll say to myself, "OK, I'm gonna take a break", and then I end up trying to wild that night. Strange how Lucid dreaming can become such an integral part of your life without even having them :P

I would say if you can and want to, go ahead and take a break. If you're anything like me though, you will never be able to completely give up on LDs even if you convince yourself it's futile. You'll always be lured back by the concept. :)

Keep going at it. I'm in a dry spell too (chain FA's, which completely suck). You're bound to have a killer LD sooner or later.

Maybe you should wipe all the old techniques and try something new.
Beginners luck works well for me too. I had alot of lucids but eventually I became numbe to them and they didnt work no more.

Its like when you play video games all day it shows up in you dreams that night. But when you play video games all the time then they never show up.

I have had also had lucid dreams when doing abnormal things in the middle of the night. Like climbing up on the roof at 2 in the morning and fixing the airconditioner because it keeps banging in the wind. Or taking the neigbors dog home at 3 am because hes standing like a goof in my yard making my dogs bark all night. Its like wbtb but with "other than just sitting there and staying awake for an hour tasks".

I'm testing these new theories and they seem to be working.
I reality test for a few weeks then drop it and do something different,like practice wild or raising my awareness for the next few weeks.

Like when your working out using supplements - creatine etc - the supplements lose effectiveness after a while. Take a few weeks off and then they work again as good as ever.

I would try something new but I honestly do not know where to begin. I have looked at techniques and tutorials. I have tried nearly everything. I have had around 70 LDs and feel like I have hit a ceiling. No matter what I do, I just can't have another.

I want to learn how to WILD for two reasons: I should be able to master it, thus having LDs whenever I want. Second, it will no longer be so random.

Unfortunately, it seems I lack whatever it is that allows people to WILD.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Icelus

Unfortunately, it seems I lack whatever it is that allows people to WILD.

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I hear ya. For me, it patience. I CAN'T JUST LAY THERE AND THINK ABOUT NOTHING!! Is that even possible?

Do you actually look for dreamsigns during the day. Look for oddities. Search hard.
If you see a lady with a funny hat then make it click in your brain that you saw a dreamsign from the category "form". Make it a point to actually look for things in waking like. This also makes you aware.
Also underline and categorize every dream sign in your jounal as one of the four types of dream signs.
I find this helps me alot.

I used to be horrible at WILD. Problem is, you can't think about WILDing. Act like you're normally going to sleep. I fall asleep alot now and go unconscious, but at least then you have the chance of having a DILD.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Icelus

Unfortunately, it seems I lack whatever it is that allows people to WILD.

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Nothing wrong with that. I've been going at this for 2 and a half years now and I've got 0 WILDs to my name. People hold up WILD as the holy grail of lucid dreaming - and hey, since I've never completed one, maybe they know something that I don't - but it's certainly not the be-all and end-all.

Anyway, regarding your dry spell - hey, dry spells happen. I've had them, too (3 or 4 months with 0 lucids, despite practice). First you should realize that eventually it will end. It's a long life and somewhere along the way you're going to realize again that you're dreaming - you can take that one to the bank. I "quit" LDing for about a year, but guess what? I still had them spontaneously from time to time. It's a part of you now that you can't just leave behind even if you tried.

Another thing you should ask yourself: is a lucid dry spell really worth getting depressed over? As fun and mysterious and interesting as they are, they are only a small part of what defines you. It's not like you're a musician who can no longer compose. It's a bummer, sure, but in the end, does it really matter?

I try my best to remain aware of signs and whatnot that might indicate a dream. A lot of my signs aren't appearing anymore or they don't trigger a lucid anymore. What's worse is that I am doing nothing but studying so I can finish college, so it is rather difficult to find new signs that actually get incorporated into my dreams. You'd think I'd have more dreams about doing my work, yet I don't ~_~

I've also tried to simply remain aware, questioning anything and everything. That is obviously extremely difficult though. I am still trying it, but have not had any decent progress.

I suppose that the whole problem is not worth being depressed over. I do know I will eventually get another. It is the whole failure thing. I hate failing at something that I used to get quite often.

I worry that I will never return to what I used to be able to do (minimum of an LD per week, usually more). At that time, I didn't even really care about WILDing because my techniques always worked. None of them work now =(

Right now I am working on learning to fall asleep "properly". Like Dash said, one can't think about WILDing while WILDing. It ruins the method really. So far, I have had no luck though.

TY for the replies guys. It helps to know people are in the same situation.